Wednesday
Jul122006
you said you wanted some music?
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 02:54AM
So I've spent the past couple of hours in my basement enjoying immensely a place to play guitar again and creating some humorously bad demos of songs for a project I can't tell you about yet. And now I'm blogging.
This is going to be a post all about different music, you need to know. And so I should start it by saying that now that I have a tape player in my car and this little writing room in the basement, I actually have a place to listen to music for the first time in a number of years. I need suggestions. Bad. What are you guys listening to? And know that I'll be expanding on that question tomorrow.
Well, first off, I went to see Jason play tonight and he was great. It was a long night where a number of artists got up and each played 15 minutes. There was one band I really enjoyed and I think you might as well. They're called Codaphonic and here's their page.
In related news, two albums I've produced have just gone up for pre-order. Arthur Alligood's will be called "After the Gray" and you can get it here. It's an experience record. We did it quickly and completely live. Arthur sang and played guitar at the same time and we just played to him. Very real and very fun. He's got a bit of the Gospel in him for sure and it comes out in the most incredible and moving ways. I can not recommend this project enough. And he and his wife just had a baby girl last week so they could really use your support.
The other record is by Kevin Lawson. This album has been one of the most out-right fun projects I've ever been involved in. Kevin's a rocker and he's got the voice of an angel on a rocket. I don't know what that means. But Kevin can freaking sing. And he gave me the instruction to get as crazy as I wanted. We ended up spending a good bit of time in the land of the Beatles and the Beach Boys and, man, it was a stinking blast. The songs are catchy and I'm sure you won't be able to get them out of your head for a long time. In a good way. You can get that record here.
Thank you all for supporting this music! You've been so kind to me and helpful with my art, and I'm excited to share this other music with you. This is becoming the future. People caring about artists and helping them achieve their creations. None of this stuff would happen without you sitting here reading this blog and becoming an actual active part in this work. THANK YOU!!
And because you're all so great to us, this last bit of music-you-need-to-get news is something in the FREE aisle. The fellas over at SquarePegAlliance.net have started a site for sharing bootlegs of live recordings of Square Peg artists and Caedmon's shows (I think). The site is called IndieRiver and I won't lie, I don't understand how it works. It uses BitTorrent, which I tried once and realized why I love my Mac, because this looked like a PC thing and I freaked out and read a book. But Geof swears it's easy and there's a page there that talks you really easily and quickly through it all. It's a great looking site and they've really done a good job organizing the whole thing. My Mercy Lounge show is up there, by the way. Enjoy...
Speaking of Geof, he and AO.com poster Stephanie Woodward are both taking part in a blogathon to raise money for Blood:Water and African Leadership/Mocha Club, respectively. These folks will be blogging for 24 hours straight and you can sign up to donate for their cause at that time.
Basically, it's like a walkathon, but with blogging instead. I suggested calling it a "blogawalkathon" so it would be a little more obvious, but then I realized that people who got addicted would need to go to Blogawalkathonaholics Anonymous and that's just ridiculous. I'm an idiot.
Anyway, it's a great thing these guys are doing and you can sponsor them here. It takes place on July 29 and I'll make sure and link to them the night before. (So remind me!) Oh, and there are some prizes involved, and one of Stephanie's, that you can win, is an autographed copy of The Morning. You know you want that.
Well, I think that's about it for me today. I've got an idea that I'm kicking around in my head, but I'll share it tomorrow once I've gotten some sleep and can phrase it clearly. And I've already given you enough to think about. Until tomorrow...
This is going to be a post all about different music, you need to know. And so I should start it by saying that now that I have a tape player in my car and this little writing room in the basement, I actually have a place to listen to music for the first time in a number of years. I need suggestions. Bad. What are you guys listening to? And know that I'll be expanding on that question tomorrow.
Well, first off, I went to see Jason play tonight and he was great. It was a long night where a number of artists got up and each played 15 minutes. There was one band I really enjoyed and I think you might as well. They're called Codaphonic and here's their page.
In related news, two albums I've produced have just gone up for pre-order. Arthur Alligood's will be called "After the Gray" and you can get it here. It's an experience record. We did it quickly and completely live. Arthur sang and played guitar at the same time and we just played to him. Very real and very fun. He's got a bit of the Gospel in him for sure and it comes out in the most incredible and moving ways. I can not recommend this project enough. And he and his wife just had a baby girl last week so they could really use your support.
The other record is by Kevin Lawson. This album has been one of the most out-right fun projects I've ever been involved in. Kevin's a rocker and he's got the voice of an angel on a rocket. I don't know what that means. But Kevin can freaking sing. And he gave me the instruction to get as crazy as I wanted. We ended up spending a good bit of time in the land of the Beatles and the Beach Boys and, man, it was a stinking blast. The songs are catchy and I'm sure you won't be able to get them out of your head for a long time. In a good way. You can get that record here.
Thank you all for supporting this music! You've been so kind to me and helpful with my art, and I'm excited to share this other music with you. This is becoming the future. People caring about artists and helping them achieve their creations. None of this stuff would happen without you sitting here reading this blog and becoming an actual active part in this work. THANK YOU!!
And because you're all so great to us, this last bit of music-you-need-to-get news is something in the FREE aisle. The fellas over at SquarePegAlliance.net have started a site for sharing bootlegs of live recordings of Square Peg artists and Caedmon's shows (I think). The site is called IndieRiver and I won't lie, I don't understand how it works. It uses BitTorrent, which I tried once and realized why I love my Mac, because this looked like a PC thing and I freaked out and read a book. But Geof swears it's easy and there's a page there that talks you really easily and quickly through it all. It's a great looking site and they've really done a good job organizing the whole thing. My Mercy Lounge show is up there, by the way. Enjoy...
Speaking of Geof, he and AO.com poster Stephanie Woodward are both taking part in a blogathon to raise money for Blood:Water and African Leadership/Mocha Club, respectively. These folks will be blogging for 24 hours straight and you can sign up to donate for their cause at that time.
Basically, it's like a walkathon, but with blogging instead. I suggested calling it a "blogawalkathon" so it would be a little more obvious, but then I realized that people who got addicted would need to go to Blogawalkathonaholics Anonymous and that's just ridiculous. I'm an idiot.
Anyway, it's a great thing these guys are doing and you can sponsor them here. It takes place on July 29 and I'll make sure and link to them the night before. (So remind me!) Oh, and there are some prizes involved, and one of Stephanie's, that you can win, is an autographed copy of The Morning. You know you want that.
Well, I think that's about it for me today. I've got an idea that I'm kicking around in my head, but I'll share it tomorrow once I've gotten some sleep and can phrase it clearly. And I've already given you enough to think about. Until tomorrow...
Reader Comments (16)
I just got back from Cornerstone Festival and I'm still sorting through all the new music I got there. The "buzz band" at the festival was Mute Math and I have to admit, they were pretty amazing. I think you can only get their album from their myspace site, but if you haven't heard it, you should definitely check it out.
Awww, man, thanks for pointing to my Blogathon work, Andy. I really appreciate that.
And yes, I still owe you [and the rest of the Pegs] a press release on IndieRiver. Maybe I need to come to Nashville this weekend and show a few of you how it works, too...
In the Christian industry a few new artists and bands to definitely check out would be Phil Wickham (similar to Jeff Buckley, David Gray), Leeland (similar to Keane, Coldplay), and Jimmy Needham (similar to Marc Broussard, Jason Mraz). Leeland and Jimmy Needham's albums aren't out yet, but should be soon.
Secular artists that are awesome: Wolfmother (Australian riff-rock similar to Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, White Stripes), Marc Broussard (if you haven't heard him by now you should), Ray LaMontagne (very awesome voice, has an old school Motown feel to it), and Amos Lee (the male Norah Jones).
That should cover enough for now.
Let's see...I'm looking at my iTunes and seeing what's "new" (to me, not necessarily to everyone else):
Twentysomething, Jamie Cullum
Family Dance, Dan Zanes
Tonight, Not Again, Jason Mraz
Blue Light, Red Light, Harry Connick, Jr.
Room to Breathe, Andy Gullahorn
A Greater Song, Paul Baloche
Wow, that's mishmosh of stuff for ya!
tim
Andrew Bird. I cannot recommend this guy enough. Particularly the song "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left."
Innocence Mission, Befriended
Sleeping at Last
Hem, Eveningland
Anathallo, Floating World
Sufjan Stevens, The Avalanche
Neko Case, Blacklisted & Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
The Corrs, Home
Jeff Beal, Pollock (Movie Soundtrack)
Eisley, Room Noises
David Mead, Tangerine
Keane, Under the Iron Sea
Duncan Sheik, White Limousine
Johnny Cash: American V (for some reason this guy just messes me up...)
