91.3 WYEP Presents – The Jayhawks

For more than forty years, The Jayhawks have created music that embodies the enduring spirit and soul of classic American songwriting.

The Jayhawks emerged from Minneapolis in the post-punk era of The Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum. They pioneered today’s Americana movement through a series of classic albums that introduced rock audiences to their unique musical stew of country, folk, soul, Britpop and rock ‘n’ roll. The band has played most every major music festival, from Farm Aid to Primavera Sound, Pinkpop to Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky. In the tradition of The Band and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Jayhawks have toured with and served as backup band for many of music’s most acclaimed visionaries, including Ray Davies, Roger McGuinn, and Johnny Cash.

Today, Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O’Reagan continue to record and tour worldwide. Over 12 studio albums and three live albums, The Jayhawks are still building a legacy of music that stands the test of time.

 

At its best, harmony duo singing can transform simple math into a magic trick. One plus one, instead of equaling two, suddenly yields an unexpected third thing. An upper-case ONE. A universal hum. A deep vibration that encompasses two different points of view. On their latest release, Every Time I Think About You, brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum, aka The Cactus Blossoms, once again prove themselves to be among the most adept – and distinctive – modern practitioners of that magic. But like any great magician, The Cactus Blossoms can’t – or won’t – fully explain the illusion they create.

“Harmonies are a big part of our sound, but in some ways they’re the part we focus on the least,” says Burkum. “We put most of our attention and energy into the songs themselves and then the harmonies just happen.”

There’s all kinds of magic happening on Every Time I Think About You, a record that sounds more like a band than any other in the Cactus Blossoms discography, thanks to contributions from Jeremy Hanson (drums), Jacob Hanson (guitar) and Phillip Hicks (bass). “There She Goes” casts its romantic regret against a danceable bop beat, and the title track is a heart-wrencher about loss and letting go.

“Even if you don’t set out to write songs with a theme in mind it seems like one usually presents itself,” says Torrey. “This record keeps returning to the idea of ‘moving on’ — from one place to another, from people and situations that bring you down, from loss and grief.”