Album Stream – “Copper & Coal”
Some musical performers entertain, while others stun. With instincts for blending harmony normally only reserved for siblings, the stunning female vocal duo of Copper & Coal from Portland, Oregon breathe new life into an old-style of honky tonk music with their sultry original compositions of lost and found love, and wild adventures of the heart. Their name derived from the raven and red hair that crown these nearly six-foot beauties and the eternal rural themes of culling the earth of its resources that have lend so many stories and so much inspiration to the country music canon over the years, Copper & Coal’s Leslie Beia and Carra Stasney are something to behold, commanding attention with their Siren-like countenance, crafty lyrics, and seamless delivery.
Matched with these girls to lend both his wisdom and talent to their first, self-titled release is the incomparable Caleb Klauder cast as producer, assembling an impressive group of side players and offering his impressive breadth of knowledge about the modes of American roots music to the process. It all combines to make an album that is engaging, classic, and refreshing all at the same time, and something that once again reinforces that it is women at the forefront of saving country music.
Copper & Coal have graciously offered us all a free listen of their new album, but if you find it is something that speaks to you, you are encouraged to support this music by purchasing it for your very own.
November 10, 2013 @ 3:26 pm
Nice album.
It’s interesting that so many underground country artists are from the Pacific Northwest. When I was growing up in the Seattle area, I never observed any widespread interest in country music. I know that country is popular in the rural areas, though.
November 10, 2013 @ 6:08 pm
Well, I think Seattle — at least during the early grunge days — was a bastion of “authentic” music. If you include the hippie stylings of Portland, it makes sense that the region might find itself open to Ameripolitan.
(hehe, just trying the term on for size)
November 10, 2013 @ 8:05 pm
The urban Pacific Northwest has always been famous for its innovations in rock. However, nothing about Seattle or Portland resembles a country lifestyle in any manner.
November 10, 2013 @ 9:51 pm
” However, nothing about Seattle or Portland resembles a country lifestyle in any manner.”
I would severely disagree with that. With the sense of community many of P-town and Seattle’s neighborhood’s have, the buy local and grow local revolution, the amount of urban farming that happens in those communities I think lends them to unique insight into the agrarian culture and other aspects of traditionally rural life. Also, just because you live in Portland or Seattle, doesn’t mean you are not from the country originally, or live on the outskirts that could be considered country. I don;t care where someone is from. I care about if their music is good or not. Where you’re from can lend you some cred, but in the end it’s all about the music.
Also, I wouldn’t consider Copper & Coal an “underground” country just because they are not on a major label. I would consider them an independent band, or maybe just a Portland duo. “Underground” has certain connotations I would not apply to them, and they do not apply to themselves.
November 10, 2013 @ 10:52 pm
Can’t speak for Portland but as someone who has lived my entire 40 plus years in the Seattle area I would agree and disagree with you. Can’t say I’ve ever seen much of an appreciation for the agrarian lifestyle in Seattle if anything I’ve seen more of an elitist looking down at such a lifestyle. That being said Seattle has always been a pretty strong market for mainstream country radio and concerts and has produced a few talented artists such as Brandi Carlisle who is from the suburbs (Maple Valley I think). And there has always been a fairly solid fanbase for independent country in general.
November 10, 2013 @ 11:01 pm
Scotty J:
Nice to see someone else from the Seattle area. I totally agree with you about the state of country music there. There is no significant agrarian movement in Seattle or its suburbs that I know of, but there are 2 country stations on the radio (94.1 and 100.7).
Just curious: do you live in the city, the Eastside suburbs, the northern suburbs/Everett area, or in the southern suburbs/Tacoma area?
November 10, 2013 @ 11:36 pm
South end.
November 11, 2013 @ 10:07 pm
I would be interested to hear where the duo is from, out of curiosity. I would be surprised if they are originally from Portland.
Someone mentioned Seattle, “country” isn’t big there but there are sprinkles. My dad used to make a killing by driving hay from Eastern Oregon up to the suburbs of Seattle (Kent area I think) and selling to people who kept horses. And if you ever get a wild hair up your butt, visit Eastern Washington sometime…. Yakima would be a real culture shock for someone who thinks Seattle represents Washington 🙂
November 11, 2013 @ 11:29 pm
Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon are a world apart from Western Washington and Western Oregon, in terms of culture, climate, landscape, etc. The Cascades serve as a very sharp dividing line.
I consider Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon to be part of the Interior West, not the Pacific Northwest. They are more similar to Idaho than to the western parts of their own states.
November 11, 2013 @ 9:59 pm
As the name implies, I’m from Alaska but my family lives throughout the Northwest. Country is not usually associated with the region, but bluegrass has been big in the northwest for years. I do not know where these ladies are from, but it’s very possible that they are from outside of Portland but like many people ended up there for jobs or whatever. The majority of Oregon, landwise, is very different in demographics from Portland. Anything east of the cascades is like a different culture, and southern oregon has more in common with northern california. My grandpa drove cattle as a young man in Eastern Oregon, then later in his life rehabilitated retired race horses. Rodeos are big in Eastern Oregon.
Here’s an interesting link that I saw today, that corroborates what I’m trying to say. To paraphrase another blog I visit; there are two types of music, country and western.
