Voices to hear

Beautiful Struggle: American-Ivorian Trans-Atlantic Band Zieti Turns War, Separation, and MIDI Madness into Perfect Afropop on Zemelewa

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

Far across the lagoon, people swayed as the music from battery-powered amps and sardine-powered jams drifted over the water.

They were dancing to the beach rehearsal of Zieti, two Americans (guitarist Michael Shereikis and drummer Alex Owre) and two Ivorians (lead singer Yeoue Narcisse and guitarist/vocalist Tiende Laurent) who had unexpectedly become fast friends. By the water near Abidjan’s oceanfront shantytowns or in a tiny rehearsal studio built from shipping crates, the quartet developed an exuberant rapport in skillful, insistent songs.

Now a decade removed from Abidjan's mellow beaches, after years of political turmoil and violence, and despite the players' radically different backgrounds, Zieti has done the impossible: make roots-rich music that sounds utterly fresh and organic. Undulating bass lines, bright vocal harmonies, glittering percussion, wailing organ and accordion, and a vintage vibe winking at the best of 70s Afrofunk, they all come together onZemelewa (Grigri Discs; March 6, 2012) for a refreshing and passionate take on Ivorian tradition and the current state of Afropop.

But it almost never happened: “Before I left the country, we had gone into the studio and recorded ten tracks,” Shereikis recalls. “That recording was lost, which was a major blow to all of us. It sounded great though, and a lot of the songs on Zemelewa come from that time.”

Those songs were honed over two halcyon years of playing together. Composers Yeoue and Tiende had been friends for years, playing music together since they were kids in their home area in far Western Ivory Coast. It was King Shabba, a heavyweight on the Rasta-dominated local scene, who first connected them with drummer Owre. Owre soon brought along Shereikis.

“It was instant friendship,” Yeoue remembers, “because Alex and Mike would come out and visit us, even though we lived in a part of town people thought was rough, and we’d go visit them. We saw each other all the time. We’d share simple meals—manioc and oil, sardines and bread—and we’d all eat from the same bowl.”

“From the very beginning we sat down and just played,” Owre reflects. “Not, ‘You play this, you play that.’ The guys accepted my style and they liked what I brought to the mix. They were happy to have some approaches that were different from what they got on their home turf. The faith and trust in each other superseded any need to be orthodox.”

Songs came together effortlessly: the group penned “Bah Bohi” five minutes after their first meeting with Shereikis. The friends practiced on the beach—a fact that’s almost palpable on elegant, aching tracks like “Tche.” They drew on Yeoue and Tiende’s Guere traditions for the lovely melodies and unique rhythms of their deep-rooted musical heritage, especially on songs like “Tindehe” and “Zion Do.”

Wide-ranging musically, Yeoue and Tiende’s lyrics tackle issues from AIDS awareness to the power of tradition, from love lost to the need for political unity in a country torn by infighting and violence. They sing primarily in Guere, but as Shereikis says, “You don’t have to understand the words to appreciate this music. As you’re tapping your foot, Narcisse’s unique phrasing and tone convey a visceral sense that this is message music.”

When Zieti played an outdoor concert in Western Cote d’Ivoire, on Yeoue and Tiende’s home turf, they had their Guere compatriots dancing in circles and cheering to the group’s hard-hitting lyrics. The crowd even demanded they play “Zion Do” twice, to ecstatic response followed magically by a flourish of rain. “That was one of the proudest moments of my musical life,” Owre exclaims.

But after Owre and Shereikis left in 1999, things got complicated. Ivory Coast descended into civil war. Tiende was called home to one of the most violence-wracked areas of the country, resurfacing after months of silence, during which the other members feared he was dead. Yet Zieti managed to stay connected, and Shereikis arranged for local studio time for Yeoue and Tiende via an Ivorian contact he met at an African record store in DC.

The resulting cassette, full of MIDI-driven production, didn’t make much of a splash in Ivory Coast, but became the core of Zemelewa. Struck by the continued power and beauty of the band’s work, and deeply frustrated with the production approach favored in Abidjan, Shereikis set about to recast the songs, drawing on his exhaustive knowledge and passion for African pop music—from West African funk-inspired sounds to Congolese rumba. As Yeoue told Shereikis, “We’ll sing and play guitar, and you dress it up.”

Tracks began flying back and forth from Maryland to Maine where Owre had settled, as the American side of the project emerged. Through Grigri Discs, a label and incubator for the Afropop scene in DC, Shereikis recruited masterful players of everything from sax to slide guitar, including bandmates in Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band and émigré musicians he knew from around DC. Now more lushly arranged, Zemelewa channels the band’s original spirit, first formed on the sand across the ocean long before.

“I fleshed out what we had done together, the way I remembered it as we played and recorded it,” Shereikis notes. “I added a few other colors and elements to give it a bit of edge. None of these choices were calculated, beyond my hope that they would make Narcisse and Laurent happy and give this music its full worth.”

For Zieti, the music and message don’t stop with the herculean effort of finally making their debut album. The group is now working together to help struggling artists harness their creativity by providing instruments to Ivorian musicians, lack of which is one of the key reasons MIDI production rules the day there. A first shipment of instruments was recently delivered to Yeoue, who has rented a small rehearsal space near his home in Abidjan, a place poised to become a community music hub.

“The project we started with the instruments is very important,” Yeoue says, “and that’s what’s going to make the difference. Our work together proves what can be done, no matter how far apart or how different we seem from one another.”

Megan Blue!

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

Crazy With Joy: Henry Cole & the Afro-Beat Collective Find An Age-Old Mestizo Heart and Fresh Jazz Flash in Afrobeat on Roots Before Branches

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Quicksilver Puerto Rican drummer Henry Cole knows how Wayne Shorter might have jammed with Fela Kuti. Or what Miles would have done if only he’d gone Afro-Caribbean with his rock-jazz hybrids. He hears how jazz can grab the rootsy sounds of bomba, plena, and Cuban rumba, and sparkle with electro sheen and rock energy.

He hears it, because these sonic roots have been intertwining in Puerto Rico for hundreds of years. “If I had been a Puerto Rican musician playing a few centuries ago, I would have had the same kinds of influences: African, indigenous, European,” Cole explains. “They’ve come together to createmestizo sounds forever, and I’m just carrying that forward.”

Cole & the Afro-Beat Collective on Roots Before Branches (release: March 13, 2012), a gently autobiographical yet firmly funky vision that channels the joie-de-vivre of Cole’s home scene in Puerto Rico and the bright sophistication of New York’s jazz heights. Equally able to jam with a hip hop crew or jazz masters, Cole harnesses his well-honed rhythmic power and his love of catchy, evocative melodies to create a deep, wide-ranging vision of unity, balance, and Afro-Caribbean creativity.

