Truth Is Carolyn Wonderland

• 1 Sooner Or Later 04:13
• 2 I Ain't Going Back 02:54
• 3 Truth Is 03:39
• 4 Let's Play A Game 04:00
• 5 Whistlin' Past the Graveyard Again 03:59
• 6 It Should Take 02:26
• 7 Wishful Thinking 04:16
• 8 Orange Juice Blues 03:37
• 9 Tattoos As His Talisman 03:29
• 10 Flowers In Bloom 04:26
• 11 Deepest Ocean Blue 03:52
• 12 Blues For Gene 06:40
• Total Runtime 47:31

Info for Truth Is

The fiery guitar heroine, lap steel virtuoso, lightning-fast songwriter, and fiery singer has been recording critically acclaimed albums and touring the world for almost 25 years. She plays her original, bluesy, cosmic country soul music mixed with a healthy dose of Tex-Mex and riff-driven rock ‘n’ roll. The 12 tracks on the album (including 10 new Wonderland originals or co-writes) convey the honest truth of the blues in vividly detailed, infectious songs, all driven by Wonderland's distinctive string work and her full-throated vocals.

“ I don’t think I’ve ever had an album of mine be so well received before. It is truly amazing to me and I know it would not be possible without the musical kindnesses of my band, the amazing Mad Rearranger skills of Dave Alvin, all of my friends and heroes who dropped in to play, and the extremely hard working folks at Alligator Records and Intrepid Artists International. Thank you all deeply and humbly. It was a joy to create this album, and I am grateful to be able to tour and bring the music to you, my friends!” (Carolyn Wonderland)

"One of Texas' finest guitar-slingers...from blues to country to rock 'n' roll and beyond, she is fiery and deeply soulful." - Austin American Statesman

"Pure electricity...astonishing playing and soulful, sophisticated singing...Wonderland delivers her cleverly penned lyrics with sly joy as her guitar bites. Her passionate singing is expressive, romantic and sensual. Her solos burn and elevate the groove." - AllMusicGuide

"Carolyn Wonderland is the sound of Texas. She's a feisty free-ranger, lassoing a variety of roof-rattling styles into her own inimitable take on twangy blues dripping with honky-tonk grease. Her vocals are a bluesy cowgirl's dream come true." - No Depression

Carolyn Wonderland, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, vocals, whistling
Naj Conklin, electric and double bass
Giovanni “Nooch” Carnuccio, drums, percussion (tracks 2, 3, 6, 7)
Additional musicians:
Shelley King, harmony vocals (tracks 2-8, 10, 11), acoustic guitar (tracks 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11)
Dave Alvin, electric guitar (tracks 1, 8, 9, 12)
Red Young, Hammond B3 organ (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11), piano (tracks 5, 10, 11)
Bukka Allen, piano (tracks 1, 7), Hammond B3 organ (tracks 7,9)
Kevin Lance, percussion (tracks 1, 11)
Ruthie Foster, vocals (tracks 2, 3)
Marcia Ball, vocals (tracks 2, 3, 8), piano (track 8)
Cindy Cashdollar, lap steel guitar (tracks 5,8)
Henri Herbert, piano (tracks 6, 12)
Stuart Sullivan, percussion (track 7)

Recorded and Mixed by Stuart Sullivan at Wire Recording at Point West, Austin, TX
Produced by Dave Alvin

Carolyn Wonderland
was born in Houston, Texas in 1972, growing up in a house full of musical instruments. She first started making music at age six, and by eight had decided, in her own mind, that she was a musician. After she scratched her mother’s vintage Martin guitar by imitating Pete Townsend’s famous windmill move, she was forbidden from using a pick. Because of that, she developed her aggressive, distinctive fingerpicking guitar attack. By age 15, she was performing at Houston’s famed Fitzgerald’s club, playing solo or with friends. As a 16-year-old, she swapped songs with Townes Van Zandt. She formed her first band when she was 17, and began proving herself on the tough, competitive Houston club scene. A year later, she joined forces with famed Houston musician Little Screamin’ Kenny and formed The Imperial Monkeys. Before long, Carolyn Wonderland And The Imperial Monkeys were touring as far as Utah, New York and South Dakota, and winning every music award Houston had to offer. A booking at Austin’s famous Antone’s club left a strong mark on Wonderland, who moved to Austin in 1999 at the urging of her friend Doug Sahm. “Come to Austin,” he said. “It’s the land of free guitar lessons.”

After two self-released recordings, Wonderland recorded four albums produced by her friend, famed musician Ray Benson, founder of the multiple Grammy-winning band Asleep At The Wheel. According to Benson, “Carolyn’s got that unbelievable, incredible voice, one of the great voices of our times. She’s also an incredible guitar player and a great person. The combination is disarming and totally real. That’s magic.” Carolyn first met Ray when Bob Dylan asked him how to get in touch with her in 2004, as he was a fan. Ray didn’t know Carolyn but tracked her down and the two Texans became quick friends. Then, according to Wonderland, “Bob asked me to write answer verses for his song Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat and he asked me to meet him at soundchecks on his tour.”

The popular and critical response to Wonderland and her music has led to appearances on Austin City Limits, NPR’s Weekend Edition and NPR Music’s Mountain Stage. Features and reviews have run in publications from The Los Angeles Times to The Boston Herald. She’s jammed with countless musicians including Johnny Winter, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, James Cotton, Los Lobos and Levon Helm.

In 2018, legendary musician and bandleader John Mayall chose Wonderland to be lead guitarist in his band, The Blues Breakers. She became the first woman to ever hold that position, with the previous members comprising an all-star list of iconic guitarists including Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Coco Montoya, Walter Trout and Buddy Wittington. She toured the world with Mayall and played on his last two albums, including the GRAMMY-nominated The Sun Is Shining Down. She’s performed with her own band all over the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Canary Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Japan.

Wonderland’s 2021 Alligator Records debut, Tempting Fate, brought her to her largest audience yet. The response was immediate and glowing. Premier Guitar proclaimed, “Wonderland is a Texas legend…a rising global star. She has a ferocious fingerpicking style and a passion for bringing fire to the blues.” Living Blues said, “Every song showcases Wonderland’s never-waste-a-note guitar work and warm, soaring vocals. There may not be a better album this year.” For her efforts, she won the Austin Music Award for both Best Blues Artist and Best Guitarist and was inducted into the Austin Music Hall Of Fame. She’s been nominated for three Blues Music Awards.

In addition to her music, Wonderland works tirelessly for a wide variety of charitable and social causes. While in her 20s, she lost her lease, and lived in her van for two years, where, she says, “I learned how much more expensive it is to be poor.” She is a founding member, along with Marcia Ball, of H.O.M.E. (Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers, HomeAustin.org), which provides emergency financial assistance to older Austin-based musicians in need.

In 2011, Wonderland married humorist A. Whitney Brown, in a ceremony performed by the late Michael Nesmith on Austin’s Doug Sahm Hill and documented in The New York Times’ VOWS section. Nesmith, who had previously produced a song for Wonderland on an earlier album, proclaimed, “When she goes into that mode where she decides to grab the heart of the song and hold it up for everybody to see, it’s just so searing. Nothing can be this raw. Nothing can be this real.

This album contains no booklet.