Category: Jo Wymer

Friday Morning Music Shuffle – Superstar Mix

We’ve reached the end of the week.  To get us into the weekend, I have a long list of additions to the E2TG Hall of Fall, and a pretty sweet little music shuffle.

E2TG Hall of Fame:
13. The Foresters (Bethany, CT) (ed. note: Some may say they are too young for a Hall of Fame, but it’s my Hall of Fame, and by their inspiring dedication to their craft, they have already earned their place – even as I acknowledge their best work is ahead of them – I think that is true for most if not all of our inductees)
14. Those Mockingbirds (Montclair, NJ)
15. You and Me (Montreal, QC)
16. MAKAR (New York, NY)
17. The Gypsy West (Brooklyn, NY)
18. Tipi Valley (Swansea, UK)
19. Jo Wymer (Freehold, NJ)
20. Sci-Fi Romance









The inductees will continue. There are still some major favorites of mine who have not been added  yet.  Rest assured this will be rectified sooner than later.  I want to make more progress on the Hall of Fame Page before I add too many more. 

Here’s the Shuffle-

“Superstar” by Sonic Youth (from If I Were a Carpenter.  Sonic Youth covering Richard and Karen Carpenter’s 70s era hit song.)

“Waitin'” by Caitlin Rose (from Goodbye Summer: 2013 ATO Fall Sampler.  From her latest album The Stand-In.)

“Against the Sky” by Theory of Machines (from EP1.  Another track by this awesomely dark and cinematic band from London – mostly instrumental with some spoken words.)

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1877981999/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

“Work” by The End Men (a-side to the Work single.  The latest music from our first Hall of Fame inductees. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the incredible video for “Work” which is included in our daily video playlist below.)

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=367747451/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

“Heat Wave” by The All-About (from Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen: Section 4.  From Fairfield, CT.  “Dance music written and recorded by people who can’t dance for people who can’t dance.” It’s no wonder I dig this.)

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2911973078/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=3/transparent=true/

“Winter Pockets” by Wild Child (from Pillow Talk. A perfect song for this frosty morning. Austin based Indie Folk.)

WATCH
 

SHOP

Ear to the Ground Presents: A Heapin’ Helpin’ of Music News

While we were busy writing and posting our 4-part review of  the new album by  The End Men and then being sick, a whole bunch of stuff has been happening musically from some old and new friends of ours.  Some of this “news” is no longer new, but in case you’ve missed it here is a quick survey of what’s been hitting our News feeds, In-Box and how ever else we’ve heard about this stuff. News after the jump:


  • Man on Earth, the New York rockers who we featured last year, are about to embark on their biggest tour yet.  You can go here for tour dates.  They kick off the tour with a huge show at Irving Plaza in New York.
  • Our friend from Atlanta, Elwood Kuddles (aka Killing Kuddles) is set to release a brand new 5 song EP on March 5, but you can pre-order now. 

  • Spinner.com released a new single from New York based Prince Rupert’s Drops called Plague Ride. 
  • Couch by CouchWest is rapidly approaching.  I know The Foresters have recently finished their submission.  In case you are among the uninitiated, Couch by CouchWest is kind of like South by SouthWest except “the beer is cheaper and the only hipster is you.”
(credit Popa2unes for the poster)

  • The Dead Ex’s have released the latest single from their stand-out album Relovolution –  “White Collar Crime” 



  • Our 2012 Band of the Year, Skeletons in the Piano are working the final bits of voodoo on their new album which will the first on Magnetic Eye Records.  Head over to the band’s website to pre-order.
  • Similarly named, but in no way related, Nashville based Poetic Hip-Hop artist Skeleton at the Feast recently collaborated with our good friend Hayden Coleman on a new track which dropped just a few days ago.

  • Our friend’s The Danbury Lie recently dropped some new music.  

