A good rule of thumb: Once a musical endeavor has as many former participants as it has current participants, it's safe to just call it a project. There is more focus on the creation of the music than in the development of the personnel or "the band" as the end product. That's why Carl Snow's Summer of Love may be often referred to as a "project". Hey, fair enough.

Unlike many "bands" who suffer a variety of drama and the inevitable "breakup", this Carl Snow project is, well, immune to that. True to the classic creative ethos, "just keep it fun", Carl Snow's Summer of Love (CSSOL) has been fortunate enough to include the talents of Hector Qirko (bass), Stan Duncan (drums), and Andy Pirkle (guitar, vocals) over the years. These friends have all contributed to the musicality, the lore, and the fun that continues to fuel the spirit of CSSOL even now. Try to visualize a front porch with musicians enjoying an afternoon of playing, where friends drop by and take a turn for a few songs. Got it now?

The CSSOL 2010 lineup is lean, unintentionally mean, and brimming with long friendships, musicianship and other great things not available at any store. At the center of the songwriting is Carl Snow (Koro, Red, Whitey and numerous other acts) and his disarmingly frank writing style. Add to the mix the distinctive guitar craft of longtime friend and picker Mike Armstrong (Invisible Mind Circus) and his endless pursuit of the sweetest chords known to man. Ask any musician if it helps for the rhythm section to have some rapport and good communication. The common response may be along the lines of "yeah, the same way tires and brakes are important to a car". Longtime friends Scott Davis (Whitey, Donkey, TriggerMen Horns) and Rodney Cash (Whitey, 30 Amp Fuse, Tim Lee 3) handle bass and drums, respectively. Aside from the fact that Carl, Scott and Rodney supplied all of the instrumental fury of Whitey twenty years ago (really? that long already?), the rapport and friendship that exists among these four people provides a level of musicianship that really is better witnessed than described in a bio.

Using the earlier visual of the front porch, imagine the players are friends with years of friendship, playing the most personal songs they know. It's not Americana. Who knows what that word even means anymore? It is the essence of music you don't just enjoy, but love, and want to keep near. Carl Snow's Summer of Love are the players, and they are waving you on to their porch, to listen, to sing, to play, and to just keep it fun.

About The Fist & The Flower

The Fist & The Flower was recorded by members Carl Snow, Mike Armstrong, and Scott Davis in Armstrong's studio over 6 months in 2009, and features some of the finest ensemble playing to date for all of these guys. There is an ease that belies all of the power, and it comes forth in each track like a rescued memory or a good laugh among old friends. The song topics cover a very personal range from painful confessionals to down-on-my-knees pleading while maintaining a strange ability to be sing-along tunes. Sure, it's rock, and it is unmistakably from the South, but no, it's not "Southern Rock". Upcoming dates for the live performance of The Fist & The Flower will see Whitey bandmates Snow, (Rodney) Cash, and Davis playing together for the first time since 1990.

Carl Solo

Useless

Carl's latest album, Useless is available for FREE download from Lynnpoint.com.

About Useless

Carl needn't search far-'n'-wide for something to write about, as his songs are a reflection of his pain, love and loss, clarity and chaos, humor and dead-seriousness; all-in-all, for Carl it's all about being real. Useless has probably been in the works for quite some time, without Carl realizing it. Recorded in Knoxville, the CD kicks off, appropriately, with Useless Song ("I tried to write a bridge, but I couldn't find the chords, got another beer from the fridge, lit a smoke, got bored, and wrote this useless song"), followed by One Of Them ("do you remember when you were young, younger than you are now, that some old scratchy record, rescued you, somehow"). As much as these songs are a reflection of Carl, it's safe to say that you, the listener, will find yourself somewhere within these creations.

Download Useless FREE here »

KORO

Sorry State Records has re-released the classic Koro Recordings 700 Club EP and Speed Kills+ CD