ALICE WALLACE: Here I Am, Nashvillian songstress Alice Wallace declares on her new album, released June 28, 2024, via Mule Kick Records. It’s a title that hints at her deeply personal, confessional songwriting style, one that invites the listener to gaze at her beating heart as each intimate secret pours out, propelled by a powerful, expressive delivery that marks her as one of the true vocal talents of her generation.
Alice does not hide behind the microphone, but uses it to amplify everything inside her champing to get out. She’s survived the highs and lows of life, love, and the music industry and finally produced the album she feels she was destined to make. Here I Am, she says, the real Alice Wallace.
This album marks a return to themes of self-examination after several collections that featured predominantly story songs. “I needed to make a record that was really true to myself, both for me and for my fans who have encouraged me in ways I am so grateful for,” Alice explains. “Songs are how I process. And writing this album helped me process so much of what has happened in the last few years.”
Alice moved to Nashville four years ago after more than a decade in southern California, and Here I Am is the first of her albums to be recorded in true Music City style, backed by a lineup of world-class musicians and recorded in two whirlwind days with no rehearsal, just the way the best session players like to do it. Produced by Nick Buda (Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton) the album features some of the most talented musicians Nashville has to offer. In addition to Buda on drums, the record features Grammy-winning guitarist Kenny Greenberg (Willie Nelson, Wynnona Judd, Hayes Carll), bassist Ted Pecchio (Doyle Bramhall II, Susan Tedeschi) and keyboardist Jimmy Wallace (The Wallflowers). And although Alice had never played with any of the musicians before, the combined talents in the room made for an electric experience that brought her songs to life in vibrant and unexpected ways.
The album opens with a lone, droning organ note behind Alice’s voice as she tells of a secret she’s scared might someday be discovered.. But as the song “Imposter” builds to its celebratory peak, the listener learns it’s only Alice’s own self-doubt she’s afraid will come to light – that insidious inner voice that still tries to tell her she isn’t qualified to do what she does so well. It was actually the impending recording session with such musical powerhouses that triggered her to write about this lifelong feeling that has resonated with fans at every live show. Instead of succumbing to the fear, the song embraces it with confidence - “it’s time someone found me out.”
Other highlight tracks include “Bonfire,” written with Melody Walker. Alice was experiencing a bout of romantic heartbreak, but sought something more than the tired cliche of a woman bearing a torch waiting for her man. So she went bigger, with the metaphor of a beachside bonfire acting as a makeshift lighthouse harkening her lover back from sea, her clarion voice calling out over syncopated percussion and musical waves.
“Looking,” written with Eliot Bronson, also focuses on the search for love, but using a more modern metaphorical device, the device that’s ever-present in Alice’s hand. “Maybe the reason I haven’t found that elusive love of my life is because I walk around looking at my phone all day and am not paying enough attention to what’s around me,” Alice explains. Within the strong beat and poppy, radio-ready delivery, she vows to make an effort to see what’s right in front of her eyes, hoping the love she may have missed the first time will come around again.
The album’s remaining tracks touch on Alice’s move to Nashville with an ode to “Fireflies,” lean into pain while finding joy with “Dancin’ to the Beat of My Heartbreak,” lament not trusting her intuition on “I Was Wrong,” and celebrate the connectedness of the natural world with the title track “Here I Am.”
Wallace was named 2017 Female Vocalist of the Year by the California Country Awards and her voice has been called “a powerful natural occurrence… an awe-striking wonder" by Saving Country Music. She previously released four solo albums, the latest of which, 2019’s Into the Blue, earned recognition from Rolling Stone Country with the title track being named one of the Best Americana Songs to Hear Now. This was followed by Lucky Break via Side Pony, a duo project with friend Caitlin Cannon that took the pair across the United States and Europe.
Cuttingly self-exploring, delivered with emotionality, and with just the right pop Americana sensibilities, Here I Am is Alice Wallace’s most expansive album yet. For fans of songwriters who turn personal heartbreak into musical gold and for anyone who loves a powerful, full-ranged, expressive voice, Here I Am is not to be missed.