  • Another friend of ours Jo Wymer has been nominated for the brand new Music Educator Award from The Grammy’s.  The new award was announced on this years telecast by Justin Timberlake and Ryan Seacrest.  Congrats and good luck Jo!
Well, I’m about out of time.  I have lots more to share…so stay tuned.  We will leave you with a brief taste of the awesome new song from His Royal Badness…. Prince!








!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js <!– google_ad_client = "ca-pub-5465441380757075"; /* E2TG #2 */ google_ad_slot = "6306625404"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //–> http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – AAAAAAAAAAA! Mix

 

Isn’t it always the way, that when you have the most to write about, you have the least amount to time to wright.  I got to see Jo Wymer playing an in-the-round show last night, and I got to meet her in person.  She is a great person, an amazing singer and a terrific songwriter!  I enjoyed a lot of the music last night, and I got some great pics, so expect a full report, but probably not until after Americana.
I had the great pleasure to be part of a focus group for a panel of Americana radio stations, and offer feedback to help shape the future of Americana Radio or something.  It was pretty cool to hear the wide variety of stations, ranges of music and approaches from stations from all across the US. 
I also handed out some cards so if any of you radio guys are checking out Ear 2 the Ground for the first time. Hey! 
In the same way you need to support your favorite Indie artists and your favorite Ear to the Ground Music Blog, it is likewise important to support radio that plays the music you love.  Whether it is a college or public station or an independent commercial station send some love and/or money their way. 
I about ran up the hill this morning which in the shape I am in is not such a great idea, but I was accompanied by some cool music – so let’s get to the Shuffle of the Morning:
First we have Tony Castles a due from Brooklyn from their Sharon Stone EP which is due out in October.  The song is called One Tone Man .  You can stream the new album here:
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1034968029/size=grande3/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/


Next we have a song that still sound great 23 years later. It’s The The (one of the great band names ever) from Mind Bomb – an album that featured Johnny Marr (Smiths) on guitar.  The song we have is The Beat(en) Generation.
 

Yesterday, I named dropped The Foresters, an awesome power-pop-punk band from one of those New England states I don’t know how to spell… you know Connecticut. Some totally awesome dude described the band this way: “The Foresters: Average age 10.6667 but their amps go up to 11.”  – Okay that awesome dude was me, but I can’t stand it when I “waste” a great line on Facebook…. But more importantly, yes, the Foresters are three brothers named Nork who are 12,11 and 9 years old.  The song we have today is called Better. You can grab it for Name Your Price at Bandcamp:



And finally, Do It For the Bay (Featuring DaVinci) is a brand new track from the Oakland, California “Cloud Rap” duo. It’s from their forthcoming album, Bossalinis & Fooliyones and is produced by New York producer Harry Fraud. Dig it:

===============================================================
http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N7433.148119.BLOGGEREN/B6631428.7792;sz=300×250;ord=%5Btimestamp%5D?;lid=41000000005217789;pid=22346953;usg=AFHzDLuAWmie1CYFzOVrJVBGXYcEY4vqgA;adurl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.officemax.com%252Ftechnology%252Faudio-accessories%252Finternet-radio%252Fproduct-prod3100050%253Fcm_mmc%253DPerformics-_-Technology-_-Audio%252520and%252520Accessories-_-Internet%252520Radio%2526ci_src%253D14110944%2526ci_sku%253D22346953;pubid=557067;price=%24199.99;title=Logitech+Squezebox+Radio+CD2659;merc=OfficeMax;imgsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.officemax.com%2Fcatalog%2Fimages%2F397x353%2F22346953i_01.jpg;width=151;height=135

http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N7433.148119.BLOGGEREN/B6695230.6628;sz=300×250;ord=%5Btimestamp%5D?;lid=41000000029272154;pid=63825182;usg=AFHzDLvINGrvQXfs1He5JxDmwa55F53hyw;adurl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.cafepress.com%252F%252Bsticker_bumper%252C63825182%253Futm_medium%25253Daffiliate%252526utm_source%25253Dyoutube%253D;pubid=557067;price=%245.00;title=Meat+is+Murder.+Bumper+Sticker+Sticker+Bumper+by+CafePress;merc=CafePress.com;imgsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fi2.cpcache.com%2Fproduct%2F63825182_480x480_f.jpg;width=135;height=135




