Dusty and The LoveNotes

oveNotes
A female Neil Young, with a country, classic rock/folk feel. "Lead A Horse" puts a not-too dazzling spin on an old saying and "Honey it's up to you, you're gonna sink or swim" pretty much sums up the concept. The recording of their latest album though is pro, and you can hear the "experience" in all the musicians. By that I mean they are not amateurs, teenagers, or in their 20's anymore (or 30's?). There is a pretty heavy country vibe to this track, with a fiddle trading lines with a sliding guitar lead.

"Dusty" is the female vocalist in the band, and I'm assuming she is the chief songwriter. This is pop/country underground bar music. The recording is superb, with spot-on tambourines, drums, perfectly mixed vocals and harmonies. The line-dancing vibe is not going to win any new fans or cross any genre lines, but fans blues-ish country songwriting will be entertained.

The band is incredibly strong and pro, laying the twang on pretty thick, and bouncing bass lines on home in perfect time. The singing isn't "American Idol" in fashion, it is a more folky, storytelling kind of approach, akin to the before mentioned Neil Young, but definitely with a dose of female country.
- Indie Music Review

DUSTY & THE LOVENOTES: Better World

By Frank Kocher, February 2013




Hailing from Ramona, Dusty and the LoveNotes are a roots quartet built around singer/songwriter/flutist Dusty Recor and guitar/harp veteran Indian Joe. After an EP, 2010 saw the LoveNotes debut CD, What Did You Expect?, with an aggressive, crunchy, rocking sound – all songs with electric guitars. They are back with Better World, writing and arranging 10 original country folk-rock tunes, that include the contributions of Floyd Fronius on violin and drummer-about-town Brian (Nucci) Cantrell. On the new disc, Joe still carves plenty of licks, but there is a much more eclectic mix of moods, textures, and overall vibe, helped by the addition of Fronius, Recor’s flute work, and plenty of acoustic guitar.

It all comes together on the opener and title song. Recor’s simple tune about improving the world through cooperation is sung/spoken over smooth lead guitar fills and pleasing violin accents. “Lead a Horse” takes the promise shown in the opener to another level; it is a catchy country-gal rocker that glides as Joe’s slide duels with Fronius’ fiddle, and Recor is perfectly in the pocket telling her lying lover, “You got by on good looks/ Those good looks got up and left.” It is a standout track, and more are to come.

Even after repeat listening, “Devil’s Clutch” is a minor-chord blues ballad that seems mired in verses that recall ‘60s songs like “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night” and “Summer Wine” and a way-too-loud and overdriven guitar track by Joe, only to suddenly break into unexpected, almost beautiful choruses with the best harmonies on the disc. Go figure. “Taos” has a Native American vibe, as a good arrangement mixes Nucci’s drums with haunting flute passages; Recor weaves a tale of her experiences in the wide open country, and with the folks who live there – a good match of message, package, and delivery.

There are some soft, folky acoustic moments on the disc that work very well. “Give Me Some Time” has Recor in the best vocal on the disc, and her lyrics about “I need to miss you to the bone/ I need to miss your lips/ I need to miss your smell” resonate, as Joe’s harp touches answer her, and sweet harmonies give the choruses an extra payoff. “The Things You Do” shows that Recor and Joe may have softened up the sound on this disc, but they can still jump into Bonnie Raitt/Linda Ronstadt territory and rock it up.

The folk song “Remember Me” is acoustic, with pretty flute fills throughout, as she sings “All of my life I’ve reached for the stars/ Orion above kept me from harm.” When the kick-ass cowgirl can pull this kind of song off, it is called range, Recor shows it here.

On Better Life, the listener gets the feeling that Dusty Recor is a singer who is finding in this material an opportunity to show off her full potential. Props to Indian Joe for his part in the shift in musical focus that draws it out, with such enjoyable results.
- San Diego Troubadour

Imagining a Better World
CD Review of Better World (Dusty and The LoveNotes)

When John Lennon sang about the possibilities of a world living “as one” in his now-iconic Imagine, he presented the concept of improvement through negation. He asked his audience to envision “no” heaven, or hell, or religions. Presumably, through these absences, we could focus on the positive aspects of human existence without becoming distracted.

The lineage of world-improvement music continued through Imagine’s successors – We Are The World, Tears Are Not Enough. These are sentimental, singable and universal in their appeal to our kinder natures. Like Blowin’ in the Wind before them and Waiting on the World to Change after them, such songs reach into the deepest recesses of the heart and draw out our shared longing for peace, for love and understanding, for an end to the kind of terrifying violence that generates a Newtown or an Aurora massacre. We don’t seem to have listened attentively enough, or at least the message hasn’t been absorbed, but that doesn’t stop artists around the globe from continuing to promote it and hope for the best.

