E2TG 1/27/2020 - Music City Monday - Show preview and more - I'm Okay Mix (One Dead Peckerhead Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

Show alert:

Chicago’s Joe Policastro Trio will be headlining the 9:30 PM show at The SpringWater tonight. More information at  http://www.thespringwater.com/events 

Hailed by Downbeat for its “deft analysis of choice repertoire” and by the Chicago Reader for its “diversity of approaches to all kinds of source material,” the JPT is a Chicago-based alternative jazz trio led by bassist Joe Policastro and features guitarist Dave Miller and drummer Mikel Avery. While firmly rooted in jazz, the band’s open-minded, inclusive nature draws upon a wide array of musical styles and sources while still keeping the aesthetic of an acoustic trio intact. Their fourth album, Nothing Here Belongs, focuses on the band’s original music, whereas previous releases, West Side Story Suite (2013), POPS! (2016), and Screen Sounds (2017), highlighted the trio’s ability to remake unlikely songs in its own raw, highly idiosyncratic fashion.  

Random Notes:

A quick behind the curtain (pay not attention to the man) - I am still experimenting with the new features of E2TG.  Expect some changes periodically has I fine-tune things. 

Featured Friday Playlist  (It is called Featured Friday because that is when the list for the week updates and the name is a homage to our Featured Friday Shuffle). It is available every day on E2TG for viewing and playing. Thanks to those who have followed the playlist.   The way I have been managing the list is by creating a private playlist called E2TG on-deck. As I hear about releases, I add them to that playlist. Then on Thursday night/early Friday, I check for new releases and tweak the on-deck list. I delete out the songs from the  current Featured Friday playlist and add the songs from the on-deck playing to that one. Then I delete out the songs from the on-deck playlist and start over. I try to keep the list around an hour - but I don't have a fixed number of songs. 

As with all of E2TG, I try to heavily weigh the list to "under the radar" picks, but depending on the week - so better known artists of interest may appear. 

The new release listing is and will always be a work-in-progress. I mostly add from e-mail submissions - sometimes if I see a social media post, I will sent the link to myself to add later. Please feel free to send me new release information (singles, EPs and LPs) to e2tgmusic@gmail.com.  

In the current world, the release date can be tricky. I add to the list as it is reported to me, I know sometimes albums will be added to Spotify before or after the announced date. 

I will working on adding some links and some more "First Impressions". Time is still a challenge, but I will keep plugging away. 

Today, we have a great Music City Monday shuffle - please check that out below!

E2TG 1/24/2020 - Featured Friday - Popeye's Beard Mix (Half Life Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

Well, we made it to the end of another week which means it is time to refresh the E2TG Featured Friday Spotify Playlist.  This week's playlist features some brand new releases and some songs that have just made their way into my consciousness.  We have new music from David Dondero - one of our countries best songwriters, Zander Schloss - punk rock icon turned troubadour, Davis Raines - a highly regarded Nashville songwriter, Jen Starsinic - one of my favorite local writers, June Star - an Americana band from Baltimore MD, Ryan Dillaha - a Michigan based singer-songwriter, Mono Inc - Goth Metal band from Germany, Sunshine Boys - Chicago based power pop band that I saw last Saturday, Michael Zimmerman - surprise release from the Nashville based multi-instrumentalist who I first met as part of Nelson Zimmerman and Quinn, Party of Shine - a new hard rock band featuring Jeff Johnson of Jason and the Scorchers, Rebecca Turner - New Jersey based singer-songwriter, 12xPretty - Electro-pop outfit from Victoria BC, Electric High - hard rock/metal band from Bergen Norway, Mrs. Henry - new live album from the L.A. based band who did the Last Waltz tribute we have been featuring, Kailey Nicole - Nashville (by way of Vegas and L.A) singer-songwriter, and Three Rivers Project - electronica/synthwave project.  Check out the playlist below and please follow the playlist on Spotify if you would like. 

Also, check out the Release listing - we have a handful of albums coming out today (including some from our playlist) and some new additions to our list.   

And the shuffle is down below!

E2TG 1/23/2020 - First First Impressions - End of the World Mix (Night Growls Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

   


First Impressions

So I started a new thing on E2TG called first impressions.  It is exactly what the name implies, which is me listening to an album or song and giving you my initial impressions of what I am hearing and what ever else the music brings to mind. I will be doing this fairly often I hope and cover as much ground as I can. These will be separate posts and I will link to them on the Release Calendar next to the related entry. In case you missed the first, here is the LINK. But come back here because we have more goodies. 

