Quality Americana

“I gotta be a Zen Buddha to stand next to you, babe, ’cause I want you badder, and it ain’t gettin’ no better,” Melissa Carper sings after a glorious harmony fit for a choir. It has a playful energy fit for the dancehall with a wonderful organ solo that keeps this honky tonk single grooving.

Ramblin’ Soul was recorded at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Tennessee with a team of seasoned session players and a star studded ensemble (that tends to Fox Hunt) for the honky tonk choir. Ramblin’ Soul is the follow up to Daddy’s Country Gold, which helped to expose the charismatic upright bassist to larger audiences and critical acclaim.

“I had such a good experience there with Daddy’s Country Gold that I decided to go ahead and make the next one there,” Carper said, who is currently working on her third album at the Bomb Shelter.

The production team included Andrija Tokic, who previously worked with St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and Dennis Crouch who helped build the analog sound for Thirty Tigers. The production gives this album a timeless, warm atmosphere.

“They’re Nashville musicians,” Carper said, “some of the greatest musicians right now that are playing that kind of music. I really feel like my Austin band is recreating that very well. The three of them are just strong singers and players. We can really create all that three part harmony plus all the instrumentation.”

Melissa formed her musical roots in her home state of Nebraska with her siblings in The Carper Family Band, and later relocated to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to pursue her honky tonk dreams. Carper often fills time between touring on the country circuit that sits between Austin, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee with a spectacular line up including Rebecca Patek on fiddle, Jenn Miori Hodges on acoustic guitar and often features Emily Gimble on piano.

Melissa Carper Debuts at the Grand Ole Opry

The trio recently took a pilgrimage to the promised land, the Grand Ole Opry, for their first performance at the Ryman Auditorium.

“The Opry let me pick two people, two of my own musicians to be up there with me,” Carper said of bringing Patek and Hodges to the Ryman for her biggest moment in the spotlight. “That was really great to have both of them (Patek and Hodges) with me on stage, to be able to share that with them and also to have your friends up there… it’s just such a nerve racking moment to step on to that stage for the first time, I just felt really supported by them and it just felt perfect that we were all able to do that together. I’ve played music with both of them for over ten years now, when you can have that kind of chemistry with you on stage at a moment like that it’s really nice.”

Though her description remains humble, Carper’s line up is second-to-none in the roots-country world. There’s a magic that happens in music that you could simply never recreate where all the stars align and Carper has certainly done it with this incredible group of musicians.

“Zen Buddha” stands out as one of the more unique honky tonk songs we’ve heard. It has a familiar beat and rhythm, but after adding the one of a kind voice from Carper and the choir backing her up, along with the subject matter, you really get lost dreaming about the inspiration behind it. 

“I recorded that on a Sad Daddy album,” Carper said of the song that dates back to 2010. “It’s hard for me to remember it’s been so long since I wrote it.”

Carper wrote the song to describe the feelings of having to be near someone you have a crush on, and the strength required to hold those feelings for the right moment. At that time Carper had just started practicing meditation when she penned “Zen Buddha” and let her artistic mind wander. 

“When I started to write it I was like ‘I wish that Elvis Presley was still alive so maybe he could sing this song,’” Carper said with a laugh. “For me it felt like something they might have sung you know, it’s kind of like a combination of country and early rock and roll in my mind.” 

You can catch Melissa Carper on tour in the Southwest and Northeast over the next few months. More information can be found here.

Follow Quality Americana for your Song of the Day.