This is a collection of demo recordings from the Manic Street Preachers, recorded between 1985 and 1990 (it is more likely that the earliest material was actually recorded in 1986). A reasonable amount of this was probably recorded before Richey Edwards became a member of the band. An early version of their debut single (plus B side is included). Of the rest some made it on to B sides of single releases, some would eventually morph into tracks for the first album and some remained just as demos.
From Wikipedia regarding the early days of the Manics - The band was formed in 1986 in Oakdale Comprehensive School, Blackwood, south Wales. During this time, Bradfield had tried writing lyrics, but this later changed and Wire wrote all their earliest lyrics, leaving Bradfield, alongside the classically-trained Sean Moore when he joined, to write the music. Original bassist Flicker (Miles Woodward) left the band in early 1988, reportedly because he believed that the band were moving away from their punk roots. The band continued as a three-piece, with Wire switching from guitar to bass, and in 1989 they recorded their first single, "Suicide Alley". Edwards joined the band on guitar and often made contributions to lyrics with Wire, designing record sleeves and other artwork, and driving the band to and from gigs.
In 1990, they signed a deal with label Damaged Goods Records for one EP. The four-track New Art Riot attracted as much media interest for its attacks on fellow musicians as for the actual music. With the help of Hall or Nothing management, the Manics signed to indie label Heavenly Records. The band recorded their first single for the label, entitled "Motown Junk".
The band released their next single, entitled You Love Us, and again displayed a huge cultural scope. The single sampled Penderecki's "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" as well as Iggy Pop. The video featured Nicky Wire in drag as Marilyn Monroe and contained visual references to Betty Blue and Aleister Crowley. In a now legendary interview with then NME journalist Steve Lamacq, Edwards carved the phrase "4REAL" into his arm with a razor blade to prove their sincerity. He was taken to hospital and received a total of seventeen stitches. Columbia Records of Sony Music UK signed the band shortly afterwards and they began work on their debut album.
Source: Soundboard.
Sound Quality: Good stereo mp3@128kbps.
Genre: Alternative rock, hard rock, glam punk, post-punk.
Set List:
1. Faceless Sense Of Void (Early version of Love's Sweet Exile)
2. Go Buzz Baby Go (Early Version of Motorcycle Emptiness)
3. Just Can't Be Happy
4. R.P. McMurphy
5. Suicide Alley (Self released debut single 1989)
6. New Art Riot
7. England Is A Bitch
8. This Girl Got Nothing
9. Love In A Make-Up Bag
10. Generation Terrorists (Early version of Stay Beautiful)
11. UK Channel Boredom (Released as a split flexi single 1990)
12. Sunglass Asthetic
13. You Love Us
14. Methadone Pretty
15. Dying A Thousand Deaths
16. Eating Myself From The Inside
17. Democracy Coma
18. Repeat
19. Behave Yourself Baby
20. Repeat
21. Razorblade Beat
22. Where Have All The Good Things Gone
23. Whiskey Psychosis
24. Soul Contamination
25. Tennessee (I Get Low - Suicide Alley B Side, Early version of Tennessee)
The officially released album 'Field Commander Cohen - Tour of 1979' is a live album by Leonard Cohen released in 2001. Songs were recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on 4th, 5th, and December 6th, 1979 and at the Dome Theatre, Brighton, on December 15th, 1979. Leonard Cohen said it was his best tour ever. Accompanying Leonard Cohen was the jazz band Passenger from Austin, Texas, see line up details below.
These additional recordings include six songs from the Brighton Dome Concert Hall, (Brighton, England 15th December 1979) that were not on the official release including a stunning version of 'Silent Night'.
The Birmingham concert has circulated as a bootleg in it's own right. The sound leveling and editing on a couple of songs suggests this was a soundboard tape that was not part of the material recorded for the live album, that said this is a wonderful concert and the overall audio is fantastic.
From Wikipedia regarding this era - In 1979, Leonard Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz and Oriental and Mediterranean influences. Beginning with this record, praised in 2001 by Cohen as his favourite, Cohen began to co-produce his albums. Produced by Cohen and Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell's sound engineer), Recent Songs included performances by Austin-based jazz-fusion band Passenger whom were introduced to Cohen by Mitchell. The band helped Cohen create a new sound by featuring instruments like the oud, the Gypsy violin and the mandolin. The album was supported by Cohen's major tour with the new band, and Jennifer Warnes and Sharon Robinson on the backing vocals, in Europe in late 1979, and again in Australia, Israel and Europe in 1980. The tour was filmed by Harry Rasky as The Song of Leonard Cohen, and the film was broadcast on television in 1980. Cohen also gave couple of major TV appearances in 1979, including German's ZDF television. In 2000 Columbia released an album of live recordings of songs from the 1979 tour, entitled Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979; the album (with different track list) was originally rejected by the label in 1980.
Source: Soundboard.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps Birmingham and mp3@200kbps variable Brighton.
Genre: Folk, folk rock, rock, spoken word.
Set: Full set Birmingham, non officially released material Brighton .
Set List:
Birmingham:
1. Sisters Of Mercy
2. Diamonds In The Mine
3. The Smokey Life
4. The Gypsy's Wife
5. 2 Quatrains
6. Chelsea Hotel #2
7. A Singer Must Die
8. The Partisan
9. Famous Blue raincoat
10. Our Lady Of Solitude
11. Billy Sunday
Brighton:
01. Memories
02. Suzanne
03. Billy Sunday
04. Joan of Arc
05. I Tried to leave you
06. Silent Night
Lineup:
Vocalists:
Sharon Robinson
Jennifer Warnes
The Band:
Roscoe Beck - bass guitar
John Bilezikjian - oud, mandolin
Bill Ginn - keyboards
Raffi Hakopian - violin
Steve Meador - drums
Paul Ostermayer - wind
Mitch Watkins - electric guitar
This is a recording of Lucinda Williams from KPFK-FM Radio, in Los Angeles, CA performed on the 26th February 1989. This has circulated as 'Sweet And Tender Kisses', and included three songs that were officially released and have been excluded from this version in line with our music sharing policy.
This performance features mostly material from her third album (titled Lucinda Williams) which was released a few months prior to this performance. The recording has been professionally edited down for a radio programme and excludes any audience noise and thankfully no DJ chatter.
The three officially released songs are 'Nothing In Rambling', 'Disgusted' and 'Side Of The Road', which were included originally on her 'Passionate Kisses' EP and subsequently on the reissue of Lucinda Williams'.
From Allmusic.com regarding Lucinda around this time - Lucinda Williams eventually caught on with an unlikely partner -- the British indie label Rough Trade, which was historically better known for its punk output. The simply titled Lucinda Williams was released in 1988, and although it didn't make any waves in the mainstream, it received glowing reviews from those who did hear it. With help from guitarist/co-producer Gurf Morlix, Williams' sound had evolved into a seamless blend of country, blues, folk, and rock; while it made perfect sense to roots music enthusiasts, it didn't fit into the rigid tastes of radio programmers. But it was clear that she had found her songwriting voice -- the album brimmed with confidence, and so did its assertive female characters, who seemed to answer only to their own passions.
