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All of this happened a long time ago when the world was a very different place. Of course, none of us knew that at the time.
(From The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres) Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)
E2TG January 2018
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E2TG July 2018
E2TG August 2018 (coming soon!)
Well Americana Madness is coming next week! For those not in the know, Americana is not really a musical genre - rather it is a way of marketing music that is a development of one of several types of roots music that originated in the United States. At least, that is my take on it. If a group tells me they are "Americana" - I don't think I know anymore about the band's sound or influences - except that they might have influences of country, folk, blues, bluegrass, and/or soul (or some combination of those).
As for the Americana Music Festival - it is a fairly diverse music festival (it is also a conference with many workshops and panels) - I mean you likely won't hear hip-hop or speed metal (but you might hear bands who include those genres in their background/influences). The festival itself has grown exponentially over the last several years. It has come to incorporate almost all of the major music venues in town, and it has spawned many unofficial and official parties and events featuring many musicians - including many who are regularly featured on E2TG. With this growth, it has become impossible to see everyone one may want to see, and problematic to navigate between venues to catch as many faves a possible. The other day, I posted on Facebook that my goals were to see as many out of town friends and possible and to hear as much "new to me music" as possible. Fortunately, in attempting to meet these goals, I will also get to hang with some of my favorite local people and hear some of my already favorite acts.
Thinking about all of this has made me think about "success" - First of all, I think the concept of a successful musician/artist is different for everyone, however, in thinking about this from a "fan" perspective - at E2TG - my goal has always been to listen to and talk about music that is meaningful to me. I want my friends and favorite bands to find success (however they define that), but that success is never really the focus of what I am doing. I mean this not to diminish the hard work and sacrifice of those who have achieve some measure of mainstream "success" - rather it is meant to acknowledge the hard work and sacrifice of those for whom such success has been more elusive, but who still produce meaningful and wonderful art.
All of that to say, American Fest will - as always - feature artists who are at every marker on the imaginary continuum of success. My personal advice to anyone attending AMA week - is to not limit yourself to artists who have heard of. Do some research and try to see some artists that are new to you.
Finally, Americana week is basically like a "normal" week of live music in Nashville - on steroids.
It's shuffle time - as we close out the last two days of the week - delving into the "New Music" playlist.
"I Feel Off" by Good Field
We start things off with another track from Surface Tension by Austin-based pop rock band Good Field. Digging this album. A great start to the shuffle.
"Dakini" by The Veldt
The Veldt originally emerged from the Chapel Hill, North Carolina music scene of the late 80s - early 90s. They eventually signed to Polygram Records and shared stages with Oasis, The Cocteau Twins and more. The band - led by identical twins Danny and Daniel Chavis - reemerged in the mid 2000s, and they are back in top form. This is a track from a new EP called Thanks to the Moth and Areanna Rose. As I previously mentioned, I got to see the band live at Athens Pop Fest last year, and they blew me away.
"Inverted Void" by Cup
Next, we have the first of two songs from Jitter Visions - the new album by Brooklyn-based hard rock band - Cup. Cup have become one of my favorite bands over the last several months, however, I do have to say, whenever I search for them on YouTube, I keep finding that annoying "Cup Song".
"A Vow Worth Keeping" by Autumn
Next, we have another track from Chandelier by Minneapolis dark pop band Autumn. Wonderful, lush music.
"Kiss" by Hilary Scott
Hilary Scott is a singer-songwriter based in Puget Sound - she will be releasing her 12th album, Don't Call Me Angel, in October. Today, we have our first listen and it is the only cover song on the album - a gorgeous version of the Prince song, "Kiss".
"Spell Limbo" by Cup
Another from Jitter Visions - we are moving quickly through that album.
"Kenny" by TC(and)I
Former XTC bandmates - Terry Chambers (TC) and Collin Moulding (I), are back in the shuffle with a track from their release called Great Aspirations. I love the who EP, but this song may be my favorite.
"New York" by A Shoreline Dream
Next, another track from Waitout - by A Shoreline Dream. This is a remastered version of a song from an earlier release by this Colorado-based shoegaze band.
"Jesus Protect Me" by Tim Easton
We close with an song from Paco and The Melodic Polaroids by East Nashville and E2TG favorite Tim Easton. "Jesus Protect Me, from your followers, not all of them..."
VIDEO PLAYLIST
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