{full story below}

One night, the bold beat that shook up Lagos came home to Puerto Rico.

Cole had reveled in the diverse musical sounds of his fellow Puerto Rican musicians playing in the small clubs and bars of San Juan’s historic heart. He had played with the scene’s many vibrant and varied figures, often dashing from an early evening jazz gig to a rock show right across the street. Some of his artist friends did spoken word. Some rapped. Some played rock en Español. Some were hot international jazz performers—MacArthur Fellow saxophonist Miguel Zenón, Grammy award winning sax player DavidSánchez—and some were old-school Latin roots musicians and salsa masters.

How could Cole find something that would let them all get down?

The solution: Afrobeat and the masterful grooves of Fela Kuti. “Miguel and I started doing jam sessions in San Juan at Christmas with a trio. It was great, but I missed all these other elements, like that salsa energy,” Cole recalls. “But when I heard Fela, I was like ‘Wow, this is it!’ He had tradition, he had the rock vibe, he had solos, and a really intense energy. The songs were relatively simple and you didn’t need a big rehearsal. I got to Puerto Rico with a chart, called my friends, and played. It was the perfect musical vehicle, but we adapted it to the island, with local percussionists and a poet instead of a singer.”

This cross-pollination grooves hard on tracks like “Trabájala,” where rap poet Hérmes Ayala rocks the mic with a pointed call to action, alongside Zenón’s wailing beauty of a sax solo. Or the organ-powered “Solo dos veces,” that puts the Cole’s spitfire drums play off of Afro-funky horn lines. He keeps all the elements in balance, thanks to a keen organic sense of timing and melody. For Cole, one pulse beats through it all: There’s a high voice, a low voice—and a language that moves everyone.

“In many traditions, the drum that speaks, that improvises, usually has a high and a low sound. You have two sounds in Puerto Rican plena, playing the language of the drum. The traditional players don’t think about it in terms of technique; they think about language,” Cole explains. “I wanted to learn the language from the main traditional sources and then orchestrate it from there.”

Like a language, the album evolved over years, as Cole dug into indie rock (“Una para Isabel”), electronic music (“Comienzo,” “Uncovered Fears”), and jazz classics—he imagined a post-bop horn player fronting Fela’s band, or an Afro-Caribbean version of Bitches Brew—or simply in a springing pulse that sparked a whole melody in his inner ear.

Inspiration found Cole as he reflected on his childhood in Mayaguëz, the heartland of Puerto Rican plena, where at age nine he first fell in love with the drums and lost his mother (“Aurea V.” is a dreamy, bittersweet tribute to her). He questioned his path as a pro musician breaking into the New York scene (“To believe without seeing”) and his relationships (“No eres tu, soy yo”). He reveled in love and wrestled with his own mortality. The emotional turmoil led to stirring music, melodies Cole devised simply to satisfy and engage—to move beyond the sometimes heady intellectual world of jazz.

“I put a lot of energy into coming up with something that would express how I was feeling,” Cole reflects. “I imagine a group on the stage and the audience. And I think, ‘What can I offer to you, that will make me happy and you happy? What will bring us together and speak to all of us?’”

Cole brought highly versatile kindred spirits together in the studio in Puerto Rico and in New York: Zenón and Sánchez, the New Orleans-inspired post-bop tenor sax of John Ellis, Tito Puente trumpet man Piro Rodríguez, salsa master Cheito Quiñone (Arturo Sandoval, Julio Eglesias), and nimble, raw-edged guitarist Adam Rogers (Cassandra Wilson, John Zorn, Paul Simon).

Yet the tracks came together in a spirit of play, like the upbeat jam sessions in San Juan, capturing the sheer delight of making music that grooves. “In Puerto Rico, there’s a spirit of humility toward playing music, a real pleasure in the music,” Cole notes. “You can go crazy with joy and scream and play for fun. It’s a platform to be relaxed and happy. You play what you want, and you go back to the roots of playing, without attachments.”

Music on the Couch at the 2012 International Blues Challenge

2012-01-26T22:11:00.000-06:00

Music On The Couch
at the
2012 International Blues Challenge

After some 9 months of planning, the live broadcasts of the 2012 IBC are upon us.

You can use the links below to access each of the nine shows. Each show has it's own unique URL. These links are good for the live streams and for the archived pod-casts.

Remember, you can also connect with Music On The Couch through iTunes. Follow this link and then, you will see a button which says "View In iTunes". If you click that, you will be directed to my iTunes page where you can SUBSCRIBE to the weekly shows. You can decide when to download each week and the current show will be added to your iTunes application.

All entrants are invited to come by for a visit as are any other musicians in town for the event, fans of the IBC and, of course, all my past guests. My "kids" as I call you.

All show times listed are Central Standard Time - US. To get a conversion for your city, check out the World Clock Here.

Chat Room (when open during LIVE shows) will be found by scrolling down the show page. You can also call in during live broadcasts. The number is 347.633.9400

SHOW #1
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
9:00pm - Midnight
CLICK FOR SHOW

SHOW #2
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
3:00pm - 6:00pm
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #3
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
9:00pm - Midnight
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #4
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
3:00pm - 6:00pm
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #5
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
9:00pm - Midnight
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #6
Friday, February 3, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
3:00pm - 6:00pm
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #7
Friday, February 3, 2012
Broadcasting from the 2nd Floor Banquet Room at the Rum Boogie Cafe
9:00pm - Midnight
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #8
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Broadcasting from the Mezzanine Hallway of the Orpheum Theater
3:00pm - 6:00pm
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

SHOW #9
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Broadcasting from the Mezzanine Hallway of the Orpheum Theater
9:00pm - Midnight
CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

A Special Thanks To The Sponsors Of Our IBC Shows
Without This Group, The Shows Would Not Air
ALL LOGOS LINK TO SPONSOR SITE

MAJOR SPONSOR:

Spotlight: Marcia Hayden Hendrick

2012-01-26T22:07:00.001-06:00


	Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com


Webpage: http://www.treepoppy.com
Location: Montgomery, MA, USA
Description: An award-winning songwriter, Marcia writes folk/country songs that pull the listener into the story. Her songs explore with humor and compassion the highs and lows of life and relationships.
Biography: Marcia's new CD, "Lucky Girl" will be released in January 2012. The CD contains 15 tracks, all originals written and produced by the artist. The songs explore with humor and compassion the highs and lows of life and relationships. From the first track to the last the CD will give your ears and heart something to celebrate. The May 2009 issue of Maverick Magazine (Maverick-Country.com) contains a review of Marcia's 2008 CD, "Water in the Well". Receiving 5 out of 5 stars, the review says in part, "Highlighting what a voice and talent she has, this is an album boiling over with quality that is simply of the highest possible standard." An award-winning songwriter, Marcia writes story songs that span genres, packed with emotional content and lyrics that connect the listener to the common well of human experience. She grew up in a household filled with music and musical instruments, and spent her formative years listening to classical, folk, and pop music. Later she became exposed to country music, and was drawn to its stories. Marcia released her first CD, "Water In The Well" in 2008. Her second CD "Lucky Girl" was released in January 2012. She performs in Western Massachusetts on a regular basis.
Press Release:

3 Days To GO!

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Let's not give up!

