Root Down in the Shadow

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November has quickly crept up on us.  A quick calendar page turn so, easily forgotten hidden between Halloween and Black-Friday/Pre-Winter holiday chaos.  Heck, the biggest thing for most people is Thanksgiving which is at the end of the month.  But here in Philadelphia, November is a reason to celebrate all month long; specifically celebrating the music scene in Philadelphia. "At the heart of Philly Sings Philly is the desire to explore our peers’ music, past and present, and the storied musical legacy of our city. As tradition goes, our hometown heroes will gather at The Fire every Tuesday in November to pay homage to their idols, adding a personal touch to their favorite songs by Philly-born artists. This year, the event has further expanded with new bands, fresh faces, and weekly curators." Week 1 of Philly Sings Philly is this Tuesday at the Fire , featuring many Philly Sings Philly alumni, curated by Philly Sings Philly creator, Brad Hinton .   The lin...

For the final installment of Cover Club at the Sluice Box, Brad Hinton gives a tease of what's next for him with an unreleased track, "Middle Man".  Recorded in late March, the session featured three bands: Psalmships , Katie Frank & The Pheromones , and Brad Hinton.  Katie Frank sat in on the session and harmonizes with the Bucks County bluesman on yet another song of heartbreak. Cover Club / Brad Hinton "Middle Man" featuring Katie Frank Brad explains, "Most of my heartbreak songs are written as a way to deal with a relationship after it goes south, and "Middle Man" is no exception. It's basically a plea for consideration." But where does it fit for Brad Hinton?  When asked if it will be on his next album, Brad explained: "I've been writing material for my next album, which is tentatively titled Chickadee , and will complete a trio of bird-themed albums, Mourning Dove and Whippoorwill before it. It will be mo...

When booking the first session of Cover Club back at  Breakneck Studios in October 2013, musician Kevin Killen reminded "You know, we already do this;" referring to Philly Sings Philly.   Done each week in November, Philly Sings Philly, has numerous Philadelphia based artists covering each other on the stage of The Fire !  It must have seemed like more than coincidental when we were able to match up the release schedule of the first set of Cover Club videos with bands playing the celebration of Philly music.  Christopher Davis-Shannon , Kevin Killen , and Chelsea Mitchell each had their Philly-centric covers released and played Philly Sings Philly. Brad Hinton, folk & country bluesman, the organizer of Philly Sings Philly and subject of the very first Club release (Christopher Davis-Shannon doing "Mourning Dove ) was a more than natural choice to include in a future session.  In fact after seeing all the bands either covering Brad Hinton or inclu...

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!   The first sessions for #CoverClub were recorded in October, at the intimate Break Neck Studios under the sonic helm of Peter Joseph!  The posts here at Root Down In The Shadow have featured the excellent videos by director Bob Sweeney with Paul Lorenz and Jeff Coon also behind the lens. Since the audio tracks are soooo good, it was decided they had to be shared!  Now at SoundCloud with permission from the bands we have switched the audio files to be a free download !!   Download them and share them.  Make sure all your friends hear them.  All we ask of you is to listen, watch, and share!  The Lawsuits members Brian Strouse & Vanessa Winters - photo by Jeff C...

Christopher Davis-Shannon , a preeminent upright bass player in the Philadelphia scene, is into two things: Simplicity and honoring the eras past.  Mostly this manifests with folk music. "I have a love for real traditional, dirty, authentic music," says Christopher Davis Shannon. Christopher is a magnet for these types of bands and projects.  Whether it's solo with his guitar, or playing upright with Lover's League , Dani Mari , April Mae & the June Bugs or Bill Haley Jr. & the Comets ; Davis-Shannon is likely to be involved if harkens back to the earlier traditional music. It's only natural that when selecting an artist for Cover Club, that Christopher Davis-Shannon would select Brad Hinton.  Christopher was hooked after listening to the Brad Hinton On The Hill session!  It was exactly what Davis-Shannon loves, "short, to the point, no bull-shit, well crafted, no showing off!"  Ironically Brad Hinton is somewhat of a kindred...

Here's a look back at the wildly successful 2nd Street Festival! Every day covering Philly music, I find yet another song, band, artist, festival, etc. to be excited about.  Sunday's find was the #2ndStreetFest.   I hadn't done all that much exploring in Northern Liberties, but hey The Bailey Hounds and New Sweden were playing, what else did I really need to know? Getting to the festival, I was a little nervous as I didn't know where the stages would be, but, ummm.. It is the 2nd Street Festival, so it couldn't be that hard right?  Walking to the Piazza at Schmidts , on 2nd street from Girard, the first stage became glaringly obvious.  Right smack in the middle of the street!  With logistics out of the way, it was time for fun! The next big show for Brad Hinton Band Looking back, I have the day split into two categories: Before Johnny Brenda's and After Johnny Brenda's .  The Johnny Brenda's bar/venue wasn't involved in the fest...