Good God! I'm Feeling So Alive!!!

Life is good!  Life is so damn good I'm practically dancing and if any of you know any of my old girlfriends, you know that doesn't happen very often.  Oh, I do the occasional jig if I am drinking (it happens all too seldom these days--- the hazards of getting old and having too much to do) and I have been known to traipse around the dance floor when I find a lady too drunk to say no, but the exhilaration dance?  Doesn't happen much anymore.

I'm dancing now, though!  See the middle finger?  I'm flipping off every person who says that music is dying.  Yeah, that's you, Horkey, and you, Ferd!  I've had it up to my ears with your negativity about music today, how there hasn't been any good music for years and how you could live with nothing but The Beatles the rest of your lives.  I feel sorry for your sorry asses because the music flowing across my desk this year is among the best I've heard and you're missing it.  Hell, I'm thinking of putting 2011 up for a Grammy, that's how good it is.  But let us not get bogged down in my rants and raves.  There is music to hear and talk about, so let's get this discussion started.  In fact, let us start with with a very recent discovery and one which has fired more than one jig since that discovery, just a few days ago.

RIVER ROUGE.....

Publicity maven Kimberely Grant popped River Rouge's Not All There Anymore in the mail last week and I received it on Friday, just in time for a much needed drive to the Oregon Coast (I live about 60 miles inland, but that's too far to smell the ocean breeze, so I hop in the car now and then for what I call the Scenic Drive).  I tossed about four or five CDs on the passenger seat and headed out, reached over when I hit the main road and blindly grabbed the River Rouge CD.  It was the luckiest grab of the day.  Somewhat akin to winning a minor jackpot at a casino, but I didn't know it at the time.  Didn't take me long, though.  Half a minute in, I cut the air conditioner, rolled down the windows and cranked up the sound.  You know how you hear a song and you're not quite sure what you're hearing yet?  It is kind of like waking up and initially being unsure of your whereabouts.  All I knew was there was something going on, something digging into my skin.  When the track finished, I replayed it.  And replayed it again.  And again.  The more I heard it the more I got it.  I pulled off the road and grabbed the CD jacket.  Black Licorice, the track was titled, and there was something in it that made me happy.  I mean really happy!  There was something in the rhythm and the up attitude and the sound that struck a note.  At first, I thought Sir Douglas Quintet.  Then I thought Thee Midniters.  Then I stopped thinking.  When I pulled back onto the road, I let the album play past the first track and realized that the song was an anomaly, that the rest of the album didn't fall in line with Track One.  Thing is, it didn't bother me.  I don't think I want an album of Black Licorice's.  I don't think I could take an album of Black Licorice's.  I would rather listen to the song over and over again than have slightly lesser knockoffs for comparison.  What there is is plenty good anyway--- an Americana-ish blend of pop, rock and country.  Plenty good.  After numerous listens, while I like all the songs, I have adopted Murder of the Crows and Arc Welded Love and Not All There Anymore and Yes as favorites after the thousands of hearings of Black Licorice grow thin.  This is good stuff.  And almost as if the musical gods willed it, those bonny L.A. boys just this  morning put up the official music video of the song that kicked my ass.  My song of the summer.  Here it is:

BYRON ISAACS.....

It is not often I can find an album which will soothe the critical edge of all but the hard core rockers, but Brian Cullman sent me a pre-release of Disappearing Man, an album I surely would have missed if not for Cullman's graciousness. Byron Isaacs, bass player for the outstanding Ollabelle, sidestepped that band to produce songs outside the realm, songs which did not quite fit with the other projects he was working on.  He headed into the studio with Cullman and came out with something I don't think either expected.  The music varies in style but has Isaacs all over it, from the orchestral dreaminess of Seeing Is Believing to the Minnows-like easy rocking Disappearing Man to the New York-ish underground sleaziness of Crazy Love  to the floating fifties-infused ballad Gypsy Wind.  Like Cullman's 2007 album All Fires the Fire, Disappearing Man belongs in the classroom as an example of the importance of arrangement and production.  Watch for this one.  It's a beaut.

HANNAH GILLESPIE.....

Sure, I've mentioned Hannah Gillespie a few thousand times before, and I will mention her a few thousand more.  Until people attach themselves to her like they do Adele and Grace Potter and others of their stature, I will continue to promote her as a prime example of music-beyond-genre.  See, there is a bit of Marianne Faithfull in Gillespie's voice which catches the ear and gives wings to her songs.  I know she's worthy of attention because every one I've turned on to her music--- every single one--- has given an enthusiastic thumbs up.  They aren't clowns off the street.  These are people I trust most (at least, when it comes to music).  Don't believe me?  Listen to her music here and if you still don't get it, meet me at The Buckaroo Tavern.  Bring your gloves.

