Jan 22 : "Cash for Gold" - Writer (Brooklyn)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (October 2012)

THE KEY FOUNDATION

Last week one night after work I stopped off at Piano's to hear some music, and I saw a good show put on by Brooklyn band "Writer".

The band is a two-man outfit, with Tuesday's stage set up with the drummer on the left, and his brother (that's right, this is a brother team) on the right, alternating between keys and guitar.

Their music grabbed me right from the first moment with its unique arrangement. The first music they played that night featured the keys very loudly, I would even say almost blasting the bass line, with the vocals carrying the melody. I've heard keys carry the bass in other situations, but never in quite such a pronounced way where it lays a thundering foundation with nothing standing between it and the vocals. Nice! I didn't hear enough!

The band is very inventive in their arrangements and the sound somehow came across with more of a thrust than I expected to hear from a two-man team. I liked the show very much and I don't think any recordings could do justice to the sound that I heard last Tuesday night. But here is a sample of their music. The track is "Cash for Gold", and it is on the "Brotherface" album released in October. And it's playing right here on my blog page.

"Writer" is a team of two brothers, Andy and James Ralph. To hear more of the music on their Bandcamp page, here is the click ::: Writer (Click Here)

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Feb 23 Update ::: Strangely enough, one of the next bands I saw live also had a new song out Another "Cash For Gold" (CLICK HERE)

Jan 10 : "Primal Essence" - Eric Slick (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written & Presented This Week!

Philly Music!

ARE WE DREAMING?

Are We Dreaming? I wasn't sure. There was Eric Slick in the film casting off into a Dreamscape. And there was also Eric Slick on stage also in a dream state. Hmmmm. Which was reality? Or were both?

On Tuesday night my friend, David Schaeffer, invited me to go to PhilaMOCA to see Eric Slick and his performance piece, "Primal Essence", a "day in the life" story told both on screen and on stage and (yes, this was true interactivity) even in the audience.

Eric is a musician, playing drums in local band "Dr. Dog" as well as collaborating with other outfits such as Ape School and Norwegian Arms. In the event on Tuesday night, his day-in-the-life film was projected onto the screen behind the stage while he played the drums to accompany. There was some audio to the film, but Eric's on-staqe performance was the main enhancement to the narrative.

This was truly an interactive piece. Audience members were prompted by the film at various points to supply sound effects, such as "washing machine sounds" as Eric did his laundry.

The last scene of the film showed Eric going to sleep. He also pulled up a blanket and "went to sleep" on the stage. A minute or two later his friend in the film came to wake him and tell him it was time to get up. The same friend in real life ran up on stage to "wake him up", wearing the same clothes and repeating the same dialogue as in the film.

I liked this show a lot. The creativity was amazing. It took me down new avenues and was exhilarating. ... Here is a sample of the piece :::

video sourced from Jump Philly's YouTube page

If you'd like to visit Eric Slick's page with links to his work and bands, here is the click ::: Eric Slick (CLICK HERE)

Jan 06 : "Midst Of Your Mystery" - Laura Cheadle

EXPANDING OPERATIONS

The first time I heard Laura Cheadle live was at North Star back in June 2006. She was playing as a solo act in an extended Emergenza battle-of-the-bands evening. I had listened to her on Myspace for a while before, and, one of her more intriguing songs that got me really interested to go hear her live was "Midst Of Your Mystery".

The show was good, and, over the next few years, I would go to hear her play several more times at a variety of Philly venues, some well-known, and one or two not not-so-well-known.

I've always been impressed by her stage presence, and it was at one of these little venues that I saw one of her more memorable shows. She was playing at a cafe in Old City on a warm Spring evening. Laura always engages with the audience between songs, sometimes telling anecdotes about her inspiration for a particular song, how a particular song was created. At this particular show at the cafe, the front door was open, and, as she started to play, people on the street would stop at the door to listen. The stage was situated about ten or twenty feet from the door, and, in between songs, Laura bantered with the people who were standing in the doorway out by the street! ... Very impromptu, very smooth, very entertaining! Ha! :)

One evening quite a while after that North Star show I went to hear her play at the old Grape Street (the new old Grape Street that closed at Shurs Lane), and was surprised to see that she now had a "band" playing with her. It was a family affair. Her father was playing keys and her brother was playing guitar. This was a nice addition. I would also see the family play when she did an excellent show at World Cafe in 2009.

Fast forward to this past Thursday night when I went to hear Laura headline at Milkboy. I was surprised to see that her effort has now expanded to six members, including a bass guitar, another set of keys, and drums. Playing some new work, but also a lot of work from previous years, including that first song I liked, "Midst Of Your Mystery", as well as some excellent covers, her performance was as smooth as ever. And, even with six people in the band, still a family affair!

So, here it is, playing right here on my blog page, the old version of "Midst Of Your Mystery", that I first heard back in 2006! :::

After the show I had a couple minutes to talk with Laura, and, to my great surprise, she told me that she was only 17 when she did the show that night back at North Star!

Laura Cheadle has an upcoming show scheduled at The Legendary Dobbs here in Philly on February 8, and at Pianos in New York on February 18.

To visit Laura on line in the meantime, here is the click ::: Laura Cheadle (CLICK HERE)

Jan 04 : "Master (2011)" - Jackie Paper (Philly)

(... speeding through November ... part 3)

Philly Music!

I wanted to make note that I did see a good show by Jackie Paper at North Star back in November. ... I had food poisoning that day, so I just zipped up to North Star because I didn't want to miss the show, and then came right back home. .... I plead too delirious and crazy to have written anything intelligent at the time, but it was a good show.

I like Jackie Paper's music a lot. One of my favorite songs is "Master (2011)", which is playing right here on my blog page.

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6/27/20 UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Looks like the band removed this song from their webpage!

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Jackie Paper has a show coming up soon, on January 18 at Studio 98.

To visit Jackie Paper on line in the meantime, here is the click ::: Jackie Paper (CLICK HERE)