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Ug… is it Monday already? Okay… I have to be quick as I have some errands to run.
I hope everyone had a good Easter Sunday no matter what or how you celebrate or not…
Monday, as our new custom demands, is dedicated to artists who have some connection to Nashville, TN (aka Music City USA).
“Hold On” by SHEL (featuring Gareth Dunlop)
A song from the motion picture soundtrack for The Best of Me featuring the band of sisters, SHEL, who divide their time between Nashville and their hometown in Colorado. On this track, they are joined by singer-songwriter Gareth Dunlop from Northern Ireland.
“Bird on a Wire” by Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies
From the album, Dog Ears. I am really glad to have gotten hold of a bunch of Brian Wright music – I always dig it when one of his songs come up in the shuffle. This is not a Leonard Cohen cover (in case you were wondering).
“High Roller” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
The title track and single from the 2015 album by this Nashville duo.
“Hey Algernon” by Chris Gantry
Chris Gantry has been a key figure in Nashville songwriting circles for more than four decades. I was fortunate enough to see him recently as part of an incredible round at Douglas Corner. He sang this song that night – a touching story of two homeless gentlemen who freeze to death and find themselves in heaven. Gantry is a long time advocate for individuals who are homeless.
“The Last Song” by Crazy Aces
A sweet, instrumental from one of Nashville’s premier instrumental rock bands.
“Keep on Goin'” by Tim Carroll
A standard of Tim Carroll’s Friday night Rock and Roll Happy Hour set. Don’t ever stop… from a sampler CD that you can get when you see Tim live.
“When You Hear of My (Home Going)” by Luella
I believe this is a traditional African American spiritual (or else I could not find the composer). This was one of the first songs I heard Luella sing when she first started singing with Tim Carroll at Fran’s in late 2014/early 2015. Luella, as she does on all of the songs she covers, makes this all her own. From a sampler you can get from Luella at one of her performances. Come to The 5 Spot any given Friday and see Luella to get your copy of her sampler and Tim’s sampler.
“Play a Train Song” by Todd Snider
The late Skip Litz was a notable character around East Nashville who would always direct the band to “play a train song”. This iconic song comes from Sniders classic album, East Nashville Skyline, an album that is at least partially responsible for a large number of songwriters moving to this cultural center.
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Quick recap, I continued to lay a little low – still dealing with a lingering cold, and working on song selection for the forthcoming “Double Shot with Joe and Sue” (still no confirmed start date).
Friday: First, it was good to see a large and vibrant crowd for the weekly Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour (one of this town’s best weekly events in my opinion). I left there a little early and headed to Bobby’s Idle Hour on Music Row for the Darkhorses of East Nashville – a collaborative round featuring the amazingly talented trio of Julie Christensen, Amelia White, and Sergio Webb. Trading off songs and backing each other, produced several magical moments. If they come through your town, do not miss it.
So, as I promised Friday, it seemed like a good time to shake things up here at E2TG – just a little bit. Inspired by the success of Featured Friday, I have decided to have a “theme” playlist every for every day of the week. The large #E2TG playlist had gotten very large and getting bigger. By having smaller playlist each day, it may provide more opportunities to feature different artists. We shall see.
So, without much more ado, we begin this new chapter with the debut of Music City Monday – featuring music with connections to Nashville. As you will see, this playlist features both current artists/albums and classics covering over half a century. Non-Nashville artists: Do not be concerned, there will be many opportunities throughout the week for me to feature your music.
“The Homer Bellamy Centennial Blue Yodel” by Jesse and Noah 
Jesse and Noah Bellamy have roots in Florida and first made a name for themselves in Texas, but Nashville is happy to claim them now. This song, from the album Driven Back, marks what would have been the 100th birthday of their Grandfather who solidified their love of Country and Western music. The brother’s performed this long on the Grand Ole Opry. A very Nashville way to introduce Music City Monday.
