Tim Easton - Paco & the Melodic Polaroids (2018)

Raised in Akron, OH, alt-country singer/songwriter Tim Easton was influenced by a combination of pop icons (the Beatles, Kiss) and bluegrass/folk legends (Doc Watson, John Prine). Kosher Spears, his college band from his days at Ohio State, performed their unique roots rock hybrid across the Midwest, and Easton eventually found himself busking in the streets of Paris, London, and Dublin. Returning to the States, his folk-based songwriting brought an earthy sound to the Haynes Boys (an existing rock band that recruited Easton in the mid-'90s) and they recorded one album, Guardian Angel, for New York-based Slab Records. The band subsequently split, with its members working in Gaunt and Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, and Easton pursuing his solo career. In 1998, Easton recorded his first solo album, Special 20, with session musicians in Nashville, and released it on his own Heathen Records. After inking a deal with EMI Publishing in the fall of 1999, he relocated to Los Angeles to explore scoring films and pursue a record deal. His performances at songwriter hubs like Largo and McCabe's brought about a recording contract with New West Records, and his first release for the label was 2001's The Truth About Us. 2003 brought his solid follow-up for the label, Break Your Mother's Heart. It was followed by Ammunition in 2006. A concert set, Live at Water Canyon, appeared in 2008, followed by Porcupine in 2009 and a pair of self-released albums, Beat the Band and Since 1966, Volume 1, both in 2011. ~ Zac Johnson