WEEK 17: 2010 Resolution.

The Beatles - Abbey Road

Pete Fountain - Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Disc 1 and Disc 2

Buddy Guy - Buddy's Blues

Ray Charles - Ultimate Hits Collection - Disc 1

Lonnie Johnson - Guitar Blues (The Blues Collection Vol.74)

Sylvester Weaver - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1923-1927)

Memphis Minnie - Let's Go To Memphis Town

Ma Rainey - (1924-1928)

Jimmy Yancey - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1939-1940)

Little Walter - Boss Blues Harmonica (The Blues Collection Vol. 20)

**one of my favorite new music weeks.**

enjoy the music.

WEEK 16: 2010 Resolution. *A Marriage Celebration Edition*

*Dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent and Joanne Amazona.

Portia Nelson - Let Me Love You:...The Songs of Bart Howard

The Imperials - Love Is The Thing

Peggy Lee - All-Time Greatest Hits - Volume 1

The Beatles - Beatles For Sale

Benny Goodman - The Essential Benny Goodman

Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E

Various Artists - Lifetime of Romance

Mr. Gnome - Heave Yer Skeleton

Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do

Various Artists - Santogold a Diplo Dub

enjoy the music.

Mr. Gnome @ Silverlake Lounge (04/20/10)

despite what a certain center said about Cleveland that's just "bull." he's need to get out more maybe a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, A Christmas Story House , or even the West Side Market . whatever this boy is talking about he needs to take a moment enjoy the Forest City. i have a feeling he won't because some people are just boring. and if they're going to be demolished in the first round of the playoffs i too would talk ish about the other team...just like a child. boo hoo. speaking of the best of Cleveland: Mr. Gnome. to say the least this week has been rather busy for me. this entire month of april has been quite busy. even the sundays (the day of rest..my me time) has been filled with things to do and people to see (and not in the Hollywood sense but in the best times of ones life). albeit most of it has been with family so i wouldn't change that for anything/anyone..sidenote: they are the best people in my life and given me much joy. i'm only sorry you're not part of my family but you ARE a friend and that's just as important. so thank you. i just remembered Honeyhoney is from Ohio. no wonder rock and roll hall of fame is in ohio. they KNOW their music. and great music. caveat: if you're emotionally unstable it's time to take your meds and/or let it ride before listening to Mr. Gnome. they will take you on an up and down ride to your deepest fears which is done in such an effective and awe inspiring manner that it still haunts you even after you've left the bar, driven home, and snuggled into bed and in the moments right before you've falling asleep and quite possibly in your dreams. mr. gnome has been compared to mazzy star, portishead, massive attack. i'll be honest and say nothing can compare to the aforementioned bands but mr. gnome is definitely in the same likes of. she (Nicole Barille) plays the guitar and provides the vocals. he plays the drums, sometimes the piano, and sometimes back up vocals. its pretty amazing to see the two play when you hear their music...because it's not quite you expect. at least not for me. but i'm just a concert enthusiast. not a music aficionado. and when i see these two do their thing. it was soo good..i haven't been this impressed by a live show especially when it wasn't expected. her vocals are genlty calming (with reverb and echo) but in contrast are his percussions and let me start another paragraph to speak of his drum abilities:

remember the name, Sam Meister. here's to hoping he stays with Mr. Gnome but the likelihood he moves on to the bigger arenas is possible. not to say mr. gnome could never fill up the arenas. i'm just its best felt through the intimacy of a dimly lit room sin smoke and mirrors (coincidentally, it was fourtwenty so there was a lot of smoke in the room ;) so sin mirrors. he pounds it out like its life/death at the carnival and in such a venue as the silverlake lounge you feel it.

Current Album: Heave Yer Skeleton (2009)

Debut Album: Deliver This Creature (2008)

Must Listen to Song(s):

Pirates (Deliver This Creature)

Night of the Crickets (Deliver This Creature)

Deliver This Creature (Deliver This Creature)

Spain (Heave Yer Skeleton)

Plastic Shadow (Heave Yer Skeleton)

Vampires (Heave Yer Skeleton)

Pixie Dust (Heave Yer Skeleton).

http://www.myspace.com/mrgnome

enjoy the music.

WEEK 15: 2010 Resolution.

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - Here Lies Love

Various Artists - Kitsune Maison Compilation 9

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Marmaduke Duke - Duke Pandemonium

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - 1932-1947

Pete Molinari - Today, Tomorrow, and Forever

Pete Molinari - Walking Off The Map

The Ruby Suns - Fight Softly

Slow Club - Yeah So

YPPAH

Black Bug - Black Bug

Vermillion Lies - What's in the Box?

enjoy the music.

