When it comes to being a songwriter, there’s a necessary knack for anthropology and people skills that comes with it. If you can’t write a song about walking a day in someone else’s shoes, there are probably only so many songs you can write from personal experience before the creative well dries up and writer’s
Troy Johnstone
Coco O’Connor’s new album Big Reveal is one of her best songwriting collections yet. The fifth album from this Alabama raised singer/songwriter blossoms with Southern influences galore, country, blues, jazz, and R&B all exist well within her wheelhouse, and she sounds comfortable working in any style. She’s surrounded by a first-class crew of some of the Americana
Her new single “Sun’s Gonna Shine” only reinforces Dale Ann Bradley’s near-peerless reputation within the bluegrass community. She collaborates with fellow Kentuckian J.P. Pennington on this track from her new full-length album Kentucky for Me. Pennington’s pedigree as a member of country music supergroup Exile gives Bradley’s single a little added cachet, but the song ultimately
Though they’re just a touch on the murky side and definitely devoid of the pop varnish that has been showing up in a dangerous amount of rock music lately, there’s something about the aggression in the guitar parts of “Tense” that makes Dark Below sound all the more sincere this August. Rather than trying to
Cover Song Contest from Masterpiece Sound Studios Detroit gives musicians a shot at a $25K grand prize, and a Detroit concert spot In Partnership with Sony Music Publishing Calling all musically talented artists! We’re looking for singers, musicians, producers, and re-mixers who are game to makeover a classic Motown Hit! Legendary Motown songwriter and record
The best collaborations are those that aren’t forced; they’re organic, and they come together through a shared passion as opposed to a mutual financial interest. There’s nothing wrong with two opposites getting into the studio together at all, but when you’ve got a pair that are as connective with their work as Lorenzo Gabanizza and
At first glance, there’s not much in the instrumental construct of B.B. Cole’s Outgrowing Ourselves that feels different from what you’d hear in most mainstream country music. There’s a lot of guitar twang, a gentle piano harmony here and there, and a pastoral sensibility in Cole’s lyrics that makes every song feel like a drive down an
Powerful singer/songwriter Christina Gaudet dazzles the listener with her blend of blues and rock in the new album Manhattan Oz: A Gotham Odyssey. The way Gaudet bundles together sultry vocals with electrified guitar and drum work gives all the emotional feels – the utmost being that she rocks – in this collection of hit after hit.
Known for her dynamic performances and infectious energy, divaDanielle started her career after catching a record that the infamous Darren Emerson threw into the crowd in 2003 (Grant Nelson’s “Free & Switch” for those who were wondering). After many years in the LA underground scene, she started releasing original tracks through InStereo Recordings. Her debut
You can try pigeonholing Alex Wellkers’ music. It’s just going to look and sound foolish, however, once anyone else hears him. His latest solo release famous now does a wildly impressive job of building on its preceding work without ever abandoning or else compromising the strengths that brought him initial attention. “Get This Far” will
Many likely harbor a preconceived notion of music executives as being either sunglass-clad hipsters with patter galore and stylish haircuts or else as stodgy and portly old white men smoking cigars and married to a model a decade or more their junior. Bob Morelli blasts such stereotypes to smithereens. He’s much more in the mold
“Open When” is the vibrant new single from SistersJ you didn’t know you needed this summer. SistersJ consists of real life sisters Elizabeth and Lily Jackson. Music runs through Elizabeth and Lily’s veins, Elizabeth received her degree in music education with honors and Lily is a salutatorian who placed third in the nation with her
Brooding singer/songwriters are just about everywhere we look and listen in the American underground at the moment, but while the market is flooded with a lot of interesting and provocative talent, it’s still easy to differentiate the legitimate gems from the stand-ins you’ll find on the left side of the dial just about anywhere on
With the signature snarl its guitars emit at the start of the song, there’s never any doubting the country-rock tone of the new single “Who You Are” by Cody Jasper. Whether you’re listening to this track at a modest volume or cranking it loud whilst rolling down an old backwoods highway, the unabashedly pastoral accent
Danny Burns released his first roots music collection in 2019 entitled North Country and, since then, has only expanded his reputation as one of the genre’s rising artistic forces. His latest collection Promised Land seems poised to elevate his profile to previously unknown heights and, if good fortune prevails, his new single “Someone Like You” will play a pivotal
Great music tends to start with a vibe, and no matter which version of Lisa G. Allen’s new single “Big Momma” you check out this summer, I think you’re going to find that vibes are produced from beats and verses alike. Allen is assisted by Ronnue in her endeavors here, and although there’s something to
James T. McKim, Jr.’s new book is genuinely something we haven’t seen before. An elaborate, literary roadmap of sorts that makes the case interactively for optimizing diverse practices for both established and burgeoning workplace hierarchies in the postmodernist era. McKim Jr. is wise in that he never shames the reader into a certain state –
Talent is overrated. It is necessary, yes, in some form – even if it is a formula, you have to be able to execute at an acceptable level for your audience. Such a performance, in any field, demands skill. However, when we place such primacy on talent, we are only telling half of the story.
