Marshall Crenshaw, noted guitarist/singer-songwriter has been making music for nearly three decades. His 1982 top 40 hit, “Someday, Someway” may always be synonymous with his name, but fans recognize him as an accomplished musician, actor and writer as well.
Pete Yorn’s latest go-round with Columbia records, Back & Fourth, is a departure in both his writing and recording career. His first album in three years, following the trilogy collection, is a depiction of a difficult period in his life. Change seems to be the key element, both personally and professionally, and this album may be the catalyst. For starters, Yorn implored indie producer and noted Saddle Creek arranger, Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley) and recorded the album in Omaha, NE with the guidance of Columbia co-chairman, Rick Rubin.
Signing with a new record label (Savoy/429 Records) Cracker returns with the usual suspects: Lowery’s long-time partner, Johnny Hickman, drummer Frank Funaro and bassist Sal Maida. Taking a new approach to their creative process, Sunrise is a collaborative effort by all four bandmates. Surprisingly self-disciplined, they took one week every two months between tours to write together over the course of a year. The result was a creative outpouring with a strong common thread – all four musicians came of age playing in the origins of punk and new wave and once again found those sounds rising up.
One day two winters ago, 14 musicians decided to leave their hectic lives for a little while and go to ‘Gilligans Island’ – only this island was Maui, Hawaii and instead of sleeping on hammocks beneath the palm trees they slept 500 feet above sea level in a compound of treehouses. Together they lived a minimalistic existence …no electricity, no running water, hardly a road to drive on and barely a roof over their heads. Yet, it was 30 blissful days of swimming, surfing, singing on the beach…inspiring and experimenting and most importantly, recording some very amazing music. The end result is Operation Aloha, a collection of songs that captures the tranquility, freedom and spirit of Hawaii – and it will be self-released on May 12th, 2009. It may sound like a great reality TV show, but it’s far from reality… about 2,500 miles (Los Angeles) to be exact…
In September 2008, Saadiq released his third album, The Way I See It, which landed him the #1 position on iTunes Top Albums of the Year, a spot on Rolling Stone's Best Album's of 2008 and three more Grammy nominations.
It’s hard to fathom that back in the ‘90’s Snow Patrol, a student band from Scotland, was teetering on thin ice. So thin that frontman Gary Lightbody had to sell his record collection to meet his monthly nut. Yet in the next 14 years, they not only reached land, but crossed over the universe…a story that unfolds through their albums, particularly the last three
Only one year after their self-released album, Never Trying To Catch Up (2004), the Austin natives opened for Franz Ferdinand on the PBS series Austin City Limits, making them one of the only unsigned bands ever to play for the show. Creating quite a bit of a buzz, WMMF continued riding the wave with performances at the ACL Festival, South by Southwest and Lollapalooza.
As Tall As Lions is a landscape of instruments that continually overlap to create a sonic cocktail – part orchestral pop, part lounge with a Latin backbeat holding it all in check.
Mick Jones, former Clash lead guitarist and vocalist, would never have imagined that he would be considered a punk icon, no less a major part of a legendary band. The whole concept is overwhelming as he says, “I try to ignore all of that otherwise my head will explode.” Almost six years ago, Jones teamed up with his old bandmate and fellow punk legend, Tony James (Sigue Sigue Sputnik/Generation X) to create Carbon/Silicon. These days, Jones seems fulfilled to the point where just making music is enough. Getting there though, has been a trip and a half…
We all knew Steven Wright was on to something with his 1985 Grammy-nominated CD, I Have a Pony…but did he? It took 22 years to make another CD but not for lack of lackluster or deadpan-ability. I Still Have A Pony, released on Comedy Central Records last month, proves that he’s still got it…Pony and all.