Many critics hailed Lucinda Williams as a major statement by a major new talent. Rough Trade issued a couple of EPs that featured live performances and material from Lucinda Williams, and Patty Loveless covered "The Night's Too Long" for a Top 20 country hit.
Source: Soundboard/FM.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.
Genre: Alt Country, American, Folk Rock.
Set: Full Set (excluding three commercially released songs).
Set List:
01 Big Red Sun Blues
02 Crescent City
03 Like A Rose
04 All I Want (It Don’t Matter To Me)
05 Abandoned
06 Wild And Blue
07 Something About What Happens When We Talk
08 Sundays
Lineup:
Lucinda Williams - guitar, vocals
Gurf Morlix - guitar, background vocals
Dr. John Ciambotti - bass
This is Isaac Hayes live in concert at the Indianapolis Jazz Festival back on the 19th June 1999. Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, in Tipton County. He was the second child of Isaac Hayes, Sr. and Eula Hayes.
After his mother died young, and his father abandoned his family, Isaac, Jr., was raised by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade, Sr. The child of a poor sharecropper family, he grew up working on farms in Shelby County, Tennessee and in Tipton County.
Isaac dropped out of high school, but he was later encouraged by his former high school teachers at Manassas High School in Memphis to complete his high school diploma, which he did at the age of 21. After graduating from high school, Hayes was offered several music scholarships from colleges and universities. Hayes turned down all of them because of his obligations to his immediate family. Hayes next worked at a meat-packing plant in Memphis by day, and he played music at nightclubs and juke joints several evenings a week in Memphis and nearby northern Mississippi.
During the late 1990s, Isaac Hayes gained new popularity as the voice of Chef on the Comedy Central animated television series South Park. Chef was a soul-singing cafeteria worker for South Park Elementary. A song from the series performed by Chef, "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)", received international radio airplay in 1999. It reached number-one on the UK singles chart and also on the Irish singles chart. The track also appeared on the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album in 1998.
Highly regarded for his own work and his wonderful interpretation of many 'famous songs' as this set demonstrates, Isaac will surely be remembered for all manner of reasons. This concert adds the South Park dimension and is a must for any lover of his music.
Source: Soundboard tapes.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.
Genre: R&B, funk, soul, jazz.
Set: Full Set.
Set List:
01.Don´t Let Go
02.Summer In The City
03.Don´t You Ever Take Your Love From Me
04.Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalmystic
05.Walk On By
06.Drums
07.Chocolate Salty Balls
08.I Stand Accused
09.Theme From Shaft
Background: Named for the idiosyncratic Cocteau Twins remix EP, Otherness is the collaboration of two California musicians, David Reep (Elephant & Castle) and Dylan Travis (Man/Miracle). With an ear for the unique and the limitless, the pair began production on a number of experimental pop songs in the midst of a winter both emotional and literal. The result has been a number of beautiful songs, first delicately cut from a web of sampled records and then elaborated upon with live instrumentation and bedroom-recorded vocals. The collaboration has also given rise to a live performance unlike any other. Almost exclusively improvisational, the pair create an impossible-sounding wall of Monome-manipulated vocals, warped into shuddering bass and icy re-pitched harmony.
However, the four songs here, from an upcoming album, are catchy, structured, and fully-realized pop. The lush, sample-oriented backing tracks suggest electronic music innovators such as DJ Shadow or Juan Atkins, while the vocals and darkly abstracted lyrics hew closer to a Climate of Hunter-era Scott Walker. A strong Manchester vibe pervades the recordings as well, with echoes of the Stone Roses and Morrissey bumping up against samples of Tangerine Dream. A wildly promising introduction.
2011Candy Says: Name checking Cocteau Twins & Tangerine Dream is a little risky as one immediately expects a lot of originality and pretty high standards. On the strength of this song Otherness have enough of that to carry things off. Listen: Crystalline. Web: Bandcamp.
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Background: Jess Hill is a unique singer-songwriter risen from the talented denizens of East Vancouver. She is a storyteller whose delicately constructed lyrical worlds captivate, standing firmly with her blues-draped compositions. Her music will smash your heart, pinch you in your sweetest nerves, give pause to the present and sing you to sleep all in one gently fierce moment. Jess invites the audience into her realm, engaging them with a voice like the sound of a well-rosined bow across your heartstrings, telling tales over her skillfully crafted guitar compositions. She can pull a room of strangers into her palm, crushing them with stinging emotions and releasing them reborn into the night.
Since releasing her debut album Road in 2006, Jess Hill has been featured on CBC radio, performed at The Vancouver Folk Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Artswells, and numerous other festivals in BC, as well as becoming a much loved staple in the arenas of the western Canadian music scene. She was a top 20 finalist in the Peak Performance Project in 2010, Vancouver's indie music showcase and contest put on by The Peak 100.5FM. Her upcoming second full length album Orchard recorded and produced by the multi-talented Aaron Joyce, pushes away from the dock of her folk roots, and onto the frontiers of new creative fires, delivering arrangements sometimes slightly more electric in nature. The new album showcases Hill's signature sound but also shows her artistic growth by casting a more ethereal and fantasy-tuned mood over the entirety of the recording. Orchard was released on March 24th 2011.
2011Candy Says: This is a great song that just grabbed my attention as soon as Jess started to sing. Superb vocals are supported by some classy music that just continues to build throughout the song.
Background:Continents is the musical undertaking of Kansas City native Jim Button. Button began writing in the summer of 2008, creating, and recording the material that would eventually become his debut entitled Land of Plenty. In the summer of 2011 he will be releasing his follow up EP Spiriting. Continents sound takes you on a unique psychedelic pop head trip. The songs invoke themes like realizing potential and making progress not just in the lyrical sense but also in the instrumental delivery. If the songs were color, they would lend themselves to bright lomographic star bursts of blurred haze.
Having produced a catalog of dense well crafted tunes, Button recruited a rotating cast of friends to perform his work live. The much acclaimed live performances earned the band an opening slot for like minded psych-rockers The Entrance Band he also participated in Middle of the Map Fest. Continents signed with hometown label The Record Machine in 2010 and they re-issued his debut Land Of Plenty. Over the course of 2010 Button continued outputting music and is ready to release his new EP Spiriting. In his own words “the goal of the music is to expand upon the ideas of modern music and what it is capable of…maintaining a sense of warmth and positivity; something that the world could certainly use and that music has the power to awaken.”
2011Candy Says: Powerful rhythms, followed by well matched vocals and a chorus that hooked me straightaway. Listen: The Perfect Circle. Web:MySpace.
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Background: They may be called Repeater, but the Long Beach, CA band is anything but a copy of their influences and contemporaries. The four piece’s unique sound blends haunting vocals, art rock guitars, pounding drums, driving bass and ambient, moving keyboards.
Formed in 2004, Repeater’s latest full-length LP We Walk From Safety with producer Ross Robinson (The Cure, The Klaxons, At-The Drive In) set for release on August 2, 2011. A sonic journey from start to finish, the group conjures up textures akin to Mew and The Cure. The vocal presence of frontman Steve Krolikowski shifts fluidly from the aggression of The Deftones, to the hopeful urgency of Arcade Fire, to the soothing softness of Sigur Ros. Resurrecting his legendary label I Am Recordings which launched The Blood Brothers, Slipknot and Glassjaw, Robinson released the band’s 3-song Patterns EP in 2010.