New Release from Little Known Government of TriBeCaStan: Capital New Deli Found to Have Irregular Time-Space Continuum

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

http://www.worldmusicwire.com

News Alert. This morning Aljazzeera reported that the questionable nation ofTriBeCaStan (www.tribecastan.tv) has made scientific breakthroughs in time travel. The unrecognized republic of nomads has broken the code of the time/space continuum. And by broken we mean: it no longer works. Applying sonic techniques once only known to a small group of punk rock shamans, the nation's most prestigious scientific entity, the TriBeCaStani FolkLorkEstra, uses sound alone to simultaneously place listeners in eras separated by decades and terrains separated by oceans. The breakthrough is outlined in an auditory compendium titled New Deli, a recording that allows the world to experience a type of soulful networking more insidious than Facebook's privacy policies.

To fully grasp TriBeCaStan's methodology, one must note the movements of the commonwealth's Minister of Foreign Expatriation Jeff Greene and Archduke of the Forward Guard John Kruth.

Kruth--the sonic engineer and composer of the melodic formulas concocted for New Deli--carried out extensive research with auditory specialists among Bosnian Gypsies, Indians, and Moroccans, while Greene conducted top secret junkets to Western China, Cuba, and Uzbekistan collecting artifacts key to the timbral sound bending necessary to achieve dimensional shifts. Research by the two culminated in their participation in the 2011 International Jews Harp Congress (sic) in the diamond and permafrost capital of Russia, Yakutsk. The Congress broke the record for most jews harps played at once, while the TriBeCaStan delegates broke wind on the stage of the Yakutsk Opera House, with their jews harps.

The plot thickens when one realizes that it is the double-spy tendency of these two former rebels which led to the new discovery. After the revolution, Parliament decided that rather than changing governments every few years, they would do so intentionally every few weeks, creating more instability than even a coup could handle. Thus all government leaders are forced to spend three weeks out of every six weeks in New York City's subways, bars, and, most importantly and considered most sacred, spice-filled delis. One mythical deli in particular inspired the re-naming of the nation's capital to New Deli.

A revolving door of temporarily expatriated patriots led to the swelling ranks of the Folklorkestra. “Everywhere I go, the musicians I meet want to hear and play American music, particularly, blues and country," says Kruth as he smokes dates and eats tobacco. "Musicians all over the world listened to Curtis Mayfield and the Temptations. But for the last decade or two the shoe has been on the other foot. We’ve not only been inspired by world-class global musicians like Bachir Attar of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, Carnatic mandolin master U. Rajesh, and the Austrian hurdy-gurdy virtuoso Mathias Loibner, we invited them to play as guests on New Deli. ”

"As we say in TriBeCaStan," adds Greene, "'If your toes all face one way, you will walk crooked.' This means we must be in solidarity with all of the world to find the right direction. If you dig around in the '60s and '70s in music from India, Thailand and Ethiopia you hear how the musicians borrowed from and reworked American music. We’re just doing the same thing, but in reverse."

Kruth came up with “Bed Bugs” and “Dive Bomber” while swatting bed bugs and mosquitoes with his mandolin late into the night in a pest-ridden Chennai hotel room, while Greene strummed the charango and thumped the marimbula (large thumb piano) in rural Cuba with local musicians until his fingers bled, leading to the romp “El Bumpa.” Bruce Huebner, American-born master of the shakuhachi(pentatonic bamboo Japanese flute), was tricked into joining an atmospheric blues with the ethereal “A Crack in the Clouds.” Little did they all know what was taking place at the time in Fukushima and how the emerging sound of hope would stand as a sonic portrait honoring the victims of the recent Japanese disaster.

In the past Kruth’s “Banshee” mandolin could be heard on stage with the raw flaming sound of punk bands the Violent Femmes and the Meat Puppets. These days he can be found, when not traipsing the globe with Greene, shooting pool with Ornette Coleman, learning the subtleties of improvisation and composition from the revolutionary saxophonist. Which brings us to a new, unexpected era of TriBeCaStan…

With the addition of baritone saxophonist Claire Daly, a former James Brown and Taj Mahal side woman and a fave of both the Downbeat poll and former President Clinton, along with John Turner's versatile ska trumpet tossed into the mix, the band digs deep into an eclectic '60’s bag covering Ornette Coleman, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Don Cherry. Kirk is the subject of Kruth’s first biography, Bright Moments, and composer of the funky “Freaks for the Festival,” which TriBeCaStan recorded live at Bill Laswell’s studio with Kirk alumni Steve Turre blowing a massive trombone solo.

New Deli's cover art was created by comrade Cal Schenkel, Frank Zappa's resident album cover artist known for a collage and outsider style consistent with the TriBeCaStani culture.

Free your marimba and your mind will follow. Dig into the flesh-and-blood immediacy of worn wood, twisted metal, and buzzing reeds, and you'll get grooves that can set the room jumping and the mind soaring. It's the wacky virtuosity of the Mothers of Invention playing unplugged for Bosnian gypsies doing the tango ("Jovanka"). It's the Pygmy bottle trick turned into a Latvian favorite sing-a-long ("One Day, His Axe Fell into Honey"). It's Don Cherry's Africa reinterpreted for China ("Guinea"). It's the prog rock of the Ottomans, complete with a wailing harmonica ("Dive Bomber").

TriBeCaStan finds these hidden channels, making ancient instruments and techniques feel right at home on the edge of the time and space discontinuum.

