ARTISTS & COMPILATIONS
MASHED POTATO RECORDS VOLUME I

Artwork by Julia Narveson.
This is a collection of songs that depict a specific time and place. It’s a snapshot of some of the musical output of a small community of songwriters and musicians who could be heard on street corners, in small venues, at backyard campfires, and house parties in New Orleans in the spring of 2016. Though some of the acts involved had attained national recognition and a number of the players were part of acts that enjoyed wider success, most were known only within the city through word of mouth. Little documentation of their work existed. Inspired by the quality of musicianship and songwriting of these artists, fellow musicians Duff Thompson and Bill Howard set about to record the songs they felt ought to be shared and appreciated by a wider audience than whoever happened to luck upon these gems in person.
Over the course of two months they recorded over 150 songs in a variety of improvised locations in New Orleans. Many of the sessions were hosted at songwriter/musician Sam Doores’ house, where he played on a number of the recordings with various bands (Twain & the Deslondes, Jackson & the Janks, The Lostines,
Duff Thompson & the Full Grown Men, Pony Hunt). It was during this time that Sam had the idea to start the record label which became Mashed Potato Records.
A distinctive feature of the tracks on MPR Vol I is a strong influence from American roots music, the result of a community of musicians who converged in New Orleans sharing a love of traditional jazz, early country, blues, folk, and R&B. These influences permeate the recordings; Jonathan Henley’s Here to Stay is evocative of ‘70s-era Michael Hurley, Jackson & the Janks cover a hit gospel song from 1947 (The Trumpeteers' Milky White Way), The Lostine’s Playing the Fool is a jubilant ‘60s girl-group throw-back, and their song No Mama Blues (co-written by Riley Downing) has the mournful storytelling of a classic American folk ballad.
These recordings reflect the circumstances under which they were made; informal, without finances, and for the sake of making music as an end in and of itself. All the songs were recorded to a reel-to-reel borrowed from a friend (Max Bien-Kahn), and all but two of the songs featured were recorded entirely live with a simple two-mic set-up. Run Wild (Twain & the Deslondes) was initially recorded as the audio track for a video shot by Joshua Shoemaker. Did Life Make You Bitter? resulted from an impromptu live recording at a party, using Duff’s van as the live room and Bill’s van as the control room. A suggestion following a live show prompted an otherwise-unplanned recording session the next day, during which Duff Thompson & the Full Grown Men cut six live tracks in just over two hours. A friend traveling through sat down in Duff’s van to record five songs, leading to the compilation closer Rare Feeling. All five tracks have been released as Alternator, one half of a double EP from Twain. Indeed, most of the tracks included in this compilation are part of larger collections of songs captured in these sessions, and which I hope you will be inspired to seek out, listen to, and share as well.
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-Steph Green
TRACK LIST
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1. Run Wild - Twain & The Deslondes
2. Crab Walk! - Duff Thompson & the Full Grown Men
3. Rosemary - The Good Gollies
4. Look at the Moon - Jonathan Henley
5. Did Life Make You Bitter? - Steph Green
6. Milky White Way - Jackson & the Janks
7. Island - Max & the Martians
8. Playing the Fool - The Lostines
9. Dream of You - Pony Hunt
10. I Don't Miss the Old Times - Duff Thompson & the Full Grown Men
11. No Mama Blues - The Lostines
12. Rare Feeling - Twain
Mashed Potato Records Vol I - Credits
Run Wild - Twain & The Deslondes
Written by Merle Kilgore
Arranged by Twain & the Deslondes
Recorded & Mixed by Duff Thompson
Vocals, Guitar - Mat Davidson
Guitar, Backing Vocals - Riley Downing
Guitar, Backing Vocals - Sam Doores
Bass, Backing Vocals - Dan Cutler
Percussion, Backing Vocals - Cameron Snyder
Look at the Moon - Jonathan Henley
Written by Jonathan Henley
Arranged by the performers
Recorded & Mixed by Duff Thompson
Vocals, Guitar - Jonathan Henley
Vocals - Leonie Evans
Steel Guitar - Nikolai Shveitser
Violin - Coleman Akin
Bass - Robert Ayo
Drums - Duff Thompson
Island - Max & the Martians
Written, Arranged & Produced by Max Bien Kahn
Recorded by Duff Thompson & Max Bien Kahn
Mixed by Ross Farbe
Vocals, Guitar, Bass - Max Bien Kahn
Lead Guitar - Jordan Odom
Piano - Shaye Cohn
Drums - Duff Thompson
Backing Vocals - Camille Wind Weatherford
Backing Vocals - Emma Eisenhauer
I Don't Miss the Old Times - Duff Thompson & The Full Grown Men
Written, Arranged, & Produced by Duff Thompson
Recorded & Mixed by Duff Thompson
& Bill Howard
Vocals, Guitar - Duff Thompson
Electric Guitar - Bill Howard
Bass - Max Bien Kahn
Drums - Sam Doores
Piano - Mat Davidson
Violins - Minnie Heart, Craig Judelman, Chris Booth
Backing Vocals - Camille Wind Weatherford
Backing Vocals - Esther Rose
Crab Walk! - Duff Thompson & The Full Grown Men
Written, Arranged, & Produced By Duff Thompson
Recorded by Duff Thompson & Bill Howard
Vocals, Guitar - Duff Thompson
Electric Guitar - Bill Howard
Bass - Max Bien Kahn
Drums - Sam Doores
Violins - Minnie Heart, Mat Davidson, Craig Judelman, Chris Booth
Backing Vocals - Camille Wind Weatherford
Backing Vocals - Esther Rose
Rosemary - The Good Gollies
Written by Camille Wind Weatherford
Arranged by The Good Gollies
Recorded by Duff Thompson & Bill Howard
Mixed by Max Bien Kahn
Vocals - Camille Wind Weatherford
Vocals - Emma Eisenhauer
Vocals, Guitar - Jon Hatchet
Lap Steel - Matt Bell
Bass - Max Bien Kahn
Did Life Make You Bitter? - Steph Green
Written & Arranged by Steph Green
Recorded & Mixed by Bill Howard & Duff Thompson
Vocals, Guitar - Steph Green
Violin - Lyle Werner
Lap Steel - Chris Herbst
Milky White Way - Jackson & the Janks
Written by Lander Coleman
Arranged by Jackson & the Janks
Recorded & Mixed by Bill Howard
Vocals, Guitar - Jackson Lynch
Lap Steel - Matt Bell
Bass Sax - Craig Flory
Keys, Backing Vocals - Sam Doores
Drums, Backing Vocals - Duff Thompson
Playing the Fool - The Lostines
Written by Camille Wind Weatherford