DESCRIPTION:
Pokey Lafarge recorded this song at Pinball Sessions Studio in July of 2013 when the band were in town for Hillside Festival.
Singer/Songwriter and bandleader Pokey Lafarge has been on the road, all over the world, for quite some time. Pokey and his band, The South City Three (which had actually grown to five with the addition of a horn section) graced us with 3 tracks on their visit to the studio when they were in Guelph for The Hillside Festival.

The first track they recorded, A Good Man is Hard To Find spotlights the rich instrumental prowess of Pokey and The South City Three; Joey Glynn, Adam Hoskins, Ryan Koenig, and shines a spotlight on the newly added horn section as well.

Pokey and the band have an infectious admiration and pride for their hometown, St. Louis, MO. It’s no wonder then that the next song they shared with us is St. Louis Crawl,a song that was released on the self titled album on Third Man Records earlier this year. This song also appears as the B-side on a 7″ vinyl featuring Central Time also released on Jack White’s label. The album (highly recommended) was co-produced by Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show and features rich arrangements of some of Pokey’s finest songwriting.

Just like Pokey and the band feel genuine pride about their midwestern home they also genuinely love history. While this is evident in their undying respect for the aesthetic and feel of the prohibition era, there is a modernism in what they do as well.

Lastly, we are treated to, What The Rain Will Bring a beautiful and slightly mournful song about resilience and hope in the face of unknowns and adversity, a blues theme. The arrangement mixes gypsy swing, jazz, New Orleans style horns and early american blues; ” Storms coming /mama knows by the pain down in her bones. I’ve stayed inside for too long / waiting for the sun to shine. Tomorrow could mean anything / Oh, you just never know what the rain will bring”

Shawna Cooper

Full Pokey Lafarge audio session can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/pinball-sessions/sets/pokey-lafarge-pinball-sessions-63-january-2014

Twitter: @pokeylafarge
Facebook: facebook.com/PokeyLaFarge
Video shot by Roo Raymond
Audio Dan Beeson
Editing Dan Beeson