One last gasp at warmer days

So, did I tell you I am going to Hawaii in January? Yaay. A relative is getting married on Kauai so I'll be boarding a plane for eleven million hours and then living the island lifestyle for a good six days or so. Meanwhile in Colorado . . . little flurries of snow tentatively started falling last night (winter seems to be delayed this year which is okay with me) so I am bracing myself for colder days from now until then. Before we launch into December and Christmas music and all that, here's one last track for sunnier days.

Island Style (with Jack Johnson) - John Cruz

John Cruz is a legendary Hawaiian slack-key guitarist/musician, and this duet is the closing track on the new Brushfire Records compilation album of laid back live cuts from their roster of, well, really laid back artists.

Thank You, Goodnight: Live Tracks from Bonnaroo and Vegoose
is available directly from Brushfire Records store, as well as from your local indie brick & mortar record store (find your nearest at Think Indie).

THANK YOU, GOODNIGHT TRACKLIST
1. Take You There - G. Love and Special Sauce
2. Wasting Time - ALO
3. Staple It Together - Jack Johnson
4. Songs We Sing - Matt Costa
5. Color Of Your Blue - Money Mark
6. Constellations - Jack Johnson
7. Hot Cookin' - G. Love and Special Sauce
8. BBQ - ALO
9. These Arms - Matt Costa
10. Island Style - John Cruz (Featuring Jack Johnson)

Monday Music Roundup

Home again, home again, jiggety jig. I had a fantastic loooong stretch in California this past week-plus. In addition to seeing two unbeatable concerts and witnessing a cousin get married off in a burst of winery festivities, I also got to see lots of old friends, swim in a bonafide swimmin' hole up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, chat up an old neighbor we call Larry Woodstove and find out the haps in the 'hood I grew up in, eat my favorite gelato twice and In 'N' Out three times, discover a little Italian pottery and antique shop, sit burn on the beach in Santa Cruz, and spot this bar sign (I love taking the scenic route):

I found time to duck into Amoeba Records in Berkeley and Streetlight Records in San Jose. I drove many miles of California highway, waited approximately 832 hours for flights, and I'm pretty sure that some of my underthings were swiped from my luggage by a Transportation Security Administration minion. Never pack em in the outside pocket.

It's good to be home. I've got a backlog of blog posts built up in my head, and a bunch of great music to share with you all.

Put It On Me
Ben Harper
Hot dang, the new Ben Harper is an absolute scorcher. I literally kept saying "holy crap!" out loud when I listened to tracks like this one, a funky soulful feisty downright boogie. Dig the Isley Brother guitar riffs, the dirty piano, and the full gospel backing vocals. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Lifeline is out August 28.

Diamond Hoo-Ha Man
Supergrass
Astute NME readers will note that "Britpop veterans" Supergrass opened for Arctic Monkeys this weekend and played a few new songs, which, of course, sent me out on the hunt to hear them for myself. Supergrass just helped me out in my quest by posting a live mp3 on their site of this new dense White-Stripey-rocker tune. I'm not sure how the protagonist here got access to a diamond hoo-ha, but I'm sure he's not complaining. If you dig this sound like I do, sign up for updates on their site. Supergrass have completed their latest album and are mixing it this summer in L.A.

Let The Music Play
(live with Marc Broussard)
G. Love and Special Sauce
There's a certain kind of special, laid-back fun that goes along with a G. Love concert. Philadelphia roots-rap-soul-funkster Garrett Dutton (but you can call him G. Love) can wail on the harmonica, lay down the smooth beats, twist a clever lyric, and always, always make me dance. He's got a new live tour documentary A Year and A Night out tomorrow on Brushfire Records (watch the trailer here) and there's a bonus live CD that comes packaged with it. This sizzling live version of "Let The Music Play" (originally on last year's Lemonade album) features tourmate Marc Broussard, whose new album also I keep hearing good things about.

