CLINT MORGAN, TROUBLE MAKER

CLINT MORGAN's TROUBLEMAKER BREAKS OUT on JULY 16, 2021

"Americana-flavored blues, boogie woogie and country with healthy doses of old school rock and roll. It's a sound that recalls bits of pieces of artists like Paul Thorn and Watermelon Slim while still allowing plenty of Morgan's ample personality to shine through...for those who discover this diamond in the rough, they'll be smitten with Morgan's great songwriting and his rich musical backdrop, dripping with southern flavored Americana." (Country Standard Time)

 

Olympia, WA - Lost Cause Records is proud to announce the release of singer/songwriter/pianist CLINT MORGAN's TROUBLEMAKER on JULY 16, 2021. The 15-song offering of Morgan’s quirky stories of life was co-produced by Grammy-award winning producer Kevin McKendree and Clint Morgan, and features collaborations with multiple Blues Music Award winners Watermelon Slim, Bob Margolin, and Jonn Del Toro Richardson as well as alt-country icon Kinky Friedman and Americana gospel greats The McCrary Sisters.

 

Additional musicians featured on TROUBLEMAKER include pianist/organist Kevin McKendree (Brian Setzer, Delbert McClinton); guitarist Doug Lancio (John Hiatt, Patti Griffin); bassist David Santos (John Fogerty); drummer Kenneth Blevins (John Hiatt, Don Williams); blues harmonica virtuoso Bob Corritore; violinist Jimmy Stewart; background singer Wendy Moten; and multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke, whose credits include a virtual who's who of American music.

 

Morgan’s rootsy album mixes original songs with new interpretations of blues, country, and gospel gems. Songs include the rocking Morgan compositions “Hangman Woman” (“I’ve got a hangman woman/got a heart just like a noose”) and “My Honey Takes My Money”. “Ain’t That The Blues,” is a rumination on growing old and “Hungry Man Blues,” tells the tale of a man looking for a good meal. “Too Rich To Sing The Blues” is Morgan’s wry, sidewise commentary on privilege and the blues. Alt country legend Kinky Friedman joins Morgan on the hilarious “Somebody Put A Walmart On The Farm,” and Watermelon Slim and Bob Margolin contribute to “The Cover Of The Living Blues" -- a parody of the great Shel Silverstein's "Cover of The Rolling Stone". The powerhouse vocals of The McCrary Sisters help drive the story in the classic gospel “Go Down, Moses,” and Houston-based bluesman Jonn Del Toro Richardson joins in on Morgan’s commentary on the Texas tragedy, “Hurricane Harvey.” The songs range from raucous to heart-rending, all backed by a stellar musicians.

 

"What I’ve tried to do with this album is to tell stories – some tongue in cheek, some serious – about everyday people and everyday life. We have all had frustrations in relationships, problems with growing old, spiritual questions, and trouble adapting to change. Even in these crazy times of turmoil and unrest, people still have the same problems they have always had. I guess some of this is filtered through my own skewed sense of humor which has got me in trouble my whole life (hence the title of the album). I just hope that this is taken in the spirit in which it is offered; I would rather poke at people a little than harangue them to make a point. I also hit social topics such as privileged people – people with absolutely no life experience frame of reference - singing blues, corporate takeovers of our rural communities, and our views of advocates of change. I’m hoping that people will enjoy the mix, and that I’ll hopefully get an ‘amen’ here and there.”

 

Clint Morgan, an accomplished blues and boogie-woogie piano player, was raised on a farm in rural Washington State. His family, originally from southern Appalachia, moved west 'back in the day' when land was cheap and the farming and logging was good. His great-great aunt was Eliza Morgan Bays, AP Carter's great grandma, and his paternal grandmother was related to the Carter Family by marriage.

 

TROUBLEMAKER is Morgan’s third album of original material, following his 2008 release You’re Really Bugging Me Now, and 2016’s critically-acclaimed Scofflaw. "The first time I ever heard of Clint Morgan was when I received 'Scofflaw' to review. And do you want to hear my objective opinion? I was blown away pretty much. This is in no way an ordinary album...Clint Morgan is a gifted blues and boogie-woogie piano player who sounds like early Johnny Cash and sometimes like Willie Nelson...Honestly, this album is amazing. I have never heard anything quite like it…I was enthralled." (Making A Scene)

 

Additionally, Morgan is a volunteer instructor/performer at the Pinetop Perkins Foundation Workshops in Clarksdale, MS. He produced fellow pianist Clay Swafford’s Blues Music Award-nominated album Rooster. The biography on Morgan’s web page is short on story and long on a list of influences that includes dozens of artists that have colored his music, from blues and gospel, to old-school country and Americana, to rock and roll pioneers.

