Old Guitar

Purchase // Stream // Share “Old Guitar” here: https://smarturl.it/agwa73

“Old Guitar” is a love song about my guitar and dedicated to the artists who bring hope to others through creativity. The track was mixed by Grammy winner Marc Urselli (U2, Foo Fighters, Nick Cave) after I won a contest he ran to help artists effected by Covid 19. Thanks Marc!

“Old Guitar” brings to mind all the memories tied to playing shows, so I got a bunch of our friends involved.

The artists featured in the video are:

Peelander-Z, Jessie Bear, Middle Finger Punk, The Killigans, Black Swift, Dan Smith, Anthony Da Costa, Days N’ Daze, Here’s To The Life, Headnoise, Company Retreat, Billy Mack Collector, Little Spoon River, The Vicious Cycles, Dead Fucking Serious, Leper, Household, Singing Lungs, Insomniac Folklore, Believing In June, Brett Newski, Joel Kircher, Tanner Leon, Flatfoot 56, Jon Terrey, Seth Martin, Orion Walsh, Jason James & The Band of Black Hats, Orlando Greenhill, Dead Words, Jeff Suffering, Death Therapy, Bryan McPherson, Josh Lory & Vasco, Red Sweater Lullaby, Victor & Penny, The Electrics, Sef Idle, PFC Pierce, Crash Dog.

Song Credits:

Nate Allen: Guitar, Vocals, Tambourine, & Writing
Jon Terrey: Engineering, Guitar & Bass
Kris Rochelle: Drums
Michael Wright: Audio Preparation
Marc Urselli: Mixing
Haywire Recording: Mastering
Cover Photo: Two Hue Creative

May Your Memory Be Eternal

I Met Tazia Rochelle May when she was 14 at church summer camp. I was 19. She had a spark of life in her. A few years later, when our paths crossed again she was 16, full of rock n’ roll energy and teen angst. I wrote Come To The Mountain, Long Division, and T.M.S. (Tazia May Song) about and for her. We stayed in touch over the years. Sadly she died last week. When I heard she passed this song met my tears. Tazia you will be missed.

May Your Memory Be Eternal

May your memory be eternal* may your future be your best
May the pain that you’ve suffered cause you no further distress
May the God of “Our Father”* put your demons to rest
May love replace longing, may you be fully blessed

May you have a light in the darkest of times (x2)

May your memory be eternal please know we miss you
May the peace you were seeking, no longer elude
May the God of “Our Father” surround and undo
The damages of this life, May you know be renewed

May you have a light in the darkness
In the loneliest of times
When all hope is fading
May peace invade my your mind
Despite all the complications*
May you have strength to endure
May you have a light in the darkest of times

May your memory be eternal, courageous and unique*
May the love you were chasing, may it now be complete
May your memory be eternal, May you rest of thee arms
Of the Jesus* who loves, May your future know no harm

May you have a light in the darkest of times (x2)

*Memory Eternal is a phrase used by the Eastern Orthodox church, to commemorate the passing of someone.
*Our Father refers to the famous prayer
*”Despite all the complications” is a line from the band Believing In June
*Unique was taken from the Showbread’s second US Tour Press Release in 2002. Tazia attending concerts around this time, was some of our favorite memories together. I found out she passed through a picture my friend Erik shared where he was wearing a Showbread theme Halloween costume.
*I met Tazia May when she was 14 at church summer camp.

You can get a copy of “May Your Memory Be Eternal” at http://goodsaintnathanael.bandcamp.com.

Written and recorded by Nate Allen.

The Making of a Saint: The Music of Good Saint Nathanael

Mockingbird wrote a lovely in-depth, article about the video for “Making Repairs”.

“Early on in the video, the songwriter is seen carrying around a wagon of his belongings including a neglected iPod (“I thought it would fix me, but I haven’t plugged it in in two years,” he confesses to God) as well as his guitar. As he hauls the wagon across farmland and goat pastures, it feels like it’s a cross to bear. It is an apt illustration for the often lonely life of a touring musician, let alone a Christian broken on the wheel of enoughness.”

Please check out the article or watch the video above.

Hands Held Together

Hands Held Together by Good Saint Nathanael. This is my first “new songs” since Hide No Truth.

Film via Social Distancing in Kansas City, MO’s Swope Park as an entry in the NPR Tiny Desk Contest.

You can purchase the track on bandcamp.