Other goodies

Please tune in to my WXNA radio show this Saturday (Double Shot with Joe and Sue on WXNA). Our theme will be Before They Were Stars, and we will our special tribute to our friend, hero, and one-time fellow DJ, David Olney.  You can catch us Saturday morning beginning at 9:00am on 101.5FM in Nashville or at wxnafm.org   If you can't catch the show live, you can check out the archives at the same website. We will have some early recordings from some E2TG favorites like Meghan Hayes, Darrin Bradbury, Adam Kurtz, and Adrian Krygowski (pre-Adrian+Meredith).

Also, please keep checking back with our NEW RELEASE calendar below. I am adding to it almost daily, and I am starting to add links to where you can pre-order, buy, hear/stream the music. I will be fine-tuning that who experience soon.

E2TG First Impressions 2020 - Part 1

Tweet #E2TG

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

Brock Zeman - Hey Tom (a collection of Tom House Songs) (LP) - Released 11/20/2019

A collection of songs written by E2TG Favorite Tom House and performed by E2TG favorite Brock Zeman. Zeman has produced Tom House, so this is not far-fetched, but I am digging what Zeman is doing with Tom's songs. In one of  those weird E2TG coincidences, I noticed that Raphael Weinroth-Browne plays cello on the record. You may recall Weinroth-Browne from The Visit. We originally connected with in indirectly through Valued Customer, and I can honestly say I never expected such a direct line between Tom House and Ugggy and Pat Power, but then again, they are all wonderfully creative and weird. Frequent Zeman collaborator Blair Hogan is here. My first impression is that Zeman does Tom House's wonderful songs justice and gives them his own unique spin. 

 Palm Ghosts - "Wide Awake and Waiting" (single) - Released 1/10/2020 

Nashville band led by Joseph Lekkas and featuring E2TG Favorite Benjamin Douglas. Sounds unlike almost anything else happening in Nashville. This track really sounds like a 80s goth/new wave song that you just can't place, but you know you love. My first impression is that I cannot wait for the February 7th EP of the same name. 

Strange Majik - "Lo-Fi Hi" (single) - released 1/10/2020

Long-time E2TG favorite Strange Majik - aka David Pattillo (who we first met as part of the powerhouse The Dead-Exs), is back with a vengeance. This new single rocks hard and has a deep groove with some killer horns. This is from his forth-coming 20/20 album due in March. I've had a chance to preview the album, and the opening track rocks hard - while later tracks just go deeper into the groove. It is a sonicly diverse album with an underlying feel. At time it reminds me of World Party at their best, at other times, it harkens back to the initial Dead-Exs tracks I first heard - almost eight years ago. My first impression: it is great when early E2TG favorites keep doing great things. 

Ubiquity Machine - Where We Want to Be (LP) - release date ??

It doesn't get much more "early E2TG" than Ubiquity Machine. The D.C. area band features Howard Rabach and Dan Marsh. Rabach was most likely the first person I didn't know who read E2TG (and I am talking about in the earliest and most embarassingly awkward days. I remember my initial first impression of Ubiquity Machine was that it sounded like a weird and wonderful mix of all the music I had ever loved growing up. I finally got to meet Howard Rabach in 2014 when he came to Nashville with The Grey A (he plays bass in that band).  This is a compilation of sorts -a limited-edition vinyl release of many of Ubiquity Machine's great songs. It includes "A Beautiful Girl" which appeared on the first and so-far only E2TG compilation. My first impression is that I am glad to own this fine collection of music, and I know the effort that went into it, and I grateful for the first of many fine friendships I have forged by this silly music blog I write. 

 Them Airs - Union Suit XL (LP) - Released 1/17/2020

The latest release from New Haven's Them Airs. The band features Cade Williams who we first met via his experimental project Smokey the Firebear and Evan Nork (of the Foresters and all those other side-projects). Hayden Nork sometimes joins in. Digging the progression of this band since their last release. They seem to be really finding their voice as a band. The album is delightfully noisy at time. In other places, I hear the angular sound of early Talking Heads. My first impression is that it is fun following young and talented musicians and they explore possibilities and discover themselves through music. In my initial listen, I hear how some of the most experimental and challenging Smokey the Firebear pieces inform this new music, and I also hear other influences. 

