Rich Lerner & the Groove Push On Thru

I get sent a lot of really great music that I know I'll never hear on the radio. The reason is because the basic musical styles of this music isn't exactly what you'd call "NOW". A good, no, really GREAT, case in point is the Greensboro, North Carolina band Rich Lerner & the Groove. Their new CD, Push On Thru is recommended for the fans of Tom Petty, The Band and the Grateful Dead. In other words, for old guys like me (Old Guys Rule!).

 

Get Push On Thru HERE. 

 

At first I was reminded of the Grateful Dead's Terrapin Station album, side one with Estimated Prophet and Samson & Delilah which have a funky, New Orleans Creole sound and tight as all hell. The CD then continues on with various styles including a Tom Waits style Film Noire theme song, Hard Rock and Blues and touches of Country. Usually I get annoyed with bands that try to have "something for everyone" but when it's a veteran southern bar band that has produced their own annual Groove Jam Music Festival (https://freethemusic.us/groove-jam-festival/) to benefit their local homeless shelter and food bank that's been running since 2012 you realize the conglomeration of styles is what makes their style.

Guitarist and lead vocalist Rich Lerner's Groove bandmates include Sammy Smith also on guitar & vocals, Craig Pannell on bass and vocals, Sam Seawell on drums, Steve Taub on keyboards and Bob Sykes who plays pedal steel and guitar. Who plays the sax I wonder? The impeccable production deserves mention as well as it was recorded and mixed by Benjy Johnson at Earthtones Recording Studio and mastered by Ty Tabor. It was produced by the band and Benjy Johnson.

 

Yep, they're not newbies, that's fer sure.

Rich Lerner and The Groove have released four albums on their own Freethemusic label and played live in the North Carolina area for years. In the 90s, Rich recorded and released four solo albums on the Rockduster label so what we have here are seasoned musicians, not a group of kids and it shows both in their influences and in their playing abilities (and in their press photos). Two of the band's special events included a show of Grateful Dead songs called "Night of the Grateful Groove" and a show of Rolling Stones songs called "Exile on Groove Street". Why they would want you to know that I really don't understand but I suppose if you've been a cover band for so long you might feel a little self conscious of your own songs. I would suggest a band not use their own original CD to promote the Grateful Dead or the Rolling Stones, they really don't need your help.

 

Here's Rich doing Bob Dylan.

They claim the band has a large and constantly rotating repertoire so that no two shows are ever the same but does that mean they augment their own material with a lot of cover tunes? There's nothing wrong with that unless the crowd starts yelling for more Rolling Stone's songs while you're playing your original tunes. They also claim that a part of the band's identity is in giving back to the local community in the form of their annual Groove Jam Music Festival to benefit the local homeless shelter and food bank. That's being a "big fish in a small pond" combined with "give a man a fish and he eats for a day but teach a man to fish and he eats every day", if you know what I mean by all the fish metaphors.

Bones in the Attic, Flowers in the Basement by American High

American High is the name of a Pop Rock quartet from Sacramento featuring D.T.(rhythm guitar), E.S.(lead guitar), F.M. (Bass) and T.M. (drums) and their new CD, Bones in the  Attic, Flowers in the Basement, was produced by the band and recorded and mixed by Joe Johnson.

My first impression of American High is that this band is real young. They have adolescent voices and the music is certainly aimed at those kids who grew up with Blink 182 and Greenday.  It's not Punk but has that snotty, punk kid quality like those 90s bands. Actually, I suppose it wouldn't be aimed at those original Blink 182, Weezer, or Greenday fans as they're pushing thirty these days. This CD is a next gen trying to keep that particular sub-genre alive.

Hear Bones in the  Attic, Flowers in the Basement HERE.

According to their press kit:

"We think songs are more interesting when they can be seen in different ways.  We shun the tired INTRO-CHORUS-INTRO-CHORUS-LEAD-CHORUS-EXIT blueprint. We prefer freeform songs."

