The magnetic and electric sound of Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons is about to hit you full-force with new album Hey Kid, which is due out in January via Vital Music. To celebrate the upcoming release, we recently asked Perley to make a mix tape for us.
Holly Golightly “You Ain’t No Big Thing”
The first time I heard Holly’s voice I fell in love. This song is off Holly’s record Laugh It Up, and I didn’t get turned onto Holly until high school when I heard her sing with Jack White on White Stripes song “Well It’s True That We Love One Another.” As soon as I heard her voice I was drawn to her style of songwriting and singing—very rootsy and sassy with a garage rock and R&B vibe that is timeless to me. I remember blasting this song and record in my car pretty much every day and still listen to it a lot. She just moved to the U.S. a few years ago, which made me really happy because I have been able to catch several of her live shows. We opened up for her in 2010 when she came through Columbus, and it was literally a dream come true. I was so giddy and nervous to meet her. Video
Michael Hurley “Blue Driver”
I love Michael Hurley’s colorful folk songs and the artwork that he makes for all his records, which he sells at shows along with his boots and other personal items to get him town to town. This fella is the real deal: a poet, a rambler and a true and honest artist who I think will be looked back and studied years from now. Heck, his first collection of songs was released on Smithsonian Folkways in 1964, and he has been traveling and playing music since he was 17 and has always been on the outer circle of folk music. Something gets captured in his music and even if it is a quirky or funny song there is always this bittersweet and sad quality to it that I really connect with—beautiful music. Not to mention I think we share similar love for trains, the moon and wolves … Video
Wanda Jackson “Hard Headed Woman”
Wanda kicks some serious butt. And she is still rocking and a-rolling! I love the new records she has done with Jack White and Justin Townes Earle just as much as her old country and rockabilly classics back in the day, but I think this was the first song and live video of Wanda that reeled me in as a lifelong fan. She commands and charms her crowd and just radiates talent onstage and in her recordings. Video
The Heartless Bastards “Only For You”
This song is the Howlin’ Moons’ driving anthem song. We play it driving to shows and/or driving back from shows. Cruising on the highway late at night is probably our favorite time to listen to it when the roads are fairly clear and even better when there are crickets and some deer eyes flashing and visible along the side of the road. No matter the distance, this song will come on and we will all cheer and sing along at the top of our lungs. Video
Patsy Cline “She’s Got You”
One of my favorite Patsy Cline songs, and I always cry when I hear it. Can a voice get any more classic than Patsy Cline? Patsy’s music and singing made a huge impact on me because she was what you may call my “gateway drug” to country music. When I heard Patsy Cline, I started learning more about country music and other artists and then started getting into bluegrass, old-time country and folk recordings and progressing to Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, etc. I really feel like I owe a lot of my roots-influenced beginnings to Patsy for pulling me in. Video
Chuck Berry “Maybellene”
Pretty sure that Chuck Berry’s music was the first rock ‘n’ roll music I listened to when I was little and it always made me go crazy and dance super fast and break small objects (on accident, of course!). I was always that kid on the school bus asking the driver to keep it on the solid gold oldies station and listening to Chuck Berry makes me very happy. Also perfect driving music … Video
The Runaways “Cherry Bomb”
I have always had a soft spot for girl rock groups and the Runaways’ ’70s era is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Is it wrong that I had this song on cassette tape and would roller skate to it in my garage when I was in elementary school? Epic and catchy; I have to admit that our new single “Hurricane” was super inspired by this band and Joan Jett in general. Video
The Rolling Stones “Far Away Eyes”
Have always loved this song and really anything the Rolling Stones have written and performed, but this song just captures everything I love about the Rolling Stones. Ironic, full of swagger and personality and rooted in country and blues. This song always paints a vivid picture for me and has a lot of emotion and story packed in it even though the lyrics are pretty simple and short. I always imagine a beautiful but worn down woman with heavy mascara in the rain smoking a cigarette and wearing some kind of large fur coat and boots. As a band making this new record, we based a lot of our tone and recording inspiration off the Rolling Stone’s 1972 record Exile On Main Street, and questions like “What would the Rolling Stones do?” always seem to pop-up in everyday band conversations. Video
Kitty, Daisy And Lewis “Going Up The Country”
Love this band. Found out about them first through a documentary on BBC3 and have been listening to their tunes ever since. Love that they pull from so many older influences to make some fresh new rockabilly and country/blues tunes. What is also neat about them is that they are a complete family band and their mom learned to play bass to go on the road with them and they do everything to tape in a studio they put together in their house. It takes a lot to even get a hold of the right old recording tools and to keep that stuff working—so I say cheers to them and can’t wait till they release their next record. Video
Nikki Lane “Gone Gone Gone”
I first heard of Nikki when she was performing on the Mountain Stage radio program on NPR and was so enchanted by her voice and tunes that I immediately looked for her music and ended up finding a physical copy of her record by chance when our band was in Nashville at a local record store. The band listens to a lot of Nikki’s songs when we are on the road, and whenever we get the chance to DJ before shows her tunes are always plugged into the pre-concert house mix. I have a feeling that many people will be hearing and seeing more of her this year because her next record is going to produced by Dan Auerbach, she just got signed to New West, and she is also the musician fashion face of Frye Boots right now on their website and in a ton of top notch fashion mags. Nikki Lane is one cool babe. Video
