Root Down in the Shadow

Last week, artscape.org released their musical lineup for the 2011 Artscape ! I am very excited to pass on the news that Philly's G Love and Special Sauce is the main headliner. Check your calendars for the July 15-17th weekend and head on down, up or over.  As Yankee & Red Sox fans can attest, Baltimore is a very inexpensive destination.  In fact many claim it is cheaper to travel, stay and get tickets for an Orioles game than to go to a Yankees or Red Sox game for a family.   The O's happen to be in town that weekend (see Orioles.com ) and there is a ton of delicious food within walking distance of the Artscape venues.  (See the Yabba Pot , Brewer's Art , and Iggie's Pizza) Although an overall weak festival lineup, in comparison to many of the pay festivals that are so popular these days, the lineup is pretty darn fantastic considering it's absolutely FREE.  In fact G Love on Saturday & Matisyahu on Sunday are some of the best headliners the ...

This latest entry in the COVER SONG OF THE WEEK vein is a tried and true formula. Take a verifiable classic, and tweak it to your own style? Don't overdo it and it will turn into a beauty. In this case, the Simon & Garfunkel jubilant tune 'Cecilia' was barely touched in this 2008 showing. Instead it was amplified with additional vocals and percussion, in this case the strengths of 2010 indie darlings the LOCAL NATIVES. Who are the Local Natives? According to Wikipedia: Local Natives are a successful Silver Lake (LA) band that caught steam from the 2009 SXSW festival and has yet to look back. They have ridden the media wave with their 2009 release Gorilla Manor and continue to get better and better. EDITOR NOTE: see previous Podcast edition - Best of the Interface post for a great live view While the band is in the works to recording a new album, give Gorilla Manor a listen. Many videos can be found on their site thelocalnatives.com including beau...

At the beginning of April, I fell in love with Buke & Gass.  I had been preparing for the Free Music 2010 best of post here.  I found myself watching the NPR Tiny Desk Concert of Buke & Gass over & over again after posting it. I had to learn more about this band. I needed to hear more! What I had expected listening to 'Revel In Contempt' since I found it in December, was a full band and lots of production.  What I saw on the NPR video was only two artists, and some sound I could easily discern with visible strumming and neck plunges.  It took reading about the band to learn more of why it sounded the way it does. Photo by Grant Cornett I learned that Brooklyn-based BUKE (byook) & GASS (gace) are Arone Dyer on the "buke" (a self-modified six-string former baritone ukulele) and Aron Sanchez on the "gass" (a guitar-bass hybrid of his own creation). Both of them play double duty, also mobilizing a small army of foot percussion....

I got a link this morning for yet another Julian Smith video.  This dude is funny, and today's link got me browsing his YouTube video's.  There are tons of <a href=" http://www.juliansmith.tv " target="_blank"> juliansmith.tv </a> Videos that are music.  I really hadn't caught on to the fact that he actually has songs on <a href=" http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/julian-smith/id652359 " target="_blank"> iTunes </a> , etc.  I'm usually pretty far behind when it comes to keeping up on Comedy.  This time I thought I'd share!   I'll start off with: My top 5 favorite comedy (modern) albums! 1. Tenacious D 2. Flight of the Concords - the Distant Future - EP 3. David Sedaris - Live at Carnegie Hall 4. Dane Cook - Retalliation 5. David Cross - Shut Up, You Fucking Baby! AND OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: TOP 5 JULIAN SMITH VIDEOS 1. Red Eye Flashes Twice by Julian Smith featuring Jeffery! friggin brillia...

Although I planned this post out a few weeks ago, having 'Heartbreak Even' as the song of the week is most fitting as my wife is out of town this weekend.  This was a song that we adopted early on in our relationship as one of our favorites.  She was out of the country that semester of college so this was always a sort of a "miss you" kind of a song.  'Heartbreak Even' was the lead single off of the 2001 double disc Revelling: Reckoning The song is a hit from its opening riff. The simplicity of the song is charming, while the vocals, guitar, bass, flute, clarinets, trumpet, and drums give it a wonderful complexity. The lyrics are fantastic, describing love as an all encompassing, all enveloping reality, rather than a layer or feeling. Excerpt from 'Heartbreak Even' by Ani DiFranco from Revelling: Reckoning by Ani DiFranco . "there is pressure from within this and pressure from above there is pressure on our tenuous, strenuous love and ...

Gillian Welch has been in and out of my music consciousness for the better part of two decades now. She was the composer of 'Orphan Girl' on Emmylou Harris's 1995 Wrecking Ball. She was featured on 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou? -tracks #9 'I'll Fly Away' with Alison Krauss & #10 'Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby' with Emmylou Harris, & Alison Krauss. In 2004 she co-wrote with David Rawlings  'Wouldn't Be so Bad', done by by Alison Krauss & Union Station on Lonely Runs Both Ways . Likewise in 2006 Elizabeth Mitchell sang 'Winter's Come and Gone' on You Are My Little Bird (also co-wrote by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings). However, it wasn't until the 2006 Black Star EP featuring the Radiohead cover of the title track, 'Black Star' that I really took a notice. The track (avail at iTunes ) is one of those covers that make you revisit the strength of the original. A very similar version by...

Part of the ongoing series of 'Molly Songs': a weekly look featuring songs that our children will love, but more importantly parents can enjoy as well. Mahna Mahna performed by the Muppets. There is a ton of information available on this cult classic kid song.  Wikipedia is the best all inclusive source. I'll give you the quick version.  Back when Jim Henson was growing the Muppets, he was featured on some variety shows.  When the Muppets own variety show option was picked up, this successful bit was re-used.  The song itself is based on an Italian song " Mah Nà Mah Nà ", which varied in popularity before and after the Muppet version success. " Mah Nà Mah Nà " by Piero Umiliani . The most popular remake since the Muppets has been Cake's version on 2007's Cake: B-Sides and Rarities .  Before my research, I disliked this version as I thought it was too much of a departure.  Little did I know it was most similar to the original, ...

Joy Clevenger & Michael Warner are “GreatStreet”.  Joy handles vocals & lyrics with a most obvious input of A Mother’s Song & Wife’s Lament.  Michael Warner is in charge of melodies, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and background vocals. “Life and faith are the core of this duo's music, influencing the inspired lyrics, earthy vocals, and natural instrumentation." I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Joy Clevenger (Stone) of GreatStreet back in high school.  When I first heard she had an album coming out, I immediately thought back to the days of being chauffeured to Cross Country meets via school bus and a young Joy singing ‘The River’(Garth Brooks not Bruce Springsteen).  I knew the new album was a Christian album, but I knew the album had to be worth a listen with her voice, so I compromised and bought it for my mom. As, I started writing my blog, I was listening to music more purposefuly.  Listening for meaning, listening for specific ins...

I had a blast doing the precursor to this post Free Music 2010 Best of . It was a load of fun finding out more of these bands and getting to share it. I absolutely fell for Buke & Gass, the #1 from 2010, and I'm really hoping to find some gems for 2011 worth checking out their albums. Keep an eye out for these posts, anything under the Free category above or the Tools to Enjoy Music category. I will keep trying to profile all the awesome places to get new and free music available for the masses; that is, if we all know where to look! 1. Those Dancing Days 'Fuckarias from Daydreams & Nightmares : I downloaded with a CMJ March 2011 sampler. It is still free from the band's website. 'Fuckarias' from Those Dancing Days on Daydreams & Nightmares Check out their whole album on their site Thanks to alaniaegon who posted on YouTube an explanation of the song title: "'Fuckarias' pronounced in Swedish sounds somewhat like “fooh-kah-R...