 Merrill Beach - "Geen"/"Marimba" (single) - Released 1/19/2020

Speaking of Hayden Nork. Merrill Beach is current solo project. He is and has been in a ton of bands. Batkhi Dahn is his band that features his brother Evan and their Foresters bandmate Luke Slomba (of Sonic Reducers). Digging on the moodiness of "Green" with some backwards vocals, a strumming guitar, and dream-like quality. "Marimba" starts with a groovy beat that sounds like it could be the intro to a really cool hip-hop song (I wonder if his brother Liam's work has inspired him), but the beat just continues. It is hypnotic. Their is some ambient noise. I can't tell if the beat varies or if it is my mind playing tricks on me. About two minutes in, and the sound does begin to vary. I do hear the title instrument. My first impression is that Hayden is doing some wild experimentation - musically - I won't speculate otherwise, And, having watched him from his days as a Green Day obsessed pre-teen to this has been a pleasure. I can't wait to see where he goes from here.  

\

E2TG 1/22/2020 - Beach Notes - Trendy Trendy Mix (Sax and Violins Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

Beach Notes: 1/22/2020 

Random musings.. I think that death often forces the still living to think about mortality and to ponder the vast questions of life. Or at least it does for me. For me, I have so many conflicting messages in my head - some put there by others so seem to have sprung fully formed from my own brain (but maybe they were consciously or subconsciously received from someone at some time). 

Time is a struggle for me almost all the time. First of all, time is by its nature a finite resource. There are only 24 hours in a day and we all have an expiration date, though, we usually don't know when that is. So, everything we do or don't do is a choice to some degree. Granted sometimes those choices were made years ago and we are now living in those choices and so we may forget that it was a choice.

Conflict: Making good use of available time vs. the concept "we are human beings not human doings".  What if I spend an hour or two watching an inane television show or flipping mindlessly through a social media site or playing some game on my phone or staring into space? I could have, should have, would have spent that time doing something "productive".

On a less esoteric level, for me, the issue is going out to shows vs. staying in and writing or listening to music that has been sent to me or...  Never mind the almost nightly conflicts of what show to see out of many wonderful choices.  I do better than I used to, but I do often feel some sense of failure or guilt over my choices. Especially, when certain friends' shows seem to always end up getting missed. It almost never a decision based on quality or worth. It can anything to location, time, my level of exhaustion, availability.  It is just that sometimes, it feels like the same bands or people keep coming up on the wrong side of any one of those factors.

I remind myself that I am not obligated to do anything or to go anywhere, but the guilt/regret isn't really about obligation. It is about desire and relationships and... what else. I don't know.

Meanwhile, here I sit - into the third full week of 2020, with a ton of e-mails to review, a ton of story ideas to explore and research and write, a ton of music to listen to, an unfinished novel, a ton of great shows every single night, and I limited amount of energy to do anyone of those things - some of which is expended at a day job that demands attention and effort.

So, I can't answer why I went to this show but not that one, or why I went out this night but not that one or why I wrote about this album but not that one. I am not even sure if anyone is asking this questions other than me.

So, I DID go to The 5 Spot last night and spend somewhere around six hours hearing  a ton of truly great music, catching up with some wonderful people, sharing bits of grief and stories about David Olney, laughing, talking, thinking...  As for tonight, I don't know. There are things I want to do...

Meanwhile, I am not going to Folk Alliance - even though it was something I considered when the date and location were first announced. I would love to be there, AND I can't imagine my stress at all the things to be done if I were going. And, I am envious of people who can drop everything and go on a whim. But, those choices were made for me in the past, and for today, I don't know how to change them or even if I want to.

Beyond the doing and the choosing and the thinking and the guilt and the productivity and the idleness and the laziness and the need for escapism and the art and the commerce is the living. I am alive and I have work to do and I have rest that is needed and I have relationships to forge and others to cultivate, and I have only so much time and I waste so much time.

Welcome to my life on earth and as human.

E2TG 1/21/2020 - Recent Live Shows - Wasted Saturdays Mix (Lavender Child Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

To be honest, every since we got the news Saturday night about David Olney, that has been the most on my mind. I did want to check in about a couple of live music shows that I caught over the weekend.

Friday night, I caught another Tim Carroll Rock N Roll Happy Hour at The 5 Spot. He does this every Friday from 6-8:30 (with no breaks) and done so for several years. I was trying to remember the last Friday he missed, and I had to go back to somewhere around 2014. The remarkable thing is that the show is all originals (I think "Uncle John" which he does sometimes is a traditional song), and every show is different.  Friday's show featured several of what I consider "classic" Tim Carroll songs plus some new ones. It is all good, all loud, and a great way to spend a Friday evening.

Saturday, I headed back to The 5 Spot for another rock and roll show. This one featured Hannah Fairlight Group, Nashville Non Prophets, and The Truehearts.  Hannah Fairlight Group rocked hard. Nashville Non Prophets featuring Mitch Laney came out with a high energy assault and never let up. The Truehearts remain a favorite of mine. They rock, but in a more subtle way and together it was a great show.

I posted my review of Sunshine Boys opening for Juliana Hatfield at Basement East.

Sunday Night was the CD Release Show for John Dennis' Mortal Flames. I referenced that show in my piece on David Olney yesterday.  To expound, just a little because I am short on time.  John Dennis'  Mortal Flames is a concept album about Life and Death and everything in between. It is a bit about our immortality being tied to the light we leave with others. It is heavy at time, but it is ultimately a life affirming work, and I suspect it will be among my favorites of 2020 when the year is said and done.

E2TG 1/20/2020 - Goodbye to a Legend - Music City Monday Mini Shuffle - Pop Tart Mix (Newark Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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

I have been sitting here staring at my computer trying to think about what I wanted to say about David Olney...

In case you have missed the news, David Olney passed away on Saturday - on stage at the 30A festival. By all accounts, it was a graceful and peaceful exit befitting the man himself. 

It has hard to imagine how my life worked out that I had the true blessing that my orbit crossed with such a legend.  I owe that almost entirely to Mary Sack - his long-time manager and my friend. I send my love and thoughts to Mary and of course to David's family and many friends and fans. 

David Olney came to Nashville in the early 1970s - as part of the wave of songwriters influenced and inspired by the burgeoning "Outlaw" movement. Whatever you think of "Outlaw"country in the modern sense of the term, the original outlaws were all about carving their own path outside of the control of the Music Row establishment. The Exit/In was a center and West Nashville was their stomping grounds. Among this group, Olney quickly gained respect and admiration for his songwriting prowess. 

In the 1980s, Olney was best known as a a rocker and leader of The X-Rays. That group signed to Rounder Records and made a  notable appearance on Austin City Limits (which is available on YouTube).  After the X-Rays ended, Olney began a storied solo career that would last the rest of his life.  I know the term is overused, but David Olney really was the total package. Obviously a great songwriter, he was also a consummate entertainer, a poet, an actor, and so much more 

Although, I was aware of David Olney for some time, I first began seeing him on a regular basis about five years ago. His live shows were always spectacles. He surrounded himself with great musicians: Daniel Seymout, Justin Amaral, Sergio Webb, and Ward Stout. But, at the heart of his performances was the man himself. At one larger than life and down to earth. 

There are many who are better qualified to write his biography, but I wanted my readers who didn't know him to have some sense of who he was. 

Some of the highlights of my interactions with David Olney:  

In 2017, he agreed to appear as part of the first ever E2TG Residency. Thanks to Mary Sack, this show marked his reunion with the great guitarist Sergio Webb - after about a year and half of not performing together. I had the pleasure to introduce him. I have no idea what I said, but from the pictures I used big hand gestures. 

A year later, David took part in a reading event that I help to put together. He read some of his sonnets which were incredible and a haiku or two. He and Rod Picott both expressed that they were initially uncomfortable standing on stage without a guitar in hand, but I think they both enjoyed,  Leading up to that show, David said that I had one of the "great names in Rock n Roll", which is something I will never forget. 

A humorous moment was the time that David went to Bobby's Idle Hour for a show that was scheduled at The Family Wash.  He made it on time and played a hell of show - as always. Both those venues are gone and now so is David.  

I remember running into David a few years back at the Southern Festival of Books - this was right after he survived a frightening fall down the stairs at his home. He was in a neck brace, and all he could talk about was how bad he felt that he had to drop out of a show that was scheduled for that night. 

As is often the case when things like this happen, I thought I would have many more opportunities to interact with David Olney in this world. I take solace in knowing that his legacy will live on in the artists whose work he inspired and the people whose lives he touched. 

Last night, I went out to the John Dennis CD Release Show, and John - who didn't know David personally - did a great job acknowledging his passing. Anana Kaye and Irakli Gabriel opened the show by playing some songs they had been writing with David Olney. It was a beautiful moment. John Dennis' own set - playing his album in its entirety - likewise brought up heavy feelings. 

I do have to acknowledge that losing David Olney about a month after losing my father has had an effect on me. My father's passing was far less sudden and so in some ways, it has been harder to access my feelings. Somehow, the sudden loss of someone I didn't know well but whose spirit and art touched my life, has allowed me access a lot of feelings about my father's passing. Yet another gift from this great man who is gone too soon, but who is also very much still with us.