JOHN-ALEX MASON.....

When I was young, I got into the blues through the back door.  It took Cream and Fleetwood Mac and Canned Heat to get me to listen to the likes of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and Skip James.  John-Alex Mason could well fill that space for the young today.  While his base is the blues, he tosses in a potpourri of influences such as funk, rock and trip hop, among others.  Just electric enough to catch the rocker's ear and just acoustic enough to fit in with roots music, Mason could be today's Cream or Fleetwood Mac.  Youth's gateway to the blues.  This video shows Mason raw and live with a band.  He is more known for his one man show lineup--- himself and a handful of instruments. 

GREEN PAJAMAS.....

The Green Pajamas are a band I'd turned my back on for years thanks to personal circumstances, but when I rediscovered them through Poison In the Russian Room it felt like meeting an old friend after a long hiatus.  I have whiplash because I am forever shaking my head wondering why people haven't made them superstars, but when I look at the quality of superstars these days I don't think I want them in that company anyway.  They have recently reacquainted themselves with their original record label, Green Monkey, and released The Complete Book of Hours, an outstanding look at the early Green Monkey period, before going Country.  An album of country music by the Green Pajamas?  I never would have thunk it, but it sounds great!  Here's a taste.

ARBOREA.....

 I keep wondering if Arborea might be hurting their chances for exposure by living in Maine.  It is a ways off the beaten path and something is keeping them from their share of success.  I can't quite put my finger on it.  They are ethereal, melodic, practically medieval in places and science fiction in others.  Their music smells of honesty and truth.  I once talked with Shanti for awhile outside a tavern in Portland, Oregon, and I don't think I've ever talked with a lady more genuine.  Buck and I share emails on a fairly regular basis.  He loves Robbie Basho and John Renbourn and John Fahey as much as anyone I know and uses every opportunity to spread their music.  A class act and a hell of a musician.  The way I see it, all of my years with Steeleye Span and Fotheringay and Clannad were preparing me for Arborea and their ilk.  While this video does not use a song from their new album, Red Planet, it is so haunting I had to post it instead of a song from that fine, fine album.  Watch and listen.  It is outstanding.

ZOE MUTH & THE LOST HIGH ROLLERS.....

Yeah, I know.  Caught again.  As I am with Hannah Gillespie, I cannot let any instance pass when it comes to Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers.  I've seen them twice, posted videos a handful of times and talk about them like they are hometown heroes.  I can't help it.  Just like I can't help using the full band name.  Muth is the center, but for me they are a band.  They aren't country, either.  They are Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers.  God love 'em.  'Nuff said (until I deem otherwise).

OLD CALIFORNIO.....

These guys have come a long way from the old days of country rock and smoky bars.  They have now graduated to bigger smoky bars.  I am kidding, of course. Old Californio has worked their collective asses off to get to this point and it shows.  Their latest album, Sundrunk Angels, is set for official release this next week and I can think of no better way to celebrate it than to post this live video shot last month at The Mint in L.A.  The title track of the new album in all its glory.  I've seen Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers, I've seen Mist & Mast.  Next on my list are Research Turtles and Old Californio.  I'm sure I won't be disappointed.  Not even if Old Californio are half as good as they are in this video.

NOTES (& more notes).....

David Jacques of The Dementians just graced my inbox with a new album.  For those who don't know of him, he knocked me out with his humorous take on pop music.  Not only did it make me chuckle, the music was downright good!  Maybe even better than that.  I haven't cracked the file yet, but when I do I'll run it down for you.  If you aren't interested, you obviously don't get good pop music.  My condolences.

Did I mention that Kirsti Gholson contacted me with the news that her album is nearing completion?  I will take back every bad thing I've said to her once I get it in my hands.  Over ten years between albums seems a but absurd to me, but someone once told me that to forgive is to be divine.  Or Andy Devine.  Either one works.  More when the album finds its way here.

I reviewed an album by Fiery Blue not long ago (and I will review the second when time permits) and was surprised that vocalist for that band, Simone Elyse Stevens, has just released a solo album.  I'm surprised because She is well aware of my fan status with Fiery Blue.  She should have known that giving me a heads up would, if it is any good (kidding, Simone), produce a review.  She contacted me this morning.  The CD is in transit.  It had better be, or I'm deleting all my positive raves about Fiery Blue.  Stay tuned.