With Better World, Dusty and the LoveNotes have emphatically taken their place in this march toward human redemption. Dusty Recor’s inventive lyrics and powerful lead vocals, combined with Indian Joe’s effortless guitar and rich vocal harmonies, make for a winning blend. They’re capably supported by a talented trio of backup musicians to add further depth.

Here is a CD for the thoughtful listener who likes his or her contemporary tunes well-seasoned with a touch of blues and a hint of rockabilly. It’s honest, unpretentious and totally impressive. Both the music and the vocals reveal a combination of insight and gutsy delivery. Dusty’s smoking-hot alto voice is resonant and flexible, with the added bonus of such clear diction that every word is understandable (after all, anything worth hearing is worth hearing accurately). She can shift from sultry to sublime, sarcastic to sweet – and it sounds natural. It would be easy to think of her with Joe at a kitchen party, shaking the ceiling. Their songs have an unstudied quality, as if they’re fresh from the heart every single time.

Dusty’s voice carries the same intensity as Tracy Chapman, with just a hint of Kim Carnes rasp to make it even more interesting. Her lyrics are reminiscent of Patti Scialfa – biting, sometimes wounded and full of the unexpected. Yet she is none of these women. Dusty isn’t imitative in any sense. She respects the great R&B singers of the past, acknowledges their folk and rock influences, but takes her own course. As a songwriter, she is clearly blessed with the dual gifts of keen observation and razor wit. Better World sidesteps the carefree sass of a predecessor CD, What Did You Expect, with its tongue-in-cheek (no pun) Blue Satin Thong and S.P.C.A. But that doesn’t mean it’s dull. For instance, there’s wry humor in the quirky and self-confident Owner’s Manual. She’s a woman who comes with No safety instructions, no satisfaction guarantee and who can resist that warning? Expect to be happily surprised.

That having been said, Dusty is no precocious teenager or twentysomething star. She’s a mature performer who’s seen and done more, and been in more places – both geographically and emotionally - than most of her younger sisters in music. Her words are as real as it gets. Women instinctively trust what she’s saying because we can recognize it. There’s an “Oh YEAH!” reaction. It’s a relief to hear someone who can speak to the experiences and hopes of her own generation. Here’s an emerging artist who can rightfully claim a spot among the most unique and attention-getting of today’s younger – and often less talented – hopefuls. She’d dance right over most of them, in fact. Indian Joe, appropriately enough, is well-matched; he’s been down the highway and in essence, he’s a one-man band in his own right – but content to allow Dusty the spotlight. Their partnership is made in songsmith heaven and destined to craft a memorable body of work.

To that end, the title song offers a plea for greater goodness in the world. Its release so close to the horrific events of Newtown, Connecticut seems both ironic and fortuitous. If ever we need a reminder that we’ve got to fix things, it is now.

If everything I touch is better than I found it
If every act has a kindness around it
If I can effect a measure of improvement
Think what we could do if we all put our minds to it

We’re astute, technically advanced
Yet we wage war as in our past
Blood and guns, our ultimate tools… (Better World)

This is an anguished mother crying out; it’s a frustrated citizen watching his or her community disintegrate; it’s an individual confronting immense challenges but determined to make a positive imprint in spite of them. And it is one heck of a song! The quiet guitar intro segues into a reflective commentary that builds in impact as it progresses. Floyd Fronius skillfully weaves his violin like an invocation to peace, a counterpoint to anger. Underlying the whole structure is the driving rhythm of Brian (Nucci) Cantrell’s drums. The song ends as it begins – gently, wistfully. It tempers hope with reality, and it deals more with presence – of both good and evil – than with absence of either one.

Better World is immediately followed by the more energetic and self-mocking Lead a Horse with its personal and somewhat cynical take on a failing relationship. Most of us have been there at some point (boy, have we ever!). You rely on me to set you free./Honey it ain’t as easy as it used to be./I give you all I got. Got nothing left./The way you need me baby like to bleed me to death. The rhythm section of this one is especially engaging. It’s a head-nodding, foot-twitching treat. In a way, it’s also a bit of an ironic complement to the bitter tone of the lyrics themselves.

Devil’s Clutch definitely showcases Indian Joe’s brilliant guitar, and Dusty’s magnetic performance is nicely underscored by Jon Hasz on backup vocals. While its theme is a familiar looking-back at a love affair long gone, the approach to this reminiscence isn’t even close to being routine. It hits hard and leaves blood on the floor. Whether that blood belongs to the singer or to her past lover is unclear and best left that way. Pain can cut in both directions, after all. How well we recover depends on who ends up with the worst scars.

