East Bank Artist of the Month - 12/07

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"Last Dance On The Wild Frontier was a critically acclaimed attention getter. If anyone had questions about Logan's songwriting abilities, they were quickly laid to rest. Clearly, his best work did not lie behind him. I used to run a website called Gypsy Planet. When I reviewed the newly released Last Dance on that site, I believe I said something to the effect of..."Andy Logan reaffirms hope for the future of the Nashville music scene". I still stand by that statement.

A full fifteen solid tracks filled that disc, demanding one's respect from start to finish. Ranging from gritty blues to quintessential folk rock, Logan showed us what a little musical maturity can do for a fella. Andy is a meticulous craftsman, which becomes most evident on his ballads. The man can tell a story and he can wrench your emotions from wherever they're hiding. Having said that, he also hits his stride on the more raw edged and bluesy numbers where, instrumentally, he seems most at home.

Some of the stand out tracks from his first solo release are "Puttin' It On", "Shadow On My Trail" and "Money 1, Soul 0". Of them all, though, "I See Change" may just be the greatest song Logan has yet to pen. Quite frankly, it ranks in my all time Top Ten Ballads list. Most of the Music Row assembly line writers only wish they could craft such a song. It's simple, it's straight forward and it's sadly beautiful. When done right, there's little else to want from a song and when Andy does it, he does it right.

Flash forward to 2006. Four years have passed and I unexpectedly hear that Logan is releasing another solo album. This time, I was cautiously optimistic. After talking him up the first go around, I knew I might have to temper my opinions (or eat crow) if he proved to have run out of steam. Lord knows many a talented artist has proven to have nothing more to say than what they could squeeze into one album. I wasted no time in getting my hands on Ride. My curiosity had to be satisfied…. He managed to up his game with Ride. There's just a tad more grit on this album, which is how I like it. In fact, he kicks things off on the gritty side with "Ominous". Wasting no time in grabbing the listener by the shirt collar, Logan enlists the help of the iconic Ed King on this dark, rocking number. Ed lends his chops again on another track, "Help, Mr. Wizard", though it's a decidedly perkier tune.

Logan rarely lets one down when he tackles the blues. Two such songs, "Low" and "Move A Little Faster" are standout tracks. The syncopated rhythms of "Mississippi" also carry a blues vibe that usually leads to hitting the repeat button on the CD player. Of course, Logan doesn't leave us without another top notch ballad. "Ghosts" is a masterful bit of melancholy that, once again, displays Andy's talent as a wordsmith.

It's going on two years since Andy Logan has given us a new album. Whether there will be more or not, I don't know. I do know that he doesn't believe in churning out songs by the dozen for its own sake. He'd rather take his time, knowing that every song is a worthwhile effort in and of itself. So far, this approach has paid off. Randomly choose any song on Logan's albums and you get quality, not some B-grade "album track".

For those that might want an extra treat, I did recently discover a newer blues song by Logan that does not appear on any of his albums. I found it tucked away on Garageband.com, where you can download it for free. I'm not sure if that means there's a new project in the works, or if he's merely doling out gems individually for the time being. Either way, I'll take it. It's just this sort of understated, honest approach to delivering good, enduring music that makes Andy Logan the first of The East Bank's choices for Artist of the Month." - East Bank

No gigs for now. Possible Little America reunion show in '08. Don't hold your breath.

The Tennessean ran a brief article on "Man Caves", specific rooms in homes that guys do up for themselves, and they picked my studio, "The Lodge", to run as an example. Some of these guys live in 9000 square foot homes and have beer kegs and 2 million inch Big Screen Tvs. Mine's just a 12' X12' room with music gear, guitars, old baseball cards, pinup girls, lead soldiers, baseball bats, and weights. I got to be the "everyman" in the article. Here's a pic straight from the paper.

We have since put in hardwood floors and remodeled the Lodge, but it still retains its all important masculinity.