Tuesday Afternoon Music Shuffle - Faraway Beach Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Weird morning, got stuck in traffic so my Morning Shuffle would have been about 24 songs.  So, I did an afternoon shuffle instead.  The morning shuffle would have been epic, but I don't have time or energy to do it justice.

Here we go....

Monday Morning Music Shuffle -Saints and Monks Mix

Tweet #E2TG

 "Nikola Tesla perceived the earth to be a conductor of acoustical resonance." - Jack White from Coffee and Cigarettes a film by Jim Jarmusch

Watched two Jarmusch films this weekend plus  made some good progress on my novel-in-progress.

We have a nifty shuffle for your Monday!

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Atomic Love Mix

Tweet #E2TG

And we put another week of shuffles into the books... There is a lot of life out there, go and get you some... life that is...

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Don't be Koi Mix

Tweet #E2TG

All I can say is that life is probable sometimes, and although we don't always choose the things that happen (or maybe in some ways we do), what we do choose is whether or not to be fully present in those moments (to the best of our ability).

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Silly Boys Mix

Tweet #E2TG

We have a bunch of cool songs by some silly boys and one not so silly, but very talented woman.  Let's go!

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - High Hopes Mix

Tweet #E2TG

FALL IS HERE!  Not only that, there was an honest to goodness chill in the air this morning.  Now, I've lived in Tennessee my whole like, so I know that we still have a few more rounds of heat to go, but today it is officially Autumn, and it feels like it so...

MUSIC

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Fight the World Mix

Tweet #E2TG

So, Americana Music Fest week is over, and Nashville can go back to being this cool city with live music happening every single night all over town....  Even with being an official attendee at AMA, I managed to see some amazing music, saw a bunch of old friends, made some new friends, and discovered some new music which will be showing up on E2TG soon...

 



The End Men @ The Basement 9/21/2014

More pics and commentary coming up.



Let's shuffle...

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Addicted to War Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Last night was so much fun...  Went to the Rocking Roots Guitar Showcase at The 5 Spot.  Four trios lead by incredible guitarists.  Nick Kane, Richie Owens with the Farm Bureau, Ted Drozdowski with his Scissormen, and Mark Robinson.  Great players with distinct and unique styles falling into the blues/roots area if labels mean much.  All of them were mind-blowingly awesome in very different ways.

Ted Drozdowski getting up close and personal at The 5 Spot



After that showcase, I stuck around to see a long-time favorite of Ear to  the Ground, Pony Boy.  She was a Featured Artist in August 2012, and since then she has spent some time in Nashville, had a song featured on the ABC show named after our fair city, and last night she played a bunch of Nashville's hottest players.  The qualities which first lead me to her music were all present - an amazing voice, great songs (the originals and covers), and a great stage presence.  It was good to finally meet her.

Let's jump into the shuffle:

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Gallatin Pike Mule Mix

Tweet #E2TG

It is axiomatic that on any given night, if you go hear live music in Nashville - no matter how epically awesome your experience - there is something equally epic and awesome going on either next door or across town.  This is even more true - if something axiomatic can be "more" true during Americana Fest week which is going on now.   I just added a corollary to this axiom (Can an axiom have a corollary?  Can it have a coronary?), which states that if you hang out in the same smoky dive bar in East Nashville long enough you will hear "Freebird" accompanied by a trombone and it will be amazing.



Tonight - E2TG favorite Mark Robinson joins an amazing line-up of Rocking Roots Guitarists at The Five Spot from 5-8pm.  At 8:00 - another E2TG favorite - Pony Boy will be leading off a Five Spot Favorites show at that same location.  And it goes on...

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Friday, Saturday, and XTC Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Well Americana Music Association week in kicking into high gear here in Nashville.  So many incredible musicians in town, official and unofficial showcases and shows and whatnot everywhere you go.  Music that represents the pretty diverse collection of genres and subgenres that fall loosely or tightly under the big Americana umbrella... "It's a big enough umbrella, but it's always me who ends up getting wet."

Forever, swimming against the wind or pissing into the stream or whatever, Ear to the Ground presents a shuffle which includes some 1950s Portuguese Fado music, some 1970s Afro-jazz from Nigeria, a 90s lo-fi band from Olympia Washington, some awesome alternative, jazz, funk, electronic music from Philly, a 90s Rock band from Knoxville, along with some other great stuff which should or could fit in nicely at Americana Fest.  Shall we?

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Traveling Mix

Tweet #E2TG

A busy week for music in Nashville.  Tonight it's a Tim Easton live recording at The Building in East Nashville with Megan Palmer plus Darrin Bradbury and Tim Carroll.  Tomorrow - way too many choices, but it's the usual Wednesday night joint a Fran's with Darrin Bradbury and Tim Carroll.  Thursday, a Happy Hour of great Roots Guitarist including Ear to the Ground favorite Mark Robinson, plus Ritchie Owens and the Farm Bureau, Ted Drozdowski's Scissormen, and Nick Kane formerly of The Mavericks at The Five Spot.  After that another E2TG alum, Pony Boy plays as part of a 5 Spot favorites show and the fun continues...

Right now, we have a shuffle to put on...

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Better Than That Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Good Monday Morning....  E2TG is back with our Morning Shuffle to excite and delight you!

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Number Three Mix

Tweet #E2TG

One of the best side-effects of writing this blog (and certainly not one I expected or intended) has been the incredible people I have met.  Honestly, that is one of the main reasons, I have kept this up for three years.  One of the very first people I "met" way back in the early stages of Ear to the Ground was Howard Rabach.  Last night, I was fortunate enough to meet him in person and have an enjoyable dinner. Tonight, I get to see him again - playing bass for The Grey A for their CD Release Show at The Stone Fox.

Shuffle - let's go!

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Seems Like Incongruity Mix

Tweet #E2TG

So, I've been thinking a lot about the concept of incongruity, and I have this theory that incongruity is a concept made up by those who cannot or will not see that everything and everyone is connected.  And that what we experience as an incongruity means that we cannot presently see the way things are connected.  Sometimes, it helps me to think that I am the one thing that connects these seemingly incongruous things.  Hint: that thought though helpful is not the truth.

Keep this in mind (or don't) as you experience today's shuffle

WOW Wednesday Music Shuffle - Ram On Mix

Tweet #E2TG

So, The 'Mats did Alex Chilton on the Tonight Show, and U2 released a new album.  It's just like the late 80s again - except The 'Mats were sober, and the U2 album was "magically" added to my computer library, and I have a computer that holds most of my music collection... ah, so this is what the future looks like - says 20 year old me...

Seriously, The 'Mats were incredible, and I haven't heard the U2 album yet, but the fact  that the first song name drops Joey Ramone is promising...

Plus it was cool seeing the words, "Alex Chilton is Trending" on Facebook...


Ah, on we go...

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Flinty Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Back to a normal-sized shuffle.... we have some cool tunes - let's go!

Monday Morning (and Evening) Music Shuffle - Two Saints Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Well, it's late for the shuffle, but circumstance kept me from posting.  As compensation, I extended the shuffle which means tons of music and just a bit of my celebrated wisdom.  That last line is ego disguised as wry humility cleverly cloaked in a veneer of ego.

In case you missed it, the Ear to the Ground review of Darrin Bradbury's Motel Oatmeal was featured for a time on the front page of No Depression - the preeminent Americana magazine/website,

The review is still a featured review, and you can read it here.


Now, we have a ton of music to get to....

E2TG Week in Review - September 2 through 5 Edition

Tweet #E2TG

Check out, download, buy some of the fine, fine music featured this past week on Ear to the Ground

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Monsterdogs and Zen Koans Mix

Tweet #E2TG

One thing I take pride in with E2TG is the diversity of music that I'm willing to include in my mix.  Frankly, as much as I love Americana and as much as Americana is a pretty wide ranging "genre" of music, sometimes I need some metal, some punk, some music from far corners of the world, some experimental crazy stuff, some classical...

I need to give a shoutout to my friends from Valued Customer who has done more than their fair share in expanding my mind and my musical knowledge beyond all constraints.  They have a blog of their own called P E A C E F O R K which explores some less travelled (but supremely awesome spokes in the complex web of musical styles and influences.  Some of the music they've been posting should be showing up here soon, and I can't wait to share it.

While I've got your attention - I direct you to Valued Customer's masterpiece Kalpa which can be yours if the price is right (or wrong).



On to the shuffle for today....

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Poorer Every Day Mix

Tweet #E2TG

So, Nashville is getting a lot of hype these days... East Nashville more specifically.  Is it deserved or not? I'll let someone else answer that deep and complicated question. However, what I will do, is tell you just a bit about one particular night in East Nashville (last night to be specific), and I will let you process this information how you will....

The night began with David Olney in his penultimate* Happy Hour show at The 5 Spot opening his show with an incredibly awesome recitation of Kubla Khan, and the night ended (almost) about six hours later at Fran's Eastside with Tim Carroll and Darrin Bradbury doing a version of Freebird that made me a fan of that song (or at least a fan of their version).

We have a mixed bag of cool tunes in today shuffle, so let's do it!

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Ear to the Wall Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Life is a balance of patience, hard work, dumb luck, and the occasional moment of happy coincidence. Or so it seems from this particular moment in my existence. I was thinking about the two recent reviews I wrote, and the circumstances that lead me to having the opportunity to write those reviews.  In 2011, when I started Ear to the Ground, I was trying to find a blog platform that would be easy to use and be visually interesting.  I came across Posterous which seeming fit the bill.  Through that site, I came into contact with Howard Rabach and his enigmatic band Ubiquity Machine.  We became Facebook friends, and now Howard plays bass for The Grey A, and he sent me their new album to review.

About six months later, around the time that I decided that Posterous could not do everything I wanted to do*, I happened upon a cool band from New Jersey called Those Mockingbirds. That band lead me to Don Ryan, Popa Tunes, The Dead Exs, The End Men, and my whole fascination with New York/New Jersey/Connecticut bands and artists which continues to this day.  Through all of that, and I think through a direct recommendation from Don Ryan, I became familiar with a band called Big Wilson River - a cool band which featured Darrin Bradbury who put out Motel Oatmeal, the other album I reviewed last weekend. 

Just thought I'd share... I don't know what it all means...  The End Men have taught me the idea of saying yes to almost everything, and so far that philosophy seems to be working out okay.

Well we have a shuffle to put on... so enough musing...

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Blue Rainbow Mix

Tweet #E2TG

ICYMI (Labor Day Weekend Edition):  

We created an E2TG Facebook Page - so like it please maybe?

We posted a couple of album reviews over the weekend.

1.  Darrin Bradbury - Motel Oatmeal -  on E2TG and cross-posted to No Depression (go visit both sites if you have time)

2. The Grey A - My Country - on E2TG and cross-posted (and currently featured!) to No Depression.

Shuffle to follow: