Category: Ashleigh Flynn

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle – April Fools Mix

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ICYMI:  Read my latest manifesto here.

It’s April 1 – no joke.  Today, D. Boon would have been 58 years old.  Hard to believe he had been gone for over 30 years.  The music he made in his too short life was very important to me.

We have some Featured Friday music to kick off the fourth month of 2016

“Alcatraz” by PONY BOY

We start off our April with another awesome song from Pony Boy’s Blue Gold album.  This is a good one. Produced by Justin Collins and Adam Landry for Cosmic Thug…

“New Yorkian Dairy Company” by Jonas H. Sjøvaag’s Navyelectre

 Another track from this Norwegian artist. I am not sure if this is considered a bonus-track for the Large Ensemble album, but in any case, it is a great song.

“Don’t F It Up” by Chase Walker Band

Chase Walker is a young blues guitar prodigy. He and his band have an album forthcoming called Not Quite Legal.  This is our first listen, and yeah it is good! The “F” word is only censored for the title, by the way.

“Runnin'” by Ashleigh Flynn

From a Million Stars.  I was thinking about Ashleigh Flynn this week.  When she was here in Nashville, she said Todd Snider’s “Play a Train Song” and Snider joined her on stage to sing a few lines.  This week, I got to see and hear Snider himself play that song on the very same (The 5 Spot) stage. Ashleigh Flynn is good, ya’ll.

“Six Feet Down” by Amelia White

Another from Home Sweet Hotel.  Such a great album – you really should check it out.

“Clarity” by Pony Girl

Pony Girl meet Pony Boy… Pony Boy meet Pony Girl.  If you guys ever put together a “Tale of Two Ponies” tour or split single – I hope E2TG gets a shout out… 🙂  Pony Girl are from Canada. The band’s new album is called Foreign Life.  Great stuff.  I just now noticed that Raphael Weinroth-Browne of The Visit (who we featured a while back) plays cello on this album. 

“April Fools” by Brian Wright

I promise this was not a plant! The shuffle brought this song up today of all days.  I think I’ve said enough times that Brian Wright is one of the best songwriters I know.  This is from the Café  Rooster Sessions Vol. 1.  Work is underway on Vol. 2, and I can’t wait. Brian Wright has been touring with Aaron Lee Tasjan and on his own, if he comes any where near you, do yourself a favor and go out and see him.

“Dancin’ Round The Nails” by The Jackals

We close out the week and the first shuffle of April with another track People by this outstanding Scottish band.  They will be playing later in April before a Manchester City football match sponsored by Blue Soap-Music  which is the source for a bunch of the great UK music that I feature here.

VIDEO PLAYLIST

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Monday Morning Music Shuffle – Salted Joints, Cannibalism, and Andre the Giant Mix

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Another week… this is gonna be a weird one.  But, whatever…

Friday:  Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour – always a good time. 
Cross the river to The Country for The Tangled Hearts and Saint Luke’s Drifters each providing a different take on a rockin’ country sound.

Saturday:  So, I have been reading this book called Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris and the Renegades of Nashville by Michael Streissguth.  (Thanks Pat and Kelsie). It is a very interesting book not just about the origins of the Outlaw Country movement but also about what Nashville was like in the late sixties and early seventies.  I am drawing some interesting parallels to what I have been observing in Nashville in recent times.  Anyway, Saturday night on the stage of Douglas Corner, Peter Cooper, David Olney, Tommy Womack, and Chris Gantry played an in-the-round show (swapping songs and stories).  Peter Cooper writing is referenced several times in Streissguth’s book,  David Olney is mentioned in a quote from Rodney Crowell (and he shared a story that referenced that time period), and Chris Gantry’s name came up several times in the book, and he, too, shared some stories from those days.  The songs, of course, were out of this world, and it was a pretty magical night.

Onto the shuffle:
“Salted Joints” by Discount Ravioli

Discount Ravioli released Come Looj With Us at the beginning of January, and they have already released the follow up Captain Fettuccine and the Quest for the Champ on Earth II.  Anyway, this track is from the former not the latter.  Warning: excessive use of salt is not recommended.  And if you are going to practice cannibalism just eat people who are already dead.  Also, since I still cannot find Discount Ravioli videos, I will continue to post vintage videos of the Nork kids.

“Andre” by Dog Without Warning

The bay area band, Dog Without Warning have been favorites around here for some time. They have recently begun releasing some new songs, including this one about one of the icons of my childhood, and one for the more interesting public figures of the latter part of the 20th Century – Andre the Giant.

“Post-Desert Breakup Life” by Discount Ravioli

Why not – one more from Come Looj With Us.  I have no idea what this is all about, but enjoy the chunky instrumentation and barely audible vocals.    Also,

“A Million Stars” by Ashleigh Flynn

One of the highlights of my birthday week was meeting and hearing the music of Ashleigh Flynn.  This is the lovely title track from her 2013 album.

