Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Wild Winnebago Mix

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Had a good time at The Western Shore CD Release party thing last night.  Charlie and Kalee sounded great, the right-wrong Isaac was awesome, and it is always a great joy to see and hear Aaron Lee Tasjan. 

Well, we made it to Friday, and I think I am still breathing, so that has to be a good sign.

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Slow Drive Mix

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Okay... I'm tired - physically and emotionally drained, but I got a shuffle and it's a good one... so  let's do this thing!

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Working Up a Sweat Mix

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I need to give some credit where it is due....  About a year and a half ago, based upon a suggestion from the enigmatic and amazing The Danbury Lie, I began compiling a daily Video playlist based upon my daily shuffle.  Before that I just posted videos with the song, but my hope was to create an easier listening experience. 

Now, due to the newishness and/or obscurity of some of the music I feature - as well as the vagrancies of what is available on You Tube, sometimes I can find the exact song, sometimes I can find a different song from the same artist or a different version of the same song, and sometimes I just have to punt.

Anyway, I mention this today because many of videos in the playlist today are not the exact song I listened to during my morning commute.  It's still a fine video playlist, and I hope you like it. 

I should also say that we don't really do theme shuffles here at #E2TG - we used to, but whatever... still by the laws of randomness and selective playlist creation, we do have some Halloween themed songs...

Shall we...

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Muddy Water Mix

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Last night, I made my weekly pilgrimage to Fran's Eastside Tavern on a rainy Wednesday night in East Nashville. Fran's on Wednesday is a bit hard to explain unless you've been there (and maybe even if you have).  I haven't been to Fran's on any other night, so I am not able to say anything about those other nights.  Just to keep in simple, Fran's is a dive bar, smoky beyond ever what you might expect from a dive bar, with cheap beer (cash only), regulars, a pool table, and the added tension of being in the midst of the East Nashville "scene".  Most Wednesday nights, it is Tim Carroll and Darrin Bradbury holding court with original songs and a wildly unpredictable nature that has included a world-class trombone player, a Christmas Carole in early October, and the Music City Roots bus.  With Tim Carroll on tour, Zachariah Red filled in last night - not an easy task - not an easy gig.  Having missed much of Zach's set the last time I went to see him (it may or may not have involved my keys getting locked in my van) and having heard his demo EP, I was looking forward to this.

As I listened, the words understated brilliance came to my mind.  But, I think it is more unassuming brilliance. A quiet personality -  a calm, smooth delivery - definitely enjoyable. I don't know if this will make sense to anyone but me, but when Zach sang a Kris Kristofferson song, it came to me. When Kristofferson sang with the Highwaymen - Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson were such larger than life figures with legendary figures with such storied reputations for hard living... and it was not that Kristofferson wasn't larger than life and it wasn't that he didn't live just as hard... but relatively, he seemed unassuming to me. And, that is how I feel about Zachariah Red. His original songs are awesome and the brilliance hits you in subtle waves rather than in a massive attack. 

And Darrin Bradbury...  what can I say - it is fun to watch this amazingly talented guy really hit a stride and start to get some well-deserved recognition.

To the shuffle:

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Turtles, Roses, and Kisses Mix

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I failed to post a shuffle yesterday - I listened to a shuffle and it was a good one, but time didn't allow me to post - so the songs go back into the hopper and will come out in some other interesting combination.

Truth be told - life is unpredictable and pretty darn right amazing when you stop to pay attention to the seemingly random occurrences which are going on around you every day. Truth be told - I would never have placed my self voluntarily in the situation in which I currently find myself, but since I'm here... I have to say.... I'm right in the place that I am supposed to be...

A pretty sweet evening/night of music on both side of the river in Nashville on a Tuesday in October.  Saw a song swap featuring two of my musical heroes from my college days - Bill Lloyd and Webb Wilder along with the always amazing Tim Carroll.

Crossed the river for some Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie and a Pint of fine beer to check out some amazing music including: Drew Kohl, Julie Christensen and her band, and the Dan Montgomery Band.


Let's do this shuffle thing - okay?

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Addicted to War Mix

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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:

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

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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 - Too Shy to Two Shy Mix

Good morning, we are back after a three day holiday weekend. We've reloaded the May playlist with about 30 songs, and we have four songs today.

Before we get to the shuffle - some reminders, we announced last week that with our Band of the Week post about South of Ramona, we are discontinuing the Band of the Week feature which has been a staple on this site almost since we began.  Stay tuned because on Friday, we will unveil what comes next - hint: I think it will be a good thing both for the blog and for the bands we spotlight. 

To the shuffle:

  First up we dig deeper into the Resurrection record by our good friends The Dead Exs. Come Down Easy is another rough and ready bluesy rock number by this outstanding band.

  

 Here's The Dead Exs doing All Over You & Nolita Stomp

Next, we go deeper into the Asterisk EP by recent Band of the Week, The Joy of Painting with a track called The Bird.

  

 Here's The Joy of Painting doing The Bird live:

Next we have Rhode Island band, Brown Bird with a track off of 2011s The Sound of Ghosts called Ragged Old Town.

 

 Here is a performance of Ragged Old Town from the classroom

And, we close things out with a track off of Sondre Lerche's 2002 album Faces Down. The song is called, You Know So Well. It is early 21st Century European Alt-Rock at it's finest.

  

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