Music For: Comfort

     These are troubling times for everyone. Friends, family and loved ones are being lost, many people are losing their jobs. A tsunami ripple effect is occurring and everyone is sure to feel it eventually.  Among those being affected are musicians, they're having to cancel shows, cancel flights, refund tickets, losing out on merchandise sold and income they needed to keep their heads above water.  Support them if you are able.
   
    To those needing to be on ventilators, speaking from the perspective of someone who has had to be intubated before because of allergy and chronic asthma, I can't imagine having gone through that experience without my family by my side and that is what so many people are having to go through right now. The medical community is doing their best to provide care and relief to those suffering.  Nurses are our heroes! Thank you! You are incredible human beings. And to those experiencing this disease we are praying for you and thinking about you. So many of us feel helpless in quarantine wanting to do something, but we are, in fact, helping by doing absolutely nothing, by staying home to help mitigate the disease and flattening the curve.
     And on the brighter side of things, even though we are self-isolating we are coming together digitally. We're making contributions the best way we know how, donating to charities that are taking care of the collective community. This situation is proving something that many of us knew to be true and that is that we are all connected, maybe more closely than we ever comprehended to be true.
   
Music has comforted me over and over in my life, brought me through very difficult times; health issues and loss of loved ones.  It has given me a renewed zest for life. I hope that this music can do that for you right now. I hope it will give you a sense of peace and hope and comfort.  My heart goes out to you.

The W Lovers CD Release

I recently went to The W Lovers CD release show also featuring Rust on the Rails at the Sunset. It was a full intimate show.  I have come to love small venues so much.  Getting to see artists performing up close and occasionally getting to meet and and have a convo after the show is a lot of fun.  The W Lovers are a husband and wife team.  They both sing, she (Fleur Wood) plays guitar and he (Wesley Wood) plays mandolin, backed up by Eric Van Allen on stand-up bass and Chris Lucier on snare and a brilliant new pedal steel addition to the group, Patrick McHenry.  They had all the puzzle pieces there to make a great sounding Americana group.  During the show I was lucky to talk to Lance Wells, my former co-worker, and The W Lovers' videographer.  He made their most recent video Canyon Wind during a trip to and from Yakima to play a series of successful winery shows.  The video turned out great so there is no question as to why Lance has made making videos his full-time job now.

I can't finish this blog post without talking about Rust on the Rails which also includes Chris Lucier on drums.  What a terrific group they were!!! They put on an exciting up beat show that included great vocals and guitar playing from Cody Beebe, as well as an amazing performance on the didgeridoo and guitar from Blake Noble. Check out their Facebook here. So great!!

Purchase on itunes

www.thewlovers.com

www.twitter.com/wloversmusic

www.instagram.com/thewlovers/

Maiah Manser

Photo by Nathan Dziewiontkoski

  

  Having gone to see a variety of different artists I'm more and more convinced of the kind of artist I want to be and what it means to be an independent artist today.  Art is a representation of our culture, my goal is to be the change and to leave an impression of the change I want to see in the world. And to me art is a practice of stepping outside my comfort zone to make a regular connection with people I wouldn't otherwise meet.
  Man, was I impressed by Maiah Manser (for some reason I want to spell it Manswer, like answer) and I can't wait until she comes out with more solo artist material because I know it will be amazing.  Us Lights, from Oregon, was awesome and Wye Oak was incredible as always. Both of those bands are amazing, as well, but we were there to see Maiah perform.  I think my friend Oscar said it best when he said, "I hope I didn't leave mess because she blew my mind."  Her graceful use of electronic effects, including vocal effects and loops; she built the song in front of our eyes/ears? She successfully fuses the digital and the organic.  Spiraling stacked vocal harmonies and intelligent lyrics that resonate. A Seattle artist to keep your eyes on.


https://uslightsmusic.bandcamp.com
https://wyeoak.bandcamp.com

http://www.maiahmanser.com

Mary Lambert Part 2

Well, it was really easy to think of a follow up title.  I'm trying to think of a word to describe how the show left me feeling.  I think I felt the full gamut of emotions.  Damn, this girl is talented! It's good to know if for some reason she ever lost her singing voice (knock on wood) she's got a career in comedy.  I was immediately captivated by the music and forgot to take pictures like I planned.  Mary was so open and vulnerable on stage as she performed some "New shit" as as its called in the poetry world and it was so real and so great.  She also told us about a secret surprise she was planning in Everett and we're not supposed to tell.  Very hush hush. And Oh my God, when she hit that note, you know the one, it was magic.  There was romance, a standing ovation a couple of times and for the encore song everyone was dancing.  She's so comfortable on stage, you know that's where she belongs.  It's no surprise why she has an enormous following and I will be one of those following the life of her career.

Mary Lambert part 1

It's been a quite a while since I've made a blog post.  Summer has passed and here we are already in the month of November.  Time sure flies when you're busy, but I think it's important to stop for a moment and reassess life and goals and direction.  And a great way to slow down and enjoy life is to go see a show.  Tomorrow I'm going to see Mary Lambert perform in Tacoma, WA at the University of Puget Sound field house.  I've seen her one other time at the Tractor in Ballard at a fundraiser for the Oso Mudslide victims and it was incredible.  This chic is a local hero and a real class act and makes me so excited about music, but also the message.  She is an indie musician, and she is maintaining creative right and speaks her mind about things she believes strongly in.  These are the qualities of an indie musician if you ask me.  She has no qualms about calling out the bullshit she sees in the world and that's one of the many things I like about her.  (Not to mention her brilliant poetic lyrics and angelic voice).  Other things that really impress me; she spoke and performed at the United Nations HQ for Human Rights Day.  I'm very excited for this show!! I will give you the details in my next post Mary Lambert part 2.

The Weepies

The Weepies left quite the impression on me, at the Neptune Theater, having never seen them live before and my only experience with their music was someone else’s cover of one of their more popular songs.  I don’t know how to explain it, but they had an aura of love.  You know how you just get a feeling from certain people, how you just know in your gut whether you can trust someone or not.  It sounds ridiculous.  Sometimes words are not enough to describe the feeling you are left with after a show.  You could just tell every word in every love song they sang was the truth and how much they loved singing it.  You could tell every band member believed it too.  Their instruments and voices melded so well to create a single work of art.  So much more than the sum of its parts. I think about how much time they have spent on the road, what dificulties they have overcome to get to this one performance and how many times they may have played these songs already, but still they were so untiringly sincere.  Sirens is their 5th Album release.

S, Jenn Ghetto, Jenn Champion

On May 1st I went to a show at the Neumos in Seattle to see S open for Sera Cahoone.  It was my first time seeing them play live, although I had heard S' song Vampires, the artist also known as Jenn Ghetto, numerous times on KEXP and on the internet.  You might know her from her former band Carissa's Wierd. My spell-check really wanted to fix that.  It was a great show.  Sera Cahoone played with a full band and it sounded so full.  I was also introduced to another band, Horde and the Harem.  They were unique and played a skillful show and I appreciate both of those things.  They really appeared to believe in their performance and I think that is a vital component to putting on a good show.  I have to say, though, that when Jenn Ghetto performs it really feels like she is exposing her soul. These are three extremely talented local artists/bands that you should definitely see live.

Support independent artists! #seattlemovement