!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle – Representin’ Mix

Well, well, well… my Americana weekend doesn’t officially begin until tomorrow, but the music starts tonight.  Freehold, New Jersey’s own Jo Wymer, who is a fantastic blues singer was one of part of our first class of Featured Artists back in June, is part of an in-the-round tonight at 7:00 at the Red Rooster on Demonbreun St. at the very end of Music Row near the Musica statue.  Get out to Red Rooster if you can.

I also want to send out a reminder to check out our Featured Artists of the Month – you can find out about them by going to the Featured Artist Page on the right sidebar or HERE:

!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);——————————–
First up we have some Punkcore music out of Salt Lake City.  You never know what is going turn up on Ear to the Ground do you?  I got connected to S3X via a #FF from a really awesome group called The Foresters  from Connecticut (if you keep up with on Facebook or Twitter you already know about these kids.  We’ll have more about them here – very soon – let’s just say they make Northbrook Garage look like the Rolling Stones – agewise) – Here S3X is representing their hometown with 801 which also features Fronz from the band Attila – an Atlanta rock band. This is some serious hardcore that kicks in with a killer hook  – you’ll want to scream along and shake your fist in the air and generally look like a doofus ’cause you are 46 years old… wait that’s me.  You’ll like it.

http://www.reverbnation.com/widget_code/html_widget/artist_1851035?widget_id=50&posted_by=fan_1758528&pwc%5Bdesign%5D=default&pwc%5Bbackground_color%5D=%23333333&pwc%5Bincluded_songs%5D=0&pwc%5Bsong_ids%5D=10521981&pwc%5Bphoto%5D=1%2C0&pwc%5Bsize%5D=undefined

Next up, we have Welcome to Pittsburgh by River City Extension who are from Tom’s River, New Jersey of their most recent release Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Your Anger. This is a great record – please check it out.

 

Next up, we have Rumi who is from St. Legier which I think is in Switzerland.  Living in the Mirror  is some cool, mellow Pop/Folk. It comes off an album called Stand Against.




And finally, we close out this decidedly eclectic mix of music with I am the Man, Thomas a gospel bluegrass song written by Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks and performed here by Mr. Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.  





How does one get from Punkcore to Gospel Bluegrass in one simple shuffle?  As I written before, I believe in connections when it comes to music.  I’ll admit, I was hard pressed to explain this connection, but here goes…. While looking up info on the Ralph Stanley song, I found an unattributed quote: “Bluegrass is to country what heavy metal is to rock and roll.”
 Which it occurred to me could be paraphrased as follows: “Bluegrass is to country what hardcore is to punk.”  So… think that puts a neat bow on the shuffle, brings things full circle, ties up the loose ends and whatever other expression you want to use.
—————————————————————————————————————-






The Banjo of Ralph Stanley The Banjo of Ralph Stanley

(From Old-Time to Bluegrass). By Ralph Stanley. DVD/Instructional/Folk Instrmt. DVD. Guitar tablature. 1 pages. Homespun #DVDRALBJ21. Published by Homespun


!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”); !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle – Line, Lion, Lyin’ Mix

So – have you checked out our featured artist’s for September?  There is a link over =====>

Or you can click HERE

//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.jsThese next couple of weeks are going to be pretty exciting here at Ear to the Ground.  A week from tonight E2TG favorite Jo Wymer is playing a solo set here in Nashville.  She’s coming into town for the Americana Music Fest and Conference as is our friend Sloane from Country Fried Rock. If anyone else is going to be at the Americana Music Festival let me know.  And the following week current Featured Artist Man on Earth is playing here in Nashville.  Which provides a neat segue into today’s Shuffle:

The aforementioned Man on Earth is up first with A Birthday Song from their 2008 album A Time Spent Wondering.

