Neo-traditionalist Nicholas Mudd steps in the twangy lore of yesteryear with his self-titled debut LP set for release on April 12th.
In 2011, Mudd hopped on his Harley and hit the open highway, plotting a 10-day trip from Lexington, Kentucky to sunny Los Angeles; a 2011 pilgrimage west that would prove to be a pivotal turn in his musical journey. This upcoming self-titled album spins like a top between themes of heartache, romance, the thrill of the sea, and booze-soaked youthful sensations.
Recorded at Bedrock LA studios, Mudd’s debut faithfully adheres to the neo-traditionalist style of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. But make no mistake–he’s got a fire in his belly for gale-force songwriting and catchy melodies. His voice is ripe with emotion, and his output lands somewhere amidst contemporaries like Joshua Hedley, Margo Price and Colter Wall. He’s never tied to convention, even when he leans so unapologetically into sturdy classic country structures. His voice, as much as his penmanship, stimulates the senses with the most universal human emotions spanning pain, loneliness and abject fear.
Glide is proud to premiere the new single “Come With Me Tonight”(below) – a toe-tapping, honky-tonkin’ classic country ballad featuring twangy electric guitar work and an air-tight rhythm section. Mudd effortlessly lays a foundation of sweet idealism with well-worn vocals that spell for an addictive round of musical lore. It’s a love song to the current Los Angeles country music scene, specifically nodding to the renowned Grand Ole Echo summer concert series as well as the collective of like-minded musicians Mudd is surrounded by in the City of Angels.
“Come with Me Tonight” has a complicated meaning for me. It’s written very obviously as a love song, and that is the face value of it – but the girl in the story is sort of a metaphor for the Los Angeles country music scene. You can take a walk down Sunset and every way you look there’s some long-haired urban cowboy or cowgirl with a bitchin’ new record, so it’s about trying to stand out creatively in an area saturated with talented artists,” describes Mudd.
“This was a fun track to record, and didn’t take on its final form until we were actually in the studio laying down takes,” adds Mudd. “We were sitting in the booth with Eric (my producer) listening back to one of the first takes and I said something along the lines of “what do you guys think about doing a full stop after ‘baby won’t you come with me tonight’ in the first verse, and then come back in hard on the downbeat of ‘there’s a showdown at the Echo?’” We tried it, and it sounded good, so we incorporated that into the guitar and pedal steel solos toward the end also. It was a collaborative process in that way – Someone in the band would throw an idea out, and we’d try it, and if it worked we kept it.”
“The album covers a lot of ground musically, ranging from what you hear on this track to straighter honky-tonk numbers, to some of the high, lonesome sounds of the hills of Kentucky where I grew up. There’s even a nautical ballad about a guy sailing around the world just to realize he belongs back with a girl he left in Honolulu.”
As for his band members that helped elevate Mudd’s vision to one of a rescripted and glorious take of good golly melodies, the musical medicine was delivered.
“I was lucky to have a wonderfully talented band playing on this record,” says Mudd. “Lydia Luce, who’s in Nashville now creating killer music, played most of the fiddle, with my buddy Kenny Feinstein filling in on a couple of tracks. Matt Pynn, who’s touring with Nikki Lane right now and has played with Dwight Yoakam, Miley Cyrus, and a bunch of other nobodies, graced us with his sizzling pedal steel licks. Those sweet background vocals you’re hearing are from Paige Calico, another local artist here in LA, and the Telecaster is my friend Iain Weigert who is half of the Nashville based group Nightingale Rodeo with Caitlin Anne Webster. The rhythm section and my core band members are Travis Popichak, Jush Allen, and Michael Gomes.”
Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, surrounded by horse country and lush farmland, Mudd found himself immersed in country, southern rock, and traditional folk music. It was evident from a young age that he had inherited his grandfather’s musical interests. Leonard Mudd, now 95, always had a collection of guitars, mandolins, fiddles, dulcimers, and banjos sprinkled around his home, and still manages to make music from time to time.
Mudd’s exploration of music continued into high school when he formed The Blue Barrel Band, a cheeky nod to the fact they lacked an actual drum kit. “There was this giant blue plastic barrel in dad’s garage,” he recalls, “And we used it as a bass drum for our really bad folksy rock ‘n roll.”
Later, he took to Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University where he earned a degree in theatre, alongside another folksy music endeavor with some classmates. After graduating, he spent a few months back home before his cross-country trip to Los Angeles, where he took up an unpaid internship with a prominent casting director. The role soon led to a full assistant’s position, allowing him just enough of a financial foothold to get by in the City of Angels.
Music took an unexpected back seat for several years as he began his film career. Ultimately, two key events in 2015 spurred him to return to the musical fray: His first weekend trip to Bandit Town USA and his discovery of the Grand Ole Echo (a celebrated weekly summer country show in Echo Park). Surrounded and inspired by these communities of like-minded musicians, artists, and urban outlaws, he picked up the old ax and got back to it.
In late 2017, Mudd stepped into Bedrock LA for his first proper studio recording session. A daunting task ahead of him, the Americana troubadour suited himself up for a record that faithfully adheres to the neo-traditionalist style of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. But he’s got a fire in his belly for gale-force songwriting and catchy melodies. His voice is ripe with emotion, from the teary waterfall of “Lady of the Night” to the ethereal bliss with closer “Sailing Song,” an almost post-apocalyptic fever dream. “I’ve seen mountains on the sea / I’ve seen fire in the sky / I’ve outrun southern gales / I’ve cheated death,” he sings, in whimsical swoons, as if gliding away on tides ripping out to sea.
Mudd lands somewhere amidst contemporaries like Joshua Hedley, Margo Price and Colter Wall. He’s never tied to convention, even when he leans so unapologetically into sturdy classic country structures. His voice, as much as his penmanship, stimulates the senses with the most universal human emotions spanning pain, loneliness and abject fear. Furthermore, his album rekindles the kind of raw storytelling for which the genre has long been desperate, and 2019 might be the year the industry finally pays attention.
