Named for the David Bowie song, The Kooks are known for their stylish, yet visceral, 3 minute productions. My first encounter with the group was when I heard 'Eddie's Gun' on the radio several months back, and needless to say, I was unimpressed. It wasn't until recently, when I heard the quite melodic 'Naive,' that I thought hard to myself: The Kooks are actually quite good!
The small, six-sided room that houses KUNI public radio's Live From Studio One was filled near seating capacity on a Monday night for the performance and live broadcast of Twin Cities Gospel Americana trio Tom Feldmann & the Get-Rites.
February 26 is a bitterly cold evening, but that doesn't stop the approximately 40 audience members who trek to the third floor of the University of Northern Iowa's Communication Arts Center to hear Feldmann's soulful mix of country and Delta Blues. Without a stage as a barrier, chairs are pushed right up to the band's equipment for a truly intimate performance. The predominantly college-aged crowd pick out seats where available. A setup which starts a bit awkwardly eases into embrace with every song that is played.
Throughout the next hour, the band churns out a dozen tracks in support of its new 2007 LP, Side Show Revival. KUNI's Karen Impola hosts the evening, interviewing Feldmann between songs. In response to a question about the spiritual nature of the music, Feldmann replies, "I think music is what you assign it."
The 29 year old Feldmann says he was first introduced to blues at age 17 by way of John Lee Hooker. After buying one of Hooker's albums, Feldmann felt a deep connection to blues and self-taught himself to play guitar. As Feldman says, "I didn't start out wanting to be a frontman, but when nobody else around was playing this kind of music, it kind of made me take on that role."
Ten years after first picking up a guitar, Feldmann shows a maturity beyond his years. His appearance may be youthful, sporting an embroidered western shirt and a trucker hat, but once his mouth opens, a voice of experience calls out. His vocals are haggard and soulful, without seeming the least bit pretentious. This sincerity doesn't have to beg the listener to pay attention. Coupled with the picking and sliding of his resonator guitar, and the solid rhythms coming from drummer Jed Staack and Paul Liebenow on upright bass, the trio create a subtle, yet engaging blend of classic blues styles.
Halfway through the evening's first medley, the slow drag of "Save Us All/So Glad," it is easy to feel as if one has transported to the deep South. By the fifth track, the aptly-titled homage "Johnny Cash," it is obvious where much of Feldmann's musical roots are buried. A couple of songs later Feldmann tells the story of a hitchhiker they picked up en-route to Alabama, and trails off into a slow dance style song that stirs images of dimlit roadhouse bars filled with the smell of smoke and cheap whiskey.
This image is probably appropriate when Feldmann explains his start playing Minneapolis blues clubs for older crowds when he was 19. When it comes to performing, Feldmann says his advice to aspiring musicians is "Perseverence. Expect people won't like what you're doing. In a healthy way, don't take criticism personally...If you only find a small percentage of people who connect to what you're doing, that's still something, and a small percentage everywhere equals out to a lot of people."
Towards the end of the performance, the band performed another evening highlight, "Seven Trumpets Sound," a track from their 2005 album Driven to My Knees. Feldmann alternates between a raspy whisper and a deep croon as the song plays dark and slow, like a dirge. In transition to the last song, Feldmann lets out a howl and the snare drum starts to roll. The tempo picks up and the guitar breaks into a twangy country slide.
After the performance, the group sticks around and talks with audience members. Feldmann remarks that as a second time performer at Studio One, he enjoys KUNI's open-minded support for diversity in music.
For more information on Tom Feldmann & the Get-Rites, visit www.TomFeldmann.com and check out the group's MySpace.
Move over Oscar and Grammy, there is a new award that celebrates the Martin Scorseses of cyberspace. Monday morning, YouTube announced the winners of it's first video awards.
Since its founding February 2005, YouTube, which is now a subsidiary of Google, has become a wildly popular phenomenon. Through YouTube, people upload and share videos on the Internet. It has become a forum for opinion, communication and entertainment —a launching pad for new celebrities.
Read the rest of the article and who the winners are here.
You haven't forgotten about Louis XIV already have you? No, not the French king--the band that broke it big for about ten minutes last year with their minor hit 'Finding Out True Love is Blind?'
While most of The Best Little Secrets Are Keptwas, indeed, entirely forgettable, there was one other song on that album that I can still find myself humming on any given day. 'All the Little Pieces' echoes the studio effects mastered on 'I Am the Walrus,' but provides a much more profound bridge than 'Walrus' does. At nearly five minutes long, the song starts slow and boring, but garners enough momentum to lead into a somewhat smashing crescendo in the midsection of the track. 'All the Little Pieces' is a song you must listen to uninterrupted from beginning to end to appreciate.
Demian Dominguez is an Argentinian guitar virtuoso whose self-titled group, Demian Band, is blowing up all over the underground blues-driven rock community. Dominguez has been playing axe since he was 15, and has even shared stages with the likes of Los Lobos and Elliott Murphy. His style is reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix, but his injection of Latin flavor provides an exciting contemporary groove replicated no where else within mainstream music.
