Credit: Martin Lopatka
Robert Earl Keen told us “..the road goes on forever and the highway never ends” and Townes was thankful “..the road’s a friend of mine” but this week’s show, like every show, has no lines or direction but I like to make lofty thoughts using other people’s words.
Our indie feature this week are The Local Strangers from Seattle. For a write up that does them the justice they deserve, check out April’s review at Common Folk Music.
More later but for now artists in this week’s show are in the tags below and last week’s playlist is here.
Thanks for listening!
The only time banjos are lethal is when they fall into the wrong hands, namely mine. I didn’t start out to do a banjo theme this week but first I was intrigued by the banjos built by one of the groups featured in the “indie” set and then Rick sent me the video below and that was enough to convince me banjos would be my ticket to an easy post.
Credit: stans_pat_pix
I was lucky to still have two picks from last week from April at Common Folk Music but she also led me to a third, Pharis and Jason Romero, who in addition to doing some great old timey music with a twist, also have a thriving banjo building business. You can find out all about it at their website.
The one act I found on my own was by pure luck. I happened to see an article on NPR and followed it to learn about First Aid Kit. This two-sister band, Klara and Johanna Soderberg, from Sweden have a very good grasp of Americana music as you’ll find out.
Gold Leaves is a project of Seattle based Grant Olsen who produces a sound fans compare to Fleet Foxes, Devendra Banhart, or Velvet Underground.
The fourth artist, Jonas David, from Germany but records in Denmark compares somewhat to Bon Iver.
Here’s my validation for naming the post, Death By Banjo, but that also happens to be the name of a local bluegrass band I try to catch a couple times a year.
All artist appearing on this week’s show are listed in the tags below and last week’s playlist can be found here.
I recently found myself on SoundCloud which is social media for the musically minded. As a result of personal connections I came across a songwriter in the U.K. who provides vocals for a 5 piece band who describes their sound as “country noir”. The songs I heard were solidly good which sparked an idea to seek out more not widely known groups/performers and feature them on BRR.
I didn’t have a lot of time (my universal excuse) so I asked April Wolfe of Common Folk Music to suggest some of her favorites because that’s what she does on her aptly named site. Thankfully she graciously provided me a large list and I was able to get the feature running for this week’s show.
I decided to mix these groups with widely known artists to prove my point that talent is everywhere, it’s only a matter of exposure. I hope you enjoy the mix in Segment 7 this week and will weigh in with your thoughts and suggestions for other groups to feature.
Photo Credit: MFS Photo 4
Born of Greek immigrants Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes, aka Johnny Otis, decided he could be literally anything he wanted to be and most of all he wanted to be black. He also decided one career was not enough so in the course of his life he was a singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, impresario and pastor. In the 60′s he got into journalism and politics and wrote a book about civil rights.
To say he lived life large is an understatement. Check out more in his Wiki.
He had been in failing health for several years and passed away January 17. The Godfather of Rhythm and Blues will be missed and appreciated forever.
Thanks to Zeek for taking the lead on posting the passings of Johnny and now Etta James. Like Johnny, who discovered her, she had been suffering much these past months. Their losses will only be exceeded by the love of their fans. Here’s the original I’d Rather Go Blind
Artists heard in this week’s show are listed below and last week’s playlist can be found here.
