Biography
Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons is an Americana, folk-rock band that started in Appleton, Wisconsin.Like many artists before him, Cory Chisel first connected with the
power of song – and the spellbinding possibilities of live performance
– through the music he heard in church. The gospel’s rich vernacular of
loss and redemption also informed his innate poetic sense and lyrical
range. “For most of my life,” he says, “my dad was a Baptist minister,
so I learned a lot about being a showman, and I learned a lot about
music. Many of the hymns from church still are the most beautiful songs
I know. I'm thankful for growing up where stories and the pursuit of
happiness were on everybody's mind. I think I’m still trying to achieve
the same euphoria I felt at a very young age, when I would be
completely taken over by these rhythms and these sounds and these
stories.”
An equally potent influence on Chisel’s worldview and wellspring of
musical storytelling is the American heartland from which he hails.
Based in Appleton, WI, where he’s lived for almost twenty years. His
family’s roots, on both sides, reach about 500 miles north and west to
Babbitt, Minnesota – not far from Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing – and
neighboring Ely, beside the pristine Boundary Waters, the largest
wilderness preserve east of the Rockies. The vast, open spaces and
clear, deep lakes of the wild north are ingrained in Chisel’s songs,
which sound as if they come to him as naturally as breathing.
In an upbringing where he was largely sheltered from pop music,
Chisel’s soul deep fluency with music comes in great measure from
always having played it with his family, for as long as he can
remember. One of his grandfathers had nine brothers and, he notes,
“they’re all great guitar players, and half of them play harmonica
too.” He also cites his Uncle Roger, a blues musician – whose epic
record collection exposed him to Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson,
Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Robert Johnson, Johnny Cash,
Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and countless others – as a chief source of
inspiration. “He was a musical force,” says Cory. “I always felt like I
possessed something similar, that I understood the exorcism I saw him
receiving through music.”
"Death Won't Send A Letter", Chisel’s full-length debut for RCA
Records is plainspoken, intimate and soulful, Chisel’s songs have an
unadorned, lived-in beauty, free from clutter and pretense. The songs
seek to make sense of the world outside and human desires within –
reconciling the call of the road and a longing for home, literally and
figuratively. With Grammy-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins,
The White Stripes) at the helm Cory’s songs have transformed into lush
and nuanced recordings that never sacrifice Chisel’s emotional
vulnerability or his rich and unique vocal tone.
"Death Won't Send A Letter" began at Los Angeles studio Sunset Sound
with Chisel's longtime backing vocalist and keyboard player Adriel
Harris, guitarist Blake Mills (Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses), "Little
Jack" Lawrence (The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, The Greenhorns) and a
who’s who of studio greats including Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, Bob
Dylan) on drums, Patrick Warren (Allison Krauss) on keyboards, with
additional bass work by Justin Mendel-Johnson (Beck). For the remaining
half of the record Cory, Adriel and Little Jack headed to Nashville’s
Blackbird Studios where they were joined by Jack’s longtime rhythm
collaborator Patrick Keeler (The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes) on drums
and Carl Broemel from My Morning Jacket on guitar. After a chance
meeting with third Raconteur Brendan Benson- Cory, Benson and Adriel
co-wrote the first single "Born Again" and decided to go back in the
studio one last time. This time Cory and Brendan co-produced four more
of Chisel's tunes and completed the album.
"Death Won't Send A letter" is released on Black Seal/ RCA/Sony
Music and follows up Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons’ 2008 live EP
Cabin Ghosts, which Chisel co-produced with Tony Berg.
Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons’ "Death Won't Send A Letter" will
be released on iTunes September 8th, 2009, and everywhere else on
September 29th, 2009.
The live band consists of Cory Chisel,
Adriel Harris, Miles Nielsen, Noah Harris, Matthew Reetz and many
others. Past members include Rick Setser, Charles Koltak & Paul
Mannone.-Wikipedia
power of song – and the spellbinding possibilities of live performance
– through the music he heard in church. The gospel’s rich vernacular of
loss and redemption also informed his innate poetic sense and lyrical
range. “For most of my life,” he says, “my dad was a Baptist minister,
so I learned a lot about being a showman, and I learned a lot about
music. Many of the hymns from church still are the most beautiful songs
I know. I'm thankful for growing up where stories and the pursuit of
happiness were on everybody's mind. I think I’m still trying to achieve
the same euphoria I felt at a very young age, when I would be
completely taken over by these rhythms and these sounds and these
stories.”
An equally potent influence on Chisel’s worldview and wellspring of
musical storytelling is the American heartland from which he hails.
Based in Appleton, WI, where he’s lived for almost twenty years. His
family’s roots, on both sides, reach about 500 miles north and west to
Babbitt, Minnesota – not far from Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing – and
neighboring Ely, beside the pristine Boundary Waters, the largest
wilderness preserve east of the Rockies. The vast, open spaces and
clear, deep lakes of the wild north are ingrained in Chisel’s songs,
which sound as if they come to him as naturally as breathing.
In an upbringing where he was largely sheltered from pop music,
Chisel’s soul deep fluency with music comes in great measure from
always having played it with his family, for as long as he can
remember. One of his grandfathers had nine brothers and, he notes,
“they’re all great guitar players, and half of them play harmonica
too.” He also cites his Uncle Roger, a blues musician – whose epic
record collection exposed him to Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson,
Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Robert Johnson, Johnny Cash,
Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and countless others – as a chief source of
inspiration. “He was a musical force,” says Cory. “I always felt like I
possessed something similar, that I understood the exorcism I saw him
receiving through music.”
"Death Won't Send A Letter", Chisel’s full-length debut for RCA
Records is plainspoken, intimate and soulful, Chisel’s songs have an
unadorned, lived-in beauty, free from clutter and pretense. The songs
seek to make sense of the world outside and human desires within –
reconciling the call of the road and a longing for home, literally and
figuratively. With Grammy-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins,
The White Stripes) at the helm Cory’s songs have transformed into lush
and nuanced recordings that never sacrifice Chisel’s emotional
vulnerability or his rich and unique vocal tone.
"Death Won't Send A Letter" began at Los Angeles studio Sunset Sound
with Chisel's longtime backing vocalist and keyboard player Adriel
Harris, guitarist Blake Mills (Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses), "Little
Jack" Lawrence (The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, The Greenhorns) and a
who’s who of studio greats including Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, Bob
Dylan) on drums, Patrick Warren (Allison Krauss) on keyboards, with
additional bass work by Justin Mendel-Johnson (Beck). For the remaining
half of the record Cory, Adriel and Little Jack headed to Nashville’s
Blackbird Studios where they were joined by Jack’s longtime rhythm
collaborator Patrick Keeler (The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes) on drums
and Carl Broemel from My Morning Jacket on guitar. After a chance
meeting with third Raconteur Brendan Benson- Cory, Benson and Adriel
co-wrote the first single "Born Again" and decided to go back in the
studio one last time. This time Cory and Brendan co-produced four more
of Chisel's tunes and completed the album.
"Death Won't Send A letter" is released on Black Seal/ RCA/Sony
Music and follows up Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons’ 2008 live EP
Cabin Ghosts, which Chisel co-produced with Tony Berg.
Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons’ "Death Won't Send A Letter" will
be released on iTunes September 8th, 2009, and everywhere else on
September 29th, 2009.
The live band consists of Cory Chisel,
Adriel Harris, Miles Nielsen, Noah Harris, Matthew Reetz and many
others. Past members include Rick Setser, Charles Koltak & Paul
Mannone.-Wikipedia
