Peanut butter and jelly, Luxardo cherries and good rye whiskey, banjos and mandolins. Â Some things go well together, like Justin Ahmanson and Emily Villareal, a duo that goes by the name The Traveling Ones. Â Their debut album is called Meet Me There and offers plenty of proof that this couple belongs together musically. Philosophically the […]
Monday Morning Video – Joe Strummer covers Jimmy Cliff
My original plan was to share a version of Jimmy Cliff covering his classic “The Harder They Come.” Until I stumbled across this version of Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros rockin’ it right.
A J Hobbs – Too Much Is Never Enough
There’s an old saying about blues musicians who had no formal training and yet could unload a gut-wrenching, soulful composition about life or love or maybe just an old dirt road: “it in him, and it got to get out.” Â There’s a country outlaw version of that in the first full-length album from California native […]
John Mayall – Talk About That
In the 1970s, John Mayall, O.B.E., was, along with Bob Dylan, John Prine, David Bromberg, Loudon Wainwright III, Shawn Phillips and Jerry Jeff Walker, one of my musical heroes.  Now at 83 and still touring and recording albums, Mayall is an inspiration. Mayall, often called the “Godfather of British Blues,†is so much more than […]
Monday Morning Video – Girls Guns and Glory “Rock and Roll”
The lead off track from Girls Guns and Glory’s latest long player (Love and Protest) seems like a fitting song to kick off the week. Are you ready to rock and roll?
Monday Morning Video – Greg Trooper
2017 is already off to a rough start with the recent passing of songwriter Greg Trooper. He was very much a songwriter’s songwriter, a storyteller who delved deep into the lives of the characters who inhabited his songs all the while connecting the listener to the universal truths in their tales.
Say What?! Fall/Winter 2016 Edition
One of my favorite things about seeing live shows (well, after the music) are the crazy comments that you hear along the way. Here are a few choice selections from fall/winter 2016. The glass breaking was perfect timing. Too bad it was in the wrong fucking key. David Ramirez, when someone dropped a glass on […]
Paolo Von Giordano of New Diplomat Talks About the Band’s Multi-Purpose Rehearsal Space and Shares His Tips for Writing Songs
Paolo Von Giordano of electronic indie rock band New Diplomat talks about trying to eat healthy while on tour and why the band waited before scheduling their first gig together.
Monday Morning Video – Al Green
What’s better than some Al Green to start the week? How about Al Green covering Sam Cooke. It doesn’t get much better.
The Sadies – Northern Passages
I appreciate the sentiment behind the saying, “you can’t go home again” and it’s nod to life not standing still. Â Sometimes, when you want to take a step back from all the changes, home is just where you want to go, though. Â Brothers Dallas and Travis Good, and their Sadies bandmates Sean Dean and Mike […]