“Crazy Lady” by Paul Zografi
Our final featured song from Paul Zografi’s most recent EP – Brevity Lane. Zografi is part of loosely organized group of artists that includes some of my favorite people. His songs are very strong and extremely fun to hear.
“Follow Me Home” by SHEL
We started off this shuffle with brothers, and now we have a band of sisters. SHEL (the name derives from the first letters of the first names of the 4 Holbrook sisters originally from Fort Collins, Colorado. They divide time between their hometown, and Nashville (thus their qualification for this playlist). They played an important (if coincidental) role in the genesis of this recent phase of my life as a music writer. In May of 2014, on the day, I first met Darrin Bradbury in person, I followed him down to The 5 Spot – where Darrin was manning the merch table for Tim Easton during his residency. SHEL performed as part of that show – which was also the first time I saw Aaron Lee Tasjan and Megan Palmer (who backed Easton). Anyway, what is more important than my own experiences, is that SHEL are a really awesome band with a pretty cool sound. They are currently running a Pledgemusic presale for their new album Crazy Enough which is due out in May. In support, they released a sampler on Noisetrade which includes a couple of tracks from the new album and some bonus songs which have appeared in television and film. Including this one, which was featured on MTV’s Eye Candy. SHEL will be down at Safety Harbor Song Fest in early April and are scheduled to play Nashville’s Earth Day concert in Centennial Park on April 23.
“Cut n Run” by Brandy Zdan
Another Nashville transplant and another track from a Noisetrade sampler. Brandy Zdan is getting some good and well deserved attention here in Nashville. She is originally from Winnipeg, and here self-titled album was released in 2015.
“Chainsaw Dance” by Crazy Aces
A short fun track from Music City’s resident instrumental rock band.
“Home Sweet Hotel” by Amelia White
Fresh off Friday night’s show at Bobby’s Idle Hour, we have Amelia White with the title track from her brand new album. Expect much more from this album. White is one of East Nashville’s best and this album is a true collaboration with several more awesome folks from both sides of the Cumberland River.
“Stubborn Lover” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
Nashville based duo Sugar and the Hi Lows are up next with a track from their 2012 self-titled album. They were an E2TG featured artists when that album came out.
“Cattle Prod” (Guadalcanal Diary cover) by Government Cheese
Okay, so Government Cheese are technically a Bowling Green band, but Tommy Womack lives in Nashville, and they were a vital part of the Nashville music scene during their original run. Furthermore, the video I found for this track was shot at the late, lamented venue, The Rutledge by the fabulous Too Much Country. Oh, and the song was originally by Guadalcanal Diary who were also not a Nashville band (from Marietta, Georgia), but who played here often in the 80s and early 90s (I saw them several times). Everything about this is awesome. From the retrospective, 1985-1995. They had me at Government Cheese covering Guadalcanal Diary.
“Nine Pound Hammer” by Johnny Cash with The Carter Family
I don’t think I need to explain Johnny Cash’s connection to Nashville. This song was written by Merle Travis (and put too fine a point on my connection theme), this song was often used as Darrin Bradbury’s warm up song back in the heyday of the Darrin/Tim Carroll Fran’s Eastside era.
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Sorry for the inconsistency of posts the last couple of weeks… things will smooth out, but life sometimes gets all lifey…
I have been fighting with a cold all week (constantly changing weather -winter to spring and back – doesn’t help), and as a result, I have been mostly laying low this week, but I did manage to venture out (in a cold dreary rain) to The Basement (the original one) for some music. As if the case most nights in Nashville there was awesome music going on all over town, but I just didn’t feel up to venue hopping. In fact, the Basement hosted an early show with Erin Rae and Kelsey Waldron that I totally missed, but I did get to see three awesome sets of music from three of Nashville’s best “on-the-cusp” artists.
Andrew Leahey and the Homestead played their last local show for a bit as they gear up for the release of their new album (on Thirty Tigers) in May. As they have every time I have seen them, they played earnest heartland rock and roll and did not hold back.
