On June 8, 2023, an intimate smattering of music lovers in Madrid fanned out on the sunkissed lawn of The Cellar Winery estate for a small show with big Alabama sounds. The trees were tall, the vineyard shook with the wind and rows of soybeans stretched into the horizon.
Caleb Elliott, a singer, songwriter and cellist currently practicing in the music hotbed of Muscle Shoals, Ala., took time before his set to talk about his latest album. Born in the small town of Natchitoches, LA, Elliott carries himself with the calm and intention you hear in his songs.
Iowa singer-songwriter Royce Johns’ latest album Thank Ya Kindlywas recorded in Muscle Shoals, where he met and collaborated with Elliott. Johns brought his friend and “vibe guru” to central Iowa for a string of dates, including Capital City Pride in Des Moines (opening for The Glory Hole Comedy Hour and Shangela).
“I’m standing here in a beautiful vineyard in Iowa,” says Elliott, while Johns entertains attendees in the background with a mix of originals and Randy Newman covers, “and just happy to be here, man.”
Released on April 14, 2023, Caleb Elliott’s 11-track sophomore album Weed, Wine & Time was produced by Elliott and Shoals-area engineer Ben Tanner, with one song co-written with A.J. Haynes. Technically brilliant yet effortlessly natural, Elliott’s old fashioned dedication to songwriting paid dividends, crafting an album rich in storytelling and inventive stringwork.
“...All it takes is time”
Like any good Louisiana boy, Elliott knows how to gumbo.
“I love to cook,” says Elliott. “Nothing says I love you more than cooking somebody a gumbo. It’s not hard, it just takes all day.”
Weed, Wine & Time opens with “Sweeter Paradigm,” a look on the bright side of life. In the song, much like his advice for the perfect gumbo, Elliott preaches patience: “But all it takes is time / To find your way up in to a sweeter paradigm / Where you learn as you go along / Simple as a song.”
The album’s second song, “Sister,” is very literal, and it’s one of Elliott’s favorites.
“My big sis, she’s a cancer survivor,” says Elliott. “She’s just a wonderful human being, very strong. When she was going through all that, man… There was this sense of helplessness, watching a loved one go through that. The way I usually deal with my feelings is writing songs – it’s cheaper than therapy.”
Elliott smiled and chuckled through the heavy bits, partly because his sister Harmony’s story had a happy ending –– she’s a harpist in northern Louisiana. But also because, when you pour your heart and soul into a touching musical tribute, you can kinda let it speak for itself.
“I sent it to her, so the reaction I got was via text, but I’m pretty sure she cried,” says Elliott before another chuckle. “Actually, I know she cried. She’s actually gotten to see us play it live a couple of times and she’s just got a big ol’ smile. She’s just one of those people that… her smile can fill a room.”
Weed, Wine & Time - as music and advocacy
After “Sister,” “Weed, Wine & Time” marches in. Elliott’s uber-chill “smokin’, drinkin’ and thinkin’ song” is unforgettable, and who would ever want to forget it?
“I remember I laughed my way through writing that song, thinking it was silly,” says Elliott. “And then it ended up being the title track. I sent that demo to the band… the text was ‘check out this little weirdo.’ And then they all liked it. And Heath, my guitar player, sent it back with a guitar part on it. That little arpeggiated thing, and it just was a game changer.”
Caleb was accompanied at The Cellar by Johns, as well as his “road dog” Heath Fogg, a member of the now-shelved Brittany Howard project Alabama Shakes. To get to Madrid, Caleb and Heath drove 5-plus hours from Chicago, which itself required a 10-hour trip north from Muscle Shoals.
Now that the album has had a year to ruminate, Weed, Wine & Time should be lauded as a triumph of long-stewed Southern songcrafting. And in a just world, Elliott’s name will one day be mentioned in the same breath as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill: the Mount Rushmore of marijuana musicians.
“I actually named the new album Weed, Wine & Time, which I guess is a little bit, uh, risky in some ways," Elliott admitted to the crowd. "But I ain’t that worried about it. I did this interview… this lady found out about the new album, she’s like a cannabis journalist. So she wanted to talk about it and she told me I was very bold for naming the album that. I was like ‘You shouldn’t be telling me that, you should be telling me ‘good job.’’
Despite Elliott’s apprehension to being labeled a marijuana activist, he is undoubtedly an advocate. The simple act of placing weed and wine on the same level, professing the joys of letting loose, is a radical one –– especially in states like Iowa, Alabama and Louisiana, where recreational marijuana use is still prohibited.