Vampire Weekend @ The Fox Theater (04/14/10)

 

i totally forgot how much i enjoyed vampire weekend until last night's very last minute concert adventure (the free ticket has no bias for/against about the concert..but it was nice ;) ). i have heard that in 2006 vampire weekend had a slew of free tuesday night specials in and around los angeles..i didn't go.  in 2007 they came out w/ their debut album.  the evening i heard their song on mtv OVERNIGHT SUCCESS?!?!  supposedly, i saw them in 2008 at street scene san diego. but i can't remember that one (SS2008 Highlight:  Justice).  now they are everywhere. congrats on all their success and continued success. Jan2010 Contra their second and current album was released. i listened to the free npr stream of the entire album and unfortunately, i didn't take a second/third/fourth listen..it was a week before the actual release...out of sight out of mind. what was suppose to be an evening at the movies, peanut m&m's and whether or not to put butter on the popcorn (which honestly, what would the point be without it)  turned into an adventure (if you don't know me by now...i got 99 problems...) i work off of the miracle mile adjacent to sofax and next to the lacma on wilshire boulevard. no where near pomona, california. which coincidentally is the fifth largest city in california.  tom waits and mark mcgwire hail from pomona.  other than that its the glass house and the fox theater.  there's suppose to be an art scene but i've only been in pomona including last night's concert twice. the first time was to see mates of state/the black kids at the glass house.  how soon did i forget the kids of the area. i really don't know where they all come from BUT well i don't want to sound judgmental: someone needs to teach the kids some etiquette: puff, puff, pass? i've been to a few or more concerts and i haven't seen it this much/that bad.  

the vampire weekend album (2007) was a fun album.  sometimes though the lyrics are so personal to the artist as an avid music listener...i don't understand it. the second album was different. it's all about the musical composition/arrangement. vampire weekend has the catchy tunes in their back pocket and you in the palm of their hand...whether you believe it or not they do.  what's different from their first indie rock album the second album has more of a synth-pop wonderness on some of their tracks.  which i thoroughly enjoy.  over and over and over again. the entire concert was a great mix of the two albums.  i enjoyed borderline obsessed over the first album.  stop listening to it so that i wouldn't get sick of it and dry heave at the mention vampire weekend. even the sight of the VW bug would have such an effect.  Contra's not worthy of purchasing until as of late only after the concert.  are they worth the convenient charges? well, probably not because i still don't understand the lyrics.  worth the hour and a half drive? sure, there's a chick-fil-a en route and very close to the venue (highly recommend the number 5 w/ chick-fil-a sauce. w/ the lemonade. yummy).

Current album:  Contra

Must Listen to Track: "Run,"  "Giving Up The Gun"

To Say the Least:  if you can't catch them at coachella they'll be at the hollywood bowl in sept2010 (you have to dance in the pit...no sitting allowed).

enjoy the music.

Honeyhoney @ The Hotel Cafe (04/08/10)

one of the many reasons why it's so hot damn so hard to write this is because most often than not music is not always so straightforward. specifically country music.  it's change throughout its history: in short - its a mix of different musical traditions from different ethnic groups in the region (from european-americans and african americans) no matter what genre a band considers themselves to be in most often they've also taken a little bit of influence from another genre.  an evolution of their sound is in progress.  whenever you are approached by the singer/songwriter you should expect two things:  First, the singer: strong vocals  that range between good, amazing and feelin' it.  Second, the songwriter:  from the lyrics to the musical arrangements. when you combine the singer slash songwriter you can expect a great show...(well, it's as good as a warm bowl of chili w/ a slice of cornbread..great. now i'm hungry. focus.).  

well, that's what you should expect...nowadays, however, statistically, there are more singer/songwriters than there are talented musical entertainers that tell a story.  heck, i'm a singer/songwriter (but for the record, only in the privacy in my own apartment or in traffic on the 101 am i really a singer/songwriter). that being said the live show is important more so than the studio album.  Honeyhoney, the indie country blues folk band, does more than sing the songs they write or just play the instruments. but they "SANG" it. emphasis on the SANG! and do they play it too.  dueling banjos, steel guitar and drums, bass guitar, with a hint of the fiddle. 