Introducing....Hayley

2012-01-25T20:46:00.000-06:00

Spotlight: Michaela Clarke

2012-01-25T20:20:00.000-06:00


	Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com

Webpage: http://www.michaelaclarke.ca
Location: Whitecourt, AB, Canada
Description: 18 year old singer/songwriter who loves to create and perform country music!
Biography: Country music has always been a mirror of sorts, reflecting real life with all its ups and downs. That may be truer today than ever, as a generation of artists has emerged for whom crafting the message - songwriting - and delivering it in performance are inseparable parts of a single creative drive. Canada's own Michaela Clarke takes her place in that passionate fold with her debut release, "Long Gone." Featuring all original songs, the Nashville-produced CD is a glowing introduction to a significant talent. Michaela comes by her country roots honestly, thanks to her guitar-playing grandfather (Doering) and a mother who brought her along, even as an infant, to concerts and festivals. "I've always cherished spending time with my grandfather," says the Whitecourt native. "I don't know exactly how old I was, but I was pretty young when I decided I wanted to play guitar like him. So at this point, it's just a part of me. I write with it, and of course it's with me on stage. I think that connection with him, along with a mom and dad who've always been incredibly supportive, made writing and performing seem like really natural, home-grown things." Michaela's on-stage ease has been put to the test in a whirlwind year, a period that's had her on a fast track. She admits to a few pre-show jitters at a gig opening for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band but, she says, "Once I got out on stage, it just felt like home. " She needn't have been concerned; back at her Grade 12 graduation, she sang a self-penned song for (and about) her class without a hint of trepidation. But while the pretty teen finds performing a "glide," she's known all along that making it in music would take a lot of hard work. Before beginning her career in earnest, she'd see favorites like Keith Urban or Miranda Lambert in concert or on TV, and imagine a day when she could share a stage with them: "I always said to myself, if I want to be up there with them, I've just got to work my tail off like they did. I've always believed that I could reach any goal I set for myself if I just keep my mind on it and work hard - I'm Canadian." Like much of Michaela's career to date, "Long Gone" came about quickly. After recording her guitar/vocal demos in Edmonton with Barry Allen and Josh Gwilliam, Nashville was her very next step. Recorded at the same studio where Taylor Swift has cut her hits (and working with Swift's tracking engineer Chad Carlson and several musicians who play on Taylor's tracks), the new project shimmers with the confidence, power and sensitivity of a much more "seasoned" artist. And the song craft is first-rate: "You Will Be Mine" rocks with the exuberance of a first crush and the expectant optimism that things can work out the way we hope they will. The subtle steel guitar fills and tight harmonies of "Don't Have Time" bolster the song's time-honoured theme of the independent (but still vulnerable) woman. Michaela takes a sad/sweet turn on "Long Gone," a mid-tempo lament ("I know where I went wrong/I guess that's why I'm writing you this song/Now I know it was you that did me wrong/And that's why I'm long gone") The made-for-sing-along chorus of "I Found You" is another surprisingly strong lyrical turn for a young writer. This gem likely owes its weight to the "hard work" ethic Michaela follows, along with the support she's received since choosing her musical path: "I remember walking with my boyfriend, holding hands, and he dropped my hand when we ran into his old girlfriend. That hurt! I talked to my parents about it later, and they said I should write a song about it. The crazy thing is that it helps - it really does. So it's just been natural for me, for a long time, to put the happiness or sadness I'm feeling at a given time into a song. The work comes in when you dig in and try to make it a good song." "Je T'aime" finds Michaela a bit west of Nashville, with its funky acoustic Memphis intro giving way to a straight-ahead new-country backbeat. (She does give away her north-country roots, though: "I even sat through all your hockey games.") "Sorry" rounds out the set, a look at the other side of love, where a girl wonders if there isn't just a bit more to a relationship than she's being shown. Again, strong writing for an artist at any level, let alone something you'd expect from a debut project. The writing, Michaela reminds, is an essential ingredient for her: "If I was only to sing other artists' songs, I probably wouldn't be pursuing my music career. Everyone enjoys cover songs, but if I couldn't express myself through the material I've created, I just don't think I would have as much feeling as I do when I am singing an original. The best part of this for me is the idea that my songs can make people feel better, that I can give words and a voice to what they're experiencing." The words, the voice of "Long Gone" mark the arrival of an exciting addition to the newest generation of country's creative spirits - ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michaela Clarke!
Press Release:

Show Your Love

2012-01-25T20:16:00.001-06:00

If you like a post click on the Google + and let the world know. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts here at Voices central.

4 Days To GO!

2012-01-25T20:10:00.004-06:00

Let's show that we can do this and get them to their goal!

Video Wednesday

2012-01-25T06:30:00.000-06:00

In honor of the recent passing of the legendary Etta James we present "I'd Rather Go Blind."

Thread Through Time: No Stranger Here Ties Indian Classical Singing, Edgy Spoken Word, and Polished Electronica to the Surging Love and Ancient Poems of a Renegade Mystic

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

In the middle of a rough year, Philly-based poet and spoken work artistUrsula Rucker opened an email that stretched back to the 16th century.

It was an out-of-the-blue invitation from strangers, from two producers she had never crossed paths with, working on an album of songs based on the poetry of Kabir, an Indian mystic and poet, and woven around the sublimely precise, stunningly earthy voice of renowned Hindustani classical singerShubha Mudgal.

She listened, felt the common thread, and co-created No Stranger Here(EarthSync; U.S. release: February 14, 2012), a polyphonic, multifaceted tribute to love, earthly and divine. With Kabir as the binding tie, Rucker, Mudgal, and the Business-Class Refugees (led by veteran cross-cultural, genre-defying producers Patrick Sebag and Yotam Agam) render in lush sonic form the shared experience of alienation and longing.

Balancing the elegant subtleties of Indian classical tradition, Western orchestral music, rich bursts of electronica, and Rucker’s insistent words, No Stranger Here flows from the universal sense of strangerhood, that mysterious alienation that haunts both our contemporary lives and echoes in centuries-old poems. “None of us are strangers to that feeling,” remarks Sonya Mazumdar, EarthSync CEO and producer. “Yet it is the very feeling of not belonging that highlights the intensity of love.”

“We use silences a lot. The use of silences for punctuation is very important to what Kabir is saying,” notes Mudgal. “We really don’t know about him, what was actually written by Kabir and what was changed by his disciples. But by singing it today, we become part of a much longer continuum.”

Rucker agrees: “Just being a poet, no matter how many centuries separate you, is a connection. I use other elements, but my work is really about God and love, even if you have to dig and read between the lines. It’s a continuing thread that goes throughout time.”

{full story below}

Kabir has the literary importance (and biographical mystery) of Shakespeare, but with an unrivaled spiritual significance, as part of the Bhakti (or “Devotion”) movement that pressed for spiritual renewal and broad human understanding for several centuries in India. Bhakti proponents eschewed the rigid ritualization of religion, raising a radical call for love and spirit beyond human-made boundaries. Kabir, as both thinker and figure, leaps nimbly across faiths, caste, cultures: Legend has it that Kabir was the son of Brahmins, but was raised by Muslim weavers. His spare, often blunt words have had a lasting impact on the Sikh faith and sparked a religious following that now numbers in the millions.