I want to know, can you hear my song? Did you beat the odds? Are you long gone?
Did you learn to live? Did you mend yourself? Did you see the light? Are you somewhere else? (Devil’s Clutch)

One of the album’s most intelligent aspects is its organization. The angst of Devil’s Clutch is countered by the more mellow and resigned Pray Out Loud, which can be taken as another personal affirmation although it expands to include the rest of suffering humanity. The rain metaphor is effectively incorporated into images of washing away tears - usually linked to lost romance but in this case, there’s a cleansing process that the singer offers to her broken world. The prayers are less religious than spiritual. Going to … throw my head back/let the rain roll down my face,/mingle with my tears, wash away my fears …/I pray the rain will clean this worldly mess/wash away the evil, the evil that never rests.

Surely this song, too, speaks for the fallen children and the families torn by grief. It is the lament of the earth itself.

There follows what is perhaps this reviewer’s favorite track, the haunting and surrealistic Taos. Indian Joe’s arrangement with its Native American drum rhythms, and Dusty’s soaring flute, both lift this one into the realm of magic. It suggests that we live in a dimension where at unexpected moments, the gateway opens into another place entirely, inhabited by mythic beings and archetypal characters who look like us but really aren’t. Those familiar with shamanism will recognize overtones of the shamanistic tradition here. This is the kind of song that draws seekers to unfamiliar territory! If it reaches a wide audience, Taos – the city - might well see a few extra tourists as a result.

All of my life I’ve reached for the stars, Orion above has kept me from harm
When we parted I asked that he watch over you and protect you for me. (Remember Me)

The Native American awareness of and closeness to natural forces and their influence is continued in the poignant Remember Me. This theme is one which the band might well develop further. First Nations people possess a vibrant musical heritage, which these musicians seem especially suited to explore. Perhaps it might form the backbone of another album along the path.

The CD also includes other tracks not mentioned here; they’re left for the listener to discover. It concludes with the aptly-titled Epiphany. This brings the offerings full circle; it closes with a search unfinished, a question unanswered. The Better World, it seems, might be on the way but it hasn’t arrived yet. The trick is not to stop looking for it; not to stop believing in it.

When one door closes, another door opens
I’m here hoping another door opens soon
It appears I’ve lost my senses. I fear the consequences
I’m here searching, searching for an answer to this gloom. (Epiphany)

Dusty and The LoveNotes won’t be leaving their fans groping in the gloom. Their next album will be eagerly received and continue the journey forward. Meanwhile, give Better World a serious listen. It’s a great addition to earlier efforts and a promising foretaste of more to follow. – BJ Tate


Better World: Dusty and the LoveNotes; recorded and mixed by Jon Hasz, composed and arranged by Dusty Recor and Indian Joe Stewart, with Floyd Fronius on violin, Brian (Nucci) Cantrell on drums and Jon Hasz on backup vocals. Dusty Recor – lead and harmony vocals, flute; Indian Joe – backup vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica. © 2012 Recor Records


About the Reviewer:

Brenda J Tate studied Voice in her hometown of Wolfville, Nova Scotia with Professor Leonard Mayoh and Doris Mayoh. She has performed as a classical mezzo-soprano, acted in musical theater and sung with various choral groups. Her own music is featured on her YouTube channel under the username of Silharima. Brenda was a winner of the Smithbooks/Coles national book review contest in Canada and has also received several awards for her poetry. She has published three collections of her work. Visit her at http://www.brendatate.com
- Brend Tate

Two Ramona musicians with very different, but equally interesting life stories, are starting to make a splash on the music scene with their band called Dusty and The LoveNotes. And residents will get to see for themselves when the band appears at the Ramona Mainstage theater on Oct. 22 as an opening act for Cajun blues singer Tab Benoit, who is nationally known both for his music and his work as a wetlands activist.

Dusty is Dusty Recor, who only began singing in public five years ago at the age of 53, but said she is now “having more fun than I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Nothing is more pleasurable than playing on stage and having people enjoy our music,” said Recor, who hopes to be an inspiration to other women who may feel constrained by life.

“I want to show my ‘sisters’ that they can do whatever they want and create their own reality,” Recor said. “You can become whatever you think, say and believe.”

In contrast to Recor, her partner in The LoveNotes, known as Indian Joe, has been playing guitar, singing and writing songs since he was a child.

Asked about his “real name,” Indian Joe, who is 63, said, “This is much more me than my real name.”

“That appellation that was affixed to me when I was born, I never grew into that person,” he said. “And the harder I tried, the worse it got.”

Born in New Brunswick, Canada, Indian Joe said he got his moniker at a British-style boarding school where everyone had a nickname.

“I think I acquired the name because of my native look, and I used to have a wild streak,” he said. “I’d be out on my Harley, or running up and down the steps in the residence hall, screaming. Let’s just say I had a colorful image.”

As a young man, Indian Joe had a normal job working in construction for awhile, but decided it wasn’t for him.

