I really like Michael Franti and Spearhead. They’ve gotten a decent amount of airplay and notoriety over the past few years with songs that radiate a positive message. Songs about hugging people…
and sunshine…
But I remember Michael Franti from back in the early 90’s, when he was part of a group called The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprosy. Back then, I still liked his music, but the message was a bit more strident. The song “Television, The Drug of the Nation” still rings true to me.
They even reworked the Dead Kennedys song “California Über Alles” with some caustic lyrics for then-California governor Pete Wilson
There’s part of me that still loves the anger and aggression of those songs. But I do like the fact that Michael Franti has evolved, and his positive message is more likely to win fans. It’s like the old saying “you catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar.”
A week and a half ago, my wife and I went to see Brandi Carlile at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati, along with two of my co-workers who are in a local band togther and their respective spouses.
I’ve blogged about Brandi before – I think she’s a fantastic singer and songwriter. So I went into the show expecting great things. She far exceeded those expectations. The concert was off-the-charts great. Brandi and her band—especially twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth—are simply amazing. And you probably won’t see too many artists go from piano ballads to raging rockers, and cover artists like The Avett Brothers, Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin.
If you get a chance to see Brandi on tour, by all means, don’t walk, run. If not, this will give you a feel for what she can do in concert.
Dave A. went to Berklee College of Music in Boston because he was a stellar musician. For the past 15 years, he’s played guitar for the band Reckless Kelly, who put on a fantastic show in Newport, Kentucky on Friday night.
It was the worst of times:
Dave K. went to Berklee College of Music in Boston because he was a stellar musician. Over the past 5 years, he’s had two battles with Lymphoma.
Dave A. and Dave K. are friends from their days at Berklee… they were also buddies with another guy named Dave, but that’s another story. Dave Abeyta from Reckless Kelly stopped by Dave K’s house on Friday before the show. Dave K. recently got out of the hospital after chemo and stem cell transplant procedures, so he couldn’t make the Reckless Kelly show due to fatigue and a weakened immune system. Hell, he can’t even eat fresh veggies because they might carry some nasty microbes that could cause a setback.
Friday night, Dave A. played on a stage to hundreds of adoring fans who were cheering him on. And he deserves the applause. But so does Dave K., who has faced cancer head-on twice with courage, determination, faith and dignity. Two rock stars, playing different stages.
Is there a moral to this tale? I don’t know. I do know that the line between happiness and heartache is razor-thin, and we never know from day to day which side of the ledger we’ll wind up on. All we can do is give it our best shot and keep on rockin’.
Hard to believe it’s been a quarter century since Stevie Ray Vaughan died tragically in a helicopter crash at the age of 35. The music world and his fans still miss him every day. I had the privilege of seeing SRV multiple times in concert, and he always was absolutely transcendent.
Paste Magazine compiled a great list of videos that showcase not just Stevie’s guitar virtuosity and soulful voice, but the breadth of his influence. Please spend some time with them today.
In an interview with Rolling Stone shortly after Stevie Ray and his great band Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon on bass, Chris “Whipper” Layton on drums and Reese Wynans on keyboards) were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, Stevie Ray’s big brother Jimmie Vaughan talked about what a great guy SRV was. Here’s an excerpt:
When you were up there you said it was important to talk about Stevie Ray the person. Why was it important to talk about that aspect of his life?
Because most people know he was an incredible guitar player and a great musician and a singer and he wrote songs and he was a great performer. Everybody knows all that, which is absolutely amazing. But what they may not know is that he was a sweet guy and he would do anything for you, and that was just the way he always was.
The National is a fine band that happens to be from Cincinnati, although they didn’t really hit it big until they all moved to New York. 2 sets of brothers (one pair of twins) and lead singer Matt Berninger, who is a very interesting dude.
Right now, Matt has a side project with Brent Knopf from Menomena, the band is called El Vy. The first single includes lyrics about Cincinnati landmarks Eden Park and the Serpentine Wall. So naturally as a Cincinnatian I’m duty-bound to like it. But you’ll like it too.
The second song on El Vy’s new album also references two Cincinnati neighborhood, Delhi and Over-the-Rhine. But that song has dirty words in it, so Cincinnatians probably won’t like it as much. But Matt shows off some fancy dance moves in the video.
Here are the thoughts that flash through my feeble yet trivia-packed 50-year-old mind when I see this album cover:
The “parted-in-the-middle mullet” needs to make a comeback.
Most folks think of Kenny Rogers as a country artist, and forget that he started out as a psychedelic freak.
3. “Six Pack” was a fine movie. (co-starring Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Barry Corbin and Anthony Michael Hall, y’all!)
4. Kenny rocked the facial hair long before craft-beer-swilling hipsters made it “ironic.”
5. I miss the corn muffins from Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurants. Mighty tasty.
(Apparently I could still get those corn muffins if I visit Malaysia.)
6. Nobody does duets like Kenny did. Dolly. Sheena Easton. Kim Carnes. Dottie West… You could pair Kenny with a parrot and get a #1 hit.
6. I’m sure it was cathartic for Tommy to beat up the Gatlin boys (“and there was three of them”) but a better course of action would’ve been for Becky to file charges.
7. In the early days of the interwebs, one of my favorite websites was MenWhoLookLikeKennyRogers.com. The concept was so simple yet wacky: find a silver-haired, bearded fella who resembled Kenny, take his photo (surreptitiously if necessary) and post it to the site. Pure genius in the days before piano-playing cats took over. Just look at a single page of photos and try not to laugh. It’s impossible.
Kevin Sullivan on Warren piece: “Praise Warren. He also said, “You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long…” Jan 15, 08:48
Damian on Eternally Grateful… still: “Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing that song, Chuck! You’re absolutely right that the Deadhead community is amazing.” Jan 15, 08:17
Chuck Wiggins on Eternally Grateful… still: “I’m ambivalent at best about the Grateful Dead’s music, but there’s no discounting the incredible community built around it. And…” Jan 14, 09:05
Kevin Sullivan on Spoken and Unspoken: “You lived the brotherhood Damian, and that is a full plate. Peace to you and peace to John.” Nov 18, 16:54
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