The Waterboys and Steve Earle

The Waterboys are a rock band originating from Edinburgh, Scotland and were formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The line up, location and style of the band has changed over their long career yet there has been a consistent mixture of celtic rock with traditional rock & roll. They worked together as a band for seven years before disbanding in 1990 as Scott pursued a solo career before reforming in 2000 due to popular demand.

The band's sound in it's origins was considered 'Big Music' and received very well by critics, they followed this by a period where they branched into folk music and put an emphasis on touring with a very large number of musicians which many described as a 'raggle taggle band'. They moved onto a more mainstream rock and roll sound for the Dream Harder release before they dissolved the band, when they reformed in 2000 they seemed to take influences from all aspects of their early musical styles.

Mike Scott is the original founder of The Waterboys and the only constant member. In 1983 he was singed to Ensign Records after recording solo demos and working with a number of bands and musicians, the label were expecting the first release from Scott to be a solo effort yet instead he chose to found his new band which is named after a line in the Lou Reed song 'The Kids'. The band didn't achieve commercial success until their 1985 album 'This Is The Sea' broke the UK top 40 in the Albums Chart, however the debut and follow up established The Waterboys as a new force in music and their effortless touring schedule won them fans across the world, the third LP did particularly well in New Zealand, charting within the top 10 of their album chart.

Their next album 'Fisherman's Blues' which was releasd in 1988 during the folk heavy 'raggle taggle' phase charted at 13 in the UK charts and also broke the top 100 in the US due to their tireless touring worldwide, it has now been certified as a gold selling record in the UK. It included a heavier Irish influence which came from the decision to record in Spiddal and feature many guest musicians who the band had played with in Dublin and the surrounding areas. Disputes within the band followed this, as Scott was adamant about the direction of The Waterboys' sound, he recorded the 1993 album 'Dream Harder' as a solo member of the band with the accompaniment of session musicians. However after he failed to establish a new touring line up, he abandoned the project and pursued solo work. However in 2000, to fans surprise and delight The Waterboys returned with a new sonic rock sound inspired by contemporaries such as Beck & Radiohead. The band have continued to release new solo material and tour since then.

Earle was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States in the 50s, but spent the majority of his childhood in San Antonio, Texas. He learned how to play the guitar at age 11 and by the time he reached 14 he was placing in talent contests. Earle was rebellious as a child and naturally evaded school to focus on music. He ran away from home at 14, dropped out of school at 16 and not long after moved in with his uncle in Texas, who was only a couple of years older and was also a musician. When Earle was 19 he pursued a music career in Nashville and supported himself through various odd jobs. He eventually acquired the position as a staff songwriter for Sunbury Dunbar, but grew bored with Nashville and rerooted to Texas where he formed a group called The Dukes.

Earle returned to Nashville in the 80s as a ghostwriter and had some of his work performed by national legends such as Johnny Lee, Zella Lehr and Carl Perkins. In 1982 he emerged as a solo artist, releasing the studio EP “Pink & Black”. His music teeters on the line of Springsteen style roots rock and traditional outlaw country revivalism. Although his recordings very rarely peered into the mainstream, he was venerated as a cult hero. Earle’s sound took inspiration from country (Merle Haggard, Hank Williams) folk iconoclasts (Bob Dylan, Neil Young) and most notably his personal idol, Townes Van Zandt (whom he named his son, Justin Townes Earl after).

His studio debut album “Guitar Town” was issued in 1986 to critical and commercial acclaim. It followed in line with the trend of rockabilly, which was popular during that time, but it also acted as a strong reinforcement of Townes unique style. Earle put two more albums out in the 80s “Exit o” (1987) and “Copperhead Road” (1988). The latter of the album’s was ostensibly the first of it’s kind to mix the genres of heavy metal and bluegrass. The album’s track “Johnny Come Lately” is a standout on the album in large respects due to the Pogues’ memorable contribution. Earle’s 4th studio album “The Hard Way” came out in 1990 and marked his last release through MCA. By this time Earle had fallen deep into substance abuse and put his life as a recording artist on hold.

He emerged with a vengeful comeback in 1995, putting out his highly anticipated follow up “Train a Comin’”. The album featured Peter Rowan, Norman Blake, Roy Huskey, and Emmylou Harris and earned him a Grammy nomination in the category “Best Contemporary Folk”. This phase saw Earle in full swing and welcomed a frequent and consistent output of albums spanning from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s: “I Feel Alright” (1996), “El Corazon” (1997), “Transcendental Blues” (2000), “Jerusalem” (2002), and “The Revolution Starts Now” (2004).

After a three year break between studio albums he released his 11th studio album “The Revolution Start’s Now”, which brought him his 2nd consecutive Grammy award. His 2009 follow up “Townes” featured experimental virtuoso guitarist Tom Morello and peaked to No. 19 on the US Billboard 200. Acclaimed songwriter, musician, and sound engineer T-Bone Burnett produced Earle’s next album “I’ll Never Get out of This World Alive”. The title shares it’s name with a Hank Williams‘ song as well as with Earle’s first novel. Earle released his 15th studio album “The Low Highway” on 16 April 2013 through the record label New West.