“When I was 20, at the first Saturn return, I could see that my life was not going in a positive direction, so I piled my stuff on my motorcycle and left with not much more than gas money,” he said. “I rolled around on my motorcycle with my guitar strapped to it and I was a rolling party, meeting people and playing for them. But I quit alcohol and tobacco when I was 22, and natural food and yoga treat me a lot better.”

Indian Joe ended up in California because he had friends in Del Mar, but after a few years there decided that he didn’t fit into the “Southern California beach dude look,” so he moved to Ramona in 1985. Once there he concluded that his music—blues, rockabilly, outlaw country and rock and roll—was more suited to the backcountry, and he started his own band, Indian Joe and the Chiefs, which is still performing.

After studying at the University of California’s music department, Indian Joe fulfilled another passion — to share his music — and now teaches guitar at the Ramona Music Center and at Carvin Guitars in San Diego. And that’s how Recor met Indian Joe, when she went to him in 2004 to learn to play the guitar.

Her road to The LoveNotes and to Ramona, where she moved in 2000, started in the Bay Area, where she learned piano and flute as a child, but not the guitar.

“I tried to play it, but I never had any instruction,” she said.

Her family moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore when she was 10, and Recor became interested in boating “because my father was a fanatical sailor,” she said.

At 19 she headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands and stayed there for 10 years, living on a sailboat.

After she returned to the states, her next passion was horses.

“I did the dressage queen thing—showing, training, teaching,” she said. “And then it reached an end. In one day, literally, I just flipped a switch and said, ‘That’s it. I’m done.’”

She decided to go back to her childhood interest in music.

“I couldn’t fit a piano in my apartment and didn’t want an electric keyboard,” she said. “And I didn’t want to go back to the flute because when you stop blowing, the sound doesn’t linger.”

So her path took her to Indian Joe for guitar lessons.

“I wanted to sing, but I was too shy,” she said. “Finally, a year later Indian Joe taught me how to use the mic and got me out singing and playing. I feel badly for the audience because I was pretty awful.

“Then he fueled me to start writing. I didn’t even know I could do it. I wrote my first song in 2006 and now have 22 playable songs.”

A year ago, The LoveNotes put out its first album, called “What Did You Expect?” Recor explained that the title came from a reaction a friend had when she first heard Recor’s music and said, “It’s not what I expected!”

“Joe and I did everything on the album,” Recor said. “We didn’t even have a band.”

Now they do, and its current members are Cat Hallett from Ramona, who is the backup vocalist and does hand percussions, drummer Gordon Sluder from La Mesa and Barry Canter of Rancho Pensaquitos, who plays the bass guitar. Recor is the lead vocalist and plays acoustic guitar and Indian Joe is the lead guitarist with his electric instrument.

In March 2010 The LoveNotes were signed by a small independent record company called That Other Label, and they have just released a new extended play album called “Take the Wheel,” which will be available at online stores such a iTunes and Amazon.

All their recordings have been done at the Ramona Music Center’s AfterHours Studio, and Recor has high praise for owner Jon Hasz.

“He is just fantastic and really bright,” Recor said. “He’s amazing and he’s just a kid in his 20s.”

The LoveNotes original songs exemplify the true partnership between Recor and Indian Joe. She has the inspiration, writes the lyrics, figures out the chords and melody, and then the two work together on the finishing touches.

“I help when we’re trying to find a chord that fits,” Indian Joe said. “I have a head full of ideas, so I give her options and let her feel what is appropriate for the mood she has in mind.”

Indian Joe believes that Recor has a bright future in music.

“I have put a lot of energy into a lot of other people who said they wanted to do this, but when it came to what it takes, which is a lot more than it appears, they got weak-kneed when the door to success began to open and they crumbled,” he said.

“I don’t see that happening with Dusty, and, yes, that door is starting to open, and that’s very good because it’s what we’ve been working hard for.”

Does Recor agree that success may be just around the corner?

“I think it’s going really well,” she said, “When I think I’m stalled out, all I have to do is look back to where we were just a year ago.”

Dusty and the LoveNotes can be seen at:
Hotel Indigo, San Diego, 8 p.m., Oct. 20
Ramona Mainstage theater, 7 p.m., Oct. 22
Winstons, Ocean Beach, 8 p.m., Oct. 27
House of Blues, San Diego, 8 p.m., Nov. 8
Tickets for the Ramona Mainstage appearance, which are $25, can be purchased at ramonamainstage.com and at the door. For more information, call Ramona Mainstage at 760-789-7008.

Musicians describe style as ‘bluesy country-rock’

By Rose Marie Scott-Blair

Listen to music by Dusty and The LoveNotes, which Dusty Recor describes as “bluesy country-rock,” and one immediately realizes that these are not the songs and lyrics commonly heard in today’s music.
Or as one young man said to Recor when the band played recently at Rebecca’s Coffee House in San Diego: “This isn’t the same boring stuff I’m used to hearing on the radio!”