“The Flame” by Angela Easterling

Speaking of awesome singer-songwriters whose names start with the letter A, and who I met at a $2 Tuesday show at The 5 Spot…. Angela Eastering released the awesome Common Law Wife album in 2015 and that album helped earn her a coveted “Earie”Award. 🙂  

“Deadbeat (Dyslexic Heart)” by Ben Arthur

One of my favorite of Ben Arthur’s “Answer” songs from the planned album, “Call and Response”.   This one is a response to the poetry of  Jay Baron Nicorvo – namely his collection called Deadbeat.

“Ducking Dodging” by Parquet Courts

From a World Café session…and a track from the Brooklyn  indie rock band’s album Sunbathing Animals + Content Nausea. 

VIDEO PLAYLIST


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Featured Friday Morning Music Shuffle – Still a Human Being Mix

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Got to make this quick – I’m running late.  Saturday is another one of those impossible choices (musically-speaking in Nashville):  The Foobar is holding a multi-act afternoon show that features: Jeff Shepherd, Year of October, Susie Oleson, and Adrian + Meredith, and more!  Intersecting with the Adrian+Meredith part of the show will be some other awesome options:  David Olney returns to Bobby’s Idle Hour, Jon Latham opens for The Whistles and The Bells at The Basement.  Aaron Lee Tasjan returns to Nashville for a full band show – and his band include the also recently returned Brian Wright at Soulshine Pizza, and then later on Zach Schmidt + Patrick Kinsley & A Fistful of Dollars open for Cataline Crime at The 5 Spot.  And probably tons of other cool stuff…  get out and do something… you cannot go wrong with any of these selections…

Tonight: Tim Carroll Happy Hour 6-8:30 at The 5 Spot, and later on Kevin Gordon and his band are at The Family Wash.  If you have tickets, Those Darlins are playing their final show (a sell out) at The Basement East.

“How the West Was Won” by Ashleigh Flynn

Another cool song from A Million Stars. This one is a toe-tapping number.  Janie doesn’t have a gun.

“Separate Ways” by Carl Anderson

It’s hard to believe, but we still have songs to feature from Risk of Loss – one of 2015s best albums.  Carl Anderson is from Charlottesville, VA, but Nashville is happy to claim him now.   (and yes, I do speak for Nashville).   This is not the Journey song by the way.

“Defining Deviance Down” by The End Men

2013 E2TG Band of the Year from their excellent 2015 album Terms and Conditions. Man these guys rock so hard, and they are sounding so good on this record. 

“Lay My Head” by Angela Easterling

Another of my favorite albums of 2015, Common Law Wife.  A gorgeous song.  There are deep Nashville connections on this album.

“It’s a Beautiful Morning” by Tommy Womack

Certain to be one of the best of 2016. A new album from Tommy Womack is always a cause for celebration, and there is a lot to celebrate on Womack’s return following a neat fatal automobile accident last spring.  A powerful and lovely song for my morning walk, and a good reminder.  This song connects well with “I Almost Died” which we featured yesterday (I think).  It is a message of the hope that is possible on the other side.

“Let You Down” by Zachariah Red

And we close out the shuffle and the week with a track from Backbone.  This one features the vocal accompaniment of Lindsay Ellyn who also co-wrote the song.  I am pretty sure Backbone will be on my best of 2016 list.

VIDEO PLAYLIST

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – Almost Died Mix

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Let’s see…  I attended the final show of the Jason Ringenberg residency at The 5 Spot. Jason’s guests were Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplin. Fats Kaplin is a wonder, Kristi Rose sings like an angel, and Jason is Jason!  The night included: Fats, Kristi, and Jason covering a Gun Club song.   And even though, I didn’t win the Farmer Jason eggs, Jason did play my request, “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” – which I first heard him sing in November 1985 when he joined R.E.M. on the stage of Vanderbilt Memorial Gym. Plus I got an XL Farmer Jason t-shirt!  I did have a brain-fart moment and told Jason that The Sluggers played a Gun Club song when they opened for the Scorchers at Cat’s Record. His reaction told me I was mistaken, and after giving some thought and digging into brain cells I thought had been lost years ago, I remember that it was Flipper that they covered.  Don’t ask me why I mistook Gun Club for Flipper except they were both bands that I loved and who had achieved legendary status just a relatively few short years after they formed.

After that, a bunch of folks migrated over to The Family Wash for a J.J. Cale tribute night put together by Pete Finney. An amazing band backed an all-star cast of guests including: Jon Byrd, Kevin Gordon, Mac Gayden, Jonell Mosser, Dave Coleman, Bill Lloyd, Nikki G, Jack Pearson, Pat Bergeson, and Rick Schell. Plus a couple of songs by the awesome East Nashvill band Los Colognes.

