E2TG 7/21/2020 - Noise Control - Big Day Mix (Bole Remix)

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I think maybe I wrote about this before, but I not sure - or if I did, I am not sure what I said, but I have thinking lately about all of the noise in the world today. Obviously, I deal with music, but it is more than music... people are clamoring to be heard and seen. And, some people are better than others - right?  I mean, there are "influencers" who get hundreds of thousands of view and "likes" for what appears to be pretty ordinary pictures and video. And, I know there is a whole subculture, I don't understand about all of this - like a video of someone opening a box having millions of views - while a video of a beautiful, power song is lucky to have a couple of thousand.

We are in the age where anybody can make music or videos or post pictures and immediately, potentially be seen by a massive audience. And so everyone, professionals and rank amateurs shout into the void to be heard. And by shout, I mean post and repost and share and tweet and go live... and some days, I feel like I am just another voice shouting into the void.

I don't know. I would love for more people to read my posts and be moved by what I write and discover new music. And, I do know it happens, but it feels like it is rare. And, I know I am not "savvy" and that if I were my "numbers" would be greater, and blah, blah, blah. 

Look, I don't know what conclusions can be drawn from this rambling assemblage of words... maybe it is just more noise. I suppose, if any thing, my posts are more to say to the artists, I hear you and your music has moved me in some way. Maybe, that is why - though I don't have millions of readers, I have been able to make real connections with a lot of musicians.

It is just another week in this crazy year, and I am still on lockdown - even though not everyone is. And, I don't see an end in sight - I really don't. But, I am okay. Not great. But okay. 


Today, our Featured Friday recap continues with songs 16-21...

16. "Tom T. Hall T-Shirt" by Graham Bramblett

We start things off with a fantastic song from a Nashville based songwriter.  Bramblett is originally from Dallas.  Spent some time here writing on Music Row - got burned out and moved to Minneapolis.  He returned to Nashville energized and this is the lead track from his new album The Great Inbetween.

17. "Turning Back the Pages" by Telepathic Teddy Bear

Telepathic Teddy Bear is a Mexican based, Berklee trained songwriter and producer who  we have been covering for a number of years now.  This is his latest single from a forthcoming new album. I remain as captivated as ever by his music. 

18. "Keep on Driving" by Geoff Gibbons

Next up, we have a new single from Vancouver based singer-songwriter Geoff Gibbons. The song is a yearning for the freedom that the open road always promises.

19. "Android Hellscape" by Giant Monsters on the Horizon

Next up, we have some electronic/synthwave music from St. Louis. I really dig the sound of this track - my introduction to this band.  It is from their album Live from Night City. The term is read about this album is retro-futrism, and I think that fits for me.

20 "All Tomorrows" by Anita Ramona

Anita Ramona is a stylist, designer, photographer, and illustrator, who has embraced music in recent years. She is based in Romania. By the way, in searching my e-mails, I say that she had contacted a few times - as long ago as last July. I say that just to say, I get a lot of submissions, and it bothers to know that I probably miss some great stuff, so if you are reading this and have sent me music, please keep trying.  Anyway, I am really glad, Anita Ramona kept trying and that I finally listened. More great electronic music - of a very different variety than the previous track. 

21. "Lockdown" by Thrillsville

This segment of music ended with a run of electronic music that serves to show how diverse that genre can be. Thrillsville is a Los Angeles based darkwave artist, and this song - obviously inspired by the world situation is brutal and angry and powerful. A great ending to this segment of music - and one that will carry us into tomorrow's segment. 

Tomorrow - our recap continues starting at song #22.

    Featured Friday Playlist

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Standing In For Joe Mix

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  *Note: The video playlist at the bottom of the post attempts to closely approximate the shuffle I listened to on my way to work this morning. When a video for a song was not available, I substituted another song by the same artist. When I could not find any videos by an artist, I included a related video or did not include a video for that track. This blog may reference unreleased tracks, however, no unreleased music is ever included.


Still counting down to the E2TG Residency

September 25 - Week 1: Ben Arthur + Conrad y Skordalia

October 2 - Week 2: Ryan Sobb + Don Gallardo

October 9 - Week 3: The Truehearts + Jason Erie

October 16 - Week 4:  Josh Gray  + Meghan Hayes

October 23 - Week 5: Microwave Mountain + The Big Dumb



But first, Americana Fest is approaching like a runaway train. The Festival keeps getting bigger and bigger. Now there are official showcases starting on Tuesday.  Lots of free parties, impromptu shows, unofficial events,

For readers not in the Americana world, Americana is kind of a catchall term for a variety of differing musical styles and genres all tightly or loosely connected to American roots music. Think country, folk, blues, soul, bluegrass, and rootsy sounding rock and roll.  From what I understand, the event started as more of a business conference with a few night time showcases, but the showcases now dominate the week  (it also used to be more of a long weekend event, but it is practically a week long event now). For sure, there is still a conference for folks still interested in that.