“I love the character in her voice,” said her partner, Indian Joe. “It’s distinctive, and I love her clarity—the way she can bring out the meaning of the words in her lyrics.”

Most of Recor’s lyrics have been inspired by her life experiences. For example, she wrote the song “Antigua,” referring to the island in the West Indies, in the cockpit of a friend’s sailboat the evening before a return flight to California. Here’s part of what she had to say:

“Back in California, my life’s a constant rush
Faster is better and nothing’s good enough
Upgrade this, multi-function that
Nothing new is ever built to last

Find true love on line
Why talk when you can text
Exercise with your big screen
No one to see you sweat.”

Recor, 58, has also written a song called “Recipe,” which she describes as “a theme for many women of my age:”

“Early in our lives we’re dished up and served a plate.
It’s full of foods we didn’t choose, foods we love or hate.
Either way we’re told we’ve got to eat it ‘till it’s gone
And we’re too young to know whether that is right or wrong.

Now that I am older and I’ve finally cleaned my plate.
I’ve done what was expected by my family, church and state.
I ate what I was dished. I did my best to please,
But I’m not satisfied so it’s time to cook for me.

I’m dreaming up a menu, just to suit my taste.
It’s going to be exciting, filled with proteins, greens and cake.
I’m mixing up a recipe I’ve never used before,
And finding out a little less is worth a whole lot more.

I’m designing and defining a brand new recipe.
I’m changing, rearranging the instructions just for me.
They may seem strange, a bit unorthodox.
You won’t find them on the back of a Betty Crocker box.”

Recor can also display quite a sense of humor, as demonstrated by her “official leaving song” called “Blue Satin Thong,” which says, in part:

“I’m leaving today, you know I can’t stay
Cause you don’t love me anymore
I gave you back your key. I left nothing else of me,
‘cept my blue satin thong in your drawer.

You know I really can’t cook and I really can’t sew
Burned up your cash, wrecked your old convertible
But I did something right each and every night
And I left a little something in your drawer

Blue satin thong in your drawer
You say you don’t love me anymore
You might be sad, but me I’m just glad and
I won’t be coming back and that’s for sure!” - Ramona Sentinel

Two Ramona musicians with very different, but equally interesting life stories, are starting to make a splash on the music scene with their band called Dusty and The LoveNotes. And residents will get to see for themselves when the band appears at the Ramona Mainstage theater on Oct. 22 as an opening act for Cajun blues singer Tab Benoit, who is nationally known both for his music and his work as a wetlands activist.

Dusty is Dusty Recor, who only began singing in public five years ago at the age of 53, but said she is now “having more fun than I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Nothing is more pleasurable than playing on stage and having people enjoy our music,” said Recor, who hopes to be an inspiration to other women who may feel constrained by life.

“I want to show my ‘sisters’ that they can do whatever they want and create their own reality,” Recor said. “You can become whatever you think, say and believe.”

In contrast to Recor, her partner in The LoveNotes, known as Indian Joe, has been playing guitar, singing and writing songs since he was a child.

Asked about his “real name,” Indian Joe, who is 63, said, “This is much more me than my real name.”

“That appellation that was affixed to me when I was born, I never grew into that person,” he said. “And the harder I tried, the worse it got.”

Born in New Brunswick, Canada, Indian Joe said he got his moniker at a British-style boarding school where everyone had a nickname.

“I think I acquired the name because of my native look, and I used to have a wild streak,” he said. “I’d be out on my Harley, or running up and down the steps in the residence hall, screaming. Let’s just say I had a colorful image.”

As a young man, Indian Joe had a normal job working in construction for awhile, but decided it wasn’t for him.

“When I was 20, at the first Saturn return, I could see that my life was not going in a positive direction, so I piled my stuff on my motorcycle and left with not much more than gas money,” he said. “I rolled around on my motorcycle with my guitar strapped to it and I was a rolling party, meeting people and playing for them. But I quit alcohol and tobacco when I was 22, and natural food and yoga treat me a lot better.”

Indian Joe ended up in California because he had friends in Del Mar, but after a few years there decided that he didn’t fit into the “Southern California beach dude look,” so he moved to Ramona in 1985. Once there he concluded that his music—blues, rockabilly, outlaw country and rock and roll—was more suited to the backcountry, and he started his own band, Indian Joe and the Chiefs, which is still performing.

After studying at the University of California’s music department, Indian Joe fulfilled another passion — to share his music — and now teaches guitar at the Ramona Music Center and at Carvin Guitars in San Diego. And that’s how Recor met Indian Joe, when she went to him in 2004 to learn to play the guitar.

Her road to The LoveNotes and to Ramona, where she moved in 2000, started in the Bay Area, where she learned piano and flute as a child, but not the guitar.