Bright Giant say they're getting closer.  I heard some rough tracks and am getting a bit anxious.  I don't know if it will be as good as their freakishly good self-titled EP, but I have heard enough to know it will be good.  More on them when they get the harvest in.

I have mentioned Nick Holmes and Brian Cullman in various posts and if you were paying attention you know how much reverence I hold for both as musicians and producers.  I will be writing an in-depth review of Cullman's All Fires the Fire, released in 2007.  The more I hear it, the more I like it.  In fact, I think it has gone beyond like.  Like I mentioned earlier, this album belongs in the classroom.  It is so good on so many levels, it's scary.  If you don't check it out yourself, I will be posting links to the review when it is posted.  I am also in the process of delving deep into Nick Holmes' music and happenings.  They deserve the attention and have gotten way less than is fair.  In the near future.

Did I happen to mention that Charlottesville's Sarah White has made a couple of her releases available for download?  For free!  Crapola!  That's Christmas in July, folks!  You can check them out at this link:  http://sarahwhite1.bandcamp.com/.  Both are solid good.  White Light is Sarah and her early lineup with The Pearls.  Sweetheart is an EP and my introduction to another excellent Charlottesvillain, Ted Pitney, who released an EP a few months ago which knocked my socks off.  It's called The Genesee EP and it is a killer!

Mothership is a hard rockin' band out of Buenos Aires which I stumbled upon a good year or so ago.  They have just completed an album and sent me a link to listen.  I will write a review soon, but let me say that if you like the old hard rockers, they might be right up your alley.  Solid vocals and amped up crunchy guitars.  Sometimes you just have to let loose.

Once again, I know I'm forgetting someone.  I take notes, but I lose my notes.  I'll find them, though.  Give me time.  Until then, keep the faith, my friends.  As long as there is good music, life is not half as bad as it could be.

Music Dead? Not Even Close! A Preview of 2011 and More.....

They won't be carrying me out of 2010 kicking and screaming but I will be sad to see it go.  It was one hell of a year musically and I'm not referring to the media-hyped novelty tunes (and videos) and the box set and remastering mania which has captured the media's attention.  I'm talking about honest to God music, something which is seemingly being left in the dust by a world so engrossed in electronic gadgets that terms like texting and sexting are included in dictionaries mere weeks after creation and the public (and not just teens) pride themselves on choices in ringtones.  Music?  To many, it is mere background to the many applications their phones and computers can find, their world existing somewhere between landlines and wi-fi.  The media would love for you to believe that that world is the only world available to us--- it does sell advertising--- but as is the case more and more these days they would be wrong.  There are plenty of us who still hold music dear to our hearts and who do not need a multimedia experience to create artistic orgasm.  Of course, there are those who are trapped in the past, feeding off of the morsels handed to us by a music industry living off its fat.  There is so much repackaged music out there that you have to work in the industry to make sense of it all, as if anyone who still works for a major label even knows what sense is.

"There just isn't any good music out there anymore....."

There's a statement which warms the cockles of my heart.  You bet.  (Pssst... I'm being cynical)  What it does is make me want to bash some heads.  If there wasn't any more good music I wouldn't be writing this, and if you're one of the idiots who make such statements while spending your entertainment dollar on music you already have, remastered and remixed or not, please stop reading here.  You are an idiot and you have lost any sense of adventure when it comes to music, if you had any to begin with.  I leave you with your Katy Perry's and Lady Gaga's and Justin Bieber's and your other flavors of the moment.  Right now, I have more important music to discuss.

Important to me, anyway, and hopefully important to other people as well.  There are lots of incredibly talented musicians out there busting their hump to get their music to you and if you don't pay attention, you lose.  The music world of today is chock full of next year's and the next decade's discoveries.  Why settle for more Beatles and Springsteen when you can get music by new and exciting artists or even under the radar musicians who have been pounding away for years to little response?  How cool would it be to listen to music you hear almost nowhere else instead of plugging in to the lame pap being churned out on Sirius/XM's "Radio Margaritaville" or the Dylan Channel?  Damn cool, if you ask me, but then I don't think music is dead.  And I do think those channels are for people who think that way.  Me, I look for music anywhere and everywhere and when I find it do a little jig in my heart.  Tell you what.  I'm feeling generous.  I will give you tips on a few of next year's musicians to watch.  You may not like all of them, but you will amaze friends and family at that next dinner party when someone says, hey, you ever hear of Liz Pappademus and the Level and you can say, yes, I have.  In fact, I was listening to their new CD on the drive over this evening.  In my dreams, that is the way I meet the woman of my dreams who has thus far been attending different dinner parties, evidently.

