compared to what

Been a busy week, but I’m glad I thought to scan the jambands.com news - a short blurb mentioned the fact that the hot Aussie blues guitarist, Geoff Achison, was moving back home, with just a few remaining US gigs. This was all news to me, beginning with the fact that I’d never heard of Achison. So, of course, I had to check him out.

He does acoustic:

(I Just Want to Make Love to You)

…and electric:

(Tell Me Something)

…and a very different, almost Celtic, take on the Allman Brothers’ Whipping Post:

Unfortunately for me, none of his remaining stateside gigs falls within my orbit, but maybe I’m telling you something you didn’t know and you can check him out. It’s just about all south/east, unless some of the Delbert McClinton fans can catch him on the January cruise.

(Side note: The jambands article mentions that Guitar Player Magazine named Achison one of the Top Ten Hottest New Guitarists. That naturally made me curious to find the whole list. Not managed that yet, but did find a note that another guy on that list is Shawn Starski, the terrific guitarist who plays with annother fav of mine, Jason Ricci. Makes me even more curious about the rest.)

categories: music
tags: Australia, blues, Geoff Achison, guitar

Small corners are great for finding long forgotten sounds. Kind of cool when they’re also good for finding new stuff. Denton, TX. Who knew?

An Indie Scene that Comes with a Texas Twang in Denton

I like the idea of music destination travel (notice that’s the whole theme of this week’s nytimes travel section). I mean, I’ve traveled to go to particular concerts, I took off last month to hear the Santa Fe Opera, and have even traveled to hit a couple of festivals. But hitting the road to drop in on interesting local music sounds is something I’ve not yet done. The blues highway would probably be my first choice, but mostly because of otherwise general ignorance. Starting my file, though. Someday.

categories: music
tags: Denton, indie music, travel

Having become a total ‘tube-head over the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of amateur video. Some of it is good because it’s just decent quality capture of a good performance, but not all that much of it is really creatively crafted. Not surprising - it ain’t easy! But there is a fair amount of really good stuff in the entertainment arena. The Cocker video I posted here still makes my face hurt every time I see it.

But I was surprised to see that some of the amateur political stuff is getting awfully good. Check out this ad. It’s not professional production, but it’s better than the pro ads at making a point without appealing to side issues*:

(* The ominous music (which I like as just music) might count as an emotional side appeal. Something serious but less end-of-world might be less manipulative)

Shows that the alternative to soft-sell doesn’t have to be sarcasm and silliness.

categories: thought

Taylor Hicks has released an album of his “Early Works” - mostly songs he wrote, all ones he’d recorded on his own dime before his Idol gig. All of this music, some of which is really sweet, has long circulated on the internet and also been available as concert merch for those of us who like to pay for what we hear. But with his successful stint on Broadway this summer, there are bound to be new fans who will more easily find their way to a national release, so it makes sense to do what he apparently did: re-master and re-package the two promo-length early CDs into one new one for the mass market.
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categories: music
tags: Early Works, Jeff Lopez, saxophone, taylor hicks, Under the Radar

Isaac Hayes, dead at 65. If you don’t know what he was about, read around, because it will be everywhere by the time you read this. I’m just remembering that time when soul music really had something important to say.

Soulsville

categories: music
tags: Isaac Hayes, soul music, Soulsville

Something cool for a hot day: start with some bass groove, add a little tune, let them go where they will. Sometimes the fewest ingredients yield the most satisfaction. My recommendation on this video: start it at the 1:13 mark and listen, then go back and listen to the beginning interview.

Esperanza Spalding, Cantora de Yala

Esperanza Spalding is another of my “heard it on the radio” discoveries from this past spring. Though she also plays bass guitar from time to time, there’s nothing like the sound of that wood. Much of her stuff has a more dense instrumental mix, but I like the simple mix the best. Like a musical creme brulee.

categories: music
tags: bass, Esperanza Spalding, jazz

I’ve added a new little thing to the side bar. —->>>>

Usually called “asides” or “miniposts”, these are small posts, usually just a link to some article elsewhere. I often run across something interesting, but don’t have much (or, really, anything) I want to add, so I don’t bother to post on it at all. Now, I’ll just toss them to the side, instead of tossing them to the curb.

Trying to be more clever than calling them asides, I started to call them bsides. Maybe I should have stuck with that, but I didn’t. I called them “elsewhat” (I’ve still got that “what” thing going, for some reason). Something tells me I won’t stick with that, but who knows.

EtA: yeah, the “elsewhat” had to go. It’s back to “bsides”. Maybe still too cute. Good thing about blogs: you can change just about anything.

categories: meta
tags: asides, miniposts

Is John Mayer really a celebrity?

Context is everything. Of course, Joshua Bell could have told him that. (Be sure and click both links and watch the videos.)

I started this post just because I think Mayer is usually pretty hilarious in his videos, and this one is no exception. But then I remembered the Bell article and got thinking about what people actually notice when they notice artists.

Now, it’s easy to see why people might not recognize either Mayer or Bell by their faces (fine looking men though they are), and Mayer didn’t give them much music to go on. But Bell’s music? You’d think they’d realize it wasn’t just some J. Random Busker.

There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.

Is it just about busy lives? Or do people need context to interpret what they see and hear? Or do we need it to tell us what’s good (cool/wholesome/whatever floats your boat), because we won’t or can’t trust our own ears?

(John Mayer Trio, Try!)

(Joshua Bell, Nocturne (Chopin))

categories: biz, music, oddities
tags: celebrity, John Mayer, Joshua Bell, TMZ, violin, Washington Post.

More from Buddy Guy on the occasion of his new release, Skin Deep (reviewed here):

on Muddy Waters:

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categories: music
tags: Buddy Guy, Chicago blues, Derek Trucks, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, overalls, Skin Deep, Susan Tedeschi

(or, who do you think you are?)

One of the more interesting music festival stories this summer, so far, was the story of Kanye West at Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo has made efforts over the past few years to bring in some artists, even mainstream artists, that you don’t typically think of in connection with these field-of-steam type mega music festivals. For example, the Police at last year’s festival were a huge hit with fans. For a variety of reasons, Kanye’s light show was not such a hit. The story has been all over, but if you’re not familiar with it, here are a couple of quick links from jambands.com

Click the link and scroll down to “Kanye West Screams”: Kanye West Screams

And for a balanced look at what happened, read Dean Budnick’s assessment: Kanye Was Doomed
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categories: biz
tags: Bonnaroo, Kanye West, meet and greets, Paul Thorn, taylor hicks