A big crowd full of really awesome people at both events on the eastside.

Meanwhile, Darrin Bradbury was representing East Nashville,well, in the deep, deep south of Nashville (Franklin), where he did the recurring Vietti Chili promo and totally owned the moment.  You can see it HERE.  Darrin comes in at the 37 minute mark.  Great news is that Darrin will be doing a full set a MCR in June!  I will be on the bus for that!

On to the shuffle which I think speaks for itself:

“The Ballad of Jimi Hendrix” by Stormtroopers of Death

From the 1985 debut, Speak English or Die… six seconds..

“Doppelganger” by The Transcendents

Possibly, my favorite song on the Common Ground EP from a band that have become a favorite of mine.  From the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand.

“Rainy Days” by Ashleigh Flynn

Ashleigh Flynn is originally from Louisville, KY, and is now based in Portland, OR.  I saw her at The 5 Spot during my Birthday Week, and I was blown away.  This song is from her album A Million Stars. 

“I Almost Died” by Tommy Womack

Tommy Womack played the third week of the Jason Ringenberg residency.  Easily, he is one of the best songwriters around.  This is a track from his forthcoming album, Namaste – which you can help Tommy release.

“Blue Blue Sea” by Man Named Pearl

Although, I always recommend listening to albums all the way through. The fun thing about doing the shuffle is uncovering the beauty of a record, a little at a time over a long period of time. Man Named Pearls is one of the…er.. pearls of the Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen Family. -Quietus Make- is the album, and yes, you should check it out.

“Heart of Fire” by The Naddiks

The b-side to the anti-bullying single, “Stop Listen Love”. Empowering words and music from the capital city of Australia.

“Sound of Lies” (live) by The Jayhawks

From the live album, Live at The Belly Up. This is the title track from the band’s 1997 album which coincidently was also called Sound of Lies. Go figure.

“Sleeping Sleeping” by Jeremy Gluck and Robert Coyne

We recently featured some new music from Jeremy Gluck, but amazingly there is still one more song (after this one) from the Memory Deluxe album. In a real Gun Club connection, Memory Deluxe is a follow-up to Gluck’s I Knew Buffalo Bill album which featured the late Gun Club front-man Jeffrey Lee Pierce among others.

VIDEO PLAYLIST


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Joe’s Birthday Week – Tuesday Night 1/12/2016

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Ug!  I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and a busy day, and I’m heading back out for the fourth night of my birthday week – so I am going to have to punt on the shuffle today.  Sorry.  All the songs (which were really awesome) will go back into the hopper for another day.

Here is a recap of last night’s musical adventures…

window.amznpubstudioTag = “eartothegro00-20”;  http://ps-us.amazon-adsystem.com/domains/eartothegro00-20_3dcd3a52-1a1a-4afe-a2fd-aaba8e251afc.jsThe third stop on the Birthday Week Express was at The Basement (the original one on 8th Avenue) for a showcase featuring “Earie” Award winning  Sara Syms and her awesome band.  Sara played songs from her latest album Way Back Home.  By now, I am certain you have read my review and gotten your copy…  Here is a link to my review.

After that, I headed across the river to $2 Tuesday with Derek Hoke.  This is one of East Nashville’s best events. I have never once been disappointed.  Last night was exceptional.  I had heard about Ian Fitzgerald from a number of my songwriting friends, and I pleased to find out he was on the bill.  Ian is from Boston, and I really dug is songs. 

Ashleigh Flynn had also been recommended and introduced to me.  Backed by fiddle player, Kathryn Claire, Flynn said her songs were mostly about whiskey and women.  I particularly liked the song she wrote after playing an open mic night at the Bluebird Café. Some great humor and the music was smoking.  A magical moment happened when Ashley Flynn noting a poster over the bar, launched into an awesome cover of Todd Snider’s “Play a Train Song”, and Snider wandered on stage to sing along with the refrain.

Next up was Derek Hoke – who sounding amazing as always.

Suzy Oleson and her band sounded fantastic.

Special note: DJ Tim Hibbs played songs with the theme of Heroes and Outcasts in honor of David Bowie, and as only he can moved with ease from Bowie to Charlie Rich with Red Simpson song honoring the country music legend who passed away last week. 

The night ended with Jon Langford (The Mekons, The Waco Brothers) playing his first ever show at The 5 Spot (I think that is what he said), and it was hands down one of the best sets I have seen a while.  He had an awesome band that included Grant Johnson, Pete Finney, and Paul Burch.

An awesome night three of my birthday week, and I got to see several good friends along the way.  The trip continues tonight with two stops – I will back at The 5 Spot early (6-8) for the second installment of the Jason Ringenberg Residency – his guest tonight: Peter Cooper!

Then, I will head to Mad Donna’s for Brian Langlinais, Renee Wahl, and Simon Reid.

Shuffle returns tomorrow….