E2TG 9/22/2020 - Contrarianism - Road Scholar Mix (Morpheus Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

 

We are moving right along with our recap of this week's Playlist. Today, we have songs 14-18...

14. "Keep On Pushing" by The Calvary Nightingales

First up, we have a single off of the newly released collection of sacred soul music - The Last Shall Be First: The JCR Record Story. The album is out on Bruce Watson's Bible and Tire Records. The songs on this album had never been released on CD, digital, or outside of Memphis. 

15. "Start Breathing In" by Dan Friese

We previously featured the single "Streetlight" by this Portland, Oregon based singer-songwriter.  Now, his album Jane Songs is out, and we have the lead track from that album. Great sounding music.

16. "Across the Drama Pond"  by Anton Barbeau

We also previously featured "Manbird" - the title track from the new double album by singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau - who is from Sacramento and currently residing in Berlin.  The double album is out now, and so we have another track from that album. Wonderful psychedelic pop songs. 

17. "One Line at a Time" by D.L. Marble

Next up, we have the title track from the new album by Arizona based songwriter D.L. Marble. The album was produced by Eric "Roscoe" Ambel. The album has been delayed several times due to the pandemic, but it is out and it is wonderful. Check it out. 

18. "Prn" by The Persian Leaps

And we close out this segment of music with a track from Smiling Lessons - the new album by this Minneapolis based indie rock/power pop band. This one hints at some of my favorite music of my younger years, but it is highly original. A great ending as we move on in our Playlist.

Tomorrow songs 19-23

       

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 7/16/2020 - In the Time of COVID - Say What! Mix (yue Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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


Crazy week - here, I am very short on time today, so I will be quick. I was thinking last night about mental health and COVID-19. First of all, I think mental health issues affect many people and are not talked about enough.  There are a variety of mental health issues that affect a sizable portion of the population.  Fortunately, in many cases, these issues are mild, and the people experiencing them are fully functional. However mild, though, the effects are real, and I believe what we have collectively experienced in 2020 has brought this to light for a lot of people. In some ways, when the shutdowns and stay at home orders hit, we were collectively forced to slow down and many of us lost one or more of our distractions.

For me, here is one example of how mental health issues can manifest.  Let's say, I have a period of free time. I am off work, I can't go out to live music, can't visit friends or family... so my mind begins assembling a list of things I need to and want to do. Then, my brain gets overwhelmed and I partially shutdown.  I may sleep a lot or I may binge watch Netflix shows or whatever, and I tell myself I deserve a break.  Then what happens is the slow period ends. I have to back to work or I have something else to occupy my time. And my brain recovers, and starts thinking about those things that I want and need to do. And, I begin to silently berate myself for my lack of productivity during my downtime. Which further damages my mental health.

It is a cycle. And, I must find a way of out the cycle while being gentle and patient with myself, but it is not easy and I may need help -which means I have to fight off the stigma for asking for help with mental health issues.

Keep in mind, my issues are mild (I think), and for some people they can be debilitating.  So, we all need to be gentle with each other and with ourselves. We are going fine, and even if we are not, we can and will do better with help, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help.


Our recap of this week's Featured Friday Playlist concludes with songs 21-24. We end on an extremely diverse and pretty awesome note.  Please be sure to check out this week's entire list while there is time and give the list a follow on Spotify.  A new list will be live sometime around midnight.

21. "Platinum" by Fintan McKahey

Fintan McKahey is a bedroom pop singer-songwriter/producer from West Cork, Ireland.  He is from a family of musicians - his father was the drummer for the 80s band Stump and his uncle was the singer of the band CousteauX. The new single is filled with magical references, and I love it. 

22. "Yesterday's Makeup" by Jackson Capps

Up next, we return back to Nashville with a new single from country singer and songwriter Jackson Capps. It is a song about the destructive patterns in relationships. It was recorded live in the studio. 

