Ryan's Smashing Life

Cameron Keiber - Nurser

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 09:23:00 +0000

Just Perfect - Boston songwriter Cameron Keiber (Midriff Records) this week shares a new 11-song album, Nurser (March 14) a collection of beautiful melancholia you should get your hands on. These songs of relatable criticism and personal truths drop in a time of turmoil and this album could be the perfect escape.

Nurser is a nature progression for the artist - a continuation of Keiber’s prior catalog. The songs dish whimsically on the memories of childhood, the disillusionment with establishment and religion and disappointment in icons and traditions. Keiber's jarring narration is an instrument upon itself - a trademark he has carried throughout his career.

As a founding member of Northeast live stage legends The Beatings, a punchy, noise pop band celebrated internationally, sharing stages over the years with The National, The Hold Steady, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among many others. That dark sound emblematic of The Beatings was made more personal on Keiber's solo efforts. And until this record, those records were released under the dark pseudonym Eldridge Rodriguez – a stage name Keiber has stepped away from for this first release baring his own name.

Cameron Keiber has been operating Midriff Records with his brother Clayton out of Boston and Brooklyn for the last 25 years. The label acting, through that time, as a springboard for the musical careers of many.

Nurser features Keiber in nearly every capacity; vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica, bow, theremin, keyboards, piano, percussion, noise, and programming. Additional guitar and programming were provided by Beatings bandmate David Grabowski at Bluestone Studio with additional piano by Mel Lederman. Lederman, a fellow Midriff artist, has appeared on Keiber's prior albums as well. Produced and recorded by Keiber and Grabowski, Nurser was mastered by Jeff Lipton and Costanza Tinti at Peerless in Newton. This is inspired stuff I will never tire of.

Nurser is highly recommended music for the fans of Pavement, David Berman, Neil Young and John Cale.

CAMERON KEIBER - NURSER
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Magic Man returns to Boston with his Film in hand

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 11:15:00 +0000

GOING OUT - David Messier is a very serious man about his music. The native Bostonian returns this week to debut his most ambitious film and music creation to date on Thursday. Presenting under the creative moniker David Starbuckle, the first Boston showing of a wild and inspiring new film/visual album, “Bang! It’s David Starbuckle: The Movie,” is happening Thursday, October 24th, at The Coolidge Corner Theater (located at 290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA at 7:30pm. It's a film about life and the making of an album. The record, Bang! It's David Starbuckle, is a really clean full sounding record capable of opening eyes and soothing wild beasts. The film looks to turn some of these sounds on their head. I for one, cannot wait! Tickets for tomorrow's show are available online.

Is ambitious a strong enough word? This is a gonzo project and my hat is sincerely off to the talented Mr. Messier. He tackles humor, culture via the film medium and has one heck of a band bringing that music to life. The album features a number of long time collaborators. Dave Madden served as musical director, string arranger, keys, background vocals and bass, Scott Clark on guitar and background vocals, Matt Giles on guitar, Chris “Spanky” Alexander on bass, Eldridge Goins on drums and background vocals, Warren Hood on fiddle, John Mills on saxophone, Kevin Flatt on trumpet and flugelhorn, Mike Mordecai on trombone, Noelle Hampton, BettySoo, and Ange Kogutz on background vocals, Leigh Wallenhaupt and Abi Shiman on violin, Luis Bellorin on viola and Rylie Harrodon on cello.

Who the heck is this David Messier guy anyway? So glad you asked. David is a longtime friend and kindred spirit. The multi-instrumentalist and songwriter is the former frontman of Boston's Papermoon, and having relocated to Austin - he's become an influential studio owner and a pillar of the music community in ATX. songwriter, artist and owner of Same Sky Productions, Inc., a 3,000 sq ft recording studio in Austin, TX. David is a studio hound and he's helped a lot of people in the industry along the way. He surrounds himself with good people and he's successful; having held leadership positions in the Recording Academy (GRAMMYS) as a Governor and President of the Texas Chapter and as a national Trustee. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, Messier spearheaded the national charge to create actionable guidelines for recording studios to open and record safely. These guidelines were adopted and shared by the Recording Academy, and have been applauded by Pitchfork and Billboard Magazine.

After nearly a decade of work in the industry and producing music for others, Messier started releasing solo albums in 2016 with his debut, “Waiting for Eldridge” on Fable Records to critical acclaim.

Messier has been recognized with numerous accolades for his musical accomplishments and contributions to the local industry. Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared June 8, 2017 as “David Messier Day,” and he was awarded with the prestigious “Austin Under 40 Award” in the “Arts and Entertainment” category in 2018. That same year Messier released his follow up solo album, “Time Bomb,” to national recognition. With "It's Alive," an earlier music video, demonstrated his ability to pair great tunes with comedic value videos. He seems to have turned things up 5 Fold with Bang! being his most realized vision of work to date!

David is in Boston currently and will be there to greet attendees and discuss the film, album and music videos on Thursday.

DAVID STARBUCKLE
Tickets / Linkages / David Messier

it's New Wings for Mynabirds!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 14:43:00 +0000

Today the sun is shining and I can recognize the good in each person's heart. You have to get up and sing when when one of our favorites artists reappear. Mynabirds, the creative outlet used by songwriter Laura Burhenn, has hit all the right notes for me - straight from the very beginning. Today's spotlight celebrates her butterfly wings being used once again!

Mynabirds will "play living rooms, community spaces, small bars/venues, back yards, farm fields, or any special intimate spot (with power) we can commune together in this October and November." Burhenn made the announcement via socials this week. I'm hoping dates are secured and more added.

Memories - I was just discovering tunes in the Washington D.C. music community when Burhenn's first act: Georgie James roared up, seemingly out of nowhere, releasing a dynamo of an indie pop record; Places, on Saddle Creek in 2007. Melodic and punchy, riffy and sweet.. This was music blog candy. This was a a one-and-done for Georgie James; with Burhenn (classically trained) and co-creator John Davis (punk rock) parted ways thereafter with Burhenn entering the studio with producer/musician Richard Swift and her new sound was born - as Mynabirds.

Saddle Creek would play home to 4 Mynabird album releases but what I remember most were the live shows for those album tours. At the time I was listening to typically much more jangly, hard indie rock - and Mynabirds was melodic, atmospheric, moving and beautiful. Thus Burhenn became one of the musical pins on my 'listening map' and > fast-forward: it's magic that she's making every attempt to reconnect with her audience and we should all encourage this type of behavior.