Credit: lewishamdream
There is a way you can give and get by considering purchasing a copy of the Amnesty International 50th Anniversay – Chimes of Freedom The Songs of Bob Dylan collection. With the digital package you get 76 Dylan song by a worldly diverse group of artists and here they are:
Disc 1
1. Raphael Saadiq – Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
2. Patti Smith – Drifter’s Escape
3. Rise Against – Ballad of Hollis Brown
4. Tom Morello (The Nightwatchman) – Blind Willie McTell
5. Pete Townshend – Corrina, Corrina
6. Bettye LaVette – Most of the Time
7. Charlie Winston – This Wheel’s On Fire
8. Diana Krall – Simple Twist of Fate
9. Brett Dennen – You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
10. Mariachi El Bronx – Love Sick
11. Ziggy Marley – Blowin’ in the Wind
12. The Gaslight Anthem – Changing of the Guards
13. Silversun Pickups – Not Dark Yet
14. My Morning Jacket – You’re A Big Girl Now
15. The Airborne Toxic Event – Boots of Spanish Leather
16. Sting – Girl from the North Country
17. Mark Knopfler – Restless Farewell
Disc 2
1. Queens of the Stone Age – Outlaw Blues
2. Lenny Kravitz – Rainy Day Woman # 12 & 35
3. Steve Earle & Lucia Micarelli – One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
4. Blake Mills – Heart Of Mine
5. Miley Cyrus – You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
6. Billy Bragg – Lay Down Your Weary Tune
7. Elvis Costello – License to Kill
8. Angelique Kidjo – Lay, Lady, Lay
9. Natasha Bedingfield – Ring Them Bells
10. Jackson Browne – Love Minus Zero / No Limit
11. Joan Baez – Seven Curses (Live)
12. The Belle Brigade – No Time to Think
13. Sugarland – Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You (Live)
14. Jack’s Mannequin – Mr. Tambourine Man
15. Oren Lavie – 4th Time Around
16. Sussan Deyhim – All I Really Want to Do
17. Adele – Make You Feel My Love (Recorded Live at WXPN)
Disc 3
1. K’NAAN – With God On Our Side
2. Ximena Sariñana – I Want You
3. Neil Finn with Pajama Club – She Belongs to Me
4. Bryan Ferry – Bob Dylan’s Dream
5. Zee Avi – Tomorrow Is a Long Time
6. Carly Simon – Just Like a Woman
7. Flogging Molly – The Times They Are A-Changin’
8. Fistful Of Mercy – Buckets of Rain
9. Joe Perry – Man of Peace
10. Bad Religion – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
11. My Chemical Romance – Desolation Row (Live)
12. RedOne feat. Nabil Khayat – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
13. Paul Rodgers & Nils Lofgren – Abandoned Love
14. Darren Criss feat. Chuck Criss and Freelance Whales – New Morning
15. Cage the Elephant – The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
16. Band of Skulls – It Ain’t Me, Babe
17. Sinéad O’Connor – Property of Jesus
18. Ed Roland and The Sweet Tea Project – Shelter from the Storm
19. Ke$ha – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
20. Kronos Quartet – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Disc 4
1. Maroon 5 – I Shall Be Released
2. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Political World
3. Seal & Jeff Beck – Like a Rolling Stone
4. Taj Mahal – Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream
5. Dierks Bentley – Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) (Live)
6. Mick Hucknall – One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
7. Thea Gilmore – I’ll Remember You
8. State Radio – John Brown
9. Dave Matthews Band – All Along the Watchtower (Live)
10. Michael Franti – Subterranean Homesick Blues
11. We Are Augustines – Mama, You Been on My Mind
12. Lucinda Williams – Tryin’ to Get to Heaven
13. Kris Kristofferson – Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
14. Eric Burdon – Gotta Serve Somebody
15. Evan Rachel Wood – I’d Have You Anytime
16. Marianne Faithfull – Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Live)
17. Pete Seeger – Forever Young
18. Bob Dylan – Chimes of Freedom
Here’s a clip from the liner notes:
The connections between Amnesty International’s mission and Bob Dylan’s music seem, on a moment’s reflection, so obvious and natural that they require no explanation. For half a century, Amnesty has pressed to secure the fundamental human rights of the persecuted and imprisoned across the globe, standing for the sanctity of individual conscience above arbitrary authority. Over that same half century, Dylan’s art has explored and expressed the anguish and hope of the modern human condition. Mistrusting worldly authority, Dylan has given sympathetic voice to those whom, in “Chimes of Freedom,” he sings of as “the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an’ worse.” That song, which appears in Dylan’s voice on this commemorative collection, might easily serve as Amnesty’s anthem. But so might “Blowin’ in the Wind,” or “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” or, maybe best of all, “I Shall Be Released.”
You’ll be hearing it hear after Jan. 24th.
Thanks for listening.
Below are this week’s artists and here is last week’s playlist.
Credit: Unlisted Sightings
While recording this show on Jan. 6 I took a break to walk the dogs around 6:30 p.m. in my shirtsleeves in the middle of Ohio in the middle of winter. Now that’s not totally unusual but what is strange is I’ve only had to bundle up once this winter. While it’s nice when the gas bill comes it’s unnerving to think this isn’t just a quirk of nature but really bodes the future.
Enough of that, save that discussion for Proligarchy.
Artists featured this week are listed in the tags below and a copy of last week’s playlist is here.
Photo Credit: *SallyM*
This week features lots of new tunes, new old songs and a couple New Years songs from some Blue Roots Radio favorites. I went “deep tracking” on a couple albums for some good songs you may not have heard or heard for a long time.
May 2012 be a great year for you and your family and friends.
Thanks again for listening,
Chris
See tags below for this week’s artists. You can find the playlist for last week’s show here
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