Truly reaching their zenith of expression as a live band, Repeater’s vibrant lights illuminate the stage while the orchestrated power and chemistry capture audiences at every performance. Each member has an amazing grasp of tone and dynamics, and it has shown on stages large and small.
With We Walk From Safety, expect a sound that is familiar yet challenging, warm yet aggressive and uncompromising. Each track captures a strange moment in life and time and reinvents it as a sonic picture. The individuals in Repeater become a machine fueled by emotion and dedication to the song.
2011Candy Says: Vocals that deliver passion and energy with a band that matches them with atmospheric music and powerful building beats, that is both dramatic and moving. Listen: Yours and Mine. Web:Official.
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Background: The last few months have been undeniably busy for the Williamsburg based trio Fan-Tan.
First, a successful spring tour culminating in a string of more than well-received appearances at this year's SXSW. Then weeks of relentless and passionate studio work on the debut LP, "A Strange Game," due out next November.
As the final touches are being put to the album, Fan-Tan has decided to reward its ever growing fan-base by giving away the song "1989". The track is the first single to be taken from what promises to be one of the most exciting records coming out next Autumn.
Fan-Tan has been building an incontestable solid reputation thanks to its ravishing atmospheric live-sets and beautifully textured songs. The outpouring of enthusiastic reviews shouldn't therefore surprise anyone.
This is what The Deli Mag had to say: "The music is full of dramatics and tension, and it has an unyielding ability to remain in listeners' heads for days."
And the Philadelphia Weekly seems to agree completely by stating: " . . . [Fan-Tan] makes the kind of sweeping, soaring, synth-glorious post punk you might remember from Echo & the Bunnymen, or even the Cure."
2011Candy Says: The intro guitars to this song reminded me of the Cocteau Twins (in a good way) but Fan Tan are far more rocky and this song soon develops it's own style also in a good way! Listen: 1989. Web:Official.
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Background: Like her namesake, Novi is a new artist that is on a fast-track to stardom. Her first EP, Now I’m Here, set to be released for Fall of 2011, is sure to spark an immediate following from listeners throughout the music spectrum. She comes to the scene with an original, distinct sound that is eclectic enough to hit the chords of any music lover in the galaxy. The smooth, electro-pop sounds that emanate from the speakers are a compulsive rise and fall of beats on every track that capture listeners, hook, line, and sinker.
With looping skills envious of Imogen Heap, and lyrics that send second guesses straight into the back of your mind (“I had bar flies sipping on my Motherf#*king drink”) you’ll have Novi “peddling back” through your mind all day. (Don’t worry. It’s a good thing.)
Starting with Now I’m Here, the self-titled track of the EP with the same name, is a slow psychedelic beat. With miscellaneous sounds strewn about in the background that only add to the thrill of listening to Novi for the first time. Her album follows the pattern of most of her tracks. They rise in tempo, and then drop back down, like an EKG of what your heart looks like as you listen. Same Old Song, the fourth track on her EP, captures the idea of Novi completely. The slow beat in the background, with different sounds intermittent between a steady beat, gives way to her lyrics, “I’m tired of the same old song, tearin’ me up at the end of the day,” which suddenly leads in to a fast-paced, hard-hitting female rap solo, all done by Novi.
Her cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, not only does the song justice, but also gives the lyrics new meaning with her haunting intro that starts off with three short stagnant pauses. Barely recognized until they’re over, the pauses are the epitome of Novi’s music. You don’t know what hit you until it’s already over.
2011Candy Says: This is a great pop song that has a feel good factor, plus some quirky elements that put a smile on my face - can't be bad.. Listen: Blackbirds. Web: Official.
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Background: Elise and Jason are Bourgeois Heroes. The band began in the spring of 2002 on a roadtrip to Memphis. Once they arrived in Tennessee, they purchased a drum kit and an electric guitar and set out to record their first ramshackle single the following evening at Sun Studio.
Since, the duo has released several handmade EPs that celebrate “Friends”-era Beach Boys production, baroque string arrangements, an often rhythm & blues leaning and various “weird” sounds.
Bourgeois Heroes is currently in a long distance relationship, communicating musical ideas between Austin, Tex., and Northampton, Mass. Their most recent release is “Olé/Hola,” available as a 7” vinyl single. “Olé/Hola” contains more of the same ’60s-inspired, jangly pop that those who’ve already discovered this talented duo have come to expect.
Both tracks were produced by Justin Pizzoferrato, whose recent credits include projects by J. Mascis, Hush Arbors, MV&EE and Thurston Moore.
2011Candy Says: Second time we have featured Bourgeois Heroes. This is the B side to Ole/Hola and just goes to show the band don't short change you on quality and fine tunes. Listen: When You’re Dancing. Web:Official.
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Background: "San Francisco's Blind Willies is the kind of band whose music sharply divides listeners' opinions almost instantly. While some might take that as a knock, I consider it a testament to the intensity and tenacity with which they explore their own boundaries." Laurel Kathleen, Bestnewbands.com
Replete with a sweet guitar melody, the pure vocals of Alexei Wajchman, a full horn section, and a groovy bass line is the working-class themed, blues-inspired "Soon My Work Will Be Over." As the second single from the album Needle, Feather, and a Rope, this track shows the diversity of the band Blind Willies. "Soon..." slots somewhere between Middle Brother and Nick Cave or Deer Tick and Tom Waits; it exemplifies a mix of tradition and modern nostalgia. As posited by Keith Laidlaw of KQED Arts & Culture, “Imagine the White Stripes driven by the fevered folk of Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie and you might get some idea of where Blind Willies are coming from."
The band includes musicians accomplished across diverse genres including rock, jazz, classical, world, and hip-hop. Judging by the rich landscapes that Alexei’s songs travel, the band has used the various gifts of its members to forge a dynamic and unique sound that reflects the deeply resonant American musical traditions that they each brought to the table. The music is sincere, raw, and poignant and the band’s integrity is reflected in the 14 tracks of Blind Willies' third full-length album Needle, Feather, and a Rope as well as in the recording process. “We wanted to record in the manner of our favorite classic albums,” Alexei explains, “the band all together in the studio, live to 2” analog tape, with minimal overdubs. We felt this approach not only gives the album superior sonics, but is a more honest representation of our musicianship and soul. We punched it out in 4 days, 10 hours each day, and I think you can hear the pleasure of the experience and the fun we had.”
2011Candy Says; This is one fine song and one dimension to a very talented band that deserve wider acknowledgment and exposure. Listen: Soon My Work Will Be Over. Web:Official.
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Background: The great West Coast calls to Dominant Legs, and Dominant Legs, in turn, calls San Francisco home. Capitalizing on newfound free-time, as a result of being laid off from his job as an office assistant, Ryan Lynch began to write the glittering ballads and blurred-out pop songs that, with the addition of Hannah Hunt, make Dominant Legs. Lynch and Hunt, both San Francisco Bay Area-natives, were introduced through mutual friends and began collaborating when Hunt moved back to California after studying Architecture in New York. Lynch had been honing the band’s misty, nostalgic sound for a while, experimenting with songwriting as a kid and having spent the previous few years playing guitar in another SF band. Hunt spent her childhood singing and performing; her eternal passion for music led her to dive back in after years of not performing. With Lynch on guitar and vocals, and Hunt on vocals and keys, Dominant Legs’ sincere and dance-y pop songs tap into a sound that is at once naively sweet and self-consciously tragic.
