Mark MacNeil's debut album, Shoot The Breeze, showcases his storytelling and acoustic guitar playing. His punk-folk sound, parched rough-hewn vocals and his off-kilter world view are strangely addictive. Woody Guthrie would be proud.

Whispering Winds, the follow-up to last year's Shoot The Breeze, builds on its predecessor's raw-boned sound by adding steel guitar and harmonica to the blend. His songs, as before, chronicle the life of wanderlust and the relationships he builds along the way.

Photography by Chad Gagn'e and Miles K. Whitmore

Band Members (Whispering Winds):

• Mark MacNeil - guitar, vocals
• Whit Wright - steel guitar
• Tom Barker - harmonica
• Jim Cavender - bass, percussion

Band Members (Shoot The Breeze):

• Mark MacNeil - guitar, vocals
• Johnny Wolfsberger - drums
• Nick Walker - mandolin
• Lydia Gregory - violin
• Newt Johnson - accordion
• Jim Cavender - bass, guitar
• Conway Campbell - slide guitar (on "Heavy Glass")
• Morgan Pike - harmony vocal (on "The Ship")
• Terri Cavender - percussion (on "19 Letters")