I don't know what they're talking about as most of the songs on the CD are in the Pop Rock "hit" record mode. Nothing new here except maybe the musicians themselves. The fact that they've elected not to identify themselves by name and the only photo available doesn't show the band clearly makes me wonder if this isn't actually another producer project that someone is trying to pass off as a new, young (real) indie band. Why not exploit the fact you're young and cut yourself some slack? Even junior high school kids can afford to buy a guitar tuner (if they can afford to buy guitars and amps), so why such a rough sound unless that medium is the message? What gives this away as something that is perhaps somewhat less than completely sincere is that the musicianship is tight. When you've put so much obvious effort into the playing and sound quality the oft kilter guitar solos and amateurish vocals seem less inexperience than a deliberate marketing decision.

American High's CD's back cover.

 

If this recording is an honest representation of what a new, young band sounds like live (and there is no mention of them having live shows), then kudos to them, it's a decent Punk Pop record. But if it is a sixty year old producer trying to sell "the new sound" to "the kids", well, kudos to you too, What the hell. Go for it.

A band photo. Really? Maybe there are more on their Facebook page HERE.

What really matters here is that this is a collection of mostly upbeat (even the slow tunes), energetic and enthusiastic songs that I could see helping you get through your day in Shop Class or Home Ec or at the Mall if you're the type to cut class. Actually, this music is especially for the type to cut class. In fact, if I were the manager of American High I would send out copies of Bones in the  Attic, Flowers in the Basement to every Hot Topic in the country and try to get them to give it some in-store play. I bet it wouldn't be too difficult.

Australian Ivan Beecroft's Dirty Lie

Want to go back in time? Get on a plane and fly to Australia. I'm not saying Australia is behind the times, socially, technologically or politically, I'm saying it's in another time zone on the other side of the planet. When you arrive in Ivan Beecroft's town, Melbourne, it's yesterday (or is it tomorrow? I'm no scientist). Musically, according to Ivan's new CD, Dirty Lie, it's also the 1990s, and that's not a bad thing.

Hear Ivan Beecroft's Dirty Lies CD HERE 

 According to Ivan's bio he was a steel worker and turned to music as a way of coping with his day to day reality. Music is an escape from reality for a lot of us but I wonder how graduates from the Berklee School Of Music or the Musicians' Institute feel after spending tens of thousands on an education meant to lead to a career as a professional musician finding themselves having to compete with steel workers, or computer operators (Elvis Costello) or high school English teachers (Sting). Sure, you have to have a day job before those record royalties come pouring in (what are record royalties?), (what are records?), but it's sad that "Musician" is no longer a legitimate profession.

Visit Ivan's Facebook page HERE.

So what does a steel worker wanting to blow off some steam after working in the mill all day sound like? What would you think? He rocks, as blowing off steam takes a considerable amount of heat. Dirty Lies, his self produced full CD, is a Modern Rock rocker along the lines of the Foo Fighters or Collective Soul. Solid, aggressive guitars and a driving (but not rushing) drums and powerful (but not screaming) vocals which on some tunes reminds me of a young Ozzy (or for you youngsters, Dave Grohl). This CD even has my much missed lead guitar solos.

 Read Ivan's blog HERE.

Listening to Dirty Lie I think to myself, "this is a good band. Too bad it's not a band." This CD is a self produced (I assume home recorded which is not a bad thing as the production and sound quality is pro) but when music makes you want to move your body ( which I might if I wasn't so fat and lazy and if I did I might not be so fat and lazy) you want to go hear it in a live setting. The music on this CD sets the stage for a club/roadhouse/neighborhood bar with a stage and sound system live gig complete with what sounds like a rockin' four piece and I would assume a dance floor filled with enthusiastic female fans. 

I guess I was lucky to be young at a time when Rock & Roll was the thing to be into. I never had a problem finding other guys (and girls) like me who would jump at the chance to get into a live band even if it led nowhere but our parents' garages. Now with distractions coming from all corners and the price of a concert ticket making my experience of attending the shows of the biggest acts in the world (always cited as a major inspiration for young aspiring musicians) as much a thing of the past as Tower Records stores (or any record stores). Music has become a much more personal (as in private) experience than the shared public experience it once was.

We may not get the live band experience we used to have now but it won't be much longer before even the recorded music will be created by robots. Seriously, is there even a chance we aren't someday going to war with the robots? And it won't be because the robots realize they don't need us anymore and seek to exterminate us, it will be the humans wanting to destroy all the robots in order to get our jobs and live (living) bands back. DEATH TO ROBOTS!

