I find myself getting into music ruts sometimes. I listen to records I know I like, and even the new music that comes my way somehow reinforces what’s already in my collection. Then out of the blue something will come along that’s like a breath of fresh air after being trapped inside. Such was the […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2022, Part 3
Let You Down, Bird Streets (from the Sparkle Plenty/Deko Records release Lagoon) John Brodeur – aka Bird Streets – is a master of the power pop craft. To be sure, these aren’t pop songs of the three chord variety. Rather, they have an inspired complexity – accessible yet filled with melodic and lyrical twists along […]
Adeem the Artist on the Ghost of Janis Joplin and Why Songwriting is a Strange Kind of Magic
Adeem the Artist talks about why music beats painting houses and developing the songwriting craft by reading books and watching movies.
Monday Morning Video – Christine McVie
Christine McVie, who passed away last week, was the quiet force behind Fleetwood Mac. McVie wrote or co-wrote many of the band’s most memorable hits. Here are two classic faves, notable for, among other reasons, their iconic McVie opening keyboard riffs. And while we’re at it, let’s listen to the glorious harmonies on McVie’s “Say […]
Melissa Carper – Ramblin’ Soul
One of the best sets I saw at this year’s AmericanaFest was the trio of Brennan Leigh, Kelly Willis, and Melissa Carper. As they told stories of their travels together in between the songs it was clear they were having as much fun off stage as on. That newfound, or perhaps refound, appreciation for touring […]
The Stone Foxes on Sammy Hagar and “Country Twang”
Shannon and Spence Koehler of The Stone Foxes talk about San Francisco’s Community Music Center, the time that their tour van got torched, and playing shows like it’s a sold-out headlining sets… even when they’re not.
Monday Morning Video – Doc Dailey
It has been a decade since Alabama’s Doc Dailey released a pair of incredible albums but I still periodically check to see if there is something new. Even if it’s a new-ish acoustic performance of an older song, I’ll take it. Here’s the sad but outstanding “Let Me Down” from 2010’s Victims, Enemies & Old […]
Melissa Carper on Farm Work, Solar Power, and Living in a Music Hub
Country and folk artist Melissa Carper talks about the value of having a great mechanic friend, living in a music hub, and an early song partially inspired by Sesame Street.
Monday Morning Video – Ever More Nest
There’s something special about art inspiring art. Truth in point – New Orleans’s Ever More Nest’s “What’s Gone Is Gone”. Says singer-songwriter Kelcy Mae about the song: “Some New Orleans musicians took a page from the Bushwick Book Club and invited songwriters to read Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last, write a song inspired by it, and […]
James Houlahan – Beyond the Borders
James Houlahan is a self-admitted late bloomer. He didn’t play in a band until he was 25 and didn’t make a record until he was 31. In this day and age of 13-year-old YouTube stars, I’m pretty sure that makes him an outlier. What he gained, though, was a life experience and sense of self-awareness […]