Deadman?
Yoko? Oh, no: As anyone who's heard John Lennon's Sometime in NY City will testify, it's not always a good idea to let your wife sing in the band. But what if your wife's voice has the harmonic twang of Emmylou Harris and the sultry purr of Hope Sandoval, and it perfectly matches your own Bono-meets-Gram Parsons-at- Asbury-Park growl?. Back in 2001, Texan singer-songwriter Stephen Collins was searching for his own musical place in the heart, somewhere between The River and The Joshua Tree, Mexico and Mississippi, grunge and gospel. He was still working his day job at an airline, but had left his band, The Plebeians, and was on a mission to rediscover "real" Texan music and reclaim it from the good ol' country'n' western boys. He recruited former Plebeians bassist Britton Beisenhersz, and drummer John Scully, but when Stephen's wife Sherilyn joined in on keyboards and vocals, the sound of Deadman took a beautiful, melodic shape.
Scary move: Stephen sent a demo of Deadman's songs to producer Mark Howard, well-respected for his work with Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Marianne Faithfull and Daniel Lanois. When the couple finally got the call-back, they packed up their gear and drove to LA, ending up at a creepy old mansion high in the Hollywood Hills. It was the perfect place to record the haunting, echo-laden sounds of their debut album, Paramour. Soon, Stephen and Sherilyn were being likened to Low and The Handsome Family, and their songs were being described as "Where the Streets Have No Name crossed with Streets of Laredo".
Hill of beans: A lucky break came when Paramour was entered for a Mercury- style music contest sponsored by Billboard magazine. The album beat 1,700 other entries to nab the top prize, which included 35 grand's worth of recording equipment. The couple decided that now was the time to quit the corporate jobs and go full-time with the music. They moved to the country, where Stephen set up his own studio, producing other bands to pay the bills. The music for their new album, Our Eternal Ghosts, was inspired by transience and transcendence, the understanding that life is short and if you want to create something that lasts, you have to rise above the petty and pedestrian. The duo hired Howard again to lend his skills to such songs as The Monsters of Goya (about trying to stay out of the gutter while reaching for the stars) and Where the Music's Not Forgotten (dedicated to the greats who have passed away, including Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash and Ray Charles).
Dead letter day: Deadman will be supporting The Proclaimers on their Irish tour, starting at Castlebar tomorrow night and visiting Galway on Sunday, Limerick (Monday), Carlow (Wednesday), Dublin (Thursday) and Belfast (Friday 9th).