The Honey Month
Augie March
Last time I was out in California my brother and I were heading downtown to the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego and he popped in a mix CD he was currently digging. In addition to lots of Mason Jennings (you're welcome, little bro) most of it was tunes from Australian megagroup Augie March, who are just starting to make a dent in the American market. My brother will be jealous to hear that I plan to check these guys out at a rare U.S. show this week at the Boulder Records & Radio summit, and will report back my findings. Their "new" (to these shores) album Moo, You Bloody Choir (and no, I don't know what the title means) is out August 7. It's a rich and literate album, with this track fairly oozing the figurative honey cited in the title. Pitchfork calls a very apt comparison by likening the work to mid-Nineties Grant Lee Buffalo and yes, amen. A solid and multi-layered album that I look forward to exploring.

Rumors
Josh Ritter
The new album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is miles away from 2006's Animal Years, except for the common thread of some of the finest songwriting and lyricism in today's folk/rock world. Similar to how I was surprised by the downright danceable boogie on the forthcoming Iron & Wine (previously offering mostly hushed, go-to-bed-alone music), Josh Ritter gets all Hall & Oates on us with horns, ragtime piano, and beats. I'll be flogged in public for even suggesting this, but call me crazy if the melody on the verses here is a slowed-down echo of Britney Spears' 2004 Mile High Club jam "Toxic." There, I said it.

2007 is shaping up to be an interesting year for releases from artists we thought we knew. Everyone's gettin' all spirited-like, and I love it. Some of the songs on this album are more standard fare from Ritter, such as the shiver-inducing loveliness of "The Temptation of Adam" (which I saw him perform back in February) but overall -- whew. I am impressed with this direction. Ritter just announced a huge string of tour dates and is absolutely worth seeing live, an energetic and masterful performer.

Spiderman winner and a sweeeet new giveaway from Brushfire Records

I didn't forget about that Spiderman 3 soundtrack contest -- you guys thought of some freaky superpowers. I think Ali's was closest to my own heart, although if I had this superpower I would be ridiculously sleep-deprived from going to a concert every single night, somewhere in the world:

At May 14, 2007 12:12 PM, Ali said...
The superpower I wish I had would have to be the ability to Apparate (referencing the magical Harry Potter-isms), to appear somewhere else (like a pete yorn concert, for instance) *snap* just like that. anytime, anywhere, whenever. no plane tickets, rental cars or luggage necessary.

Ali, please email me your address and I'll get your soundtrack prize pack sent. Thanks for playing!


NEW CONTEST -- and this one may be my favorite yet.

I am a hearty fan of the laid-back quality tunes on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label (formerly The Moonshine Conspiracy Records), which was started in 2002 as an offshoot to the surf film collaborative Woodshed Films. Jack birthed this idea in 1998 with Emmett and Chris Malloy during the creation of the surf film Thicker Than Water, and since then they've released soundtracks to several like-minded films, and built up a roster of artists whom I unfailingly enjoy.

So, I recently came across a new bright green Matt Costa t-shirt that I picked up in a schwag bag at a conference last year and it gave me the idea for this new contest. Thanks to the good folks at Brushfire, one random winner will get a fine smattering of the entire artist catalog:

1 Matt Costa CD [previously on Fuel]
1 Money Mark CD [previously on Fuel]
1 ALO CD [previously on Fuel]
1 G. Love CD [previously on Fuel]
1 Jack Johnson CD (your choice)
1 XL Matt Costa t-shirt
1 signed Matt Costa poster

Leave your name and email address (and some pleasant words or a joke or something if you want to make me smile too) in the comments and I will pick one lucky person next Friday.

Let It Be Sung - Jack Johnson w/ Matt Costa & Zach Gill of ALO

Rainbow - Jack Johnson and G. Love

UPDATED: G. Love's original demo tape songs: "Oh Yeah!"

G. Love (or Garrett Dutton, as his mama calls him) sent out this cool announcement today:

In January Philadelphonic Records will be releasing my "first" record, G. Love Oh Yeah. This record was recorded in 1992 in a number of different studios including Skidmore College and Temple University studios.

This record was the first documentation of Hip-Hop Blues and includes the original recordings of "Baby's Got Sauce", "Shooting Hoops" and "Rhyme for the Summertime." I originally pressed up 250 cassette tapes of “Oh Yeah” and sold them on the streets of Boston while I was busking.

I call “Oh Yeah” my first record and 15 years later it finally hits the digital stores. Pretty cool. I still can't figure out exactly how I played all of these songs. It’s as easy to hear the John Hammond and Lightning Hopkins influence as it is to hear the De La Soul. It’s definitely a cool record and is 100 percent acoustic solo foot-stomping-streetside-blues.

