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Cosmic Americana in exile
Charlie Austen
vocals, cajon,
percussion
Lyle Zimmerman
cittern, mandolin, bouzouki, bass, guitar, other stringed things, keyboards
Rob Anderson
songs, vocals,
acoustic guitar
and dobro
Gaby Szabo
vocals, mandolin,
bouzouki
Rob had been making music for 40+ years in the US, France and the UK before writ- ing his first song, a response to being the subject of 'The Very Last Cowboy in Paris' written by his old bandmate, cult 1970's Eugene, Oregon songslinger Wayne Drury.
For the tale of Wayne Drury and the
original Oregon JackDaw click here
Two albums of lucid high desert
story-songs then poured out of Rob in short order, initially taking their shape at a North London songwriters’ table
session hosted by Gaby and Lyle, with
the first record, 2019’s ‘No Cactus’,
getting airplay on US folk and
country radio.
The 2023 release, ‘Ghost InThe Big
House’, began as a pandemic
lockdown project. Rob worked out
songs, then emailed vocal and
acoustic guitar tracks to Lyle, who
sandpapered, landscaped, waxed and weeded a band-and-a-half's-worth
of dusty twang and jangle from his home studio's instrument menagerie.
After herding drums from Jay Shaw and
Dan Purtell and plush harmonies from Gaby, Charlie and Lizzy O'Connor, they ended
up with an album that RnR magazine described as "Neil Young reworking the Rolling Stones' 'Wild Horses'".
Their intimate live performances strip the songs down and bring forward the dusty roots and harmonies.