Dominant Legs will release their debut full length Sept 27th 2011.
2011Candy Says: Another act we featured around a year ago. So here's something to grab your attention ahead of their much anticipated debut album. Listen: Hoop Of Love. Web: Lefse Records.
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Background: So now let's take a journey to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where there is some grand folk rock being made. Jack & The Bear are next up in a long line of future breakout stars coming out of this scene. Following in the footsteps of acts such as Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers, Jack & The Bear attribute a similarly raw sound, that's both haunting and regal. "Back To Despair", filled with pulsating drums and heavily emotional vocals, doubles as a bit of a theme song for moving on with your life.
Comprised of two sets of brothers and a family friend, there is a sense of comfort in their recording process which gives the sound some much-appreciated togetherness. The use of 4 part harmonies as well as an exotic mix of instruments (mandolin, trombone, trumpets, and accordion to name just a few) make the group stand on their own. If this song is any indication, this great nation will soon have another rollicking folk band to savor.
2011Candy Says; Another gem that came our way from Paper Garden Records. This is a band to watch out for, they are simply stunning if this song is anything to go by. Listen: Back To Despair. Web:Soundcloud.
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Background:House of Wolves is the musical moniker of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Rey Villalobos, the name's origin coming from the translation of Villa-lobos from Spanish to English.
A Los Angeles native, Villalobos's family originates from two different sides of the globe - Cananea Sonora México, and Francavilla al Mare on the Italian Adriatic Coast. Rey grew up a classically trained pianist, citing Chopin as his first and main musical influence.
House of Wolves' debut album Fold In The Wind presents a warm, ethereal, and poetic collection. While beautifully eerie in acoustic form, the songs are filled with "colorful symphonic sustain that decorates spacious arrangements", and blended with Villalobos's haunting melodies and tender voice they call to mind Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, and Beach House.
This past year, Villalobos spent his time touring the U.S. and Europe and playing shows with: Sharon Van Etten, Villagers, White Rabbits, The Middle East, Avi Buffalo, Blind Pilot, Laura Gibson, Damien Jurado, Little Joy, Seabear, Kaki King, and Fanfarlo.
Recently signed with international booking agency Antistars, European tour to follow this October.
The album is produced and mixed by John Askew (The Dodos).
2011Candy Says; I agree with the promo this is part haunting melodies, but there is much more. Soft gentle but also quite captivating. Listen: 50's Web: Facebook.
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Background: Questioning the truth and attempting to imagine and re-write what’s been written are the notions encapsulated in Red Eye Fugu’s debut album Watchers. Seemingly infatuated by the roots of science fiction, Enzo Tiano’s electro-pop solo project is fueled with groovy beats and filtered dream-like sounds. The album is a brush fire of thought-provoking tales and the string of events that manifests into our strange reality. Each track provides a glimpse into the mind of a time traveler, a cult member, a truth seeker and a horror movie fanatic. These characters are inspired from fragments of philosophical, political and spiritual agendas hidden behind the curtains of mainstream mentality.
After immigrating to Los Angeles from the Philippines when he was fifteen, Tiano began to develop a sense of melodic urge to write and sing his own songs. Influenced by artists like John Lennon, David Bowie, and Thom Yorke, he manifested his songwriting into an imaginative, twilight-zone, party vibe and formed his first live band Paraventure. After putting aside music to pursue fashion design for a year, he joined the band Twin Falcons which, along with his solo material, marked his rebirth into the music scene. His debut solo EP, Suspicious Characters, was released under the moniker Poster Child on January 22, 2011.
His latest full-length album Watchers is set be released on September 10, 2011. Songs like “Prophecies (I Don’t Mind)” and “Floating Sea” highlight the never-ending belief in a poignant and dogmatic end-of-times scenario following the blueprint of a tenacious biblical endeavor. Tiano explains, “After hearing about Harold Camping’s failed prediction of the supposed end of times due date, I started getting ideas. I imagined being part of a cult who’s heavily devoted to a charismatic false prophet, believing that the world will end tomorrow. The lyrical venture is a split screen satire that focuses on what happens when they wake up the next day and still having to pay tax and mortgage”.
While the subject matter of Red Eye Fugu’s songs are fairly serious and vague in nature, there is still a playfulness and child-like wonder to his work, turning the vicious cynicism of an old hippie into a psybient electro pop wonder boy. His music fits well alongside The Flaming Lips, Toro Y Moi, Memory Tapes, and Washed Out, while still maintaining it’s own enigmatic mantra.
2011Candy Says: It took a couple of plays but there is something about this song. Different but not pretentious, experimental but not indulgent, I just cant quite put my 'finger on it'. Listen: Night Runner. Web:Tumblr.
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Background: The Australian moody-pop quartet The Jezabels has been all over the world and back. Upon completing their European tour in September, the four will be returning to the U.S. and Canada in November to tour with the Canadian indie rock band Hey Rosetta! The tour traverses up the West Coast starting November 8th, and runs across Canada with stops into some Northern U.S. Midwest cities, finishing in Ottawa, Ontario on November 25th. The Jezabels will also make a quick stop in New York to play a headlining show at The Mercury Lounge on November 21st.
While already a well-recognized name at home, The Jezabels has been building an international buzz since their first North American shows at last year's CMJ Music Festival in New York. The hype has escalated through Canadian Music Week, Austin’s SXSW, and Brighton's Great Escape. In between, they’ve toured Canada, the U.S., Australia, the UK, and Western Europe. Now warriors of the road, the band has continued to perfect their self-described “intense-indie” live show, bringing “emotional intensity and grace” (Chart Attack) to the stage, and are excited to be returning to North America in the fall.
After releasing a trilogy of EPs, the band is currently putting the finishing touches on their debut LP Prisoner. A preview of the album can be found in their newest track “Eternal Summer” available for download and sharing. As heralded by The A.V. Club, “Pitched somewhere between The Cranberries’ edge-of-the-world howl and Arcade Fire’s fiery emotional release, (their three EPs) shot the Sydney quartet to the top of the Australian charts; its forthcoming full-length debut seeks to do the same internationally."
Tour Dates: November 8 The Echo Los Angeles, CA^
November 9 The Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, CA^
November 11 The Crocodile Seattle, CA^
November 12 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC, CAN*
November 14 MacEwan Ballroom Calgary, AB, CAN*
November 15 Myer Horowitz Theatre Edmonton, AB, CAN *
November 17 The Garrick Centre Winnipeg, MB, CAN *
November 18 7th Steet Entry Minneapolis, MN ^
November 19 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL ^
November 21 The Mercury Lounge New York, NY #
November 24 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON, CAN *
November 25 Bronson Centre Ottawa, ON, CAN * ^ Co-headline with Hey Rosetta!
* Supporting Hey Rosetta!
