A ton of really cool cats used Blackwing pencils over the years. After we acquired and revived the Blackwing brand in 2010, Blackwing started to become synonymous with a culture of people who liked to unplug. Harmony and happiness can come from mindfully engaging with physical things. Pencils. Books. Records. With a focus on feeding this rising following, we turned to the best way we knew to connect people. Through music.

We believe in the power of arts and music, as both a creative outlet and as an educational tool. That’s why a portion of everything we sell supports music and arts education in public schools through the Blackwing Foundation. In 2015, we started our own independent record label in part to help musicians earn a better living. Pencil sales help us keep the lights on so record sales can go into the artists’ pockets.

Grant and Alex met the producer of Band Together, Johnny Irion, while collaborating with his uncle, Thom Steinbeck, on a pencil tribute to Thom’s famous father. They struck up a friendship and soon came up with a plan to release Johnny’s next solo record, Driving Friend, on the Blackwing label.

Johnny and Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips recorded Driving Friend direct to tape using a vintage Studer console that had been sitting around Jackson Browne’s studio in Santa Monica. Johnny then hauled it cross country to his new studio in the Berkshires that just happens to be an abandoned stationery factory (can’t make it up). His first project? Capturing the supreme talents of five singer-songwriters onto one album, as a band.

Tory Hanna, Billy Keane, David Tanklefsky, Greg Smith, and Chris Merenda, collectively now known as “The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow” went into the Stationery Factory in Western Massachusetts with a stunning cast of back up musicians including folk legend Arlo Guthrie and a rhythm section of Wilco’s Pat Sansone and Black Crowes co-founder Steve Gorman. While their aesthetic and inspiration may draw from the masters of the form (James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon), the band’s topical songwriting is rooted firmly in the issues of the present.

After Pledge Music went defunct, keeping tens of thousands of dollars fans had pledged to help Whiskey Treaty make this record, we jumped in to help release it. A big part of our mission has always been to support deserving artists with something to say. Band Together fits that mission perfectly, and the spirit of Johnny’s recording process hits the heart of the Blackwing ethos. We hope you’ll give it a spin.

The post Blackwing Music Presents: The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow appeared first on Blackwing.

The post Behind the Scenes: Blackwing 1 appeared first on Blackwing.

While we reached out to offer condolences to his family right away, we’ve been struggling for several days with how to properly acknowledge Thom’s passing publicly. The truth is, we became more than just fans. We became his friends.

The first time I met Thom was a revelation. He was cordial, entertaining and immeasurably astute. He spoke like he wrote, in a manner unsuitable of the anonymity that embraced him for so many years.

I left every visit with Thom inspired. His wisdom captivated in a way that is difficult to put into words. If Thom made this kind of impact on me in just nine months, imagine what he meant to so many others.

Though he would never admit it, or even accept such a notion, Thom’s brilliant work was often lost in the shadows of his father’s legacy. He told us once when asked why he waited until so late in life to publish his first book, “They wanted a novel. I kept telling them, the Steinbeck that writes novels is dead. I write short stories.”

I got a chance to tell Thom, and anyone else who would listen, that “Down to a Soundless Sea” is the single best collection of short stories I’ve ever read. Now, the Steinbeck that wrote short stories is gone. May he rest in peace knowing how many people he touched, and that his inspiration will be felt for generations to come.

We hope you will help us honor him by reading his work and supporting a cause he was so passionate about – artists’ rights. You can learn more about both at ThomasSteinbeck.com.

Here’s a great clip of Thom talking about being the beneficiary of his father’s used pencils.

The post My Favorite Steinbeck appeared first on Blackwing.

This morning, Guy passed away at the age of 74 after a long battle with cancer.

His songs were recorded by the likes of by Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and legions of others. Guy Clark was more than just a songwriter and musician. He was an accomplished painter and luthier, building guitars in a basement workshop that became a pillar of inspiration for visiting writers.

“It’s kind of a dream come true to have a room where you write songs and build guitars,” Clark once told the Houston Chronicle. “You get stuck writing songs, and you just get up and work. It’s a right brain/left brain thing. Writing is so cerebral. You stare out a window trying to conjure something up. But four steps away you have this real hand/eye type stuff. They sort of feed off one another.”

“I think most people would surmise that when they hear God’s voice it will either sound like Guy Clark or Johnny Cash,” said Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill. While Guy’s voice will be laid to rest, the songs it sung will live forever.

Read Petter Cooper’s poignant story on Guy’s passing in the Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/05/17/guy-clark-dead-74/80932338/

The post Guy Clark, Master Songwriter and Artist, Passes Away appeared first on Blackwing.