🤍  New album in production for 2026  🤍
"Drawing on influences ranging from the British Invasion to pub rock to the paisley underground, the band blends an array of guitar sounds with clever lyricism." - Glide Magazine
Formed by veterans of the California roots scene, New Earth Farmers features Paul Michael Knowles (vocals/guitars/keyboards/bass), Nicole Storto (vocals/guitar), and Nigel Twist (the original founding drummer of The Alarm). They are frequently joined by James DePrato (guitar), Kevin T. White (bass), Jeff LeGore (bass) and Melissa Phillips-DePrato on harmony vocals. Their music has been known for blending Americana, 70s style rock and folk rock. The sound is expanding to incorporate hints of funk and soul on this new effort with subconscious comparisons to artists like World Party, Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, and George Harrison. The band aims to avoid confining their music to a single genre. "The song drives the treatment and genre of each track," Knowles explained. “In an era where lyrics often take a back seat to style, fashion, materialism, and hipness, we prioritize lyrics. Our songs ask questions, praise empathy and love, acknowledge inequity, inequality, and tribalism, and seek peace of mind in confusing times.Â
War Inside Our Hearts (2024)
NEW EARTH FARMERS SHAKE UP THE COSMOS AGAIN WITH THE SKY FROM THE UNDERGROUND (October 4th, 2024)
Paul Michael Knowles-Vocals, Guitars, B3 Organ, Piano, Keyboards | Nicole Storto-Vocals, Guitar | Nigel Twist-Drums | James DePrato-Lead Guitars, Slide Guitar | Kevin T. White-Bass | Melissa Phillips DePrato-Harmony Vocals on “Have Love Will Travel” | Dave Zirbel-Pedal Steel on “Behind That Locked Door” | Adam Rossi-B3 Organ on “He Broke Your Heart”
San Francisco, CA July 2024—New Earth Farmers previous album, The Good Ones Got Away (2022) was written during the pandemic and lockdown and shortly after band leader, Paul Knowles’ father passed away from Covid. “The cover of that album portrays an astronaut in a living room/rocket ship watching TV and listening to a stereo,” said Knowles. “It was about escaping.” The new record, The Sky From The Underground depicts a cover with the astronaut observing the earth and its sky from the perspective of a nearby world, relaxing on a chair of mushrooms. “I guess it’s part two of the saga and he’s come outside of his getaway ship, has a fresh take on life and has grown a bit spiritually—More optimistic and ready for the next adventure.”
The band has the same members; Paul Michael Knowles, Nicole Storto, Nigel Twist (The Alarm), James DePrato (Chuck Prophet), and Kevin T. White (Shelby Lynn). The album was co-produced by Knowles and Peter Craft, and mixed and recorded by Craft at his studio, Boxer Lodge in Napa, CA. (The exception: Knowles recorded and mixed “Behind That Locked Door”). There was additional recording at 1332 Recording by David Luke in Berkeley, CA. Mastering was done by Tone Def in Nashville, TN.
The band aims to avoid confining their music to a single genre. "The song drives the treatment and genre of each track," Knowles explained. “In an era where lyrics often take a back seat to style, fashion, materialism, and hipness, we prioritize lyrics. Our songs ask questions, praise empathy and love, acknowledge inequity, inequality, and tribalism, and seek peace of mind in confusing times. We've expanded our influences. While there are Americana elements on the record, we also embraced British influences like The Clash, The Who, and The Beatles.”
The Sky From The Underground has 8 original tunes and two covers; “Behind That Locked Door” by George Harrison, and “Have Love Will Travel” by Tom Petty.
"Big Questions" takes a light-hearted approach to exploring profound topics, incorporating some Beatle-influenced chord changes. “We’d had a lot of family, friends, and respected people that passed away in the last few years. Sometime’s life is a cruel joke, and we wanted to speak to whoever’s in charge with this particular song lyric. That was the first verse, then we went on to make some subtle observations about Artificial Intelligence and Authoritarianism.”
Inspired by The Clash, "War Inside Our Hearts" addresses the rampant tribalism plaguing the country and the world, and pleads for people to come together.
While addressing some pretty heavy subjects including gun violence (“Frequency”) and the exploitation of our environment (“Windfall”), the spirit of optimism is in the songs. “There is optimism,” Knowles declares. “Consider a seed. You can bury it underground, under a bit of earth, water it and it grows toward the sky. Likewise, there is optimism buried within the spirit of this batch of songs. We are trying to plant good seeds. Optimistic seeds.”