# The Jezabels Headline
2011Candy Says: A great song to finish up on, energised and just rocking away, more please! Listen: Endless Summer. Web: Official.
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Much has been said about Amy Winehouse these past few days, thankfully many of the media comments and articles have focused on her incredible singing voice and musical contributions. Amy's addiction problems sadly seemed of more interest to the tabloid press in recent years and to often demonstrated how poorly understood these issues are by far to many people.
On a positive and more fitting note, somebody that did know her personally is the actor and comedian Russell Brand whose own website carried this thoughtful tribute from him, which I thought really worth repeating in full - When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. There will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they've had enough, that they're ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it's too late, she's gone.
Frustratingly it's not a call you can ever make it must be received. It is impossible to intervene.I've known Amy Winehouse for years. When I first met her around Camden she was just some twit in a pink satin jacket shuffling round bars with mutual friends, most of whom were in cool Indie bands or peripheral Camden figures Withnail-ing their way through life on impotent charisma. Carl Barrat told me that "Winehouse" (which I usually called her and got a kick out of cos it's kind of funny to call a girl by her surname) was a jazz singer, which struck me as a bizarrely anomalous in that crowd. To me with my limited musical knowledge this information placed Amy beyond an invisible boundary of relevance; "Jazz singer? She must be some kind of eccentric" I thought. I chatted to her anyway though, she was after all, a girl, and she was sweet and peculiar but most of all vulnerable.
I was myself at that time barely out of rehab and was thirstily seeking less complicated women so I barely reflected on the now glaringly obvious fact that Winehouse and I shared an affliction, the disease of addiction. All addicts, regardless of the substance or their social status share a consistent and obvious symptom; they're not quite present when you talk to them. They communicate to you through a barely discernible but un-ignorable veil. Whether a homeless smack head troubling you for 50p for a cup of tea or a coked-up, pinstriped exec foaming off about his "speedboat" there is a toxic aura that prevents connection. They have about them the air of elsewhere, that they're looking through you to somewhere else they'd rather be. And of course they are. The priority of any addict is to anaesthetise the pain of living to ease the passage of the day with some purchased relief.
From time to time I'd bump into Amy she had good banter so we could chat a bit and have a laugh, she was "a character" but that world was riddled with half cut, doped up chancers, I was one of them, even in early recovery I was kept afloat only by clinging to the bodies of strangers so Winehouse, but for her gentle quirks didn't especially register. Then she became massively famous and I was pleased to see her acknowledged but mostly baffled because I'd not experienced her work and this not being the 1950's I wondered how a "jazz singer" had achieved such cultural prominence. I wasn't curious enough to do anything so extreme as listen to her music or go to one of her gigs, I was becoming famous myself at the time and that was an all consuming experience. It was only by chance that I attended a Paul Weller gig at the Roundhouse that I ever saw her live.
I arrived late and as I made my way to the audience through the plastic smiles and plastic cups I heard the rolling, wondrous resonance of a female vocal. Entering the space I saw Amy on stage with Weller and his band; and then the awe. The awe that envelops when witnessing a genius. From her oddly dainty presence that voice, a voice that seemed not to come from her but from somewhere beyond even Billie and Ella, from the font of all greatness. A voice that was filled with such power and pain that it was at once entirely human yet laced with the divine. My ears, my mouth, my heart and mind all instantly opened. Winehouse. Winehouse? Winehouse! That twerp, all eyeliner and lager dithering up Chalk Farm Road under a back-combed barnet, the lips that I'd only seen clenching a fishwife fag and dribbling curses now a portal for this holy sound. So now I knew. She wasn't just some hapless wannabe, yet another pissed up nit who was never gonna make it, nor was she even a ten-a-penny-chanteuse enjoying her fifteen minutes. She was a f****** genius.
Shallow fool that I am I now regarded her in a different light, the light that blazed down from heaven when she sang. That lit her up now and a new phase in our friendship began. She came on a few of my TV and radio shows, I still saw her about but now attended to her with a little more interest. Publicly though, Amy increasingly became defined by her addiction. Our media though is more interested in tragedy than talent, so the ink began to defect from praising her gift to chronicling her downfall. The destructive personal relationships, the blood soaked ballet slippers, the aborted shows, that youtube madness with the baby mice. In the public perception this ephemeral tittle-tattle replaced her timeless talent. This and her manner in our occasional meetings brought home to me the severity
of her condition. Addiction is a serious disease; it will end with jail, mental institutions or death. I was 27 years old when through the friendship and help of Chip Somers of the treatment centre, Focus12 I found recovery, through Focus I was introduced to support fellowships for alcoholics and drug addicts which are very easy to find and open to anybody with a desire to stop drinking and without which I would not be alive.
Now Amy Winehouse is dead, like many others whose unnecessary deaths have been retrospectively romanticised, at 27 years old. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrelevant. It is not preventable today. We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease. Not all addicts have Amy's incredible talent. Or Kurt's or Jimi's or Janis's, some people just get the affliction. All we can do is adapt the way we view this condition, not as a crime or a romantic affectation but as a disease that will kill. We need to review the way society treats addicts, not as criminals but as sick people in need of care. We need to look at the way our government funds rehabilitation. It is cheaper to rehabilitate an addict than to send them to prison, so criminalisation doesn't even make economic sense. Not all of us know someone with the incredible talent that Amy had but we all know drunks and junkies and they all need help and the help is out there. All they have to do is pick up the phone and make the call. Or not. Either way, there will be a phone call.
Beehive Candy remembers Amy as fans of her music and concert performances. The following are all soundboard or FM/TV audio recordings.
Part One - Summer Sundae Festival, Leicester, 15th August 2004 (FM stereo mp3@217kbps).
01 Best Friend
02 Take The Box
03 Mr Magic
04 Stronger Than Me
05 Brother
06 In My Bed
07 You Sent Me Flying
08 Interview
Part Two - Live at Astoria, London, 19th February 2007 ( Soundboard stereo mp3@248kbps).
01. Cherry
02. Tears Dry On Their Own
03. Just Friends
04. Addicted
05. He Can Only Hold Her
06. I Heard Love Is Blind
07. Wake Up Alone
08. Back To Black
09. Me and Mr Jones
10. You Know Im No Good
11. Rehab
12. Love Is A Losing Game
13. Monkey Man
14. Valerie
Part Three - Live at Glastonbury 2008 (TV audio stereo rip mp3@200kbps).
1. Addicted
2. Tears Dry On Their Own
3. Back To Black
4. Love Is A Losing Game
5. Hey Little Rich Girl
6. A Message To You Rudy
7. You I'm No Good
8. Me & Mr Jones
9. Rehab
Many thanks to those who recorded and shared these memories.
This is the probably the earliest Ramones studio material in circulation. 'Judy's In The Basement' was released by Hit & Run Records originally as a 10inch vinyl record and made in East Berlin. The liner notes state that the songs were produced by Tommy Erdelyi recorded September 19th, 1975 at 914 Studios, Blauvelt, New York. CD versions have also circulated using the vinyl artwork.
