Vince Gill Guests On New Album From The Greencards

Conqueroo sent over this background on the release: From the first notes struck together in 2003 through tours with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, up to and beyond their fourth studio album in 2009, The Greencards have won steadily escalating acclaim for their multi-dimensional Americana vision. Each step they've taken has widened their appeal. Their releases have topped the Billboard Bluegrass charts. In both 2008 (for their Viridian album) and 2010 (for Fascination), they were nominated for Grammy Awards in the "Best Country Instrumental" category. They've earned ovations from "newgrass" music devotees at MerleFest and from indie-rock loyalists at Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Festival.

But this four-piece band, spearheaded by Australians Carol Young and Kym Warner, is interested less in past accomplishments than in looking ahead for new goals to achieve. Produced and engineered by studio veteran Justin Niebank (Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Keith Urban), The Brick Album on the band's own Darling Street Records is the first to successfully infuse The Greencards' eclectic musical references with the excitement they generate onstage.

"We've been striving for this since our first record," says mandolinist Warner. "We recorded totally in one room this time, with very little isolation. It was all about doing the performance now, without going back to add anything later on."

"What you're hearing is all one take," bassist and singer Young adds. "If someone really didn't like what we'd done, we'd play it all again from the top rather than drop the part in. When you drop in a part, you lose a little bit of the feel. You've got to get a run-up to it."

That immediacy was heightened by the addition of two new members of the group. Tyler Andal, a young fiddle whiz from Tennessee, reinforces both The Greencards' grounding in roots music and their eagerness to let in the fresh air of newgrass, rock, folk elements, Latin America and much more. "He thinks outside the box," Warner explains. "We've always had a strong rhythmic aspect to our music, and Tyler definitely brings that."

The other recent arrival, former National Flatpicking Championship winner Carl Miner, excels as a guitarist in that tradition but more importantly applies his virtuosity equally well beyond it. "He's good at everything," Warner says. "He's one of the most versatile musicians, and probably the most consistent, we've ever played with. With Tyler and him in the band, everyone is pulling in the same direction."

Make that "directions." The Brick Album kicks off with "Make It Out West," a rhythmically irresistible chant powered by guest artist Sam Bush's slide mandolin, with lyrics conjuring restless dreams and far horizons. From there the songs take listeners through ever-changing vistas � the Spanish-inflected "Heart Fixer," whose vocals by Young and guest artist Vince Gill stir memories of Marty Robbins; the slinky, teasing "Mrs. Madness," written by Warner after a night of watching Bored to Death; the magical "Girl in the Telescope," which floats like a feather in sunlight; "Tale of KangaRio," an intimate Brazilian dance of mandolin and guitar; "Loving You Is the Only Way To Fly," a dreamy evocation of the Louvin and Everly Brothers, the pillars of classic country duet vocals.

There's much more, but two tracks bear special mention. The wistful "Faded" is a sweetly harmonized tune, so natural that you don't even notice its unusual 5/4 time signature. Similarly, "Adelaide" is a brisk instrumental, built over a rushing stream of chord changes made accessible by melodies and solos of eloquent coherence.

"As we get older, the more I think about it, the more we want something in music you can cling to," Warner says. "That comes with melody. What we do on The Brick Album allows us to have something not only on the record but also on our live show. It brings it back to "more than anything, this is about lyrics and harmony."

It's also about integrating fans more than ever into the band's process. The Greencards followed an independent path with The Brick Album, partnering with its followers rather than with record labels to fund its sessions. In exchange for contributing to the "Buy A Brick" project, each donor had his or her name permanently inscribed on a brick within the wall that comprises its cover art.

"The times have changed a lot in the music industry, not so much in the creative side but in business side of making music," Warner says. "We just wanted to give something unique and special to people, not just by sending them an early copy of the record by putting their names on the artwork. That makes them fully a part of it."

But it's the music that makes us all part of this journey. Warner and Young were both steeped in country music; she charted several No. 1 singles in her homeland as a solo artist and he won the Australian National Bluegrass Mandolin Championship for four consecutive years. They moved to Austin, put together the first incarnation of The Greencards there and today call Nashville home.