A few nights ago, I went to the Pete Yorn concert at the Fillmore. Pete was wonderful. Excellent, just as expected; but the real shock came before he even got on stage. His opener, Juliette Commagere, was like nothing I’d ever heard before…in a good way!
Her sound has a very pop-art, electronic feel to it. It’s vividly orchestrated as she sings with an entire stage of backup instruments including the horns, strings and tambourines. The combination is captivating, yet light, drawing similarities to artists like Goldfrapp and even Bjork.
Juliette first spent several years fronting the energetic indie rock band, Hello Stranger, alongside her high school sweetheart, Joachim Cooder (son of Ry Cooder). Their band toured the world with big names like the Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon before Juliette decided to move on in a new direction.
In the Los Angeles Times, Juliette describes her change by saying “Sounds corny but it’s true…I think everybody, artists and non-artists, has got to keep creating or else life seems pointless”. In attempt to try something a little different, she lent vocals to songs for Puscifer and Avenged Sevenfold, and then shortly after, began writing for her solo album.
Her solo debut released in 2008 titled, Queens Die Proudly,has received excellent reviews. The album is lyrically pretty dark, so she says she wants to make a “lighter” second album to balance it out. She’s even mentioned collaborating with her brother, Robert Francis, also a singer/songwriter. Either way, I can’t wait to hear what she does next!
She is now touring with Pete Yorn and a band she put together from Cragslist ads (how cool is that!?), and says she loves it. Below are two of my favorites, but the album is definitely one to play all the way through. Let me know what you think!
A few months ago I came across some free music downloads from Casey Shea. Always a lover of free music, I added it to my iTunes library immediately. Once I got to listening, I found myself wondering why in the world this guy would give his music away for free; it was so good!
Casey’s sound is very, dare I say, Beatles-esque (yes, I said it). Drawing influences from artists like Bob Dylan, Beck, and Tom Petty, his sound is melodic and soulful, yet completely original. Delightful combinations of country, alternative, rock and folk make up his catchy sound that I just can’t get enough of.
Casey originally fronted a few rock bands in Tallahassee and Nashville, but in 2004 he decided to pack up and move to New York City to focus on his solo career. Visiting open mic nights around the city, Casey ended up meeting Jeff Jacobson and Wes Verhoeve, who eventually formed the Lower East Side band called, The Undisputed Heavyweights. The band is now focused mainly around Casey’s solo material, still performing together around the city. The guys have established quite a following around New York, known for their wildly entertaining personalities and commentary in their live shows.
Casey’s debut album, Take the Bite, came out in 2006, which is available on iTunes. But since then, all of his newer music is available on his blog for free. It doesn’t make sense to me; this guy is amazing and he’s just posting song after song for anyone to grab. It sure gets his music out there though! You can visit his blog at caseysheamusic.com/blog and click “singles” to see all the songs he has posted. And on top of this, I just found out he combined most of those singles to make an album called, In Search of Seas, which can be downloaded at 100,00oFans (yep, you guessed it…for free). Of course you should always make a donation to support the artist, or in Casey’s words, ‘help support his eating habbit’; but the amount is up to you. And to add to all this excitement, I posted a few of my favorites below. Let me know what you think of Casey. Let’s get him to come to San Francisco!
When first starting my blog I tried choose genres to describe the types of music I’d be sharing to put in my “about” section. As any music lover knows, it’s hard to define the types of music you like. It’s just whatever makes you happy at the time, right? Instead of putting indie or alternative, which in most cases is what I post, I decided to leave the blog specifics out thinking I would cover everything eventually. But the truth is, I know next to nothing about hip-hop, but wish I knew enough to blog about it. Of course I know the classics and can appreciate a good song when I hear it, but it’s certainly not something I google at night hoping to find the next big hit. But in my quest to share a little something for everyone, this gives me just the right excuse to invite my brother, Jordan, to help me out. Here is what he said below:
I search for new hip-hop artists constantly. I need to know who the next big thing is before they blow up and become too popular, or else I just can’t enjoy them as much. Most of the rappers I come across aren’t worth a second listen, but every now and then I find an artist that reminds me why I love music so much. Chiddy Bang, a four man group from Philadelphia, has the best and most original sound of anyone I’ve heard since The Cool Kids. The beats they use have an electronic feel with just the right amount of bass, and front man Chidera Anamege delivers some of the smoothest flowing lyrics I’ve heard in years. Anamege, who goes by the rap name Proto, is just a freshman in college.
Check out my favorite song of theirs, Fresh Like Us. I get sick of most music quickly, and I can’t get tired of hearing this song. I’ve tried.
Music is all about discovering, listening and sharing. That’s why ever so often I’ll be asking my friends and readers to share a song or artist with us. I asked my good friend Ashley (who blogs at the Madgrad) to help me out this week and here’s what she said below:
I could not be happier when I came across The Train Song, from Feist and Ben Gibbard. I’ve always been a fan of both, and by fan I mean I cannot think of anyone else I’d like to sing at my wedding, or make the soundtrack to my life. Angelina and Brad Pitt have nothing on this musical power couple. Feist and Ben Gibbard (from Death Cab) may not be a couple romantically speaking, but melodically their soothing, radiant voices could not be a better match as they intertwine to create this beautiful song. This song was originally sung In 1966 by Vashti Bunyan an equally intriguing and talented artist. It’s strikingly similar to her later released song 17 pink sugar elephants. The lyrics speak to the vulnerability and chances that come with love: “How do I know I can come and give to you, love with no warning and find you alone?”
As if this song couldn’t be any more perfect, it was donated for the Red Hot Charity Compilation, Dark was the Night. This CD released in February, falls nothing short of amazing featuring tracks from Nick Drake, Spoon, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket and The New Pornographers. Proceeds from this CD, go to the Foundation’s goal to raise money and awareness of HIV and AIDS.
Check out the track by Feist and Ben Gibbard, and the original by Vashti Bunyan below:
If you missed SNL last night, watch this performance from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Zero is the first single off their new album, It’s Blitz! The new album is notable for its electronic and more synthesized sound than we are used to hearing from them. The album was co-produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio (also an amazing band) which probably has a lot to do with this new sound of theirs and why I’m liking it!
About a month ago I saw Meiko play live at the Great American Music Hall here in San Francisco. Before that I had heard some of her songs and thought she was pretty good, but seeing her in person made me realize what an understatement that was. Her voice is amazing and she sounds even better live! On top of that she is actually hilarious. She told the funniest stories about how all her songs came to be, which left me wondering how I could make her my new best friend. Meiko sold over 200,000 single downloads on itunes before she was even signed. In 2008 she signed a recording deal with MySpace Records/DGC, who released her self titled album in partnership with Lucky Ear Music (Meiko’s own indie label). I think Meiko is definitely someone we will be seeing more of in the future. Another good song to check out is Real Real Sweet.
Matthey Perryman Jones is another incredible singer/songwriter from Nashville. Seriously, what is in their water? So many good singers are from there! He is one of the well known “Ten out of Tenn”, and that is exactly what I would give him as an artist (if you don’t know whatTen Out of Tenn is, you need to visit the myspace and listen right now). My favorite song of Matthew’s is Save You, but he is most well known for his single, Letting Go.