Here is a pic/link to Amazon, but it does not appear the album or song are available there.  To purchase the CD use the linked album title above.
   

Here’s the video for All We Want from the same album

 
Next we have another of our fantastic featured artists for September.  The Great American Novel released You and I (which is not to be confused with our good friends Val and James  aka You and I) in September 2011.  The lead track from that album is Vonnegut and Morrissey.  The album is available for Name Your Price at Bandcamp.
Here is the video for another song from the album
 

Next, breaking up our run of Featured Artists is one of our all time faves. We dig deeper into Damien Jurado’s latest Maraqopa with a song called Museum of Flight.

And finally, we get back to a September Featured Artist.  We have a track from The Grimm Generation from their 2011 release The Last Record Party and a song called The Definition of Love which feels to me like walking into a smoky cabaret and finding that the house band is original and talented.  Ordering a drink of your choice and just sliding into the groove.

//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js //assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js //assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js

Featured Friday Music Shuffle – End of the Month Mix

Here we are the last Friday in June, and the voting has picked up.  Skeletons in the Piano have made a huge push and taken over second place.  They are within possible striking distance of Killing Kuddles who has lead since the beginning of the polling period.  The next 38 hours or so will decide the whole thing.   Remember even if you have voted, you can vote again – here.
For our last shuffle of the month, I have loaded roughly an equal amount of songs for each of the top three (poll results as of this morning) Band of the Month nominees.  Strangely enough, the shuffle came up in order from 3rd place to 1st*
*Okay I shuffled three or four times to get it to come out this way.
To the shuffle:
The more I hear of the Living with Scars album, the more impressed I am by Jo Wymer and he band.  On Come on Baby, Jo shows off her vocal chops with a passionate pleading blues number that stands alongside some of the best female blues vocalists of all time.  

Upstate New Yorkers, Skeletons in the Piano are up next with the lead off track from their Stranger On A Damned Staircase album. That Old Hound Dog came up earlier in the month, but it’s worth repeating here. A damned fine blues based bit of indie rock from a highly original band.

And finally, we have another stand-out track from Killing Kuddles – the folksy, grungy, punk troubadour from Atlanta, Georgia.  Today’s song is a nifty, rocking tune called Runaway Queen.

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2738959685/size=grande3/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/

 couldn’t locate a video for Runaway Queen, so here’s Too Crazy.

Don’t Forget Band of the Month Poll Closes Saturday!

Go VOTE

To help you decide – Here are the top five so far!

Tied for 5th Place 



Tipi Valley

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=996768359/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/

And Big Mosey



3rd Place

Skeletons in the Piano


2nd Place

Jo Wymer/Jo Wymer Band


and leading going into the stretch

Killing Kuddles



Also send some love and votes to the rest of the featured artists

Shayfer James
The Riverbreaks
Elephant Goes West 
and
Dogs of Oz

And I totally suck so bad.  I just realized that I left Dean Fields off the Band of the Month Poll.  I am so sorry, and why didn’t anyone tell me this!!!!!
I am going to add him to the July Band of the Month Poll!

Speaking of which I’ve about narrowed down the ten Featured Artists for July, and it’s a great group – so stayed tuned.

As way of an apology here’s a Bonus Dean Fields Video:




Featured Friday Music Shuffle – Penultimate Mix

It’s Friday!  Time to shuffle up some of our Featured Artists of the Month.  And another chance to plug our Band of the Month poll.
Words cannot express how much I loved this morning’s shuffle. Wait a minute, I’m a writer, so yes, words can express how much I loved this morning shuffle:

First up is Dean Fields with Forever Never Knowing from his release entitled Under A Searchlight Moon. Forever Never Knowing is indie folk pop at best.  Bottom line, it’s just a well written and wonderfully executed song. It’s a love song that doesn’t slip into sentimental silliness (but what’s wrong with that, I’d like to know).  Dean Fields is soon going to moving from Richmond, VA to Nashville, and I look forward to seeing him around town soon!