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CLINT MORGAN, Scofflaw

Lost Cause Records is pleased to announce the release of Scofflaw, the sophomore album of singer/songwriter/pianist Clint Morgan. The 18-song tale of loss and redemption features collaborations with multiple Grammy nominee Maria Muldaur and multiple Blues Award nominee and winner Diunna Greenleaf.

Other musicians featured on the CD include bassist Dave Roe (Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Dwight Yoakum, Loretta Lynn); guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Trisha Yearwood, Lucinda Williams, Ray Lamontagne); drummer Jerry Roe (Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Darius Rucker, kd lang); violinist Jonathan Yudkin (Rascal Flatts, Travis Tritt, Guy Clark); and multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke, whose credits are a virtual who's who of American music. Scofflaw is co-produced by Morgan and Maryland-based Kevin Johnston of Orca Sound Studios and mastered by Jim DeMain.

All songs Public Domain or BMI, except "Wanted Man" SESAC and "Waco" SESAC and BMI.

Produced by Clint Morgan, Kevin Johnston and Rob Thorworth.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says: “’Scofflaw’ is a sweeping conceptual masterpiece of Americana.”

For more reviews click here >

CLAY SWAFFORD AND DIUNNA GREENLEAF 

Blues At The Royal DVD

Join blues master and Blues Music Award winner Diunna Greenleaf and boogie-woogie piano prodigy Clay Swafford for an evening of blues!

Recorded live at the Royal Lounge in Olympia, Washington, Diunna and Clay serve up a dozen tunes - some old, some new, but all blue!

Running the gamut from soulful to raucous, this 60-minute set showcases Diunna's powerful voice and Clay's lightning-fast hands in an unforgettable evening of music. 60 minutes.

This DVD can be purchased direct only.

Contact us to purchase this DVD >

CLAY SWAFFORD, Rooster

"Rooster" is a personal, acoustic album featuring blues and boogie piano ace Clay Swafford playing some of his own compositions as well as some of the little-known blues gems that influenced him. This album is a pure and raw return to the old piano house rent parties from back in the day, with no tricks and no digital manipulation.

"Rooster" includes classic blues and boogie tunes as well as some original instrumental works that really showcase Swafford’s lightning-fast fingers. Guest vocalist and Blues Music Award winner Diunna Greenleaf sings on five tracks, and Clay’s steady and grooving piano backs up her voice perfectly.

Also featured on the album are Blues Music Award winners Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore. Margolin sings and plays slide guitar in two tracks recorded at Hopson’s Plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and Corritore’s harmonica squeals and moans the blues with the All Stars in a track recorded in Phoenix. Clay has the ability to be the backdrop to a voice like Diunna’s, Margolin’s slide, or a mean harmonica like Bob’s and take center stage with his whip-fast playing. As Pinetop Perkins himself said, ""He’s tearing the keys down on that piano, man!" And a stamp of a approval from Jerry Lee Lewis is no small deal. "As long as guys like Clay are out carrying on this music it will always be around." "Rooster" is destined to be a classic!

Produced by Clint Morgan and Clay Swafford.

 

CLINT MORGAN, You’re Really Bugging Me Now

If you like romantic ballads, lush string arrangements, and heartfelt lyrics of undying love to whisper to your soulmate - whatever that is - then this album ain’t for you. Run to the nearest Starbucks, order a latte/mocha/frappa-whatever drink, contemplate your carbon footprint for the day, put on a Celine Dion CD and go to your happy place. Everything is okay.

On the other hand, if you like plain yellow mustard, any kind of meat as long as it’s barbecued, sweet tea, and you drag yourself to church on Sunday morning no matter how late you were up on Saturday night just because you told your mom that you would, then you’re our kind of people.

Hard charging country, piano-pumping boogie-woogie and rock-n-roll with some gospel thrown in because it’s the right thing to do. Blues you can use. Not a love ballad to be had.Lyrics about life here on earth, not some alternate universe of gumdrops, puppy dog tails, and cartoon birds cleaning your house and braiding your hair.

Spend a few of your hard-earned shekels and pick up this record. You’ll thank us later. Clint's website >.

All songs Public Domain or BMI.

Produced by Clint Morgan and Brent Pendleton.