Samples:
Mother - G. Love
Sauce (original version of Baby's Got Sauce) - G. Love

I think the album sounds fantastic, as early thumpin' stompin' G Love tends to be my favorite. The digital release of the album is set for January 23rd, with an exclusive earlier release on iTunes a week sooner (1/16).

:: TRACKLISTING AND NOTES FROM GARRETT::
1. SAUCE
The original version of "baby’s got sauce… the version I used to play on the streets of Boston … the original hip hop blues
2. WHAT’S GOING ON
This is a sweet romancing song written when I couldn't get a date. Front porch style.
3. WRITING ON THE WALLS
When blues and hip hop city streets meet. A glorification of my graffiti writing days.
4. GIRLS AT THE LAUNDROMAT
Another day dream about meeting the perfect girl at the Laundromat.
5. RUN FOR ME
This is a cool tune about trying to get served as a minor all about finding yourself in a strange town.
6. MOTHER
A dope rap about saving Mother Nature. The chorus was inspired by the Robert Johnson tune "breakin’ down"
7. RHYME FOR THE SUMMERTIME
This is the first rap I wrote. Slide guitar and chicken scratch.
8. LEAVING THE CITY
One of my best blues. A city kid dreaming of the country.
9. THE FAT ONE
Nothing wrong with the fat one.
10. SHOOTIN’ HOOPS
The original version of a G. Love classic. No frills straight streetside.

:: TOUR DATES :: (some with Matt Costa)
Fri. 1/12 – Nashville, TN – City Hall
Sat. 1/13 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Sun. 1/14 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Wed. 1/17 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
Thu. 1/18 – Kansas City, MO – Voodoo Lounge
Fri. 1/19 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Sat. 1/20 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
Tue. 1/23 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
Wed. 1/24 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
Thu. 1/25 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
Fri. 1/26 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre
Sat. 1/27 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre
Tue. 1/30 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Wed. 1/31 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Thu. 2/1 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee Theater
Fri. 2/2 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
Sat. 2/3 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
Fri. 2/16 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Wed. 2/28 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live

New G. Love: "Hot Cookin'"

What, pray tell, is summer without some G. Love & Special Sauce playing on the radio? No kind of summer, I'll tell ya that much.

G. Love and Special Sauce hold the coveted place in my musical book of "One Of The Best Names Ever" for the self-effacing and lighthearted brilliance of their moniker. Just try and tell someone what concert you are going to when Garrett and crew roll into town without smiling.

Here is the first single off G. Love's new album Lemonade (Brushfire Records) which features guest appearances from the usual suspects (and some new ones): Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Marc Broussard, Blackalicious, Tristan Prettyman, Donavon Frankenreiter, and more.


Hot Cookin' - G. Love & Special Sauce

Kevin at So Much Silence has the fun G. Love & Blackalicious track from this album: "Banger"

I'll have to give the whole album a fair shake, but I must say -- as much as I would really like to like this song, I find it a bit on the b-o-r-i-n-g side. Yes, it is has a good mellow groove, but it's almost as if he's just pumpin' out the same kinds of songs without that edge and that sass of some of his previous releases. No one has ever listened to G. Love to find the meaning of the universe, but he's laid down his bluesy share of clever rhymes, sick harmonica, and unique (kickass) beats.

Here are some of my favorites:

Booty Call
(from The Hustle, ridiculously fun)


Baby's Got Sauce
(from G. Love & Special Sauce)


and, my favorite slightly-guilty pleasure:

Cold Beverage (from G. Love & Special Sauce)




Stick it in the fridge, stick it in the fridge, stick it in the fridge.

Stick in IN the fridge.


As for me, I've been invited to drop in on this today. Sounds pretty cool, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought. It's a big step up for me in terms of conferences - the ones I am used to going to have session topics like "New H1-B Immigration Visa Rules" and "Health & Safety Action Plans: What YOU Need To Know Now." While those were all good in their time, this thoroughly-saturated musicfied environment will be most enjoyable.

