Album Notes

DOUG KWARTLER - SILVER METEOR -

Silver Meteor is an act of faith. It has to be. There is such a quiet sense of urgency to this record, the second solo release by New York songwriter Doug Kwartler, that it needs to be rooted in the music that got us through -- folk, country, rock and roll, and whatever else it has been cross-pollinated or categorized with; in other words, American roots music. The lineage of great voices we know - Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jay Farrar - have used this music as a palette of vast expression. At times, even in these great careers, this power comes across with impatience and restlessness. In the finest instances though, these voices create documents that capture a moving moment in an artist's history. These cases -- Nebraska, Trace, Blood on the Tracks, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road -- are steeped faithfully in American roots music as if there's no time to stray while speaking breathlessly in unbelievable spaces, as if there are no words to spare.

Silver Meteor slips into this line of recordings. Whereas Halfway House, Kwartler's previous record, is a strong and broad-stroked debut, his second release is a focused, rock-solid litany of great American songs. There is the deep-rooted though updated American imagery, (trains, parkways, rivers and cars,) planted along the way to discover, enjoy and feel in your blood. Within the layers there is wariness of what lies ahead mixed with a desperate sense of hope and purpose being clung to at all costs. Here, you'll be confronted with the challenge to listen hard.

And so, in "Nothing," the record's fourth track, while there is a fearsome near-loss, ("I thought I lost you today,") a melancholy musical celebration fills speechless gasps with sweet-and-sour, focused guitar solos. Doug even discovers (and then demonstrates) his faith that a great song shows many colors. Thus, a hushed second version of "Nothing" is placed as if with careful deliberation, beyond the conclusion of the ten primary tracks.

There is faith in the power of the song itself. "Wilmington" insists on it. "Do as I command without a fight," Kwartler shouts at the city that he's turned to for inspiration in a song that parallels the very craft of songwriting with the struggles of a committed relationship. An artist's work about their craft is a line in the sand, a definition, seen on the upward arc of a career and when Kwartler sings, "Let the day live on in sin," it lays down the central tension in Silver Meteor -- fight and sometimes struggle to live and remember well, (and faithfully,) but leave what is beyond control as lessons in history.

Desperate times call for desperate measures in "I Need Your Darkness," when the singer asks his lover to, "show me your bullets and I'll show you my guns," looking for her to reveal all in exchange for him doing the same in an ultimate display of trust. "Nashville," the rollicking call to the road and "82nd Street," a nostalgic dirge on Brooklyn also populate the inherent landscape. While these places are important signposts, the acute observations on relationships and personal insights give this journey a higher power and bring Silver Meteor to a level of accomplishment too often missed in a fragmented and confused pop-music world.

"There are no subtle changes, what is is what will be," comes on as a credo in "Come Tomorrow (Caroline.)" That the writer relies on rock's favorite muse, Caroline, also shows what was is what is. Discover the title track's revision of American workingman mythology as a powerful love story that carries you all the way through to "Beautiful Commotion," the closing ballad that brings grand metaphor to intimate communication, stripped and acoustic. As if that's all that matters.

And then ending on a true bonus, what happens when this music gets worked up in front of a roomful of people? A live recording of "Mars," from Halfway House, complete with hoots and beer-bottle rattling. It goes by fast, which leaves one longing to disappear in Silver Meteor many times over.

DOUG KWARTLER - BIOGRAPHY

Doug Kwartler's musical upbringing was filled with the enduring storytelling of Bruce Springsteen, the in-your-face folk-rock of Tom Petty and the rockabilly twang of Brian Setzer. He began playing guitar at age 15. Initially influenced by Brian Setzer, a fellow Long Islander, Kwartler soon bought his first guitar - a 1963 Gretsch Atkins Nashville Model. He quickly learned the rockabilly riffs of Perkins, Cochran, Vincent and of course, Setzer, although he admits, "not nearly in the same universe as those guys."

Soon, other guitarists like Keith Richards and Pete Townshend would influence his style. It was their influence that made Doug want to perform on stage. At that time however, his dream was only to become a great guitar player. All that changed when in 1984, Doug's older brother brought home Born In The USA. "Springsteen has been the most influential artist on me as a musician. He made me want to be a songwriter. "Additional influences Doug sites are Tom Petty, Dylan, Johnny Cash, Jay Farrar, Jackson Browne and Woody Guthrie.

In addition to being a songwriter and performer, Doug also records and produces albums for other artists in his Long Island, NY, Hollow Body Studios. Artists such as: Austin Kuebler, Alli Collis, Stuart Markus, The Repercussions, Dave Isaacs and have all recorded there.

For 5 years, Kwartler led the roots-rock band, Foundry. The band released two albums, World Rattles 'Round, and Give Me A Reason To Live, both receiving critical acclaim while selling internationally.

Halfway House, Kwartler's 2003 solo debut, received a host of 4 - star reviews and airplay on many triple A and Americana radio stations. The Roots Music Report called Halfway House, "...an ingeniously compiled cd..." with AltCountryTab.com calling it "...quite brilliant..." The noted Alt.Country site Freight Train Boogie.com said, "...this is a wonderful cd..." that "...hits the mark on most every song." Ctrlaltcountry.be called Halfway House, "...one hell of a roots-rock record."

Now with even more focus and purpose, on Silver Meteor, his soon to be released follow up, Kwartler continues to break open and delve into many of life's most defining moments, putting them into songs with lasting melodies and genuine lyrics. Drawing from his own experiences, he has created records that are both fresh and authentic, with music rooted in history and with stories and struggles that are a part of all of our lives.

Look for Kwartler to tour in support of Silver Meteor through the fall, 2004.