The Civil Wars have released a new album, Live at Eddie's Attic, available to download for FREE on our website: http://thecivilwars.com Enjoy! Love, The Civil Wars (Joy & JP)

just wanted to let everyone know who hasn't already heard that i have started a new band project. it's with the amazing joy williams. she and i both feel we are just scratching the surface of something bigger than the both of us. we are called 'the civil wars' and have started posting video files of some live performances online and also offered free downloads of the audio.

i can't tell you how excited i am about this project. everything we've done to this point has been effortless and organic. i truly hope you check it out when possible:
www.thecivilwars.com
www.myspace.com/thecivilwars
www.reverbnation.com/thecivilwars


also, we'll be playing our first show very soon. on april 7th at the french quarter cafe in east nashville, to be precise.we would so love to see you there.

please become our friend, our fan, and help to spread the word.

jpw

The Civil Wars just booked another show - here's the info:

April 11th
Organic Wine Tasting & Songwriters in the Round for Earth Day
The Dish Gourmet Cafe
Florence AL

The Civil Wars have just completed another video for you viewing pleasure...introducing "Falling."

04-07-2009 19:00 at French Quarter Cafe w/The Champion & His Burning Flame, Micah Tawlks & Joseph LeMay
823 Woodland Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Cost: TBD

04-24-2009 20:00 at Eddie’s Attic w/ Will Hoge
515-B N. McDonough Street, Decatur, Georgia 30030
Cost: $20

The Civil Wars (Joy Williams and John Paul White) play their first gig ever at the French Quarter Cafe along with The Champion & His Burning Flame, Micah Tawlks and Joseph LeMay. Acoustic sets all around... time slot updates to follow!

This event is planned to start at 6:30 pm on Apr 7, 2009 at French Quarter Cafe.

At long last, I can finally tell you about something I'm very excited about. I'm working on a new band project with Joy Williams. We're still scratching the surface of what i feel is bigger than the both of us. We'll be updating you as often as possible with music, videos, and show dates. Please bookmark www.thecivilwars.com to stay in the know... in the meantime, check out the video we've made of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me To The End Of Love."

www.thecivilwars.com
www.myspace.com/thecivilwars
www.reverbnation.com/civilwars

a bit of a facelift in our youth - why wait? ; )

i'm a little stingy with details of my life. i know that's an understatement. i'm working on it. thus, we've made some changes around here. this site will now be a portal for everyone into my career. i'm going to do my very best (with the help of some of my persistent allies) to not only get you up to speed on what's been going on, but also things that are right around the corner. i enthusiastically encourage each and every one of you to give your input on the site as we go. things you like to read about, if you'd like more pics, vids, mp3s of covers - you get the idea. this site is going to be much more personal in feel because i have many irons in the fire right now. this address will be the central link to all of them.

(spoiler alert!!)

so if you'll be so kind as to bear with us for a bit as we tidy up, i promise that on february 14 i will announce something that i've been dying to talk about...

jpw

Ok. Deep breath here. Much to tell.

I know I've been a bit stingy with details over the past year. I've never been big on sharing. ; ) Long story short, capitol records and I decided to split ways about a year ago. It wasn't very dramatic; no one burned anyone's likeness in effigy, no gnashing of teeth or pulling of hair. A business decision made by business men. Which is exactly the reason I'm better off.

A little back story: I found out in February of last year in London at Abbey Road that the president of the label, Andy Slater, and Ron Lafitte, head of A&R, had both been fired. They were the fellows the wined me, dined me, and signed me. Typically an artist without a champion at the top is a dead man walking. But with the support of my remaining friend at the label, Vlad Bar, we waited till the smoke cleared to see what the damage would be. To our surprise, the new regime told us that they wanted to keep us and finish the record. So we presented them with a hefty mix budget – and it was approved. All's well, eh?

That's when things went south. Mark Needham (aka badass) got to work on the mixing of the record out in sunny Los Angeles. He would mix a song and then upload it onto an ftp site for me to listen to, and then I could suggest tweaks to be made. A very awkward process but the results I'm extremely happy with. Well, when final mixes were being hammered out, we got the call. Now mind you, no one in authority had heard the mixes. At all. But now the powers at Capitol/Virgin decided they couldn't put the record out. I'll probably never know the real reasons. Much hand wringing over financial issues and marketing budget allocations and current release priorities; and that's legit enough for me.

The parting gift. I was allowed to have my masters back. That's semi unheard of. I can now release this record on my own – instead of them putting it on a shelf for no one to ever hear. And they most certainly would have that right. The only problem is that it took most of a year to get the paperwork stating that they were legally mine. So here we are.

One last thing. I hold no ill will toward those guys. It's a business. They had artists on their roster that they were committed to before my Capitol brethren and I were thrown in their lap. But the main reason I'm not bitter is this: I got to do exactly what I wanted from day one. I picked my producer, my players, my songs, where the record was recorded, and when. I picked the mixer and mastering engineer. I was given complete control to make the record I wanted to make. And I now have in my hands a record I'm dearly proud of.

So at long last, this August 19th, it can be in yours. I promise it's worth the wait.

Well, one more dream realized. Yesterday we cut at Abbey Road Studios in jolly olde London. I have to say it was rather surreal. So many records that helped form the artist I am now were cut in the very room we used – Studio Two. The walls are adorned with exclusive photos of the artists and prints of the record covers. Many I was clueless that they had been recorded there. The magic is palpable. Everyone was extremely hospitable and professional, making the process a complete joy. It puts a fitting bow on the recording part of the project…which has been effortless and exhilarating. These tracks have far surpassed anything I could have imagined. Hopefully once we finish the mix and mastering stage you'll enjoy them half as much as I do.


abbey road studio 2 tracking room


abbey road studio 2 control room


abbey road staircase to control room