Check Cashin' Country - Midland
Photo credit: Harper Smith
Our next LCM featured trio Texas based 'Midland', are one of our current favourite US Country bands. After the release of an excellent self titled EP released last autumn, they will be releasing in September, their highly anticipated debut album 'On The Rocks'. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is an live acoustic version of 'Check Cashin' Country' which is dedicated to all our friends who are touring independent artists. I'm sure you would agree with some of the sentiments in the song.
Originally formed in Dripping Springs, Texas, Lead vocalist Mark Wystrach fronts Midland’s rich sound, rounded out by lead guitarist Jess Carson and bass player Cameron Duddy. Rooted in tradition both in sound and style, the band initially garnered attention playing clubs in the Texas region. Their self-titled debut EP features five tracks, boasting songwriting credits from each member. Midland intentionally nods to the wild west with Country music that is reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s with a modern day twist. They’ve opened for idols Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson and are currently in the studio with Shane McAnally (Sam Hunt, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves) working on their full length release 'On the Rocks' for Big Machine Records.
The band who takes their name from the Dwight Yoakam song “Fair To Midland”, actually came together in a different state. Duddy was about to tie the knot in Jackson Hole, WY, and Wystrach and Carson rolled into town a week early. The guys began playing around musically on the front porch of Carson’s cabin, and things stuck.
"All of us playing together happened only because Mark and I both showed up in Jackson Hole a week before the wedding with time to kill," says Jess, originally from the Pacific Northwest. Wystrach said that something was definitely in the air that just seemed to feel right. "By the end, we knew the three of us had amazing chemistry," says Mark. After Duddy returned from his honeymoon, they paid a visit to the Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX, to see if what they did live translated to the studio.
"When we went to the Sonic Ranch, we became a band. We walked away believing in what had happened," says Wystrach. "All of our souls, our imaginations, were wrapped up in these 15 songs. We went all-in."