Lou Dominguez – Hanging at the Luna Star
Lou Dominguez has a newly released album named for his musical home base, the Luna Star Cafe in North Miami: Hanging at the Luna Star. An intriguing title for a respectful collection of intriguing folk tunes. Gathering traditional folk musicians together to lift up his songs of probing and inspiration, Lou Dominguez gets to the heart of the matter in style.
In “United States of Debt,” Lou shines some light on the dark shadows of the working poor, and outlines images and truisms that describe the way many people are necessarily shackled with debt just to get by. The dose of reality is delivered with buoyant melodies and shiny mandolin. “Our Maldives” brings the energy down a bit with a touch of lonesome violin as it brings the plight of rising ocean levels to the forefront: “Ages ago my islands came to be / miracles of coral sand kissed the ocean gently / today our traditions our home our earth / are swiftly being swallowed by the swelling surf….” Sorrowful.
“For Steve Earle” is an ode to contemporary Americana folk singers – one in particular – who don’t shy away from speaking hard truths: “when I hear a folk song I want a time machine / let’s go back to the ’60s the Village beatnik scene / the revolution starts now / goodnight woody, Pete and Phil, for tonight we’ve got Steve Earle.” “Talkin’ Bout A Revolution” is an apt version of Tracy Chapman’s song, and it continues the bright string sounds as Lou proposes poor folks rise up.
“Eddie Went to Nashville” chronicles a troubadour’s struggle with playing music and reaching a wide audience, until he met just the right partner. “The Runner Up” shares another story: this time, of Mary growing up on the hill, in a rough neighborhood, and catching the attention of a young man who went all in for her, and the rest, well, listen and see.
Hanging at the Luna Star is fourteen folk songs in the tradition of Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs and David Olney – honest and unafraid of confronting hard truths, but delivered lightly and with grace. Find more details and information here on his website: https://loudominguez.com/home
Musicians on the album are Lou Dominguez on vocals and guitar; Polly Launay on violin, Bruce Brown on acoustic guitar and mandolin; Robert H. Bowlin on keyboard and accordion; Ross Sermons on bass; Gary Gordon on acoustic guitars, dobro and suitcase snare; Rich Creadore on sitar; and Monty Jackson on backing vocals.
The album was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Gary Gordon at Inside Out Studios in Sparta, Illinois.
