JEFF DERNLAN
Cobblestone
Jeff Dernlan’s latest album, Cobblestone, swells with the spirit of a warm summer night on a pitch black highway somewhere far from home on the lonely American landscape. It’s an album of intriguing ambiance and compelling detail, and yet taken as a whole, Cobblestone feels like a profound statement about the quest for simplicity. On “Save the Day,” Dernlan sings: “Hang a picture up across the plaster patch, make no mention and no one will ever ask, ride the rocking rails on home through the twilight, signals fail, stolen by the satellites.” Utilizing country, gospel, and folk themes, Cobblestone stretches traditional structure, embraces its heritage, and offers an atmospheric collection of richly crafted material. Songs like “Good Man,” “I Won’t Be Dismayed,” and “World of Sin” resonate like prayers in verse and poem, comforting in their sadness. Dernlan growls weary, but wise, on the album opener: “Twisted root taps the pain, stunted stalk, needed rain, harvest grain, summer grown, reap what you’ve sown, close to the bone.” Conversely, the rootsy gem, “Weathervane” shimmering with rich bottleneck guitar, is an inspired and uplifting ode to a lover: “You’re the blossom in my Spring time, In the Summer you’re my shade, When I feel that strong wind blow by, you’re my Weathervane.”
The recording of Cobblestone, in and of itself, was extensive in its trials and tribulations. Dernlan initially planned to record the album in his Philadelphia hometown. Unable to gain momentum, he decided to return to Nashville where lived for several years and recorded his 2006 release, Broadmoor. At the same time, a label which shall remain nameless offered to release the album upon its completion. More than halfway through, however, Dernlan’s engineer disappeared and took all the work they’d done with him. In a measure of desperation, having already spent what little money he had to record in Nashville and with a deadline looming to deliver the masters, he started tracking on an old Boss eight track. It was then and there that the album came into focus.
“I started to like what I was coming up with. Being able to work without the pressure of the clock running really helped,” explains Dernlan. “I was able to come up with arrangements and performances that I probably wouldn’t have if I was in a conventional studio. Plus my limited gear forced me to get creative. For percussion I used a downspout that had blown off my house, a ground tamper, my kids toy instruments, and a space heater with a busted tambourine stuck in the coils, a paint brush, two-by-fours, whatever I could get my hands on.”
Dernlan also played almost all of the parts himself: acoustic and electric guitars, bass, mandolin, accordion and keyboards. He completed the album with a few small overdubs back in Philadelphia. Yet there were still more unexpected turns. After turning the record over to the label in Summer 2007, they sat on it until nearly Thanksgiving when they broke the news to him that they wouldn’t be releasing it. Once again, Dernlan came to his own rescue, setting up his own label and securing distribution for its release.
“I’m real happy with the way it all finally came together. I think I was able to keep the focus on the songs but still create some atmosphere around them with the production. On the country and gospel numbers, I found my own take on the tradition without abandoning the heritage of the material. Plus, in all the rerecording I had time to really dial in the lyrics. In the end, I think the songs got the best treatment I could give them.”
Jeff Dernlan studied English Literature at Penn State University where he won The Edward Nichols Award for Best Short Fiction. After college he lived on a remote island in Alaska and worked as a commercial fisherman. He eventually moved to Nashville where he recorded Broadmoor, which reached #3 on the Euro-Americana Chart and was honored by Rootstime Magazine as one of the best releases of 2006. With the release of Cobblestone, Dernlan will hit the road with tour dates throughout the Northeast and Midwest.
Broadmoor 2006-Best of the Year - Francois Breaken- Rootstime Magazine
Not That Strong-Rod Picott “Tiger Tom Dixon Blues” Co-Write
Erika’s Radio- David Stanley “Finding My Way” Co-Write
Sideman-High Fidelity Disco, Scott Silipigni
Founder - ShoRt SeTs -Long running weekly music showcase in Nashville, TN.
What a refreshing and honest album Broadmoor is. Jeff Dernlan paid his dues in Nashville, but currently resides in Philadelphia playing regularly throughout the northeast corridor. Broadmoor was recorded more or less in one go in a whirlwind recording session in 2006. Using his backing band, the brilliantly named Uninsurables, the songs were recorded more or less live.Having the ubiquitous Rod Picott as engineer didn’t do the recordings any harm. From the first drumbeat that opens the first track, Broadmoor just jumps out of the speakers with no-nonsense country-rock.
~ February 2007 Maverick
