Fresh Bread

Fleet Foxes Black Cab Sessions - "Crayon Angels"

LOOKING AT THEM, YOU WOULDN'T THINK A BAND LIKE FLEET FOXES ARE ABOUT TO CHALLENGE THE LIKES OF THE FRATELLIS AND COLDPLAY FOR THE NUMBER 1 ALBUM SPOT IN THE UK THIS WEEKEND. ROBIN AND JOSH LOOK LIKE APOSTLES FROM A DISTANT, BETTER LAND. WE SADDLE UP IN THE CAB OUTSIDE ULU, A VENUE THEY COULD HAVE SOLD OUT TWICE OVER THAT NIGHT. JOSH EXPLAINS HE IS JUST THERE TO GIVE ROBIN MORAL SUPPORT. AND SO WITH JUST A GUITAR AND VOICE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BREAK ALL THE WINDOWS, WE SET OFF AROUND THE BACK STREETS OF HOLBORN. ROBIN GIVES A BREATHTAKING PERFORMANCE OF CRAYON ANGELS, ONCE PERFORMED BY JUDEE SILL. HIS PERFORMANCE IS FLAWLESS AND POIGNANT. WE FINISH, PAY UP AND ROBIN HANDS THE DRIVER A COPY OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM, ALREADY A CLASSIC, AS A THANK YOU. UNBEKNOWN TO THE CABBIE, THAT COPY COULD, ONE DAY, BE WORTH A LOT MORE THAN THE CAB RIDE. Black Cab Sessions

Doveman Wears A Musical Costume For His Next Album

Early on in my NYC residency, a hushed song called "Honey" was all the rage.  And for good reason.  Thomas Bartlett, brain child of Doveman, is a talented singer songwriter who released the great The Acrobat in 2005.  Everyone and their mother liked it (check the 'Previous Posts' section of this post).  He's a musician's musican and so were the players filling out the band.

Fast forward to 2008.  Gotta say his new project makes me very excite...very.  That's before I even found out about the reason behind him covering not one, not two, but all songs of the soundtrack to Footloose.

When I was very young, my half-sister Jenny died tragically. She was a teenager, and it was the 80's. She left behind a wardrobe of brightly colored clothes, rainbow stickers, life-size paintings, doodles on lined paper, and hundreds of tapes. These constitute most of my memories of her. It's sad for me to look at these things, and usually I don't. But a couple of summers ago I found a tape of hers with a startling cover photograph - this was Footloose. I couldn't stop listening: it was a portrait of 80's love, desire, pain, freedom, and frenzy; of being a teenager in a time of change. By listening, I could step into Jenny's shoes, see things from her vantage point. I could be emancipated by rock and roll and walkmen, just as she had been. We could listen together.

I asked my friend Thomas to cover the album, which, sheltered as he is, he had never heard before. I was clear that I wanted to him to cover the whole album - the point wasn't to rework any one song, but to re-imagine the picture they made together. With a new Footloose we could reply to the past, tell our own story about being young. This is what he made.

So far I really dig this track:  "Lets Hear It For The Boy".mp3

Download the entire album for free here.

Orchestra Baobab - Rockefeller Park (River To River Festival) 06.26.08

Orchestra Baobab Played Rockefeller Park...fo' free...Wednesday evening.  You can check out my pics over at Brooklyn Vegan.

Derek Trucks Band - Hard Rock Cafe Times Square (Rolling Stone Private Party) 06.10.2008

Derek Trucks Band w/ Susan Tedeschi

My pics and review from the Derek Trucks Band private performance at the Hard Rock Cafe Times Square a few weeks back can be seen over at Live Music Blog.

Pictures Of The Day - Luray Caverns, Virginia

Orchestra Baobab In NYC, What's Not To Like?

 I won't lie.  I learned about Orchestra Baobab from this VH1 show around 2002/3.  It was instant music love for the Senegalese band.  The easy vibes contained in their blend of West African x Cuban rhythms brought me in, their musicianship sealed the deal.

The group played an Afro-Cuban Caribbean fused with distinctly West African traditions. Unlike other Senegalese bands, they added Casamance harmonies and drumming (from southern Senegal), melodies from  Togo and Morocco to the more common Wolof (from northern Senegal) influences. (wiki)

A few albums and some great sounding live shows in and I've yet to have a chance to see them live...until now.

Turns out they will be playing not one but two shows in the city this month.  Sweet.  One is for free.  SWEET!!!  That show is part of the River To River festival, info:

Time: 7:00pm
Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Rockefeller Park
This event is part of 2008's R2R Legacy program.  R2R Legacy highlights a selection of the Festival's programs that strongly reflect, revive, newly interpret, or celebrate important cultural works, influential artists and our diverse cultural heritage.  These programs are made possible, in part, with support from American Express through their commitment to cultural preservation
Website: www.batteryparkcity.org

The other show is part of the BAM Festival on June 26th.

"Ndéleng Ndéleng" - live on Later With Jools Holland

"Bul Ma Min" - live on Letterman

Picture Of The Day - L.A. Bound, Redeye Roundtrip Pt. 1

Picture Of The Day - Curbside View

Picture Of The Day - Living Room Light

Bo Diddley "The Originator", RIP (1928 - 2008)

(photo cred)

The Associated Press - 12:00 PM EDT, June 2, 2008

JACKSONVILLE - Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79. 

Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation. (Orlando Sentinel)

Bo Knows Nike Commercial (Classic!):