John Shipe - Love Ain't Easy single
Release date: July 17th 2020
Artist Information
- Label: Involushun
- Genre: Americana
- Hometown: Portland, OR
- Influences: Neil Young, Jerry Joseph, King Crimson
- Sounds like: Jason Isbell, Wilco, Joe Henry, Neil Finn
Biography
“This is the album of my life. I may not make another one because I may not have anything left in me. My experience in recovery—both as an alcoholic and an artist—brought me to places of brutal honesty, and it has been exhausting,” says John Shipe.
His latest is a fiercely poetic and fearlessly vulnerable double album aptly titled, The Beast Is Back, out September 25th, to be proceeded by the single, Love Ain’t Easy. The diverse collection brims with songs that course through all streams of Americana, including stately piano ballads, swampy blues, intimate folk, haunting country, and sprightly classic country.
Over 34 years, John has eased through multiple genres of music with ruthless empathy and a literate flair. His songs blur the line between autobiography and hard-luck narrative storytelling. Previously, John has been known for his prolific output, having issued a steady stream of 11 solo records in about ten years. His three prior albums garnered acclaim, airplay, and many career-building live performance opportunities—one highlight being filling in for Susan Tedeschi at Eugene, Oregon’s venerated Cuthbert Theatre in on a bill with Keb Mo’ and Taj Mahal in front of thousands. Ten years ago, however, John went silent as a recording artist.
“The material itself explains the long wait: it’s about all the life challenges I’ve been confronting that precluded the difficult labor of releasing albums at my former rate. It’s also about the reckoning and resolution that finally allowed me to work again.”
John has never been known for writing pure love songs, but he wrote the single “Love Ain’t Easy” (which opens up the second disc) intended as a heartfelt ballad. It’s replete with lonesome pedal steel guitar, and achingly beautiful female harmony vocals courtesy of Halie Loren, who previously appeared on John’s 2010 Villain album. “I wanted to write a simple love song to offer my sweetie on Valentine’s Day,” John recalls. “But, as usual, when I got to the chorus, I couldn’t help singing about ‘all the work we had to do.’ So ‘love ain’t easy’ became the hook; the previous hook was ‘I'm so glad that I love you.’ I refer to this one as a ‘love song for grown-ups.’”
Recent Press
Upcoming Shows
- August 15th // McKenzie Bridge, OR // McKenzie Bridge General Store
- August 27th // Coeur D'Alene, ID // Moon Time
- August 28th // Sandpoint, ID // Eichardt's
- September 26th // Portland, OR // Dublin Pub
- October 15th // Depoe Bay, OR // Lord Brixxton
Listen (or download here)
Photos