Michaela Anne also has an album due out in May. Backed by her awesome band, she played her solid and gorgeous country songs. A highlight was her performance of “Me and Willie” (a CD bonus track from Emmylou Harris’ 1976 album Luxury Liner) which Michaela Anne introduced by recognizing the song’s writer, Laurie Hyde-Smith, who had come to Nashville from North Carolina for the show.
Darrin Bradbury closed the night with his first? full band show since his January Basement East residency (with the band that played with him for those shows). This was an extremely fun set which included an impromptu vocal assist (from the crowd) by Jon Latham. (Do I need to mention that Darrin and Jon are the current and most recently past E2TG Artists of the Year? No? Okay, I won’t then). It was fun seeing so many familiar faces (and awesome musicians/songwriters) in the crowd.
To the shuffle:
“I Believed You (Chicago)” by James Roquemore
This is the penultimate song (for me to feature) from Roquemore’s EP The First – which I got when I saw James opening for Patrick Kinsley’s album release show at The Basement. I really enjoyed his songs that night, and I have enjoyed this EP which was recorded while he was in college in Florida. From Facebook/Instagram, Roquemore is pursuing a variety of interests of late, but I would love to hear some new music at some point.
“Grand Funeral Procession” by The Jolly Light Brigade
The Jolly Light Connection are part of the Dord Music Group. The band is fronted? by Atticus Floyd (whose music I have posted before) and may include Evan and Hayden of The Foresters (who I have been writing about for roughly a fourth of their lives). This song (a lovely instrumental) is from an EP called CAK.
“Show and Tell” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
Nashville super-duo (Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs) are up next with the lead track from their 2012 self-titled album.
“The Great Unknown” by Better Than Ezra
The long running New Orleans band Better Than Ezra jump into the Ear to the Ground shuffle with a track from their 2014 album All Together Now which came to me via a Noisetrade compilation from last year’s inaugural Pilgrimage Music Festival which was held in Franklin, Tennessee.
“You Caught Me Off Guard” by Brian Keenan
Another cool song from Fits and Starts, the latest album from this Brooklyn singer-songwriter.
“The Question Is” by SuperCrashingStar
Another really fun track from one of my new favorites. SuperCrashingStar are from New York City, and I have been really digging on their music of late.
“I Was a Teenage War Criminal” by Smokey the Firebear (Ft. The Indigenous People of Peru)
Another sound collage from Smokey The Firebear from his BNGFKR record of sound collages. His latest album Ohm Atlanta was released on Valentine’s Day. The video playlist features a track from that album. Note: it appears the $420 CD of BNGFKR is now sold out – probably due to my posts about it. I will wait patiently for my commission… 🙂
“Nobody Dance” by Patrick Sweany Band
One of East Nashville’s best! I have been fortunate to have seen Patrick Sweany a couple of times in the last year. This is a song that goes back about a decade to the album C’mon C’mere.
“Melva’s Wine” by Johnny Cash
From Cash’s 1972 album A Thing Called Love. This song was written by songwriter Vincent Matthews – who I read about in Michael Streissguth’s book Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville. Matthews conceived a concept album about/set in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. This song was seemingly part of that project.
This crazy time of year… Here I am posting this on a Thursday evening. Circumstances, blah, blah, blah… Any way, let’s get to it…
Last night, I had a blast – another great show at The Basement (the original one). “Earie” Award winners, Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau put on another outstanding show that included a version of “Can’t Be Satisfied” featuring Richie Owens on the lap steel. Bassist John Reed and stand-up drummer Brian O’Hanlon were in fine form. I also got to see Saint Luke’s Drifters for the first time. They called their sound Rockified Country. Songs ranged from high energy rockers that brought to my mind the Scorchers to some very honky-tonkish country songs. Vocal duties were shared and each singer brought something unique to the band’s sound. I really enjoyed myself, and I hope to hear much more.
So, by my rough count, there will be seven more regular E2TG posts before the end of the year – not counting any weekend or holiday bonus posts. My plan is to hand out “Earies” each of those days with Wednesday December 30, being reserved for the 5th Annual Ear to the Ground Artist of the Year. Which I will for the first time dub, the “Golden Earier” Award.