23. "Lazy Boi - Black Star Liner Remix" by Felixity

Felixity is a pop/neo-soul singer-songwriter from London.  This is the title track from the remixed version of her debut album. She enlisted several top producers on this remix album.  For this track, we worked with the Leeds band Black Star Liner. Cool stuff.

24. "Sick" by Shatterglass

And, we close out this week's playlist with some straight-ahead hard rock from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is the title track from the band's brand new EP. 

    Featured Friday Playlist

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Shame Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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



I'm a bit pushed for time...  I was going to stay in last night, but after I got some things done for the Fall E2TG Residency, I decided to venture out to $2 Tuesday.

Joseph Bradshaw opened the show. He is a young Nashville based singer-songwriter, and I was very impressed with his songs.

Ohio based The Vindys were next making their Nashville debut.  Really good soulful music. 

Ben Stalets, also from Ohio, was next. Very entertaining and amusing performance - a great songs.

As always Derek Hoke brought it, backed by his regular rhythm section (Mark Robertson and Steve Latanation) and joined last night by Thayer Serrano on keyboard.

Hoke and Serrano were also part of the last act - called Magenta.  It was a thirty minute improv psyche jam that also featured Steven Cooper and Michael Zimmerman among others. A great ending to the night.

Today, Darrin Bradbury announced the release date for his first album on ANTI- Records - it is September 20.  He also released the title track - called Talking Dogs and Atom Bombs. I am so excited for Darrin and for the people who will experience his unique vision and voice. Of course, since you read E2TG, you have been in the know for years now.

Onward! We have a Wild Wednesday shuffle that features some new music and some not new music. Let's go!

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Worry, Worry, Super Scurry Mix

Tweet #E2TG


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

My novel, The Drift is out now!  Paperback or Kindle (Buy the paperback and get a Kindle version for just $.99)

E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency is coming in June to The 5 Spot!

Week 1 June 7:  Clark Paterson, The Big Dumb, Rayvon Pettis

Week 2 June 14: The End Men, Ted Drozdowski's Psychedelic Circus, Ben de la Cour

Week 3 June 21:  Brian Milligram, Microwave Mountain, The Coal Men

Week 4 June 28: Joanna Barbera, Bee Taylor, Eli Cook

As you may be aware, for the past two years, I have been fortunate enough to co-host a radio show (Double Shot with Joe and Sue) along with my good friend Sue Havlish on WXNA-LP Nashville. This experience has been one of the most wonderful of my life. 

WXNA went on the air just under two years ago. It is a low-power, all-volunteer community, non-profit radio station, and it has taken this city by storm. I am so proud to be a part of it. It is time for the Spring Pledge Drive.  WXNA is People Powered Radio and relies on the generous support of the community to keep things going.  You investment (small or large) pays off everyday - by helping the station to keep on providing a home for independently programmed shows covering a variety of musical genres and topics of interest and benefit to the community.  The drive runs through Saturday at midnight. You can donate at wxnafm.org or by calling 615-933-WXNA (9962). 

Well it is Wednesday - time for some Wildness E2TG Style.  Wednesday is the day we shuffle up all the songs which are current saved into my phone's memory.  As usual it is a mix bagged of past and current music spanning the globe and the decades.

Let's shuffle!

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Bad Hombre Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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


Time to reveal our guests for Week 2 of the E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency at The 5 Spot. This one will be held Thursday June 14, 2018. That's Flag Day, so if you bring a gently used flag, you can get in for just $5.00.  Otherwise, the admission is $5.00.

Ted Drozdowski has been a favorite of mine, since the first time I saw him leave the stage, use a wine glass as a slide, and generally take Hill Country blues into the stratosphere.  I once saw him walk off the stage at the old Family Wash, do the aforementioned wine glass trick, walk out the front door, come back in the side door and get back on stage will playing the whole time. He has a new configuration called Ted Drozdowski's Psychedelic Circus, and I am thrilled to have them for my show!