“Kabir is a major reference point for Indians. He had the ability to put these massive philosophical concepts in a way that the common person, who was denied education or had very simple ways for dealing with life, could grasp perfectly,” explains Mazumdar. “Kabir equated the love between two people to the love between an individual and God. Composers down the ages have interpreted his depth and simplicity in various musical formats.”

Mudgal, a renowned classical performer known for her openness to taking musical risks, continued this long tradition of innovation based on Kabir’s works. Invited into EarthSync’s Chennai studios for a session, Mudgal found herself drawing on poets of the Bhakti movement, and especially on Kabir, as she laid down tracks in response to Agam and Sebag’s grooves.

“Their tracks suggested a mood or tone, and I would look back on the poetry I’d been reading and take little bits from the poems,” Mudgal recalls. “Khayal, one of the styles I specialize in, uses phonetics to great advantage, and allows me to take a very tiny, 30-second composition and turn it into an extended exploration of pulse and sound. You can discover a lot as a musician, just in those few phrases.”

Agam, Sebag, and the rest of the Refugees—bassist Eval Mazig arranged the soaring orchestral parts—worked with Mudgal’s inspired improvisations—but realized that something was missing. Familiar with Rucker’s albums, they began dropping her voice onto a few tracks and realized she was it. Months of emails later, and Rucker, surprised by the invite and uplifted by its timing, crafted her own words and vocal tracks in response to Kabir and Mudgal’s.

Unexpected, the dialogue unfolds beautifully: “Steadfast” weaves the meditative perfection of Mudgal’s vocal lines with Rucker’s gentle yet firm explorations of love’s many angles. “Seraphim Tones” moves through intense longing to prayerful gratitude and connection, as Mudgal flies over scintillating beats and Rucker sings and speaks with an immediacy that shows just how alive the tie between ancient poems and contemporary poet can be.

To balance the Eastern elements and the Western orchestra, the distinctive voices of a highly trained singer and a veteran wordsmith, Agam and Sebag drew guidance from the narrative thread suggested by the pieces. “We look at it like a film that has two major actors that tell the same story but each from his place and environment,” they note. “Every song is a different story and should leave room for everyone to tell their stories in harmony. That's what music and collaboration is all about. That is what we love doing.”

Spotlight: Norine Braun

2012-01-24T23:36:00.001-06:00


	Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com


Webpage: http://www.norinebraun.com
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Description: Roots Rock meets Blues Pop Her voice has the viscosity of a jazz crooner, the elegance of a gospel singer, and the heart of a folk or blues artist.
Biography: Vancouver based singer-songwriter Norine Braun’s eclectic music experiments with forms from roots rock to ambient pop to jazz, folk and blues in 8 independent albums of original music. Tuneful and savvy her music zings to the heart of any listener. Winner of the Songs Inspired By Literature Artists For Literacy International Songwriting Competition and Winner Female Singer-Songwriter of the Year - Jazz at Los Angeles International Independent Music Awards. Norine’s Album Evolution of the Blood Star was voted #1 on Outvoice for 2008. Performances of note include: Triad Theatre in NYC, Shibuya Home in Tokyo and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. No.8 released in 2011 brings Juno nominated producer, Adam Popowitz onboard and is garnering rave reviews including: "Over the course of her eight albums local songwriter Braun has developed exceptionally sharp lyricism, fluid vocals and a way with a driving melody. Case in point, the single "Drift Away" from her new CD." - Stuart Derdeyn The Province "No. 8" receives my highest rating of 5*****. Highly Recommended and Thoroughly Enjoyed. Another Treasure of an Album from a Truly Canadian Treasure..." - John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network) "Very eclectic sound! Powerful vocals set the tone for a blend of genres in this album." - Matt Nightingale CHSR Music Director "Overall, Norine is a singer/songwriter with a sense of humour... There is enough tongue-in-cheek and embracing of silliness to bring a smile to a hardened reviewer’s face. You can just tell that Norine Braun had a ball recording this album." -Ana Bedard Beatroute Magazine Past summer shows 2011 included: Vancouver Pride, Richmond Maritime Festival, Out in the Woods Festival Greenwich NY, Edgewater Casino WAVS Benefit Vancouver, Jlounge and SHE BOOM CFRO benefit concert.
Press Release: Norine Braun's No. 8 Waits For The World To Catch Up Norine Braun Adds Roots Rock, Blues And Americana On Her New No.8 Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRLog (Press Release) Vancouver BC 2011 According to reviewer Vinny Bond Marini, “Norine Braun is an enigma. Is she a jazz chanteuse? A blues singer? A pop singer? A rocker? On No. 8, she almost dares you to decide for yourself. “ Braun recruited a killer collection of roots rock, soul and blues session players including renowned producer and Juno nominated, Adam Popowitz (Pacifika, Mollies Revenge, Leela Gilday) who produced and performed on all 10 of the songs with bass and lead guitar. Drummer Elliot Polsky, (Jim Byrnes, Zubot and Dawson, Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir) gives the groove and heartbeat to No. 8. Blues meister Andrew "HuggyBear" Huggard (Ollie Bollen Trio, Leonard and the Lab Rats) shakes things up with his soulful blues harmonica. International touring freelance keyboard/pianist Mary Ancheta (Bjork,John Mayer, Nickleback) shines with her astounding keys on feature tracks too. The album is a mix of new originals by Norine Braun with blues, roots rock and soul at the centre. Norine Braun is an adult alternative/folk-rock/roots rock/blues type of artist. “Whether playing with the Mood Swings or alone, Norine Braun is never dull. With sensibilities grounded in the slam and performance art genres, some of her songs make it seem that Braun has been waiting for the world to catch up with her sound.” - Cindy Filipenko For interview or for review www..norinebraun.com

Nuyorbalkan: New York Gypsy All-Stars Jump the Turnstiles of Balkanalia, Turkish Roots, and Gypsy Soul with Funky Refinement

2012-01-24T23:21:00.001-06:00

A Greek bassist ducked into a little bar in New York’s Alphabet City and heard the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Balkans pouring across the packed room. The clarinet was keening and singing, and he knew every tune.

From this blown-away moment of discovery, the New York Gypsy All-Starssprang, uniting bi-musical virtuosi raised on the lush sounds of Macedonian, Greek, Turkish, and American roots and forged in the halls of the world’s best music schools. With composerly ears and a madcap relish for ill and crunky sounds, the quintet of crack musicians tears through the tollgates separating the region’s interlocking roots on the long-awaited album of original pieces,Romantech (Traditional Crossroads; release: March 6, 2012) and on tour in February with concerts in cities including Chicago and NYC.