But, I am getting ahead of myself. We have some “Earies” to give away today.
Prologue: I have been having a really good time handing out these awards. Even though the categories are sometimes a bit silly, the sentiment behind them is very real. I really want to write about and honor artists who have made a big impression on my in 2015 (and before in some cases). I could have just made a list or handed out awards without giving them names, but really, this is more fun isn’t it? I say all this to preface the fact that I have struggled a bit with what to call this next award. Flippantly, I thought about the Six Degrees Award – as my having met these remarkable people has moved me up a few degrees of separation from some of the my all-time favorite artists (and some of the most famous in the world). But, really that name would only serve to diminish the extraordinary artists they are in their own right.
So – I hereby name this award the “Legends in Their Own Right” Award. And I am going to just get to it before I overthink it and decide to change the name again….
1. Reckless Johnny Wales – The first time I encountered Reckless Johnny, I did not know who he was, but I suspected (correctly it turns out), that I was in the presence of someone remarkable. The next time, and when I finally got to meet him, I was standing on what can only be called Hallowed Ground – namely the Cash Cabin recording studios… if those walls could talk… and even though I did not hear the walls talk that night (although it would not surprise me if some who have been there have heard stranger things than that), I did get to hear some of Reckless Johnny’s stories about meeting Johnny Cash and many others. More importantly, as a result of that meeting, I received a copy of Reckless Johnny Wales’ American Heart, and any doubts that I might have had (I didn’t really) were tossed out the window. The music on that album demonstrates that the remarkable storied life (lives?) can and were translated into some memorable music. I have a full review in my plans for early 2016, so I will stop here for now.
2. Bebe Buell – Speaking of a life filled with stories… As perhaps one of the world’s most famous groupies, Bebe Buell experienced first hand some of the defining moments of the rock and roll era. I will leave it to you to read more about her remarkable life, but for me the most important thing is happening now. Throughout all of those interactions with rock and roll royalty, Bebe Buell was paying attention. Having relocated to Nashville a few years ago, Buell is now focused on her own music pursuits. I first saw her performing Tom Petty songs with the amazing Long Players, and then I saw her own show at 3rd and Lindsay, and I was impressed by her music and her stage presence. That night and again at the end of October, I also saw that she is still the ultimate rock and roll fan – which is obviously when she talks about and dances to the music of the Blackfoot Gypsies.
3. Julie Christensen (Stone Cupid) – Julie Christensen is another fairly recent transplant to our fair city. Christensen’s musical career includes being a part of one of the pioneering Country/Punk bands, The Divine Horsemen with her husband at the time, Chris Desjardins founder of the legendary Flesheaters – a band whose membership history reads like a role call of the very best of Los Angeles music of the late 70s to early 80s. Later, Christensen spent several years as a featured background singer with Leonard Cohen. She reunited Cohen for the now legendary I’m Your Man concert film and album. Upon, relocating to Nashville (and even before), Julie Christensen began working with some of the finest writers and musicians this town has to offer. Her band, now called Stone Cupid, features an incredible line-up. Sergio Webb and Chris Tench are two of the finest guitar players in a city that has a few… and the rhythm section features Steve Latanation (Agent Orange) and Bones Hillman who was member of Midnight Oil throughout there was most successful years. (UPDATE: There is reason I do not usually post late, I totally forgot to mention Stone Cupid’s new album The Cardinal which will officially be out early in 2016. And I wanted to mention, that Stone Cupid played during the final week of the original Family Wash, and that show was one my favorite live shows of the year.)
On a personal note, having met them all, I am I find myself more interested in the people they are and the music they are making now than I am in their remarkable past. But, to be honest, I will not walk away from a great story about some of the most important musical giants of our time…
To the shuffle (before it is Friday): (a regular shuffle – we’ll hop back into the season music next week).