From wikipedia - The original members of the band met in and around the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in the New York City borough of Queens. John Cummings and Thomas Erdelyi had both been in a high-school garage band from 1966 to 1967 known as the Tangerine Puppets. They became friends with Douglas Colvin, who had recently moved to the area from Germany. Jeffrey Hyman was the first lead singer of the glam rock band Sniper, founded in 1972. The Ramones began taking shape in early 1974, when Cummings and Colvin invited Hyman to join them in a band. The initial lineup featured Colvin on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Cummings on lead guitar, and Hyman on drums. Colvin, who soon switched from rhythm guitar to bass, was the first to adopt the name "Ramone", calling himself Dee Dee Ramone. He was inspired by Paul McCartney's use of the pseudonym Paul Ramon during his Silver Beatles days. Dee Dee convinced the other members to take on the name and came up with the idea of calling the band the Ramones. Hyman and Cummings became Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone, respectively.
A friend of the band, Monte A. Melnick (later their tour manager), helped to arrange rehearsal time for them at Manhattan's Performance Studios, where he worked. Johnny's former bandmate Erdelyi was set to become their manager. Soon after the band was formed, Dee Dee realized that he could not sing and play his bass guitar simultaneously; with Erdelyi's encouragement, Joey became the band's new lead singer. Dee Dee would continue, however, to count off each song's tempo with his signature rapid-fire shout of "1-2-3-4!" Joey soon similarly realized that he could not sing and play drums simultaneously and left the position of drummer. While auditioning prospective replacements, Erdelyi would often take to the drums and demonstrate how to play the songs. It became apparent that he was able to perform the group's music better than anyone else, and he joined the band as Tommy Ramone.
The Ramones played before an audience for the first time on March 30, 1974, at Performance Studios. The songs they played were very fast and very short; most clocked in at under two minutes. Around this time, a new music scene was emerging in New York centered around two clubs in downtown Manhattan—Max's Kansas City and, more famously, CBGB (usually referred to as CBGB's). The Ramones made their CBGB debut on August 16. Legs McNeil, who co-founded Punk magazine the following year, later described the impact of that performance: "They were all wearing these black leather jackets. And they counted off this song...and it was just this wall of noise.... They looked so striking. These guys were not hippies. This was something completely new."
The band swiftly became regulars at the club, playing there seventy-four times by the end of the year. After garnering considerable attention for their performances—which averaged about seventeen minutes from beginning to end—the group was signed to a recording contract in late 1975 by Seymour Stein of Sire Records. Stein's wife, Linda Stein, had seen the band play at CBGB's; she would later co-manage them along with Danny Fields. By this time, the Ramones were recognized as leaders of the new scene that was increasingly being referred to as "punk".
Source: Studio sessions
Sound Quality: Good stereo mix mp3@192kbps.
Genre: Punk, new wave.
Session List:
Side A
"I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement"
"53rd & 3rd"
Side B
"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend"
"Judy Is A Punk"
"Loudmouth"
This is Suzanne Vega recorded live in Albisguetli, Zurich, Switzerland on May 18th 1993. Following the concerts broadcast on FM radio, German bootlegger Arriba! released a CD version in 1994 (ARR 94.055) from which this version is sourced. Other version have also been in circulation most notably 100° Fahrenheit in Montreux and Dancing Girls however the audio rip for the Arriba! version appears to be regarded as the best.
Suzanne Vega was born July 11, 1959 in Santa Monica, California. Her mother, Pat Vega, is a computer systems analyst of German-Swedish heritage. Her father, Richard Peck, is of Scottish-English-Irish extraction. They divorced soon after her birth. Her stepfather, Ed Vega, also known as Edgardo Vega Yunque, was a writer and teacher from Puerto Rico. When Vega was two and a half, the family moved to New York City. She grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side. At the age of nine she began to write poetry; she wrote her first song at age fourteen. Later she attended New York's prestigious High School of Performing Arts (now called LaGuardia High School). There she studied modern dance and graduated in 1977.
While majoring in English literature at Barnard College, she performed in small venues in Greenwich Village, where she was a regular contributor to Jack Hardy's Monday night songwriters' group at the Cornelia Street Cafe and had some of her first songs published on Fast Folk anthology albums.[6] In 1984, she received a major label recording contract, making her one of the first Fast Folk artists to break out on a major label.
Her self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and was well-received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega's acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. A video was released for the album's song "Marlene on the Wall", which went into MTV and VH1's rotations. During this period Vega also wrote lyrics for two songs on Songs from Liquid Days by composer Philip Glass.
Her next effort, Solitude Standing (1987), garnered critical and commercial success including the hit single "Luka", an international success. "Luka" is written about, and from the point of view of, an abused child—at the time an uncommon subject for a pop hit. While continuing a focus on Vega's acoustic guitar, the music is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements. The a cappella "Tom's Diner" from this album was later a hit, remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA, in 1990. The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release through her record company, and it became her all-time biggest hit.
Source: Originally FM radio broadcast.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo variable approx mp3@192kbps.
Genre: Alternative rock, Folk rock.
Set: Full Set.
Set List:
01. Fat Man & Dancing Girl [0:04:41.86]
02. Rock in This Pocket [0:04:19.37]
03. Marlene on the Wall [0:04:45.66]
04. 99.9 Fahrenheit [0:03:39.96]
05. When Heroes go Down [0:02:23.86]
06. Small Blue Thing [0:05:34.24]
07. Tired of Sleeping [0:04:00.56]
08. Blood SIngs [0:03:32.33]
09. As a Child [0:03:34.53]
10. 'Child's Traditional' [0:02:26.84]
11. Neighbourhood Girls [0:03:25.86]
12. (If You Were) In My Movie [0:04:29.00]
13. Left of Centre [0:04:23.16]
14. Blood Makes Noise [0:03:55.97]
15. Liverpool [0:06:21.66]
16. Luka [0:03:57.00]
17. Men in a War [0:04:13.56]
18. Tom's Diner [0:03:04.10]
19. Room off the Street [0:03:01.22]
Background:There is a distinct difference between good and great. With stellar musical track records that include work on renowned studio projects, world tours, Broadway musicals, performances in top-notch clubs and festivals, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, TV and film soundtracks, and production on two Grammy nominated albums, it’s clear which side of the good/great split Liz Queler & Seth Farber are on This husband and wife duo are lifelong professional musicians who literally grew up in the business and are now sharing the same great tradition with their 12 year-old son Joey Farber, who is also a budding musical star in his own right.
Released back on April 8th, 2011, The Edna Project is an album of original music set to the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, and began with a book given to Liz by Seth’s mother a few years ago. While frustrated with a spell of writer’s block, Liz decided to pull the book down and compose to a poem, just as an exercise to get the creative matter moving. It clicked, really clicked for her, and before long she had ravenously consumed every word written by or about Edna. Deeply inspired, she and Seth set off on composing a full collection of songs set to Edna’s poetry. The Edna Project is musically rooted in Liz & Seth’s signature folk/rock/bluegrass sound, but also shows the playful tendencies of their jazz and blues backgrounds, and includes performances by fellow artists/friends Shawn Mullins (“Rock-a-bye”) and Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm). Joey also appears on vocals and percussion, making it a true family affair.