MYNABIRDS Laura Burhenn · What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood

"It took me 5 years of silence to remember why I sing: music is my medicine, our medicine. In this fraught and fragile time. "I can think of nothing better than coming together in community and letting the music hold us."

Burhenn and Mynabirds in Austin at SXSW 2010.

Photo by 5342 Studies for rslblog.com

LIVE DATES (Venues TBA)

Sept 28 : Santa Monica / W Los Angeles CA

Oct 02 : Ojai / Santa Barbara CA

Oct 08 : Mendocino / Albion CA

Oct 11 : Seattle WA Oct

12 : Portland OR

Oct 14 : Boise ID

Oct 15 : Salt Lake City UT

Oct 17 : Denver / Boulder CO

Oct 19 : Omaha NE

Oct 23 : Minneapolis MN

Oct 26 : Detroit MI

Oct 28 : Buffalo / Rochester NY

Oct 31 : Catskill / New Platz NY

Nov 01 : Brooklyn / Manhattan NYC

MYNABIRDS
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Healing Music ~ Sarah Blacker

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 22:26:00 +0000

There's really nothing that New England songwriter Sarah Blacker cannot do. With more than an album’s worth of new material, the award-winning multi-instrumentalist is back in a big way in 2023, armed with new songs, plans to record and will be performing them for live audiences. Get ready for three minutes of realization! Sarah's "Beautiful Murderer" is a playful but real look at cause, effect and change. This home studio recording is a taste of what is to come and a refreshing promise of that which is to come.

Sarah is a healer. Her titles, technically, are Psychotherapist and Board-Certified Music Therapist; roles which see her helping those suffering lifelong trauma and substance abuse - reaching them through music and helping them lead healthier and happier lives. And there were her own challenges, a car wreck meant some healing of the healer. "It was, a total car wreck," she recalls. The path out has been driven by music. Gorgeous ascending songs which she is ready to share with the world. "I have been writing lots with plans to do some studio recording this year, have joined with original members of jamband Percy Hill in the Ammonium Maze, and have been playing lots with my trio!"

Saturday Feb 4, 2023

Sarah Blacker Band
at Club Passim
47 Palmer St
Cambridge, MA
7pm doors / 8pm show

Name 'Female Performer of the Year' in the New England Music Awards, a Boston-Music Award nominee and CBS Boston 'Artist to Watch', Blacker has also supported Jefferson Starship, America, Paula Cole, Richard Thompson, Zack Deputy, and Sara Bareilles to name just a few.

SARAH BLACKER
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2023 is the Perfect Time for Bang Camaro to return with new music!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:22:00 +0000

In the days before the pandemic end times, back through the seemingly never-ending, greed-fueled US political decay, we travel back mentally to a time of light filled with hope and entertainment most wild. It is now 2023 and we find ourselves mugged by our own fears, crippled by virus and weakened by wars. We travel back to the mid-2000s when Boston was a place where rock music was made and exported throughout the world. And in these brighter times, there were nights that never seemed to end and glorious, rock-filled epiphanies which ran through our ears like blood rushing off to some distant limb. We were going to live forever! The knights of this shining realm were a band of far-flung brothers who sought to create and spread joy. This is the story of Bang Camaro and - praise be, they have returned to us - today, in our greatest hour of need... It is 2023 and they have returned.

III, the new album from gang vocal rockers Bang Camaro will see the light of day in 2023.

About the Video: Directed by Bill Darmon and Rob McLain, "We Know You Know" will appear on the album 'BANG CAMARO: III'. Recorded and mixed by Mike Quinn and mastered by Pat DiCenso, the track features Mike Piehl (drums), Dave Riley (bass guitar and synth), Bryn Bennett and Alejandro Necochea (guitars). Bang Camaro is all about the gang vocals and this track is no different, featuring the above forementioned as well as appearances from John Brookhouse, Morgan Brown, Melissa Gibbs, Nick Given, Jared Marsh, Tad McKitterick, Kate Murdoch, Mike Nastri, Michelle Paulhus, Marc Pinansky, Mike Soltoff, Steve Trombley, and Rodrigo van Stoli - a virtual who's who of northeast rock talent. Who's getting excited? I'm getting excited.

Cue the Press Release: With face-melting guitar solos and a wall of gang vocals, Bang Camaro blasted onto the Boston music scene in 2005 as a reaction to the early aughts nostalgia for post-punk / new wave music. If bands like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol were going to wax nostalgic about bands like Joy Division, Bang Camaro was spawned to fill the void left by groups like Def Leppard and Skid Row. Quickly boosted by their inimitable performances - complete with approximately 20 lead vocalists to bring their signature sound to life without backing tracks, leading to one apt description of their sound as “Headbangers Ball meets The Polyphonic Spree” - and inclusion in the widely popular rhythm games Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Bang Camaro hit the road. They toured the US and Canada for five straight years, appearing at festivals such as Lollapalooza and Summerfest. The relentless touring, coupled with the releases of their debut self-titled album in 2007 and 2009’s follow-up, Bang Camaro II, and appearances on national television shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and MTV Spring Break, continued to attract fans, including stars Jimmy Fallon (who joined them on stage for a legendary performance at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom) and James Gunn."

BANG CAMARO
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta / Spotify

Albums of the Year 2022

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 19:37:00 +0000

As the world crawls out and back under the burdens of Covid and War, how will you choose to recall 2022? Living and working largely alone in 2022, Song was my constant companion. I delved more deeply into the worlds of Indie Rock, Japanese Jazz and Brazilian Soul. And, of course, all those new records which keep calendar-turning worthwhile. This was a year shaped by incredible loss and moments of white hot triumph. Here is a music playlist to enjoy. These new albums helped fill the void and helped me shape my world in 2022.

