Pierce Pettis has never gotten credit he deserves. He is a thoughtful lyricist. He delivers his stories and messages with a twist of irony and poignancy that is hard to ignore. Pettis has been laying low for the last 4 years. With the release of That Kind of Love it is apparent that Pettis has […]
James Moore – Crows
With a name as plain as James Moore, I don’t quite know why I clicked on the link to play the sample song. But when I did, I was struck by the power of the melodies. Even with relatively simple arrangements, Moore has managed to pull together some affecting heart-rending tunes. Crows is not Moore’s […]
Eddie Floyd, Soul’s Alive (interview)
Recently I was lucky enough to score an interview with the great Eddie Floyd. As a major Soul fan interviewing Eddie Floyd is a big deal. Though when mentioning mister Floyd to friends I got a shocking amount of raised eye brows from people in their thirties, Floyd was at the cradle of what we […]
Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles – The Stars Are Out
First things first. The new album from Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles, The Stars Are Out (Sugar Hill) is a Rock & Roll record. The quicker we all accept that and move on, the better. The reason I implore any possibly heartbroken twangophile to quickly end their season of mourning and embrace the present […]
Brett Dennen — Hope For The Hopeless
Everyone should be so lucky as to live in a place that inspires the kind of love song to a city as "San Francisco", the opening track in Brett Dennen’s latest album, "Hope For The Hopeless". Dennen grew up in Oakdale, CA, a couple of hours from the city by the Bay, but it seems […]
M. Ward – Hold Time
Matt Ward’s hooks belie his strong messages. While he sings in a mellow rough blue-eyed soul, his acoustic guitar acts as a percussion instrument at the same time. This time around the acoustic guitar’s dominance has certainly diminished in favor of it’s electric counterpart, but somehow the more intricate songs seem strangely similar. The upbeat […]
Joe Purdy’s Tribute to Danny Federici
Longtime E Street Band organist Danny Federici passed in 2008 after a battle with cancer. Before he died, Federici and his family established the Danny Fund to educate people on the dangers of sun exposure and melanoma. The organization is also raising funds to support research in search of a cure. Los Angeles musician Joe […]
Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha
“Post-Rock” is a term often used to describe a heavily or completely instrumental Rock sonic that may or may not employ effects and instruments not typically associated with Rock & Roll. Of course, as with any other label given to a sound, whether general or quite specific, that term has met with various forms of […]
Derek Trucks – Already Free
Virtuosos can sometimes be so esoteric that it makes them less accessible. So it has been at times with Derek Trucks. It is not his fault he is just on another plane musically. His brilliant improvisation has garnered wide acclaim but it also makes it hard for him to reach a wider audience. The release […]
The Whipsaws- 60 Watt Avenue
The Whipsaws are a bar band…. a glorious, alt. country ass kicking bar band. Just listen to the tossed off rock and roll of their sophomore effort, 60 Watt Avenue. Though Neil Young is the easiest influence to infer as the band moves from Crazy Horse style rockers to Harvest-era ballads with ease, the Whipsaws […]