Jack Johnson: En Concert

As if anyone needed a reason to like Jack Johnson any more, he comes out with 19 track live album that is an absolute delight; a utopia, of sorts, for even his most passing of fans.  This surfer-dude has always appealed to a wide spectrum of music listeners as he’s seemingly not cut from the “typical” singer-songwriter mold.

Johnson takes us on the road with him during his 2008 Sleep Through the Static tour, adding performances from such cities as Paris, Spain, San Diego, Honolulu, San Francisco and Morrison, CO.  He also includes a few tunes from that year’s stint at Bonnaroo in Manchester TN – one of those tunes including “Constellations” featuring Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder.

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Painkiller Hotel: Black Roses

It’s hard to believe Black Roses is Painkiller Hotel’s debut album.  These Chicago-based rockers – Eddie Prez, Adam Harker, Klaus Luchs, and Nate Green - have such a defined and seasoned sound, you’d think they were a decade into their recording career.  The band has gotten a lot of attention for having strong, hooky, radio-friendly songs on this record and that attention couldn’t be more properly placed.   

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Phlog the Photo Blog: Scenic.

I used to keep all of my “good” photos on myphotoalbum.com until they backed me into a corner, forcing me to pay at least $10 to retrieve my account because I hadn’t ordered prints in a while.  I refused to pay so I lost access to that photo album which made me none too pleased. 

This forced me to go thru the photos I have saved on my hard drive and repost only my favorite ones to a new album on Shutterfly.  At the end of the day I realized I take A LOT of pictures.  And I’m not done loading photos to the new site, I’ve only added the scenic New York shots – beaches, parks and some city images. 

I still have an entire California album I have to sort thru and then some live music shots I’d like to add. 

To make a long story short(er), I’ve decided to take some of my absolute favorite photos and post them on this here photo blog.

Sister Hazel: Release

The guys in Sister Hazel are veterans on a scene of new blooded musicians seemingly hiding around every corner.  With over 2 million albums sold and 6 studio releases already under their belt, their 7th album, Release (released this summer), is sure to appeal to the most diehard of Hazelnuts as Release would be the first album in which the writing credits, for one song or another, belong to every member of the band.

Lead singer, and founder of charity organization Lyrics for Life, Ken Block, says that he and his fellow band members - Drew Copeland, Ryan Newell, Jett Beres, Mark  Trojanowski - are also closer now than ever before and this disc is the culmination of that bond.  “Everybody has had personal tragedies” says Block on their official myspace.  ”We have had inner turmoil [but] we always had similar goals.  It all made us closer.  We’ve all been able to lean on each other and our friendship has gotten deeper and deeper.”

The vibe of this set of tracks is slightly quieter than their last few studio albums.  They almost find themselves in a comfortable pocket for most of the album, but in the midst of a 15 year career, that’s only expected.  And while some people find that to be a negative feature, I think it speaks to their growth as a group which can’t be argued with. 

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Party At The Bitter End As Told By YOU.

Last night folks gathered at the Bitter End for a birthday celebration for one of its frequent performers.  Ernie Halter’s New York City style birthday party included performances from the man himself and label mate, Andrew Hoover, but the party kicked off with a few tunes from friend and fellow singer-songwriter Melissa Polinar.

Polinar, a Texas native with a slew of covers and soulful originals on YouTube, has been writing and performing professionally for about 3 years.  You can find her album intro…. on iTunes and CD Baby but she hopes to spend some time in the studio recording new tracks soon.  Among the tunes she played last night were “Try” and “Meant to Be,” both originals you can find on her YouTube channel.

Polinar first-timer, Annie Kim, instantly became a fan, saying ”her voice and music are so clean, refreshing and sweet to the ear and heart. What a lovely way to start or end the day.”

After Polinar led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to Halter, Connecticut-bred Andrew Hoover took the stage.  Just one night before his Chances, Stances & Romances album release party in his hometown, he performed some of the greats from the album like “Secrets,” “Lie to Me,” “Come On” and “Saturday” (video below).  Hoover also graced us with a new song he recently wrote, “Premonition.”

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Matt York’s.