Record of the Year 2022 - A

Austin's Spoon walked into the world early this year - a strong Best of candidate out of the gates. Riding high tailwinds from 2017's remarkable scorcher "Hot Thoughts" and 2014's near-perfect "They Want My Soul" this was Spoon's crown to lose - and they never did. Britt Daniels was the plaintive 22nd Century voice of my 2022 spirit guide. And the jangly guitar and irregular song structures of these pop rock juggernauts never saw defeat. There's something to be said for the team viewed as the best and defy every other squad's best shots all year. If you are long-term Spoon fan then you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're not and you have an open mind "Lucifer On The Sofa" is an excellent entry point into a tremendous band's career. I recommend the last three records to start. Give yourself that compass and locate your way out of your forest. {albums available + Streaming}

Record of the Year 2022 - B

2022 was the year in which Kevin Morby ceased to be be just a poet and playful storyteller and crossed over into greatness. Anyone who has enjoyed Kevin's songs will tell you they have all enjoyed getting lost in his landscapes but the pieces of those worlds were never brought together so completely and sharply as they were with "This is A Photograph." Kevin Morby plays with words and is a hell of song constructer but on this effort he has sown Beck-level word imagery throughout his expansive audio backdrop. This is the perfect record to hit repeat and walk through the woods with. The record unfolds upon itself more and more with each listen and despite a ridiculous set of creative challenges from it's peers - Kevin Morby's This Is A Photograph found it's way at the very top of the pile for me in 2022. An excellent, well-earned Best of 2022 Selection! {albums available + Streaming}

New England Album of the Year

There is a before-you-have-discovered Ali McGuirk status you need to rid yourselves of and I want to help some of our global readers with. Ali and I have some mutual friends and I recall a time a few years back when I was able to get a good seat at her show. From that point on I was mesmerized by her live performance. Her voice has an impossible richness and texture and she is so casually graceful when performing she sort of glows on stage. (I kid you not.) With her new Must-Have album, "Til It's Gone," McGuirk has stood up and seized her worthy place amongst the best creators of this young decade - as her song writing and the characters living in her songs now match or exceed that magical voice. I have spent a lot of quality time with this record and it's the best thing I heard from New England all year. {albums available + Streaming}

photo by Artrocity

These 22 Albums made My Year

Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa -

Kevin Morby - This Is A Photograph

*Records of the Year*

Ali McGuirk - Til It's Gone -

*New England Album of the Year*

First Aid Kit - Palomino

{multiple formats + Streaming}

Murder By Death - Spell/Bound

{available Vinyl, CD + Streaming}

Filligar - Future Self {spotlight link}

{available + Streaming}

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Cold As Weiss

{Vinyl + Streaming}

Paul Cauthen - Country Coming Down

{available here and here + Streaming}

Dehd - Blue Skies

{available here and here + Streaming}

Izaak Opatz - Extra Medium

{available here and here + Streaming}

Bastards of Soul - Corners

{Vinyl here + Streaming}

Alvvays - Blue Rev

{available here and here + Streaming}

Widowspeak - The Jacket

{Bandcamp + Streaming}

St. Paul & The Broken Bones - The Alien Coast

{get your copy + Streaming}

Jack White - Fear The Dawn

{Third Man Store + Streaming}

American Aquarium - Chicamacomico

{available here and here + Streaming}

Eddie Vedder - Earthling

{the Pearl Jam store + Streaming}

Wet Leg - Wet Leg

{Domino Music store + Streaming}

Leo Nocentelli - Another Side

{availability: Vinyl, CD and Streaming}

Zola Simone - Flower (EP)

{available CD or Streaming}

Tall Heights - Juniors

{availability - Vinyl, CD and Streaming}

Ottawa's Hannah Judge is fanclubwallet

fanclubwallet - You Have To Be Kidding

{availability: CD or Streaming}

A MOST RIGHTEOUS

BEST OF 2022

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

LIES HERE

More Best of 2022 Selections! Significant Love for:
Sharon Van Etten - We've Been Going About This All Wrong
King Princess - Hold On Baby
Guided By Voices - Crystal Nuns Cathedral

Bird Language - 625 Days {artist spotlight}
Rayland Baxter - If I Were a Butterfly
Daphne Parker Powell - The Starter Wife
Matt York - Gently Used
Lola Marsh - Shot Shot Cherry
Band of Horses - Things Are Great
Big Thief - Dragon New Mountain I Believe In You
Erica Mantone - I May Have Asked For This
Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony

Weyes Blood - And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Last Chance - Last Chance {interview link}

Senseless Optimism - It Gets Better (EP)
Lake Street Dive - Fun Machine: The Sequel
GA-20 - Crackdown
Hush Club - Fingerprints & Stains
Totem - The Power To Forgive
Fantastic Cat - Fantastic Cat
Cordelia - How it Began

The 40 Greatest Pearl Jam Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 13:53:00 +0000

Celebrating the band's catalog on Eddie Vedder's birthday (12/23/64)

Black
I Got ID
State of Love and Trust
Not For You
Alive
I Am Mine
Just Breathe
Yellow Ledbetter
Given To Fly
Crazy Mary
Dissident
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in a Small Town
Corduroy
Why Go
Rearviewwindow
Release
Off He Goes
Immortality
Nothingman
Glorified G
Even Flow
Jeremy
Daughter
Retrograde
Love Reign O'er Me (The Who)
Wishlist
Sirens
Indifference
Better Man
Porch
Superblood Wolfmoon
Smile
Swallowed Whole
In Hiding

Footsteps
Comes Then Goes
Santa Cruz
Seven O'Clock
Dance of the Clairvoyants

PEARL JAM

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The Last Chance Interview with Dave Baron

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:22:00 +0000

Rising from the dust of the pre-pandemic world, the debut record from Last Chance (Brooklyn, NY) has dropped and is proving to be one of my guilty listening pleasures this year. A guitar garage classic out of the gates, this bold little record gets set on repeat regularly and rolls on cleaning days and long drives into the office. Curious to find out more, I reached out to Dave Baron, guitarist/songwriter/producer for Last Chance in an attempt to learn more about the record and the band. Baron, formally of the celebrated rock band Feints, is someone I was excited to hear making records again. His trademark riffs and guitar arrangements are one of the reasons why the red-hot Feints burned so bright.

Last Chance is Jordan Cannata, Frankie Rage, Rob Phillips and Dave Baron.

RYAN (RSL): “Dave – congratulations on Last Chance! And thanks for making time for an interview about the new album. I have this idea of you knocking around the house unable to sit still. Eventually songs with big guitar solo epiphanies exploded out! How right am I?”

DAVE BARON: "Thank you! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the album. As far as not being able to sit still, I actually did sit still (musically) for quite a while after Feints went on permanent hiatus in 2015. That band was a hard act to follow. It was the bombastic, no-limits, BIG ROCK band of my dreams. When we stopped, it was very hard for me to figure out what to do next musically. It was no sure thing that I’d ever do any music project or recording again. What I did mostly after Feints was practice – trying to improve my guitar game and musicianship. And while doing that is rewarding on a personal level, without any practical application of playing live or recording, it’s all rather academic. I felt like: OK, I’m a bit better now. So what? When I moved from Boston to Brooklyn, I started looking for new musical possibilities. I went to some jams. I auditioned for some bands, but nothing felt right."