But I digress.  Here are capsule rundowns on albums I am anxiously awaiting and are already, even though I have yet to hear them, vying for a place on my list of "Best Albums of 2011".  Here we go.....

RESEARCH TURTLES.....

My friends are groaning already.  They have been forced to endure my ranting about these guys for a full year now and though many of them are Research Turtles fans, they probably wish I would wait until their next release is at least available.  Well, it's not, but their last album was so damn good (read my review here) that they are at the top of my list for upcoming releases.  Steeped in sixties and Brit rock, they rely on simple punchy chords and catchy hooks.  Think Shoes with a touch of Big Star.  After much deliberation, they decided to head back to Dockside and Justin Tocket.  Excellent choice. 

BRIGHT GIANT.....

Make all the jokes you want about Des Moines and Iowa (I've heard plenty, most having to do with corn).  If they harbor bands like Bright Giant, they're aces with me.  They lean a bit toward The Black Crowes and early Rolling Stones, but don't hold that against them.  They have the flair to pull it off and quite unpretentiously, thank you.  Not underdone.  Not overdone.  Just right.  Their five song self-titled EP has me anxious for what's next.  If all goes well, it will be coming this Spring.

ZOE MUTH & THE LOST HIGH ROLLERS.....

Zoe Muth is one of those talents who could easily fall through the cracks but whose fans will not allow it.  She is a little bit folk and a little bit country with a dash of rock but it isn't the genre that you notice, it is the package.  She writes like a pro and has a voice which is a knife through soft butter.  The first time I heard You Only Believe Me When I'm Lyin', I was irretrievably hooked, and that isn't even my favorite song on her first (and outstanding) album.  She just recently signed with Signature Sounds and is working on a new one.  It can't get here fast enough for me.

THE RIPTIDE MOVEMENT.....

Ireland wouldn't be having financial difficulties if they had a few more bands like this.  Pack ten bands of this caliber in a state-sponsored international tour and, if marketed correctly, the money would be rolling in.  There is more than a little of the Rory Gallagher aura about these guys but they bring way more than that to their music.  And Tony Colton (Heads Hands & Feet) has their back.  Their latest single Hot Tramp was released a couple of months ago and the album is not far behind.  How about a Riptide Movement/Bright Giant tour?  I'd drive miles to see that one.

SYDNEY WAYSER.....

I painted my house to Sydney Wayser's The Colorful a year ago last summer.  If I heard it once I heard it a hundred times and it never got old.  In fact, the more I listened the better it got.  One of the better constructed albums I've had the pleasure to hear and I say constructed for a reason.  Seems that Wayser and band became fascinated with tools, toy and otherwise, and much of the percussion was provided by such.  But you don't need gimmicks for what she does.  Her songs are just that much better than the norm.  New album soon, but I think you should check out her earlier albums as well.  If you want to hear an amazing production job, check out her studio version of La Di Da.  It is immaculate.  She hasn't been given even a small percentage of the respect she's due.

LIZ PAPPADEMUS & THE LEVEL.....

Sheldon Gomberg mentioned Liz Pappademus & The Level almost in passing in one of his Facebook posts and I'm not one to pass up one of his recommendations.  He had just finished recording them and I stopped by and really liked liked what I heard--- rock with edges, but oh those edges.  The album has been awaiting funds for release and evidently the check has cleared the bank because here comes their album--- a concept album titled Television City.  Late enough in 2010 to be called a 2011 release and one I intend to review in detail when a copy makes its way to Frankville.  Check them out and while you're at it, check out Gomberg's site as well.  He is busy as hell and has some impressive stuff making its way out of his studio.

OLD CALIFORNIO.....

These guys are getting tired of hearing from me, I am sure.  This album was supposed to have been released what seems like a million years ago, but like so many out there (just read the previous entry), lack of funds intervened.  So they have done what so many are doing--- leaving it up to fans and superfans.  Their Kickstarter campaign just kicked in and, well, it's all happening at the zoo, as Simon & Garfunkel used to sing.  The music?  Country rock with a crunch edge (or is it rock with a country edge). Not really alternative but too damn good to be mainstream.  Watch the video (it's a killer live performance) and you might just want to kick in a little yourself.