Matt York has been a busy little bee since the release of his debut album Under the Streetlights in 2005.  He’s spent the last 3 years playing over 700 shows across North America, Australia and Japan and without much downtime found the time to write and record what would be his sophomore release, Mine, in late 2008.

York ironically opens Mine with a song that isn’t in fact his – “Death Came A Knockin’” – one of those traditionals that he can do oh so soulfully, much like his version of “Wade in the Water” with RRM label mate Andrew Hoover.  Halfway thru the video below you’ll actually hear York inject Mine’s opening track.

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Brandi Carlile: Give Up the Ghost

Brandi Carlile’s third release, Give Up the Ghost, is hauntingly gorgeous and sure to dig deep, revealing that dark side of yourself you often don’t want to feel.  Staying true to her alt-country/folk rock sound, with a voice so heavy it can make you cry on its own, Carlile’s latest set of  tracks will have you wanting to feel what you often don’t.  She’ll be your confidant for 40 some odd minutes, bringing the dolor right out of you but it’ll be more beautiful than painful.  And you’ll thank her for it.

“Pride and Joy” is merely one of the tracks that will have you feeling eerily comfortable.  With a relatable set of words, and a loud, wistful vocal performance, you might even find yourself in the fetal position recounting your life’s past efforts, wondering where it all went wrong.

“Dreams” is a real foot-tapper that raises the bar on folksy country-rock while “That Year” has the quintessential singer/songwriter chick sound, comparable to contemporary Regina Spektor.

“Caroline” is the least sad of all the tunes, a song inspired by Carlile’s niece with jaunty piano accompaniment and backing vox by one, Elton John.  Carlile’s voice even rids itself of the usual melancholy timbre enough to inspire images and sounds of a kid’s television show theme song – but in a good way, like looking back on fond old memories of a time-warped version of yourself.  It’s already forced a smile on my face and I haven’t even had my morning coffee yet.

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Love and Theft: World Wide Open

I’m definitely no authority on the likes of country music or any of its subgenres, however, Love and Theft’s new album World Wide Open has enough of a pop/rock sound that I think I can get away with convincing you of its glory.

A trio of singer/songwriters from Nashville, Love and Theft got their big intro to the world after touring with Taylor Swift in 2008 and much like Swift, this band is not your typical country act.  In fact in a recent interview with the LNT members – Brian Bandas, Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson - on theboot.com, their surprising influences were revealed.  The band was asked by a fan via twitter who they would tour with if given the chance, to which they each answered, respectively; the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and the Beatles.  Notice, not one country artist.  And when Yahoo! Music asked the band who their biggest musical influence was, they responded with Eric Clapton – other influences including Prince, Kings of Leon, Jackson Browne, U2 and the Allman Brothers.  And while their band name is not a straight derivative from Bob Dylan’s 2001 release Love and Theft (Dylan and LNT both took the name from a book), the band does admit they admire Dylan a great deal.  Liles even adds that they would love to an episode of CMT’s ‘Crossroads’ with him.

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101 in 1001 Project: the List

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities. (Visit DayZeroProject.com for more info!)

Official Start: October 15, 2009

Finish: July 12, 2012

Progressing Tally of Achievement: (11/1001)

Travel & Adventure
001. Skydive.
002. Visit Hawaii.
003. Zip-line in an exotic location.
004. Go paintballing.
005. Take an extensive road trip away from the East Coast.
006. Fly in a hot-air balloon over southern California.
007. Go camping – perhaps in a Southwestern dessert or the forests of the Pacific Northwest.
008. Venture to Tennessee and/or Colorado for a music festival (Bonnaroo or Mile High).
009. Swim with dolphins.
010. Go wine tasting in northern California.
011. Go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and then the old Motown studio in Detroit.
012. Get a passport.
013. Spend a fall weekend in Connecticut or Vermont – somewhere fall foliagey.
014. Run thru the Reflecting Pool in DC like Jen-nay did in Forest Gump (I think this one is actually illegal).
015. See Niagra Falls from the Canadian side.