Baron posted a guitarist-available ad online which resulted in Last Chance singer Frankie Rage knocking on his door. It was the beginning of great things.

"Frankie’s an original, NYC punk rock guy, and I’m a heavy rock/metal guy, but once we started talking, we clicked immediately, both musically and personally. And though I knew the music we’d create together would be quite different from Feints, it was still very much riffy rock – something I felt could sink my teeth into, that could be really special, and very cool.

Guitar Ace Dave Baron

"Guitar solos are always going to be a part of how I express myself in any music I make. I enjoy creating that song-within-a-song aspect in my music."

RSL: “Last Chance also features your Feints bandmate Rob Phillips. And the two of you are credited with its Production and Mastering. What has it been like working with Rob again? How different was the creativity process for you this time around?”

DAVE BARON: "Rob is my musical brother, and I have enormous respect for him. We have a great musical rapport, both as players and as producers. We produced all of the Feints music together, and I told Frankie from the jump that we should bring Rob in to co-produce the Last Chance album. Frankie loved the Feints stuff, so bringing in Rob to co-produce wasn’t a hard sell.

Phillips & Baron celebrate in studio

I would have brought Rob in on bass originally, too, but when we first started, Frankie said, “I already have the bassist – a guy I’ve known for years.” Long story, short: Frankie’s bassist didn’t work out, and neither did a half a dozen drummers – for very common, lunkhead-musician reasons. But when all of that imploded, I said to Frankie, “Look, let’s just bring Rob in on bass (as well as production). He’s a great musician who plays bass, keys, guitar, and produces. He’ll be our John Paul Jones. There won’t be any drama because he and I already work really well together, and you’ll like him, too.” Again. It didn’t take much to sell Frankie on Rob. The evidence of Rob’s bass prowess was also all over the Feints tracks.

"As far as the creative process goes, it was very familiar territory working with Rob, but I have to say, in the time between Feints and Last Chance, Rob – who’s a good deal younger than both Frankie and I – matured a lot. In the past, Rob was less willing to push himself, but we did a lot of marathon production sessions (sometimes 12 hours) to finish the Last Chance album. He would have balked at that in the Feints days. He definitely stepped it up. And I think that one of the reasons why we work well together is that as producers, I tend to lean bold. That old, I want everything louder than everything else. Whereas Rob tends to lean conservative. So when we meet somewhere in the middle, it’s usually the right balance. And when Rob’s on bass, he’s competing with my guitars which are always a roaring T-Rex, and Jordan who’s a fucking monster on drums. We needed Rob to embrace his inner rock star and vie for equal attention, on bass as well. He stepped up there, too."

RSL: “I cannot help but notice that buried amidst the fury of drums and guitar ‘Last Chance’ the album has some songs with darker meaning. Was that intentional or incidental? How close is this album and its pieces from your original concept?”

DAVE BARON: "Yeah. It’s a dark album, no doubt. "Anything but That" is a very literal song about the pain of losing my father – horribly – to Alzheimers in 2021. It doesn’t get much darker than that. The album was largely written under COVID lockdown. A dark time for everyone, and certainly for me. Conceptually, we really didn’t set out to do anything specific – dark or otherwise. Frankie had some rough song ideas demoed that pre-dated our working together (Gotcha Back, Tattoo, Human Eyes, Kamikaze). We hammered those ideas into fully-fledged songs. As those songs solidified, we usually had to re-work the lyrics to fit the new arrangements. But on Frankie’s ideas, we tried to retain at least some of the original lyrical concepts. So, for example, Kamikaze started off being about self-destructive behavior, but it ended up being more."

RSL: “Can you walk us through Kamikaze? Was the creative process for the song?”

DAVE BARON: "Kamikaze was a Frankie idea that was originally just a series of ideas wrapped into one demo. It had like four bridges (I think they were bridges). Anyway, lots of extra parts that didn’t fit the song. What you hear in our version strips out all the excess and uses just the best bits, re-arranged. And it was a difficult song to piece together. Frankie and I reworked the lyrics to the new arrangement together. It started off being about one guy’s self-destructive behavior, but soon, I found myself wanting to inject the duality of the Japanese Kamikaze pilot experience into the lyrics, and then into the sound. Frankie and I are both into WWII history, and it seemed like a cool idea. IMO, the duality works. For example, Big flaming Zero, could be a self-deprecating euphemism (as in, I’m a zero of a human being). Or it could be the duality of slamming an aircraft into a ship. I also knew I could work the sonics of that topic into the song in a fun way.

"There were times Frankie was unsure whether we should pursue Kamikaze, but the chorus was so damn catchy, I knew we had something. So I kept saying, “yeah, it’s going to work, and it’s going to be great,” I just didn’t know how it would work until later.

"Kamikaze didn’t really come together until Jordan laid down his AMAZING drum groove for the song. Once he cut the drums, I got super excited about Kamikaze, and I knew that it was going to be epic! Once we had those drums, I knew what to do on the guitars, and more importantly, it gave Rob a direction for that totally sick bass part he came up with! The ending of the song is my recreation of a 1940s south Pacific carrier battle on guitar. Very fun! Great closer for the album.

LINK: LAST CHANCE

New Songs signal a triumphant 625 Days for Bird Language

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 18:42:00 +0000

The sun rises on First Date, the new single from Bird Language. The second recent drop from the Boston five-some's upcoming full length debut, 625 Days, this song is particularly strong; offering standout atmospheric rock and space between the notes. This from a band which has become as well known for their diverse styles as their (sometimes) raucous live performances. The new track concerns the observations of a spectator to a new couple's first date - something of a sociological study amid song.

“It's the story of a first date at my favorite Somerville bar, Highland Kitchen,” says Bird Language vocalist, keyboardist, and lyricist Jeff Nicolai. "I was there one night and it seemed like every couple at the bar was on a first date. One looked like they were having trouble staying focused on each other, but trying really hard. The other seemed to have one person who was clearly talking way too much.”

Taking chances may be the theme of the song but it isn't the story of this band. After some chance jam sessions a few years ago, things really started to emerge. And just then COVID landed and disrupted the whole world. In this case it may have presented the group with real opportunity. Constructing a full album from the ground up, periodically meeting when safe to record in pockets as allowed by disparate lives. The new full length album, 625 Days, will be out later this Spring.

