Root Down in the Shadow

In early 2011, I was excited for the release of the Iron & Wine album Kiss Each Other Clean .  I had been keeping an eye on their website for details of shows and maybe a free single.  At the time, the depth of what you could find on the internet for music was burgeoning.  The fans had spoken and wanted more music, but the free-for-all that was Napster, etc was over.   With Kiss Each Other Clean, s omething happened, that I had never experienced before.  All the promo stuff that happened previously city by city, limited to local fans at record stores and radio stations, this now was out on the web for all to see.  There were many session from stations across the country.  Included in this promotional explosion was a video session at Daytrotter.com! Here it was a Daytrotter session in video form. Iron & Wine pre-Kiss Each Other Clean  - Jan 12, 2011: Daytrotter Studio, Rock Island, IL This was and still is a beautiful piece of recordi...

Welcome back everyone! Good news, I've been waist deep in new & live music lately. Bad news, that does not leave much time to write. Here's a rundown of the best I've come across lately. LAST CONCERT(s): G. Love & Special Sauce headlined Artscape last weekend in Baltimore. It was a great time, as I got to catch up with some friends, and the Philadelphia trio+1 put on a great show. They played selections from throughout the G. Love & Special Sauce catalog, including the underappreciated Coast To Coast Motel   'Sweet Sugar Momma'. The covers they selected were outstanding. Early on they played '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover' fresh from the G. Love release Fixin to Die . An excellent 'Folsom Prison Blues' book-ended a superb end of concert selection with 'Just A Friend' originally by Baltimore favorite Biz Markie . The phenomenal selections in the middle were the fan favorites 'Cold Beverage' and 'Baby's Got...

What's better than enjoying a beautiful day outside.  I would say listening to live music on a beautiful day outside!  The only thing that bests that is when it is F-R-E-E. Back in my youth, I spent my summers organizing the social calendar for many of my friends.  We kept very busy with a gambit of FREE.  Sunday & Wednesday were free movies on Flagstaff hill overlooking the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.  Fridays were Msquared.  This was a few bands playing for free at Market Square in Pittsburgh.  The shows were awesome, the unheralded Pittsburgh music scene was free for the locals.  the Clarks, Brownie Mary, Sleeping Giants, Push , the list goes on.  The music was great and FREE!!! This summer, as has been the case for the last 8 summers, I don't live in Pittsburgh anymore.  However, I am still on the prowl for free .  I am especially on the prowl for free music !   Living in Philly, I am lucky as I am a quick I-95 d...

10. Bonnaroo Turns 10! What a line up! I'm not going, but my next favorite activity after thinking about what to do with lottery winnings that I haven't won, is thinking of bands I would see at festival that I can't afford to go to. THURSDAY: Hayes Carll, Freelance Whales, Best Coast, Sleigh Bells & Deerhunter FRIDAY: Jessica Lea Mayfield, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (the original lineup), Freelance Whales, the Decemberists, (and I would be in two places at once to also see Ray Lamontange), Florence + the Machine, Primus, Arcade Fire, and to cap off the night Big Boi! SATUDAY : the Low Anthem, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Portugal the Man, Mumford & Sons, the Black Keys, Buffalo Springfield, Eminem, Scissor Sisters **EDITOR NOTE** how effing cool is it that A. Eminem is playing Bonnaroo, but that the Scissor Sisters go on after? What a party!!!!!!!!! ******** SUNDAY: The Head and the Heart, G Love & Special Sauce, Nicole Atkins & the ...

A little over a decade ago, I had been spending some quality time with my gal pal, MJ.  She was in law school and I was trying to jump start my career.  Our hanging out was typically quite chill as we were both pretty exhausted from either long hours or odd shifts.  Around this time, I was knee deep into electronica & ska, while edgier stuff like System of  Down, Incubus, Disturbed, and Union Underground   were all featured on the radio.  But for our hangout sessions, I put together a mix:   October Low 'Rodeo Clowns' -  G Love & Special Sauce 'Cold Brains' - Beck 'Untuchable Face' - Ani DiFranco 'California Phase' - Jeremy Toback 'Chansons Sans Issue (Ne Vois Tu Pas)' - Autour De Lucie "Wishing It Was' - Santana feat. Eagle Eye Cherry 'Meet Virginia' - Train 'When You Gonna Learn' - Jamiroquai 'Shower Your Love' - Kula Shaker 'Jukebox' - Ani DiFranco 'Rolli...

If I didn't have that old, job, family & responsibility thing. I'd be down in Austin this weekend for the South by SouthWest festival.  But since I do, I'll settle for a free sampler.   Follow this link to download this for your self at iTunes. EDITOR NOTE: THE OFFER HAS SINCE EXPIRED!! Enjoy!

Really, there is nothing worse that falling for a band/artist looking forward to what's coming next, to only find that there is no next.  Back in college, I was receiving the CMJ New Music Monthly , at the time a premier music magazine full of reviews, great articles and awesome musical tidbits.  My favorite were the R.I.Y.L. section of the album reviews.  The reviewer would mention a couple other bands that were similar or reminiscient.   It always made me think, rather than hey here's four bands just like this new band, I'd much rather read, something like the classic Tenacious D intro: "Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Molly Hatchet could not be here tonight, but they all had sex and are proud to announce the birth of their two-headed baby, Tenacious D." In the case of the Getaway People , after hearing 'She Gave Me Love' via CMJ New Music Monthly  I felt Beck and  G. Love had many an every so poptastic funky offspring. the Getaway People - ...