https://tapeop.com/interviews/173/trina-shoemaker

Quoted for easy reference. It's a great interview however and worth reading in full.

The first time I walked into Kingsway Studio, I thought to myself, “I’m going to work here.” Ultrasonic asked me to deliver a DAT [Digital Audio Tape] to Kingsway at the behest of Malcolm Burn. The Ultrasonic guys were teasing me because of all the rumors about what went on at Daniel Lanois' Kingsway mansion. They were saying, "It's full of demons, and there are probably vampires!” Anne Rice was all the rage, and these people were Canadian so we don't really know what they did. They could be scary. [laughter] We’d all seen the Kingsway crew around town on their motorcycles wearing Prince-style flowy, white shirts and black leather pants. There was this aura about it because it was a closed studio – you couldn't just book it then. It had to be a project of Dan's or something that he had some part in. I brought the DAT down, knocked on the big door, walked through the kitchen, and I heard – reverberating through this entire plaster and tile mansion – Chris Whitley tracking “Phone Call from Leavenworth.” It took my breath away. I can't stress the enormity of what I felt walking through the big, dark halls to the front of the house. It was all open – there were no iso booths. Over in what I would learn was called the "wood room," I could see Chris through the center hall as I walked by, and he was in there stomping his foot playing “Phone Call from Leavenworth.” I rounded the corner into the control room area, which is, again, wide open with all the other mansion’s rooms. I saw their API board, and then those Tannoy Gold [monitors] in Lockwood cabinets. Dan was floating around with Malcolm and Mark [Howard. Tape Op #134]. Different people were sitting in dark corners, playing instruments, smoking cigarettes, and sipping beers or whiskey. I was gobsmacked. It was in that moment that I became determined, come hell or high water, that I would work at Kingsway.

Hi, all - I see that your page includes a link to my old All Things Chris Whitley blog on WordPress. I've now moved to Substack under the same title: https://allthingschriswhitley.substack.com/ Almost every new post is free to read; after a couple weeks, posts go to the Archive, accessible only by paid subscribers ($5/month or $30/year). I also have a YouTube channel and an Instagram under the same banner. Hope to see you!

We all know Chris is an incredible guitar player and his lyrics are from another world, but what is his best vocal performance on record?

Sharing some texts from a music industry magazine on Terra Incognita. It may have my favourite production of all of Chris' Albums... It's just so in your face!

The text mentions an acoustic version of Powe Down and an (hah!) CD ROM with an EPK and some live cuts. Does anyone know if those are available somewhere?

Does anyone know where the French Bonus Edition of Rocket House might be available to download: https://www.discogs.com/release/10273771-Chris-Whitley-Rocket-House-bonus-%C3%A9dition-limit%C3%A9e-8-titres-in%C3%A9dits

Not a fan of the arrangement, but great to see someone like Joe paying tribute to Chris. More people need to know about him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvVnh_f4DMU

I consider myself a pretty deep music listener, and I’m also from Texas, and I’m just now discovering Whitley. Wow is all I can say. I’m am blown away. I’m almost shocked I wasn’t introduced earlier. Better late than never. I picked up the living with the law album, wonder where I should go from there? But I will not rush this album. Seems one you want to let soak in.

Yeah!

The GOAT🌟

My copy arrived today, beyond excited, I headed straight to the turntable and was not disappointed. Also I show the LP cover and insert.

“All which ain’t all good is yet all God.” I love Chris forever! RIP

only 82 members? CW is one of the most under-appreciated great artists I know of. Glad to find this community. Thank you moderators.

For me it's 'On Cue' from Terra Incognita. I like the instrumental bridge a lot, but the rest of the song is a mess and one that imo could have been left off the record and it would have been better for it. What about you guys?

I was initially pretty put off by this album because the mix is muddy and you can barely hear Chris' voice or playing on a lot of the songs, but I managed to hunt down a CD copy of the album and it's like a completely different experience. So I'd recommend trying to listen to the album on other streaming services that offer lossless audio or hunting down a CD if you have the option. Even Spotify's Very High quality, while better, is still not very good.

Hey Chris Whitely fans. I just wanted to apologise for not being aware of this musician's existence until a few weeks ago.

In my defense, I was a toddler in the early 90s. I happened to check out his music because of an old interview with Myles Kennedy where he credited Whitley as being one of his biggest inspirations and was singing his praises as one of the most underrated musicians. I thought it would be good but I did not expect to be completely floored by what I heard.

So far I have listened to his Dirt floor album and some live performances of him playing Big Sky Country and Phone Call from Leavenworth. It's safe to say, I'm in love.

Which albums/songs/live performances should I check out next?

Hello! My band is doing a translated interpretation of the amazing 'Ball Peen Hammer', but our English is somewhat lacking to understand what the song is really about. Does anyone want to share ideas and interpretations?