Dead: Eyes of the World, 1991
Thanks to my Canadian buddy Cam for the email full of tasty music recommendations and classic nuggets of goodness like this “Eyes of the World” from 6/17/1991 (an East Rutherford show that Cam attended). Check out Bruce Hornsby grinning and fawning over Jerry like a smitten schoolboy…
A week from now, I’ll be watching Jerry’s old bandmate Bob Weir jam it up live with Ratdog at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival.
New Music: Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts
Who’s into Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts? I just flipped on to one of their tunes on Sirius the other day, and liked what I heard. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Arthur moved down to Atlanta to hone his chops. He was actually “discovered” by Peter Gabriel, who signed Arthur to his label, Real World, back in 1997. Much like Keller Williams, who I posted about a few days ago, Arthur started out as a one man band, incorporating looping techniques in his performances. But in 2006, he formed a backup band, the Lonely Astronauts.
Well, this past Tuesday, their new album, Let’s Just Be was released. Check out this one – a catchy, roots-rocky number, with some great guitar riffs, maracas, and great vocals from Arthur that range from low and dirty to a punky falsetto.
Joseph Arthur & the Astronauts: Diamond Ring
Joseph Arthur’s Official Site
He just embarked on quite an extensive US tour, so check him out if he comes to your town. As is usually the case with acts I’d like to see live, he’s not making a stop in the Phoenix area. I need to start booking bands.
McDowell Mountain Profile: Gelatinous Groove
So my girl and I will be spending next Friday, April 27th – all day, all night – at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. From noon to 2pm, Sierra Nevada (the sponsor) is throwing a little kick off happy hour with $2 beers. It’s the perfect opportunity to get soused in the 85 degree heat before the first note is even played. Look out!
The music kicks off at 1:30, and goes through 11pm. The lineup for the day is:
Gelatinous Groove (1:30-2:15)
2 Tone Lizard Kings (2:30-3:15)
Tea Leaf Green (3:45-4:45)
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (5:15-6:30)
The Neville Brothers (7:00-8:30)
Bob Weir & Ratdog (9:00-11:00)I thought I’d spend the next week or so profiling each band in Friday’s lineup. So we start tonight with the festival opener, local band Gelatinous Groove.
They came together in early 2004 in my former home of Tempe, where I spent six years living dangerously close to ASU hang-out Mill Avenue and great local bar Casey Moore’s. The boys in GG lay down the laid back jam-bandish vibe. Usually these types of bands thrive in the live environment, and I haven’t seen them yet, so it’s hard to judge them from the three tunes available on their MySpace page. I’ll give you some better perspective after the show next week.
The band is made up Mike Roberts (keys, vox), Matt Vestal (bass), Steve Allen (alive and well! on guitar and bass), Mike Hatley (guitar), and the lead vocalist drummer Cory Yardley. And you can’t forget Richard the head. They rave about Richard on their MySpace page, and have a song all about him. Richard apparently goes everywhere with them. I’ll make sure to get an in depth interview at the show. You can see Richard representin’ in the pic above.
Gelatinous Groove:
Big D and the Darwin Theory(mp3)Check out their MySpace here.
Join me at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival in Scottsdale, AZ.
An AZ Music Festival and some Keller Williams
The Phoenix area has its own cool little happening called the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. It’s coming up on April 27th and 28th at WestWorld in Scottsdale. I’m excited about the opening night, which features the Neville Brothers and Bob Weir’s band, Ratdog (among a lot of others, shown here). If you’re in the southwest, come on down.
I’ve seen both bands a few times each, but not since the mid 90’s (the best was seeing both at Laguna Seca Daze in Monterey, Calif.). So this is a must see for me, with both bands together in my own back yard. You gotta think there will be some sort of collaboration too. We’ll see. I’ll be there listening in, snapping photos, and maybe even chatting with some of the talent.