Video by Kerry Burrow http://www.kerryburrowphotography.com
Audio Capture by Two Hue Creative http://www.twohuecreative.com
Pink Painted Tree by Dylan Mortimer http://www.dylanmortimer.com/ https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2018-08-17/for-one-kansas-city-artist-open-spaces-means-extra-room-to-breathe

Notes about the new song and video:

Tessa only agreed to let me film this if we were outside, socially distancing.

As parents, it’s been particularly hard to explain why we can’t go to playgrounds because of coronavirus.

Rest assured, this is not just about going out to swing but rather about loss & connection.

Some songs take years to develop. This is one of them.

2015. I wrote some of these lines.

2018. I took the track to a songwriting panel at Folk Alliance International where Tom Paxton and others have me critical feedback.

2020. The song returned around January when I was contemplating my core motivations as a musician. Lastly, the chorus tumbled out after a therapy session right before covid19 swept the nation.

Life and limb I’d give for a friend
I’d take a bullet welcome you in
Day turns to night lose or win
Everything’s over and starting again

Overextended, over it all
watching my friends as they start to free fall
I hate that it started, it hurts to recall
Winter and summer that turned into fall

I don’t know what to think about the future
past is all I’ve known

Thinking of good times, great connections
of hands held together being known

Hide No Truth Turns 1!!!

Hide No Truth turns 1 year old today. To my kids, these are “daddy songs”. To me, they are both a salve, and a reminder of seasons navigated THROUGH difficulty. At some point during the fall tour, last year I started saying Hide No Truth was a “Celebration of Survival”. I like that. I believe this marks a turning point in my creative road, a return in many ways to the solo-artists songwriting journey. This was a self-release, self-promoted affair. Thank you so much for creating space and listening to my rock n’ roll!

To mark the anniversary of its release here is a list of the press the album has gotten:

Articles / Premiers / Interviews:

Uncut Weekly Playlist: The “Lightning” video was included along with the likes of Kurt Vile, Lucy Dacus, Bob Mould, Patty Griffin, Edwyn Collins and Cass McCombs.

New Noise Magazine: “Hide No Truth embodies the notion of a performer bearing their soul on record, and like the best of its kind, it miraculously straddles the line between too personal and too damn relatable…”

The Pitch KC: On Hide No Truth, Nate Allen examines his ‘broken Christian religious experience.

Idioteq (Poland) – “an introspective masterwork”

Spinditty: “an earnest, melancholic, and impossible to forget album. Nate Allen has put the world on notice that he is a songwriter to be reckoned with.” & interview

A Diverse Sound: “a treasure worth reflecting upon time and time again”

HM Magazine: “It’s what being exposed to someone’s personal storyline should feel like: uncomfortable, familiar, and – ideally – inspiring.”

Bramonius: (Belgium) “It’s a remarkable and intriguing album.”

Eight One Sixty Interview: “This type of record….it rips your heart out and shows it to you as it’s still trying to pump blood”

Indie Vision Music: “Listening to this record makes one want to slow down a bit, be more intentional, love a little more, be kind to those around you.”

Phantom Tollbooth: “This is a brilliant set of songs, a tour de force of inner turmoil and restoration.”

Jesus Freak Hideout Review: “Hide No Truth is a humble, honest, and vulnerable album that deserves your attention.”

I Am Tuned Up: “an expression of both desperation and hope”

I Heart Local Music: “That feeling when you can see lightning flash across the sky but never hear the thunder? Allen captures that.”

The Bridge: “A deft, vulnerable work”

Leo Weekly: “Dark folk from Kansas City”

The Bozho: “mystic folk singer”

Rev Folklore Reviews: “a really rewarding listen”

The Bad Copy: Bombs Lyric Video Premiere: “With his new
endeavor Good Saint Nathanael, Nate ventures into quiet, very vulnerable new territory.”

Playlistplay: “The incredibly vulnerable Good Saint Nathanael strips back everything and leaves nothing but Allen, his guitar, and his thoughts.”

Podcasts:

Urban Achiever
Dorkness To Light
Church & Other Drugs
Down The Line Zine
Shadow Scape Records
Bearded Hope Dealer
As The Story Grows
Down The Line Zine
Take 92 Podcast
This Is My Jam
The Hive
The Why
Bfloshowpodcast
Ope! Radio

Live Video Sessions:

Upstate Sessions: “Coming Unglued”
Slightly Gigantic Media: “Everything That’s Lost”
thesongdayproject: “Bombs”

Year End Lists:

Best of The Bridge “Bombs”

Jesus Freak Hideout: Lucas Munachen (#6)

Phantom Tollbooth: Brian A. Smith (#1 – tied with T. Bone Burnett)

Sorry if I forgot anyone.