The Moriartys
In early 1994 in San Francisco, California, singer/songwriter Vincent Merkhajeb and fellow musicians/writers Richard Humphreys and Jon Bailiff began to work on a project to create a sound to back up Merkhajeb's unique songwriting and performance style. The trio experimented with a wide array of musical and percussive instruments from such diverse places as the southern United States, Europe, Africa, South America and Australia, eventually developing arrangements that altered the popular song format in brilliant and previously unheard-of textures and sounds.
Playing bars and coffeehouses throughout San Francisco for the better part of 18 months, The Moriartys began to become noticed as one of the City's most recognized live acts. Eventually adding guitarist George Higgs and multi-talented Eamon Armstrong to the lineup, the group would often stun audiences by opening their act by marching into the performance space sing/shouting a Marine Corps-style boot camp chant or standing shoulder to shoulder hitting railroad ties, chains and wooden clubs while singing as if a chain gang in the 1920s American South. By the summer of 1995 the band was beginning to split, but before that happened they gathered to record MAXIMUM SKIFFLE, their one and only album. Released in October 1995 to very limited distribution, Trough Records is now thrilled to release this incredible album internationally for the first time.
Maximum Skiffle
TRCP 1301 (1995)
You can buy/stream Maximum Skiffle at Apple Music
Maximum Skiffle is also available at:
You can order the album on CD by sending $12 via PayPal for each CD ordered by clicking here (it'll take you to philwardmusic), and make sure to include your name & address.
BONUS!
Just because we like you: For every CD by the Moriartys that you order, we'll throw in a surprise CD by a different Trough artist.
Motel Six
Rob Dobbins and Mark Humphreys, longtime friends and singer/songwriters each in their own right and with their own distinct musical personalities, formed Motel Six in 1984 in Los Angeles, merging their independent styles and band members to create a hard-driving, folk/country/rock sound just a few years ahead of its time. Dobbins’ country/blues lead guitar and raw vocal style paired unexpectedly well with Humphreys' more pop-driven rhythm guitar and sleek tenor vocals.
Joined by Dobbins' brother Joe on bass and rocker Greg Bush on drums, this final version of the band recorded the album NEXT GAS 29 MILES at the insistence of Joe Dobbins just before the group disbanded. Joe also produced the album, ensuring that the band's sound would forever be preserved. The album was released in limited edition in September 1986. We are proud to finally release the album internationally for the first time.
As "Mark Humphreys and Motel Six," they also recorded the album Sweating Bullets; check that out in Mark's section. You can buy/stream Sweating Bullets at Apple Music.
Next Gas 29 Miles
TRCP 1102 - 1986 (reissue)
Next Gas 29 Miles is also available at:
You can order the album on CD by sending $12 via PayPal for each CD ordered by clicking here (it'll take you to philwardmusic), and make sure to include your name & address in the "add a note" section.
BONUS!
Just because we like you: For every CD by Motel Six that you order, we'll throw in
a surprise CD by a different Trough artist.
Piper-Grey
Long known individually throughout Southern California’s acoustic music community for their solo work, both David Piper (who has released four albums on the Trough label) and Earl Grey (whose Lover’s Ridge album is widely regarded as one of the finest acoustic-rock recordings to emerge during LA’s independent music renaissance) have earned highly-regarded reputations in their own right. In 2006 David and Earl, who had always respected each other’s music, began sitting in on each other’s live performances. It didn’t take long until something magical clicked. The combination of Piper’s classic blues/folk guitar licks and playful sense of humor, and Grey’s electrifying guitar wizardry and sixties-style lyricism and musicality – and the unbelievable beauty of their tenor voices singing in duet – literally made audiences stop what they were doing to listen. The duo has released two albums on Trough.
Visit Piper~Grey’s website
You can buy/stream Piper~Grey’s albums at Apple Music (click images to link).
Piper~Grey’s music is also available at:
You can order both of Piper~Grey’s albums on CD directly from the artists! Just send $12 via PayPal for each CD ordered by clicking here, and make sure to include your name & address (and which album you want) in the "add a note" section.
Apples TRCP 1314 (2008)
Live @ The Onion TRCP 1324 (2014)
Radio Dogs
Born in the Northern California burb of Sunnyvale, The Radio Dogs – lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Rob Dobbins, Rob’s brother, bassist Joey Dobbins, guitarist Timmy Cupps and drummer Mike Atlee – started playing in high school auditoriums and house parties. It didn’t take long before the band’s exciting, gut-punch performances had audiences going wild in clubs all over the San Francisco Bay Area. By summer 1981 The Radio Dogs were ready to give it the big-time “go” and hit the road for Hollywood.
This double live album, recorded at two separate house concerts in October of 1981 – just months after they arrived in Southern California - showcases one of the most fiercely original, no-nonsense, emotionally riveting bands at the absolute top of their game. If there was ever a testament to the fickle nature of the music business and “who gets to be famous,” this raw burst of electricity from a truly great band that somehow got lost in the smog is proof positive.
Visit the Radio Dogs’ Facebook Page
You can buy/stream All Your Favorites! at Apple Music (click image to link).
All Your Favorites! TRCP 1105 - 1981 (reissue)
All Your Favorites! is also available at:
You can order the album on CD by sending $12 via PayPal for each CD ordered by clicking here (it'll take you to philwardmusic), and make sure to include your name & address in the "add a note" section.
BONUS!
Just because we like you: For every Radio Dogs CD you order, we'll throw in a surprise CD by a different Trough artist.
Tim Tedrow…and John-Michael Kay…and Terry Vreeland
Tim Tedrow has been part of two outstanding folk duos. Tim Tedrow & John-Michael Kaye played the Southern California independent music circuit throughout the early and mid-1990s – featuring Tedrow’s classic folk love songs, sung in his gorgeous tenor, and the intricate and dynamic guitar and accompanying vocals of John-Michael Kaye. Their self-titled album was one of the first Trough Records releases.
Tim Tedrow & Terry Vreeland released two titles on the label – 2002’s …AND FRIENDS, which featured the songwriting of both artists as well as Terry Vreeland’s gentle baritone, complimenting Tedrow’s tenor – and 2007’s SONGS WE STOLE FROM OUR FRIENDS, which featured cover versions of songs written by the duo’s songwriting pals. Tim and Terry performed live frequently, headlining and sitting in with other acts, until Terry's passing in 2014. Terry is much missed by the Southern California acoustic community.
Visit Tim’s Facebook Music Page
You can buy Tim’s albums with John and Terry at Amazon (click images to link).
You can also order any of these albums on CD directly from Tim! Just send $12 via PayPal for each CD ordered by clicking here. Make sure to include your name & address and tell us which CD you want in the "add a note" section.
Tim Tedrow & John Michael Kaye
TRCP 1305 (1997)
Tim Tedrow & Terry Vreeland & Friends
TRCP 1309 (2002)
Songs We Stole From Our Friends
TRCP 1312 (2007)
