Tenor sax player Greg Piccolo is another in a long line of Roomful of Blues alumni who have gone on to great solo careers, along with the likes of Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, Curtis Salgado and Sugar Ray Norcia. Roomful of Blues has long been the gold standard for jump blues, which is a horns-heavy […]
Prodigal Father – a Premiere from Kevin Gordon
Kevin Gordon is as authentic as they come. His Southern stories are rooted in truth, though only he knows exactly how much. He brings those tales to life with a literary eye, set against guitars as gritty as the stories themselves. There are countless reasons a great song gets left off an album — which […]
Pieta Brown on Borrowing Iris DeMent’s Van and Listening to Pharoah Sanders
Singer-songwriter Pieta Brown talks about the song she wrote as a kid that’s still part of her live sets today, and describes her makeshift garage rehearsal space, where a neighbor’s chickens and passing trains provide unplanned accompaniment. She adds a hard-won career lesson: people like names they can pronounce.
Bonus Monday Video – David Garza
Seems like an appropriate day to re-share this gem from Texas virtuoso David Garza. Honest words are like August thirdsThey just both come maybe once in a year
Monday Morning Video – Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard died last week, and it’s hard to know where to start. He was one of the genuine ones — in his music and in how he moved through the world. That’s a rare thing, and it’s the thing we’ll miss most. I’ve written before about my favorite Hansard memory: an impromptu moment at […]
The Family – Delusions of Grandeur
Some records feel assembled; Delusions of Grandeur feels inherited. The Family is Dylan LeBlanc, his father James LeBlanc and James wife and stepson Angela Hacker and Bay Simpson. The album carries the unmistakable weight of shared history, where blood ties matter less than the lived experiences that shape every lyric and harmony. Recorded at Muscle […]
Aaron Lee Tasjan – Get Over It, Underdog
Success as an artist can be hard to quantify. Many of the greatest painters the world has ever known died penniless. Most of us have favorite musicians that we’re mystified why they haven’t become superstars. The flip side of that coin is when some success does come, it can be hard to understand why you […]
“Start a Band” – A Premiere from Bleu
LA popmeister Bleu doesn’t release a lot of his own music these days — he’s too busy writing and producing for television, film, and other artists. But personal experience provided the impetus for his new album: a tribute to two close friends he lost, longtime studio partner Ducky Carlisle and college best friend Alex Scutro. […]
Chris Pierce on His Old Ford Bronco and His “Lone Wolf” Years
Singer-songwriter Chris Pierce recalls landing his first gig at age 7 or 8 after spotting a classified ad in the L.A. Times, and later working as a music professor during the pandemic. He also talks about stocking up on water while on tour, and the value of building and nurturing relationships in the music business.
Monday Morning Video – William Matheny
William Matheny’s new album, Material Witness, was released earlier this month. It’s great songwriting with real rock and roll grit. The title track gets the live-in-studio treatment for this week’s video — just Matheny and his band, no overdubs to hide behind. Matheny played NYC last night, a show I appropriated as my birthday party. […]