Alice Smith graced WTMD with her first radio interview ever less than a year ago. Her voice sends chills down my spine and her humbleness when talking on stage won me over when I saw her open for Citizen Cope at Rams Head Live back in December.
It was great to hear "Dream" from her album "For Lovers, Dreamers, & Me" at the closing credits of the the most recent episode of Entourage. I don't know if she ever imagined her song being played over the antics of Johnny Drama and E, but nonetheless, it was a great ending to a great episode. Did anyone else see it?
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Mark Ronson Videos
About 25 years ago the place to watch music videos was MTV...MUSIC Television...anyone else think it should be changed to RTV...Reality Television?
Well as you might have noticed Online is the best place to watch these music videos "on demand", here are a few from Mark Ronsons new album Version.
"Stop Me"
"Oh My God"
Well as you might have noticed Online is the best place to watch these music videos "on demand", here are a few from Mark Ronsons new album Version.
"Stop Me"
"Oh My God"
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Noisettes
Noisettes are an indie rock band from London comprising singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa, guitarist Dan Smith, and drummer Jamie Morrison.
Their debut album is What's the Time Mr. Wolf?
Their debut album is What's the Time Mr. Wolf?
Thursday, July 26, 2007
John Mayer Rocks / Robbers & Cowards Don't Pass The Hat To The Kids
Saw John Mayer tonight in D.C. and it was great. The man is a great musician and has a great band to back him up. Played a lot of hits and the show was pretty low key. Finished up by covering Cream's version of Crossroads. John mentioned just before, that he would be playing the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago this weekend. 
This festival also features guitar gods of the past and present including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, Derek Trucks, and Robert Randolph. WTMD favorites like Los Lobos and Alison Krauss & Union Station will be there too. Can anybody say All-Star jam?
Got some not so great news as well.
Looks like the Cold War Kid's won't be gracing us with their excellence at Virgin Festival. Aiden won the hard fought out battle between groups including Mute Math, Say Anything and The Higher and CWK. See you at the Patriot Center everybody.
Current Mood: Bummed yet hopeful
This festival also features guitar gods of the past and present including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, Derek Trucks, and Robert Randolph. WTMD favorites like Los Lobos and Alison Krauss & Union Station will be there too. Can anybody say All-Star jam?
Got some not so great news as well.
Looks like the Cold War Kid's won't be gracing us with their excellence at Virgin Festival. Aiden won the hard fought out battle between groups including Mute Math, Say Anything and The Higher and CWK. See you at the Patriot Center everybody.
Current Mood: Bummed yet hopeful
Monday, July 23, 2007
Vote For The Cold War Kids
If you hadn't heard Virgin Festival 2007 is taking place here in Baltimore on August 4th & 5th and the people at Virgin put the public in control of booking the opening band for the 5th. I can only hope that the boys in Cold War Kids will be blowing open the second day of the festival with their highly energetic stage presence and razor shap lyrics. If they are opening i'll be bobbing around like a chicken hooked up to a car battery just like CWK. The band will be opening up for another one of my favorites, Muse, I'm a sucker for prog rock, August 9th at the Partiot Center in Fairfax. So if they lose the fight to open at Pimlico there is still a chance to catch them while they are around.
Stop by and come say hi to the WTMD staff at our booth while you're at Virgin Fest we'll be broadcasting live. See you at Pimlico
Editor's Epic Sophomore Release
EDITORS, a band out of Birmingham, England, had me hooked with their 2005 debut THE BACK ROOM. I absolutely couldn't get enough of the single, MUNICH, with screeching, apocalyptic guitar and frontman Tom Smith's Echo and the Bunnymen recall. The British press, as they tend to do, latched on to the band and heaped tons of praise and the next-big-thing label.
So, how do they follow it up? With an epic and intimate sophomore release that deals with, well, death. But, dark underpinnings aside, check out this, I think, life-affirming track from Editors new one, AN END HAS A START.
So, how do they follow it up? With an epic and intimate sophomore release that deals with, well, death. But, dark underpinnings aside, check out this, I think, life-affirming track from Editors new one, AN END HAS A START.
Ryan Shaw Rocks Artscape
I didn't get to see as many bands at Artscape as I would have liked, but Sunday's performance from Ryan Shaw was a total treat. He's energetic, a great communicator with the crowd and his music is just so wonderfully infectious. He played most of his record and it was a lot of fun to see so many folks dancing by the stage. Ryan is definitely someone I'll want to see again.
What did you guys think of of Artscape this year?
What did you guys think of of Artscape this year?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
New Release Show Notes for 7-17-07
A couple of really fine CD’s were released this week and a few singles worth mentioning as well. Let’s jump right in with the best of this week.