For Me
016. Get the tattoo of my grandfather’s rose.
017. Buy a professional camera.
018. Buy the Beatles re-mastered box set.
019. Move into my own place.
020. Splurge on a professional hair cut and dye.
021. Find at least one personal moment of happiness every day for 1001 days (35/1001).
022. Get my own etsy store.
023. Ice skate in front of the tree at Rock Center, no matter how long the line is.
024. Go on a picnic.
025. Have a spa day.
026. Spend 2 entire (non-consecutive) rainy days in bed (0/2).
027. Spend 2 entire sunny days outside (0/2).
028. Buy an expensive (moderately) painting.
029. Create a starter menu/recipe book for my cookie & cupcake shop.
030. Organize and update my address book.
031. Pick flowers.

For the Better Good
032. Make sandwiches and hand them out to as many homeless people in NYC as I can (PROJECT Lunch Box).
033. Continue my AIDS Walk team from last year.
034. Buy a hybrid car (long shot).
035. Plant a garden.
036. Volunteer at an animal shelter.
037. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for real, this time.
038. Donate 250,000 grains of rice through freerice.com (17,000/250,000).
039. Help 10 strangers – excluding the fellow listed (0/10).
040. Adopt a solider with Soldiers’ Angels.
041. Tip 100% to an exceptional server.
042. Donate blood at least 4 times (0/4+)
043. Begin paperwork (including 2 year student loan deferments) for Peace Corps application.
044. Choose the bus over the car at least 3 times (0/3).
045. Attend a war protest or a peace rally.
046. Cater another mini pizza party for Grandma and her friends at the home.
047. Walk in a non-AIDS Walk related Walk.

Health & Fitness
048. Buy a bicycle.
049. Take a self-defense class.
050. Take a multi-vitamin every day for 30 days (0/30).
051. Be a vegetarian again for a week (0/7).
052. No fast food for a month (0/31).
053. Exercise 3 times a week for 8 weeks (0/24).
054. Stop eating past 8:30pm for 3 1/2 weeks (0/25).
055. Try yoga. Emphasis on try.
056. Go to the doctor and dentist.

Personal Growth
057. Organize my digital photo albums and back up my external hard drive.
058. Complete a 1,000 piece puzzle – and learn some patience doing so.
059. Start meditating again – twice a week for 4 weeks (0/8).
060. Say “yes” when I’d rather say “no” 10 times (2/10).
061. Say “no” when I want to say “no” but feel bad so inevitably say “yes” 5 times (0/5).
062. Teach myself 20 more words/phrases in sign language (0/20).
063. Read 30 books (1/30)
           - 7 must be from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list (0/7)
           - 6 must come from a current New York Times best sellers list (0/6)
           - 6 must come from the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century list (0/6)
           – 1 will be my own (0/1)
064. Take a cooking & baking class.
065. Take guitar lessons.
066. Take an art class.
067. Smile at someone on the road I’d rather flip off.
068. Go to a religious ceremony for a religion other than the one I grew up in.
069. Learn how to say “thank you” in 10 different languages (10/10).
070. Go 2 consecutive days without technology on 3 separate occasions (0/2 : 0/2 : 0/2).
071. Attempt a National Novel Writing Month contest.
072. Wake up no later than 7am for one straight work week (0/5).
073. Go to bed no later than 10:30pm for one straight work week (0/5).
074. Learn basic car maintenance – under the hood.
075. Send 2 postcards a month through Postcrossing (4/64).
076. Karaoke.
077. Participate in a 26 Things Challenge
078. Write a letter to myself to be sealed until day 1001.

Cheesy Self-Help Stuff
079. Make a list of “50 Things I Like About Myself.”
080. Make a list of “95 Things that Make Me Happy” and scrapbook it.

Friends & Family
081. Spend at least one afternoon a year with my younger cousins and brother (generic family functions excluded) (0/2++).
082. Spend more time with my family in general (stress-free time, that is).
083. Take more family photos, and organize them all – new and old.
084. Book my mother a vacation.
085. Call an old friend, as much as I despise talking on the phone.
086. Write a letter to everyone important to me, expressing their importance (0/TBD).
087. Write letters to my pen-pal and 5th grade teacher whom I haven’t written to in a while (2/2).