And enjoy music like Ivan Beecroft's while you still can.

The Band Is KING ROPES And The CD Is DIRT

In my life time in the Rock & Roll world of Southern California, and it does feel like a lifetime, it seems that there was a cycle that repeated itself; A band would break that sounded substantially different enough from the Last Big Thing to be crowned The Next Big Thing. To be The Next Big Thing you had to define a "new sound" hence we had The Mersey Beat, Folk Rock, Baroque Rock, Garage Rock, Acid Rock, Heavy Metal, Pop Rock, Jazz Rock, Country Rock, Southern Rock, Swamp Rock, Progressive Rock, Theater or Art Rock, Glam Rock, Punk Rock, New Wave and Disco. Bozeman, Montana's King Ropes, featuring Dave Hollier on guitar and noise (according to their press kit), Konrad Meissner on drums, Dylan Treleven on bass and guitars, Ben Roth on guitars and Adam Wolcott Smith on guitars and keyboards proudly claim the genre of Garage Rock.

Get King Ropes' Full CD DIRT HERE 

 What exactly does "Garage Rock" mean? In the broadest sense it is meant to convey a crude or rough quality usually associated with amateurs which is why it references bands that play almost exclusively in someone's garage. But over the decades from when the term was first coined to describe the sound of bands such as The Seeds, the MC5 or The Velvet Underground it has become a sound that some musicians, as well as fans, actually prefer. In Garage Rock the studio is ironically important. The very lack of technical sophistication that led to the somewhat derogatory term, okay, not somewhat, it was used as an insult back in the Sixties, is now done on purpose and actually takes a certain amount of skill and technological know-how to achieve. Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet released in 2003 is one of the last blatantly Garage Band songs to become a hit so the sound reemerges from time to time.

See King Ropes' Video HERE

 King Ropes' well crafted crudity which includes the kind of echo cheap studios give their first time recording customers to make them think they're getting the cool "studio sound", the metallic sounding vocal that simulates the sound of the crappy microphones you can't even buy anymore, the guitar feedback and the "noise" band leader, song writer and producer Dave Hollier actually listed on his press kit bio is all carefully created to give a weathered patina to what is actually more of an Alternative Rock band along the lines of Radiohead. 

Even their band photo looks Garage Band (out of focus).

 

These guys don't fool me. They're a much better band, which is hinted at in their lyrics, then the questionably tuned guitars and sing-songy melodies thrown out in a languid, almost offhanded manner are misleading you to believe. They are not Punk, not particularly loud in any angry, obnoxious way but more dreamy, floating down stream kind of vibe. Their lead off video is Shovel And A Pickaxe (see above) and is a good sample of what they do since they are very consistent. Some bands release a single that is markedly different than the rest of the material on their CD but without saying all the songs sound the same, these all fit together. If any of this sounds intriguing please check them out. They may not be for everybody but no one ever is.

 

Dusty Grant's This Longing Heart

Back in the Olden Days there was what we called the "singer-songwriter". These were people who wrote their own songs and usually performed them in a stripped down version (i.e., guitar or piano). Some of the biggest stars of this genre were James Taylor, Carol King, Neil Young and Cat Stevens. Eventually, as they became more successful, they added other musicians to their live shows to better recreate the arrangements used on their records. Except Neil Young who started out in a band and kept his solo act just him and his guitar/piano. 

Dusty Grant's This Longing Heart video.

What we're seeing in the new video for singer-songwriter Dusty Grant is in this tradition of the troubadour. No frills is putting it mildly as if he dressed any more casual he'd be wearing his pajamas (which might have added some color). I'm not criticizing his lack of showmanship since this laid back, understated image is in the great 70s singer-songwriter tradition but it is taking a risk since all that is offered that you can't get from some guy in jeans and a T shirt sitting on a stool holding an acoustic guitar is the song itself. No "show" here, I can almost hear him saying "the music speaks for itself, man." The trouble is that music does indeed speak, however, it sometimes speaks with a very thick dialect that can be very difficult to understand if it's not native to your neck of the woods.

This Longing Heart single on Bandcamp.

