Adam Carroll & Michael O’Connor “Hard Times”- A Gulf Coast theme song (Part II)

If the Gulf Coast doesn’t have a theme song, then it will be found on “Hard Times.” Like the people of the Gulf Coast who have experienced these hard times, this new release from Adam Carroll and Michael O’Connor is just that – the heart and soul of the downtrodden and victims of hard economic and natural disasters. They’ve come from a situation they cannot change. A situation where all there is left to do is try and laugh.

The new CD release, “Hard Times” is an Adam Carroll & Michael O'Connor alternative/folk collaboration of songs written and recorded by these two Texas songwriters and was produced by Gabe Rhodes. And Carroll, a songwriter’s songwriter who’s drawn favorable comparisons to such luminaries as John Prine and Butch Hancock, respects O’Connor so much, he just co-wrote and recorded an entire album with him, 2010’s "Hard Times.”

View slideshow: The Birth of the new CD Release "Hard Times," by Adam Carroll and Michael O'Conn

On Tuesday, October 19th from 7:00 p.m.to 10:00 p.m. Gruene Hall with host their Tuesday Night Song Swap featuring Adam Carroll with Plank, Michael O’Connor and Angie McClure. There is no cover charge to see these Texas Music Country greats! And on the release of Adam and Michael’s new release, “Hard Times.” This song swap will be a blast – work can wait, computers can go to sleep…don’t miss this one!

The album “Hard Times” has been called ‘scrappy and scruffy,’ and so it is. It is that beautiful and charming homage and a hearty salute to those Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast, down home, survivors. Music can help heal. This album is the balm for our souls and puts reality in perspective. When hard times come, this album shows us the reality of the situation – more of the saying “It is what it is,” and with these economic times and helplessness to change the situation, there is nothing left to do but laugh. If you’re going through this, you know what that means.

Adam Carroll has amazed me with his talent to wow audiences with his songs, his versatility and his steady climb to take his rightful place in Texas Country Music… at the top. Adam is a songwriter’s songwriter. He is fast become an icon himself, spanning Texas, the US and Europe with his incredible mastery of songwriting, vocals, melodies and emotion in all his songs.

Adam’s and Michael’s love for the “people far from the beaten path, downtrodden and going through hard times is a recurring theme in his music, endearing him to all of us – whether we ARE those people or not. Adam Carroll, the songwriter’s songwriter has drawn favorable comparisons to such luminaries as John Prine and Butch Hancock, has the utmost respect for Michael O’Connor. In fact, “Hard Times”(2010) was co-written and recorded with O’Connor. “Billy Gibbons’ Beard,” “Gulf Coast Losers,” and “Bernadine” (patron saint of addicts and gamblers) is credited to both artists, who take turns singing lead vocals.

Michael O’Connor found fame “the old fashioned way”; after 25 years in the music business. Known as a “sideman,” that moniker is fast becoming history. Michael is a Corpus Christi native – and Corpus Christi fans have never been more proud of their kinsman. At 43, this South Texan is a respected and loved member of the Texas and Nashville music world.

Ask Michael O’Connor if he is famous, he will humbly say “no.” But in defining “famous” and Michael - his innate sense of humble integrity, his passion for playing music “for the sake of the song” and Michael’s opinion of success shows the true man. Success has nothing to do with stardom and everything with doing what you love for a living, and doing it with friends! As for fame, that comes with the territory in the Texas songwriter scene! Michael O’Connor holds his own place among the best of the best from Slaid Cleaves to Ray Wylie Hubbard to Adam Carroll to Susan Gibson to Terri Hendrix. Ask them to vouch for O’Connor’s merits as a songwriter or guitarist, and you’ll be answered with a chorus of praise and admiration. Cleaves, who recorded two of O’Connor’s songs on his excellent 2006 covers album, “Unsung,” says that O’Connor “is the first call I make when I need a true professional to take on the road to bring my songs to their full potential … He can do four sets a day without flagging or losing that lightning-quick Irish wit.” Hubbard, who not only gave O’Connor his first steady sideman gig but produced his debut album, 2000’s "Green and Blue", is another who sings Michael’s praises,“He has the big four: tone, taste, groove and grit. He’s cool.”

“Adam kind of lent me his brand, really,” O’Connor says with characteristic humility. “People really respect his songs, so it’s a little off-putting to be on that record with him, but at the same time, it’s cool that he feels confident to have me on there. He just came to my house a few times, and the next thing we knew, we had all these songs done, and decided to go record them.”

With Lloyd Maines working with Adam and Michael on three albums and a strong focus on ‘the song being the thing, not the instrumentation,’ “Hard Times” is the best yet for Adam and for Michael. Lloyd has been the guardian angel who touches his artists with a mystical glow, automatically sending them out to the world with the perfection of his musical tutelage and with that glow that is definitely evident in Adam’s work as well.

As Jeff Giddens of No Depression Americana and Roots Music: reviews the album, he goes straight to the heart of “Hard Times”and says it best, “This record finds them writing together on most of the songs, revealing the intricacies of Carroll and O'Connor have crafted a complete record about a slice of life where there is little to do but laugh. Managing to realize the effects of an economic recession and combine it with a healthy dose of absurdity, they create a song cycle that entertains from beginning to end ...This is more than a collection of songs -- it is a true album, full of inside jokes, references, and carrying themes from song to song. Hard Times sets a standard for craftsmanship that is going to be tough to top."

The album “Hard Times” has been called ‘scrappy and scruffy,’ and so it is. It is that beautiful and charming homage and a hearty salute to those Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast, down home, survivors. Music can help heal. This album is the balm for our souls and puts reality in perspective. When hard times come, this album shows us the reality of the situation – more of the saying “It is what it is,” and with these economic times and helplessness to change the situation, there is nothing left to do but laugh. If you’re going through this, you know what that means.

It’s hard to choose a favorite on this album! It’s a path along the side of the road where people live off the beaten path and live along the Gulf Coast areas of “Hard Times” is just that – completely covering the emotions and situations of people going through hard times of their own. “Tired of Myself” is one of my favorites! It’s exactly the kind of song that makes Adam and Michael O’Connor shine with a truthful but light-heartedness that makes you smile at yourself too. “Highway Prayer” is a bittersweet song for those hard roads and taking the turn to look inward with faith and strength.

“Bernadine” (who is the patron said for addicts and gamblers,) this song fits the bill and longs for blessings and love for ‘a Gulf Coast loser like me…’ "Coast Losers” is a song that speaks to every man and woman along the Gulf Coast, losing all, ‘watching dollars die’, ex-wives and a down home sound that will have you singing out loud! In fact, Adam’s and Michael’s songs on “Hard Times” goes with me wherever I am…one for home and one for the truck! What a great album!

Tuesday, October 19 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Adam Carroll with Plank, Michael O'Connor, Angie McClure

(830) 606-1281 http://www.facebook.com/l/b03fc;www.gruenehall.com/".

Gruene Hall
1281 Gruene Rd.
New Braunfels, Texas 78130
830.606.1281
http://www.gruenehall.com No cover charge!

Ph: (830) 606-1281

http://www.gruenehall.com/gruenehallnewsOct2010.html

Adam Carroll

http://www.adamcrroll.com/

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Michael O'Connor

http://www.michaeloconnormusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/angiemccluremusic