The frontier stories of American novelist Louis L’Amour have been an influence on Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance of Jamestown Revival since the band’s formation. At the age of 23, both Clay and Chance read L’Amour’s memoir, The Education Of A Wandering Man, and since then, fans haven’t had to dig very deep to find their hat tips to the late, great legend. On May 28th, Jamestown Revival’s newest project, an EP titled Fireside With Louis L’Amour, will forever immortalize the guys’ love for L’Amour’s storytelling in a six-song roundup of tunes directly inspired by his short stories. When it was all said and done, Jamestown Revival was successful in their effort to distill a half-dozen tales from The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories from 30-page adventures down to three and a half minute songs; each directly inspired by individual stories from the collection—Jamestown Revival’s tune “Bound for El Paso” comes from L’Amour’s “The Gift of Cochise,” “Fool Me Once” was inspired by “The Man from Bitter Sands,” and so on. This past Friday, the band released “Prospector’s Blues,” their thumping, resonator-driven album-closer inspired by L’Amour’s tale of cautious-turned-reckless mining in “Trap of Gold.” Fans can listen to “Prospector’s Blues” here and pre-order or pre-save Fireside With Louis L’Amour ahead of its May 28th release with this link.
“They say that L’Amour was the master of the short story and we would humbly agree. In 30 pages he manages to draw you in, make you invest in the characters, and oftentimes hit you with a twist that you truly didn’t expect,” say Clay and Chance. “The songs on Fireside With Louis L’Amour are our attempt to put a musical spin on some of Louis’ short stories found on The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories. It’s been challenging and incredibly rewarding.” To have the family of L’Amour on board was just icing on the cake for Jamestown Revival. “On top of that, it’s been an absolute honor to have the blessing of Louis’ son, Beau, and the L’Amour estate. We hope these songs inspire you to pick up The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour and read the true inspiration behind the music,” they say, before adding “We also feel it’s worthwhile to mention these songs should be best enjoyed sitting next to a fire with a nip of whiskey in the glass.”