Pat Piaskecki photo

“For me what makes a song good is the emotions you feel hearing different chords and notes,” says Simmons. “Those choices can transport the listener to a new place. I want the listener to feel what I felt writing it,” says Simmons. "“It’s not always easy to leave empty space sonically with a five-piece band; everyone wants to be heard, but I think we do a decent job holding back our play for the betterment of the song.”

BIRD LANGUAGE
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Talking To Myself from The Linda Lindas

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 19:42:00 +0000

All girl punk band The Linda Lindas are the toast of the metaphorical town these days. As we await their full length debut Growing Up (Epitaph), they have released a fun black and white video for "Talking To Myself" directed by Ryan Baxley. In creepy black and white glory, the video is a homage to a classic 1963 episode of the Twilight Zone called Living Doll. Evidently everything does come back again someday..

TOUR DATES:
Apr 1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern # - SOLD OUT
Apr 2 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern # - SOLD OUT
Apr 3 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern #
Apr 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour - SOLD OUT
Apr 27 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza # - SOLD OUT
Apr 28 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza # - SOLD OUT
Apr 29 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza # - SOLD OUT
Apr 30 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza # - SOLD OUT
May 1 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge - SOLD OUT
July 2 - Oakland, CA - Mosswood Meltdown
Aug 20 - Tokyo, JP - Summer Sonic
Aug 21 - Osaka, JP - Summer Sonic
Oct 22 & 29 - Las Vegas, NV - When We Were Young Festival
# w/ Jawbreaker

The Linda Lindas
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Future Self - the new songbook from Filligar

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:57:00 +0000

The Force of the Feeling, the first track of Filligar's new Future Self, comes off a bit like a rediscovery. These are young men with experienced souls - and like all of us they are getting back to life after hiatuses and side-journeys. The "Force" is a perfect opener for an album full of disparate stories.

As I listen, I picture the first scenes of Indiana Jones where the weary adventurer finds the vine-covered steps to the long-abandoned stone temple obscured by trees and an impossible canopy of time. The album begins with soft, plodding drum beats, a bit of suppressed, jangly guitar and punctuated by piano. This gives rise to a slow number subdued but swanky and while new, it feels familiar. Singer Johnny Mathias leads us into the temple and his words, "Time goes by, and by and by.." set the tone. What follows is the most adventuresome record of the band's near-16 years of existence and it marks a new beginning.

"Welcome Back, welcome back - to the beginning" starts 17th Hour - an ebullient dervish of a track, a song with an entirely different instrumentation backdrop which signals a new start. This is a repeating theme on this album and it truly works. And then At Sea starts to roll;

From here on in, the band enter uncharted territory. The record feels like a convergence of several tales set adrift and bound together like a storybook. The common thread is cinematic, fearless presentation.

MARCH 2022 ALBUM OF THE MONTH - Future Self was a delight right out of the box. I was pleased to find the band didn't re-enter the studio and attempt to make a record they could sell. This is a hodge-podge of themes - and here it really works. This record is a healthy new start for a band who has effortlessly executed in the past.

For fans of Dawes, Kasabian and Keane. The album is both exciting and new but it isn't a complete departure. Filligar still produces hooky beats and feel good anthems but those tracks are now fully representative of the band and it's members. Casey Gibson's award-nominations for his solo piano debut, and the band's previous efforts Hexagon and Keepsakes of the Interior are all points in the rearview mirror at this point. But this is their history and their road. Somehow Future Self is both more free and fluid yet more mature.

So much has changed for fans of Filligar yet this band's endless pursuit of purpose through music and the vitality of their work product are still trademark and palpable. Future Self is proof that an already great band can work on itself, find new ways to execute and thrive.

FILLIGAR
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

Jailed Music Blogger Unveils Best of 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 18:33:00 +0000

Music Writer faces significant charges, currently out on bail

You know what I haven't done much of in the last year? I haven't published anything here despite writing tomes of e-pages on my laptop and tablet. And the mental scraps; the cerebral note-to-selfs I've scratched across the back of my eyeballs? I've written dictionaries worth of meaningful starts to things which have remained unshared. That's about to change.

New York's Lightning Bug quietly produced the emotively charged record of 2021.

So while I haven't been sharing - I have listened to a whole lot of music. After skipping out on public life during the pandemic I have found that now, more than ever - music is my safe passage, my touchstone, my constant in this existence. I've been listening to a lot of classic rock, indie, folk and hip hop. (And buried between those interludes fell came sessions of Jazz and Soul.) 2020 and 2021 have been about identifying space and universe through music.

Today's post, months in the making, is a synopsis of my favorite albums of 2021 and rather than explode a massive list (a top 50 or 100), I'm keeping this is list direct and digestible. You won't see a lot of repetition in the published critical lists from last December. (Commercial and popular. Who needs that kind of repetition? What would the point be really in And what would the point be (really) of that?) What is shared reveals as much about me as a listener and a fan as it does about the music itself. Playlist with audio samples at the end of the post.

LIGHTNING BUG - A COLOR OF THE SKY

My album of the year was released by New York's Lightning Bug (Audrey Kang, Logan Miley and Kevin Copeland). It's their third full-length career but the first of theirs that has wholly hit the mark for me in nearly every way. I wasn't alone. Fat Possum Records signed the act to contract after pressing their vinyl for them. The results on this new album are chilling; the songs come off as a day spent in a sun-drunk field surrounded by the sailing fluff from pussy-willow. A Color of the Sky is an emotive spell which latched on to me hard. The vinyl runs cut by Fat Possum have dried up and you'll find some new ones available in their store.

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER - QUIETLY BLOWING IT

So believe me when I tell you that the future is female but the storyteller who gets us there is probably Hiss Golden Messenger. HGM is the nom de plume (and what a name it is) for North Carolina songwriter/creator M.C. Taylor who I have had great fortune to see perform a handful of times in intimate rooms. He's a gregarious storyteller and a thermometer of sorts for the industry and all things modern folk/Americana. Messenger's path to Quietly Blowing It was unlikely as was his survival. These are songs about good fortune, fate and learning to appreciate the good things as we can see they won't last for long. Probably the album I listened to most this year, Hiss Golden Messenger has become one of the Jiminy Crickets in my head. Welcome dude. Coincidentally it looks like the original vinyl pressing of Quietly Blowing It has sold out. The new cover features an upside down flag. It's the original cover as Taylor tells it. He's got stories for days.

