23 June 2016 (released)
23 June 2016
Marc Copely and his JD & The Straight Shot bandmates released the wonderful Ballyhoo! last year. Now they hit the road with Don Henley. As a result we caught up with him to find out more...
Ballyhoo - tell us more...
The album is an acoustic record. Did you feel acoustic best fit the songs?
Yes, we felt acoustic was much more compatible with storytelling.
How has recording the album acoustically altered your live reinterpration of it?
We try to make our live performances as close as we can to the record itself.
If you had to genre classify the record what would you label it as?
Americana/Folk
And if it had to filed alongside two artist, who would they be?
Crosby, Stills, and Nash ; The Band
What was the album writing process like?
Collaborative - every song involved at least a couple of us during the process
How do you work as a band when recording?
We first perform the song all together and then break it down into individual parts and reassemble it into the final version you hear on the album
What was your favourite moment of making the new album?
The actual writing process itself is our favourite because we start with nothing and you end with something at the end of the day and that's what makes it exciting for us
Which songs are you most excited for people to hear?
Better Find a Church, Ballyhoo! as well as Perdition
Are there any that you were nervous about revealing to the public?
Here He Comes
What is the most personal you have got in songwriting to date?
Don’t Waste My Time as well as Glide
How easy it is to perform a very personal song to an audience?
It’s always easy because you can always remember the true emotion that the song is actually about
What is your favourite song to perform and why?
Don’t Waste My Time - it’s always been one of my favourites and I think most people can really relate to it (Jim)
Tell us how the band has evolved over the last five years?
We’ve really gone from a more electric blues band to an Americana Acoustic, focusing on harmonies and making that the most identifiable sound of the band
Along the way you have played with everyone from The Eagles to the Dixie Chicks. What lessons have these bands taught you?
To never stop working on your music and your performance
Lastly, what is your career highlight to date? And how do you plan to top it in 2016,...
Our career highlight has been the release of our newest album, Ballyhoo! and we plan on topping with an even better record towards the end of 2016.