“Think I Said Too Much” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
Another great track from one of Nashville’s best. From their self-titled album.
“Tom and Bob” by Blake Babies
More from that Blake Babies live album- available on Noisetrade. This song was on their debut album, Nicely, Nicely which came out in 1987.
“Attention Shoppers” by Crazy Aces
More music from Nashville’s premiere instrumental rock band, Crazy Aces.
“Camera Roll” by Jonas H. Sjøvaag’s Navyelectre
From Norway. I have really been digging the music of composer Jonas Howden Sjøvaag. The album is called Large Ensemble.
“Fool Man Runaway” by Some Kind of Illness (ft. CaoilfhionnRose)
We move on to another song from Some Kind of Illness from their self-titled album. This track features Manchester singer-songwriter Caoilfhionn Rose (her first name is pronounced Keelin). Two songs in and I continue to be impressed by this band.
“Take My Time” by Daphne Willis
Another track from free-spirited Nashville singer-songwriter Daphne Willis’ new EP, Get It. Seriously, get it!
“Little Wild One (No. 5) by Marshall Crenshaw
We jump next into the first of two songs from two of my all-time favorite albums. This is the opening track to Downtown, which was Crenshaw’s third album following his amazing self-titled debut and Field Day. Downtown was released in 1985.
“I Misunderstood” by Richard Thompson
Rumor and Sigh was released in 1991, and it still stands out as some of the best music of one of modern music’s most prolific and talented musicians.
“I Can’t Tell” by David G. Smith
We close out the shuffle with our first listen to First Love, the new album by singer-songwriter David G. Smith. Smith, like Julie Christensen, comes from Iowa and now resides in Nashville. I will have much more to say about this album – which features great songs and an incredible line-up of musicians. This was a great way to close out the shuffle this morning.
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We are back and ready to finish off 2015 in style. I hope everyone who celebrates it had a good Thanksgiving.
After fighting off a cold for several days, I ended up pretty knocked out by Friday. I’m on meds and making a recovering. Expect my live music updates to be few and far between the first part of the week, but I will be healthy for some fun stuff coming up at the end of the week. More on that.
On a related note, between the cold and getting ready to and going out of town, I am WAY behind on e-mails and checking out music that has been submitted. Please be patient, but feel free to shoot me a follow-up e-mail/message.
We have a pretty awesome 8 song shuffle.
“It’s a Whisper” by James Roquemore
A confessional track from The First (EP). I saw James open up Patrick Kinsley’s album release show earlier in the year, and I really dug his songs and his voice. I got hold of this EP that night.
“Nickel and a diamond” by Bob Lewis
The first time I saw Bob Lewis perform was opening up for (I think) Darrin Bradbury and Austin Lucas. I downloaded his album NOw here… and have been digging it ever since. Coincidently, Austin Lucas will be back in Nashville Thursday along with Two Cow Garage and some other folks. I intend to healthy by then.
“Two Day High” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs are established solo artists in their own right. Both members of the Ten out of Tenn collective (I’m not sure if that is an on-going thing or not), after several co-writes, they formed Sugar and the Hi Lows – which for a long time BandsinTown kept mistaking for Sugar (the defunct band formed by Bob Mould of Husker Du). I have been a fan of Sugar and the Hi Lows for a few years – even naming them a featured artist back in 2012. They had a pretty successful run since then. I grabbed a sampler from Noisetrade a couple of months back – so it is good to have them back in the shuffle. This track is from their 2012 self-titled album – so maybe I wrote about it back them????
“Chemicals Pt. 1 and 2” by Bang Ok Bang
Our fourth Nashville band/artist to start of the week. This is from live album recorded at East Nashville Underground. I love all kinds of music, but I never complain when I have some good loud, hard, nasty music show up in my shuffle. Mixing chemicals can be a dangerous thing… but rock and roll is supposed to be dangerous, so here is “Chemicals Pt. 1 and 2” combined in one dangerous track.