JILL STEVENSON.....

 

When I first heard Jill Stevenson, I heard something but had no idea she would sweep me away like she has.  At first listen, you can tell she is good.  After many, you know how special she really is.  I have her two 2009 EP's, The Jill Stevenson Band and Where We're Not (recorded with Adam Widoff) and have listened to them constantly but have been salivating for something new.  Word has it that she is in and out of the studio with Widoff (and maybe without) and you can bet that I will stop the presses when the next project comes my way.  At that moment, it will be an unplugged phone, a cold beer, a lounge chair and headphones.  At the very least, she's earned that much respect.  At the very least.....

ARBOREA.....

If Arborea lived in New York City or Los Angeles, they would have filmmakers and fans of acoustic music packing house after house, but they toil in the relative obscurity of Maine--- a bit off the beaten path, shall we say?  Consisting of Buck and Shanti Curran, Arborea has an ethereal and cinematic view toward music.  This video is new, put together to promote their upcoming album Red Planet and allows you to see and hear their commitment to film and music.  Also using Kickstarter for funding and have evidently reached their goal.  New album release imminent.  Life is good.

DALA.....

I am in awe of Dala's ability to turn two voices into clouds of such beauty one moment and joyful glee the next.  They have just signed to Compass Records in the US and that label is readying their Everyone Is Someone for release in January (it has been available in Canada for some time).  When you hear it, you'll know why they grabbed this one instead of awaiting the next.  How much do I love these girls?  Here is an indication....

THE BIG MOTIF.....

Sometimes you have to get back to the basics and Colorado's The Big Motif do it in style.  They've played in varying combinations over the past few years and even under a different name, but they are going back to their roots.  This is bluesy balls out rock and they are damn good at it!  And they're in the studio with Morris Beegle readying another monster release.  Get ready.....  Oh, and yes, I know it ends short.  What is there, though, is what counts.  These guys can rock!

KIRSTI GHOLSON.....

Okay, this isn't a  Kirsti Gholson video, but it's almost as good as one.  Tom Mank & Sera Smolen are two majorly overlooked and talented musicians who use Kirsti whenever she's available and she was available when this was recorded.  Hey, they know talent when they hear it.  Anyway, Kirsti put out an outstanding album she calls her "demo" back in 2000 that caught me quite by surprise around 2006 and I've been awaiting new music from her since.  The good news is that it is on its way.  She is finishing up an album of songs she's been writing and working on for a few years now and it is great.  I say that because Kirsti was kind enough to send me (what she calls) rough cuts close to a year ago and I thought it would be ready back then.  She has a touch, does Kirsti, and you can bet when the music is available, I will be heralding its release.  Two words:  Sing Hallelujah.  You'll understand when you hear it.

CARRIE ELKIN.....

 I had the great fortune to see Carrie Elkin at the Alberta Street Pub in Portland this last summer and was treated to a powerful yet sensitive performance.  She has the sense of the folkie about her and yet transcends the genre.  Small and almost waif-like, her size belies her strength of voice.  On a couple of songs, she was forced to turn her back to the audience for fear of turning us all into the Maxell guy (you know--- the guy sitting in the chair with his hair blowing with the force of music?).  If you understand that reference, you know what I mean.  What I mean to say is that it has been all too long--- this video was recorded two tears ago--- and it's about time.  Danny Schmidt, also in the studio at the time of this recording, is rumored to also have another album in the works.  More on that when it is close to completion.  Elkin's will be available sometime after the first of the year.

INSTANT REPLAY.....

Tons of new music out there, but the mind wanes, buried beneath the mountain.  A couple of bands stick out, though.  One, from Buenos Aires, is called Mothership and have an odd connection to the seventies and eighties which they wear well.  Their music is a combination of mainstream rock a la Journey and REO Speedwagon with a heavy dose of seventies prog rock.  When they crank out the straight rock, it is impressive.  When they prog it up, it's even better.  New album in the works, but they have rough tracks up on their MySpace page worth checking out.....  The other is a new version of Emma Jo & the Poets Down Here.  While the band has not changed personnel, they have changed their name (they now go by the name of 49 Stones) and have a new album ready.  I'll be checking them out soon.  Maybe by next post.

Hopefully also in the next post will be 25 albums which made 2010 one exceptional year in music.  Capsule reviews and links to websites and full reviews on artists like The Georgian Company, Ted Pitney, Aloud, The Beige and more.  Stay tuned.....