  

I can't say I told you so because HoneyHoney has a month long residency at the Hotel Cafe for April so you still have some time. when this concert enthusiast was there. there wasn't much space for this five foot-with-shoes-on gal.  without a a doubt every person in attendance that evening will tell a friend or two of theirs. and then they'll go to the show and you'll find yourself without a ticket..you'll be left outside the hotel cafe alleyway singing your own rendition of any bob wills' tune (even though the club next door did a "FABULOUS!" set list of their own..if you know what i mean).  honeyhoney has all the parts and their sum is as good as it gets in los angeles especially when you're dealing with the emotions of your soul. solid.

Current Album:  First Rodeo.

Must Listen to Song:  Sugarcane.

To Say The Least: worth the convenient charges.

Concert Photos Courtesy of: Orange Creative Studio

here's a very little taste until you get to the Hotel Cafe yourself:

enjoy the music.

WEEK 14: 2010 Resolution.

Saint Motel - ForPlay

The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

Citizen Cope - Every Waking Moment

Mr. Gnome - Deliver This Creature

Lali Puna - Tridecoder

Honeyhoney - First Rodeo 

Chiddy Bang - The Swelly Express

Shout Out Louds - Work

The Morning Benders - Big Echo

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh

enjoy the music.

Sour Mash Hug Band @ Silverlake Lounge (04/01/10)

most often than not i leave it up to a flip of a coin. i'm a firm believer in destiny. an external locus of control. a fortune cookie away from true love.  there's only so much that you can do until destiny deals you your hand. you'll either be prepared to accept the responsibility or you'll crumble and fail to meet the challenge.  so as much as you think you create your luck destiny will prove you otherwise.  my point:  learn hard, work hard and be prepared for your destiny.  

i drove by the silverlake lounge and it seemed empty even though it was already minutes pass the call time for the first band of the evening i felt like i was going to be late and wouldn't be able to get in. oddly,  there was a spot just up the block from the venue.  should have been an indication of how the night might have been (like any night the ends is disaster or dullness) except i still felt an urge to go.  i approached the venue and as i suspected it was empty. well, not entirely. the majority of the people there either worked in the venue or going to play at the venue.  left with a handful of people who knew someone in the bands of the night. and from there probably only three other people myself included were there to listen to live music.  granted we've been in an economic recovery mode. it was holy thursday.  and it was a cold night.  colder than it has been in a long time.  no excuse for me but for others it might be an issue.  i enter the dimly lit bar/music venue. naturally, i take out my cellphone and check if i've any received any facebook friend requests when i'm in an awkward situation to fill a void (except more often than not i don't receive any friend requests so there's another void i have to fill...i should really stop that nervous habit..but i guess its better than biting my nails or talking to myself). except this time i literally ran into this dude and his friend which means i was in their way.  awkward stepping into each others way trying to figure out which step to take next.  there's a lot of space around us but we couldn't get it right.  until when they offered to buy me a beer which at that point they had realized i was by myself..a beer or two later another friend arrives at the venue. ends up being someone i've known from a previous project. the world just got smaller.  which i was starting to believe otherwise. current world population is almost seven billion people (6999177463..that's billion right?) current US population is 309.014.838...i probably won't even see .00000000000001 percent of those totals.  in any event it's not how many people you know: its how well you know yourself.  so really it doesn't really matter total population count unless you were trying to patent something that occurs in nature and you wanted to make more money that is in circulation if not more than that.  more of a reason for me to go out and explore what destiny has in store for me.  if i had it my way i'd probably be at home working on my Ebm chord on the uke.  but that didn't happen.  instead, which far exceeded any expectations for an evening out by myself, the rest of the evening was more than i could have written up but nothing less than amazing.  a mosh pit of extremes:  cramazing = crazy/amazing.  sometimes you have to live in the moment, savor the raisin, live like you just bought an immunization card through the black market so you can get to your south american destination (don't ask me if that's a true story... because i'll probably deny it).

as for the music:  

Sour Mash Hug Band:  
this san fran band are everything that i enjoy about music when it comes to a mix of gypsy/bluegrass/jazz ragtime.   a mix of an accordion, violin, upright bass, and what i think was a resonator guitar, trombone, ukulele banjo, with vocals that can transport you to any of my favorite world destinations: new orleans, buenos aires, paris...all in the comforts of my home city in los angeles.  Must Listen to Song: Music Box Waltz.

sometimes i think i'm just too lucky to be able to appreciate the context.   

enjoy the music.

WEEK 13: 2010 Resolution.

Choir of Young Believers - This Is For The White In Your Eyes
Cocoon - My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash
The Living Sisters - Love To Live
The Chapin Sisters - Lake Bottom
Pylon - Chain
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Dazzle Ships
Washed Out - LIfe of Leisure
Washed Out - High Times
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

Goldfrapp - Head First

enjoy the music.