In other words, you have to listen to "This Longing Heart" yourself to see if this song speaks to you. Dusty, like Neil, also used to be in a full fledged rock and roll band and since he says he's playing for 17 years one of his bands back in the day must have been Grunge. He describes his sound as being similar to Alice In Chains, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots and I can see the style of his acoustic song being influenced by STP's acoustic version of Interstate Love Song. Dusty doesn't quite have the full Yawl down but Grunge is certainly lurking back in there, somewhere.

Dusty Grant Facebook page HERE.

 Dusty is from Wichita, Kansas, (originally from Omaha, Nebraska) and although I don't hear any regional accent or style I wouldn't know it if I heard it anyway. My only experience with Kansas is watching The Wizard Of Oz and hearing the band of the same name (Kansas, not The Wizard Of Oz). My only experience with Omaha, Nebraska, is the psychedelic hit from Moby Grape and the acoustic album by Bruce Springsteen. As far as This Longing Heart goes, Dusty has a fine, strong singing voice (with the shades of Grunge mentioned and production helped out by Jason Catlett at Magnitude Creative ) while the song itself is a cathartic purging of his feelings about... He really doesn't say. He's pretty upset about something and is determined to carry on but carry on from where or who or what he doesn't let us know. It's enough to know he's in turmoil, why is apparently too personal to share. What do you want from a song anyway?

Jay Regan, "Wash Me"

I've read about people lamenting the fading away of regional accents because of Network TV, especially the News. No matter what part of the country you're from we all watch the same shows and for the most part all the people on those shows speak more or less the same. This goes along with franchised restaurants diluting local palettes so everywhere is beginning to taste the same as well. However, our musical tastes still retain some regional flavor although not necessarily the one you'd expect. 

Listen to Jay Regan HERE

Case in point is the new 15 song CD by Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist and producer Jay Regan. Although there are a few Big Band arrangements complete with horn sections such as The March Of The Romans and  Right Between The Eyes (allegedly inspired by the TV series The Walking Dead), for the most part this CD is a catchy, bouncy excursion into Southern Rock, Country Rock (somewhat like early Eagles) and modern Pop Rock. On some of the tunes such as Can't Let Go the only difference between it and some of the new Modern Rock hits currently on the radio is it's lacking the disco beat drum track which apparently has been making a big comeback.

Jay's Youtube channel HERE

Because of the sound effects used, the light hearted lyrics and the excursions into unfamiliar musical styles such as reggae, a couple of the songs (Whiskey and Little Fish) might come off somewhat novelty tuneish, which isn't a bad thing, it just shows Jay's sense of humor but are a little off track from the rest of the CD.

For a self produced piece of work that gives Jay the only musician credits according to his press kit, it has a nice, real band feel, full, textured arrangements and professional sounding production. Jay has a good Modern Rock / Country Pop vocal style. Also according to his press kit: Jay Regan is the former lead singer/guitarist for the 90's bands April Fool, Dezire and Today We Live. He started playing original music as a soloist in 2014 and released his first independent CD "Dreams & Nightmares". The last few years he has spent time recording his latest CD "Wash Me" and performing live in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. 

 Visit Jay Regan on Facebook HERE

And now, once again, for the bad news: Although his press kit says he performs live in the Philadelphia area, from everything I could see his live shows are as a solo acoustic act (see above). There's absolutely nothing wrong with that and I would think with his tunes, his pleasing voice and journeyman guitar playing, his live shows could be very worthwhile. But come on, this CD rocks and if I went out for the evening to spend my hard earned money I'd want to see the band I'd been listening to, not just one guy.

I am seriously thinking of starting a service where I match all these one man bands I've been hearing lately into "super groups". Let them back each other up, taking turns playing their own tunes but doing it as a real, live band. It's not just a matter of my being a dyed in the wool band guy but also a matter of "truth in advertising". If recorded music is a "commercial" for the live act I think it should at least somewhat represent the act's actual sound, live. But again, that's just me.

The Jay Clark Band

I just listened to the Jay Clark Band's new single, The River (featuring Adam Cunningham) from their new CD Cocked & Loaded which I assume is a play on words from the expression "locked and loaded" and not some sort of gay slang (although it might be). The River is more of a moody ballad with an acoustic guitars intro before the heavy Seventies style electrics kick in which is how the rest of the CD rocks. Overall C&L is a roadhouse rocker in the style of Southern rockers such as 38 Special (or for you kids: The Black Crowes or Kid Rock) with the clear but heavy guitars playing tightly in sync and the growly macho vocals you've come to expect from this genre. This sounds like the kind of band that would make you turn off the TV, put away your Miller High Life or Ham's and head down to the local bar to actually pay for a beer because you want to hear these guys, live.

