“This album is simply another collection of reflections and stories, day-to-day life, and realizations that we all come in contact with in one time or the other,” says ultimate folk troubadour, punk pioneer, and fly-fisherman extraordinaire Chuck Ragan about his new album ‘Love and Lore’ which is released today, October 25th via Rise Records. “The creation is usually the most exciting part of the process and being able to share the songs is always a blessing.”
His latest single, ‘Aching Hour’, is classic Chuck Ragan – an inherent knack for melodic hooks anchored by his trademark soaring chorus, all delivered with an earnestness that bleeds through his gravel-punctuated vocals. “My goal in songwriting is to find the path or crack the code to the point where I put the hair up on the back of my neck or my arms,” he explains about his songwriting process. “Understand that I’m not talking about getting the chills because the song is good or not. I would like to think that I thought it was good. Otherwise, I should be doing something else. But when we’re talking about a song being good in general, that judgment isn’t mine to have.”
First conceptualized in 2016 with studio work beginning in 2019, progress was halted due to that ol’ dreaded COVID, ‘Love and Lore’ was posited on the shelf while he focused on his fly fishing operation in Grass Valley, CA to provide for his family. “We got serious about making this album again in 2022, but I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to it between being physically exhausted and having a toddler,” he admits. “It was just chaos.” (This also includes a tree falling on guitarist/pedal steel/multi-instrumentalist Todd Beene’s house.) Eventually ‘Love and Lore’ was recorded in early 2023 and the result is an album that showcases Chuck’s further transcending the “folk” label to create a collection of songs that see him stretching out as a songwriter to fearlessly explore new sonic territory.
A formidable presence on stage for the last three decades, Chuck Ragan played his first solo show over 30 years ago and has been writing heartfelt campfire anthems ever since he picked up an acoustic guitar at the age of 12. Growing up in the Southeast and raised by his Louisiana and Florida-bred Southern family, he has toured the world with seminal punk band Hot Water Music and as a solo performer. Chuck conceptualized The Revival Tour in 2005, which has been one of the most anticipated tours throughout North America, Europe, and Australia since its inception in 2008. Featuring such punk rock royalty as Frank Turner, Dave Hause (The Loved Ones), Jenny Owens Young, Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem), Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!), Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio) among many others, The Revival Tour was a festival of sorts that brought together artists of varying genres to collaborate and jam on stage as a musical collective. Ragan has toured the globe extensively for the past two decades and has become a household name in both the folk and punk communities.
Aside from his constantly evolving musical career, Chuck is a true multi-hyphenate as he is an established fishing guide who leads fly fishing trips throughout the Sacramento Valley Rivers in and around the Western region of the Lower Sierra Nevada Mountains. He has also written a book, The ‘Road Most Traveled’ (2012), which compiles anecdotes about life on the road. In addition, an award-winning documentary ‘Landsick’ based on his balance between music, his fishing, and his family, had a theatrical release in 2018, and was followed by a wide release on YouTube the following year.
‘Wild In Our Ways’ was produced by Todd Beene and Chuck Ragan, engineered by Ryan Williams at Black Bear Studios in Gainesville, FL and features Spencer Duncan on bass, George Rebelo (Hot Water Music) on drums, Todd Beene on guitar, Chris Cresswell (Hot Water Music, The Flatliners) on backing vocals.