Anyway, enough about that - let's get to this Friday shuffle!

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Life Without Parole Mix

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  *Note: The video playlist at the bottom of the post attempts to closely approximate the shuffle I listened to on my way to work this morning. When a video for a song was not available, I substituted another song by the same artist. When I could not find any videos by an artist, I included a related video or did not include a video for that track. This blog may reference unreleased tracks, however, no unreleased music is ever included.



People often make comments about me going out to hear music all the time, and I usually reply that I don't go out as often as you think I do, but this week is definitely an exception. 

Last night, I spent my evening at The 5 Spot.  First for The Flying Buffaloes CD Release show. Kyshona Armstrong opened the show with a powerhouse performance. I have been familiar with her for some time, I saw her once at The Basement East and she performed at a WXNA Event, but I was working the event and missed her set.  Backed by a killer band - including two amazing backup singers, Kyshona torn the roof off the joint!  Ross Livermore performed next. His was another name that was familiar to me, and I think maybe I had seen him solo before, but it was wonderful in a full band setting.  He even did a song called "Reggie" which happens to be my Dad's name. 

You may recall The Flying Buffaloes when we premiered their song "Hey ;) is for Horses"back in 2017. They have a new album, and they celebrated in style with a high energy set - playing their new album.  Amazingly, this was my first time seeing them live, and I was blown away!   It was fun to watch how well they work as a unit - trading instruments and lead vocals.

After that, I stuck around.  My friend Crystal has been hyping the band Wayne Graham for a while now, and they were playing the late set.  Wayne Graham is the band name, and before you ask, no one in the band has that name. They just got back from a European tour.  Nashville band East Kin opened. Another band whose name I knew, but who I had not seen before. I really enjoyed their loose style of kind of jam band rock. 

Wayne Graham (who are from Kentucky)  lived up to Crystal's recommendations. A really great set of music.  They have an easy, casual style - backed by great songs and some amazing playing.  I am hooked.

On to the shuffle! 

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Statue of Liberty Mix

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A night at The 5 Spot - Anna Lindsay Sellers hosted a night - she played some of her lovely songs solo acoustic, followed by a great set from The Truehearts (they will be playing the E2TG Residency - back at The 5 Spot on October 9!), next was an acoustic set (sand drummer) from The Big Dumb - they will be playing (a more plugged-in set) during the 5th week on the E2TG Residency (which I am announcing now) on October 23 along with another local band which is still being confirmed!

The late featured The Lucky Dogs - led by Mike Cullison - and they were then joined by a powerhouse guitarist from Italy named Federico Baracchino.

Now - this week is winding down, so we are going to close it out with a Featured Friday shuffle!  Let's go!

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - I Feel Off Mix

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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)

I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG.  So far, I have completed seven - January - July2018.  These are meant to be a cross-section of music I featured during those months - not necessarily music released in those months.   If you are interested, you can check out the playlists (links below)  and follow my personal profile to find out when new playlists are created.

E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018 
E2TG May 2018
E2TG June 2018 
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.

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Like a Vision Mix

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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)

I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG.  So far, I have completed seven - January - Junly2018.  These are meant to be a cross-section of music I featured during those months - not necessarily music released in those months.   If you are interested, you can check out the playlists (links below)  and follow my personal profile to find out when new playlists are created.

E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018 
E2TG May 2018
E2TG June 2018 NEW!
E2TG July 2018 NEW!

I'm on a roll, I just completed the July 2018 E2TG Playlist.  Now, I am up to August which I can work on and complete when the month is over.   Please check out these playlists if you get the chance. It is a great way to see the wide variety of music we feature on E2TG. I kind of changed my method in the midst of this project, so they latter playlists have more songs. My main goal was to post one song for each artist featured on a Trending Tuesday, Trending Thursday, or Featured Friday shuffle within the given month.  I may have included more than one and I may have missed someone.

Well, it is Wednesday, and that is the day we set aside to dig into all of the songs I currently have saved on my phone's memory card. As always, this can include recent "featured" music, E2TG favorites, classic tracks, and rare/oddities that somehow made their way on my phone.  I think we have examples of each of those, but I won't necessarily tell you which is which....

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Hills of Tennessee Mix

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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)

Well, here we are. It's Thursday.  Time keeps ticking. The world is a mess, and it's not in my kiss. 

I'm a bit short of time - so let's jump right in to our Trending Thursday Shuffle!