Tenure under the tutelage of jazz legend Anthony Braxton and a decade onstage with the Dirty Projectors has helped Nat Baldwin become a premiere player in the avant-garde jazz scene. His songwriting bears the heavy weight of melancholia—a haunting and foreboding tone that is carried by gravelly vocals over a bowed upright bass. Baldwin’s ominous timbre […]
Tenure under the tutelage of jazz legend Anthony Braxton and a decade onstage with the Dirty Projectors has helped Nat Baldwin become a premiere player in the avant-garde jazz scene. His songwriting bears the heavy weight of melancholia—a haunting and foreboding tone that is carried by gravelly vocals over a bowed upright bass. Baldwin’s ominous timbre […]
JD McPherson may be about to piss a lot of people off. The singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist’s first record, Signs and Signifiers, was a faithful reproduction of old school rhythm and blues. He and his team, working with vintage equipment in a Chicago studio, knew there was an existing (mostly European) fan base just waiting to […]
Could Indecision have been DMB? Could the names Evans and Ibbeken have been synonymous with the C’ville music scene, instead of Dave Matthews? Could “Take It All In” have been “Ants Marching”? Probably not, admits Indecision’s David Ibbeken. But the band, which made its debut in Charlottesville in 1984, was by most accounts a stroke […]
Stories often become more profound when coupled with the upbeat mix of dueling guitars—at least that’s the case with the music of Rebecca Rego and The Trainmen. Borrowing from country and folk, the Wisconsin band relates unique experiences through song, sharing intimate moments. Whether it’s a ballad about the bars in Chicago or the changing […]
A friend of mine once fell asleep at an Iron and Wine show. By the time the opener had finished and Sam Beam started in with his lullaby-like tunes, my buddy found himself a comfy spot on a pool table and succumbed to a serenaded sleep. I always think of that story as a bit of […]
Fitz and the Tantrums just seem to have a way of finding the spotlight. Remember that video where they were all on those treadmills? Oh, that wasn’t them? My bad. But who could forget when they played on that one rooftop that one time? Oh, right. That was every band other than them. What about […]
Since The Alcatraz Kid was released independently in 2006, Jeremy Messersmith has been praised for his elegant and literate songwriting style. While love songs and lullabies are not new territories for the emo/indie genre, Messersmith manages to create a unique sound by combining subtle lyrics and attention to instrumental detail. His latest record, Heart Murmurs, has […]
I was convinced that Taylor Hicks would not only win the 2006 season of “American Idol,” but would also become wildly successful as a recording artist. I was so convinced of his ability to appeal to a range of audiences, that I told anyone who would listen he’d be the most popular “Idol” of all time. […]
Have you ever really stopped and listened to lyrics like those in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” or Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty?” It’s startling when you hear some of the words that kids sing today. But that’s where programs like Mobile Music Mission come in. As a local company that lets kids become a part of […]
John D’earth was about 4 when his father—“a great listener, but not a musician”—taught him an important lesson about making music. He was at his grandmother’s house. He toddled over to the piano, climbed onto the bench, and started pounding away. He was having fun, just enjoying the noise of it, but he could hear […]