The good folks at Yep Roc Records recently filmed Josh Rouse at Nice Price Books in Raleigh, NC. There’s something very satisfying hearing an artist talk about what records they’ve just bought, even if it is just two. That being said, he does opt for two classics, well classics to me at least. The first is Nick Drake’s ‘Five Leaves Left’. OK, the purchase is made to complete his Nick Drake vinyl collection. But the second: Michael Hurley’s Have Moicy is, he confesses, a new discovery. He only came across Hurley when they shared a stage one time. It’s funny how an artist like Hurley is still obscure to many even though he saw his fan base widen around the time of the Freak Folk boom. He also toured with Vetiver and Espers brining his music to new fans who were no doubt pleased by the lengthy discography they had yet to delve into. Have Moicy was recorded with the Unholy Modal Rounders (led by Peter Stampfel and named after the Holy Modal Rounders split) – the lineup was seen as something of a supergroup and the album includes one of his most requested songs, ‘The Slurf Song’. Well at least Josh knows of him now…
for those of you new to Hurley, well here is the ‘Slurf Song’… “dishes over there, they fill me with despair!”
Michael Hurley
Josh’s latest album The Embers of Time was released on April 7th via Yep Roc Records and he is over in the UK in October appearing with Seth Lakeman for two dates:
24 Oct: The Picturedrome, Holmfirth, UK
26 OCt: ARC, Stockton-on-tees, UK