Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Cape on the Floor Mix

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Be sure to "Like" Ear to the Ground on Facebook!

It's been a few days since I added any commentary to the current state of things in this country and in the world. Honestly, I am overwhelmed and exhausted by it all - but I am fighting to stay alert. In some ways, I see hope in the mounting investigation over Russia, but beyond and president or administration, I am deeply concerned about the ever-widening divide in this country.  I am also concerned about the potentially lasting damage being done to the environment, to basic human rights, to our country's reputation, and on and on. #Resist #Persist
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Well, it's a wrap!  Thanks again to everyone who came out last night for the finale of the E2TG Residency at The 5 Spot.  FuzzQueen rocked as expected and won over some new fans in Nashville and Amelia White was awesome with kick ass band - The Blue Souvenirs.

And thanks to everyone who came out, played, and/or played a part in making this month really special and something I will never forget.

Onward and Upward...  a couple of notes:  Sunday June 4 marks the One Year Anniversary of the beginning of broadcasting at WXNA.  They are celebrating at Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge from 3-8.  Everyone is invited - and you should come - this is YOUR community radio station.

Monday June 5 is the Jon Latham benefit at The Basement East - a pretty killed lineup will help raise some more money for Jon Latham who - as you may know - had some major health issues earlier in the month.

On Thursday's we shuffle songs around a topic.  Earlier this year, the topic was centered around the times in which we live.  For the 6th Anniversary, I began a new theme around a playlist of artists we have played/written about over the entire six years.  We will continue that for a while... Today's shuffle includes songs that span the years and diverse music styles we have featured.

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Walking Wogs Mix

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Greetings from Nashville!  It's Monday, and here at E2TG we are mixing things up a bit.  Typically, we shuffle up our "Rolling" playlist (meaning I add new songs and delete songs off the playlist as they come and go), this playlist is a working subset of all of the songs on my MP3 player. (Which in turn is a subset of all the songs in my music collection, but that is another story).  Anyway, today's shuffle comes from all of the songs on my MP3 player.  We'll get back to our playlist tomorrow, but I thought it might be interesting to occasionally open up our shuffle and see what happens.

 

So - let's jump to it!

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Play Wagon Wheel Mix

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More clouds over Nashville.  Much on my mind today, but nothing to share right now.  We have a nice selection of music so... shall we? 

After the JUMP

Friday Morning Music Non-Shuffle - Lucky Dog Barking at a Jukebox Mix

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Well once again, fate, circumstance, procrastination and mysterious forces beyond my control or understanding have combined to lead me to this very point.... namely, as I've mentioned several times, I am way over due to for a wrap-up of April. As you may recall, at the end of March I did a big ole summary for the first three months on 2013, gave a shout out to old friends who made new music and welcomed a few new bands into the Ear to the Ground Family. I resolved at that time to try my best to do this same exercise monthly.

April was an amazing month for new music.  From our old friends, we covered new albums by Skeletons in the Piano, Taco Land, Killing Kuddles, The Danbury Lie, The Imperial Rooster and Black Jake and the Carnies.  - I've probably forgotten some, and if so, I sincerely apologize. 

Skeletons in the Piano  - Buy 

Taco Land - Buy

 

Killing Kuddles - Buy

 

The Danbury Lie - Buy

 

The Imperial Rooster -  Download


 

Black Jake and the Carnies - Buy


 

Now on to our new additions to the Ear to the Ground family (again family is my designation and no consent is required...)

After the JUMP, we get down to business with today's Mix (Unshuffled)

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Firehouse Mix

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Time is short and we have some great music to cover in today's pre-shuffle and shuffle.  Let's get to it.

Pre-Shuffle:

"Odd Fellows Local 151" by R.E.M.
"A Good Man Knows" by Black Jake and the Carnies (the song from their new EP we didn't get to yesterday!) 
"Digging Underneath the House" by Skeletons in the Piano
 "Machine Gun" by Taco Land

Shuffle awaits you after the JUMP

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Waiting for Cluckaphony Mix

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Let's face it, there is no shortage of bands dancing around the "Americana", "Roots Rock", "Alt-Folk-Bluegrass-Country-Blues" sound. Hell, these days it's not too unusual to hear a banjo (or  more likely a banjitar) even on the "Hit" radio stations.  If you liked Mumford and Sons then you'll probably like the other half a dozen or so bands who sound just like them.  Right? So, here is the question: If there is this glut of Rootsy sounding bands being blasted out of radios and computers and MP3 players, does not mean any band falling however loosely into that area of music is redundant or superfluous? Well, keep in mind, this is coming from someone who writes a music blog for goodness sakes!  But, I think the answer is... wait what was the question?  Bottom line, the world can never get enough of creative and talented people following their passion down whatever path that leads them. So if a creative or talented group of musicians happen to play rootsy music (or punkish indie, or blues based rock or whatever) so be it and more power to them.

All that long windedness to say, I have had the good fortune to become acquainted with tons of amazingly talented people over the last couple of years, and it seems like at least half of them are releasing new music this year.  Today, I'm going to delve into two bands who are similar in a different way from each other (or maybe they are different in a similar way)... Join us after the Jump for a very special episode of Ear to the Ground's Morning Shuffle:

Band of the Month - October - Black Jake and the Carnies!

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Well, well, well... The Foresters made a late run, but Michigan's own Black Jake and the Carnies held on to become our Ear2theground's Band of the Month for October!  For those of you playing at home, they are officially the first Crabgrass band to become Band of the Month.  They are are also the first band from Ypsilanti, Michigan to be Band of Month.  Trivia, in fourth grade our class did a huge mural of the United States in the hallway of our school, and we each were assigned a state to paint.  We also had to do a report on that state.  My state? Michigan.  I know right? Amazing the way the world works.

Black Jake and the Carnies play a raucous blend of country, bluegrass and punk.  They are tons o' fun and they make a great Band of Month. 

Once again, we had a great group of Featured Artists - probably our most diverse group yet, and I am grateful for all the people I got to know this month.

It's November now... and time to unveil a new batch of Featured Artists.  We'll be doing that soon - and trying something new....

 

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Last Chance to Vote - Band of the Month - October

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It's that time!  I will probably be out trick or treating or something so this may very well be your last reminder.  With less than 8 hours to go - we present the TOP 4 so far - Band of the Month for October will be revealed tomorrow morning:

Here is the place to VOTE!


Currently in 4th place is Valued Customer from Toronto.

In 3rd place is Bad Cop from Nashville.

In 2nd place are The Foresters from Bethany, CT.

And currently in 1st place going into the home stretch is Black Jake and the Carnies from Ypsilanti, MI...

Go to the poll to see all the Featured Artists...

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Ear to the Ground Voter Guide - October 2012

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With just over a week to go, you may still be unsure which of our awesome Featured Artists to vote for in the Band of the Month poll.  While, we try to stay neutral on this important decision (the whole point of letting readers vote is that we are too codependent to make a decision ourselves), we do have some valuable and  not so valuable information to share which may just make your decision easier.

Reasons to vote for...

45 Spider: 1.

      
2.  Cleveland Rocks!
3.  This is your band if you dig turbo charged, high-energy, fun rock n' roll.


 Bad Cop:  1.  They are at the forefront of a renaissance of Nashville Rock n' Roll that is garnering national headlines.

2.  To my knowledge, they have no official association with the ABC series Nashville.

3.  They are your band if you dig rock music with a fuzzy undertone, and because "Wet Lips" just plain Rules!

Black Jake and the Carnies: 1.  Your mom warned you about trusting the carnies, but she never said you shouldn't listen to their music.

2.  They are from Ypsilanti, MI and play Crabgrass music. You need more?

3.  They are your band if you dig murder ballads played in a old-time string band style at a punk rock, break-neck pace.  Prepare to move your feet!

Brennen Leigh: 1. She is a true Texas songbird whose music has a timeless quality.

2.  At the Americana fest, she sang a duet with the fabulous John Scott Sherrill. 

3.  She is your artist if you dig beautiful vocals set to amazing sounding country/bluegrass sounds.

Forest Mountain Hymnal: 1.  Rebecca and Jonathan are incredible people who financed their wedding in part by busking on the streets of Nashville. 

2.  They play brilliant versions of traditional and traditional sounding folk tunes and made a record perfect for Halloween.

3.  They are your band if you dig well-grounded, earthy and organic folk music and arent' afraid to take it to the streets.

The Foresters:  1.  Writing about them and a few other bands has finally allowed me to learn to spell Kahnettykut - wait, is that not right? Shoot!

2.  If they Rock this hard now, wait until they hit those teen angst years... 

3.  They are your band if you dig melodic, pop-punk music played with energy and heart.

Pigeon Park: 1. They are from British Columbia which is in Canada not in Central America like I thought... :-/

2.  Cause Pigeons are Bert from Sesame Street's favorite bird.

3.  They are your band if you dig big, bluesy rock music made to fill arenas.

S3X: 1.  It's fun hearing the words Salt Lake City and Punkcore in the same sentence.

2.  S3X... I mean come on!

3.  They are your band if you dig aggressive, fast, loud music with a melodic streak played with verve and passion.

Tim Lee 3:  1. They've been a part of the fantastic Couch by Couchwest Festival. 

2.  They like barbeque - pulled pork baby!

3.  They are your band if you dig wild, bluesy, rootsy southern rock n' roll the way it was meant to be played.

Valued Customer: 1.  They are most likely the coolest, weirdest band I've ever heard.

2.  Patrick Power sometimes wears a tie and plays Afro-Latin Polka...?????!!!!!!

3.  They are your band if you dig experimental hip-hop with a twisted sense of humor and a sick mellow groove.

There you have it.  You are now informed so vote:




















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Featured Friday Music Shuffle - Rose Garden Mix

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Good morning, well we are just a few days into our October Band of the Month voting, and so far, Black Jake and the Carnies have a commanding lead. From prior months voting, however, I can tell you that things can change quickly.  So go vote and vote some more:





Today, we shuffle up a playlist of songs by this month's featured artists.


First up are the youthful Rockers from Connecticut, The Foresters.  In addition to voting for them for Band of the Month, be sure to help them earn a spot opening for Sum 41.  They have video cover of a Sum 41 song entered in a contest through the website TopBlip. Vote HERE.
While Ear to the Ground can't offer opening spots for becoming Band of the Month, we can guarantee the winner a primo spot on the bill of the first annual Ear to the Ground Fest whenever and wherever that happens.. :-) Today, we have the band's rocking tune, Rubber Band.

Here's the Band's Cover of Sum 41's Underclass Hero

Next, we have the Brennen Leigh's Just to Hear My Little Bluebird Sing from her 2010 album, The Box.

A year ago at this time Forest Mountain Hymnal released a spooky collections of songs, called Fitcher's Bird and Other Tales of the Macabre. From that release comes, Lady Margaret (Child Ballad 74). 

Here's a video promo for the album

Here is a video of another version of the Lady Margaret tale

And finally, we close out this music shuffle with a song from current Band of the Month front-runners, Black Jake and the Carnies.  Farmer Had Him Rats is just a raucous good time.  It's off the Michigan band's 2011 album Sundry Mayhems.  

 

The Band released an EPK today and here it is:

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Band of the Month Polls are Open

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Read up on the October Featured Artists and then vote below:




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October Featured Artists - Check in

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 So... we are ten days into October and I thought it would be a good time to check in with our Featured Artists via various Internet portals.

45 Spider - 

1. An Upcoming Show

2.  A video for the season

3. A recent Facebook Like - Heavy Rebel Weekender


Bad Cop - 

1. Now on Tour

 2. Cool Song Usage


3. A Recent Facebook Like: Smoke DZA


Black Jake and the Carnies - 

 1.  Upcoming Show



















2.  A cool cover  (UPDATE TO BETTER VIDEO)

3.  Recent Facebook Like: Lindsay Lou



 Brennen Leigh - 

1. Show Tonight (Austin Texas at the Broken Spoke - Details) (Uses Bandsintown App)


2.  An interview with Brennen





3. A cool quote about Brennen:
 "Brennen brings that... fearlessness, that willingness to do whatever needs to be done to get the song across, to her writing. At turns, tender, violent, sentimental, foolish and wise, she is always Brennen. Confident and at ease with herself, without being a jerk about it."
-David Olney

Forest Mountain Hymnal - 

1.  A new song!

2. A seasonal song

 

3. A Recent Facebook Like:  Lightning 100

The Foresters - 

1.  Big Opportunity

Help The Foresters open for Sum 41 - 5 Stars a day!

2. The Submission Video

3.  Recent Facebook Like: Mark Mulcahy

Pigeon Park - 

1.  Upcoming Show:  

2.  A Pigeon Park Video:

3.  Recent Facebook Like: Whoa! She's a Babe

S3X - 

1.  The Music

2. Watch This!

3. A Random or Recent Facebook Like:  All the Lights

Tim Lee 3 -

1.  A Residency

2.  A Video shot at a cemetery

3.  Recent Facebook Like:  Close Shave

Valued Customer - 

1.  New Album Coming Soon

2.  New Video

3.  ?????????

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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Lazy Bastard Mix

Off we go getting good and ground up in the week.... and we added 17 songs (some new, some old - all new to our playlist) - and it's a fine collection of music...

In case you haven't heard the Legendary Leonard Cohen has a brand new album called Old Ideas by all accounts it is an amazing piece of work.  We have the lead track from the album today, Going Home would sound good along side any of Mr. Cohen's classic tracks.






Whenever I load in a new song that blows me away, and  I cannot remember where I obtained it, a good bet is our friend Popa's Tunes.  Case in point, today's song from Black Jake and the Carnies.  It's from their album Sundry Mayhem and it's an amazing rave-up/hoe-down at once dark and fun. I grabbed a download from the Popakazooza 2012 compilation.




Next, we have a live track from reigning Band of the Week, The Gypsy West.  The song Time was recorded live at the Electric Cathedral. And, this gives up a chance to post a more recent video than the ones we posted with the BOTW post. Thanks to the band for the heads up to these videos.  We'll have more later, I am sure. Here is a January 2012 performance by the band of today's song, Time recorded at the Bowery Electric.



Time @ Bowery Electric 1/19/12 from The Gypsy West on Vimeo.


Finally, we have  another live performance.  This one is by the Civil Wars doing a track from the hit Barton Hollow album, My Father's Father was recorded live at Eddie's Attic and was only their second performance together ever.





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Affiliated Links: 

Leonard Cohen : Songs of Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen : Songs of Leonard Cohen

The Civil War: The Complete Text of the Bestselling Narrative History of the Civil War--Based on the Celebrated PBS Television Ser The complete text of the bestselling narrative history of the Civil War -- based on the celebrated PBS television series. This nonillustrated edition interweaves the author's narrative with the voices of the men and women who lived through that cataclysmic trail of our nationhood, from Abraham Lincoln to ordinary foot soldiers. Includes essays by distinguished historians of the era.