Ellery: Lying Awake (used to be a band called Dividing the Plunder -- female piano pop somewhere between Over the Rhine and Innocence Mission -- props to Greg Adkins for the rec, they're great)
Ross King: Soulspeak (listened to it once, but I can't get away from this guy either : very biblical, true worship stuff)
Goo Goo Dolls: Let Love In (I don't know what happened to these guys spiritually, but something happened... very organic sounding album)
Passion '06: Everything Glorious (what can I say? my favorite "mainstream" worship folks...)
Wow. Look at all these music suggestions. There are a few here that I couldn't agree with more.
-First, Mute Math. Simply amazing. The lead singer was formerly from 'Earthsuit' which is also killer, but no longer a group. Mute Math showed me what rocking really looks like.
-Second, Sufjan Stevens. This man has more talent in his right pinky than any of us have in our whole selves. His music is true art. Very thought out, but very enjoyable.
-Mark Broussard. This guy is fun. Great grooves.
-Jaime Cullum. Jazz. One of my favorites. Catching Tales and Twentysomething both are new ways of playing jazz. Get them.
-Andrew Osenga. Oh wait...
-Derek Webb. This guy is my favorite and you've obviously heard him :)
-Blue Merle. Holy Cow. Check these guys out. They are killer. Kind of a Coldplay/Dave Matthews Band feel. They toured with/opened for Marc Broussard. They've got a violinist... his solos make me melt.
That's all I'll say for now. I've already made this comment too long :)
tunes getting heavy rotation in the house and the car:
Buddy Guy - Bring Em In - Buddy's a fantastic blues guitarist who's been around the block many times - his newest one is one of his better, despite the "guest appearances" of folks like Santana, John Mayer and Robert Randolph. It's blues. It's funk. It's R&B. It's NICE.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium - simply put, this is RHCP retaining the old and bringing in the new. it's up, it's down, it's all around.
James Blunt - Back to Bedlam - dunno why i like this one so much but it's caught me.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Moanin' - Blakey was a drummer who surrounded himself with some of the best musicians out there. his albums were were hit or miss (mostly hit) because of the rotation of musicians, but this one shows him at his best.
Don Chaffer - What You Don't Know - don's got one of the sweetest voices out there. period. his waterdeep stuff is fantastic but this album really blew my mind. his songwriting is so intelligent - thinking man's music.
Beki Hemingway - Words for Loss for Words - another good songwriter and singer. she and jonathan rundman have a new album out together from last year, but this album, especially "Floating Away" breaks my heart.
with the advent of David Gilmour's newest solo album being released, i've put Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon back in and have fallen in love all over again. hearing that Syd Barrett had died made me pull out the OLD Pink Floyd stuff and think: maybe Barrett going nuts and leaving the band wasn't a bad thing after all...
all this, plus Keith Jarrett's Whisper Not, Osenga's The Morning and Jimmy Smith's The Sermon are getting a lot of play.
Man, this is a great thread, lots of great suggestions. I can't agree more with the majority of them, I love Mute Math, Jamie Cullum, Jason Mraz, Anathallo, Sufjan, and Blue Merle (you forgot to mention how much the dude sounds like Adam Duritz of Couting Crows at times)
Oh and also...Brandi, Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs is an awesome album, with particularly stunning artwork. If you like orchestrated indie rock along the lines of Belle and Sebastian, you should check it out.
Andrew, if you do not own Sufjan Stevens's Illinois, email me: I will buy a copy and send it to you. I'm not kidding, dude.
here are some albums you need to check out:
Copeland's "In Motion"
Rocky Votolato's "Makers"
Andrew Bird's "Nervous Motion of the Head..."
Discover America's "Psychology"
Denison Witmer's "Are You a Dreamer?"
The Shins' "Chutes Too Narrow"
William Shatner's "Has Been" (amazing stuff, seriously.)
oh, and get Ben Folds' iTunes originals if you haven't heard that.
sevenmiles ... I want to hear that Andy Gullahorn/Harry Connick segue. LOL!
I echo bmcallister's Anathallo recommendation. Really great stuff. A friend of mine opened up that door to me after seeing them a few months ago.
I've also been enjoying Kelly Joe Phelps' "Roll Away the Stone." That guy is just incredible.
Tomorrow's the day!!!!!!!