Archive for April, 2011
The Waybacks Prep Hillside Album Hour
The clues are out and the fans are guessing. Going on it’s fourth year, The Hillside Album Hour hosted by The Waybacks has turned into one of the most anticipated events at Merlefest. Their annual performance of a “classic album” has included guest appearances from Gillian Welch, Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris, just to name a few, and [...]
“Something’s Gonna Happen,” Marshall Crenshaw
Crenshaw drew inspiration from Blondie, Mac Curtis, and Eddie Cochran for the tune.
Brandi Carlile: Some Strings Attached
Singer-songwriter (and Columbia recording artist) Brandi Carlile has got one note in her repertoire that she intentionally tries to butcher. It’s the oft-referenced voice crack from 2007’s “The Story,” and as of May 3, it can be heard in live form on Carlile’s upcoming album Live from Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony. Making a [...]
Laura Jansen
Dutch-born alt-pop singer-songwriter Laura Jansen followed her muse from Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands to Boston’s Berklee College of Music to Nashville to L.A. on her quest to find herself and her music. Her U.S. debut album Bells was released this March, and the track “Single Girls” has become a viral hit. Bells also contains [...]
New Band: Country Mice
On June 7, Kanine’s sublabel Wao Wao Records will release the first album from Brooklyn’s Country Mice. On first single “Festival,” Kansas native Jason Rueger and his bandmates channel Neil Young’s spiky guitar riffage from “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.” Rueger grew up on a family farm in rural Kansas, and his songs seem to [...]
App Review: IK Multimedia VocaLive and iRig Mic
IK Multimedia iRig Mic, $59.99 Vocalive, free app for iOS www.ikmultimedia.com/irigmic Following in the footsteps of the guitar-oriented iRig hardware unit and iOS apps like AmpliTube and AmpliTube Fender, IK Multimedia has now introduced a similar hardware unit and apps that focus on vocals. The iRig Mic has similar functionality to iRig. It connects to [...]
Paul Simon Live At Pantages Theater, Hollywood
(Photos by Paul Zollo) Paul Simon at the Pantages was a joyous event, as the venue is one of Hollywood’s first and most ornate movie palaces, replete with awe-inspiring Art Deco wonderment throughout. And the man didn’t disappoint. At 69, his voice is remarkably as strong as ever – he sounds more vocally unchained and [...]
Great Quotations: Dierks Bentley
Avoid the generic. The only reason Justin Bieber can get away with a whole chorus that uses only the words baby and ooh is because he’s Justin Bieber. Specificity and originality beats cliché every time. So maybe instead of “I love you, I need you the rest of my life,” go with “I could live [...]
Dawes Prep Second Album, Nothing Is Wrong
Los Angeles quartet Dawes is set to release its second album on June 7 on ATO Records. Nothing Is Wrong follows the critically acclaimed 2009 debut North Hills. Describing themselves as an “American rock ‘n’ roll band,” Dawes promise a new set of driving, rootsy anthems, including a collaboration with Jackson Browne on “Fire Away.” [...]
James Durbin Finds His Muse On American Idol
On last night’s American Idol, high-note rocking rocker James Durbin blended art with commerce with his hair-raising rendition of Muses’ “Uprising.” It was the first time anyone attempted the Brit rock group’s music on the program, and with good reason; very few could pull it off, and fewer still would want to. Muse’s sound is [...]
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