It’s been said that knowledge is limited, but imagination circles the world. Portland-based alt-country artist Chuck Westmoreland has taken the best of both and bent them to his will. The proud owner of Portland bar The Red Fox, which he compares to the creepy watering holes of Twin Peaks, Westmoreland weaves his sonic stories from years of regulars shuffling through his doors, mining a deep personal well to craft his characters while injecting insight gleaned from his bar patrons. His music offers a burning relief to the soul, much like the whiskey that stocks the shelves at The Red Fox, as he recounts tales of loss and misery, hope and resilience. His is the music of, and for, the people.
Westmoreland will release his forthcoming album, Long Winter Rodeo, on June 1st via Black and Gold Records. Today, he unleashes new single “A Hole In My Grave,” a song brimming with range-y reverb and gut-punching lyrics punctuated by his husky holler.
“‘A Hole In My Grave’ is about a person who has to watch the ones he loves go on without him,” Westmoreland explains of the track. “The character believes that it’s in their best interests not to have him around but he misses them. It’s the first song I wrote for this record and I think it comes from a place of fear. My wife and I had just had a child and I got to thinking about what it would be like if I were gone and that type of thinking led me to write this pretty hopeless song,” he continues. “But, you know, I enjoy writing hopeless songs because there’s a special type of connection with the listener. Something about connecting that desperate part of yourself to the desperate part of another person for three minutes or so is a rare and beautiful human opportunity. “
Without further ado, Mother Church Pew proudly presents “A Hole In My Grave” by Chuck Westmoreland:
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