“I tried to play it, but I never had any instruction,” she said.

Her family moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore when she was 10, and Recor became interested in boating “because my father was a fanatical sailor,” she said.

At 19 she headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands and stayed there for 10 years, living on a sailboat.

After she returned to the states, her next passion was horses.

“I did the dressage queen thing—showing, training, teaching,” she said. “And then it reached an end. In one day, literally, I just flipped a switch and said, ‘That’s it. I’m done.’”

She decided to go back to her childhood interest in music.

“I couldn’t fit a piano in my apartment and didn’t want an electric keyboard,” she said. “And I didn’t want to go back to the flute because when you stop blowing, the sound doesn’t linger.”

So her path took her to Indian Joe for guitar lessons.

“I wanted to sing, but I was too shy,” she said. “Finally, a year later Indian Joe taught me how to use the mic and got me out singing and playing. I feel badly for the audience because I was pretty awful.

“Then he fueled me to start writing. I didn’t even know I could do it. I wrote my first song in 2006 and now have 22 playable songs.”

A year ago, The LoveNotes put out its first album, called “What Did You Expect?” Recor explained that the title came from a reaction a friend had when she first heard Recor’s music and said, “It’s not what I expected!”

“Joe and I did everything on the album,” Recor said. “We didn’t even have a band.”

Now they do, and its current members are Cat Hallett from Ramona, who is the backup vocalist and does hand percussions, drummer Gordon Sluder from La Mesa and Barry Canter of Rancho Pensaquitos, who plays the bass guitar. Recor is the lead vocalist and plays acoustic guitar and Indian Joe is the lead guitarist with his electric instrument.

In March 2010 The LoveNotes were signed by a small independent record company called That Other Label, and they have just released a new extended play album called “Take the Wheel,” which will be available at online stores such a iTunes and Amazon.

All their recordings have been done at the Ramona Music Center’s AfterHours Studio, and Recor has high praise for owner Jon Hasz.

“He is just fantastic and really bright,” Recor said. “He’s amazing and he’s just a kid in his 20s.”

The LoveNotes original songs exemplify the true partnership between Recor and Indian Joe. She has the inspiration, writes the lyrics, figures out the chords and melody, and then the two work together on the finishing touches.

“I help when we’re trying to find a chord that fits,” Indian Joe said. “I have a head full of ideas, so I give her options and let her feel what is appropriate for the mood she has in mind.”

Indian Joe believes that Recor has a bright future in music.

“I have put a lot of energy into a lot of other people who said they wanted to do this, but when it came to what it takes, which is a lot more than it appears, they got weak-kneed when the door to success began to open and they crumbled,” he said.

“I don’t see that happening with Dusty, and, yes, that door is starting to open, and that’s very good because it’s what we’ve been working hard for.”

Does Recor agree that success may be just around the corner?

“I think it’s going really well,” she said, “When I think I’m stalled out, all I have to do is look back to where we were just a year ago.”

Dusty and the LoveNotes can be seen at:
Hotel Indigo, San Diego, 8 p.m., Oct. 20
Ramona Mainstage theater, 7 p.m., Oct. 22
Winstons, Ocean Beach, 8 p.m., Oct. 27
House of Blues, San Diego, 8 p.m., Nov. 8
Tickets for the Ramona Mainstage appearance, which are $25, can be purchased at ramonamainstage.com and at the door. For more information, call Ramona Mainstage at 760-789-7008.

Musicians describe style as ‘bluesy country-rock’

By Rose Marie Scott-Blair

Listen to music by Dusty and The LoveNotes, which Dusty Recor describes as “bluesy country-rock,” and one immediately realizes that these are not the songs and lyrics commonly heard in today’s music.
Or as one young man said to Recor when the band played recently at Rebecca’s Coffee House in San Diego: “This isn’t the same boring stuff I’m used to hearing on the radio!”

“I love the character in her voice,” said her partner, Indian Joe. “It’s distinctive, and I love her clarity—the way she can bring out the meaning of the words in her lyrics.”

Most of Recor’s lyrics have been inspired by her life experiences. For example, she wrote the song “Antigua,” referring to the island in the West Indies, in the cockpit of a friend’s sailboat the evening before a return flight to California. Here’s part of what she had to say:

“Back in California, my life’s a constant rush
Faster is better and nothing’s good enough
Upgrade this, multi-function that
Nothing new is ever built to last

Find true love on line
Why talk when you can text
Exercise with your big screen
No one to see you sweat.”

Recor, 58, has also written a song called “Recipe,” which she describes as “a theme for many women of my age:”

“Early in our lives we’re dished up and served a plate.
It’s full of foods we didn’t choose, foods we love or hate.
Either way we’re told we’ve got to eat it ‘till it’s gone
And we’re too young to know whether that is right or wrong.