Hear The Jay Clark Band's new single, "The River" HERE

 And now, like so many of the other artists I hear these days, comes the bad news; The Jay Clark Band isn't really a band at all and you can't go hear them play. You see, Jay made a bet with his two brothers, after some drinking which is how most bets come into being, that during the next year they would each pursue their dream. I don't know how old the Clark brothers are but young guys usually don't make these kind of bets. It's only after a few years have slipped away that you start to feel you need to pursue that dream NOW, or you never will, and a bet is as good an incentive as any.

Jay wears his Southern Rock bonifides on his sleeve, or chest.

Interestingly, within a month his youngest brother quit his job, made a short film, and started working in Hollywood.This inspired Jay, who probably forgot all about the bet once he sobered up, to start writing songs. He made a few videos he then uploaded to Facebook and got enough positive feedback to continue to produce a five song EP called Never Too Late. Uploading your work to Facebook is a much better idea than uploading to Youtube as the people who will be seeing your videos are your Facebook "friends" who will be, or should be, supportive. The public at large and the trolls who will leave comments on Youtube love to stomp dreams into the ground. It gives them an actual visceral thrill.

Become one of Jay's Facebook friends HERE.

At first he tried to get a local band together to play his new material. I don't know what happened but I know how hard it is to get an original band together these days. Most guys who want to play for the fun of playing don't want to work at learning all new material when they can just go out and play the same oldies they've been playing forever. The "older" musicians also have given up the dream of "making it" and are just happy to play when they can so Jay took the Producer route and went to Nashville and hired the best session musicians in town to record his demos.  That's how he recorded Never Too Late.

Join Jay's Twitter followers HERE.

 Going to Nashville showed a lot of determination since Jay's from Cincinnati, Ohio, not exactly a hotbed for Southern Rock. Down there he put together a lineup of experienced session players including Tommy Harden on drums, Eli Beaird and Mike Brignardello playing bass, Jeff King on the electric guitars and John Willis and Larry Beaird on the acoustic guitars, Steve Nathan on piano, vocals by Adam Cunningham and Tania Hancheroff with engineering by Jim DeBlanc at Beaird Music Studio and mastering at Yesmasterstudios in Nashville.

Jay eventually returned to record five more songs at Beaird Music Studio in early 2017, added them to his rerecorded demos, mixed and mastered them and now is releasing them as his debut 10 song LP, Cocked & Loaded.  

He is now working on getting a touring band together to support the new LP and plans to play small venues and festivals in summer and fall 2017. Contact him HERE if you want to go on the road.

Just a personal suggestion; if I was managing the Jay Clark Band I would send the song Won't Be Pushed Around as a single to every club, bar, roadhouse and honky tonk in the South that had a jukebox (first I'd research and see what format jukeboxes take these days, 45s? MP3s?) since that tune has a potential to become a theme song for rowdy bar patrons the way Steppenwolf's hit Born To Be Wild did for bikers. But that's just me.

The Revolutions EP by Mystery Loves Company

One of my long time interests is Metaphysics and the new three song EP release, Revolutions, from the duo "Mystery Loves Company" has opened up quite a deep rabbit hole. But first I'll tell you about their music. They call themselves Chamber Folk Rock and consist of newlyweds Carlos, a guitarist / song writer originally from Venezuela, and Madeline (Maddy), a conservatory trained cellist. Their acoustic instrumentation along with the thoughtful lyrics and ethereal vocals from Maddy along with somewhat less ethereal vocals from Carlos, gives Mystery Loves Company a very dreamlike sound, except for the title track, Revolutions, which is more nightmarish than dreamlike but still otherworldly.

The song, Aliens, is more fun sounding than the other two tracks while still touching on the overall theme that transcends normal love/dance/party songs but it's the lead off single, If Heaven, that is the center of this conversation.