The Brian Shapiro Band proves, if nothing else, that challenging rock music can bristle with the same sort of attitude we value in 4/4 rock songs about cars, women, and fast times. His songwriting for the band’s second album It’s Amazing doesn’t shirk away from complex emotions and portrays life’s struggles and realities with pointed economy that
“I still go to Craig’s group classes when I’m not working. I joke and call it my church but, jokes aside, I have often considered religion and art to have parallels. Like church, Craig’s classes are a community of practitioners who hold a reverence for the mysteries and wonder of the human experience. Who search
Big welcome to Teyquil. We are LOVING your latest release and excited you have new music coming. What can you tell us about “Girlz on Bikes” What was your inspiration behind the song? Well, first off, hello!!! Thanks so much for having me. Ya know, I think my biggest inspiration for “Girlz on Bikes” is getting
The first song on Nick Phoenix’s second album Wide World, “Wide World”, is an excellent introduction for listeners encountering the Los Angeles-based \singer/songwriter for the first time. It has some differences with many of the album’s remaining tracks this review will address later, but the title song boasts many of the qualities that have served
How are you both doing? Excited to catch up with the creatives behind Murder Diaries Podcast. Let’s dive deep in right up front. Tell us what a day in the life of a podcaster is like? If you were to sum up your week – what would it include? Balance, balance, balance! Right now we
Hi Caroline McQuaig! Great to speak with you today! You as well! Thank you so much for having me. You are getting ready to release new music! Will you tell us about the song? Yes! Main Character is a single all about empowerment and harnessing the “main character energy” we all have waiting to break through. It was
It doesn’t take much more than a couple of seconds to get caught up in the vibrancy of “Weary Old Highway” from Jim Hurst, and although I think the song gets even more exciting when Darin and Brooke Aldridge step into the mix, there’s no debating who the true star of this show is. As
Bursting with energy from the moment we press the play button forward, it’s immediately evident that we aren’t listening to a stock version of Project Grand Slam’s classic track in their new release of “I’m Falling off of the World,” from The Shakespeare Concert LP. Recorded in the style they perform the song live, this
How do you summarize being a mother in seven songs? How can even one song take the emotional reach of motherhood? Well, it turns out that singer/songwriter Annette Adler has the capability of doing it all. Adler’s latest album, Proud Mama, is lined with heartfelt lyricism and strong vocal presence. Always accommodating with her guitar work
Vineet Singh Hukmani is full of surprises. The iconoclastic nature of this vocalist, songwriter and recording artist is clearer with each new release. His latest single “Nine” emerges, not on its own, but instead as part of a nine-song collection encapsulating his extraordinarily prolific and successful 2021. Nine short stories based on the songs are
Live and Let Live set a high standard for Brooke Josephson back in 2013, but in the nine years that have gone by since that record hit store shelves, it would be criminal to say she hasn’t grown significantly as both a songwriter and a player. In her new EP Showin’ Up, Josephson has a deliberate execution
Anyone can step into the studio and whip up a debut album; lyrics, music, and a marketing direction are all you need to sell records. To make something that really connects with people takes a lot more effort and a lot of natural, God-given gifts that, even if blessed with them, take a lot of
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