“We cover all the Balkans melodically,” explains classically trained, traditionally raised Macedonian clarinet wonder and band headman Ismail Lumanovski, “and we cover the world rhythmically and harmonically.” Zooming with Roma-inspired zeal from swinging salsa to pulsing bhangra, the group never loses its sharp musical focus, astounding chops, and true spirit their Gypsy namesakes.

{full story below}

“We use lots of musical elements in our original compositions that are typically Balkan Romany in style but aren’t necessarily in your face, like the 9/8 rhythm on tracks like ‘NY9’ or the way we use musical ornaments throughout the songs,” Lumanovski muses. “But more important than that is how we use the Gypsy term in a broader sense. We are taking what the Gypsies did, traveling from India to the Balkans and on to Western Europe and putting together the best musical ideas from every nation along the way. We’re open to the world, and we just take everything we like and make it one.”

The All Stars come by this impulse and skill naturally. It’s a rare thing, even in music-rich Southeastern Europe and in musician-packed New York, to find conservatory-caliber musicians who grew up playing weddings or rocking ačoček or a çiftetelli with local masters. Yet that’s exactly what the All Stars are: Alongside degrees from places like Juilliard and Berklee, they grew up jamming with local roots musicians or defiantly attacking traditional zithers with their bare fingers, getting into Latin jazz or bringing the funk.

Lumanovski, scion of a revered musical family in Macedonia, met Athens-born Panagiotis Andreou when the versatile bassist insisted he just had to play with Lumanovski, after hearing the clarinet player whip through an astounding array of hot traditional Balkan tunes in a little club on Avenue B. Andreou jumped on stage, tore into the music, and the room fell silent.“Everyone stopped at one point, and we just improvised on bass and clarinet for a long time,” Lumanovski recalls fondly. “There was an instant emotional connection.”

The duo started playing together regularly. At the urging of globally astute impresario and arts presenter Serdar Ilhan, the band was born, playing a jubilant crowd at their first big gig, a notoriously full-throttle show for the New York Gypsy Fest. Lumanovski and Andreou were eventually joined by Turkish roots maverick Tamer Pinarbasi, who had long experimented with the kanun (traditional zither), throwing out his plectrums in favor of bare fingernails and kneading together microtonal makam scales with Western harmonies; Australia-born, Turkey-raised jazz-loving classically trained percussionist Engin Gunyadin; and wild keyboard innovator and sonic mastermind Jason Lindner.

It’s in playing and improvising together—often for marathon sessions or ecstatic crowds from the Black Sea to Brooklyn—that the All Stars have honed their repertoire over the many years it’s taken the strong-willed, devoted musicians to craft and record Romantech.

“Balkan Bollywood” may sound like a novelty, but don’t be fooled: It’s a bittersweet, multipart romp inspired not only by Indian filmi tracks, but by Turkish melodies and Balkan ornamentation. “I had been playing around with this melody, trying ornaments in places where they usually don’t happen,” Lumanovski recounts. “I brought it to the guys, and we jammed on it with Panagiotis, Tamer, and Engin for four hours after a show at Drom. We stayed until 5 AM playing the same thing over and over, and this very cool, hybrid stuff came out.”

Cool stuff includes in the aching and mournful sound Lumanovski achieves on “Outcry,” a tune that hints at Armenian duduk resonance, contrasting with the piece’s nuanced piano chords and sprightly zither, while Andreou adds an Afro-Cuban montuno vibe (when not kicking out the Balkan jams, the bassist wins jazz awards for his work with Afro-Latin ensembles). “Romantech,” a wry rendering of techno beats using kanun and drums, wheels into a full-on Turkish longa, a style inspired by Anatolian and Balkan elements. Melodies get toyed with, built on, and reconstructed in a worldly interplay of sounds gathered from the musicians’ many travels and collaborations.

Through all the complexity and ability, a good-times vibe jumps out at listeners, making the hardest-core kopanitsa in 11/8 feel like an easy two-step. “We have a piece called ‘EZ Pass,’ because our music can feel like an easy pass to the Balkans,” Lumanovski laughs, explaining one of the album’s song titles and its ties to the New York area toll pass. “With an EZ Pass, you don’t stop; it’s very fast. You just go. And it just flows.”

Five Days To Go

2012-01-24T10:44:00.001-06:00

Okay, it's getting down to crunch time, let's help make this happen.

Spotlight: Edgy Folk

2012-01-23T21:00:00.000-06:00


	Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com


Webpage: http://www.reverbnation.com/edgyfolk
Location: Auburn, NY, United States
Description: An acoustic based sound, with heart and groove. Melodies and harmonies are layered into an Edgy percussive foundation.
Biography: Edgy Folk transformed the former duo Peterson and Dennihy into a band with creative edge and energy. They capture a unique sound from their original music based on polished songwriting to the creative cover songs they perform with heart and groove. Edgy Folk makes fantastic music, plain and simple. “Jon Peterson and Donna Dennihy fit their voices and string work together with a rich grace in the quite appropriately titled cd "Getting Warmer.” Their songwriting goes deep on the 10 originals, brimming with vivid imagery.” Mark Bialczak, Post Standard, 2008
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Christiane D; a Visionary on an Art Journey Through 'Obliquity of the Ecliptic'

2012-01-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

“You just gotta love a woman who says “If I were a man I’d kick your ass, but for now I’ll kill you with words,” in the dry manner that singer/poetess Christiane D does...” (Rock n Roll Reporter)

Christiane D (Leach) is an award-winning artist and is best known as a distinctive face and voice of the Pittsburgh art scene. In 2010, she received an August Wilson Center Fellowship in support of her first solo recording which features over twenty Pittsburgh-based musicians and producers. In 2007, along with her feminine peers, she was honored at the New Hazlett Theatre's gala, Celebrating Women in the Arts. In 2003, she received a Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Fellowship for World/Jazz/Blues musical composition, and in 2002 received a Pittsburgh magazine’s “40 under 40” award.

"As a poet, artist, writer, and musician, she has made building bridges between disciplines a major focus in her art." (Pittsburgh Tribune Review) She is described by many as a passionately intense, husky voiced sensual presence, which will turn your head and more than likely inspire you to shout, shake, rattle and heal.