Mystery Loves Company's "If Heaven" HERE

Mystery Loves Company’s press kit claims the 3-song EP, Revolutions, is an extension of their socially conscious work and the material has been quick to spark political and spiritual conversation amongst their diverse fan base. “People from vastly different religious and non-religious backgrounds have told us we are capturing ‘exactly how they feel” Carlos notes, reflecting on the reaction lead-off single “If Heaven” has received when played live. “We are living in a time where human emotion is being mobilized and we are responding to this movement through song.”

Mystery Loves Company Website HERE

Okay, I don't know what, exactly, Carlos means by that except in political terms but in "religious' terms "If Heaven" does seem to reflect a growing Post New Age attitude. Its lyrics illustrate the same problem I had as a child when taught the Christian concept of Heaven. "A wonderful place" where there are no problems (challenges), no dangers (thrills), no dirt (not an appealing concept to a young boy) and because my mother was a Jew and my father an excommunicated Catholic (probably because of marrying my mother), no parents either (at least for me). But what really bother me the most was that my pet bunny rabbit (all pets, animals in general) were not allowed entry to Heaven. How is that anybody's concept of Heaven?

"If Heaven" explores this same general dilemma but from a slightly more grown up perspective.

In the decade since San Gabriel Christian School first tried, and utterly failed, to indoctrinate me (why would a Jew and a Catholic send their kid to a Christian school?), I have studied many philosophies, from Buddism, to New Age to Quantum Physics. I eventually developed a philosophy that was unique enough that I named it myself; Nealism. However, I recently learned there is a movement that is close enough for me to adopt, forsaking Nealism, and it's called Biocentrism.

The concept of Nealism was that, essentially, we are all like characters in a video game (pre-dating and slightly different from Elon Musk's Sim City Heaven). Science seeks to explain the How, What, Why, Where and Who of our game world but can't think outside the box (the Idiot Box) because it, of course, cannot perceive anything beyond our video game world. The video game scientists can't imagine the people playing the game (Gods?), the creators of the game (programmers, monitor and computer manufacturers, game designers, etc.), the power source of All That Is in their world (electricity) and where, when, how and why all of those things came to be. 

Biocentrism is a lot more "scientific" than Nealism's simplistic (but at least understandable, I hope) concept and basically states that consciousness creates reality, not the other way around which is what we've all been taught. Except if you remember one of the first lessons they ever taught you in Kindergarten where they, as do "Mystery Loves Company", used music to teach lessons; "... merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream".

Rounding out the sound on the EP along with Carlos A. Machado on guitar, vocals and the band's lyricist, and Madeline Herdeman on cello and vocals are Jeremy Dudman on bass, Danny Patterson on drums and Alauna Rubin playing clarinet. The choir vocals are credited to Cathy Herdeman, Kali Schiska and Christine Gerbode with recording, mixing and mastering by Jeremy Dudman who co-produced the EP with Carlos.Good job to all, Revolutions is an excellent sounding work, just too short, which is a complement.

Oh, one last thing about the ethereal, cosmic Chamber Rock duo Mystery Loves Company, they're from Houston, Texas (?!)

John Adams and The Things That Make You Beautiful

In keeping with our highlighting note worthy new music here's a sweet romantic ballad called "The Things That Make You Beautiful" by the second president of the United States, John Adams.

Wait, I'm sorry, it's a different guy named John Adams. Who would have thought there'd be two guys with the same name (there are actually two U.S. presidents with that name). I wonder if this one is any relation?

John Adam's "The Things That Make You Beautiful" video.

This is a beautiful piano song with heartfelt vocals that relays the message of undying love in yet another and unique way which is the trick in writing a new love song. How many ways can a man suck up to a woman that hasn't already been done? In this case he's telling her that although time make take away her physical beauty, it cannot diminish the aspects of her being that truly make her beautiful. 

"The Things That Make You Beautiful" is President Adams (sorry if I'm running a bad joke into the ground. It's my way.) new single but if it tweaks your interest and you want to hear more of him or if you're curious to see John himself, here's a previous video. It's basically in the same style but will help give you a better idea of who this guy is. "Dandelion Wishes" is more of a bigger production with acoustic guitar and strings rather than piano but his vocal style is the same.

"Dandelion Wishes" video.

