Tag: Tawny Ellis

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indie music Monday Mashup Singles and Videos

Monday mashup 2020 (vol 19)

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We had a relaxing time with family, capped off with watching Wonder Woman 1984 for free on HBO MAX.  Now that the holiday is over, let’s cap off this year with our final Monday Mashup of 2020.

NEW SINGLES

Our first single is from WAMI and features Julia Shuren.  It is a smooth R&B tune that provides the perfect chill factor for this hectic holiday season.  Enjoy “Life is Good.”

Life Is Good · WAMI, Julia Shuren (spotify.com)

Next up is the groovy surf sound of Very Cool on their second single, “Hot Rod Canoe.”  We love it!

Hot Rod Canoe · Very Cool (spotify.com)

Our third single this week is courtesy of The New Bardots, who leave us with the interesting proposal that “If Santa Claus Were President,” things might be a little different.  It’s worth your time to listen to their rationale.

If Santa Claus were President · The New Bardots (spotify.com)

Amy Steele has a dynamic voice and turns the pop hit “Our House” into a dreamy acoustic holiday extravaganza.  We can’t wait to see what comes next for this amazing artist.

Our House · Amy Steele (spotify.com)

Our final single to be featured in 2020 is a lovely live version of the classic “River” that could easily become  your favorite holiday song.  Thank you to Tawny Ellis for her creativeness is making this one the perfect song with which to end the year.

River (Live) · Tawny Ellis (spotify.com)

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

We kick off the music video portion of our Mashup with the bluesy sound of ELEKTROHORSE featuring the powerful gospel vocals of Francesca Capasso.  Check out the song “Walk on Water,” and its stunning cinematography, but beware, these visuals will stay with you long after the video ends.

Next up is a dynamic lyric video from the hardest rocking guitarist in LA, the alluring Ali Handal.  She brings new life to The Beatles’ classic tune, “Come Together.”  This one’s a real keeper.

Welcome back to one of our favorite Scottish delicacies, the bodacious babe herself, Baby Taylah.  Her latest is also one of her best.  Check out “Good Enough.”

From Scotland we head to LA via Moscow for one of LA’s premier soft rock indie artists, the magnificent Marina V.  Here is her lyric video for Magical Christmas.  Let her voice and the words fill your heart this holiday season.

We close out 2020 with one of the most inspirational songs we have ever heard.  Many thanks to Eric Bellinger, Inigo Pascual, Sam Concepcion, Moophs, Zee Avi and Vince Nantes for reminding us that we need to “Rise (Together).”

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it indie music Reviews

Get it or forget it – 2020 vol 1

It’s been a while since our last edition of Get it or Forget it, and we wanted to ease back in with a few of our favorite artists who have all been busy during this pandemic.  We hope you like what you read, and will check out these amazing artists.  We hope to make this a regular weekly feature, but that will depend on when our work schedule becomes more solid.  At any rate, here we go.

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Artist Name:  Emily Zuzik

Album Name:  Torch & Trouble

Label:  Head Bitch Music and Maenades Music

Genre:  Americana

Release Date:  August 28, 2020

Track Listing:  1.  Stay Wild, 2.  Get it Right, 3.  Chinese Food and Donuts, 4.  Trouble, 5.  Magic, 6.  Shadows, 7.  All That Love, 8.  Wild Mustangs Across the Great Plains, 9.  Embers, 10.  The Band Played On

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  Emily Zuzik has been one of the leading voices in the resurgence of the Los Angeles Americana music scene with her unmistakable voice and incredibly well-written songs.  Her latest, Torch & Trouble, sets the bar high and is truly her best effort to date.  The album is skillfully produced by Ted Russell Kamp, the amazing country bass player who is a huge part of the success of every artist he works with, including Shooter Jennings, Manda Mosher, Tanya Tucker and Zuzik.   Among the amazing supporting musicians on the project are Christopher Allis on drums, Brian Whelan on Hammond organ and guitar, Kamp on bass, and John Schreffler on guitar.

Zuzik wrote or co-wrote nine of the ten songs on the album, hits the ground running with the first track, “Stay Wild,” and never slows down as she delivers memorable song after memorable song.  Although there are no weak songs on the entire album, our favorites include “Stay Wild,” “Get it Right,” the rocking “Trouble,” the Chris Isaak-like “Shadows,” (a Yo La Tengo cover), the romantic waltz “All That Love,” the epic story of “Wild Mustangs Across the Great Plains,” and “Embers,” which features the vocals of Kamp and Zuzik in a stirring duet.

Recommendation:  Run, don’t walk, and get this one like your life depends on it.

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Artist Name:  Tawny Ellis

Album Name:  Love Life

Label:  Music Building Records

Genre:  Americana

Release Date:  July 24, 2020

Track Listing:  1.  Love Life, 2.  Moon Shine, 3.  Pretend Love, 4.  No More, 5.  Deep end of Love, 6.  Spirit of Love, 7.  I Believe, 8.  Powers That Be, 9.  Daddy, 10.  Dirty Work

Publicist:  KG Music Press

Review:  Tawny Ellis is proof of the benefit of being in the right place at the right time, and her relentless pursuit of perfection is evident in every song on this true masterpiece, which took three years to complete.  The artists who worked with her on this project sound like a “Who’s Who” of some of the finest musicians in the industry, including Jesse Siebenberg (Lukas Nelson, Lissie), Ted Russell Kamp (Shooter Jennings, Tanya Tucker), Gio Loria (Jack Johnson) and Kaitlin Wolfberg (H.E.R.).  Their contributions give Ellis’ sound an eclectic vibe that makes the music accessible to fans of all genres.  Among the best cuts are “Love Life,” “Pretend Love,” the rocking “No More,” the mournful “Deep End of Love,” the stirring “I Believe,” and the haunting and iconic “Powers That Be.”

