Every once in a while, we all like to get our ROCK on, right? Here's some new Southern Rock you might not have heard of yet. (Nashville-Based Rockers) American Bang! That's right, American Bang. I didn't stutter. Check them out on iTunes. Go ahead, give them a listen. Think, The Black Crows meet Kings of Leon. If you like Kings of Leon you should like American Bang.
I have to say swedish singer/songwriter Jens Lekman was my favorite act at Coachella '08. I found out about him only 3 days before the event. I sampled it on iTunes and instantly knew I had to see his show. If you like The Smiths/Morrissey, you should like Jens Lekman. He sings pop songs with witty lyrics, romantic, and melancholic. Lyrics that include "slicing up an avocado", setting his hand on a lie detector" and "stopping in at the friday night drive-in bingo". Night Falls Over Kortedala is a great album.
What do these areas have in common? Can't think of anything... Coachella!!! Music Festival. I went on Friday April 25th and saw Bands & DJs from each of the areas, above. Because I've neglected this blog too long, I'm going to do a new blog, every day, for every band/dj I saw. Here's a sneak preview - Jens Lekman, The National, American Bang & The Swell Season (Once) Soundtrack to mention a few.
Brett Dennen (born 1979) is a folk/pop singer-songwriter from Oakdale, California. He has been compared to Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, and Wynonna Judd.
In 2004, Dennen released his first self-titled album, Brett Dennen. His second album was So Much More, which includes the singles "Ain't No Reason", "She's Mine", and "Darlin' Do Not Fear". A few songs charted as iTunes top downloads in the days following the album's release in November 2006.
He has toured extensively across the U.S. with his band (including drummer Randy Schwartz), supporting such musicians as John Mayer and guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. As of fall 2007, he is currently touring with Guster and singer-songwriters Meiko and Joshua James.
In November, 2007, Dennen was named as one of Rolling Stone Magazine's "10 Artists To Watch."
Read more @ Wikipedia
I just had to post this album. It's so good. It's one of those albums you can listen to all the way through and then listen to again. Sea Wolf is Alex Church, and rotating members of the Ship Collective community. Sea Wolf was officially formed 2 1/2 years ago, had a handful of LA shows, and spent the last year recording Leaves In The River. Their new record is co-produced by Phil Ek (Modest Mouse, The Shins, Built to Spill, etc.), and is difficult to find unless you hail from the LA area.
As many of you know, I do "Theme Style" music for the cocktail hour and dinner time weddings I play at. After speaking with one of my brides we decided to do a downtempo (dinner music) theme with the Hotel Costes Series compiled by Stephen Pompougnac.
Stephen Pompougnac was born in 1968 in Paris, France. He first worked at Hôtel Costes as a waiter. He began DJing and met Claude Challe, who helped form his musical knowledge. He then met Jean-Louis Costes, the co-owner of Hôtel Costes. Costes invited Pompougnac to work for him in 1997. Pompougnac released his first CD of mixes, Hôtel Costes, in 1999.