Now that I am older and I’ve finally cleaned my plate.
I’ve done what was expected by my family, church and state.
I ate what I was dished. I did my best to please,
But I’m not satisfied so it’s time to cook for me.

I’m dreaming up a menu, just to suit my taste.
It’s going to be exciting, filled with proteins, greens and cake.
I’m mixing up a recipe I’ve never used before,
And finding out a little less is worth a whole lot more.

I’m designing and defining a brand new recipe.
I’m changing, rearranging the instructions just for me.
They may seem strange, a bit unorthodox.
You won’t find them on the back of a Betty Crocker box.”

Recor can also display quite a sense of humor, as demonstrated by her “official leaving song” called “Blue Satin Thong,” which says, in part:

“I’m leaving today, you know I can’t stay
Cause you don’t love me anymore
I gave you back your key. I left nothing else of me,
‘cept my blue satin thong in your drawer.

You know I really can’t cook and I really can’t sew
Burned up your cash, wrecked your old convertible
But I did something right each and every night
And I left a little something in your drawer

Blue satin thong in your drawer
You say you don’t love me anymore
You might be sad, but me I’m just glad and
I won’t be coming back and that’s for sure!” - Ramona Sentinel

My Review: The PR firm where I get most of my music has the artists post 3 or 4 of what they consider their “strongest” tracks and than you have the opportunity to order the full CD from the artist if you desire.

All too many times, I find that the rest of the tracks on the CD are very weak, in fact, sometimes they just plain stink! Now, I ordered “What Did You Expect?” from Dusty. It has 11 tracks on it, friends, I really couldn’t find a weak track on the whole CD!

Everyone who has read my blogs know that I’m not a big fan of country music, however, Dusty’s CD adds enough rock n roll, humor and life experience to even her country tracks that makes them enjoyable to all! “What Did You Expect” offers a unique blend of retro-rock, country and a touch of the Caribbean that makes every track different, in its own way, in other words, it holds the listeners interest, which a good CD should!

More than that it is a glimpse, a snapshot of Dusty’s life and it offers some valuable “lessons of life” along the way! We learn that are lives are a series of choices. If we make bad choices, we have a bad or hard life, if we make good choices we have a good or at least, better life. We learn of Dusty’s love of sailing and the simpler life of the Caribbean Islands and that it is O.K. To drop out of the “rat race” and “hustle and bustle” of the modern day world and retreat to the simpler life. We learn how she handled the loss of her brother, Geordie and how she handled breaking up with someone she cared about. We also learn how she handled changing careers from dressage rider to singer and song writer. Dusty and the LoveNote’s “What Did You Expect” is a “Treasure Trove” of knowledge, wisdom and experience. I can’t begin to list everything I found in the lyrics of Dusty’s songs!

I know, some of you are probably saying “I don’t like country music or retro-rock or rockabilly or whatever you’d like to call it”, but, what you can learn from the lyrics is well worth it. And, as I mentioned earlier, Dusty’s music changes rhythm and styles enough to hold any listener’s attention!

You know, one of the hardest parts of doing a review is deciding which tracks to feature, especially when you have 11 to choose from and each one is outstanding in it’s own way! I’m going to try and choose ones I feel best showcase Dusty And The LoveNotes different musical styles and of course “Geordie’s Song” which is a memorial to Dusty’s brother.

Before we get to the music, though, I do want to give special recognition to Dusty’s mentor, Indian Joe. In addition to being a gifted instructor, Joe played the lead guitar, bass, and some rhythm tracks. did back up vocals as well as helping Dusty with the production and arrangement of this CD.

Here’s to a very, very talented guitar player, a great actor in the music video and a gifted instructor! Hats off, and respect, Joe, Great job!

So, I chose the following tracks to showcase, “Antigua”, because it has a bit of a Caribbean flavor and tells of Dusty’s love of sailing and the simpler life in the Islands, “Heart” , because it teaches us how to “mend a broken heart” but even more, shows us that the life we have is a series of choices, and that we are the only ones that have the power to change our choices from bad to good and ultimately our lives from bad to good. “Not Necessarily” because of it’s classical “retro-rock” rockabilly styling and because it points out that’s it’s the little things, the way a person acts, the little things they say that shows us that they love us, without them always having to come out and say “I Love You”! And, of course, “Geordie’s Song” a memorial to Dusty’s brother.

You also have the video of “Blue Satin Thong” a somewhat poignant, yet humorous and ironic song about breaking up with the one you love.

Believe me, picking these songs was very hard. I re-listened to the entire CD several times before I made these choices. You’re going to have to believe me when I say, I found all the tracks easy to listen to, with some good “hooks” to keep the music bouncing around your head, it shows several different styles of music so you don’t get bored half way through the CD, its somewhat humorous, and laced with common sense “life lessons”. Dusty’s voice comes through clear as a bell and is perfect for this style of music. It’s not for the hard or modern rock lover, not for the rap or hip-hop fan, it’s for the person who just wants an enjoyable CD to listen to and doesn’t mind learning about life along the way.

