Famous Blue Blog

Bhi Bhiman

2012-01-16T22:44:00.005-05:00

Check out this video and the great big and clear voice of Bhi Bhiman (pronounced "Bee Beeman")! Bhiman is opening for Martin Sexton on a string of dates in the Midwest starting on Thursday 1/19 in Ann Arbor, MI.

Bhi Bhiman "Guttersnipe" from Bhi Bhiman on Vimeo.

Alabama Shakes | Hold On

2012-01-02T21:50:00.009-05:00

I'm in Florida on vacation and the other night I had dinner with my brother Ralph, his wife Corinne, their kids Lizzy and Ralph, and Anne, Ralph's girlfriend. Just before dinner, my nephew Ralph fired up Spotify on his computer and we went for it, both of us throwing out names of bands we liked and listening to their music in a matter of seconds. "Have you heard the Alabama Shakes?", Ralph says. "No", I say. A quick click...and "Hold On" came streaming out of his computer speakers.

Lead singer Brittany Howard's voice commands the space immediately and the band lays down a soulful, spare and tempting groove. They are from Athens, Alabama and over the last six months have started to capture some ears and attention. They recorded a four song EP in East Nashville, have opened for the Drive-By-Truckers and are due to release a full-length record this year on ATO.

Best of Uncharted Waters 2011 Part 3

2011-12-29T16:06:00.003-05:00

As the final days of 2011 roll by, I'm taking a long look back and still taking in the beauty of this past year's music. Still can't get enough of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Paul Simon, Feist, Katie Herzig, Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling, on and on. I'm listening on my new iPod nano a lot of the time and I can't believe how good it sounds.

As one year ends and another begins, we're offered a chance to mark the spot, reflect on the amazing gift that artists give us and themselves with their work and know that this past year's music leads us on into what will soon fill our ears in the new year.

I found this great video of Laura Marling's "I Was A Card". There's nothing I can write that matches the artistry here.

Best of Uncharted Waters 2011 Part 3

“I Was Just A Card” Laura Marling A Creature I Do Not Know
”Timshel” Mumford & Sons Sigh No More
”Discoverer” R.E.M. Collapse Into Now
”One Ticket To The Moon” Dave Stewart The Blackbird Diaries
”Sugar Boogie” Marcia Ball Roadside Attractions
”Dancing At A Funeral” Brett Dennen Loverboy
”Sounds Like Hallalujah” The Head and the Heart The Head and The Heart
“Waking Sleep” Katie Herzig The Waking Sleep
”Spilling Faith” Ben Harper Give ‘Til It’s Gone
“Little By Little” Gregg Allman Low Country Blues
”Scarlet Town” Gillian Welch The Harrow and the Harvest
“Half Moon” Iron and Wine Kiss Each Other Clean
”Major Minus’ Coldplay Mylo Xyloto
“Towers” Bon Iver Bon Iver
”House Full Of Empty Rooms” Kathleen Edwards Voyageur
”Questions for the Angels” Paul Simon So Beautiful Or So What

Best of UW 2011 | Part 2

2011-12-21T11:26:00.006-05:00

Each segment of this Best of Uncharted Waters 2011 demonstrates what an amazing outpouring of music we saw over the last twelve months. There's so much variety, depth of feeling and excellence of performance. Check out the list for Part 2 below and see if you agree.

Alison Krauss and Union Station added to the brilliance of the year with "Paper Airplane". It's Alison's 14th record and once again her sweet voice, understated fiddle playing and the band's flawless accompaniment make this an inspiring listening experience.

Here's "Miles To Go."

