Dec 21 : "Half As Far" - Friko (Chicago)

A couple weeks ago I went to Cambridge Hall and saw Chicago band Friko, as they were on their tour through the northeast. It was my first time seeing the band as well as my first visit to Cambridge Hall. I've been to Warehouse On Watts, but never knew they had the smaller Cambridge Hall venue downstairs. (btw conveniently located to the 15).

Friko did a good show, playing a wide range of styles. That was one of the things that also stood out in my mind as I listened to their music online both before and after the show. They seemed at home in performing both the pulsating beats as well as the slower introspections and lush instrumentals.

Here is "Half As Far", which is the second track on the band's March 2022 EP, "Whenever Forever" :::

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JUL 20 2025 UPDATE ::: Looks like the artist has removed the track from public view.

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Friko doesn't have any other East Coast shows lined up soon, but here is the click to their Facebook page where you can keep up with what they're doing ::: Friko on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to their Bandcamp page where you can see lots of their other work! ::: Friko on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).
pic is from band's Bandcamp page

Sep 14 : "Fast Life" - Jackson and His Computer Band (Paris)

"Fast Life" is a featured song on the album "Smash", by Jackson and His Computer Band (which is the professional name of artist Jackson Fourgeaud). It happened to pop up as I was listening to a random rotation a few days ago. It struck a chord with me because I've been living a "fast life", sort of, over the summer and now through the next few weeks. Life has been very intense. Lots of work. Very little presence here or on Facebook. I've been to almost no concerts. I can identify with "rush" in the lyrics, but maybe not quite with "trapped in an endless turbine". :) Hectic in a good way.

The song talks about automation and the way in which it can drain the essence of human life. The album was issued back in 2005 but it still has relevance today.

Here is the click to Warp Records, which released "Smash". Jackson and His Computer Band on Warp Records site (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to the artist's Facebook page: Jackson and His Computer Band on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(Pic is from artist's Facebook page.)

Aug 13 : "Don't Say Goodnight" - Gretchen Emery Band (Newark, DE)

New Music / Freshly Written and Recently Released

Last weekend I stopped by the 2nd Street Festival and caught a few minutes of a show by Newark, DE's, Gretchen Emery Band. They were doing original work, and playing at the Fairmount Ave. Stage. They just put out a new album last month, titled "If Love Were Enough". The song playing here is the lead song on the album, "Don't Say Goodnight" :::

gretchenemeryband · Don't Say Goodnight

The Gretchen Emery Band doesn't have any other shows coming up in our area, but here is a click to her Facebook page where you can follow what she's doing ::: The Gretchen Emery Band on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(pic is from the band's Facebook page)

Aug 06 : "Truth is" - Handsome Boy Modeling School

Last week "Democracy Now!" played part of this track as an interlude between a couple news stories. I like the stylings and instruentals in this.

"Democracy Now!" is my favorite news source. While the corporate media (NBC, etc.) is invaluable in its own way with its far-reaching resources, they're often slow to cover, weakly cover, or just not cover stories where people are challenging corporate malfeasance or societal structural issues. ... I do listen to corporate media every day to learn of incidents in the news, but I look to "Democracy Now!" for a deeper look and to learn of other events that the corporate media just doesn't cover to begin with.

"Democracy Now!" has a news summary at the beginning of each show, and then goes on to cover a few of the stores in more depth. Between each of the stories, they play a short interlude. This was where I heard "Truth is" last week. Here it is. I was immediately pulled in by the stylings :::

Here is the click to "Democracy Now!" Democracy Now! website

Jul 16 : My Night Out July 7

Last week had a spur-of-the-moment onsite job on July 7, Thursday. I looked around for some possible music to catch on my way home and came across a listing that had potential, in Jersey City at Pet Shop JC. I was specially interested in one band, checked with them about the time of their show and found that, yes, it definitely would fit in with my train schedule returning home.

First band up before them was "Janitor". No idea who they were or are. I usually try to check out music from all the bands scheduled to play at a particular show, but found a dead end on this one. They turned out to be actually quite good. I would have recommended that you go see them.

At this point I normally would have listened to samples of their music and would be posting one of their most representative pieces right here. BUT this band doesn't seem to have Soundcloud, Bandcamp, or even Facebook we're-too-new-to-have-albums-but-here's-what-we're-all-about. Evidently new customers are not a priority for them.

After Janitor finished playing, I was hyped up to hear the band that I had mainly come to see. BUT I was told that they had been rescheduled to be last (((grrrrrrr. hate it when this happens))) ... They would now be on after the time of my train home, so seeing them would now be impossible. There was a third band in the lineup, the one listed as the headliner, but, after listening to samples of their music beforehand, I wasn't really into them, so I decided to just cut my losses, cut the evening short, and just go home.

Consolation prize for the evening was, on the way home, they didn't collect tickets on one of the trains.