Regarding Bob Weir, he makes an appearance on the latest release by guitar and loop whiz Keller Williams. Dream was released back on February 6th. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about Keller Williams until this album, so I have some catching up to do. But this CD has been on steady rotation since I got it. It’s his 11th release dating all the way back to 1994. Maybe a KW fan here can recommend their favorite, and steer me in the right direction for my next purchase (the boys at Hidden Track, maybe?).
Keller is known as a one-man jam band. At live shows, he jams by himself on mostly acoustic guitars (many of them 12 string) while looping the guitars and vocals with a Gibson Echoplex Delay. On Dream though, the concept was collaboration. Some of the folks helping out on this album are Bela Fleck, Charlie Hunter, John Scofield, Steve Kimock, Michael Franti, the String Cheese Incident, and Victor Wooten. The album is downright pleasing to the ears, folksy and relaxed. Highlights for me are the Kimock/Williams tune “Twinkle”- an instrumental with some tasty and wholly unique guitar licks and effects ; “Lil’ Sexy Blues”, which incorporates Indian instruments like tablas and the hansa veena (with special guests Samir Chatterjee and Sanjay Mishra) ; and a cool reggae tinged tune with Franti called “Ninja of Love”. Unique sounds are a theme throughout the album.
And that brings us back to Bobby Weir, who teams up with Keller on “Cadillac”. I never thought of Bob Weir as the kind of guy to sing lyrics like: “and Jesus be riding bitch seat / cuz he’s good like that”. But here he is, doing just that. Oh, and Bob’s dog, Jackson Hamlet Weir, contributes with some quality barking. Keller, by the way, will be on the road with Ratdog this summer.
Keller Williams – Cadillac
- Keller’s Official Site.
- Keller’s Hoooka.
- Keller taking on Zep’s “Ramble On” in 2000. You get to see the loops put to good use. Try your best to ignore the static. It’s worth it.
Steve Earle on Bob Harris Country
I have to get a hold of one of those shirts.
From the 2000 Transcendental Blues Tour, here’s a nice set from Coventry, England. It’s part of a BBC radio broadcast called Bob Harris Country. A nice snapshot of the opening set list at the time. Take it Dukes…
Steve Earle and the Dukes
“Bob Harris Country”
Warwick University
Coventry, UK
May 25th, 2000Download the ZIP of the show.
Here’s a taste:
“Galway Girl” 01. Transcendental Blues
02. Everyone’s In Love With You
03. Another Town
04. I Can Wait
05. Steve’s Last Ramble
06. I Feel Alright
07. Lonelier Than This
08. I Don’t Want To Lose You Yet
09. The Galway Girl
10. Copperhead Road
11. South Nashville Blues
12. All Of My Life
13. The UnrepentantBuy Transcendental Blues.
Photo credit: Unknown / TBD.
Radio Free Boss – WBCN 1973
I came across this 1973 radio broadcast of Mr. Springsteen live in the WBCN Boston studios. Brucebase has the details…
Bruce’s first-ever radio station performance and still the earliest circulating “live” material with the E Street Band. The silky-voiced female DJ is the legendary Maxanne Sartori. The very good quality circulating audio (recorded off the airways and available on the CD “BOUND FOR GLORY”) includes the entire show except that it’s missing nearly all of “Blinded”, plus some concluding discussions about Bruce’s upcoming tour plans. Allegedly a complete (but poor quality) tape of the show was circulating briefly in the Boston area during the mid – 70’s, but it seems to have vanished from the tape trading pool. There are some funny moments in this show. Bruce introduces Clarence as his biological brother. At one point Sartori asks Bruce to perform his mysterious “long-lost hit from the 60’s” – to which Bruce replies that people will have to come to Paul’s Mall to hear it in the “Las Vegas part of the show”. In addition to the band (minus Lopez), co-manager Jim Cretecos, roadie/soundman Albee “Albany Al” Tellone and CBS rep Ed Hynes are in the broadcast studio…
The earliest radio Boss broadcast. Nice!