TRISTEN - AQUATIC FLOWERS

If it sounds like Tristen Gaspardarek's stellar indie pop/rock album 'Aquatic Flowers' aren't the result of the same pandemic and quarantine the rest of us where living through, that's probably because it's true. This is a fun, ebullient and challenging fast paced romp - truly one of the better feel good/defiant records of the entire two-plus year pandemic. Gaspardarek, who goes merely by her first name Tristen on stage, gave birth to her first child in between her records and found herself in a creative isolation long before COVID-19 descended upon the world. The Nashville-area songstress has always been of interest but on Aquatic Flowers she really shines. With collaboration with her husband (and co-producer) Buddy Hughen, Tristen formed a creative cell that started long before the storm and has carried the small clan through the dirt. I literally cannot wait for what comes back. This album (along with everything on this short list) should belong in your collection.

SIERRA FERRELL - LONG TIME COMING

We don't have to travel far to meet up with Nashville's Sierra Ferrell who took the world of music by storm. Her genre-crashing 'Long Time Coming' beguiled and won over hearts and souls of classic country and string fans and then returned for a public won over by Billy Strings and a host of others popularizing the vintage ghosts sounds of the the past permeating modern listening. This is really the right album at the right time. And a big more rooted than my musical tastes generally delve but I have a soft-spot for the right album at the right time. I spent four days in a row listening to Sierra Ferrell songs on repeat and what came out was a greater appreciation of what this lady can do. A winner through and through.

HEARTLESS BASTARDS - A BEAUTIFUL LIFE

Erika Wennerstrom continues to mesmerize this writer. The Heartless Bastards songwriter is truly one of the most gifted songwriters, arrangers and crafters in the business. I was just reminded it has been a decade since her masterpiece Arrow was released in the world and 14 years since The Mountain - two records that changed my life and direction as a writer. Wennerstorm has penned and sang songs which were the backdrop and catalyst for my own script. Having largely stepped over 2015's Restless Ones, I wasn't ready - it wasn't her, I found 'A Beautiful Life' to be a potentially surrendering swan song for her. This is a big record. It was meant to be either a capstone or a launching pad. Thankful for all of us, Wennerstrom's career and her future are assured with the soaring ascension of this gem. She is wiser and just as magical as ever. Long may you run Erika. Long may we roam.

GEESE - PROJECTOR

Sometimes getting lucky in music discovery is more important than being on the correct path and digesting what has been sent to you. I don't necessarily know how I found Projector by Brooklyn drum and bass quintet Geese but I know my mental space was such where I was primed for something very different and eye-opening. I had attempted to absorb some of their previous efforts and found them somewhat inaccessible but this time the pieces came together just right for me. (You'll find some of that same discovery math coming up for SUUNS, which follow.) Projector is their big label debut, having signed to Partisan record still plays out like a romp. This band is a tightly wound machine, a muscular beast which can spring it's way through a night of dancing and cerebral epiphanies. Projector is more digestible than what has come before (at least for me). "You're not scared of my angle anymore," Cameron Winter, singer from Geese says. And I'm thankful for that. East Coast US Dates in March.

FREEDOM FRY - L'INVITATION

Going to start with a bold statement and see just how far I have to walk it back.. Freedom Fry are the best Pop duo in music today. American Bruce Driscoll and Parisian-born Marie Seyrat are the Bonnie & Clyde of popular music today. The married couple have been making sweet tracks for more than a decade now. Their sensibilities and musical influences in that musical merger have produced much magic. And this past year 'L'Invitation' was the latest of the masterful maneuvers. Seyrat's vocals sail like so many seabirds in front of sweltering sun. Driscoll's arrangements, beats and musical mind bring energy and swag to the music. The result here is undeniable. This is a record that transforms one's day.

DEVON GILFILLIAN - BLACK HOLE RAINBOW

This is a warning. Devon Gilfillian will write a song or an album about you without even letting you know about it. You'll discover it someday; find that the music is perfect for you and you'll not have a choice but to dance in place and hum along. That's kind of how I feel about 'Black Hole Rainbow' Raised on R&B and Motown and Hip-Hop, the Philadelphia-raised Gilfillian now drinks from the waters of Tennessee where his latest deeds on 'Black Hole Rainbow' is an infinitely accessible, modern entry into the deep waters of soul. He's another voice, an angel on my shoulder as I (like so many of you) stumble through this existence blocking our eyes but listen for truly great voices. This is someone you need to know. Definitely pick up this album.

SUUNS - THE WITNESS

Dateline: Montreal - I'm a self-described acolyte of the SUUNS cult. In a world in which a nearly endless number of musical releases drop by schedule non-stop in a calendar year, the sudden announcement in September that SUUNS were still creating but were about to drop an album were met by me with an audible squeal. This is relentlessly authentic, sincere approach. And this time, the frenzied telling was considerably more digestible but just as real. This is the first time I've ever put SUUNS on one of my best of list because it's the first time their vision provided to be worthy of a wider audience. This is jazz mixed with techno synth. And a fresh new direction. Give SUUNS a listen. The Witness is a winner.

HARD FEELINGS - SELF TITLED

Songstress Amy Douglas (solo, Horse Meat Disco) has teamed up with Hot Chip's Joe Goddard to create one of the most addictive dance outfits of the last half decade. Just how good is the self-titled Hard Feelings album? The record only peeked out at the very end of 2021 and it made every BBC listening list and blogger list in Europe. In 2022, billboards for Hard Feelings are found in New York, Los Angeles and in various cities across Europe. The duo have songs in rotation globally and watching it go up was a little like watching a wildfire grow. This is addictive and pleasing music. Beats, hooks and some really amazing vocals from Douglas. This will be one of the very best, prolific acts of 2022. Fair warning. Put some dancing boots on!

NAOMI WESTWATER - FEELINGS

Each year I try to elevate a worthy dark horse candidate, a relative-unknown given some sun in a world in which people have good sensibilities but short attention spans. This isn't charity, it's just good intention. I didn't have to do a thing because this year Naomi Westwater found me instead. And there wasn't a shuffling of the cards, so to speak, her singing, her songs kicked and screamed their way to the top of this list. There can be no Best of 2021 without Naomi Westwater. The world is filled with just two types of people; those whole have heard her album Feelings and those who haven't yet. This is a short, barn-burner of an album with issues about racial injustice, body identity, lost relationships and climate change. This is a woman echoing the sounds of the past telling of our current calamities. The only person I can think of when I hear her sing is Sade. She is so darn good. And whatever kind breeze steered her to my eyes and ears, I thank each day. This woman is a star.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Lucy Dacus - Home Video

Julien Baker - Little Oblivions

Floating Points - Promises

Dillon Warnek - Now That It's All Over

Brian Dunne - Selling Things

Michael Flynn - Survive With Me

Fruit Bats - The Pet Parade

Electric Jalaba - El Hal the Feeling

Ghost of Vroom - 1

Guided by Voice - Earth Man Blues

Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee

Ron Gallo - Peacemeal

Pronoun - OMG I MADE IT

Coco - Self Titled

ps - thanks for those who wrote the Judge.