Art transforms and she’s in the creative business of transformation. “A bright, uncontainable star, in any constellation she found herself in” (Seattle Based Illustrator) Ever seeking, Christiane D has experienced a richly varied path. She studied (art successfully & skiing unsuccessfully) in Switzerland, worked 16 hours, seven days a week at an Alaskan fishery, cultivated a ‘wanna be’ Organic farm in upstate New York, traveled and lived out of her Volvo with fellow Taoist practicing art friends, self dubbed “Neo-Urban-Amish-Buddhist-Rebels”, on the Poverty Tour of back road campgrounds of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

Unable to satisfy her curiosity from inside the pearly halls of higher education she would hit the road many times, 96 jobs as a testament, before deciding to boomerang back to her hometown, Pittsburgh. Home again. She passionately emerged and bloomed as a multi-media, interdisciplinary artist and also started Sun Crumbs, a non-profit trans-cultural multi-arts organization that promoted, supported and mentored other fellow emerging artists.

Her musical career began while studying Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University in the late 80’s. There she became the bass player for the theatrical Punk Rock outfit the Small Fat Grandmas. Comprised of fellow art student friends; The Small Fat Grandma’s were known for dressing up as Grandmothers in black trench coats, gray haired wigs and splattering the audience with blood.

In the early 1990s, Christiane D performed in several groups, such as, Liz Berlin’s (of Rusted Root) side project the Mosquitos; Cusp Worldwide, a street performance poetry group; Urban Aesthetics, a hip hop jazz poetry group and the famed live jazz funk, poetry outfit known as the Scratch Poets.

Christiane D was compelled to take on greater challenges. She and Herman Pearl founded Soma Mestizo. Their band seamlessly blended world music with a dark, theatrical sensuality. Performing at venues in and around Pittsburgh, Soma Mestizo also appeared at the Philly Fringe Festival, North by Northeast, and created soundtracks for several independent films. In 2000, she and Herman worked with New York DJ/Producer MKL. The musical project (which later became known as 3 Generations Walking) blended Afro-Brazilian Deep House as a collaborative interaction between Pittsburgh and New York musicians. 3GW did a small tour, which kicked off with a show at the Beachland Ballroom in New York, opening for KOOP. The singles and full album reached a global dance market, including New York, London, Japan, and Italy. 3GW freed the sultry in her lyrics and voice.

Christiane D continues to work with Indigenous Resistance records, a Global Dub musical project based out of Brazil. All the songs created and records released are produced to inform the listener of the plight of Indigenous peoples worldwide. The various collaborations have included Herman Pearl, Asian Dub Foundation, Adrian Sherwood, Chuck D and the Solomon Island singer, Olovotu. Christiane D is the instrument creating and music is the conduit of her soul, inviting listeners deeply back into themselves. She writes panoramic vignettes from the inside of the “other”. Life of a Toy, released in 1998, exemplifies her empathy with a Chinese child chained to a sewing machine.

Inchoately, she decided to take a three-year hiatus. She explored the question of whether she still loved creating art. The answer came in the form of a dream. Obliquity of the Ecliptic is the outcome. It is time, to come full circle. Time to learn to do one’s own dance! Balance between the warm darkness of nature and the cold light of technology. Time to give the homeless songs the proper funky abode in OOTE. Time for your eardrums to eat her heart.

In Obliquity of the Ecliptic (OOTE), Christiane D has produced her first solo album. This collection of songs reaches into the very fabric of human experience; struggling to survive, falling from grace, or rising to the heavens. Astronomically speaking, OOTE is the pull on the planet towards the light of the sun or the darkness of space, the reason for the seasons. The earth’s axis is tilting from high and warm to low and cold, immutable and shifting the cycle of days. Various theories state the earth’s axis is not fixed and immutable for all times. Recent natural disasters have disrupted the earth’s rotation and caused its spin to accelerate. Indonesian earthquake/tsunami - 2.68 microseconds. Sumatran earthquake – 6.8 microseconds. Chilean earthquake – 1.26 microseconds. Japanese earthquake – 1.8 microseconds.

She became fascinated with the circular wobble and cyclical motion of the earth’s ecliptic and how it mirrored her own shifts and spoke to her need to realign, balance during her own personal disasters. OOTE is a collection of intimate songs that pinpoint the balance, imbalance, breakups and breakdowns of the human condition. Marking each of these disasters are poetic satellite interludes signaling emotional shifts, tracing the influence of astral changes, connecting the stories.

An enigmatic musical raconteur “... whose lyrics tell unconventional stories in traditional prose or poetic ways; more extreme than the folk ballads of Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan. Leach’s stories are like movies, with scenes set and emotions conveyed through the eyes of the characters…” (Pittsburgh City Paper) Intimate and human, Christiane D uses her prodigious storytelling skills to narrate human catastrophes: a drug addicted boyfriend; self hate in the mirror; finding the strength despite the disasters; creating inner peace from the stars and space above.

Drawing on the traditions of African-American styles of Jazz, Blues, Funk and Hip-Hop, Christiane D fuses these influences with Rock, Punk, Classical/Opera, world/ethnic music and early Electronica into a multi-genre blend. She has evolved the practices of improvisational jazz to encompass the beats of these diverse genres, creating a layered and unique sound.

Her earliest musical influences came from her parent’s collection of classical and world music. John Coltrane, Weather Report, Willie Colon, Beethoven, Sarah Vaughn, and Flora Purim, are a few of the artists that provided a round the clock soundtrack for her childhood. Using that early exposure, she and her sister built their own music collection of rebellion that spanned Punk, Heavy Metal and Hip Hop: a “vermischung” (blending) of Black Flag, Judas Priest, Grace Jones, Gang of Four, Kraftwerk, Au Pair, Black Sabbath, Parliament and Public Enemy.

Christiane D, solo and reinventing herself, decided to tap into the expansive community of remarkable musicians in Pittsburgh who would be skillfully receptive to experimentation. OOTE features an impressive roster of over twenty musicians and producers whose genres span from jazz to heavy metal. She brought them together for the fist time to create music with only a rough draft to work from. The recordings capture the power of improvisation and magic of spontaneity.

“OOTE speaks timelessly, with a spiritual backbone and genre-bending sound (Leach neologically deems her genre "esque"), but also alludes to our current world with hints of gender politics and class struggle. Sonically, the album warps through punk-rock aesthetics, hip-hop montage, rock 'n' roll power and inflections of jazz free-spiritedness.” (Pittsburgh City Paper)

Christiane D...An artist making music...a poet singing songs... a musician doing films...a songwriter spinning text... a visionary on an art journey

Releases
Soma Mestizo:
Albums: Ergo, Life of a toy, Peepshow, Interim I & II, Silversun ep (Natural Resources records), Nasty Boy, and Telomere.
3 Generations Walking:
Songs: Skin, Moments in Love, Glory, Mohawk, and Feed
Indigenous Resistance:
Songs: Eagle Screaming Red Sky Alight, Tattoo, and Ivere...the land.
Songwriting:
Phat Man Dee: Christiane D’s songs featured on her two releases, Life just Goes On and Torch of Blue.