The End Men. If you have been following E2TG for awhile, you will recognize the name The End Men. Led by Matthew Hendershot and Livia Ranalli, Brooklyn, New York band The End Men have their own unique and rocking take on blues music. In late 2011, early 2012 - when Ear to the Ground was just an infant music blog, I was introduced to their music. Getting to know them and their music was a key factor in my continuing to press on through those early days. They were the E2TG Band of the Year in 2013 (the first Band of the Year that I selected myself). The End Men last played Nashville (I believe) was in September 2014 (at The Basement for the all-day post-Americana show that The Basement put on.  It is high time they came back! You do not want to miss this!

Opening the show is TBA! I've seen TBA several times, and every time it is a completely different experience. Kind of like Sour Du Jour.  Seriously, I can't tell you yet who the opener is going to be, but I guarantee it will be good!  Plan to get there early!

On to the Wild Wednesday Shuffle!  Remember, on Wednesday, our shuffle comes from all the songs I have stored on my phone. So, it can be new music, classics, from the E2TG archives etc.

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Angry Old Men Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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

Moving deeper into the week...

It is Tuesday, and on Tuesday, as you may know, we take a look at what is trending on E2TG. We do this, as we do almost everything we do via a random shuffle. Our "New Music" playlist on my phone features all of the music we currently are wanting to feature. That list stands at 478 songs with more lined up as soon as I find time to add them...

Reminder: Keep your Thursday evenings in June free. We are cooking up a special series of shows to celebrate the 7th Anniversary of E2TG.  Announcements coming soon.


Tune in tomorrow, as we have a song premiere lined up...

Let's shuffle!

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Heart Beating Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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


I won't take up too much time with this, but I continue to flabbergasted that anyone - regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum can look at the current administration and think, "This is going well".  The sheer number of resignations, firings, indictments, guilty pleas... And it has been just over a year. I really does blow my mind that some 30% of Americans still think this is going well.... *sigh*

Meanwhile, it is Thursday in Nashville, and we had snow flurries this morning after several days of warm weather.

Got back out last night for the first time since Sunday... Timothy George (aka The Singing Butcher) was awesome.  Followed by the always entertaining Nelson, Zimmerman, Quinn trio. The set included a cover of "I'd Rather Go Blind" which coincidentally was in a shuffle earlier this week by Low Society. Plus, Jon Latham joined them for an Al Green song. There were other classic tunes plus a couple of choice Sean Quinn and the Tremblers' songs. Fun time hanging with friends and singing and dancing.

I broke down and bought a ticket to see Kris Kristofferson  in May at the Basement East with Ben Haggard - Merle's son. This is a bucket list kind of thing for me.  Both shows sold out pretty quickly.

Well, a technical note, my New Music Playlist died last night. I was adding some songs to my phone and when I added them to the New Music playlist, I found that the playlist just had the 70+ new songs.  So, I worked late last night adding albums back to the playlist. I don't know if I got them all, but I ended up with over 500 songs in the shuffle.

So, let's hit shuffle on that newly rebuilt playlist and see where it takes us...

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - My Compass Broke Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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


Woohoo! I made it to the end of the week! 

Last night was Music City Roots - on the road at 3rd and Lindsley. I sure liked it being about 8 minutes away from my home rather than 30+ minutes.  (Their forthcoming new permanent home will be pretty close, too.).  As for the music, there was nothing at all to complain about. From Jim Lauderdale's opening song to the final jam of  "I Shall Be Released" it was great music all the way through. 

Kevin Gordon played some songs from his forthcoming album.  He's one of my favorite songwriters and performers. Backed by his usual stellar band.

Katie Pruitt - I'm not sure if I had seen her before, but she was on my radar.  Now I'm a fan.  She spoke her truth bravely and with grace and without apology.

Lillie Mae - played in a family band for many years, came to Nashville and cut her chops on Lower Broadway, played with Jack White, and she is now signed to Third Man Records. Great songs, well-played by Lillie Mae and her siblings.

DADDY closed the night. Will Kimbrough plus Tommy Womack - you cannot go wrong here. Backed by an incredible band and the golden tones of Lisa Oliver Gray.  The wit and wisdom of Tommy Womack  and the sharply focused songs of Will Kimbrough in a rock and roll setting.   

Tonight, I am going to see Pylon Reenactment Society.  The music of the legendary Athens band  Pylon as interpreted by the original lead singer and a new band.  You may recall, E2TG has been featuring the debut EP from Pylon Reenactment Society in recent months. I am stoked for this show!

It's Friday, and we have one final shuffle for the week- it comes from the New Music playlist... let's shuffle!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Mother Earth Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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


I feel like the week is just starting and now it is over. :-)

I still have a ton of submissions to dig through, but I already have a large "New Music Playlist". So, let's knock some songs off that list.

Just some housecleaning/reminders:  Most days, the shuffle comes from MP3s of songs I have saved on my phone. It's what I listen to on my way to work.  (Monday - I used a special Music City-centric Spotify playlist.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are dedicated to featuring songs from my "New Music" playlist. These are almost always music that was sent to me through various channels (directly from artists, through publicists, etc).

I do not often do album reviews (I would love to, but time ends up being an issue).  By featuring music like I do through shuffles - it gives me a chance to write about albums in-depth over time. It's kind of my thing.

I do, on occasion, do video and song premiers - when opportunities and time allows.

I'm not super picky about submission methods. I accept CDs and/or downloadable links/files. MP3 (320) would be my preference for electronic submissions.  The problem I have with WAVs is that either have to convert them to MP3 or I don't have complete meta data, and I end up with files I can't identify.

I am located in Nashville, Tennessee - and in recent years, there is a definite Nashville leaning but I welcome submissions from anywhere, and I try to be as diverse as possible - so I have no limits on genres or styles. Over the years, I have covered about every genre I know of and a few I didn't even know about. And I love hearing new things.

Here you will find a fair amount of "Americanaish" music - roots-influenced, blues, folk, country. But, you will also hear punk, metal, experimental, hip-hop, shoegaze, shitgaze, power pop, rock (of various flavors), electronic music, instrumental music (of various flavors), and more.

I believe in connections - both obvious and obscure.  I tend to focus on more under-the-radar type artists. Lately, I have had the good fortune to get some new music from higher-profile artists (at least in my limited realm).

Oh, and I create a YouTube playlist to match each day's shuffle.  The purpose is not specifically to showcase music videos, but it provides a simple for readers to stream the music they are reading about.  I used to be able to embed the Video Playlist directly into my post, but You Tube "improved" that feature away, so now I provide a link.

When I cannot find a video for the specific song featured, I try to substitute a relevant video by the same artist.  When possible, if a video for the song is not found, but I can find a link to stream the song being featured, I will include that in my post (like I did today) 

That's enough... let's shuffle!

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Ignite Albania Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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



Okay... so I had a long commute to a training class, and I am pressed for time... so I am going to have to be very brief with my descriptions (especially on artist I've written about before and recently).  It will be the same tomorrow....


Here goes...  Sorry to be so brief... more on all of these artist/albums later.

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Rise Above Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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


So, it's Thursday.  In the past, I have done a Throwback Thursday shuffle (songs at least 10 years old or maybe it was twenty).  Later, I came up with Topical Thursday - where I created a special playlist of songs that closely (or loosely) fit into a special theme or topic. 

At the end of 2017, I preempted Topical Thursday - to add one more day of "new music" to deal with the backlog of songs in my "New Music" playlist.

And I have decided to make that change permanent (or at least for the foreseeable future) to reflect the large volume of new music that is coming my way,  For want of a more clever term, I'm calling it Trending Thursday (to follow Trending Tuesday).

As I stated on Tuesday, I started the year with over 400 songs in my new music playlist - which included a ton of brand new music plus some holdovers from 2017. 

Let's shuffle: