Coachella…the hottest desert party outside of Dubai returned this past weekend to Indio, CA. Luckily, I was able to go for at least one day yesterday (Sunday) thanks to my cousin and a trusty Main Stage wristband. I know it wasn’t the “best” day lineup-wise, but whatever. You just have to know where to look. I got some sweet pictures, and great video. Enjoy…there will be more to come as it’s all uploaded.
the Cool Kids:
I’m From Barcelona:
Holy Fuck:
Does It Offend You, Yeah?:
Duffy:
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Coachella…the hottest desert party outside of Dubai returned this past weekend to Indio, CA. Luckily, I was able to go for at least one day yesterday (Sunday) thanks to my cousin and a trusty Main Stage wristband. I know it wasn’t the “best” day lineup-wise, but whatever. You just have to know where to look. I got some sweet pictures, and great video. Enjoy…there will be more to come as it’s all uploaded.
the Cool Kids:
I’m From Barcelona:
Holy Fuck:
Does It Offend You, Yeah?:
Duffy:
Categories: Uncategorized
Wanted to share a new song by Alex from when he played here in L.A. at The Troubadour.
Alex Neckman – Aloud
For a few videos from that evening click these links:
Categories: Uncategorized
Wanted to share a new song by Alex from when he played here in L.A. at The Troubadour.
Alex Neckman – Aloud
For a few videos from that evening click these links:
Categories: Uncategorized
Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are the working entities of She & Him. An Actress and a musician join forces to create a debut record that is full of tunes that consist of both originals and covers in the form of ’60’s pop mixed with a darling Country twang. On the first spin the covers melded right into the originals and I had to listen to the lyrics and stop and think, “wait a second, this is a cover.” The interesting thing about covering well-known tunes is there is not much middle ground. The end product is either pretty awful, or manages to hold up to the original. Thankfully, Zooey sings every song as if it’s her own. I should probably back up just a moment before jumping into the album. Zooey met M. Ward on the set of a movie for which he was doing the soundtrack. They found common musical interests and began recording together. Industry folks knew that Zooey could sing, but was never thought to be terribly serious about it. And her musical guide M. Ward has become more widely known with his association with Zooey. I’ve been hooked on his music for a few years now. His lyricism and musicianship are first class, and he clearly brings a lot to the songs on their debut album.
Volume I consists of both original songs and a few cover songs. If there is a “problem” with the album it’s there’s not enough of M. Ward singing. He has a great voice and creates wonderful textures when they do sing together, but you’re left wanting more duets. After all, it’s billed as “She & Him”, not “She & and smidgen of Him.” Hopefully this is rectified in their live performances because if you went to a show and just saw Zooey singing and M. Ward playing guitar you’d probably feel a bit short-changed. Overall, the album is pretty wonderful. On the first listen I kinda had to make sure it was coming out of my iPod and not a record player because it has such a vintage feel. This album could have been recorded and released in 1973 and would have fit in and been right at home. It has a dusty quality that made me want to play it out of “old” speakers to enhance the feel of the old-timey fidelity. Nothing on this album feels forced or fake or pretentious. Zooey seems to have just gone in over the course of a few weeks and recorded some songs with a great friend and song writer in M. Ward. The final creation will probably add validity to her claim to be called Actress/Musician Zooey Deschanel. As for M. Ward, you can clearly hear his influence on the album, but hopefully on Volume II he puts more of his voice next to Zooey instead of just his guitar. The track below is one of the covers that is superb and Zooey really makes her own. UPDATE: NYT Article (4/16)
Categories: Uncategorized
Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are the working entities of She & Him. An Actress and a musician join forces to create a debut record that is full of tunes that consist of both originals and covers in the form of ’60’s pop mixed with a darling Country twang. On the first spin the covers melded right into the originals and I had to listen to the lyrics and stop and think, “wait a second, this is a cover.” The interesting thing about covering well-known tunes is there is not much middle ground. The end product is either pretty awful, or manages to hold up to the original. Thankfully, Zooey sings every song as if it’s her own. I should probably back up just a moment before jumping into the album. Zooey met M. Ward on the set of a movie for which he was doing the soundtrack. They found common musical interests and began recording together. Industry folks knew that Zooey could sing, but was never thought to be terribly serious about it. And her musical guide M. Ward has become more widely known with his association with Zooey. I’ve been hooked on his music for a few years now. His lyricism and musicianship are first class, and he clearly brings a lot to the songs on their debut album.
Volume I consists of both original songs and a few cover songs. If there is a “problem” with the album it’s there’s not enough of M. Ward singing. He has a great voice and creates wonderful textures when they do sing together, but you’re left wanting more duets. After all, it’s billed as “She & Him”, not “She & and smidgen of Him.” Hopefully this is rectified in their live performances because if you went to a show and just saw Zooey singing and M. Ward playing guitar you’d probably feel a bit short-changed. Overall, the album is pretty wonderful. On the first listen I kinda had to make sure it was coming out of my iPod and not a record player because it has such a vintage feel. This album could have been recorded and released in 1973 and would have fit in and been right at home. It has a dusty quality that made me want to play it out of “old” speakers to enhance the feel of the old-timey fidelity. Nothing on this album feels forced or fake or pretentious. Zooey seems to have just gone in over the course of a few weeks and recorded some songs with a great friend and song writer in M. Ward. The final creation will probably add validity to her claim to be called Actress/Musician Zooey Deschanel. As for M. Ward, you can clearly hear his influence on the album, but hopefully on Volume II he puts more of his voice next to Zooey instead of just his guitar. The track below is one of the covers that is superb and Zooey really makes her own. UPDATE: NYT Article (4/16)
Categories: Uncategorized
In no way would I label myself as a “country music fan” or aficionado, but I’ve listened to a fair amount in the comfort of my studio headphones with the bedroom door closed. It’s not that I’m ashamed of the music, but it does come with a certain stigma. Then again, so does pretty much every type of music. The reason I’ve never been very taken by Country music is kind of the same reason I’m not taken by R&B or Reggae; it all pretty much sounds the same, there’s nothing that really sticks out. I take pride in being able to hear something random and tell you who or what band it is, but with the aforementioned genres they meld together. If you listen to a whole album you feel like you’ve been listening to the same song for 50 minutes. So, for me to make the effort to listen to a the newest Nashville star took a little bit of time and steady convincing (eventually being swayed by a profile in Entertainment Weekly). Taylor Swift is probably one of the youngest huge popular music stars in the U.S. Being only 18 has made all of her success that much more incredible. She initially began singing from a very young age and writing songs when she was in her early teens. As she became more and more interested in singing, her parents took her down from her hometown of Wyomissing, PA to Nashville, TN for performances where she gave out demo tapes to every receptionist on Music Row. To make a short story shorter, she was signed by independent label Big Machine Records after the owner (Scott Borchetta) saw her perform at the famed Bluebird Café. Her first single, “Tim McGraw” was released in the summer of 2006 ahead of her debut album that came out in October of that year.
Taylor Swift is somewhat remarkable considering the singer only 16 when it was recorded. Not to mention the fact she wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. The subject matter she deals with is as old as time, but the maturity mixed with teenage naïveté is a blessing in disguise. You may think, “this little girl is so young and has no idea what heartbreak is” but then you listen to the songs and she convinces you that, in fact, maybe she does know. Her voice is both precocious and mature beyond her years. You can hear the girlishness but also the passion in her delivery that suggests she’s only going to get better. If she’s only going up from here the bar has officially been raised, since she is leaps and bounds beyond any other upstarts that may come along. As for the album as a whole, it definitely has standout moments, and others that are quite alright. Saying that she is just taking off is pretty naïve, but she’s already a star having opened for the likes of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their joint tour, George Strait, Brad Paisley, and Rascal Flatts. She has been nominated for AMAs, Grammys, and CMAs in the past 2 years. Her follow-up is due out later this year. And overall, the record was enjoyable and I can finally see what all the hype is about.
Categories: Uncategorized
In no way would I label myself as a “country music fan” or aficionado, but I’ve listened to a fair amount in the comfort of my studio headphones with the bedroom door closed. It’s not that I’m ashamed of the music, but it does come with a certain stigma. Then again, so does pretty much every type of music. The reason I’ve never been very taken by Country music is kind of the same reason I’m not taken by R&B or Reggae; it all pretty much sounds the same, there’s nothing that really sticks out. I take pride in being able to hear something random and tell you who or what band it is, but with the aforementioned genres they meld together. If you listen to a whole album you feel like you’ve been listening to the same song for 50 minutes. So, for me to make the effort to listen to a the newest Nashville star took a little bit of time and steady convincing (eventually being swayed by a profile in Entertainment Weekly). Taylor Swift is probably one of the youngest huge popular music stars in the U.S. Being only 18 has made all of her success that much more incredible. She initially began singing from a very young age and writing songs when she was in her early teens. As she became more and more interested in singing, her parents took her down from her hometown of Wyomissing, PA to Nashville, TN for performances where she gave out demo tapes to every receptionist on Music Row. To make a short story shorter, she was signed by independent label Big Machine Records after the owner (Scott Borchetta) saw her perform at the famed Bluebird Café. Her first single, “Tim McGraw” was released in the summer of 2006 ahead of her debut album that came out in October of that year.
Taylor Swift is somewhat remarkable considering the singer only 16 when it was recorded. Not to mention the fact she wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. The subject matter she deals with is as old as time, but the maturity mixed with teenage naïveté is a blessing in disguise. You may think, “this little girl is so young and has no idea what heartbreak is” but then you listen to the songs and she convinces you that, in fact, maybe she does know. Her voice is both precocious and mature beyond her years. You can hear the girlishness but also the passion in her delivery that suggests she’s only going to get better. If she’s only going up from here the bar has officially been raised, since she is leaps and bounds beyond any other upstarts that may come along. As for the album as a whole, it definitely has standout moments, and others that are quite alright. Saying that she is just taking off is pretty naïve, but she’s already a star having opened for the likes of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their joint tour, George Strait, Brad Paisley, and Rascal Flatts. She has been nominated for AMAs, Grammys, and CMAs in the past 2 years. Her follow-up is due out later this year. And overall, the record was enjoyable and I can finally see what all the hype is about.
Categories: Uncategorized
The only reason you would think The Duke Spirit is from the planet Neptune is due to the fact their music is out of this world. Ok, sorry for that. But in reality I’m not far off in saying The Duke Spirit may take off into stardom. The first chapter of the British band starts when lead singer Liela Moss was attending art school for photography and became friends with guitarist Luke Ford who was studying painting at the same school. The two began writing music together and soon after ditched school to move to London. Once there, Liela and Luke recruited fellow friend Toby Butler to be the bassist, and a new roommate Dan Higgins became the second guitarist. Olly Betts joined the lineup and then the band was complete. Their first EP Darling, You’re Mean (2003) was released in the UK by the City Rockers label. The band’s second EP of that year Roll, Spirit, Roll (2003) was met with critical acclaim by the likes of NME. As the band was still recording and touring with the intention of releasing their debut in 2004 their label City Rockers folded early in 2004 leaving the band without a musical home. After signing with Loog their debut Cuts Across The Land (2005) was finally released. But tumultuous times still lay ahead for the band as they toured the US supporting Ted Leo after signing a U.S. distribution deal with Startime International. During 2006 tour they played to a raucous crowd at Coachella, but had huge bumps when Toby broke his arm in Vegas and their gear was stolen in Portland. Needless to say, things were a bit rocky. Just as momentum would start swinging their way they were derailed. But thankfully, the train has been righted and is charging full-steam ahead.
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The only reason you would think The Duke Spirit is from the planet Neptune is due to the fact their music is out of this world. Ok, sorry for that. But in reality I’m not far off in saying The Duke Spirit may take off into stardom. The first chapter of the British band starts when lead singer Liela Moss was attending art school for photography and became friends with guitarist Luke Ford who was studying painting at the same school. The two began writing music together and soon after ditched school to move to London. Once there, Liela and Luke recruited fellow friend Toby Butler to be the bassist, and a new roommate Dan Higgins became the second guitarist. Olly Betts joined the lineup and then the band was complete. Their first EP Darling, You’re Mean (2003) was released in the UK by the City Rockers label. The band’s second EP of that year Roll, Spirit, Roll (2003) was met with critical acclaim by the likes of NME. As the band was still recording and touring with the intention of releasing their debut in 2004 their label City Rockers folded early in 2004 leaving the band without a musical home. After signing with Loog their debut Cuts Across The Land (2005) was finally released. But tumultuous times still lay ahead for the band as they toured the US supporting Ted Leo after signing a U.S. distribution deal with Startime International. During 2006 tour they played to a raucous crowd at Coachella, but had huge bumps when Toby broke his arm in Vegas and their gear was stolen in Portland. Needless to say, things were a bit rocky. Just as momentum would start swinging their way they were derailed. But thankfully, the train has been righted and is charging full-steam ahead.
Categories: Uncategorized
