Tag: LA Music Critic Awards winner

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Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it Reviews Women in Entertainment

Get it or Forget it – Robbert Fossen Band, Caught with Candy, The Bush League, Peter Kaukonen, Sara Morgan

We were in Spokane last night for the Beth Hart concert at the Bing Crosby Theatre.  LA Music Critic Award winner Marina V opened the show.  Watch for our review shortly.  We’re back in Missoula today and ready for another edition of Get it or Forget it.  Here are five more artists for you to check out.

Artist Name:  Robbert Fossen Band

Album Name:  Get Off on It

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Blues

Track Listing:  1.  Don’t Ever let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down; 2.  All Those Evil Words; 3.  Katrina; 4.  Woman Across the River; 5.  Did Somebody Make a Fool Outta You; 6.  All that Bluesmen; 7.  I Feel so Bad; 8.  Make it Rain; 9.  Still Called the Blues; 10.  I Believe to my Soul; 11.  Can’t no Grave Hold my Body Down; 12.  Get off on It; 13.  Midlife; 14.  Thirty Years

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  This album screams traditional blues.  Its authenticity and quality place it among the best that blues has ever offered, and makes the Robbert Fossen Band peers with the likes of Skip James, Muddy Waters, BB King and Ledbelly.  The guitar playing on “Katrina” would have made BB King proud.  We love this traditional blues sound.  We also love the horns and keys on “Woman Across the River.”  All in all, this one is a keeper and a true necessity for all blues lovers.

Recommendation:  We highly recommend that you Get this one.

Artist Name:  Caught With Candy

Album Name:  A Breath Away

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Pop

Track Listing:  1.  A Breath Away; 2.  Up to my Sky; 3.  Still Here; 4.  Only With You; 5.  One Last Dance; 6.  You Ain’t got me Fooled; 7.  Run for the Sun; 8.  Looking Glass; 9.  Back to You; 10.  This is Where it Starts; 11.  Hold Me; 12.  Ruby; 13.  Hide & Seek; 14.  You Ain’t Comin’ Round no More; 15.  Forget Her; 16.  Swallow my Pride

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  This entire album was recorded by individuals on different continents via Skype Jams, and pieced together by the producer to create the album.  Matt Brabender is an Australian musician who played all the instruments and put the album together, while the vocals came from Sela Hafoka-Houser from Switzerland.  The result is an amazing album that seamlessly flows together.  The chemistry between these two is very noticeable, as if they were standing in the studio together.  Every song has serious potential for radio airplay and placement in film, television and commercials.  Our favorites are “A Breath Away,” “Only With You,” “One Last Dance,” “Run for the Sun,” “Back to You,” “Ruby,” “Hide & Seek,” “You Ain’t Comin’ Round no More,” and “Swallow my Pride.”

Recommendation:  This band is more than a novelty act.  They have shown what can be done when indie artists work together.  We highly recommend you add this one to your collection.

Artist Name:  The Bush League

Album Name:  James Rivah

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Blues

Track Listing:  1.  River’s Edge; 2.  Kokomo me Baby; 3.  Say Yes; 4.  Show you Off; 5.  Catfish Blues; 6.  Kick up yo Heels; 7.  Long Gone; 8.  Hearse; 9.  Tuxedo Blues; 10.  Moonshine; 11.  Cold Shower; 12.  What’s Wrong With you

Publicist:  Blind Raccoon

Review: While the Robbert Fossen Band was the epitome of the perfect traditional blues band, The Bush League takes it in a more progressive manner, in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan and other modern blues bands.  Recorded in Memphis, these college friends from Virginia are out to make a name for themselves in the music business, and this album will definitely get them started in the right direction.  Their sound combines elements of funk, soul, gospel and rock to form their own variety of progressive blues.  They just know how to make it sound so good, especially that blues guitar, and the keys, especially on “Show You Off.”  Their loving treatment of Fred McDowell’s standard “Kokomo me Baby” and Muddy Waters’ classic “Catfish Blues,” as well as their 10 originals created quite a special blues album for all ages to enjoy.

Recommendation:  This one is a definite keeper.  Get it ASAP.

Artist Name:  Peter Kaukonen

Album Name:  Crazy Quilt

Label:  Floating Records

Genre:  Folk Rock

Track Listing:  1.  (Drifting) Cozumel; 2.  The Ballad of Sarah Palin; 3.  The Ballad of Sadam Hussein; 4.  Maria Full of Grace; 5.  Ghost Music; 6.  Lullabye; 7.  Sleep Deprived; 8.  What Goes Around (Comes Around); 9.  Paqui; 10.  Twilight Revisited; 11.  Bobby Gets Old; 12.  The Nature of the Beast; 13.  That’s a Good Question

Publicist:  Doug Deutsch Publicity Services

Review:  Peter Kaukonen has made quite a name for himself as guitarist for Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship, Johnny Winter and Link Wray, as well as in his own band, Black Kangaroo.  He learned to play in the Bay Area folk music scene in northern California that gave birth to so many bands, including Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Grateful Dead.  He kicks off with the amazing instrumental, “(Drifting) Cozumel” that makes you want to grab a Corona and sit on the beach.  His tongue-in-check protest songs about Sarah Palin (tune of “Davey Crockett”) `and Sadam Hussein are oldies but goodies, not safe for work but very humorous attacks on these two individuals.  Kaukonen is not afraid to add cursing to his flavorful language, so if that offends you, you may not like this album.  For the rest of us, the overall creativeness far outweighs the occasional bad language.

Recommendation:  If you like creative protest songs, incredible musicianship, and a performer who is not afraid to tell it like he believes it is, then Get this album.

Artist Name:  Sara Morgan

Album Name:  Average Jane

Label:  River Delta Records

Genre:  Country/Americana

Track Listing:  1.  The Boots; 2.  Boy Don’t Get the Girl; 3.  More Than one Horse; 4.  That Kind of Man; 5.  Instead of Drinkin’; 6.  Never Been to Nashville; 7.  Thrown; 8.  Sick of Sayin’ Goodbye; 9.  Have to Have it All; 10.  Proud; 11.  Average Jane

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Sara Morgan is a no-nonsense, country-music singing, southern belle who brings a freshness to country music that hasn’t been there since the debut of Reba, Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood.  Her songs will have you laughing out loud as you tap your cowboy boots and boot scoot around the dance floor.  We love the twang in her voice and the sass in her words.  We see a very long career ahead for Ms. Morgan and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.  Our favorites include her first single, “The Boots,” “More Than One Horse,” “Instead of Drinkin’,” “Never Been to Nashville,” “Have to Have it All,” “Proud” and the title track.

Recommendation:  If you like sass and attitude in your country music, then we highly recommend you check out Sara Morgan and Get this one now.

 

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Monday Mashup Women in Entertainment

Monday mashup 2017: Vol. 36

Happy Monday.  Looking forward to my trip to Oklahoma tomorrow to visit with family.  I will have my laptop with me, so I’ll still be writing articles while I’m there.  Still have about 13 more albums to review for the month of September, so prepare to be wowed by these impressive indie artists.

RACHEL ARIANNA LAUNCHES ANTI-BULLYING CAMPAIGN

We first learned about Rachel Arianna when she was nine years old, and released a song that truly touched our heart, “Walking Away With Your Heart.”  Well, four years have passed and Arianna, now 13, has released her new video for “Imperfect” which was spotlighted in the Huffington Post on Friday.  We are so proud of the stand this young lady is making, and we believe she will be making music for a long time to come.  This video brought us to tears.

JAY TINSKY AND FRIENDS SHOW LOVE TO HARVEY VICTIMS

Long-time booker Jay Tinsky, like so many of us, was impacted by the tragic events of Hurricane Harvey.  He reached out to some of the myriad of artists that have played his venues, and set up several benefit shows at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles and Dante’s in Portland.  He still has one show left on September 26, if  you missed the first one on September 17.  Multiple LA Music Critic Award winner Shannon Hurley was one of the artists who played that first show.  Not only did she donate her talents to the benefit, she also wrote a song and made a lyric video of the song, “Love Wins.”  Thank you to all who performed and especially to Tinsky for organizing the events.

NEW MUSIC

If you’re like us, you need something dreamy to get your week off to a good start.  If that’s the case, check out the new single from Nightshifts, “All Along.”  We think it might give you the chill needed to get through your Monday.

