Born from the mind of a wild eyed teen a decade ago, John Courage has been learning how to be a songwriter the old fashioned way. But even after countless bar gigs and hours put in at unassuming day jobs, there is still the spark of something innocent and full of wonder at the magic of communicating through song. The sound has varied over the years, if not wildly, then to say it has been directed
by change, trying to get to the core of the sound that inspired a life in music. At times it has been country, at times folk, and most recently a return to rock and roll roots.

Now with the addition of The Great Plains, a handpicked band of great friends and fantastic players, John Courage and said company have released their latest effort, “Don’t Fail Me Now”, An 11 song full length album that goes everywhere from country fried rock and roll to psychedelic musings to end-of-the-line ballads, all while drawing heavily on the band’s 3 and 4 part vocal harmonies. Recorded in Santa Fe, NM, the record clearly was influenced by the geography, but more importantly it reflects the sound of life long musicians pulling together for a new project. This is the 4th full length release from John Courage as a writer, and a great beginning to this new venture, The Great Plains.

Jonathan Palmer began performing as John Courage 10 years ago with a full 5 piece band. The group disbanded to pursue solo careers, and Palmer continued on alone as John Courage, recording over 100 original songs in the following years, with hundreds of other songs still in wait in dusty notebooks. He met Francesco Catania (lead guitar, keys, vocals) as a teenager working in a local grocery store. Their shared love of classic rock and nights spent watching The Last Waltz finally brought them together after years of talking about sharing a project, and it has finally happened after the end of Catania’s project A Pack Of Wolves. Dan Ford (drums, percussion, vocals) showed up shortly after, if only for a brief time, playing with then Sonoma County based songwriter Daryl Scairiot, but left enough of an impression that Courage quickly contacted him upon learning of his return to Sonoma County years later. Kevin Carducci (bass, vocals)and John met shortly after, when Carducci was a wandering free radical living in a van and pursuing a solo career. The blending of multiple songwriters has created a unique arrangement sensibility, and continues to push the band in further directions.

Now back in Sonoma County after years spent in Washington State and New Mexico respectively, Courage and Co. are already working on the next generation of songs as the band continues to grow and blossom into the heirs of a long forgotten art: live rock and roll played by real people, singing harmonies free of pitch correction, and bringing back the distant art of songwriting. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.