Recommendation:  This one is a no-brainer – your music library NEEDS it and so do you.

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Artist Name:  Ted Russell Kamp

Album Name:  Down in the Den

Label:  PoMo Records

Genre:  Roots/Rock/Americana

Release Date:  July 24, 2020

Track Listing:  1.  Home Sweet Hollywood (ft Shooter Jennings), 2.  Have Some Faith, 3.  Waste a Little Time With Me, 4.  Stick With Me, 5.  Hold On (ft Gordy Quist), 6.  Hobo Nickel, 7.  Rainy Day Valentine, 8.  The Good Part, 9.  Word for Word (ft Sarahh Gayle Meech), 10. My Turn to Cry, 11.  Only Son (ft Shane Alexander), 12.  Every Little Thing you Need, 13. Saint Severin, 14.  Take my Song With You (ft Kirsten Proffit)

Publicist:  KG Music Press

Review:  This article would not be complete without a review of the common denominator between Emily Zuzik and Tawny Ellis, the legendary musician himself, Ted Russell Kamp.  The album was recorded in Kamp’s home studio, affectionately called “The Den,” and features several of the amazing artists that Kamp has worked with, including Shooter Jennings, Gordy Quist, Sarah Gayle Meech, Shane Alexander and Kirsten Proffit.  We have already featured the first two songs on the album in our Monday Mashup series, and they are just the tip of the iceberg of the treasures contained in this 14-song collection.  We really love the swinging feel of “Waste a Little Time With Me,” the classic country sound of “Stick With Me,” the New Orleans Jazz-infused “Hobo Nickel,”  the two-stepping sound of “The Good Part,” the Dwight Yoakum-inspired strains of “My Turn to Cry,” the righteous country ballad “Saint Severin,” and the sweet duet “Take my Song With You.”

Recommendation:  No music library is complete without this one, so go out and get it ASAP.

 

Categories
indie music Monday Mashup Singles and Videos

Monday mashup 2020 (vol 10)

Happy Monday the 13th!  It’s been a busy but productive week, and we’re happy to be back to share five more music videos and singles this week.  Please let us know what you think about our selections.

NEW SINGLES

First up this week is the title track from the latest by the amazing blues artist Katie Knipp.  We discovered her about a year ago and have been blown away by her talent.  She does not look like the typical blues artist until she opens up her mouth and then OMG – shut the front door!  She is a dynamo on the guitar and an intriguing writer, but her voice is what sells it.  Check out “Chamomile and Cocaine” and tell us you’re not immediately hooked.  This lady belongs in the Memphis Blues Hall of Fame.  Watch for a review of her entire album shortly.

Next up is the equally beautiful sound of Elia F. Compton and her debut single, “This Moment.”  She has so much passion in her voice that it immediately draws you in with a song that is an instant classic.  We think we will be hearing a lot more from this amazing artist.

So many of us were huge fans of the prog rock band Yes during the late 60’s until the early 80’s.  Their lead singer, Jon Anderson, has now signed with Blue Élan Records and has released a solo album that brings back all the greatness of Yes and then some.  His latest, “First Born Leaders,” is a total paradigm shift and we think it shows just the tip of the iceberg of talent for this amazing artist.  Check it out and feel the love.

Speaking of rock, our next single is from the awesome Abby K, who proves that she can definitely “Rock the Rock.”  She reminds us of a cross between Orianthi and Avril Lavigne, and we are hooked.  Check it out.

We close out this week with the pop mastery of Brandon Hutcheson.  He has that definite boy band vibe and this one could soon be at the top of the pop charts.  Enjoy “Don’t Say.”

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS

For all of you that miss going out dancing, our first video this week will definitely compel you to get up and dance to the zydeco sound of Sean Ardoin.  His intention was to create a “CoronaCation” and we think he has truly nailed it.  Not only that but he provides the vocals, bass, accordion and washboard for this amazing song.  Check out “Came Thru Pullin.”  Even though it’s been out a couple of months, this one was too good to pass up.

Next up is the visually stunning video for the smooth sound of Fred Hostetler‘s “River of Hope.”  Listen to the positive and affirming lyrics of the sound while you groove to the 60’s style rock, which features Robbie Cribbs  This one is a keeper.

Our third video is a new age masterpiece from GoldFlēce called “Space Rider.”  We love the visuals for this lyric video, but truly enjoy the relaxing vibe of the song.  We think this one should be your background chill time song.

Video number four is from the legendary Ted Russell Kamp, who has been a part of numerous bands including CALICO and Shooter Jennings, as well as proving that the bass is the sexiest instrument in music.  His latest album, Down in the Den, has been released, along with this amazing first single and video, “Have Some Faith.”  Chill out to the amazing down home sound of TRK.

We close out the week with another artist TRK has worked with, Tawny Ellis.  Her strong vocals fit perfectly with this song co-written with TRK called “Deep End of Love,” from her upcoming album Love Life, which will be released on July 24.