So, I rate “What Did You Expect?” by Dusty and the LoveNotes, 10 stars and a “thumbs up”! I hope you and Indian Joe have 10 or 11 more songs kicking around somewhere, Ms. Dust!

- Gulf Coast Music Review by Bill Dwyer

Dusty’s lyrics fill this promising CD with questions, pathos, and humor. The central themes of life’s ever-changing directions and expectations are reflected in her heartfelt songwriting. Dusty’s "could have/might have been" moments are semi-country tunes fried with rock-Caribbean rhythms. The music is built on arrangements and guitar riffs that fill this CD with almost more than can be delivered. There’s a country singer waiting in the wings, trying to get out, and lurking in the compressed tracks of this disk. Dusty’s voice invites you in and tries to bust out but seems hesitant and restrained by the arrangements and modern technology of contemporary CD recording. She takes us around the proverbial musical block with songs about relationships, travel, and her love ’em and leave ’em tales. Her song-sung tales are real and the themes are universal - definitely a good thing for a performer-songwriter these days. Dusty’s musical persona and expressiveness were shaped by her guitar lessons with Indian Joe, a local musician who knows his way around the guitar and America’s musical songbook. Indian Joe provides most of the musical fills, rhythm, and soulful sounds for this disk. He was the catalyst for Dusty’s recording and provided the impetus for getting herself out there musically. Dusty is clearly singing from where she’s been in life and letting others know that the road isn’t always straight and clear. She’s a grown up with a heart full of experiences built on the usual rocky roads we travel and the bumps we experience the longer the journey lasts. Writing personal songs is like being a tight rope walker performing without a safety net and Dusty isn’t shy about taking this risk. She writes songs with classic hooks, twists and turns, and isn’t afraid to let her guard down. Her song "Recipe" lays it out, right or wrong, as she expresses all her emotions vocally. "S.P.C.A." sounds like a take on an old country number, with hints of Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, and 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll. "It’s Over" has a minor-key feeling with echoes of a European chanteuse, a torch singer giving someone a reality check. "Blue Satin Thong" is a parting song with sighs of what you’ll be missing - the lyrics describe what men sometimes reduce relationships to after they’re over. Dusty writes simply here, but she is clearly showing that life and love relationships are more than just a thong left in some former lover’s drawer. Her writing is life-driven and her words and heartfelt voice tell of a journey that touches everyone.
This CD yearns to break out and get beyond the confines of the recording studio version that suppresses Dusty’s natural warmth and the quality of the material. She sometimes sounds tentative, which may be because this is her first time in the recording studio, but it might also be due to modern recording techniques. This CD is a fine start and leaves us wanting more. It’s filled with promise and is clearly only a beginning in her musical travels. - Allen Singer - San Diego Troubadour

Sometimes, a CD's front and back covers and artwork tell you very little about the music involved. But other times, they tell you a lot about the music involved, and that is definitely the case with Dusty & the LoveNotes' debut album, What Did You Expect? The CD's artwork indicates that singer/songwriter Dusty Recor and her band the LoveNotes are offering some type of roots music, and sure enough, What Did You Expect? favors an earthy roots rock/Americana/country-rock approach -- albeit with a Caribbean edge on some of the tunes. One usually doesn't think of roots rock, Americana, or country-rock as having a Caribbean influence, but Recor obviously has a thing for the Caribbean; in fact, the opening track is titled "Antigua" (as in the West Indies island of Antigua, not Antigua, Guatemala). That Caribbean influence adds to the intrigue on an album where the direct or indirect influences include the Band, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Brenda Lee, and Wanda Jackson. It should also be noted that Recor's vocal phrasing contains hints of Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, although the Hynde comparison has more to do with the sound of her voice than it does with Recor's actual songwriting (which is more country-influenced and doesn't venture into hard rock, punk, or new wave territory). And Recor, who produced and arranged the album with collaborator/LoveNotes member Indian Joe, is clearly a skillful songwriter as well as a skillful vocalist. Recor wrote everything on this 2010 release, which has plenty of contemplative, deep-thinking material (including "It's Over," "Geordie's Song," and the abovementioned "Antigua") but has its humorous moments as well (most notably, "S.P.C.A" and "Blue Satin Thong," which is about leaving an item of sexy clothing in an ex-lover's drawer in order to remind him of what he is now missing). What Did You Expect? would have been even stronger if Recor had made the country factor more prominent; her love of country is one of her greatest assets, and she needs to show it off more. But even so, this is a memorable, promising effort that fans of roots rock, Americana, and country-rock should be aware of. - Alex Henderson - All Music