Mr. Billingsworth,

Upon bringing in the email, I found your exchange with my Mrs., from earlier today regarding Fripp & Eno. I have a few points of interest and we can also discuss Prog matters in general.

Also, how are you enjoying the Todd Rundgren albums you have accumulated so far? Remember, your collection only goes through the Bearsville years. You have little of his Indie catalog.

The first issue would be the classification of Fripp & Eno. These are three distinct artists in themselves. Robert Fripp solo, Brian Eno solo, and Fripp & Eno collaborative. Each has their own merit. All have evolved. Read the rest of this entry »

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Thurs May 29, Mirah and Spectratone will perform together with Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet as a part of the river to river festival in New York City (see http://www.rivertorivernyc.com/events). Here is a review of their latest CD, Share this Place. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is emo? The term is commonly stereotyped as a person who is sensitive and overly emotional. Someone who wears excessively tight pants, dark eyeliner and their hair in a side swept bang covering one of their eyes. They wear dark rimmed glasses, studded belts and chucks. It has become a fad and the word’s original meaning has been lost. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sorry folks, no nonsense about this recording, it’s all business with the Generator. It has to be. At least from Nick Oliveri’s point of view. After all, what do you do when you are asked to leave a band on the verge of breaking huge?
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It’s sad to say, but most opening acts are treated like the cousins of your family that you really don’t like, while the headliner act is given all of the glory.

Even worse, there’s usually one huge musical disconnect between the opener and the main act.

A couple of years ago, I waited almost three hours for a Ryan Adams show. The opening act were two teachers from the local school system who tried their best, but…

They couldn’t sing, nor could they play their way around the block. And yes, they were just bloody awful, but I’ll give them all of the credit in the world for trying their act out in a very small venue all filled up with liquored up Ryan Adams fans.

A couple of years ago, Wilco played a show at the most awful, fan-unfriendly place in Philly called “Festival Pier”, which is one huge slab of concrete set on the banks of the Delaware River, with very few pleasantries (meaning that the good “Flying Fish” beer ran out early).

Guess who opened up for Wilco? My Morning Jacket, and I swear there were only 100 of us dancing around the front of the stage to this band, hair, beards, Chucky T’s and all. Jim James said, “Wow, this is like playing a backyard barbeque!”

So, last Friday, Paul and I went to see Danielia Cotton at “World Café Live”, and we love her!

But, her opener, a band called “The Alternate Routes” really perked up my ears. I picked up both of their CD’s at their merch table, and it’s clear to see that this band has both songwriting and pure musicianship ready to go…with a full band or an acoustic one.

So, don’t ever make the mistake of showing up late for a show just because you’d care to miss the opening act.

You just may miss the “next big thing”!

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May 27, 2008: I first met Keith Kenny when they performed at The College of New Jersey on Friday April 26^th, 2008. Self-named after the lead singer, the band members are Keith Kenny- lead/vocal/guitar; Jonathan Luberecki- bass, and Tyler Chiara- drums. They’ve put out 2 EPs on the internet, and their first album is out June 14^th, 2008, which will be reviewed in a separate blog at that time. Musically, you’re listening to mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, mixed major and minor key tonality. Basically: a hybrid of blues rock, classic hard rock, a little bit of Eric Clapton (when he did blues) and Led Zeppelin.

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I’ve always appreciated the House Of Blues as a venue.  Being the compulsive gambler and reckless drunk that I am, being located right above a casino means it couldn’t get much better.  That evening, as I meandered through the casino floor towards the two story escalator that leads up to the venue, I thought to myself that this show was my salvation, at least for a few hours, from the timeless vault of lust that is known as The Showboat. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is it about lo-fi punk bands that drives everyone crazy [in the good way...] these days? What with the phenomenal debut full-length from LA’s No Age and the long-standing underground successes of garage noise punk a la Japanther, Mika Miko, Black Lips, etc, it’s almost as if the lo-fi recording quality of some upcoming bands serves as a “seal of approval” for listeners everywhere that says, or even screams: “This music is so raw…you’re going to listen to the shitty quality, and you’re going to loooove it.” But in the end, you have to admit that this lo-fi stuff actually sounds, well, kinda good…not in terms of clean engineering or production, maybe, but as a complement to the bands’ sounds and attitudes about not only how they record their music, but how they choose to perform it live as well. Times New Viking’s newest release “Rip It Off” is a perfect example of how maxed-out instrumentation/vocals can be made to just work. Read the rest of this entry »

