Watch “XO” (Beyoncé Cover) at The Bluegrass Situation HERE
The Fall EP Released 11/17/17
BROOKLYN, NY: Alt-Americana singer-songwriter, Butch Parnell, released his newest EP, The Fall, on November 17, 2017. The Fall is a 6-track collection of soulful, emotionally-driven, and slightly twangy tunes that will appeal to fans of artists like The Lemonheads, Brandi Carlile, or The Lone Bellow. Butch Parnell describes the EP as, “…a familiar story of love and loss that I’ve tried to tell as simply and without pretense as I can.” Just ahead of the full EP release, Butch Parnell gave fans a familiar treat by teaming up with The Bluegrass Situation to unveil the official music video for his rendition of “XO” (Beyoncé cover). Check out the video here. The cover track appears on The Fall EP and is part of the overall theme of the album. Parnell elaborates:
“I had been trying to think of a song to do as a cover for The Fall EP for a while, but I couldn’t really think of anything to do. In past releases, I’ve included at least one cover and they have mostly been songs from the 70’s. So for this EP, I thought I might do the opposite and try to make a more current song live in a new light. It just so happens that I had shot my promo photos in Coney Island a week before I got the idea to do this song. The original Beyoncé ‘XO’ video was shot in Coney Island. It’s colorful and vibrant, and that is precisely why I went in the opposite direction with the song and the video. While the lyrics are very present in the moment I wanted the music to evoke nostalgia. Musically, the bridge for Beyoncé is the arrival, the top of the Cyclone rollercoaster, if you will. I decided to make my bridge reflective and pull everything away. It’s not a rollercoaster, it’s more like the Wonder Wheel Ferris Wheel that stops at the top so you can take a moment to look around, and see things from a height and vantage point you normally can’t.” – Butch Parnell
Dave Parnell, under the moniker Butch Parnell, is a singer-songwriter living in Brooklyn, NY after relocating to pursue a career in music from his hometown in rural North Carolina. Flying to Springfield, MO in 2007 to record his debut album The Arc, under the name Runaway Dorothy, Parnell received rave reviews and grabbed the attention of musical royalty such as the Counting Crow’s Adam Duritz and Rosanne Cash. The next few years saw Parnell touring in support of the album and playing festivals like SXSW and CMJ multiple times. In 2014, after signing a one-album deal with Rock Ridge Music, Parnell released the second Runaway Dorothy album, The Wait. In 2015 Parnell quietly again starting writing and recording songs, unsure if there would be another ‘Runaway Dorothy’ album, he decided that he was just going to release his new music using his father’s name Butch Parnell. With Dorothy being his mother’s name, Parnell thought it was only fair to pay homage to his father with his new moniker.
Wanting his fans to hear his music sooner, rather than having to wait for a full album, Butch Parnell began releasing a slew of EPs and singles which include The Brightness EP (2015), The Shatter EP (2016), The 3rd EP (2017), and his latest single “Great” (2017). Parnell is now gearing up to release his newest EP The Fall, which was self-produced at Alley Byrd Studio.
1. Ophelia