Finances/Business
088. Pay off all of my credit card debt (70%/100%).
089. Get a “big girl job” (i.e. salary based, not minimum wage based).
090. Start an “under the mattress” savings account.
091. Get a “big girl job” that I love (if not already accomplished in #89).
092. Complete my novel and shop it to publishers.
093. Begin and complete a second novel.

Seasonal
094. Each fall go apple/pumpkin picking and/or visit a haunted house for Halloween (0/3).
095. Each winter I will play in the snow before I get mad at it (0/3).
096. Each spring spend an entire afternoon at the beach and plant flowers (not at the beach) (0/3).
097. Each summer go swimming at least twice (0/3).

For the List
098. Create a blog about list progress.
099. Inspire 5 other people to make a 101 in 1001 list (0/5).
100. Have a drink to celebrate day 1001!
101. Donate $10 to the Until There’s a Cure Foundation for every goal not met.

Tony Lucca: Canyon Songs – 3 Years Later

While comparing Matt Lowell’s “No Regrets” (from his latest EP Second Storm) to Tony Lucca’s Canyon Songs, I realized I’d never actually written anything about Canyon Songs since it’s initial release in 2006. 

Well ironically enough, when the original version of Canyon Songs sort of went out of print, Lucca decided to re-release it with some bonus tracks earlier this summer.  And with the even more recent release of Tony Lucca – A Night at the Mint the DVD, I saw a second chance shining through an open door.

Here’s the review of Canyon Songs I’ve owed it all this time.  Now with a few shiny and new bonus tracks.

In his time on the singer/songwriter scene – approximately 13 years – Tony Lucca has managed to master his own handful of genres.  What he does with an acoustic guitar, a head full of melodies and a throat full of lyrics is astonishing.  You may say I’m a little biased because I had a crush on the guy when I was 5 years old, but I can promise you I speak with a nonpartisan opinion.

With Lucca’s earlier releases, a darker singer/songwriter emerged.  With hints of jazz influences and a handfuls of self-deprecating love songs, and happier, complacent love songs, So Satisfied and Strong Words, Softly Spoken were albums you could listen to curled up in a blanket in a dark room (most likely of the dorm variety) with maybe a candle or two lit.

With Lucca’s latest release, there’s not a whole lot of candle-lighting and blanket-curling going on.  His words contain higher levels of social awareness and his melodies contain higher levels of that old rock & roll sound we all know and love.  Come Around Again has few songs that don’t absolutely require the attention of the parts of your brain that control the foot tappin’, finger snappin’ and booty shakin’.

But the vibe of Canyon Songs is pretty obviously stated in the album’s title.  Lucca has long been inspired by the kings and queens of southern California folk music; Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash and of course the lady of the canyon herself, Joni Mitchell.  Even the poppiest track on Canyon Songs, “Death of Me” (heard on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters) harbors an intensely strong kinship to the genre and generation of the formerly mentioned musical icons.  This album is the folkiest of all the Lucca albums – and it couldn’t be lovelier. 

While the early stages of the Canyon Songs creation came from a handful of songs recorded at friend and fellow musician, Josh Kelley’s house, Lucca’s overall intent was always there.

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Matt Lowell: Second Storm EP

Hailing from New York City, with a soft spot for his college home in Boston, Matt Lowell is no musical rookie. After the release of his 2007 self-titled debut album, Lowell graduated from Berklee College of Music. With that came a tour supporting yet another release of his; First Taste EP. Now Lowell is hitting the scene again, this time with a fresh EP entitled Second Storm. This set of tracks were co-written by Matt and Crit Harmon, who was named Producer of the Year at the 2008 Boston Music Awards for his work with Martin Sexton.

As I sat at my computer clicking play on the first track of Lowell’s latest EP, Second Storm, I found myself thinking “oh, did I click on Johnny Cash instead?” Fitting that the first track would be the title track, and fitting that the title of the track is “Second Storm,” the dark opening is quite conducive. As Lowell’s vocals are introduced and the song develops, it becomes the kind of song you would expect from an alt rock band gone soft – like 3 Doors Down. Out of the four tracks on the EP, this is the standout for me – a strong introduction.

