I’ve lost track of the number of New West Records-artists that have recorded sessions for The Influences by now. All that matters right now is the newest addition: The Pink Stones. At TakeRoot this November, they loaded all their gear out of their van (which was in a minor incident the night before) and recorded covers of Waylon Jennings and George Jones as well as the title track of their album You Know Who. And they did it all in one take. I’ve checked: the full recording runs no longer than 13 minutes and 52 seconds.

The Pink Stones are doing whatever they want.

“This record was me trying to take everything I love as a listener and a player and shove it all into one thing without it sounding random.” The Pink Stones singer Hunter Pinkston continues: “There’s obviously a lot of country and rock in our music, but there’s a lot of gospel and soul and psych and dub. I really wanted to get all of those things living peacefully together in one record.”

Made up almost entirely of Athens musicians who play in other bands around town (including former members of the Drive-By Truckers and the Glands), The Pink Stones feel free to do whatever they want. And it was that looseness and fun that shone through while recording this session and playing their set at the TakeRoot festival later that day.

A lot of subtleties if you listen closely.

The Pink Stones’ album You Know Who is one of those that keeps growing on me. At first it may sound like country rock, and it is, but if you listen closely there are a lot of subtleties that pop up and make for a very interested listen. From a duet with Nikki Lane to Who’s Laughing Now? that still every time has me convinced I’ve accidentally switched to a record by Dutch singer (and friend of The Influences) Tim Knol.

Heavy touring has made Pinkston more confident as a songwriter who catalogs his feelings of alienation, isolation, loneliness, and yearning with wit and acuity. “There’s been a lot of growth and change in my life since we made our debut, and I’ve been feeling more comfortable as a songwriter, more at home as a person who plays music and expresses himself in lyrics.” 

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Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones by Justin Townes Earle, Robert Ellis and Andrew Combs.