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/11/244527860/forget-the-50-states-u-s-is-really-11-nations-says-author
November 12, 2013 @ 2:28 am
This book has actually been out for about a year, but it is getting significant publicity now. My biggest problem with the book is about the Greater Appalachia region. In my opinion, it should be broken up, with Southwestern Pennsylvania, Central Ohio, Central Indiana, and Central Illinois joining the Midlands, West Texas earning a separate category (perhaps the “Western South”), and rest being relabeled the “Upland South”.
Also, I am uncomfortable about lumping in the Upper Midwest with New England, considering the massive German and Scandinavian immigration that the Upper Midwest received early on (in the mid 19th century).
On a more local note, I don’t see why Jackson County, Oregon (the Medford-Ashland area) and Siskiyou County, California should be placed in different regions. Having traveled extensively through the place, I have never observed a significant cultural difference between the two. Ashland might be a slight outlier, though.
November 10, 2013 @ 8:32 pm
Good stuff (and I’m not just saying that because these gals are from the same city where I was born)! 😀 Fresh, fun, and unabashedly traditional with lovely harmonies.
November 10, 2013 @ 8:37 pm
Wherever they’re from, they play some damn good music. Remember that Loretta Lynn got her start in the honky tonks of Washington State.
November 10, 2013 @ 9:53 pm
Willie Nelson also lived in Vancouver, Washington, just over the border from Portland and was a DJ. It is arguably where he got his start in the music business.
Also see Loretta’s song “Portland” off of Van Lear Rose.
November 10, 2013 @ 10:18 pm
You seem to know quite a lot about Seattle and Portland. Have you lived there in the past?
November 10, 2013 @ 11:02 pm
And Buck Owens worked as a DJ in Tacoma and that was where he met the great Don Rich of the Buckaroos who was from Tumwater just south of Olympia.
November 10, 2013 @ 11:12 pm
And Brandy Clark is from Morton, in Lewis County.
I had no idea about the rich country music history in the Pacific Northwest. I knew about the story of Loretta Lynn living in Washington, but I had assumed it was rural Washington rather than in the Portland suburbs. This has been a fascinating lesson!
November 10, 2013 @ 11:34 pm
If I remember correctly Loretta and her husband moved from Butcher Hollow to Custer, Wa. of all places. It’s up near the Canadian border and he worked in a logging camp. It’s kind of odd how many of the greats sort of passed through this area not sure there is any common thread just coincidence I think.
November 10, 2013 @ 10:21 pm
Great country sound these gals! I kinda figured it though when you said Caleb Klauder was producer. Thanks for the share.
November 10, 2013 @ 10:30 pm
They are very good singers. I really like their music as well.
November 11, 2013 @ 10:21 am
Just checked out their website. Says they’re originally from Michigan! Well that makes sense..Whitey Morgan, Rachel Brooke, etc…. Anyway, very cool! thanks Trig for bring this music to my ears! Love the 50’s country sound.
November 12, 2013 @ 2:21 pm
There has been an undercurrent (allowing for a certain amount of ebb and flow) in Portland and Seattle at least since the early 70s of honest country music. Both towns have continued to have a Bluegrass presence. Others, inspired by the likes of the Byrds, the Burritos, and Willie Nelson and turning backwards toward the classics have followed a more electric path. Some like Lance Romance, Wheatfield, and Trigger’s Revenge became very popular bar bands, able to fill the largest clubs in both towns. It’s there even today if you look for it.
November 12, 2013 @ 4:16 pm
“Trigger”™s Revenge”
LOL! I guess this must be one of the inspirations for the nickname “Trigger”.
November 12, 2013 @ 5:23 pm
I guess country music s where you want to find it. No need to be from the south to be playing great music. No need to be a farmer either. Just look for it and you ll find good bands anywhere. Just my 2 cents.
November 15, 2013 @ 10:31 am
sound cloud stream doesn’t seem to be working
tried yesterday and again now.
November 15, 2013 @ 11:04 am
It is still working for me. Have you updated your flash software recently?
Anyone else experiencing this problem?
November 15, 2013 @ 12:32 pm
I can stream almost anything including sound cloud files, and I have the latest flash.
I’ll try again thanks for answering.
November 15, 2013 @ 12:36 pm
I tried again, file indicates it’s playing but no sound,
then I went directly to their sound cloud page, and had no trouble playing it there.
November 16, 2013 @ 1:05 pm
Hi All! This is the ‘Copper’ of Copper & Coal. I wanted to say thanks to all of you for listening and giving us your support, it means a lot to us. I also wanted to throw in my 2 cents about the geography issue, because it’s pretty much a joke to me, that I tell people all the time: I’ve been living in rural areas and small towns for the last 17 years, starting in Ashland (living in a tiny cabin with no running water on Mt. Ashland), then all over the west, including BC. I finally decided that I really wanted to play music a few years ago, and so hauled myself out of another tiny cabin in the Gorge with no running water (or electricity) and moved to Portland, where I found a small but thriving scene around vintage music. I had to move to the city to play country music! But being a younger person all those years, what I found in northern Idaho, BC islands, etc. was a lot of techno and reggae and jam bands…I guess that’s the crowd I was around. If I would have sought out the elders, I probably would have discovered classic country much sooner. Anyway, Portland is making it fun and easy, and again, thanks for the support! Cheers~
November 17, 2013 @ 5:54 am
This duo is amazing. Real honky – tonk sound!
November 22, 2013 @ 12:17 pm
Can’t believe nobody’s mentioned the marvelous Zoe Muth, She’s living in Austin right now, but started out in Seattle.