• 5 years ago
GOLD BENEATH THE HIGHWAY performs the song "OH AUCTIONEER" for BalconyTV.
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PRESENTED BY MIKE DESTRUCTIVE

Hailing from every corner of the American countryside, Gold Beneath The Highway is an acoustic trio consisting of Emily Davies, John Renshaw and Iain Weigert. Their music is a fusion of blues and country, folk and Americana, old and new.

Born in New Orleans, John Renshaw grew up the son of an Airforce man and spent his childhood travelling around the states. He moved from Louisiana, to Oklahoma City, from Virginia, to Dayton Ohio, before settling down in near Macon, Georgia where he found the blues in a black Stratocaster.

Meanwhile in Maryland, Emily was finding her own unique path. Listening primarily to the sounds of her mother's albums and a crackly radio, young Emily was convinced all singers were either Randy Travis or Linda Ronstadt. Later on, she discovered The Wallflowers and Queen, before also delving into country music and folk.

Far across the country, on an island in the Puget Sound, Iain spent his youth in a log cabin, tucked far back in the forest. Iain grew up a fourth generation woodworker and musician. As a child, in the evenings he would watch his father strum an acoustic guitar. Late at night, Iain would try to imitate him on a small archtop guitar built by his great grandfather.

Back in Georgia, John was picking the guitar to his Allman Brothers Band and Chuck Berry records between lessons. Needing to find his own voice, John began to sing along with his new musical hero, Bob Dylan which began his deep love for American folk music.

Still in Maryland, Emily was finding her own voice. Having no formal training aside from practicing harmonies with the radio on road trips, Emily began to think about a future in music. In high school, she was drawn to theatre. She immediately found a home on the stage. She began vocal lessons shortly after with Richard Hartzell, who urged her to try out for opera. Emily jumped at this new opportunity, and performed in two Mozart works, but her passions were elsewhere. On the side, she sang traditional songs in a folk band with her friends. Though there was less grandeur here than at the opera, she felt that the second path would lead to something greater for her.

Meanwhile, Iain was finding an audience on the west coast. At a festival in Port Townsend, he met John Cephas, and Corey Harris. A few lessons with these two opened new horizons, and it was around that time that Iain would move to New Orleans to follow the music. Shortly after relocating, Iain would be asked to relocate again, this time to play bluegrass with The Rayado Ruffians in the desolate New Mexico countryside. Eventually Iain returned to New Orleans, and found work playing in a touring pop group. Over the next few years, he played with a number of different acts in a variety of genres and eventually found himself as a solo artist, hosting the world famous Neutral Ground Coffeehouse open mic.

The next step for John was to get back to Louisiana. Equipped with his acoustic guitar and a harmonica rack, he made his way to Baton Rouge and took every gig he could get. He also began writing music and finding his own sound. It was time for the move down the river, back to his hometown of New Orleans, stopping first at little known coffeehouse tucked back on a side street of his home town.

Itching to see the world, Emily traveled to Ghana. During her stay, she sang with a Ghanaian pop band and a West African choir. Her traveling continued and she eventually found her way to New Orleans, where she met John and Iain at that same small coffeehouse.

A solo artist his first year in New Orleans, John was asked to record a single for Never Records. Taking a chance at the last minute, John asked Iain and Emily to back him up on the recording of a brand new song, Gold Beneath the Highway. With a quick rehearsal beforehand, the trio made their way to the studio and recorded the track in one take. It quickly made its way into the hands of a local DJ, and when the three heard themselves on the radio, they knew they had something. The offers for shows started pouring in faster than the trio could name themselves. Eventually they settled on that first song they recorded.
Gold Beneath the highway is John's half finger picked, half strummed guitar, Emily's earth shattering voice and Iain's guitar virtuosity on his great grandfather's archtop. It's the dew on the window of a cabin in the woods, it's Macon Georgia in the hot summer sun, and it's the gentle breeze through the Chesapeake. Gold Beneath the Highway is dark and powerful Americana, folk and blues.

http://goldbeneathhwy.com/

CREDITS / SPONSORS
Sound-Brondae Branch of MetroDog Media
Video-Travis Henry of Seidist
Host- Mike Destructive

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