"Bonfire" live at Fitting Room Studios in Nashville
"As Long As There's Lonesome" live at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville (Co-write with Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky)
"Rolling Stone from Texas" yodel live at People's Brewing Company in Lafayette, IN
MIGHTY MIKE SCHERMER: “Mighty Mike Schermer is probably the best blues guitarist, singer and songwriter you’ve never heard of"
Tommy Castro
“Every time I play with him my booty hurts afterwards from him kicking it all night!” - Elvin Bishop
“Funky and authentic!” - Bonnie Raitt
"Hands down one of the best songwriters in the blues today" - Bill Wax, XM/Sirius Radio "Bluesville"
The opening cut of Mighty Mike Schermer’s 8th solo album describes the 57 year-old guitarist/singer/songwriter’s musical journey perfectly. “It ain’t getting’ old, it’s just getting’ good!”
Recorded at Greaseland in San Jose, CA with the help of perennial Blues Award winner/Grammy nominee and multi-instrumentalist Kid Andersen, “Just Gettin’ Good” showcases Mighty Mike at his guitar-slinging, soul-singing and storytelling best. 12 original songs retain the energetic live-show feel throughout, with stellar performances by some of the Bay Area’s top musicians including Steve Ehrmann (Roy Rogers, John Lee Hooker), Tony Stead (Tommy Castro, Sly and The Family Stone), Paul Revelli (Joe Louis Walker, Chuck Prophet), D’mar (Little Richard, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats), June Core (Charlie Musselwhite, Robert Jr. Lockwood) and Austin DeLone (Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe). Jerry Jemmott, John Nemeth, Terry Hanck and The Sons of the Soul Revivers all contribute mightily in guest appearances. The knockout punch may well be delivered by Mike’s beautiful and talented partner Ms. Kimmy Pickens, featured in more than one Star-Is-Born musical and songwriting moment.
Much like Schermer’s live shows, the album runs a gamut of music styles from blues to soul to funk to rock & roll, country, Americana and nearly every stop in between. “I guess my music is kinda hard to describe” Schermer laughs “but it also can’t be pigeonholed. I was born in New York, raised in New Mexico. I lived in California for half my life, and Austin, Texas for another quarter of it. Albert Collins made me want to play blues guitar, but guys like John Hiatt made me want to be a songwriter. Listening to Earl King taught me that I could do both!”
The French have long employed a style of cheesemaking called affinage, a careful practice that involves much more than just tossing the product into a dark cave and waiting for it to ripen. “...it is about a series of tedious, ritualized procedures...that are meant to inch each wheel and wedge toward an apex of delectability.” (Jeff Gordinier, NY Times 2011)
The same might be said of a career in roots music, where there is simply no substitute for on-the-job experience and good old fashioned hard work. Mighty Mike Schermer has definitely done the work...touring and recording for well over 30 years with such legendary figures as Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Marcia Ball, Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur, Howard Tate, Angela Strehli and many more. He has also carved out a solid solo career, releasing 8 critically acclaimed albums and garnering a ton of attention for his songwriting in particular. Schermer’s songs have been covered by blues award recipients Tommy Castro, Billy Price and the late Frank Bey to name just a few. His autobiographical single “My Big Sister’s Radio” was recently hand-picked by none other than Bruce Springsteen to be included in The Boss’s “From My House to Yours” on Sirius/XM’s and is now in regular rotation! His songs and albums have been nominated for multiple awards and he has performed in all 50 US States and 25 countries around the world in a journey that is far from over.
Hot young guitar shredders get run up the industry pipeline on an almost daily basis, intoxicating fans. Fireball shots and Jager-bombs intoxicate too. Listening to Mighty Mike Schermer is like sipping a vintage Kentucky Bourbon; sweet guitar licks burn smooth, mellow and go down easy. Smoky vocals are delivered in well-chosen glassware, telling stories that warm from the bottom up and the inside out. You’ll get all you need out of one sitting, but you’ll be back tomorrow for another taste. Like barrel-aged whiskey or fine red wine...leather boots or your favorite jeans. Some things just get better with age. Mighty Mike Schermer is Just Gettin’ Good!