Root Down in the Shadow

After dinner and a beer at Boot & Saddle recently, crossing the threshold of the venue was more than going to a concert; it was a chance to go back in time.  For the evening, the talented outfits of Foxhound, Hezekiah Jones , and Ali Wadsworth transformed themselves into Nirvana , the Lemonheads , and Pearl Jam .  On any ordinary night, this would be a stellar line-up without any covers, but just talent alone.  But for this Saturday night, it stood to be an incredible night; recreating a night that many music fans wish they would have ever been a part of. First up was Foxhound.  Normally the duo of Chris Kasper and Kylie Ryan , they recruited some friends to make Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York happen.  Sean Hoots, complete with ripped jeans and a tied on flannel, played an acoustic bass and Tom Bendel was on drums.  Just as Nirvana took some liberties for the live recording, Foxhound made this their own as well as they played the whole album end to end sans &qu

Chris Kasper released Bagabones on October 1, 2013.  The self-produced, indie output is the 4th album from the Philadelphia mainstay. Bagabones was written in a small cabin owned by Chris’s late uncle in West Hurley, NY, just outside the town of Woodstock.  The energy of Woodstock danced its way into these songs, along with the calm of Byrdcliffe Mountain and a generous homage to Chris’s musical heroes.  While the album was engineered by Matt Muir of Kawari Studios and mastered by Philly soul producer Jim Salamone ( Teddy Pendergrass ), Chris Kasper stepped into the role of producer and arranger for this new work. Despite Bagabones being Chris Kasper's fourth album, this is my first album to listen to for Kasper as a relative new-comer to the Philadelphia scene.  I knew of Chris Kasper only by reputation from others in the scene.  In fact when going to his album release show in late September, I went without knowing any of his work, but it felt like a must-see after