Liz & Seth are among the rare artists who have been fortunate enough to spend their entire lives in music. As children of musical parents, parents of a musical child, and individuals who are musicians through and through, sharing thoughtful and exceptional music with the world has been their breath in/breath out. It’s not surprising that music blossoms from their every pore, and it sure is good. For many years past, and many years to come, Liz & Seth will be doing the work they love and illustrating the difference between good and great.
2011Candy Says: A fine alt country, come folk feel to their music that is well worth a listen if you have just a passing interest in such musical styles. Great vocals and music. Listen:Rosemary. Web:Official.
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Background:Eastern Phoebes began as the home recording project of a Long Island, NY, couple: multi-instrumentalist/producer Ry Smith and holistic health guru Meg Bayley.
In January 2010, Ry started recording songs he had been writing in their loft apartment. He asked Meg to help sing and clap on a bunch of tunes, and the band was formed.
Eastern Phoebes released their self-titled five-track EP that summer a CD-R in a handmade cardboard envelope with artwork by Andy Drake. A second EP, “Rods of Energy,” was released digitally in December of the same year. Through the group’s alternative means of self-promotion (random endearing posts on Craigslist), the EP began to attract listeners both regionally and nationally. In February 2011, Ry and Meg recorded “Wampum,” their debut full-length. Written and recorded entirely within the month, the album was he band’s entry for the RPM Challenge. It was released on March 1st as a free digital download. Recently, Ry and Meg joined forces with two of their dearest friends, guitarist/bassist Rick Kattermann and drummer Frank Filipo, to create the performing version of Eastern Phoebes.
“Gypsy Paw” offers 5 sunny folk-pop tunes that are catchy and charming. Eastern Phoebes have a way of being touching and comical in the same breath.
2011Candy Says: Yep this is definitely sunny folk pop music that can only lift you up. Nice songs and singing for the summer. Listen:Old Toronto.Web:Official.
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Background:Jenn Bostic’s career as a singer and songwriter began when she was 10 years old, in the back seat of her father’s car with her older brother on the way to school. A horrific crash that killed her dad, a hobby musician who taught her folk songs like “Sunny Side of the Street,” and turned her on to Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt, changed the 25-year-old’s life forever.
“God must need another angel/Around the throne tonight,” she sings on “Jealous of the Angels,” a song on her second album, the follow-up to her promising debut, Keep Lookin for Love. “Your love lives on inside of me/And I will hold on tight.”
Born in Philadelphia, but raised in Waconia, Minnesota, a small town 30 miles west of Minneapolis, Jenn grew up singing with her family around the piano. Her father, a CEO of NordicTrack, played a variety of instruments, including accordion, while his daughter picked up a love of folk, blues, R&B, soul, show tunes and, eventually, country. Seeing her father die in front of her made her angry with God at first, but she later found an outlet for her sorrow in music and writing songs. Jenn went on to perform wherever she could, taking voice, piano and acting lessons, singing in choirs and school musicals. She would sit in with a local roots band, Traveled Ground, that consisted of teachers from her middle and high school, and once included her father on accordion.
2011Candy Says: Jenn delivers on both performance and songwriting. Well mixed songs with enough of her own individual style to carry things off in a crowded musical market place. Listen:Missin A Man. Web:Official.
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Background:Austyn Sullivan is a 20 year old self-titled ambient project currently residing in Baltimore, Maryland, originally from Mandeville, Louisiana. Sullivan experiments with murmured vocals beneath the surface accompanied by repetitious melodies which creates a wave of thought and emotion. Sullivan’s music makes for a perfect late night/pre-dawn listening.
Over the past year Sullivan has been prolifically creating music in all mediums from atmospheric piano to ambient full-band projects. Sullivan is currently working on a full length album titled Recollections Become Phantoms. It’s a highly textured album of concepts and ethereal sounds. Along side of his self-titled project, Sullivan occasionally works under the stage name Portraits of American Firing Squads and is currently playing drums for Dead Mellotron.
2011Candy Says: This is really well crafted music, that is part haunting and atmospheric however the rhythms really drive the piece along and the vocals are just right.
Background: Started as a solo project in 2000 by accordionist and drummer Jeremy Barnes (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel) and named after a line in Cervantes' Don Quixote, A Hawk and A Hacksaw became a duo in 2004 when Barnes met violinist Heather Trost. The pair began an adventure that took them to Zece Prajini, Romania and then to Budapest, Hungary where they lived for two years, staying with trumpeter Ferenc Kovacs who taught them much about Hungry and its music, when not hunting wild boars and making wine.
While there, they toured Europe with Kovacs and some of Hungary 's finest folk musicians. They have made countless U.S. & European tours on their own and with big names including Portishead, Calexico and fellow New Mexico resident Beirut (whose Gulag Orkestar album they were key collaborators on). Joined by an ever-evolving line-up of musicians, A Hawk and A Hacksaw seeks to create and document an ecstatic sound much like the village bands of old, with the communal aspect of folk tradition and musicianship the key factors.
2011Candy Says: This is really superb and fans of Beirut will I expect be intrigued to say the least. The featured track is only one dimension of their music. Miss this at your peril. Listen:Cervantine. Web:Official.
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Background: Acclaimed Australian acid-jazz / groove / funk band Directions In Groove (DIG) are back with the original DIG lineup - featuring keyboardist and vocalist Scott Saunders, saxophonist Rick Robertson, guitarist Tim Rollinson, bassist Alex Hewetson and drummer Terepai Richmond, alongside new guest vocalist Laura Stitt.
The band, which hailed from the suburbs of Sydney, honed their live set with a residency at Kinselas back in the early 90’s. They self-financed their first EP, which at the time was the highest selling release of it’s kind, and with an ever growing audience, set out to tour nationally. They released several distinctive acid-jazz / groove / funk albums through the 1990s, including the much lauded "Speakeasy" and "Deeper" which both went on to achieve double platinum status. Tracks such as "The Favourite", "Reinvent Yourself", and "Hip Replacement" were radio and television staples, the band garnering widespread critical acclaim, including this from Rolling Stone magazine: "DIG are the future of Australian music. They know what to do and how to do it."
With extensive JJJ airplay, great press support and consistent touring, dig crossed over into the mainstream with their mix of jazz/dance/old school funk and electronica, and evolved to incorporate new grooves, melding drum'n'bass and trip hop into the mix. They took their unique style across the globe, touring Asia, North America and Europe including the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Festival, and Phoenix Festival on the same stage as Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins and The Roots. Dig also played in the Acid Jazz scene supporting Us3, Galliano, The Groove Collective, Corduroy, The Young Disciples, appearing at club and festival shows with Norman Jay and Giles Peterson.
2011Candy Says: Loads of style and substance, if you like to groove then this is spot on. Listen:Clearlight. Web: Official.
