Decades ago, as part of my misspent youth, I listened to a band called the Good Rats. Â The closest thing they had to a hit was called Tasty, about a guitar player that could play fast, but he couldn’t play “tasty”. Â Let me just say that any of the musicians on Kathryn Caine’s latest release, […]
Mayer's Picks: The Best of 2012, So Far (The Songs)
Jericho, John Fullbright (from the Blue Dirt Records release From The Ground Up) Fullbright’s is a welcome new voice on the singer-songwriter scene. He writes and sings with a voice that belies his 23-odd years, as evidenced by this stirring track. Throw your arrows and your slings And your other precious things Outside your gate […]
Jerry Douglas – Traveler
Some albums infect you slowly, like some kind of happy virus, where you finally just wake up one morning and realize you got the fever. Â Others, like the latest release from Jerry Douglas, Traveler, are more like your kid brother hitting you up side the head with a baseball bat and then standing over you […]
Tallest Man on Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
I’ve seen it on his first two albums and after the first tune on “There’s No Leaving Now,” I thought maybe I’d heard the last of the Tallest Man and his guitar. “To Just Grow Away” is a subtle song with percussion and even some keys. But I only had to wait until the […]
Mayer’s Picks: The Best of 2012, So Far (The Albums)
You’ve got to love a year where this list is made up of so many young and emerging artists. Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorites from 2012. BARCHORDS, BAHAMAS Canadian singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen unleashes a pop album that is simply sublime. The production has a textured feel anchored by the nuanced […]
Monday Morning Video: Whiskeytown
Ah Ryan, such a great songwriter and always so, um, soft-spoken. Here’s a gem from 1997.
MilkDrive – Waves
Daydreaming. Â I had trouble getting this review of the latest release from MilkDrive, Waves, together because every time I would start writing I put the album on to play and next thing I knew I was staring out the window, mind completely lost in other thoughts. Â They paint such immersive pictures it’s as if you’re […]
Monday Morning Video: Dave Alvin, Flaco Jimenez & Los Lobos
Last week I posted a video featuring Alejandro Escovedo joining Los Lobos at an LA performance earlier this year. Apparently Alejandro wasn’t the only guest that evening for what must have been an incredible evening of music. Here’s Dave Alvin and Flaco Jimenez joining Los Lobos for Alvin’s classic — and seasonal — song “Fourth […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2012
THE PLAYLIST That Wasn’t Me, Brandi Carlile (from the Columbia Records release Bear Creek) Any Carlile discussion begins and ends with her voice, an instrument of power and beauty. While her latest is more relaxed than her earlier efforts, it retains the inspirational tone that is a hallmark of her songwriting. Many of the songs […]
Monday Morning Video: Alejandro Escovedo with Los Lobos
Wow, this is a find. Here are two clips showing Alejandro Escovedo performing with Los Lobos earlier this year. The first shows the musicians rehearsing Escovedo’s “Rosalie” in a Los Angeles studio; the second shows them performing it the next night at LA’s Greek Theater.