“Dead as It Gets” by Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band
Long time Ear to the Ground readers may remember Joe Mansman from his old band The Cosmonauts. They were a featured band and we did an interview with them and premiered a video back in the day. When that band finished it’s run, Joe moved on with a new project that has evolved, changed names, and which has just released a new album as Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revivial Band. The album is called Too Far Gone. It is some really awesome rootsy Outlaw American Rock and Roll from the Upstate New York area. I just got hold of this album right before my cold and the holiday hit, so I’ve just had time to hear a couple of songs, but this is a good one. Expect to read much more about this band and this album soon.
“Looks Like I’m Up Shit Creek Again” by Tom Waits
Seems like a good time to mention that Saturday night is the 10th Annual: Tom Waits Tribute and Benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank (Get Behind the Mule). My friend Mary Sack is the organizer and I had total blast last year. An all-star cast of amazing artists cover Tom Waits’ songs all night, a visual artist does a live painting, fun is had, money is raised. Maybe someone will dig out this chestnut that was released on The Early Years Volume One. Far different sound than Waits later musical forays.
“Hailing Wide” by Tom House
From one Tom to another. Coincidently (or not), I was introduced to Tom House by the same Mary Sack who is organizing the Tom Waits benefit. This is another track from Songs Like Dreams… More Like Blood.
“Joan of Arc” (Version 2) by Thrushes
We close out today’s shuffle with some Shoegaze music from the Baltimore, Maryland band, Thrushes. This is from Exposing Seas – which is the band’s first album in around five years. As I always say when I post songs by band’s that are described as “Shoegaze” – don’t ask me to explain or define the term, but for the most part I usually dig the music, and this is certainly no exception.
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Songs of the Road is a pretty awesome concept – take a songwriter on a relatively short road trip, have them write a song along the way, and then record the song and play it live that same day. SongCraft Presents and Acoustic Café have teamed up with Ford Motor Company to make this happen. I had the great pleasure of premiering the latest session on No Depression this morning. I really hope you will check it out. HERE. Ear to the Ground readers may recognize SongCraft Present’s Ben Arthur – who works with the featured songwriters. Ben’s own music has been featured here several times. Matthew Hendershot of our very good friends, The End Men also works on the video side of the project.
Today’s shuffle is a real mixed bag… so let’s get to it….
“Spider Queen Take 2” by The Hidden Agendas
Okay I don’t know if Take 2 is part of the title or just how the file was labeled. I think the important thing here is the Spider Queen part. The Hidden Agendas are a Pennsylvania Rock and Roll band who made through the disorganized mess that is my E-Mail. I really like this and can’t wait to here more. The video we found is a performance by the band doing a Lady Gaga cover.
“Skip the Line” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
Sugar and the Hi Lows are a band we featured on Ear to the Ground a few years ago. They are a duo made up of Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs – long time Nashville artists who were part of Ten out of Tenn collective. Their latest album High Roller was released back in June, and around that time, Noisetrade released a bunch of older music including this song from the band’s 2012 self-titled album.
“Sound of Erasing” by Rubblebucket
From the album Survival Sounds which was released back in May. Rubblebucket keep showing up on multi-artist compilations that Noisetrade puts outs. I think this one came from a compilation for the Hangout Music Fest, but don’t quote me on that. They are from Brooklyn, and I dig what they are doing.
“If You Want Love” by Christopher Aaron Slade
Another that came to me via e-mail. We are been featuring Christopher Aaron Slade for several months. It is gloriously fun music. Trivia: When I was saving the MP3s to my computer, I accidently typed Christopher Allen Slade. So, every time a song comes up, I have to mentally correct it before I write the blog post. And yes, I know I could just correct the file, but I am too damn lazy for that.
“Tonight I Feel Like Crying” by Tom Schreck
A day with a Tom Schreck song is a good day. This is one of my favorites of his. I have a lot of favorites of his but out of all of those favorites this is definitely one. By the way, we’ve included Schreck’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” just because we have not posted that video in a while.
