the virginian

Neko Case made the move from punk rock drummer to alternative country chanteuse with this mix of honky tonk covers and originals.  Case was born in Virginia, but moved around as a child because her dad was in the Air Force.  The family settled in Tacoma, Washington; and Case left home at the age of fifteen to go to school in Vancouver, British Columbia.  While there she became involved as a drummer in several local bands including Del Logs, the Propanes, the Weasels, Cub, and Maow.  Case says:  

"I didn't start singing in front of anybody until I was twenty-five or twenty-six...I started playing drums in punk bands as early as seventeen; I was shy, and drums are a good thing to hide behind. And it's really fun to play drums. I went to so many shows, and finally somebody suggested starting a band, and I was right there. There's a point where you just have to say, 'If these other people are willing to look stupid, I'm willing to look stupid.' And also getting older and having more confidence. I didn't really come from a place with a lot of confidence." 

'The Virginian' was recorded with Brian Connelly as producer with musicians Carl Newman, Carolyn Mark, Rose Melberg, Matt Murphy, and Darryl Neudorf, all listed on the album as "Her Boyfriends".  She recalls:  "I had written a bunch of songs that were country and weren't right for Maow. Maow didn't want to be a country band, so I decided to record them myself...It was a haphazard process of calling people that I admired and asking them to play on my record, and most of them did. I couldn't believe it...There's an incredibly supportive music scene in Canada. A lot of that has to do with the Canadian government being so supportive of the arts in general. It's a great place to play music."  

'The Virginian' is divided between originals co-written by Case and a variety of covers of classic and obscure songs by the likes of the Everly Brothers, Matt Murphy, Scott Walker, Loretta Lynn, Ernest Tubb, and Queen's John Deacon.  The sound is classic country; and Case's voice evokes Wanda Jackson and Patsy Cline.  She says:  "I don't like being pigeonholed like that, at all. I don't play 'alternative country' music; I just play country music. I want to have the same outlets, the same goals that all my heroes in country/western music have had. I want to play the Grand Old Opry in my grandmother's lifetime, you know what I mean? I want to be played on mainstream radio. I'm not willing to change my music to get there faster, but I'll fight for it anyway. I don't think anyone gives a shit about country radio. It's bullshit. It just makes me mad that country radio is using the term 'country music', when it doesn't belong to them...I'm not a fan of that. I think now is the time for change in country music; hopefully it'll change for the better. It really burns that all the bands that inspired me were part of a national country music culture that was really admirable and fairly diverse at one time. I want to have the same avenues open to me. It's like having this beautiful old building in your neighborhood and coming back to find that they've torn it down and built a Wal-Mart in its place."

http://nekocase.com/


@NekoCase










'Timber' was written by Neko Case, Brad Lambert, and Eric Napier.  




'Bowling Green' was written and performed by the Everly Brothers.







'Lonely Old Lies'  was co-composed by Case, Lambert, Napier, and Carl Newman.  








'The Virginian' is another Case, Lambert, Napier, Newman composition. 




'Duchess' was composed by Scott Engel who recorded it under his pseudonym Scott Walker.




'Thanks a Lot' was originally done by Ernest Tubb and written by Eddie Miller and Don Sessions.








John Deacon wrote 'Misfire', which originally appeared on Queen's 'Sheer Heart Attack' album.



'The Virginian'
full album:




"Timber" – 2:45 (Neko Case, Brad Lambert, Eric Napier)
"Bowling Green" – 2:16 (Terry Slater, Jacqueline Ertel)
"Jettison" – 3:13 (Case, Ford Pier)
"High on Cruel" – 2:02 (Case, David Carswell)
"Karoline" – 2:24 (Case, Carswell)
"Lonely Old Lies" – 3:34 (Case, Lambert, Napier, Carl Newman)
"Honky Tonk Hiccups" – 2:22 (Matt Murphy)
"The Virginian" – 3:29 (Case, Lambert, Napier, Newman)
"Duchess" – 2:55 (Scott Engel)
"Thanks a Lot" – 2:35 (Eddie Miller, Don Sessions)
"Somebody Led Me Away" – 2:46 (Lola Jean Dillion)
"Misfire" – 2:10 (John Deacon)