Now that you’ve been chilled, here’s something upbeat and electronic to jump start your day.  We really love the sound of this single, and hope you will too.  Here’s “Drive” by Lael.

Our final single today should guarantee a good musical day, with its upbeat groove, impeccable vocals and overall musical excellence.  Check out “Ayo” by Isac Elliot.

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

Our first video today comes from one of our favorite publicists, Laura Goldfarb of Red Boot PR.  It is from the group Pet Fangs, and is their first video,  “Gold Coast Dreaming.”  We think it’s another winner for the reining queen of indie promo.

Next up is the new single from Emma Cairo which we reviewed last week.  Here is her video for “L.A.,” one of the best songs on her new album.  We think you’re gonna love it as well.

Last but not least this week is the latest from indie pop icon and multiple LA Music Critic Award winner Katie Costello, who has consistently delivered some of the best videos in the world.  Here’s her song, “Hearts on Fire,” from her current album, New World.  Turn this one up!

 

 

 

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out LA Music Critic Awards Reviews Women in Entertainment

2017 Flathead Lake Blues Festival (day 2) – live performance review

Hope you enjoyed our reviews of day 1 of the Flathead Lake Blues and Music Festival, which featured some of Montana’a best musicians.  The theme for day 2 was “Ladies of the Blues,” and Steve Pickel pulled out all the stops to bring four of the finest and brightest to light up the stage.

First up was Missoula native Andrea Harsell with her new band, Luna Roja.  Harsell has become a Missoula icon with her sound, primarily as a solo artist.  She began hiring drummer Antonio Alvarez and guitarist Nick Hamburg for her gigs, and then asked them to join her as a band.  They hired bassist Michael Rhead to complete the band, and Alvarez came up with the name Luna Roja (Red Moon) because of his Spanish heritage.  They also recorded an album, which will be celebrated with a show at the Top Hat on September 15.  The album will also be reviewed shortly on this blog’s Get it or Forget it series.  Their sound is a mixture of Americana, rock, R&B and blues.  Harsell has a voice akin to Janis Joplin, and it showed on many of their songs, including new tunes “Oh Boy” and “Hard Times,” as well as on their cover of the Sam Cook classic “Bring it on Home to Me.”  The only thing missing was the stage banter, but we are sure that will come as they continue to grow as a band.

Next up was the power-packed sound of Seattle’s Michelle Taylor Band.  If Harsell had the sound of Joplin, then Taylor is the reincarnation.  With her band composed of Robert Morrill on drums, Lissa Ramaglia on bass, Jim Barnes on keys and vocals and her husband, Justin Dean on guitar and vocals, the MTB truly brought the blues home to Polson.  With a mixture of original tunes like “Black Lace” and “Trashy Queen,” and pop hits like Duffy’s “Mercy,” Elle King’s “Exes and Ohs,” Grace Potter’s “Paris” and “Medicine,” Bonnie Raitt’s “Angel From Montgomery,” Tracy Chapman’s “Give me a Reason,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious,” MTB proved that any song can be stylized as blues.  But what really drove home their exceptional talent was their version of Ike and Tina Turner’s classic “Proud Mary,” which truly allowed Taylor to shine as both a singer and a performer, as she brought Tina’s unique energy to the show.  This performance was one of the pinnacles of the weekend.  Kudos also to both her husband and badass female bassist Ramaglia on their outstanding licks on guitar and bass.  The band also received the first encore of the Festival, and delivered a rousing version of Led Zeppelin’s “Been a Long Time” in response.

The third band for the day was Estelle and the Atomic Jive, who brought something entirely different to this day.  Atomic Jive is reminiscent of a combination of the Royal Crown Review and one of Brian Setzer’s various bands in that they bring an army of sound to the stage.  The band features Estelle on lead vocals, surrounding by the amazing talents of Mike Ruggles on guitar, Lee Cardella on bass, Brian Seagrave on keys, Bob Briley on drums and a horn section that is as powerful as the one from Tower of Power, composed of Russ Hoffer on sax and Mike Baker on trumpet.   Some of the highlights of the show were their version of the “Stray Cat Strut,” the classic jazz standard “Don’t Roll Your Bloodshot Eyes at Me,” Roy Head’s 1965 classic “Treat her Right,” and the theme from the Blues Brothers’ movies, “Peter Gunn.”  This was classic New Orleans jazz-tinged blues, and elevated the musical standard to a new level.