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Background: From the mountains of central Pennsylvania comes Philip Masorti’s second record Another Year. The sound is American roots all the way as the storytelling blends with the local landscape in this thought-provoking record. “I’m walking down a dirty, dusty farm road…” Masorti sings in the title track and the record seems to be a journey through past and present. The journey does not last long however because Masorti can “get there in half the time” as the Great Indoorsman claims on track six. The record is equal parts satire and sentiment and has a surprising depth of feeling which will move the listener. While his first record Father’s Eyes reached #34 on the Americana Music chart and #20 on the College Jam Band radio chart, and drew comparisons to Warren Zevon and Leonard Cohen, the latest record further establishes Masorti as a solid songwriter -by night. By day, Masorti is a trial lawyer telling stories to a different audience. “Trying cases is an exciting experience” Masorti says when describing his chosen career and “I thoroughly enjoy the creative process, developing the facts, the theory, the argument.” The story telling aspect of songwriting seems to come natural to him perhaps as an extension of the day job. “There is no doubt that the practice influences the song. I hate to admit it but there are times when strong feelings seep into my music, particularly when a legal matter gets so ingrained that I cannot separate myself from it.” Masorti started writing songs in 2006 when his father passed away. “I started playing my guitar again and songs began to form as an expression of what I was going through. And I began to feel better. That was the purpose; to express myself and to feel better.”
After recording the first record in NYC with producer Delmar Brown (Sting, Miles Davis, Gil Evans) Masorti had long-time friend Mark Ross produce Another Year at a local studio in Stormstown, Pennsylvania. “Mark was the driving force behind Queen Bee and the Blue Hornet Band and I was a big fan of his creative energy. He’s all about the song and he has been awesome to work with.” The record has more of a roots/rock feel and, according to Masorti, he was again “fortunate to have musicians who added considerably to the mix.” Masorti’s sound is somewhere between Dire Straits and Johnny Cash. When asked about the comparisons Masorti takes it in stride “it’s very flattering to be compared to established artists and I think, creatively, we are moving in the right direction.”
The fan base is growing as reflected by attendance at the last few shows. Masorti hopes the new record will add an element of interest to his music and he looks forward to more live performances, “I am anxious for people to hear the new band.” Writing, rehearsing, and arranging the songs, then performing them live, it’s grueling but Masorti seems to enjoy it. “There are no short cuts. It’s going to take years of hard work to be the next overnight sensation,” Masorti jokes.
2011Candy Says: From the opening bars of this song I new I would enjoy and when Philip starts to sing it just gets even better! Listen:Fathers Eyes. Web:Official.
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Background: British Icon John Martyn's Legacy is Reimagined by Thirty Artists on Johnny Boy Would Love This...a Tribute to John Martyn. Among the contributors are David Gray, Paolo Nutini, Beck, Swell Season, and Robert Smith
In the late '60s, the late British guitarist and songwriter John Martyn broke ground by leaping from acoustic folk into highly successful experiments with tape delay, wild recording scenarios, and jazz-inspired arrangements. He became a cult figure among British musicians. A list of his admirers reads like a who's-who of rock, pop, and even trip hop: Eric Clapton, The Band's Levon Helm, Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Cure's Robert Smith, Beck, Morcheeba.
To honor his life, thirty artists reveal the full breadth of Martyn's creativity on Johnny Boy Would Love This...A Tribute to John Martyn (Hole in the Rain; August 16, 2011). The package will include a double CD digi-pak, 40-page booklet, and DVD that will feature interviews with a number of the contributing artists, performance videos, and rare live performances by John himself. Adding to this unique audio experience is the inclusion of John's actual guitar work on two of the tracks.
Musicians from several generations take on Martyn's intense, sometimes joyful and sometimes despairing, but always influential work. They come from the fertile acoustic fringes (Vetiver, Beth Orton) and from the heart of rock and pop (Robert Smith, Phil Collins). They are elders of blues (Clarence Fountain and Sam Butler of the Blind Boys of Alabama) and young up-and-comers (John Smith and Sabrina Dinan).
2011Candy Says: Plenty of fine folk putting their own interpretation on John Martyn's musical legacy. Robert Smith brings elements of The Cure to the featured track and is a taste of how Johns music can be reworked. Listen:Small Hours (Robert Smith). Web:Official.
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Background:Kevin Devine has a new full length album, 'Between the Concrete and Clouds', that will be released September 13th, 2011 via Razor & Tie / Favorite Gentlemen. Devine will head out this fall on a headlining tour with The Features as direct support on its first leg. The tour will kick off on September 6th in Pittsburgh, PA at Club AE and make stops nationwide, concluding in Upland, CA at The Wire.
Between The Concrete & Clouds is a record full of firsts for Devine, both sonically and technically. Perhaps best known for his solo acoustic musings, this is the first record he's made that is fully backed by a band. After settling back home in Brooklyn after being on tour for most of 2009 and '10, Devine spent time in his rehearsal space playing around with ideas on his own, bringing shape to the songs by recording them as acoustic demos, something he hasn't done since high school.
Produced by longtime collaborator Chris Bracco and mixed by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith, Dr. Dog), Between the Concrete & Clouds was recorded in 10 days over a span of a month. The 10 track album features musicians Brian Bonz (keyboard), Chris Bracco (bass, keyboard), Mike Fadem (drums, percussion), Russell Smith (electric guitar), and Mike Strandberg (guitar, mandolin). This is the first recording Devine's done with his version of this band, and it had an inspired impact on the final product.
2011Candy Says: Kevin has delivered a solid sounding album based on the strength of this song. It's the only track I have heard so far and a fine taster. Listen:Concrete and Clouds. Web:MySpace.
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Background: Putting all the pieces together. It's what Manchester's Blind Atlas excels at, and it's what makes their music so unique. They've assembled a band of multi-instrumentalists to synthesize disparate influences: The Rolling Stones to Townes Van Zandt right through to artists such as Calexico and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy to create a "melting pot of British and American Rock N' Roll." Even the band's name was a jigsaw puzzle assembled from distinct sources. "We just got together, got drunk and chopped up lots of words à la Bowie or William Burroughs," says singer Ross Thompson. "Then we just pulled them out of a hat and Blind Atlas was born."
Their latest EP, "Iron Wall," recorded with Christian Madden from the Earlies, at Modern English Studios, showcases the band's team writing style in the three tracks, which range in sound from the dark tribal title track, to the decidedly country "Mary Anne" to "My Proud Mountains", originally written and recorded by Townes Van Zandt, reinterpreted with sweet harmonies and delicate electric guitar. This last track has a special meaning for Thompson, a transplant to Manchester from Denver roots. "Iron Wall" will be released July 25th.
Hailing from Denver and disparate points around the U.K., Blind Atlas came together in the bohemian suburbs of south Manchester, united by a shared preoccupation with drinking, failed relationships and the Flying Burrito Brothers. They've received airplay on BBC Radio 2's Whispering Bob Harris and BBC6 Music. They have also notched up headline slots at some of Manchester's most iconic venues, as well as supporting the likes of Lucy Wainwright Roche, The Deadstring Brothers, The Features, The Acorn, The Travelling Band, Blitzen Trapper, Buffalo Tom and The Bees.
2011Candy Says: A fine song to finish this round up with. Great harmonies and musicianship. Superb! Listen: Mary Anne. Web:Official.
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This is a collection of demo recordings from the Manic Street Preachers, recorded between 1985 and 1990 (it is more likely that the earliest material was actually recorded in 1986). A reasonable amount of this was probably recorded before Richey Edwards became a member of the band. An early version of their debut single (plus B side is included). Of the rest some made it on to B sides of single releases, some would eventually morph into tracks for the first album and some remained just as demos.
