Tag Archives: rock

Mad Caddies Show

I'm no photographer, but I tried!

As soon as I found out punk-ska group Mad Caddies were coming to town, I was pulling out the datebook and marking it down. I’ve been a fan for years, and had no idea that they were even touring.

The band formed in 1995 in California, and they’ve got 6 albums to date. (They’ve also got 6 band members…what if they added on a bandmate for every new album? Hmmm…)

Anyways, I told some friends about the show and convinced them to come. A couple of them didn’t know their music, and asked what kind they play. That’s actually a tougher question that you’d originally think. I mean, they are ska. They are punk. But, they’re also many others in between such as swing, reggae, and jazz. Put it all together in a blender and you’ve got a MAD freakin’ time!

I prepared for the show for about a week by digging out my old Caddies albums and dancing around my apartment. I was really pumped. The night of the show I had sushi and cocktails beforehand and got to the venue right in time. The band had just started their first song of the set.

The crowd was perfect. What made it even more awesome was that a lot of them knew the words to the songs! Hooray! The band did a great job of being lively on stage, especially Ed Hernandez on his trombone. He stood out on the edge poking that thing out into the crowd, lovingly. There were at total of 3 songs that I was praying to hear: “Wet Dog”, “Backyard”, and “Drinking for 11”. They DID play the latter (which I figured there was a good  chance of hearing that one because it may very well be their most popular song), and I DID love dancing and singing the words. I tried to yell out to them “WET DOG! WET DOG!” but they couldn’t hear me.

Regardless of not hearing the other 2 songs, they did play a brand new song and they still put on a great show. They made a couple new fans in my friends out of it, too. AND if I heard correctly, they’re planning to come out with a new album next year!

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Have You Heard…?

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If you were at this year’s SXSW festival in Austin, hopefully you got a chance to catch Melissa McClelland. Her third album Victoria Day is being released this month.

From her website:

Melissa and husband/producer Luke Doucet masterfully deliver us rebel-rouser guitars in 1950s Hollywood- style infused with a southern-country twang.

The songs capture all of the beauty and charm of the girl next door while lacing the punch at the sock hop with home-made moonshine.

We know you’ll be fall down drunk in love with it and can’t wait for you to see Melissa perform these songs live — check out her shows in Ontario with Justin Rutledge and shows out west with Jason Plumb.

She’s worked with Randy Newman, Bruce Springsteen, and she used to be backup for Sarah MacLaughlin.

I was really entertained and liked what Uptown Magazine had to say:

This is what Jewel might have become if she hadn’t gone to pop-radio hell. Melissa McClelland is a singer-songwriter at heart – she’s been doing it since she was four years old – but she also isn’t afraid to kick in a little distortion, play with drum loops or experiment with her sound. The result is a mixture of slow, woman-with-guitar tunes and uptempo plugged-in tracks that push the folk/guitar-pop envelope.

 Have a listen to one of the song’s from her new album, “Glen Rio” here.

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Storytime with Chase Pagan

When I first read a short description of Chase Pagan’s music, I wasn’t sure if this Arkansas guy would be anything I’d want to listen to very much. But, after hearing his single “Gun and the Sword” from Bells & Whistles, I realized I judged too quickly.

The beginning of the song is great! It really captures your attention. All of Pagan’s songs tell a story, and from listening to “Gun and the Sword” you can hear that these songs intrigue the listener. He changes up the tunes in the middle, almost making all the critical points stand out musically like plots do in a book. Not only that, but he plays all kinds of instruments. There’s the piano, which is definitely one of my favorites. Then, there’s also guitar, drums, a banjo, an accordion, and…wouldn’tyaknowit, bells & whistles!

Have a listen by clicking here, and enjoy a 3 minute and 47 second long vacation.

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Chase Pagan’s newest album Bells & Whistles will be out June 9th, you’ll be able to get the rest of it then!

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There’s a New Rodeo in Town

Last week, Rusted Root released their new album Stereo Rodeo.

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You can download the full first track “Dance in the Middle” from the album for free over at Amie Street!

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Guitar Center Sessions Presents: Kenny Wayne Shepherd

More news from Guitar Center: their “Guitar Center Sessions” series provides inspiration from iconic artists in the industry to aspiring musicians.

Sorry ladies, Kenny married Mel Gibson's daughter Hannah in 2006, and they had a child in 2007.
Sorry ladies, Kenny married Mel Gibson’s daughter Hannah in 2006, and they had a child in 2007.

 

This time, their speaker is four time Grammy nominated, blues rock musician, Kenny Wayne Shepherd. This free event is being held in Pasadena, CA at the local Guitar Center. It’s next Wednesday, the 18th, at 7:00 pm. Highlights from the session include secrets from Kenny on topics ranging from technique to songwriting. He’s also going to talk about his own new guitar design for Fender, called the Fender Signature Series Stratocaster.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd has received two Billboard Music Awards, two Orville H. Gibson awards, and the Blues Foundation’s Keeping The Blues Alive Award. At the age of 21, he opened for The Rolling Stones!  He has sold millions of albums with his most recent release being a DVD/CD project entitled 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads, which follows Kenny as he travels the country to jam with and interview the last of the authentic blues musicians. 

Some of his best known songs include, “In 2 Deep”, “Last Goodbye”, and “True Lies”. But, as usual, you can go to his website for any more information.

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It Wasn’t an Accident

Cover from self-titled debut album
Cover from self-titled debut album

“Will disappear into the horizon in the blink of an eye, leaving your panoramic ocean view fathomless and without object.” That is the last sentence in the description on last.fm for The Accident That Led Me To The World. That one sentence sums up their entire persona.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that being a musician takes more than being able to pick out cool beats and mix ’em all up. Mark Mandeville, Raianne Richards, and Zack Ciras can show you all about being musicians. Just listening to their melodies forces you (in a good way) to remember and appreciate the skills necessary in making music.

It’s impossible to get bored by their sounds because of how many instruments they play. They’ve got guitars, bass, a banjo, and clarinet. Not to mention their voices themselves.

They’re a folk music trio from Massachutsetts, and they’re coming this way! They’ll be here in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, February 18th, playing at the Morning Glory Coffeehouse. (I’ve added the event onto their page on last.fm that you can find here.)

If you love listening to music in a relaxed, intellectual setting with like-minded people, you should definitely come to the show. Even if you don’t go to relaxed settings to listen to ‘quieter’ music often, you should still come to this show. It’s a Wednesday people, save your fist-pumping drum-blaring jams for the weekend! (ha!) Show these guys how awesome Pittsburgh is!

Cover from newest album "The Island Gospel"
Cover from newest album “The Island Gospel”

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Dear Science

Over the weekend I got the new TV on the Radio album, Dear Science. I’d heard wonderous things about it, and I knew I had to have it. ASAP.

And those wonderful things you may or may not have heard about it are absolutely true. Dear Science is the band’s 4th album, and in my humble opinion, the best yet. Ok Calculator was their first, and I think it was sort of like an experiment for them to really find the sound they wanted; their niche if you will. It was much different than their later albums to come. Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes came next. This is when their track “Staring at the Sun” brought them some attention. It was that song that first piqued my interest in what they had to offer the world.

Return to Cookie Mountain, nooo — not a Cookie Monster/Sesame Street movie, is the band’s third album, released in 2006. Probably one of their most known songs, “Wolf Like Me” appears on this album. Now the rest of the world is starting to wonder about these guys. Pitchfork names the album #2 out of their Top 50 albums of 2006. And they placed #5 on Metacritic’s list.

Now, bloggers and music reviewers from ALL OVER are talking about Dear Science. The album just dropped two weeks ago and according to Hype Machine, has been one of the most blogged about bands. This new album is also doing very well on Metacritic, too. It’s got a rating of 90 out of 100, the site’s highest rated album so far this year! “Golden Age” is quickly becoming a popular, well liked track from the album.

Here is a list of the tracks from Dear Science:

  1. Halfway Home
  2. Crying
  3. Dancing Choose*
  4. Stork & Owl
  5. Golden Age
  6. Family Tree
  7. Red Dress
  8. Love Dog*
  9. Shout Me Out*
  10. DLZ
  11. Lover’s Day

* = my favorites

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