8-bit OK Computer

THIS IS AWESOME.

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White House Easter Prayer Breakfast

I wasn’t aware there was an Easter prayer breakfast yesterday at the White House but I was happy to see that the ever-wonderful Sara Groves was there to share a song (and a classic at that) at the event. Not a bad gig!

(She’s on at about 8:35)

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New Mayer

John Mayer has informed the world of the release date and track listing for his new record which, if you’re anything of a fan like I am, is incredibly exciting news.

Sure, it’s still a few months away from hitting the shelves but I like knowing that new tunes are coming from an artist I really enjoy and admire.

However, Looking at the track listing, track 8 immediately caught my eye. “Love is a Verb”? Sure, he’s done enough in his career to earn the benefit of the doubt and I typically trust John Mayer’s musical decisions but I don’t think that covering DC Talk’s early 90’s hit is the right move for this album.

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UPDATE: To be certain, I checked the list again – quick, fast in a hurry; I threw on my specs because I thought my vision was blurry. I looked again but, to my dismay, it was black and white with no room for gray. You see, other sites had gotten the word and yo! that’s when it hit me, he’ll sing “Love is a Verb!”

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Marketa Irglova

In my unending love of all things related to The Swell Season I am currently rockin Marketa Irglova’s solo record on perpetual repeat. Anar is 12 simply laid tracks of beautiful (and at times haunting) melodies, a quiet, organic vibe to the overall sound, and other vague descriptions you can string together.

I know Glen Hansard ends up being the dominant voice of The Swell Season while Marketa really solidifies every song she supports. But seriously, she sounds so good up front on these tunes. I only deeply cared for a few of the Swell Season tunes she sang lead on but I feel like this album really does her justice.

If you’re in the mood for some lovely, moody, piano-based tunes – oh boy, here you go! This might be staying in my rotation for quite a while.

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Tedeschi Trucks Band

I was pretty excited to catch Tedeschi Trucks Band tonight. I first experienced the band by hearing their latest album on Spotify several months ago. Holy crap! Fantastic stuff. I was sold. So, when I learned they were coming to town I was in. I was pretty excited.

I was about to park at the venue tonight only to first see a sign outside the theater right across the street that informed me The Civil Wars were playing a sold out show there tonight as well.

I had no idea. I would’ve loved to see The Civil Wars. I’m a big fan. A huge fan.

But alas, it was too late. With my mouth agape I accepted my fate and continued on to previously scheduled non-Civil Wars show.

The opener had already started by the time I walked in. I don’t know who the band was but I was too distracted by the beautiful songs and magical harmonies that I was missing across the street that I couldn’t really enjoy their set.

I finally sucked it up when Tedeschi Trucks came out. And wow! They certainly made me forget my worries for the entire set! Great songs, great musicianship. I think the word that summed it all up best for me was “compelling.” They’re an incredibly compelling band.

Derek Trucks can play. Man, can he PLAY! He had this raw but polished, singing yet aggressive guitar tone. It was gorgeous. And he’s just a beast with that slide, too!

And Susan Tedeschi – what a voice! Talk about a compelling voice. The band would have these long moments of jamming and it’d be great and all but Susan would come back in with the vocals and just take everything to a whole new level. Killer.

And let’s not kid ourselves, that band can play. Each member of the 11 piece band is throwing down some serious goodness. They’re quite the impressive group, I must say.

So yeah.

No Civil Wars for me. But Tedeschi Trucks Band certainly proved inspirational tonight. I’d definitely wanna see them again. Really, I’m so motivated by Derek Trucks’ playing that I wanna dump all my pedals and learn how to carry a song with just some guitar chops. But I’m not that daring yet 🙂

Here’s a blurry picture of the band.

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Drinking With Strangers

I just got done reading Butch Walker’s book and I gotta say that it was a quick, enjoyable read.

I’ve been a big, albeit late, fan of Butch’s work. I think his name pops up more often these days alongside the “producer” or “songwriter” title for a ton of other artists, but I became a fan of his solo album, Sycamore Meadows, a record that’s quite late in his storied, experienced career. I’ve loved his following two albums with The Black Widows and, thanks to Spotify, I’m getting better acquainted with all of his past work.

The book is Butch sharing the stories of his life and career, from his early days in a metal band trying to make it (and actually making it), then falling from rock graces only to climb back up to success again and again despite all sorts of adversities along the way.

He comes across as a kind-hearted person, an incredibly tenacious artist with some pretty legendary mettle, and, as the title would suggest, someone you could easily share a drink with. Do go check out his music if you’re not familiar with it already. Or if you check out his Wikipedia page you can see some of the records he’s had his hand in, just to list a few. For instance, he produced the song “Candy,” one of my favorites from the latest Gavin DeGraw album. This guy’s just all over the place.

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Queen Lives!

I know I’m way behind on this but I’m only seeing it today. I’m getting this from Shaun Groves‘ blog as well as Butch Walker‘s.

Marc Martel, singer of Christian band Downhere, performs a pretty unbelievable vocal audition with Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” Are you kidding me with this?? I keep playing the video over and over and it sounds so much like Freddie it’s scary.

Bravo!

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The Weepies, The Weepies

Last week I had the great joy of seeing one of my favorite bands, The Weepies, play live for the first time. I’ve been a fan for years – since I randomly stumbled upon their first album on iTunes – and I believe this has been the first time they’ve been to Houston in at least four years.

The Weepies, comprised of husband and wife duo Steve Tannen & Deb Talan, were as delightful and charming as their music convinced me they’d be. They performed masterfully, backing each song with heart and sharing parts of their soul with the crowd. Since it was an acoustic tour, their normally instrumentally-varied tunes were stripped down to two acoustics, a bass and the occasional keyboard, harmonica and glockenspiel and yet the songs breathed fresh with the new arrangements. Could it get much better?

I’m trying to think of my favorite songs from the night. I really enjoyed the whole set. “Suicide Blonde” was never one of my favorite songs of theirs but their performance of it that night had me liking it again. “San Francisco” was definitely high on the list. So was “Can’t Go Back Now.” Really, the entire show was quite fantastic.

And this was the first time I’ve been to a seated concert at the House of Blues here. Buying tickets in advance got me seats in the second row which, like the front row, was fairly abandoned. Though there were still a few hundred people who came to the show I can’t imagine empty chairs being the most heart-warming sight from the stage. In any case, I loved my view.

Check out their albums, check them out live, just go check them out. If you’re into delightful, often-whimsical folk music, The Weepies will not disappoint. I certainly can’t wait to see them play again.

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