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     On Friday night, The Islands, which include two ex-members of The Unicorns, played the first Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. There was fantastic turn out of young and old alike, and all enjoyed a great set of new and old Islands songs. Their new album, The Arm, is gritty departure from their first album, Return to the Sea, but I think Islands are moving in a fresh direction.  While most of the set was from the Arm, the audience was treated to all of their favorites and there was much rejoicing. Read the rest of this entry »

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Memorial Day Weekend, great weather, friends and relatives visiting, and an ongoing home rehab project that requires hauling boxes of books and records to the storage locker (the best argument for downloads), work against any deep-thinking blog post today, so I thought it would be fun (and easy) to list some of my jazz faves.  Like New York City thin pizza, Chicagohot dogs and Italian beef, KC barbeque, Rita’s gelato, and Chen’s crispy beef, these jazzers make me happy and keep me coming back for more; they are my musical comfort food.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Let’s face it. Music isn’t what it used to be. Every generation has said this statement, but it’s most true in recent days. To quote Leela James,”Where’d the music go/ It’s all just for the dough”. Modern musicians ares becoming less like musicians and more like ridiculous images who only entertain for money and don’t put much, if any thought into their songs. Anyone who is any good or actually cares about their music is long gone, barely remembered or still undiscovered, spending their nights promoting their music and their days working at a pizza joint. Read the rest of this entry »

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Certain labels are known for their quality and are spoken of in revered tones: Desco Records (the precursor to current retro-funk labels Daptone and Soul Fire), Rawkus (in the mid-90s a near-guarantee of dope hip-hop) and Blue Note (revered in the jazz world, at least their pre-1980s records).  And when you collect records, search for beats or both (as I do) you become familiar with additional record labels. Digger’s favorites. The ones known for their incredible music, incredible hard-to-find beats and songs ready for the sampling… or both. People (James Brown’s imprint and sure-shot funky guarantee). Fania (the salsa giant). And, a true treat for the aficionados and beatdiggers, possibly the digger’s favorite of ALL digger’s favorites …. Black Jazz.

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Movin and a groovin, Big M

Movin and a groovin, Big M

Movin and a groovin, having a ball

With Cousin Bruce

How important were Cousin Brucie and WABC Radio to New York area teens in the Sixties?

Imagine the Pope, the President, and Mickey Mantle rolled into one.  Maybe throw in Roger Maris. Read the rest of this entry »

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Unfortunately, tracking down these demos is slightly harder then a cheetah getting a license to run a daycare. For three evenings I lurked guns and roses message boards and wasted my fucking time looking at web blogs shut down by Axl’ s lawyers. I gave up and searched on Soulseek for some kind of salvation. The results were predictable, people would claim to have the entire album but its a Kraftwerk CD also, I’m not sure of the connection, but every time i try to find the track “catcher in the rye” i open it to find its a Bruce Springsteen song. Read the rest of this entry »

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It seems as though 2008 is the year for comebacks-and when I say that, I don’t mean for unsuccessful bands to redeem themselves, but bands to continue their album releases. If you think about it (and do your music research), there are quite a few groups with albums being released this year. There must be something with the summer of 2008…but it’s full of music mayhem.

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It’s dark, rainy and windy outside. I’ve come back from my chiropractor where my right shoulder has been through the usual therapy for a pinched nerve. Read the rest of this entry »

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Death Cab for Cutie is a band that evokes emotions some didn’t even know they had.  They were my favorite band a few years ago due to the release of ‘Transatlantcism,’ which I listened to on repeat for weeks. Death cab has a song that can relate to pretty much every relationship I have ever been in. From the hard break ups to the times I was truly in love. While they are no longer my favorite band, they have always been there for when I want to get lost in memories of the past. Read the rest of this entry »

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Newcomer to Bamboozle Rocked it

May 20, 2008—The Morning Of—Newburgh, NY—played at Bamboozle 2008 for the first time on May 3^rd, 2008. This is a happy, energetic band that is also very talented. Their new Indie pop-punk album is “The World As We know it” (Tragic Hero Records). For a newcomer to Bamboozle, their confidence and stage presence looked as though they were returning artists. In between songs, the guitarist said, “Two years ago I stood in the stands and thought, ‘wow, wouldn’t it be cool to play at Bamboozle,’” which made me wonder, where will they be two years from now?

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