Elliott couldn’t be more straightforward. Weed and wine help him unwind for a full-body high.
“Isolation” and Collaboration
Endlessly curious and compulsively collaborative, Elliott is constantly participating in songwriting circles. That’s how he met A.J. Haynes, lead singer for the power soul group Seratones.
Before 2020, when the word would take on an even dimmer connotation in the minds of the public, Elliott and Haynes co-wrote the single “Isolation,” a plaintive duet with a hopeful bend and a percussive groove. Elliott’s early exposure to both gospel and classical music helped him keep up with the Haynes, and the balance they strike together is sweet.
“Not only is A.J. Haynes involved, and she's just such a powerhouse and was amazing to work with,” says Elliott. “But, just the rhythm track, you know, with the bass and drums, that Bill Withers groove, man. I couldn't have asked for a cooler thing for how it turned out. I'm really psyched about that.”
Haynes’ involvement didn’t stop at “Isolation;” she provided backing vocals for three other tracks.
“Let ‘er rip, tater chip!” - more from the album
Some other highlights from the album include “FUBC,” or “Effed Up Beyond Comprehension,” “Warships,” and the subtle denunciation of old ways of thinking, “Any Way The Wind Blows.”
“That song,” says Elliott, “ is about old people who hang on to old ideas. Ideas that are often pretty hurtful and are self-seeking, you know. And the song sort of comes at it… disguised as a love song. But it's really talking about people just having this grip on, on ideas that probably should have died out. And it's sort of, in a way, kind of making fun of them a little bit… people who won't challenge their own beliefs."
Whether by means of weed, wine or time, Elliott believes people should constantly ask themselves ‘Why? Why do I think like this? Why am I willing to be hurtful to someone because of my beliefs?’
“Well, these things… sometimes veiling them, it’s how you slip the message in,” says Elliott. “So it comes across like a love song, like maybe even a creeper love song. But the bridge kind of gives it away. ‘Old Lies don't ever lose their shine. As long as you hold them tight. Your truth only belongs to you, as long as you want it to.’ That's kind of that's kind of the song right there.”
His most evocative track, “Union of Strangers,” was written over 10 years ago. It focuses on a young couple navigating a pregnancy and the pressure to get married. It’s about being rushed, almost forced, into a life and realizing that you’ve got to make your own decisions. This dripping acoustic number sends chills. And, ironically, it was almost born prematurely.
“What ended up happening is," says Elliott, "we were making the new record. We opened up that track again and made some edits, like I trimmed out the second verse a little bit, and then added a bunch of stuff to the outro that and then cut all the drums out of the beginning. Before, there used to be like drums in the top of the song and like kind of throughout. And it sort of just gave it another level of impact. And I felt like it fit in this record.It made me really glad we saved it. I've always loved that song, [I’m] proud of it, but like, I'm glad we saved it up.”
For this decade-in-the-making track, Elliott really wanted to “Let ‘er rip, tater chip,” and that’s just what he did. Its conclusion is a collision of drums and juicy electric guitar slides.
Emblematic of his challenge-based approach to songwriting, the album’s chilled out final track “Blue,” began as a songwriting exercise.
“I challenged myself to write a song that didn’t repeat any lyrics,” says Elliott. “I did it, and then I ended up liking it. It doesn’t really even have a chorus, it’s an odd little song.”
It’s Caleb Elliott’s time to shine.
Elliott began his career as a session musician, playing with various artists, primarily on cello. While Elliott may have once been content in the wings, supporting other artists’ ambitions as an instrumentalist or songwriter, his solo work, beginning with 2019’s Forever to Fade, demands attention.
Forever to Fade is spacey. Its cover depicts a woman walking barefoot on the moon as the sun eclipses the Earth, personified by songs like "Burns Like Hell," “Get Me Out of Here,” “Don’t Go Losing Your Head” and the album’s title track. Interestingly, the cover for Weed, Wine & Time also has a moon, in the blue sky above the sunflowers sticking out of Elliott’s head.
Upcoming dates in Iowa
Caleb Elliott will return to Iowa with his buddy Royce Johns for a string of dates this May, including The Temple Theater in Des Moines on May 10, a return to The Cellar Winery in Madrid on May 11 and The Goldfinch Room in Ames on the 12th. You won’t want to miss these two salt-of-the-earth, indie songwriters in action.
