Premiere: Rodney & John, ‘Down With Mary’

Kevin Bronson on December 9th, 2016

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Rodney & John is the latest musical alliance between Rodney Eastman and John Hawkes, who met 20 years ago while working on the movie “Sand,” joined up a few years later with Brentley Gore in the country band King Straggler and, after King Straggler’s demise, reconnected to work as a duo two years ago. Yes, they are actors, but take cover should you ask whether Rodney & John are an “actors band,” or whether music is merely an avocation. “Sure, it’s just a hobby, if you consider eating and drinking and breathing just hobbies too,” Hawkes says. “It’s in just about the same category for me.”

In August, the duo did a residency at Harvard & Stone while putting the finishing touches on the full-length album “You Will Be,” scheduled for release in the spring on L.A.-based indie Indiscretion Records. The single “Down With Mary,” which is featured in the Dennis Hauck-directed film “Too Late” (in which Hawkes stars), is a lilting slice of Americana, with Hawkes’ world-weary voice and a tender violin soundtracking the conflicted emotions of a morning after.

||| Stream: “Down With Mary”