Best Of Uncharted Waters 2011 Part 2

"Battery Kinzie" Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues
"Old Tin Can" Catherine MacLellan Sillhouette
"Weird Summer" Mike Doughty Yes and Also Yes
"Take It All" Adele 21 XL
"Jesus" Amos Lee Mission Bell
"Humpty Dumpty World" Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down
"City Of Refuge" Abagail Washburn City Of Refuge
"Love and Altar" The Low Anthem Smart Flesh
"Sunset Over Hope Street" Ari Hest Sunset Over Hope Street
"Come See About Me" Tedeschi Trucks Revelator
"All The Way Under" John Hiatt Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
"Miles To Go" Alison Krauss and Union Station Paper Airplane
"Sweet Louise" The Belle Brigade The Belle Brigade
"Rox In The Box" The Decemberists The King Is Dead
"The Most" Lori McKenna Lorraine
"Early In The Morning, I'll Come Calling" James Vincent McMorrow Early In The Morning

Sarah Borges | Radio Sweetheart

2011-12-15T08:11:00.011-05:00

How can we resist this radio sweetheart? The probable title of Sarah's new CD describes the way all of us at mvy feel about her. From the moment we heard her first record "Silver City" we were hooked and have loved playing her music and watching her rock ever since.

Sarah is in the final stages of a fundraising campaign for the new album that will be released in mid-2012. It's being produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. If you can help, go to www.sarahborges.com. A little goes a long way.

Sarah and I spoke about her campaign the other day, her record and Elliott, her new baby with guitarist Lyle Brewer. Listen to my interview with Sarah

Uncharted Waters | Best of 2011

2011-12-12T21:15:00.010-05:00

I've been taking a look back over the music released this past year and zoning in on the songs and artists that I played on Uncharted Waters, mvy's new music show. It's quite illuminating to re-visit SO MUCH great music-there hasn't been a year like this in a while.

Last Friday I started a three part series in which I will play the best of the best of 2011. Out of the 500 plus songs I featured over the year, I found close to 100 that I consider significant. So the 45 songs that will be part of this best of series really represent the cream of the crop.

I'll post each segment's list (find Part 1 below) along with a video of one of the songs from that week. Check out the video of "I've Got This Friend" by The Civil Wars. The duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White was big news and their album Barton Hollow was one of the records that made this year shine!

Best Of Uncharted Waters 2011 Part 1

"Underneath The Sycamore" Death Cab For Cutie Codes and Keys
"All My Possessions (Ode To Troy)" Chadwick Stokes Simmerkane II
"Only God Can Save Us Now" Over The Rhine The Long Surrender
"The Day is Coming" My Morning Jacket Circuital
"Vicksburg Stomp" Hot Tuna Steady As She Goes
"I've Got This Friend" The Civil Wars Barton Hollow
"Try To Understand" Eric Lindell Between Motion and Rest
"Last Leaf" Tom Waits Bad As Me
"No Button" The Little Stevies Attention Shoppers
"Captivity" Ben Sollee Inclusions
"What'll I Do" Lisa Hannigan Passengers
"Sugar Mama" The Deep Dark Woods The Place I Left Behind
"Run Away" Sarah Jarosz Follow Me Down
"Miracle" Superheavy Superheavy
"Tango For Django" Robbie Robertson How To Become Clairvoyant
"Cicadas and Gulls" Feist Metals

Laura Marling | A Creature I Don't Know

2011-11-11T13:37:00.006-05:00

The delicacy of precisely placed fingers on a guitar's nylon strings, words sung with care and clarity. A voice speaking from the past, or is it the future, or the spiraling present moment? "...me and time go way back when...", sings Laura Marling in the song "Don't Ask Me Why". The British singer-songwriter's third album "A Creature I Don't Know", recorded with all acoustic instruments in London by Ethan Johns wafts up like invisible smoke and infiltrates. It carries like the wind; there you were, here you are, changed.

At 21, Laura Marling is confident from years of listening and playing, at first with her parents and siblings in her home in Eversley, Hampshire, England. The youngest of three, she heard the music of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and James Taylor around the house. She stared playing guitar as a child, began performing as a teenager and was a member of England's Noah and The Whale. Marling set out on a solo career in 2007.

With literary references to John Steinbeck and Robertson Davies, and sonic nods to Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, this collection of songs has great depth and power. The living thing that is the record album is all the more vibrant with questions unanswered, time undefined and an interior wanderlust. Thank you, