{"title":"Hayden Pedigo","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"hayden-pedigo-the-happiest-times-i-ever-ignored-184923134513","title":"Hayden Pedigo - The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored Standard Black Vinyl","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\"Hayden Pedigo's new record is the cure; a warm, meditative salve which will wash over you and heal all wounds.\" -\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTim Heidecker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“We’re lucky that Hayden Pedigo stumbled upon the footsteps of John Fahey and followed them into the deep wordless wood. I cannot wait to hear all that he discovers there.” -\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGillian Welch\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e“Hayden Pedigo's acoustic guitar sound is intimate and authentic – it's rooted in tradition but fresh as tomorrow.” -\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eDr. Demento\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSo run the reels of\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Happiest Times I Ever Ignored\u003c\/em\u003e, Pedigo’s sixth studio album (and second for Mexican Summer) in the cinema of your ear; its script written in steel-string, its starring director a 28-year-old performance artist, politician, model, and fingerstyling maestro whose talent is as irrepressible as it is undeniable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePedigo has lived many lives, having been homeschooled in Amarillo, Texas by his truck-stop preacher father; run for Amarillo City Council in 2019, aged 25—as documented by Jasmine Stodel’s SXSW-premiering, PBS-acquired film\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eKid Candidate\u003c\/em\u003e—and struck up pen-friendships and collaborative partnerships with the likes of Terry Allen, Charles Hayward (This Heat), Werner “Zappi” Diermaier (Faust), and Tim Heidecker. A move south from Amarillo to Lubbock in 2020 put a spark to the powder keg of his creativity. “It’s even more flat, desolate, windy and dirty – like being on Mars,” Pedigo observes. “It’s pushed me to create more because there’s not really much to distract.” The move produced not only\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Happiest Times\u003c\/em\u003eand its predecessor\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e, but also an Internet presence that showcases a panoply of ever-more outlandish outfits and an effortless deadpan wit. Both the former and the latter helped parlay him into the fashion world, too, having walked the runway for Gucci and been photographed by Hedi Slimane.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eInspired by the tragicomedic legacy of\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eNational Lampoon\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eco-founder Doug Kenney (in whose notes the line ‘These last few days are amongst the happiest I’ve ever ignored’ was found following his mysterious and untimely death), Pedigo embarked upon\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Happiest Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewith a no-shit aim: to create “the best instrumental acoustic guitar album of the past twenty years.” Though canonical works of comedy and music show their influence—the mournful beauty of Nick Drake, the puckish abandon of John Fahey—Pedigo by no means places their creators on pedestals; if anything pulling them from their plinths, smashing the alabasters, pocketing some pieces, gluing others back together upside down, or leaving them floating free.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHow might Fahey have played in a Midwest emo band?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ePedigo posits on “Nearer, Nearer,” while the specters of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn float somewhere above “Signal of Hope” – “the most British-sounding thing I’ve ever written;” an echo in an empty church. Pedigo flits through the cycle of songs, coiling and uncoiling like the mechanism of a clockwork bird on “When It’s Clear;” rambling, a tiny speck in the landscape, on “Elsewhere.” “Then It’s Gone” stands as stark as a leafless tree, guitar spilling a somber tale in its truest voice – and nowhere more than on the title track is Pedigo’s playing more affecting: regret and optimism balanced on intimate, intricate arrangement, as carefully poised as raindrops on guitar strings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCiting a “rigid relationship with guitar” in which he has only slices of time to adequately express himself (“I have a five minute window to do something meaningful, and if it doesn’t come within five minutes, then it goes back in the case”), Pedigo wrote each song separately, start to finish, one by one. When an album’s worth of songs had been written, he undertook an intense regime of rehearsal, playing and replaying\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Happiest Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eon a loop, testing his technical ability, always striving for tighter, purer and more concise iterations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn June 2022, Pedigo transported the limbered-up record to Pulp Arts in Gainesville, Florida, where the relentless practice paid off: he played the core acoustic compositions in track order, beginning to end, and by the evening of the first day, realized he’d essentially nailed the record in one go. After tracking the main narrative of the guitar, a studio team of producer Trayer Tryon (Hundred Waters, Moses Sumney) on synths and bass, Luke Schneider (Margo Price, Orville Peck) on pedal steel, and Robert Edmondson on electric bass and piano painted in a sunset of sound behind the acoustic parts, lighting them with a warm glow while allowing them to remain front and center of the scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIf the rolling strings of\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eplanted and germinated the seeds, then\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Happiest Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003esees Hayden grow the flowers, admire their ruffles, and take newly sharpened scissors to the stems; turmoil and perfectionism and the gods of chaos driving the hand that holds the shears. “I want to create something very melodic, and then put it behind a barbed wire fence,” Hayden reflects. “If you’re gonna get this pretty thing, then you might get cut up trying to get to it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePedigo’s particular brand of barb comes in a variety of shapes: the carousel of internet personas that prod and jest (one day a 1970s car salesman, the next perhaps a Burger King attendant or gogo-booted knight); beautiful yet uneasy technicolor album artworks that place him incongruously corpse-painted at a gas station or glowing in ultraviolet on the parking lot of a flaming Walmart; or, in the music itself, pauses which verge on the uncomfortably long while the well-mannered audience member shuffles in their seat, trying to work out whether to clap yet or not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAt their most profound, Pedigo’s spacious, pristine soundscapes communicate an essential truth about the pursuit of artistic perfection. Creating The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored was, he surmises, a process akin to “the dog chasing the mail truck – what do you do when you catch it?”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mexican Summer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47589448810797,"sku":"184923134513","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0846\/5802\/8845\/files\/ReleaseProduct-376028-196969.jpg?v=1700163826"},{"product_id":"hayden-pedigo-letting-go-184923131918","title":"Hayden Pedigo - Letting Go Standard Black Vinyl","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe only thing you can ever really expect from Hayden Pedigo is the unexpected. The son of a truck stop preacher, raised and home-schooled in a \"super religious family\" (his own words), the acoustic guitarist and soundscape composer from Amarillo, Texas, has an unlikely origin story. After releasing a series of solo albums, the most unanticipated plot twist in his multiverse came in 2019 with an endearing bid for Amarillo City Council at the age of 25, following his Harmony Korine-inspired spoof campaign video that went viral. The whole story was brought to the big screen in Jasmine Stodel’s 2021 SXSW-premiering documentary\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eKid Candidate\u003c\/em\u003e, which followed Pedigo on the campaign trail as he became the unsuspecting folk hero in a hopeful tale of integrity, corruption, and small city politics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePedigo's music is as equally enchanting as his backstory, combining the American Primitive guitar picking styles of John Fahey with a proclivity for experimental sound design and manipulation. Conceived and written on the 27-year-old’s porch, his new album\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecame about after he left his beloved hometown during the COVID pandemic to move to Lubbock, Texas, where he currently lives with his wife. However, moving down the dusty panhandle from the comfort blanket of Amarillo wasn’t the easiest. \"I felt absolutely lost and had a heavy heart for months upon arriving in Lubbock,\" shares Pedigo. \"I wanted to write a new album, but I was scared it wouldn’t turn out okay. I wanted to talk to my family again [after temporarily losing touch] and try to reconnect and heal despite our differences, but I was scared it wouldn’t turn out okay. The isolation made me reconsider a lot of things, and start making music again and working things out with my family.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis very much a modern album of looking out, backwards, upwards and in; the songs forged by the upheaval brought on by Pedigo’s move and the subsequent reckoning with his upbringing. \"I was home-schooled and lived in the middle of nowhere in Amarillo,\" he describes. \"So it drove me to create my own world and sent me down a rabbit hole of strange music”. By his early twenties, Pedigo had already collaborated with acoustic and electronic musical luminaries such as Charles Hayward (This Heat), Fred Frith, Werner \"Zappi\" Diermaier (Faust), Stephen Basho Junghans, Chuck Johnson, Danny Paul Grody, and outlaw country legend Terry Allen (in an uncanny twist of fate, he works at the same school in Lubbock that Allen—who is now a kind of dream pen pal to Pedigo—used to attend.) He also curated the 2015 solo guitar compilation\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eImaginational Anthem\u003c\/em\u003e, Vol. 7 for Tompkins Square Records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFormative releases on Joel Ford’s Driftless Recordings and a handful of good-natured cold emails eventually led Pedigo to Mexican Summer in March 2021. In making\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e—his first album for the label—Pedigo was recapturing the relationship he’d had to music growing up. ”I wanted to return to the mindset of escape, like John Fahey’s records did for me at 15 years old. I wanted to fall in love with music again while reconciling with my past and learning to forgive and let go.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePedigo recorded the album in Littlefield, Texas (a tiny town 45 minutes outside of Lubbock, best known for being the birthplace of Waylon Jennings), with his friend, the underground composer Andrew Weathers. \"On the first day, Andrew set up the mics and I recorded each guitar piece live as a solo composition one after another – each take was live, no overdubs. I got the idea from Leo Kottke’s 1969 record\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e6- and 12-String Guitar\u003c\/em\u003e, where he recorded each piece live in one take,” he explains. “On the next two dates, we recorded overdubs and fleshed out the solo guitar pieces with ambience, bass, field recordings, and pedal steel. But we wanted to ensure the record still felt like a solo guitar record.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFollowing Kottke’s influence through to 1971’s\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMudlark\u003c\/em\u003e, Pedigo brought in some like-minded musicians to contribute and fill out the songs, including pedal steel player Luke Schneider and Rich Ruth on synthesizer. Their contributions—like all the other overdubs—work to add weight and heft to Pedigo’s moves, never detracting or calling attention to themselves, but helping shape the songs to something higher. \"Forgiveness was a big part of the record,\" he elaborates, \"and I think that’s why the album has a brighter, uplifting feel threaded throughout.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe result is a mesmerising work of profound beauty. Stripped of some of the ambience that had filled the soundscapes of his previous albums, the guitar playing on\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003estands alone, stark and highly melodic, lonesome and ghostly, evoking a sense of absence and longing. Wordless melodies weave in and out of compositions where the interstices can be as affecting as the notes themselves. Pedigo’s fingers pick a path between Fahey’s slow introspection and young Kottke’s joyous struts, coming to a sound more in line with William Ackerman’s early works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe influences on display throughout\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emove beyond the Takoma school, however; Pedigo has a light thumb, and his airy playing borders on the celestial. The stillness and gentle drift of Brian Eno’s ambience are hinted at on album closer “I Wasn’t Dreaming,” while John Renbourn’s stately phrasing can be heard on “Something Absolute.” Pedigo cites the progressive classical playing of Anthony Phillips on the early Genesis records as a point of reference for the album’s ethereal opener, “Carthage.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eVaried as his inspirations are, it’s important to always expect the unexpected from Pedigo. He names Earl Sweatshirt as his biggest influence on the record, in terms of its formatting, concise nature, and desire to dissolve the parameters of its genre label. Outside of music, he references Korine and the director’s ability to create something from nothing, as well as comedian Tom Green, whom Pedigo deems a visionary with supreme artistic sensibilities. As a sworn hater of the term \"Cosmic Country\" and with album artwork that depicts black metal connotations, Pedigo’s anything-goes sense of humor extends from the ingenious campaign videos through to the various characters he portrays on his Instagram page, and into every fiber of his being.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etakes open-hearted moments of solitude, confusion, longing, and acceptance and sends them skywards, where they refract and sun dance into our ears. Like William Tyler, Marisa Anderson, Chuck Johnson or any of the new wave of guitarists altering the very DNA of American guitar music for a new generation, Pedigo’s songs aren’t so much here to bring you into his world as to illuminate and color your own. With\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/em\u003e, Hayden Pedigo proves he has already become such a painter. And that’s just about the best thing you can do with a guitar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mexican Summer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47589449007405,"sku":"184923131918","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0846\/5802\/8845\/files\/ReleaseProduct-240261-142791.jpg?v=1700163675"},{"product_id":"hayden-pedigo-ill-be-waving-as-you-drive-away-t-shirt","title":"Hayden Pedigo - I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away - T-shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProduct Details:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eLimited Gildan Softstyle Tshirt printed by Beezer Printing, NY.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHayden Pedigo: man, myth, master of disguise; un-picker, finger-picker, absurdist, perfectionist. The unorthodox contender for Amarillo City Council, subject of the film \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKid Candidate\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and creator of the acclaimed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLetting Go (2021)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Happiest Times I Ever Ignored (2023) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003enow embarks upon the release of his new album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving as You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and reveals his truest self.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSolidly honing in on his technical craft after two years of non-stop touring with the likes of Jenny Lewis, Devendra Banhart and Hiss Golden Messenger, Hayden Pedigo is ready to peel back the curtain and let the world in. His most emotionally candid record, more technically demanding and intricate than ever, “there’s something really human” about this release, Hayden professes. Produced by Scott Hirsch (Hiss Golden Messenger), there’s “no face paint, no blue skin, the character on the front is no longer a character — it’s actually just \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eme\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. I’m trying to tell the audience, I actually want you to meet me, I want you to know who I am.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTaking cues from John Fahey’s hazy, weed-and-whiskey infused, tape-loop-heavy 1966 record \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Great San Bernardino Birthday Party\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is, reflects Hayden, not a straightforward solo guitar record. Unafraid to push the parameters of American primitive, the walls of the album’s world are fuzzed-up and glimmering. Afterall, it is vital to Hayden, to also be influenced by contemporary modern music in order not to make an esoteric, rambling solo guitar record. For example, Bladee’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCold Visions\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — “a masterclass of experimental rap music” — inspired some similarities in approach, despite the artists’ distinctly different genre backgrounds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe album opens on ‘Long Pond Lily’, an outsized and fragrant bloom of intent; a simultaneous echo of Hayden’s previous work and a big, blousy departure. “It’s very heavy and huge” he reflects, “the low end is rattling on it — it sounds bonkers, and feels like it’s on the verge of going off the rails. It's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eso\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e maximalist, so much more energetic than anything I’ve ever written.” The liquid metallicism and quietly cascading piano of ‘All the Way Across’ morphs into the doomy, sludgy electronics and mellotron choirs of ‘Smoked’ (inspired by Popol Vuh’s 1970s Werner Herzog soundtracks); the light touch, wings, string arrangements and glass sculptures of ‘Houndstooth’ and ‘Hermes’ are counterbalanced by the blurry \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVictorialand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-era Cocteau Twins electric guitars of ‘Small Torch’. The title track is, says Hayden, “weirdly the least like-me song on the album; it’s doing a lot of things that I don’t think anyone’s heard in my music before. It feels like a 1950s Chet Atkins\/Merle Travis picking piece, very bright, very bouncy, very on-the-nose classic. It’s like I removed all irony from my music. It’s so sincere that I think it will be startlingly sincere, jarring even, for some people.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThough not initially conceived as a triptych, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Happiest Times I Ever Ignored\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (AKA “The Motor Trilogy”) have since revealed their connections to their creator. “I like being surprised, slowly solving this puzzle of my own work. Now that I’ve finished this record it feels circular: if you end \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and start again at the first track on\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Letting Go\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, it feels like you’re re-starting the movie — but the context grows deeper.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThough we finally meet the maker, tenderly look him in the eye, it is all too brief;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e plays itself out, and with a tip of the hat, a creak of the mechanical arm, a slam of the truck door and a puff of smoke, Hayden Pedigo is gone — just as quickly as he was revealed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ohSZYUKh_No?si=TQPDyn4ugr-_pSw9\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mexican Summer","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":50608599892269,"sku":"184923437416","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"M","offer_id":50608599925037,"sku":"184923437423","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"L","offer_id":50608599957805,"sku":"184923437430","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"XL","offer_id":50608599990573,"sku":"184923437447","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0846\/5802\/8845\/files\/502170.jpg?v=1743453473"},{"product_id":"hayden-pedigo-ill-be-waving-as-you-drive-away-oklahoma-sky-blue-vinyl","title":"Hayden Pedigo - I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away - Oklahoma Sky Blue Vinyl","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProduct Details:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eOklahoma Sky Blue 140 gram vinyl in a standard jacket with signed artist photo and download card.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-75b1eb34-7fff-12ee-279f-19c91f76af7d\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHayden Pedigo: man, myth, master of disguise; un-picker, finger-picker, absurdist, perfectionist. The unorthodox contender for Amarillo City Council, subject of the film \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKid Candidate\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and creator of the acclaimed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLetting Go (2021)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Happiest Times I Ever Ignored (2023) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003enow embarks upon the release of his new album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving as You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and reveals his truest self.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSolidly honing in on his technical craft after two years of non-stop touring with the likes of Jenny Lewis, Devendra Banhart and Hiss Golden Messenger, Hayden Pedigo is ready to peel back the curtain and let the world in. His most emotionally candid record, more technically demanding and intricate than ever, “there’s something really human” about this release, Hayden professes. Produced by Scott Hirsch (Hiss Golden Messenger), there’s “no face paint, no blue skin, the character on the front is no longer a character — it’s actually just \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eme\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. I’m trying to tell the audience, I actually want you to meet me, I want you to know who I am.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTaking cues from John Fahey’s hazy, weed-and-whiskey infused, tape-loop-heavy 1966 record \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Great San Bernardino Birthday Party\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is, reflects Hayden, not a straightforward solo guitar record. Unafraid to push the parameters of American primitive, the walls of the album’s world are fuzzed-up and glimmering. Afterall, it is vital to Hayden, to also be influenced by contemporary modern music in order not to make an esoteric, rambling solo guitar record. For example, Bladee’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCold Visions\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e — “a masterclass of experimental rap music” — inspired some similarities in approach, despite the artists’ distinctly different genre backgrounds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe album opens on ‘Long Pond Lily’, an outsized and fragrant bloom of intent; a simultaneous echo of Hayden’s previous work and a big, blousy departure. “It’s very heavy and huge” he reflects, “the low end is rattling on it — it sounds bonkers, and feels like it’s on the verge of going off the rails. It's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eso\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e maximalist, so much more energetic than anything I’ve ever written.” The liquid metallicism and quietly cascading piano of ‘All the Way Across’ morphs into the doomy, sludgy electronics and mellotron choirs of ‘Smoked’ (inspired by Popol Vuh’s 1970s Werner Herzog soundtracks); the light touch, wings, string arrangements and glass sculptures of ‘Houndstooth’ and ‘Hermes’ are counterbalanced by the blurry \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVictorialand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-era Cocteau Twins electric guitars of ‘Small Torch’. The title track is, says Hayden, “weirdly the least like-me song on the album; it’s doing a lot of things that I don’t think anyone’s heard in my music before. It feels like a 1950s Chet Atkins\/Merle Travis picking piece, very bright, very bouncy, very on-the-nose classic. It’s like I removed all irony from my music. It’s so sincere that I think it will be startlingly sincere, jarring even, for some people.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThough not initially conceived as a triptych, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLetting Go\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Happiest Times I Ever Ignored\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (AKA “The Motor Trilogy”) have since revealed their connections to their creator. “I like being surprised, slowly solving this puzzle of my own work. Now that I’ve finished this record it feels circular: if you end \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and start again at the first track on\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Letting Go\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, it feels like you’re re-starting the movie — but the context grows deeper.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThough we finally meet the maker, tenderly look him in the eye, it is all too brief;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e plays itself out, and with a tip of the hat, a creak of the mechanical arm, a slam of the truck door and a puff of smoke, Hayden Pedigo is gone — just as quickly as he was revealed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ohSZYUKh_No?si=TQPDyn4ugr-_pSw9\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mexican Summer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50632033861933,"sku":"184923137408","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0846\/5802\/8845\/files\/3.jpg?v=1744213602"},{"product_id":"hayden-pedigo-live-in-amarillo-highway-hereford-snow-vinyl","title":"Hayden Pedigo - Live In Amarillo, Texas, Hereford Snow Vinyl","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"product-details\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"description product-description module\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"description-wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"description-article article-blurb\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eShipping out on or around \u003cspan class=\"end\"\u003eSeptember 19, 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProduct Details:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHereford Snow 140 gram vinyl in a full color jacket with download card.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomething happened. Between the summer of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Happiest Times I Ever Ignored\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand the night before Christmas Eve 2023, the music of Hayden Pedigo transformed. Back-to-back months of touring lead to incredible outcomes: First, his chops became more finely honed than ever before, lending a precision and versatility to the songs that would surprise even the most-seasoned Pedigo listener. Second, Hayden lived in these songs, translating them through improvisation and dynamic exploration into emotional juggernauts – instrumental music that sings to the audience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLanding in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas for the holidays to perform at The Amarillo Globe-News Center – home of the Amarillo Symphony – a gorgeous and beguiling set was recorded in front of a crowd of nearly five hundred people. Put to tape by Nathan and Joe Luscombe, mixed by Davis Hart, and mastered by Stephan Mathieu, Mexican Summer proudly presents Hayden Pedigo’s Live in Amarillo, Texas, an album that could one day be mentioned in the same breath as John Fahey's The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick and Townes Van Zandt's Live at the Old Quarter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/article\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Mexican Summer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51263162876205,"sku":"184923137132","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0846\/5802\/8845\/files\/MEX371-HP_LPMockup-White-1.jpg?v=1755700609"}],"url":"https:\/\/mexicansummer.myshopify.com\/collections\/hayden-pedigo.oembed","provider":"Mexican Summer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}