  
Killing Kuddles is currently leading in our Band of the Month poll.  He brings a grungy, punk spirit to a folk troubadours’ heart (or maybe it’s the other way around).  In Vegas, from his Waking Up Older EP, I hear shades of early X, it’s a fun little number and damn good song.
 Couldn’t find a video for Vegas so here’s another Killing Kuddles song

Then there is Shayfer James. Weight of the World from his Counterfeit Arcade album was my introduction to this amazing New Jersey artist. With a carnival-like sound and uniquely emotive vocals, Shayfer, like Don Ryan and Elephant Goes West, draws from what must be a verdant garden of Waitsian magic located somewhere in the Garden State. The thing is, it is very easy to pick the fruit, but it takes a master baker to know what to do with it. Shayfer James is a master chef, and I can’t wait for the next batch of tasty treats to come out of his kitchen….  Damn, I made myself hungry!

  
And we close out this shuffle with Jo Wymer who is currently holding down the number two spot in our Band of the Month Poll. This powerful bluesy rock singer/songwriter makes sings classic sounding original songs.  I hear that she is coming to Nashville in September, and I for one, can’t wait.  This Ain’t Love (Love and War) is another stand-out track on her fabulous Living With Scars album.
 
I couldn’t find a video for This Ain’t Love so here’s a live clip of Jo performing a P!nk song from a show she opened for Corey Glover (Living Colour)

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle – Trios Mix

I’ve seen some stories in the news recently about the incredible and awful concentration of media ownership.  The sad truth in graphic form (via FrugalDad.com) is at the end of this post:

Nashville is fortunate to have a great independent radio station that supports local music and plays songs you just don’t hear anywhere else.  Well, today is 6/15 or 615 which happens to be the area code of Nashville. So all day, from 6:15a.m. to 6:15p.m. they are playing nothing but music from the 615.  Grant it, they have a pretty incredible list of artists to choose from:  John Hiatt, Black Keys, Jack White, Pujol, JEFF the Brotherhood, Lambchop, Steve Winwood and Donna Summer by my estimation would all be eligible for inclusion. Plus too many others to name.

Anyway, I may post a 615 video collage/montage whatever later, and I would do a 615 shuffle, but it is featured Friday so here we go:

First up, Upstate New Yorkers, Skeleton in the Piano are up with the lead song from their 2011 album Stranger on a Damned Staircase – The Old Hound Dog is an excellent jumping off point if you are just discovering this band.  

 
Next up we have a Washington, DC band with ties to the 615.  The Riverbreak’s Lead Singer and Guitarist Ryan Bailey hails from the area. Strangers on a Hot Night offers a sultry sensuality along with an expansiveness that still allows us, the listeners, to feel as if we are right there in Malcolm X Park watching the scene unfold.  It is also the lead off track from the band’s album Get You Right.
  
(Couldn’t locate a video for Strangers on a Hot Night 
so here is Bolin Creek another track off the Get You Right album)

And finally, more stuff from New Jersey’s bluesy rock singer Jo Wymer.  We’ve been playing the hell out of her Living With Scars album, and she belts in legend-worthy style on Dirty Secrets.

 Media Consolidation Infographic

Source: Frugal dad

=================================================================
A Affiliated Links:

Armchair Athlete - JustFlowers.com

Armchair Athlete – JustFlowers.com

For the man who loves to snack while watching his ESPN. Filled with a great assortment of cookies and snacks including “Go Play” Apple Cinnamon Cookies, Dipping Pretzels, Summer Sausage, Zesty White Cheddar Popcorn and much more!