Wade Lashley
     Someone Take the Wheel
     
     Flagstaff singer-songwriter Wade Lashley has been slogging it out in the local bar circuit for years, honing his country flecked, story heavy folk songs. His debut, In from the Wilderness, released in 2005, displayed a true-to-life, stripped-down version of Lashley and not much more than his acoustic and smooth baritone. The album presented the artist in his barest form, with raw versions of his vintage songcraft. That was ’05. 
     Now in 2008, Lashley still performs in Flagstaff mostly solo after a jaunt fronting the way-too-short-lived band South Bound. But his newest disc, Someone Take the Wheel, is a more fully realized version of Lashley’s songs, leaving the solo framework behind for a more highly produced roots, rock, country and Americana effort. From the opening snare pop of the album’s first track “Turn Around South Bound,” through Someone Take the Wheel’s nine other tracks, the listener is treated to Lashley’s musical comfort food: multilayered, story heavy lyrics about love, loss, weariness, redemption, travel, and home; expert musicality from Lashley’s many Flagstaff friends; and a hearty, big sound that truly does his songs justice with plenty of bark left on the tree.
  Produced and engineered in Flagstaff by Corvo Radio’s Jeff Lusby at his Radio Dog Studio, Someone Take the Wheel features many of Flag’s best players including longtime Lashley collaborator keyboardist/vocalist Steve Caldwell, who also plays with the Flag country rockers Gravy. Caldwell complements Lashley impeccably, with gentle piano, stirring organ and solid tenor backing vocals. For the album, Lashley also enlisted Flag’s all-around guitar badass Brad Bays who lays down plenty of Nashville-ready chicken-pickin’ Telecaster licks and even banjo on a few songs. 
     On Someone Take the Wheel, Lashley’s vocals convey a deep sensitivity of spirit, with just a tinge of the Midwestern accent he’s carried around since moving from Indiana to Arizona in the early ’90s. After taking an extended break from music, he revisited songwriting and began performing again in 2003. And all Lashley’s life experience has served him well in his songs. “Someone Take the Wheel” (the song) is an ode to burnout, pumping new life into the well-worn road-as-life metaphor, vaguely reminiscent of Dylan’s grave robbing classic “Isis.” The album’s third track, “Coffee Tea or Whiskey,” is a rural tale of welcoming a lover back after an extended absence, and on the ninth track, “River Song,” Lashley and company lay down a solid, up-tempo beat that hints at bluegrass with Bays on banjo.
     For Lashley, Someone Take the Wheel is a major turning point, representing a talented artist’s jump from the confines of a solo record to the grander scale of lush, diverse soundscapes. Lashley’s newest effort is further undeniable proof of the vibrant signs of life always emanating from the Flagstaff music scene. Well done Wade! see www.wadelashley.com. 





 

Wade Lashley
     Someone Take the Wheel
     
     Flagstaff singer-songwriter Wade Lashley has been slogging it out in the local bar circuit for years, honing his country flecked, story heavy folk songs. His debut, In from the Wilderness, released in 2005, displayed a true-to-life, stripped-down version of Lashley and not much more than his acoustic and smooth baritone. The album presented the artist in his barest form, with raw versions of his vintage songcraft. That was ’05. 
     Now in 2008, Lashley still performs in Flagstaff mostly solo after a jaunt fronting the way-too-short-lived band South Bound. But his newest disc, Someone Take the Wheel, is a more fully realized version of Lashley’s songs, leaving the solo framework behind for a more highly produced roots, rock, country and Americana effort. 
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     From the opening snare pop of the album’s first track “Turn Around South Bound,” through Someone Take the Wheel’s nine other tracks, the listener is treated to Lashley’s musical comfort food: multilayered, story heavy lyrics about love, loss, weariness, redemption, travel, and home; expert musicality from Lashley’s many Flagstaff friends; and a hearty, big sound that truly does his songs justice with plenty of bark left on the tree.
     Produced and engineered in Flagstaff by Corvo Radio’s Jeff Lusby at his Radio Dog Studio, Someone Take the Wheel features many of Flag’s best players including longtime Lashley collaborator keyboardist/vocalist Steve Caldwell, who also plays with the Flag country rockers Gravy. Caldwell complements Lashley impeccably, with gentle piano, stirring organ and solid tenor backing vocals. For the album, Lashley also enlisted Flag’s all-around guitar badass Brad Bays who lays down plenty of Nashville-ready chicken-pickin’ Telecaster licks and even banjo on a few songs. 
     On Someone Take the Wheel, Lashley’s vocals convey a deep sensitivity of spirit, with just a tinge of the Midwestern accent he’s carried around since moving from Indiana to Arizona in the early ’90s. After taking an extended break from music, he revisited songwriting and began performing again in 2003. And all Lashley’s life experience has served him well in his songs. “Someone Take the Wheel” (the song) is an ode to burnout, pumping new life into the well-worn road-as-life metaphor, vaguely reminiscent of Dylan’s grave robbing classic “Isis.” The album’s third track, “Coffee Tea or Whiskey,” is a rural tale of welcoming a lover back after an extended absence, and on the ninth track, “River Song,” Lashley and company lay down a solid, up-tempo beat that hints at bluegrass with Bays on banjo.
     For Lashley, Someone Take the Wheel is a major turning point, representing a talented artist’s jump from the confines of a solo record to the grander scale of lush, diverse soundscapes. Lashley’s newest effort is further undeniable proof of the vibrant signs of life always emanating from the Flagstaff music scene. Well done Wade!
     Catch Lashley live twice this week. He’ll perform solo at Flagstaff Brewing Co., 16 E. Rte. 66 (773-1442), Thu, Dec. 18 at 9 p.m. He’ll also open for Nolan McKelvey and the Civilian Contemplation Corps at the Green Room, 15 N. Agassiz (226-8669), at 9 p.m. For more info on Lashley or to pick up a copy of Someone Take the Wheel, see www.wadelashley.com. 

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