Grackles – “San Antone”
Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of Grackles’ new song “San Antone” featuring Charlie Musselwhite and Lauren Harris, from their forthcoming album due to be released on February 24, 2024. The album was produced by Noah Lit, Kyle Crysham (Paul Simon, Edie Brickell) and Lars Goransson (Ana Egge); recorded by Kyle Crusham and Lars Goransson; mixed by Sheldon Gomberg; and mastered by Eric Boulanger at The Bakery.
“San Antone” is Noah Lit (Oliver Future) on Gibson L00 acoustic, Fender Stratocaster, Fender Bass Vi, and vocals; Lauren Harris on vocals; Jason Mozersky (Ben Harper) on lead Fender stratocaster electric guitar; Jimmy Paxson (Ben Harper, The Chicks) on drums and percussion; and Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica.
When you listen to this song, the funky railroad beat starts off, and then the wail of the harmonica, and then the muted vocals come in and it’s a dark, funky Southern groove. This is a vibe for a dance in the dark. Really a blast. “Take my advice for what it’s worth….there’s a red light for my baby… I’m going down.”
“San Antone” started as a completely different song. A guitar riff that comes in at the end was the main melody of the song. I found myself trying way too hard to make it work and it was the only song on the record that felt forced. I still really liked the groove, so I booked some time with my friend Lars Goransson, stripped almost everything away and started over. The song has a driving, train type rhythm, so we accentuated that with my old Gibson L00 acoustic guitar. Jimmy Paxson added more percussion and it was feeling really good. Lyrically, I was reading a book called Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez. It’s filled with gothic, witchy imagery that bled into the tune. I imagined an inverse copy of San Antonio, the cheery sunny city’s inverse- all shadows, rituals, darkness. The Gunter Hotel where Robert Johnson recorded Crossroads as a sort of psychokinetic bridge. Lauren Harris came in to add vocals over mine. The cherry on top was getting the great Charlie Musselwhite to add harmonica. He has been on some of my favorite records, and it was such a thrill to get him to add the track. – Noah Lit
You can find the music here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/grackles/san-antone-feat-charlie-musselwhite–lauren-harris