Jim James Joins Quiet Life for Chilly Townes Van Zandt Cover – Premiere
Wandering from studio to studio, Quiet Life — a cross-continental Americana act from, as they put it, “Portland, OR or New London, CT” — recorded their forthcoming Housebroken Man EP in locations as varied as Toronto and Nashville. Somewhere along they way, they found themselves in the same building as My Morning Jacket, leading drummer Ryan Spellman to tweet at Jim James to ask the frontman if he’d like to pop in on their current session.Ryan’s brother, songwriter Sean W. Spellman, remembers, “He walks in, plugs a bass into some pedals and a guitar amp and in one take he helped dictate the entire vibe of the recording.”
Below, listen to an exclusive stream of the resulting track, a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Waiting Around to Die.” “Townes Van Zandt is a huge influence on Quiet Life,” Sean tells Rolling Stone. “It was both a challenge and honor to attempt to recreate one of his best songs. Having Jim involved was the cherry on top of an already incredible studio session.”
Housebroken Man will be released August 12th on Mama Bird Recording Co. and can be pre-ordered here.