Six Days Left

2012-01-23T20:34:00.004-06:00

Less than a week to go and they still need a good bit to go. Help them make some great music!

Simply Six: Megan Blue

2012-01-23T20:26:00.002-06:00

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew
they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed
Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan
half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

When I was five, I was obsessed with the theme song from 'Flash Dance'. I remember twirling around on the orange shag carpet with my fisher-price plastic microphone. I was hooked pretty early!

2 . When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of

your favorites? I love funky music. The New Orleans music scene is so inspiring to me! I especially love Jon Cleary and Papa Grows Funk. I also love the greats- Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Aretha, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Susan Tedeschi. Anything that's got a lot of soul to it, and that makes you want to dance.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record

or live? Oh, I have to pick one? Singing at Jazzfest in 2001 was pretty amazing. We just did a tour for Sundance Film Festival, and we had an amazing gig up in Park City- brought the house down. That was incredible! Any time I can connect with the audience and take them away from their daily grind and into a different world- that is my greatest achievement as an artist.

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something   to listen   to?

How much can music influence current events? I ABSOLUTELY believe music can and has changed the world. Artists that have a voice have an incredible platform and influence- Just look at some of the greats- John Lennon, Michael Franti, Ben Harper. There are artists out there that have gotten me to think about how I can make the world a better place- and I love to be a part of that kind of music.   Music and Art are always intertwined with current events- Political songs have been making us aware and creating revolutions for hundreds of years. 'I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down...'

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected

your career as a musician? Technology is a double-edged sword. The worst of it is, people just don't want to pay for recorded music any more. They want to burn it from a friend, get it for free off the internet. That effects all musicians who are trying to make a living off of album sales. Now it has to be about live shows, which is o.k., except I think that if you start thinking you don't need to pay for the album, why pay to see it live, when I can just watch it on Youtube? The good thing about it is that you can reach a much wider audience through all of these social mediums we have now. How has this effected me? Simple math- Because record labels are dying out, they don't have the funds to support their talent. They don't have funds to send out talent scouts and agents in search of new talent. This means that the ARTIST is now in charge of seeking out labels and agents, not vice versa, and now we are also expected to be promoters in addition to everything else. You have to be incredibly tenacious, incredibly driven, and incredibly stubborn to make it happen. Luckily I am all of those things. In addition to that, you have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe that you have something that HAS to be heard.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of

shoes would you be?

Vintage blue leather cowboy boots- because blue is my signature color, my last name, and the name of my band, and because cowboy boots can be worn anywhere with anything- dresses, jeans, ball gowns. And they look great on stage!

I also do a column called POV where you can basically write about anything you want. I've had everything from the Occupy Wall Street to ghosts to music talked about. So if you'd like to do that that would be cool. Do you have any videos I could post, I only found one on youtube....just thinking it would help let people see and hear you.

Keep Giving

2012-01-20T11:27:00.003-06:00

Megan Blue is coming towards the end of her kickstarter campaign and needs more money. Let's help her out.

R.I.P. Etta James

2012-01-20T11:25:00.002-06:00

Video: Hope Waits

2012-01-12T20:11:00.002-06:00

Video Wednesday

2012-01-11T22:46:00.001-06:00

This Wednesday we feature Gangstagrass.

Coming Up On Music on the Couch

2012-01-11T22:40:00.002-06:00

Monday, January 16, 2012
10pm Eastern; 9pm Central; 8pm Mountain; 7pm Pacific

We will take your calls and questions for both guests at 1.347.633.9400

The live interactive chat room opens 20 minutes before show time. Follow this link HERE and click on the Chat Now icon.

Come hang with the fans and musicians who visit each week.

Come Sit On The Couch With
Musicians You Should Know

THIS WEEK:

International Blues Challenge - Preview 2

JP Soars & Little Joe McLerran

Sit On The Couch

JP Soars

JP Soars & The Red Hots won the Band Challenge in 2009. Soars also individually won the event's Albert King Award, which established him as the best guitar player in the competition

JP Soars, is a musical melting pot, with influences from all genres of music, including heavy metal, which is where his professional career as a musician got it’s start.

What has happened to JP and the band since their win?

We will speak to JP about that and also his recent collaboration with past Couch guests Victor Wainwright andDamon Fowler in Southern Hospitality, a super group for the blues if there is one.

Of course, we will catch tunes from JP's latest album, Back Of My Mind.

"Little" Joe McLerran

2009 was also the year Joe McLerranwon the Solo/Duo Challenge.

Since then, McLerran has been taking his Piedmont Blues to all corners of the Earth.

In the spring of 2010, on behalf of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the US State Department, Little Joe took his band for a month long tour of Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

McLerran won the IBC on his fourth try. What kept driving him to make his way to Memphis for the Challenge? What did he learn from the rigorous event and how has it aided his career since?

We will chat with Joe about these things while listening to his music.

Voices to hear

Beautiful Struggle: American-Ivorian Trans-Atlantic Band Zieti Turns War, Separation, and MIDI Madness into Perfect Afropop on Zemelewa

Megan Blue!

Crazy With Joy: Henry Cole & the Afro-Beat Collective Find An Age-Old Mestizo Heart and Fresh Jazz Flash in Afrobeat on Roots Before Branches

Music on the Couch at the 2012 International Blues Challenge

Music On The Couchat the2012 International Blues Challenge

Spotlight: Marcia Hayden Hendrick

3 Days To GO!

New Release from Little Known Government of TriBeCaStan: Capital New Deli Found to Have Irregular Time-Space Continuum

Introducing....Hayley

Spotlight: Michaela Clarke

Show Your Love

4 Days To GO!

Video Wednesday

Thread Through Time: No Stranger Here Ties Indian Classical Singing, Edgy Spoken Word, and Polished Electronica to the Surging Love and Ancient Poems of a Renegade Mystic

Spotlight: Norine Braun

Nuyorbalkan: New York Gypsy All-Stars Jump the Turnstiles of Balkanalia, Turkish Roots, and Gypsy Soul with Funky Refinement

Five Days To Go

Spotlight: Edgy Folk

Christiane D; a Visionary on an Art Journey Through 'Obliquity of the Ecliptic'

Six Days Left

Simply Six: Megan Blue

Keep Giving

R.I.P. Etta James

Video: Hope Waits

Video Wednesday

Coming Up On Music on the Couch

JP Soars

"Little" Joe McLerran

Music On The Couch
at the
2012 International Blues Challenge