An all N. American selection this week. Honestly, I don't plan it
that way.
Sadly I'm now flying the show solo, since my producer, companion
and great friend Artois (right) was diagnosed with fairly advanced
liver cancer on Saturday and immediately put down. I think a few of
us have seen enough pain for one lifetime. I just hope someone will
be able to do the same for me when the time comes. NO, not yet you
fool!
She got too big for her body - Neal
Fox (FL, USA)
Another outing for the magnificently cunning Fox by the name of
Neal, this time with resonance of
In the Midnight Hour I rather thought.
What do you reckon?
I really don't need to say much about Neal. His work speaks for
itself over at
www.wireduck.com
Putting on my Catsuit - Sez
Guiljan (San Francisco, CA, USA)
From the album
On to the
Next released just a couple of weeks ago.
Sez began playing piano at the age of four but a few years later
traded it in for the classical viola. She taught herself how to
strum guitar at sixteen and since then has picked up the cello,
bass, Autoharp and accordion.
Sez Giulian moved to San Francisco in 1997 from Philadelphia. Since
then she has gigged regularly throughout the city's bars, cafes and
theaters as well as recorded with top local musicians.
On to the Next is a
blues-and-jazz-infused indie collection of 14 intimate songs.
Giulian also skillfully plays all of the instruments on the album.
Her songwriting is sharp, catchy and unpredictable, and her lyrics
are wry and clever poetry.
The album is be available online and digitally through iTunes,
Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody and others. Visit her site for a list of
sales locations.
www.sezg.com
myspace.com/sezalicious
Spivey have put a clip from
Suffolk'n'Cool 155 onto their MySpace player - neat idea chaps and
much appreciated. See what I mean at
www.myspace.com/spiveymusic while you're there you'll
be able to check on their live dates coming up in Dallas on
Saturday then a couple of dates in Lubbock, Texas, where Buddy
Holly was born. (Isn't it the 50th anniversary of Buddy Holly's
death this week?)
Ruleta rusa - Cordero
(Brooklyn, NY, USA)
From their album
De Donde
Eres.
Fronted by Ani Cordero and her nail-it-to-the-back-wall voice,
Cordero can set the scene for a golden, reverby, south of the
border sunset or an ill-conceived encounter with a stranger in the
back booth of a dimly lit bar.
This powerful, Brooklyn-based quintet (horns, re-verby guitars and
a drummer that defies you to NOT get out of the chair and shake it)
is equally at home amongst the New York art rock scene or the
vibrant Rock en Espanol movement, pegging both with heaping amounts
of sassy spontaneity and sexy Latin styling. Cordero's sound and
aesthetic has nothing less than an undeniable romantic flair.
Before stepping to the front of the stage and settling down in
Brooklyn with hubby Chris Verene (formerly of Rock*A*Teens), Ani
played drums in the much acclaimed surf outfit, Man or Astroman?.
Cordero has toured and recorded with a winding cast of notable
characters, including Calexico (the fruit of a recorded, but never
released collaborative album). They've also supported Neko Case on
her 2004 Tiger Sessions Tour and have shared bills with everyone
from Los Lobos to Rosie Thomas and Lucero.
www.bloodshotrecords.com/artists/cordero/
http://corderomusic.com/
www.myspace.com/corderonyc
Big Log - Chrissy Coughlin (New
York, NY)
From her
Look Ahead
album.
Chrissy's seasoned voice coupled with her warm personality are an
unstoppable combination.
2008 was been a good year for this New York City based
singer-songwriter. The winter was full of excitement moving to and
'officially' becoming a 'New Yorker', the spring delight of
releasing her new CD,
Look
Ahead, and the summer and fall have been chock full of
performances to support her new release.
www.chrissymusic.com
www.myspace.com/chrissycoughlin
Drip Dryin' - The Two Man Gentleman
Band (New York, NY, USA)
America's premier itinerant neo-vaudevillian swing duo.
From the very eponymous album
Drip Dryin' with The Two Man Gentleman
Band on Serious Business Records.
The record release concert is being held this Friday, 13th at The
Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn.
Dear Friends,
Our record release spectacular promises to be no less
than, well, spectacular. It features us, Curtis Eller (our
favorite acrobatic yodeling banjoist), and the Minsky Sisters (the
loveliest and most talented tap dancing duo we could ever dream
of). Join us, won't you?
Friday, Feb 13th, 10pm
The Jalopy Theater
315 Columbia St., Brooklyn, NY
Click here for Directions
$10 admission
What's that you say, gentlemen? Friday the 13th and
Valentine's Day Eve? Indeed. Frightening and Romantic,
a perfect summary of The Two Man Gentlemen Band.
You can download a couple of tracks quite free from their site.
www.thetwogentlemen.com
www.myspace.com/twomangentlemenband
Strangest places - Astronauts of
Antiquity (New York, NY, USA)
Astronauts of Antiquity have bridged various musical worlds to
create a realm all their own. And while their journey has taken
them around the globe, on their new album,
Rocket Science For Dummies, they have
brought it all back home, delivering an album that is seamless and
mesmerizing.
Their music has been called everything from
"urban-electro-organica," to a "jazzy, neo-soulful, electronic
exploration," but more than any genre, what defines Astronauts of
Antiquity is the musical and life partnership of India on vocals
and B. Rhyan on guitars. The two first ran into each other -
literally - at the airport, while India was rushing to make a
flight. Three years later, the two once again encountered at one of
India"s performances in Milwaukee. Backstage after her show, B.
Rhyan was instantly captivated by India and sensed something more
than simply a kindred spirit - he saw the possibility of a music
and soul partner. (Only years later did the two recall their
original chance encounter, which made their meeting feel even more
like destiny.)
Originally an alternative rock act, India, and B. Rhyan birthed
what would become Astronauts of Antiquity at of all places, a
festival they were playing in Poland. India recalls, "We were an
alt/rock band, but the last song we did was a dub influenced song,
and the people went crazy. I think we were all like, 'Holy Shit,
we're on to something here!"
www.astronautsofantiquity.com/
www.myspace.com/astronautsofantiquity
Bartalk - Erik Scott (Chicago
and California, USA)
A session man through and through I suspect. Best known for his
work with Alice Cooper, Sonia Dada, and Flo & Eddie, Erik has
also recorded with dozens of other artists, including Carl Palmer,
Kim Carnes, Pops and Mavis Staples, and Signal. In addition to
providing soulful low notes, he is a composer/producer who has
written and recorded for movies and TV.
www.erikscottbass.com
Twitter and real
networking
Ariel Publicity
www.arielpublicity.net
My Baby - Kat Danser (Edmonton,
Canada)
From Kat's 2007 album
Somethin'
Familiar.
Her 'Swamp Blues' style is steeped in early roots and blues
traditions and delivered by her deep, resonant vocals and the
soulful sound of her Weissenborn lap slide guitar. Much like
a long stretching railroad track, Danser draws a direct line from
the Canadian prairie to the Mississippi Delta. She is one
part backwoods juke joint, one part plow puller and two parts dusty
ol' canvas tent revival. Kat Danser delivers a refreshing
approach to roots, blues, and gospel music for the 21st
Century.
A multi-instrumentalist, Danser plays the Weissenborn Hawaiian lap
slide guitar, a vintage acoustic Gibson, National steel resophonic
slide guitar, a tack head banjo and the Zydeco scrubboard.
Danser is currently in production of her third full-length acoustic
roots and blues album, is filming a documentary entitled
Women in Blues: Turn the
Page and is an Ethnomusicology graduate student at the
University of Alberta.
You can download that track and order the CDs from Kat's site.
www.katdanser.com
www.myspace.com/katdanser