The final act for the weekend was another Seattle band, Polly O’Keary and the Rhythm Method.  We had the distinct pleasure of awarding them the Best Blues Band trophy for the LA Music Critic Awards for the first half of 2017.  O’Keary was totally taken by surprise, and the band joined in her gratitude for the award.  O’Keary is a red ball of energy, constantly dancing across the stage as she delivers true bad ass licks on her brand new wireless LedBelli Blackbird 6-string bass and vocals that stir the soul.  The band also includes the amazing David Miller on guitar and O’Keary’s husband, Tommy Cook, on drums.  The band performed primarily original material, many of which came from their latest album, Black Crow Callin.‘  Included in their amazing performance were “I Don’t Understand,” “Yours to Lose,” “Red Light,” “Wish You Could See me Now,” “Reconciled,” and “How the Mighty Fall,” which reminded this reviewer of “Mustang Sally.”   They also did a stirring rendition of Eric Bibb’s classic “In my Father’s House.”  Cook laid the perfect foundation on his drums, while Miller proved to be a true guitar aficionado, even playing the guitar behind his head at one point.  The band brought their set and the Festival to a close with an amazing encore with Michelle Taylor and Justin Dean of ZZ Top’s “Tush.”  It was the perfect cherry on top of a super delicious weekend of music.  Special thanks to Steve Pickel and Anderson Broadcasting for bringing these amazing artists to us.  We can hardly wait for next year!!!

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out LA Music Critic Awards Reviews

Chris Chilton and Jerad Finck at Bellwether Brewing Co – live performance review

Last month we had the distinct pleasure of attending the performances of Chris Chilton and Jerad Finck at the Bellwether Brewing Co in Spokane, Washington.   Bellwether is owned and operated by Finck’s high school friend Thomas Croskey.  Finck arranged the show to highlight the brewery and to introduce Chilton from nearby Coeur d’Alene, with whom Finck has been writing and producing.

Croskey opened Bellwether in September 2015 as a place where he could demonstrate his love for historical home brews.  The brewery usually has about 19 options for beer, of which 8 or 9 are ongoing brews and the remainder are seasonal.  In fact, he created a beer called “Goomba Juice” just for this special occasion.

The Bellwether beer menu consists of Old World styles from Celtic and Nordic influences as well as contemporary Northwest styles.  The menu also contains food items like pistachios, panini’s, soft pretzels, cheese platters and bread and butter.  Interestingly enough, the bread is made daily by Alpine Bakery using the brewery’s spent grain.

Besides this amazing musical show, the Bellwether is also home to several festivals, including GruitFest in February and the BraggotFest in July.  For more information, check out their website.

First up was Chilton for a short five-song warm-up set.  He has deep passionate vocals that bring his well-crafted lyrics to life.  Not only was he amazing on his own song “You Won’t Hurt me Anymore,” but he also killed it on his cover of the Snow Patrol song, “Run.”  He closed his short set with the first single off his new project, “Adonai,” a song he co-wrote with Finck and which Finck produced.  Check out his lyric video below:

After a short break, Finck took the stage and launched into “Never Coming Back.”  Finck has great stage presence and has mastered the art of audience interaction with his tales of high school hi-jinks and the back stories of how the songs came to be written.

Among the songs he performed were originals “Code Breaker,” “Pieces of April” (which he wrote when he first met his wife, and which was nominated for an LA Music Critic Award), “Blood in the Water,” and “Carried Away,” along with a wonderful cover of The Cure’s “Love Song,” a band he was a big fan of while growing up.

He saved his best for the end of his set, including “Criminal,” a song he co-wrote with Steven Solomon and Darrell Hodges, and which won the 2016 grand prize in the USA Songwriting Competition, as well as his latest single, “New Kids,” which is all about standing up for the underdog.  Both songs were winners in the LA Music Critic Awards and have done well on the Hot AC charts, with the latter being the basis for his upcoming fall tour through Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana.

The audience demanded an encore, and Finck complied with an older song, “Whatever You Want.”  It was the perfect culmination of a delightful evening of song and beverage.