 I really don't have much information on John. His producer is Lee House, the guy who shot his "The Things That Make You Beautiful" video is Rhys Davies, the dancer he videoed is Georgia Jones, the co-writers (I assume of the tune) are Andy Morgan and Ron Rogers with Andy Morgan also being the pianist. The string players are Nerys Clark and Christiana Mavron, the venue is The Official Craig y Nos Castle and the video funding was provided by BBC Radio Wales and Horizons / Gorwelion. But where he's from, if he has a live band or upcoming shows, what his sign is, if he's married or single and what kind of a tree he'd be if he was a tree, I haven't the foggiest idea.

 John Adams' new CD, "See You Again" HERE

Since I don't have a good press kit on John Adams and no samples of the other tracks on his new CD to which I can listen, I'm going to tell you about another song from a bygone era that I always liked and of which "The Things That Make You Beautiful" reminds me. It's another beautiful piano song with achingly beautiful melody and vocals from a guy named Tim Moore. It's called "Second Avenue" and if my links work you can hear it here.

 70's hit by Tim Moore, "Second Avenue"

Hear the similarities? I'm not saying John Adams copied Tim Moore, I doubt he's ever heard this song before, but the two songs are similar in their beauty, sincerity and literary prowess. I hope John has a longer and more successful career than Tim as I never heard of him after "Second Avenue". Singer songwriter types are essentially tragic romantic characters in the great novel of love songs. I'm a bit of a poet myself, aren't I?

The Big East and "The Wild Life"

I received a link to the new music from the Canadian act The Big East. They're from the Lake and Cottage area of North Toronto but to my Southern Californian ears they sound a whole lot more farther South. On the track "What Dreams May Come" they even have a line that refers to "California sunshine and Mississippi mud", not to mention the pedal steel backup and decidedly Country accented lead vocals. In fact, I'd say that if you're hankerin' for a new Don Henley solo album, Hungry Ghosts might fit the bill very well. The lead vocalist could easily front a Don Henley or an Eagles tribute band. He has the same smoky, Countryish quality. If you're looking for something to give you an Eagles fix you're out of luck since although this act seems to have some fine Country-Rock pickers, they're strictly background players.

Hungry Ghosts by The Big East

They sound like a real band with real musicians as opposed to a duo consisting of James Jones and Kip Daynard being produced by Andre Wahl but those three are the only ones given credit in the press kit for The Big East's eleven song sophomore LP, Hungry Ghosts. LP? Does that mean it's on vinyl? Who are the other very fine musicians? On the video below they appear to have a live band.

The Big East - "The Wild Life" live.

Above is The Big East's video on Youtube for their song "The Wild Life". Notice that not only is there a live and very competent band but there is a guitar solo with not one but TWO lead guitarists. When listening to the recorded version I heard these guys jamming under the vocals and waited for the solo but it never came. I've noticed, and complained about, this a lot on the new releases I've heard. Is it a matter of airtime? I assumed it was a matter of musicianship but these guys can play and you can hear them playing great but mixed way down and under the lead vocals. Except for "Love Monkey" which does have a short but smokin' lead solo in the middle and some jamming out on the end of "Muskoka Time" but that's two out of eleven tracks. Someone please use the COMMENTS section at the bottom to explain this to me. 

 Here are James Jones and Kip Daynard. Or Kip Daynard and James Jones.

Hungry Ghosts is a play on the Buddhist saying which refers to human beings who are driven by emotional needs in an animalistic way.  “We applied this concept to our intense need to create music” Jones asserts.I don't know how ZEN this CD comes across since I would classify it as soft Country-Pop. The instrumentation, playing style, and especially vocal style says Southern California Country Rock/Pop rather than Indie Pop which is what they claim. To me Indie is a term that means not a major label release and is typified by acts such as Beck, quirky and different. The Big East is familiar and comfortable and I'm not saying that to be insulting as I've already complemented the guitar work and saying a singer has the vocal quality of Don Henley is not an insult. Keeping our Eagles comparison going I would also say the production and sound quality is top notch and the songs that do have synth backing rather than guitars such as the title tune and "Across The Water" are moody and richly atmospheric.

I have been very impressed with the quality of releases I've been sent this past year and The Big East's Hungry Ghosts continues that winning streak. Lucky me.