Splashing around in the Live Music Archive

Ahhh, it is so much fun (and so time-consuming!) to just browse around and see what kind of good stuff there is for the listening in the Live Music Archive. It really is a phenomenal resource for music lovers. Late one night recently I spent some time immersed in the archives and I wanted to share with you what I sauntered away with, happily. Oh, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's like the Smithsonian, which I once got lost in during the class trip to Washington D.C. in junior high. It's easy to wander off.


COLLECTIONS:
All kinds of great KFOG in-studio sessions (Matt Nathanson, Jack Johnson, Cracker, Cowboy Junkies, etc)

Lots of KCRW stuff (Ben Lee, David Gray, My Morning Jacket)

A bunch of Amoeba Records in-stores (Rogue Wave, Michael Franti & Spearhead, etc.)


NEIL HALSTEAD of MOJAVE 3
10/10/04, Moonshine Festival in Laguna Beach
See You On Rooftops
(and note that the cringe-inducing hissing at the beginning stops shortly after the song starts)
**He was also featured on the surf-movie soundtrack Sprout that I posted about a while back




MIKE DOUGHTY
(formerly of Soul Coughing)
June 22, 2002 at the Aladdin Theatre, Portland OR
Grey Ghost (partly because it is a good song, and also because it is written about Jeff Buckley)


ELLIOTT SMITH
Recently added: February 26, 2000, The Empty Bottle in Chicago
Angeles


MATT NATHANSON
Bent > Anna Begins
(one of his great original songs segueing into -!!!- a Counting Crows cover. Really lovely.)
(From his 10/29/04 show at the 9:30 Club, Washington DC).


MY MORNING JACKET
FM Broadcast (= great quality) of the show at The Palace Theater in Louisville on November 23, 2005.
Off The Record


ROGER CLYNE AND THE PEACEMAKERS
My favorite show of theirs to listen to from the Live Music Archive is still the August 19 show at the Gothic Theatre last year: It was my birthday, and my first inauguration to the sweaty, rockin' goodness that is a Roger Clyne show. Plus, Clyne kissed my hand after the show for a birthday present. The whole show is top notch, and I love how it captures all the audience participation as well.
Banditos


ANIMAL LIBERATION ORCHESTRA (ALO)
Loving Cup (Rolling Stones cover)
From their New Year's Eve 2005 show, Mountain House, Santa Barbara


SPOON
A great show from last month: 2/2/06, La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
I Turn My Camera On


RYAN ADAMS
Recent show: February 15, 2006 at the Carling Academy in Glasgow
(excellent setlist & show quality!):
Dear Chicago, an absolutely heartwrenching version of Please Do Not Let Me Go, and Ryan's banter about receiving text messages from his mom.

G. LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE
Some goodness from his January 18, 2006 show at the Belly-Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA:
Cold Beverage > Gold Digger (Cold Beverage is a guilty pleasure of mine. Hidden talent: I can rap ALL the lyrics, stemming from the same SPIN Magazine cassette sampler in 1994 that introduced me to Jeff Buckley, oddly enough)
The Times They Are A Changin' (yes, a Bob Dylan cover, since Garrett knows how to play the harmonica)
-- And, why not: a little Booty Call action

JACK JOHNSON
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (with a little Just What I Needed thrown in) From August 5, 2005, Dodge Theatre, Phoenix

Soon Forget (Pearl Jam ukulele song)
From June 11, 2005 at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN

Free (with Donovan Frankenreiter)
From May 10, 2005, Palladium, Cologne, Germany

Three Is A Magic Number/3 Rs (a little Schoolhouse Rock love)
From the August 10, 2005 show at the Santa Barbara County Bowl
(Tip: don't make drunken concertgoers chant counting answers!
Jack: "And the eighteenth letter of the alphabet is . . . "
(no response - crickets from the crowd) -
"Well, that's kind of a hard one, it's actually hard...")

Plus, they have the whole Jack Johnson show at Santa Clara University (my alma mater) from Feb 10, 2002. I thought that was pretty cool, an excellent sound-quality recording.

It's in the .shn format (like a lot of the stuff on the Live Music Archive), but there are some free converters that you can use to change it into .wav, then mp3 (I use FreeRip).


That should keep you well-stocked for the weekend, muchachos, wherever it takes you! Be good.