“Video Killed the Radio Star” by Ben Folds Five
Nashville’s Ben Folds Five with their cover of The Buggles hit song. The Buggles original was the very first music video played on MTV. Does anyone know what the last music video played on MTV was?
“No Hidin’ Place” by Cool John Ferguson
Another from the Music Makers Relief Foundation. Cool John Ferguson is a self-taught guitar player, who learned to play the guitar upside down. Nobody told him it was upside down, and by the time he found out, he was too good to change.
“You Don’t Care For Me Enough to Cry” by John Moreland
One of the most devastating songs on John Moreland’s incredible and devastating album High On Tulsa Heat. I have had the great fortune of seeing him live a number of times this year, and he never fails to silence and audience and bring grown people to tears. The video we have is from his April performance on the stage of Music City Roots. If you watch the video, at the 2:22 mark you will see two of Music City’s blogging elite enraptured by his music. (Chase from Too Much Country and Joe from Ear to the Ground).
Then, I spent a rare evening in Midtown and saw Taylor Alexander and Lindsay Ellyn, The Gasoline Brothers, and Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau and hung out with friends.
Saturday night, I went to The Basement for Pony Boy’s CD Release Show – her new album Blue Gold is amazing by the way. Lilly Hiatt opened the show and was awesome. Pony Boy was spectacular and Robyn Hitchcock joined to play harmonica on Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”, and yes, I did get to introduce myself as the goofy guy who made the Soft Cell joke. 🙂 Justin Collins and the Cosmics closed the night with some really great high energy rock. Justin and Adam Landry produced Pony Boy’s new album. They are the duo behind Deer Tick and Diamond Rugs and Black Vincent (who we have been featuring here of late). I got to meet Adam, too.
Sunday night, a great night at Bobby’s Idle Hour on Music Row. Julie Christensen and Patterson Barrett performed some of Julie’s awesome songs. Russell Thompson played with Megan Palmer, and then Megan did her own set and reminded me again of just how awesome she is. For the last song, she and a chorus of great female singers (Julie Christensen, Ariel Bui, Nellie Clay, and more) closed the night with a rip roaring rendition of Palmer’s “Knife Twister”. Oh and Victoria Williams was in the audience, too.
Tonight, I am going out to see my friends Zach Red Stacy and Taylor Alexander playing 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge.
“Carried” by Jelena Ciric
Another track from Places. Jelena was born in Serbia, lived in Toronto, and now teaches voice in Mexico. This is the kind of music that I hope never goes out of style. Harkening back to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and yet highly original.
“On the Safeside” by Webb Wilder
From Hybrid Vigor, this music never fails to lift my spirits.
“I’ve Got You Covered” by Sugar and the Hi Lows
Trent Dabbs and Amy Stroup – two acclaimed singer-songwriters (both part of the Ten Out of Tenn collective) – teamed up a few years ago to perform together as Sugar and the Hi Lows. They just released their second album, but this song goes back to their self-titled debut. They are playing later in September at the Ryman with Kacey Musgraves.
“You Gotta Move” by Amy Black
Amy Black brings the Blues with another track from her Muscle Shoals Sessions. The song is a traditional African American spiritual that was popularized by Mississippi Fred McDowell, and was later covered by The Rolling Stones for Sticky Fingers (one of three songs from that album recorded at Sound Studio in the Shoals).
“Ginnie and Lou (From Kalamazoo)” by Darrin Bradbury
Just about every day, someone will stop me in the street and ask, hey aren’t you the guy on the Darrin Bradbury record, The Story of Bob? When I admit that yes, I was the inspiration for the picture, they ask what is it that makes Darrin Bradbury so awesome. This song kind of encapsulates that mystery for me. Yes, Darrin can be funny and offbeat. But, he can also write a beautiful and tender song like this one. I could not find a video version of Ginnie and Lou, so I have included an old video (featuring a short-haired Darrin Bradbury singing the equally tender, “You Are Cordially Invited to My Backyard Pass Out Fest”.
