Sgt. Splendor (featuring Kate Vargas and Eric McFadden) talks with The Weekly Record just days before their sophomore record comes out called 'Death of the Hoochie Koo.' The new album is available via Buena Vista West Records on Friday, May 19th. Special thanks to Color Red for connecting us for this episode. PRE-ORDER the new record HERE. Watch the music video for the single "Heavy Be the Borrowed Crown HERE.
When presented with the opportunity to break in a new studio at the same location the Grateful Dead recorded their first demos, most seasoned musicians would seize the chance to create at the sacred grounds to soak in the spirits of one of the most sought-after acts in modern music history. When Joby Pritzker and Aaron Vermut built The Jam Cave and co-founded Buena Vista West Records, they invited Sgt. Splendor, the New York City-based power duo of Kate Vargas and Eric McFadden to christen the new space alongside iconic engineer Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Iggy Pop). During a 3-day recording session, what was initially anticipated to yield one or two singles turned into a full-length album, Death of the Hoochie Koo, coming out on May 19th via Buena Vista West Records.
Vargas and McFadden were joined by Danny Eisenberg (keyboards), Michael Urbano(drums, auxiliary percussion), Mike D (bass), and Paulo Baldi (drums) who helped bring the songs to life and flesh out the song structures in the studio. “Lips Are Moving” provides social commentary for people in positions of power who habitually and unapologetically never seem to say an honest word. Rather than approaching the song with dark and heavy-handed commentary, the lyrics are addressed through the lens of a character who is unbothered—moving through the world with a calm smile calling it for what it is and never letting it get them bent out of shape.
Sgt. Splendor is coming off of a string of performances during Jazz Fest in New Orleans and will be celebrating the release of Death of the Hoochie Koo with festival appearances at Joshua Tree Music Festival (May 19th), and BottleRock Napa Valley (May 26th). The album can be pre-ordered on vinyl HERE and CD HERE.
For more information and to learn more, visit: sgtsplendor.com.

The Weekly Record's host, Kori Stanton, talks with singer-songwriter Andy Sydow about his upcoming EP "Little Crown" which drops May 26th on Color Red.
Click here for fee free tickets to Andy Sydow's headlining show at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver on June 2nd, 2023.
Americana, roots rock, folk, singer-songwriter Andy Sydow is a jack-of-all-trades. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist who's lyrics paint a picture of poetic realism, Sydow tours consistently both solo and with a backing band. Throughout the course of a show he’s known to croon an audience with acoustic guitar ballads, rip a slide guitar solo, and even sit down at the keys to show off his surprising boogie-woogie piano chops. He draws comparisons to voices like Paul Simon and Jackson Browne, mixed with a roots rock vibe reminiscent of Tom Petty or Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. In 2021, he was named a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk Songwriters Competition. When he's not touring, writing, or producing for other artists, Sydow spends time talking to creatives and music industry professionals on his podcast, Middle Class Rock Star.

On this episode of The Weekly Record host Kori Stanton talks with Jeanine Renée in her home studio in Paonia, Colorado. Jeanine's sophomore record "Plastic Madonna" (produced by fellow Coloradan Jackson Emmer) drops on May 25th, 2023. You can catch her live with her full band at the KAFM Radio Room in Grand Junction, CO on Thursday, May 18th and for the official album release at the Paradise Theatre in Paonia on Thursday, May 25th. Her band includes Chris Goplerud on Drums, Max Heepke on Upright Bass, Jean Sandoval on Guitar and Dobro and Amy Scher on Fiddle and Harmony Vocals. Click the links below for tickets to both shows.
Click here for tickets to the Radio Room in Grand Junction on May 18th.
And here to attend the official album release show at the Paradise Theatre in Paonia on May 25th.