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John Paul Keith

If you’re attending AMERICANAFEST in Nashville this year, be sure and drop by the Basement on Friday, September 14 at midnight for my official showcase. 

In other news, I’m pleased to announce that the new album from my friends James and the Ultrasounds is out on Madjack Records August 24. It’s the first album I’ve ever produced for another artist, and we recorded and mixed the album entirely on analog tape at Scott Bomar’s Electraphonic studio. Some of you may have seen James Godwin playing bass for me over the years. The Memphis Flyer has the whole story.

 

Today we are proud to debut the first music video from our band Motel Mirrors, in collaboration with Beale Street Caravan, as a part of their #IListenToMemphis series. The “I Wouldn’t Dream of It” video was directed by Christian Walker and shot in the Galloway House, the historic Memphis church that was the site of the first ever paid performance by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two. The music you hear is the live performance you see in the band shots - we shot it like a music video, and Amy and I then lip-synced to the live performance we’d just recorded. The song is from our new album, “In The Meantime”, which we are also excited to announce reached #28 last week on the Americana Albums airplay chart from the Americana Music Association. We hope you enjoy the video and please feel free to share.

Speaking of Beale Street Caravan, I’ve been lucky to have been featured on the radio broadcast the last two weeks in a row. BSC captured my record release show set last month, celebrating my new album, “Heart Shaped Shadow”.

The latest episode of BSC features live performances from Dale Watson’s 2018 Ameripolitan Awards show. Recorded this past February at the Guest House at Graceland, this was the 5th year for the formerly Austin, Texas-based awards ceremony, and its first in Memphis. I was fortunate enough to play guitar in the house band that night, and the featured performers include Asleep at the Wheel, Nikki Lane, Sleepy LaBeef, Dickey Lee, Jason D. Williams, James Intveld, Dale Watson and the Blackwood Brothers, and more.

Check out this week’s episode of Beale Street Caravan to hear some live Motel Mirrors music from our record release show here in Memphis a couple of weeks back, celebrating our new album, “In the Meantime”! Thank you, BSC! #IListenToMemphis

Thank you to my friend Bob Mehr for the story in the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. We talked about the new Motel Mirrors album “In the Meantime”, and my new solo album, “Heart Shaped Shadow”.

For Keith, the greater challenge was in topping his last album, “Memphis Circa 3AM” –the final project produced by late legendary Sun/Phillips session man Roland Janes — which was a clear high watermark in his catalog. But “Heart Shaped Shadow” confidently stakes its claim as Keith’s best, with a mix of witty honky-tonk (“Leave Them Girls Alone”; “Ain’t Letting Go of You”) halting heartbreakers (“Someday Someone’s Gonna Love Me”; “901 Number”) and bluesy belters (“Do You Really Wanna Do It”; “Throw it On Me Baby”) that sound like instant classics.

Both albums are out on Last Chance Records March 30.

© John Paul Keith