First CD I’d like to bring to your attention is Suzanne Vega’s BEAUTY AND CRIME. It is WTMD’s CD of the week and it is a good choice. I happen to catch the 48 year-old singer/songwriter at the music conference in Louisville, KY, and she looked and sounded great. Ms. Vega put on a fine show that blended her older, familiar songs with the outstanding material from her new album. We’ve been playing the single “Frank & Ava,” but there are several good tracks on the disc including “Bound” and the track I played last night, “Zephyr And I.”
The next disc that caught my attention is the one from Alison Sudol. Alison goes by the pseudonym A Fine Frenzy. She is a wonderful singer/songwriter and her debut release on Virgin Records, ONE CELL IN THE SEA, is a strong showing. I had the delightful dilemma again of trying to pick which song to play for the show. Track number one, “Come On, Come Out” and number 14, “Borrowed Time” both were in the running but I ended up with track number 11, “Lifesize.” FYI, VH-1 is listing A Fine Frenzy as their “You Oughta Know” artist.
Machine Translations is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and home-recordist J.Walker. He now resides in Melbourne, Australia and has six full-length albums to his name in his homeland but he is a relative unknown here in the states. We pulled down this single from the Internet; it’s called “Need A Miracle,” from the yet to be titled CD.
Next is the Magic Numbers. The two, brother and sister, duos make up the Magic Numbers: Romeo and Michele Stodart along with Sean and Angela Gannon. Their latest release, THOSE THE BROKES, was originally released in the UK back in the Fall of 2006. Astralwerks picked them up for distribution here in the US. Their US tour starts August 14th. We’re playing “This Is A Song” on our regular line-up so I wanted to give everyone a different take, so I played “Take A Chance,” which was the single in the UK.
The latest from Garbage is the album ABSOLUTE GARBAGE, which is a “Best Of” compilation with this new track, “Tell Me Where It Hurts,” thrown it to make it more interesting. And it does. TMD is actually a little ahead of the curve on this one. The CD doesn’t hit stores until next week. No tour has been announced yet but we’ll keep our ears open.
My personal favorite is the new CD from Patrick Cleandenim. This artist has put together a fine release. Patrick lives in New York but his album BABY COMES HOME was released in the UK in late May but the US debut isn’t until yesterday. And speaking of debuts, this is Patrick’s too. The tracks for his CD was recorded with an orchestra of twelve at Black Lodge Recording Studio in Eudora, Kansas, during the final months of 2005. In fact Mr. Cleandenim refers to his music as Orchestral Pop. Patrick is also an aspiring filmmaker. The little treat I played last night was called “Until You Said I’m Gone,”
Lastly is the album from Tegan and Sara. Originally from Calgary, Canada, these twin folk/rock sisters made an impact immediately in the Canadian music scene by earning the highest score in history at Calgary's "Garage Warz" competition in 1998. Then the next thing they knew, they were playing a handful of dates at Sara McLachlan’s LILITH FAIR that same year. Since that time Tegan & Sara have released four albums, the fourth being THE CON that was released today on Sire Records. This tune I played last night was “Back In Your Head.”
See you next week. TK
First CD I’d like to bring to your attention is Suzanne Vega’s BEAUTY AND CRIME. It is WTMD’s CD of the week and it is a good choice. I happen to catch the 48 year-old singer/songwriter at the music conference in Louisville, KY, and she looked and sounded great. Ms. Vega put on a fine show that blended her older, familiar songs with the outstanding material from her new album. We’ve been playing the single “Frank & Ava,” but there are several good tracks on the disc including “Bound” and the track I played last night, “Zephyr And I.”
The next disc that caught my attention is the one from Alison Sudol. Alison goes by the pseudonym A Fine Frenzy. She is a wonderful singer/songwriter and her debut release on Virgin Records, ONE CELL IN THE SEA, is a strong showing. I had the delightful dilemma again of trying to pick which song to play for the show. Track number one, “Come On, Come Out” and number 14, “Borrowed Time” both were in the running but I ended up with track number 11, “Lifesize.” FYI, VH-1 is listing A Fine Frenzy as their “You Oughta Know” artist.
Machine Translations is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and home-recordist J.Walker. He now resides in Melbourne, Australia and has six full-length albums to his name in his homeland but he is a relative unknown here in the states. We pulled down this single from the Internet; it’s called “Need A Miracle,” from the yet to be titled CD.
Next is the Magic Numbers. The two, brother and sister, duos make up the Magic Numbers: Romeo and Michele Stodart along with Sean and Angela Gannon. Their latest release, THOSE THE BROKES, was originally released in the UK back in the Fall of 2006. Astralwerks picked them up for distribution here in the US. Their US tour starts August 14th. We’re playing “This Is A Song” on our regular line-up so I wanted to give everyone a different take, so I played “Take A Chance,” which was the single in the UK.