.. And Everybody Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 22:02:00 +0000

After taking an extended sabbatical, this won't be the grand entrance return I had hoped for.. but you know what they say about 'put one foot in front of the other' and that's probably the best way to begin. I'm pleased to find myself behind the keys and listening to music while I do this familiar, old deed. I'm going to pre-announce my Best of 2021. List (hey, I know it's February, but there were supply chain issues) but up first I wanted to share my first mix of 2022. Your hero hath returned! More real soon. But for now, just press play.

Ryan's Smashing Life
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

Newport Jazz reveals their 2021 lineup

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 20:35:00 +0000

July 30th through August 1st mark the return of Newport Jazz Fest. Planners are promising three intimate days of live performances and surprise collaborations at Fort Adams in Newport. Some artists have been announced with more still planned. Friday's lineup will be anchored by Wynton Marseilles and Khruangbin. Saturday spotlights Mavis Staples, Robert Glasper and Trombone Shorty. Sunday offers Andra Jay, The Jam Jawn and The Bogie Band (with Joe Russo).

NEWPORT JAZZ TICKETS
Web and Socials: Official / Fb / Tw / Insta

Bob Dylan and The Fifth Day Of May

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Wed, 05 May 2021 12:12:00 +0000

I married Isis on the fifth day of May
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong
I came to a high place of darkness and light
Dividing line ran through the center of town
I hitched up my pony to a post on the right
Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down
A man in the corner approached me for a match
I knew right away he was not ordinary
He said, are you lookin' for somethin' easy to catch
Said, I got no money, he said, that ain't necessary
We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, where are we goin', he said we'd be back by the fourth
I said, that's the best news that I've ever heard
I was thinkin' about turquoise, I was thinkin' about gold
I was thinkin' about diamonds and the world's biggest necklace
As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold
I was thinkin' about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless
How she told me that one day we would meet up again
And things would be different the next time we wed
If I only could hang on and just be her friend
I still can't remember all the best things she said
We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice
He said, there's a body I'm tryin' to find
If I carry it out it'll bring a good price
'Twas then that I knew what he had on his mind
The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn
When he died I was hopin' that it wasn't contagious
But I made up my mind that I had to go on
I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty
There was no jewels, no nothin', I felt I'd been had
When I saw that my partner was just bein' friendly
When I took up his offer I must-a been mad
I picked up his body and I dragged him inside
Threw him down in the hole and I put back the cover
I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied
Then I rode back to find Isis just to tell her I love her
She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise
Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed
I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes
I cursed her one time then I rode on ahead
She said, where ya been? I said, no place special
She said, you look different, I said, well, I guess
She said, you been gone, I said, that's only natural
She said, you gonna stay? I said, yeah, I might do
Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child
What drives me to you is what drives me insane
I still can remember the way that you smiled
On the fifth day of May in the drizzlin' rain

BOB DYLAN
Wiki / Web / Spotify

Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin' (cover in French!) by Freedom Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:45:00 +0000

Nilsson rides again

LA indie couple Bruce Driscoll and Parisian-born Marie Seyrat are Freedom Fry. The pair could be the most creative and fun power couple in all of pop music. Hard to argue when they churn out consistently churn out memorable and sweet pop hooks with a regularity that makes them the envy of many. Their songs have appeared in TV shows, film and advertising and they keep things fresh with videos and singles throughout the pandemic. Recently having launched the one-mic cover video series, the pair uncorked this mesmerizing, tight cover of Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'" this week with Marie singing the now familiar lyrics in French. (Hello, is that Wes Anderson on line 2?) Life gives you lemons? The Universe give you lemons in French.. or something like that. The new album, “L’ Invitation” is out now!

FREEDOM FRY
Web / Spotify / Fb / Tw / Insta

New: Yellow Moon from Trapper Schoepp

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 15:07:00 +0000

Today's music mail call is the instant classic Yellow Moon from Trapper Schoepp. This sunny, warm release is just the silver lining you need to help you get your feet under you - just in time for the weekend.

Schoepp is a poet and a rocker - but on this new gem, his pop prowess soars. The man is one of America's great songwriters (this is not our first rodeo celebrating new music from the Milwaukee song man.) If you like Yellow Moon as much as I do, be sure to bookmark, presave or even buy Schoepp's new album, May Day (5/21 on Grand Phony Records.)

May Day is the big-follow to the knockout Primetime Illusion (2019) produced by Wilco's Patrick Sansone. The Pandemic hasn't silenced Trapper. May Day picks up where the last record left off with appropriate and timely musings on ghosts and celebrations past. And many tones of renewal. This voice and these songs are what we need right now. Stay tuned.

Mark Costanzo photo

TRAPPER SCHOEPP
Merch / Web / Spotify

Fb / Tw / Insta

Daphne Lee Martin - Masterpiece (Big Thief)

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 16:38:00 +0000

RECORDED IN QUARANTINE

A new music series and a return to publishing. Born in the Quarantine. We've all been around a lot longer than the last year but it seems like we are learning new ways to get by. Music has always been there for me but I've found that by challenging myself to learn about and share the new music being founded in the midst of this horrible mess... the art and the shared experience might just be what we need to find our light.

This woman is a gift. One of my favorite vocalists, and a thoughtful writer - Daphne Lee Martin is a living paintbrush (and the perfect subject to kick off this 2021 music series.) This song and a number of really amazing others floating around in Daphne's head have come to fruition over the last year. Some dozen-plus are going to be appearing on her upcoming album The Starter Wife (an LP) with lots of surprises (think multi-media and big). Also recorded in these small and socially segregated sessions are a series of remarkable promotional Cover Songs for which Masterpiece is the first. And what a start!

rslblog.com · Masterpiece (Big Thief) by Daphne Lee Martin

Masterpiece was:
Dane Scozzari on drums
Andrew Sovine on guitars
Daphne - vocals, arrangements, everything else
Recorded and Mixed at Pleasure Loves Company in New London, CT
Mastered by Jim Carpenter at Loco Dare Productions

Upcoming in 2021: Three years in the making, songwriter Daphne Lee Martin's The Starter Wife is the much anticipated follow-up to Martin's knockout Scared Fearless album (2018). It's a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Kieran Ledwidge and producer Duane Lundy. In her own words: "A departure from the road-weary adventurer in Scared Fearless, The Starter Wife swan dives into the maelstrom of divorce, shattering, reinvention, healing and hope."