So while we Boss fans await his next move, let’s jump back to the beginning… (links are MP3’s).
Bruce Springsteen
WBCN Studios, Boston
January 9th, 1973Satin Doll
Bishop Danced
Circus Song
Song of the Orphans
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?The Future is Now
Hey, it’s my first post from my sweet new iMac! I tell you, there’s a lot of different little habits I need to break and re-acquire. Right clicking, for example. You don’t get the ol’ right click menu in Mac. But this thing is awesome. My poor family…
Starting off the Mac era, we go into the future. I was sitting in a Flagstaff, AZ bar several years ago (the Flagstaff Brewing Company, to be exact), and they were playing this cool David Byrne show. On came a familiar tune, and lo and behold, Byrne was covering Prince’s “The Future”, the opening track on his 1989 soundtrack to Batman. I’ve been trying to track it down since, and thanks to Zack on my Prince forum, I found it!
So take a listen. Then, take a listen to a pretty decent remix of Prince’s version.
David Byrne:
The Future(mp3)Prince:
The Future(mp3) – remixMy Dwight Masterpiece: If There Was a Way
Tonight I’m reaching back to the archives for my favorite Dwight Yoakam album, 1990’s If There Was a Way. It’s a great record start to finish, and my cassette – yes cassette – got many listens in its day. Dwight has always remained a steadfastly old-school country-boogie-swingin’ honky-tonk man.
My two favorites off the album are the title track, and “Turn it On, Turn it Up, Turn Me Loose”. The latter track I’ve been looking for on YouTube for a while, and I finally found it. Who uploaded it to YouTube? Why, Warner Brothers Records, believe it or not! A step in the right direction, as the labels are figuring out how important this medium is to the future (and past) of music.
Dwight does himself a little acting in this video for “Turn it On…” As you may know, Dwight’s also established himself as a formidable actor in Hollywood. You all remember him as that prick Doyle in Sling Blade, right? This video precedes his first movie role, 1992’s Red Rock West, by two years.
So, in the annals of songs I’ll always love, I give you the video, courtesy of Warner Brothers, for “Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose.”
“If a tear should fall
If I should whisper her name
To some stranger I’m holdin’
While we’re dancin to an old Buck Owens soooong”So naturally, your next inclination is to buy the album: If There Was a Way
A new Mac and some good Blow
PC or Mac? As my Dell PC (c. 2004) began to slow down a bit, and the 80 gig hard drive neared its capacity, it was time to start the search for my new computer. For once, it was a calculated decision, quite unlike the impulsive trips to Best Buy “for a quick look,” only to walk out with a new PC 45 minutes later. This upcoming computer will be my fourth since 1997, not too bad in computer years I guess.
So this time around, I’ve decided to jump across the great divide and go with a Mac for the first time. An iMac, to be precise. 20 inch screen. 500 gig hard drive. A gig of memory. It should be shipping tomorrow. The anticipation builds… a new era! My wife said she’s way more excited about the steam cleanin’ vacuum that’s on its way from Costco. I – I just don’t get that.
So thanks to my friend Jim for being the answer man for all my Mac vs. PC questions. I’m pretty pumped about this if you can’t tell already. Thing is, I haven’t found a Mac owner who hasn’t raved about them. And they’re just – so – damn – cool! Sleek, slick, simple.
So, on to some music.
The Blow is the brainchild of Portland, Oregon based performance artist Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt. Artsy fartsy indie rockin’ performance artists – with a good beat. And the kids can dance to it.
The Blow’s Official Site.
Buy their latest, Paper Television.
Friday Flashback: Richard Marx
The CD single of Richard Marx‘s “Hazard” was the latest disc my 1 year old grabbed out of my CD rack.
It prompted me to toss it in the CD drive and have a good listen. Early 90’s cheese? To some. But in my oh so humble opinion, still a good song. Nice tune, nice melody, nice singin’.
It holds up!
Richard Marx: Hazard
Buy: Rush Street (1991)