The latest from Garbage is the album ABSOLUTE GARBAGE, which is a “Best Of” compilation with this new track, “Tell Me Where It Hurts,” thrown it to make it more interesting. And it does. TMD is actually a little ahead of the curve on this one. The CD doesn’t hit stores until next week. No tour has been announced yet but we’ll keep our ears open.
My personal favorite is the new CD from Patrick Cleandenim. This artist has put together a fine release. Patrick lives in New York but his album BABY COMES HOME was released in the UK in late May but the US debut isn’t until yesterday. And speaking of debuts, this is Patrick’s too. The tracks for his CD was recorded with an orchestra of twelve at Black Lodge Recording Studio in Eudora, Kansas, during the final months of 2005. In fact Mr. Cleandenim refers to his music as Orchestral Pop. Patrick is also an aspiring filmmaker. The little treat I played last night was called “Until You Said I’m Gone,”
Lastly is the album from Tegan and Sara. Originally from Calgary, Canada, these twin folk/rock sisters made an impact immediately in the Canadian music scene by earning the highest score in history at Calgary's "Garage Warz" competition in 1998. Then the next thing they knew, they were playing a handful of dates at Sara McLachlan’s LILITH FAIR that same year. Since that time Tegan & Sara have released four albums, the fourth being THE CON that was released today on Sire Records. This tune I played last night was “Back In Your Head.”
See you next week. TK
Jake Shimabukuro
Jake Shimabukuro From Honolulu. The video of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has received over 1.5 million views.
He has an instructional DVD called "Play Loud Ukulele."
He has an instructional DVD called "Play Loud Ukulele."
It's Business Time!
OK, just for laughs, I've got to share these guys with you. Have you heard of that HBO show, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS? It's two singer/songwriter dudes from Kiwi land trying to make the big time in the Big Apple. It's like Chrocodile Dundee with guitars, at least in their sense of naivete. And their songs are simply hilarious. Check out this one, and see if you can't stop laughing next time your company has a "team-building" exercise.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Bat For Lashes: A Feast for the Ears & Eyes...
Got turned on to a new multi-instrumentalist putting out her first album under the name Bat For Lashes . The music is intricate and has a flair for the dramatic and the former Nursery school teacher Bat for Lashes (also known as Natasha Khan) has a vivid way of telling her story, or in this case, capturing a song.
Bringing it all together in video shows this avant-garde artist is a sight for the ears & eyes.
Bringing it all together in video shows this avant-garde artist is a sight for the ears & eyes.
Steve and Sarah Borges
I was in Reno last week with a bunch of other public radio folks stuck in three days of meetings. We learned a lot about the new technology affecting public radio and the new music programs in development. All good stuff....but by Friday Afternoon I had had my fill of Powerpoint presentations!
Luckily, we found Art Town, a very small Artscape kind of event in Downtown Reno. And better Yet!!!! Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles were playing for the crowd! I hadn't kept up with Sarah's tour schedule so this was one of the happy coincidneces.
The band put on an amazing show, rocking the crowd through dances and sing alongs. Sarah's not getting much, if any, radio play in Reno but the crowd was engaged and excited by her explosive performance.
After the show I got a chance to say say hi --decked out in my WTMD t-shirt of course--and Sarah yelled out about Our Emerging Artist Concert before I could barely introduce myself. She told me she and the Broken Singles are excited about the show.
Sarah told me they're really looking forward to playing for the first time here in Baltimore and since it will be the last show of their current tour---Sarah's expecting to let loose and celebrate. Gang, I hope you'll all be there--I haven't been this personally excited about an artist in a while and I hope you find in Sarah Borges and Broken Singles the good times that I do
Steve
Bright Eyes Latest Album Gets Animated in Video Series
Polydor Records, Bright Eyes Label, called up 5 animators to put to life songs from Cassadaga. You can check out all the videos through their media player here. It's interesting to see each animators perspective on the song, one of the videos that peaked my interest the most is "I Must Belong Somewhere"
Enjoy another one of my favorites below!
Bright Eyes
"Soul Singer In A Session Band"
Animation By: David S. Blanco
Enjoy another one of my favorites below!
Bright Eyes
"Soul Singer In A Session Band"
Animation By: David S. Blanco
Monday, July 16, 2007
ALLGOOD!!!
So.... things are crazy around town and all sorts of events are coming up.., But... I wanted to give everybody a peek at what when down at The All Good Festival in Masontown West Virginia this past weekend. I, myself, was not lucky enough to go but friends of mine did and brought back so many stories about the cool things they saw. The one thing everybody i have talked to said was that MOE. was amazing and for their second set they had a revolving door of musicians appear on-stage with them including Baltimore's own Cris Jacobs and Kenny Liner from The Bridge. Heres a little footage of this insane JAM!!!!!
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