DAPHNE LEE MARTIN
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

12 Months of My Life In Music

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 14:57:00 +0000

December's Turn
A Writer stares in the face of a Holiday Season in the Pandemic

For ______ (A Playlist for Second Halves)
Challenging myself to find a happy place

Skies Above
Being alone for months on end makes for lots of mirages.

Summa Heeeat
Something different and decidedly upbeat.

Weeks driving in my car with the windows down.

Summer Won't Let Me
A Year of Restrictions characterized by a Summer of Not

Always On the Verge of Something
Hope is just a four letter word (and other cliches)

Skipping Rocks Across Your Time
Pondering Life after Quarantine

For Some Reason
Comes a time where each challenges their faithlessness

A Playlist for Jane Spaulding

Mom has died and I assemble a playlist of her songs.

(Life is messy. Connect however you can.)

RSL's Top Albums of 2019

One Song from each of my favorite records of the year

Taking my Own Advice

!#@#$#

(Feeling and Knowing are not the same)

Signing Up For The Fall

Autumn 2019 Angst

Ryan's Smashing Life
Web / Ig / Tw

Death of a Game Show Host

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 16:57:00 +0000

My music and artistic heroes are now coming of that age where they are dropping like flies. Illness, cancer, car accidents, COVID-19, drug overdoses, and even old age. Nothing about knowing the cause really makes any of it any easier. So many of those creators have met their end this year. And because of a month's-long creative block and the demands of my career - I have not made time to celebrate them all. (Editor's note: this could quickly turn into an obituary blog, which would be the worst thing ever, I feel.) So why in the world am I taking the time to celebrate a lost game show host? Real questions get real answers. The short of it is that Alex Trebek was a culture king and he made us better.

Jeopardy's Concentration Music

The slightly longer answer involves his caring human spirit and his fostering of intelligence and reason. And ultimately it's because he represented, as an individual, both promise and challenge. I remember sitting as a child and watching the show and wondering what I would do with all that fame and money won (someday) on Jeopardy. This story is celebrated by millions of kids and adults each year. And Trebek made the winning secondary to the pursuit of the truth. A measure of Poetic justice for us all.

Music by Hop Along

Hop Along · Prior Things

“This is an enormous loss for the Jeopardy! staff, crew and all of Alex’s millions of fans. He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor. His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen. His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever,” said Mike Richards, Jeopardy! Executive Producer.

Alex Trebek
Jeopardy / imdb / Wiki

Halloween in Quarantine

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 16:12:00 +0000

REST IN PEACE EDDIE.
And good riddance to a horrible month.

VAN HALEN
Web / Wiki

The Daniel Craig / Rami Malek Bond movie we need

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 14:57:00 +0000

Official 007.com / Nov 20

A Huge Return for No Joy

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 19:36:00 +0000

One of the music projects I've looked forward to most this year sees fruition tomorrow. Jasamine White-Gluz aka NO JOY has recorded a new full length, Motherhood out tomorrow. I've only heard a handful of tracks so far but they're everything I could hope for! Clearly still on the same journey, White-Gluz finds her creative muses in familiar waters with results more contemporary but true to the artist's spirit. What we've heard so far is inspired.

The sounds and the soul are hypnotic, low-fi poetry. I love where this is going. If No Joy sounds a bit disjointed and angular at times it's probably because that's the reality and it works. I don't think you create this way unless it's really the only way it makes sense for you. The tracks sound dangerous but the fit is precise. It takes a lot of vision and probably a thoroughly solid sense of humor to create this way. It's all a part of the art, this surrendering.

Dream Rats (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)

Many years ago I stood, sweat-soaked and at the stage at a club in Toronto when No Joy was about to take the stage. It was my second night in Toronto and my first time seeing this band live.. my excitement level was palpable. It all paid off. It was an evening I'll never forget. I would actually end up seeing the band play three times in a week. It really was special. I thought I was going to be seeing a shoegaze band (as they affectionately tagged by bloggers and fans.) Other descriptors like 'experimental' and noise pop' were tossed around. But what I saw was a creative tornado. No genre could ever contain No Joy and I knew that eight years ago. Motherhood just proves that case to a whole new generation of fans.

NO JOY
W eb / Fb / Tw / Insta

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders - Cold Feet

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 22:06:00 +0000

From the album HURTSVILLE (2011)

All my life I have waited
For you, to come to me
And now that you're here with me
I wanna, I wanna leave

All my days, I have wondered
From one love to the next, so carelessly
And now, that you're here with me
I wanna, I wanna make like a tree
I wanna, I wanna leave

Cold Feet
Cold Feet

Well I see you brought your bags with you
Well, I got my troubles too
There's only one way outta here
And well it's what I'm gonna do

Cold Feet
Cold Feet

Like a sand crab in the glass pit
My world is changed
And the things I needed yesterday
I don't need in the same way

Loneliness sings memory's song
Loneliness sings memory's song

Cold Feet
Cold Feet

JACK LADDER
Hurtsville & Blue Poles (new!)

Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

Bess Atwell - Cherry Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Spaulding) — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 03:59:00 +0000

From the Album BIG BLUE (2019)

So we got away, for a little while
Everything feels strange
And my boy, he don't look back
When you said
What I needed was to need
It all made sense, all made sense

I stare at the sky through that pane of glass sometimes
Landing wide-eyed into a dream of mine
Trying to stay awake in the age, awake in the age
Awake in the age

So sell my sight
For a price I'd like to think is right
Think I might fight the lightning
Now you see me
Am I ripe for the taking?
Now you don't
A cherry baby you're making
Cherry oh

Everything must go
'Cause we're closing down
I could hesitate
And turn it all around
But now
I believe you when you leave to somewhere else

Somewhere else

Glacier swell, put me under that spell
I'll be the fruit if you'd just treat me well
And I'll try to stay in…

BESS ATWELL
Big Blue / Web / Fb / Tw / Insta