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Artist Interview: Andrew Hoover (+FREE Song!)

September, 2009 

Andrew Hoover is not your typical wide-eyed rookie singer/songwriter with an acoutic guitar and a soap box. He brings oodles of maturity to every note he sings, whether in his heavy, bluesy vocals or in his words. Watching him on stage, you’d think he was 10 years older and wiser than his birth certificate would indicate. Earlier this month, Hoover proudly released his long-anticipated album, Chances, Stances & Romances, which is chock full o’ fun and upbeat tracks that will have you singing along in no time. With the release of his debut studio album, I wanted to spend a few minutes introducing you to the man behind the tunage. And as an extra special bonus feature, courtesy of the kind folks at Rock Ridge Music, you can search the interview for a link to download one of Hoover’s new songs for free. Just don’t search too hard. Maybe if you’re good I’ll give you a hint. And now without further ado, Andrew Hoover, this is everyone – everyone, this is Andrew Hoover.

(Hint: The free song is a day of the week. Try to split that atom.)
(For more information on Chances, Stances & Romances, click on this.)

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America: Home of the Free, the Brave and the Prudes.

In her very first episode of her very first season as SNL cast member, Jenny Slate said “fuck” during a skit.  Some people, some very sad people with little to do, are up in arms about it.

Watch the video for yourself.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsyDYwG2f4]

I didn’t even hear it the first time I watched it.  She was talking so fast and saying “frickin” so often, I didn’t notice it, though I was trying to figure out why she made a strange face afterwards.  I didn’t think anything of it until someone said something about it the next day.  Then I realized the strange face was her “oh shit” moment.  And you could tell it frazzled her a little bit – she was probably wondering how much trouble she’d be in as soon as the commercials hit.  Especially because this was her first skit ever on SNL.

But the thing is, even if it’s more than just a word; more than just a stringing together of letters that we as a people gave power to, it actually wasn’t complete violation of FCC policy.

Ernie Halter: Live the Way Live Should Be

Photo by Kevin Oatsvall (myspace.com/erniehalter).

A mainstay in the Rock Ridge Music Cute-Boy Lineup, Ernie Halter has produced a couple of fine studio albums in his time on the map. But you see, the thing about the Rock Ridge Cute-Boy Lineup is that the Cute-Boy part is just the icing on a very harmonious, soulful and overall kick-ass cake of musicianship and songwriting. The proof is in the live music, and what better way to reach the masses with your live music than to put out a – say it with me – live album!

To be straight up, I’m not usually a fan of the ‘live album phenomenon,’ though it certainly depends on the artist. Sometimes the sound quality is sub par, sometimes audience enthusiasm, while appropriate for the live venue, is a little harsh in the headphones. Sometimes a live album is just another way to distance the men from the boys; the musicians from the recording artists.

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Take Control of Your Mind with NLP.

No, NLP isn’t like LSD.  Here you’ll be taking control of your mind, not losing it.

Reminiscing about a high school report had me look into modern research on the study of Neuro-linguistic Programming. Sounds intense, right? Well luckily, I’ll paint you a picture in English to the best of my ability. If you speak Science, you’ll know more about the technical facts but I don’t speak Science. I don’t believe that everything falls into one category or another, I just know that this interesting form of therapy worked for me and I know you’ll be interested in trying it for yourself. It’s something we should all master at some point in our lives.

Neuro-linguistic Programming in Science basically translates to the study of patterns and structure of behavior. Back in the day some smart guys built some models and then tested patients to categorize their reactions to certain psychological stimulation and while it is not a diagnostic tool, it was and still can be used for experimentation purposes – testing to see how much conscious control we have over our minds.

As taboo as it may be to mention magic in a Scientific definition, neurolinguisticprogramming.com, manages to define the process quite simply with this:

Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ was specifically created in order to allow us to do magic by creating new ways of understanding how verbal and non-verbal communication affect the human brain. As such it presents us all with the opportunity to not only communicate better with others, but also learn how to gain more control over what we considered to be automatic functions of our own neurology.

That being said, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this, but trust me, you want to hang out because it can rock your world.  They weren’t kidding about the magic part.