Pr
olific singer/songwriter Mark Utley has released a single album’s worth of songs. And that’s all.
Bulletville, Utley’s excellent sophomore solo album, is not a double-set on a single CD or accompanied by a new release from his band Magnolia Mountain or another musical vessel for the songs that pour endlessly from his head, heart and hands. Is this Utley’s version of writer’s block?
“No, no, I’ve just been focused on this one,” Utley says with a laugh. “We’ve done a few Magnolia Mountain shows recently. And we have practices as Magnolia Mountain every other week, but it’s all just stuff in its early forms where we’re trying to figure out what it’s going to be and what it’s not. It’s percolating. Everything is OK.”
The fact is everything is OK now. Last year, Magnolia Mountain, Utley’s Blues/Roots Rock vehicle, was collapsing while Bulletville, Utley’s traditional Country side project with Magnolia Mountain’s Renee Frye and Jeff Vanover, was thriving.
With Magnolia Mountain sidelined, Utley’s creative vacuum was quickly filled by Bulletville. His Country project’s profile rose exponentially with each new gig, naturally leading to more songs and ultimately the recording of Bulletville, produced, like every Magnolia Mountain album to date, by Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley. The difference this time is that Bulletville was largely recorded live in the studio.
Mark Utley and Bulletville celebrate their new album release Saturday at MOTR Pub. More info: motrpub.com. Click here for details on Bulletville and all of Utley’s projects.
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2015.