The best way to experience Demian Band yourself is to download their newest album Bull Blues for free. You can also watch a live performance with Bernard Allison.
Here, I've provided a stream to 'Media Vida,' undoubtedly one of my favorites off the album.
From the CatholicNorwegian-Irish guy (Yes, there IS such a combination!!), I wish everybody a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Whether or not your day is spent sipping green beer, or chowing down on corned beef, I hope it is a joyous occasion.
While not everybody is as enamoured with St. Patrick's attempt at ridding the Emerald Isle of snakes as I am, we can at least appreciate some Irish-originated music. And of course, what is more stereotypical than some U2!!
But even U2 is a little hokey for some of us Hibernian-Americans. In expectation of just such a case, I've provided some Grade-A Dropkick Murphys. ---Some 'Shipping Off to Boston' to be exact.
Leave it to an Italian director to select some of the best Irish music ever, huh??
Again, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of our readers!!
Cezanne is the now-NYC based one man band of John Daugherity, who has previously recorded under the name Ten Everlasting Seconds. Possessing a voice pitched almost flawlessly between worn and ragged, and airy and smooth, these seven songs instill fond remembrances of past peaks set by folks like Chavez, Archers Of Loaf and Pavement. No-nonsense indie-rock and roll like this is pretty hard to find nowadays, so why don't you let Cezanne transport you back to better days?
Below, I've posted the stream to 'Hells Bells.' If you loved Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr., you'll really appreciate this song.
Believe it or not, one of my fondest memories is that of Ted and I arguing until the wee hours one morning as to which was the better Stone Temple Pilots record: Purple or Core. As it turns out, I was a Core man, while Ted was a Purple man.
What makes the argument so fascinating is that each album has so many strengths to draw upon. Purple was more commercially viable, lending us tracks like 'Vasoline,' 'Big Empty,' and the magnus opus 'Interstate Love Song.' ("Only yesterday you lieeeeed!"). Additionally, Scott Weiland seemed to permanently transform his voice to a much higher (but appealing) register on this album.
Core, on the other hand, was the debut culmination of a band that sounded a lot like grunge rockers Pearl Jam at the time---but when really examined, didn't really sound like Pearl Jam at all. STP's music, even in its earliest stage, was more cleaned up, more primed for radio than Pearl Jam's Ten and Vs. ever seemed to be. Sure, STP's 'Dead and Bloated' and 'Sex Type Thing' seemed laden with punked-out anger, but Pearl Jam's 'Go' and 'Animal' were even angrier. And to top it all off, Core took a page out of the Dark Side of the Moon playbook with instrumental transitions that segued tracks like 'Wicked Garden' to 'Sin.,' and 'Plush' to 'Crackerman.'
When it comes to making the final decision between Core and Purple, the ultimate factor, for me, is the strength of the supplemental tunes: the non-singles. While Purple is certainly a classic album for the band,tracks like 'Army Ants' or 'Kitchenware and Candybars' seem too clean or too cloned from its immediate antecedent. (Does anyone not think that 'Kitchenware and Candybars' sounds like a 'Where the River Goes' part II??) Conversely, Core contains songs of passion and conviction, even if they do lack the studio cleanliness that Purple's 'Big Empty' perfects.
Regardless of where you may stand on the issue, I've included a song off each album: Core's 'Sin' and Purple's 'Still Remains,' for your own studies. Even if you may not possess a strong opinion either way, be sure to enjoy!
Here's a thoroughly entertaining video that has been blowing up online lately. I'm perfectly sure I'm not the first to link to it, but hey, as a fan of a'capella, beatboxing, and of course the mighty Phil Collins, this track was just too hard to pass up.
The group is Naturally 7, an R&B/Gospel septet hailing from NYC. All of the instruments the band plays - percussion, bass, keyboard, guitar, and horns - are made solely from vocal rhythms and harmonies. The band calls this style "vocal play" as opposed to "a'cappella," to represent that they don't merely sing without instruments, but AS instruments. Naturally 7seems to bring a heightened spiritual and emotional level to the music, and the result is not only catchy, but physically impressive.
The group's single takes on the often-sampled chorus of Phil Collin's classic "In the Air Tonight."Naturally 7 have garnered a strong European following, and the rumor surrounding this video is that it was filmed on board a Parisian subway train. To my knowledge, the group's new album, Ready II Fly, has been released in Europe for a couple months now, but has yet to make a U.S. appearance.
Here's the link to the group's official music video for the song. The official version has significantly better audio quality, but I still find the mass transit version alot more fun.
Although probably their least acclaimed album, The Soft Parade spawned a number of daring tracks that strayed away from the usual Doors model.
'Tell All the People' was just one such number. With marching brass prefacing Morrison's vocals, the entire canticle comes across as one bloated, over-produced, Fat Elvis of a song that...surprisingly works.
Perhaps it is its sirenesque hook, or its whimsical lyrics:
"Follow me across the sea/Where milky babies seem to be; Molded, flowing revelry/With the one that set them free"
Or perhaps, instead, it is the fact the song was composed by guitarist Robbie Krieger that 'Tell All the People' comes across as a breath of fresh air for those treading the Doors catalog.
While 'Tell All the People' may never top the trendy influence of 'Crystal Ship' or 'Love Street,' it will always hold an important spot as a flavorful sensation within the vaults of deep Rock and Roll.
Catch "Breakfast With Korn," a live event that will be presented Tuesday, March 6, between 8-10 am PST and broadcast on the world famous KROQ. This event will feature intimate performances by the band, as well as several interviews, all from a secret location!
Everyone has the opportunity to catch this sure-to-be groundbreaking performance by going to AT&T's Blue Room music site. After this live set has commenced, the AT&T Blue Room will be looping the broadcast for up to 24 additional hours for those who were unable to catch the original airing. Additionally, the interviews will be archived for permanent access.
If you can't experience Korn live, and in person, enjoy the next best thing: "Breakfast With Korn" via AT&T's Blue Room, Tuesday March 6 at 8am PST.
OK, I'm not one to rush out to see most films upon release to theater. In fact, I'm not even one who waits for the release to DVD. No, I'm one who usually is begrudgingly persuaded by a friend or loved one to invest two hours into watching a movie that everyone else has been raving about for the past year or so long after the production has been removed from the new release racks of most video stores.
Usually, I'm not impressed, and I end up regretting that the last two hours of my life I spent watching the movie are a couple I will never get back again. But sometimes, the movie-watching experience is strangely worth my while.
The latter affair is exactly what happened to me when I watched The Devil Wears Prada via my girlfriend's Netflix selection. Not only was the movie unexpectedly entertaining for me, but the soundtrack was surprisingly delectable as well.
One track by Jamiroquai known as 'Seven Days in Sunny June' particularly struck my fancy. Not straying too far from the typical Jamiroquai form, the song renders a punctual reflection of the world of the fashionista; chilled out and jazzy, the melody is all things cosmopolitan.
While you may not agree with my sentiments regarding the film, I hope you share my opinion when it comes to the tune:
You just never can tell what some random browsing of YouTube will provide a music-savvy user such as myself. After checking out their network for a few moments, I stumbled upon this so-called "rare footage" of power pop master, Matthew Sweet, in an interview from 1989.
The half-minute video is apparently an excerpt from a show known as Alternate Beat, a program that aired on local access cable in Cleveland, Ohio during the time just before College Radio hit the mainstream. And to echo the comments of user Operanaka1 on the YouTube page, Mr. Sweet does appear to have an "intense look" emitting from his eyes.
One of my favorite Matthew Sweet songs is 'Sick of Myself,' and you can listen to it here:
Otherwise, you can view the interview video from '89 below:
Blogs are for Dogs has a link to a sample of "Walken," a tune contained on the forthcoming Wilco album. Sky Blue Sky is the expected name of the new long player, and it is scheduled for release in May.
Named for the David Bowie song, The Kooks are known for their stylish, yet visceral, 3 minute productions. My first encounter with the group was when I heard 'Eddie's Gun' on the radio several months back, and needless to say, I was unimpressed. It wasn't until recently, when I heard the quite melodic 'Naive,' that I thought hard to myself: The Kooks are actually quite good!
From CBS News:
You haven't forgotten about Louis XIV already have you? No, not the French king--the band that broke it big for about ten minutes last year with their minor hit 'Finding Out True Love is Blind?'
Demian Dominguez is an Argentinian guitar virtuoso whose self-titled group, Demian Band, is blowing up all over the underground blues-driven rock community. Dominguez has been playing axe since he was 15, and has even shared stages with the likes of Los Lobos and Elliott Murphy. His style is reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix, but his injection of Latin flavor provides an exciting contemporary groove replicated no where else within mainstream music.
From the Catholic Norwegian-Irish guy (Yes, there IS such a combination!!), I wish everybody a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Whether or not your day is spent sipping green beer, or chowing down on corned beef, I hope it is a joyous occasion.
From the press release:
Believe it or not, one of my fondest memories is that of Ted and I arguing until the wee hours one morning as to which was the better Stone Temple Pilots record: Purple or Core. As it turns out, I was a Core man, while Ted was a Purple man.
Although probably their least acclaimed album, The Soft Parade spawned a number of daring tracks that strayed away from the usual Doors model.
OK, I'm not one to rush out to see most films upon release to theater. In fact, I'm not even one who waits for the release to DVD. No, I'm one who usually is begrudgingly persuaded by a friend or loved one to invest two hours into watching a movie that everyone else has been raving about for the past year or so long after the production has been removed from the new release racks of most video stores.
Blogs are for Dogs has a link to a sample of "Walken," a tune contained on the forthcoming Wilco album. Sky Blue Sky is the expected name of the new long player, and it is scheduled for release in May.
