OffBeat Magazine:

Pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley has dozens of sideman credits. In the studio, he’s worked with New Orleans’ Mem Shannon, Lynn Drury, former local Shannon McNally and notable non-locals Joni Mitchell, Peter Rowan and Ruthie Foster. Easley’s on-stage credits include Dr. John, Cyril Neville, Col. Bruce Hampton and Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann.

A solo artist, too, Easley’s latest album is Easley Rider. It features 13 original songs recorded with local music veterans Alfred “Uganda” Roberts, percussion, René Coman, bass, and Doug Garrison, drums. Singer Kass Krebs also contributes lead and backing vocals.

The sound and spirit of the late 1960s run through Easley Rider. Opening song “I’m Crying” begins like classic Allman Brothers before segueing to a dreamy ’60s, San Francisco atmosphere including tribal percussion. Counterculture spirit also animates “Momma Was a Jailbird” and its Byrds-like vocals over a Bo Diddley beat. Easley’s Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead influences, heard in his light, simple singing and trebly guitar, are especially apparent in “Momma Was a Jailbird,”

“I Followed Her” unfolds like a blissful memory from paradise. Easley’s singing for the song is so familiar that he could be some obscure member of the Dead, Byrds or Jefferson Airplane, a member who somehow never made it onto those groups’ classic albums. 

Easley’s unconventional voice is high, soft and thin. Unusual at first—possibly like an introductory hearing of Neil Young or Jimmie Dale Gilmore—it takes some getting used to. But his Easley Rider album, with thirteen songs, allows plenty of opportunity to grow accustomed to his voice. Easley also shares vocals with Krebs. She sings a solo verse of “Mockingbird,” a sweet, quiet song featuring Easley’s pedal steel guitar at its dreamiest. Krebs’ vocals also complement Easley in “The Date and the Hour,” producing a Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel kind of harmony that fits the song’s folk-rock context well. As for Easley’s principal voice, pedal steel guitar, that’s always fluid and inventive.

- John Wirt, 4/28/20, OffBeat Magazine

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The Big Takeover:

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            (Easley Rider)

Top pedal steel players stay busy, and New Orleans’s Dave Easley has played with Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, a Meters Neville brother, Coco Robicheaux, and The Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann. ER is similarly seasoned, including Afro-Calypso conga player Alfred “Uganda” Roberts, who played with Professor Longhair 40 years ago. But like many Big Easy units, they groove relaxed, plying Crescent City rhythms, folk, Americana, and Southern-friend acoustic soft-pop. “I Followed Her” sounds like ex-NOLA transplant Ray Davies circa 2007’s Working Man’s Café, if not Kreutzmann’s old Workingman’s Dead. He’s adept lyrically, too; the sunny “Iko Iko”-type Louisiana shuffle “Mama Was a Jailbird” contains amusing observations about the proud price of protest (with a John Lennon reference to local legend/MC5 manager John Sinclair!). Like a Frenchmen St. eatery, ER is warm and nourishing like red beans, rice, and an Abita. - Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover

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"The master sounds amazing and the song writing is great. You manage to touch on some wonderful influences while letting your own voice be heard. I heard shades of medieval ballads and Laurel Canyon los angeleno 1969 roots of folk rock vibes. Your lyrics are surreal at times evoking the most primitive urges and imagery while not shying away from lofty explorations into ontology itself. I admire your decision to play multiple instruments on the album and use different textures and sounds from all of your musical allies. Jerry Garcia peaks out from behind a guitar run, David Crosby breathes across the track. All the while you are the arbitrator, the orchestrator the rock that holds the thing together the bridge of 7 generations of folk.

Don't change a thing,"

Jamie Bernstein 

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Song: Mockingbird

Overall Impression:
Blending sonorous elements of Folk, Jazz, and Americana, Dave Easley and his talented compatriots present the hauntingly beautiful and poetically resonant original tune, Mockingbird.  Gorgeous organic string sounds mingle with skillful alternative acoustic percussions and soulful vocal deliveries to bring Mockingbird's lyrics to soothing sonic life - all tied off with surreal electric guitar solo work as a sublimely musical facsimile of birdsong.


Strongest Point(s):
Really beautiful tones from each of the song's elements - the vocals have especially endearing qualities about them.  Really immersive acoustic instrumentation and lovely work from Alfred Uganda Roberts to hold it all together!  The electric guitar tone and execution at 2:05 and the later solo is surreal in the best possible way, cleverly evoking birdsong in the context of this sound.  Incredibly poetic lyrical content, and an impressive marriage of lyrical concept and instrumental application.  This is seriously lovely work!


Target Audience Appeal:
At first listen, Dave Easley's Mockingbird fits into the overarching Folk and Americana canons seamlessly - with everything from the tone pallet to the lyrical premise aligning well with the established body of either respective genre.  At second, third, and fourth listen, however, it becomes increasingly apparent that there's something very special about Mockingbird's sound.  A culmination of Jazz influences, deep Folk roots and a boldly adventurous application of broader artistic concepts takes Mockingbird into the realm of Alternative Folk, Indie Folk, and beyond conventional labels. Marketing this sound towards the fanbases of more classically acclaimed Folk artists like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and The Decemberists may produce favorable results, while the more adventurous followers of acts like The Mountain Goats, Fruit Bats, and Jacob Collier may return a sizable following.  I hope this is helpful - thanks for allowing me to listen in! - Jon W.


Artist target suggestions:
Nick Drake, The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Fruit Bats, Jesse Blake Rundel, Sonset, Josh Taylor, Joe Viba, Gregory Alan Isakov, Juniper Vale, Vian Izak, Bon Iver, Avery Bright, Femke, The Sweeplings, Ira Wolf, Austin Basham, Haux, Nico, Jacob Collier, Pete Seger, The Decemberists, The Mountain Goats



About the Reviewer:

Jon Wright is a trained multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and music educator with nearly twenty years of experience in the field. Working with musicians and their individual sounds is his passion and profession, and he strives to interact with and understand every aspect of the production process - from theory and songwriting to recording and mastering. He continues to teach students of all ages and is currently collaborating with artists in a wide variety of genres.

Vocals: Strength
Lyrics: Strength
Instrumental Performance/Execution: Strength
Melody/Rhythm: Strength
Arrangement/Flow: Strength
Recording Quality/Overall Mix: Strength

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