“Zia S’dba” by West Philadelphia Orchestra
Some perfectly awesome Balkan inspired music from The West Philadelphia Orchestra from a World Café Session.
“Harder to Lie” by David Ramirez
From the brand new album Fables via a Noisetrade release that features songs recording live during an Eastside Manor Sessions recording. This is the album version of a track from Fables.
“Relatin’ Dudes to Jazz” by fIREHOSE
From the debut album by fIREHOSE, Ragin’ Full On. I am of the camp that does not think that there is any reason or point in comparing fIREHOSE to the Minutemen. For my part, I am just glad that Ed Crawford convinced a still grieving Mike Watt and George Hurley to start playing again. fIREHOSE made some great music during their run.
It was a frosty morning, and we’ve reached that time of year when every sunrise and every sunset seem to be competing to be the most amazing and awe-inspiring. This morning I was accompanied by a few great instrumental tracks and a couple of songs with words which flowed over me and took me out of myself. It’s Morning and time to Shuffle…
Today we have songs by: 1. A jazz legend 2. A Concord California dark, bluesy rock band 3. The great-nephew of another jazz legend who was the wife of still another jazz legend 4. A Nashville based super-duo and 5. A Brooklyn-based troubadour who navigates the emotional landscape across a promised land laced with pitfalls and landminds
Let’s proceed. Shall we?
Charlie Parker is an iconic figure of the jazz age. He died in 1955 at the young age of 34, but his music and his legacy live on. Today, we have Hot Blues a faster and (yes) hotter take on his well known Cool Blues. The song is featured in the opening sequence of the 1971 Louis Malle film Murmur of the Heart – right before Laurent shoplifts a Charlie Parker record. Which lead me to the observation/generalization, “The French love Jazz, but they don’t like to pay for it.” (see the film Diva for further support of this axiom).
Here’s a version of Cool Blues – couldn’t find Hot Blues
Featured Artist The Chaw – the Concord, California dark, blues rock band are up next with the instrumental Campaigning Man from their self-titled debut.
Here is the Kickstarter video for the album
I’m running out of time, so I will be quick with the rest of the shuffle – no reflection on the awesome music…
Flying Lotus is the stage name of Stephen Ellison who is the great-nephew of jazz pianist Alice Coltrane who was the wife of John Coltrane. Flying Lotus makes cool, electronic-based music. Today we have Putty Boy Strut from his latest release Until the Quiet Comes.
Featured Artists Sugar and the Hi Lows (by the way, I use “and” instead of the ampersand because for some reason – at least on my browser, blogger does funky things with the ampersand) as I was saying Sugar and the Hi Lows (awesome singer-songwriters Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs) are one of our Featured Artists. Today we have See it For Yourself from their self-titled album. They also have a new Christmas album out.
The shuffle ends with another amazing song from the Brooklyn troubadour, Christopher Paul Stelling (also a Featured Artist). Strange Darkness is from his album Songs of Praise and Scorn.
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You can get Bob Dylan’s critically acclaimed new album Tempest
It’s the late night edition of the Morning Music Shuffle. The shuffle was from this morning, the post drops now! First up, we have Sugar and the Hi Lows from their self-titled album that came out back in February with See It For Yourself. Sugar and the Hi Lows are Trent Dabbs and Amy Stroup who are Nashville residents and part of the Ten out of Tenn collective. They play a rootsy mix of vintage soulful music.
Next up we have experimental hip-hop artists from Toronto, Valued Customer with their song, Frank Ocean from the Album Voice/Drum which came out (no pun intended) back in June.
Next we have another New Jersey band which came to us via Popatunes. It’s Conor and the Stonehill Kids with the title track from their 2011 EP called Don’t Move.
And finally, we have a song from one of current Featured Artists who are in the running for Band of the Month (polls now open – here). On this shuffle we have True Mad North taking it into a rocking country direction with Glass of Gasoline of their self-titled album that came out late last year.
E2TG: MUSIC/WORDS 
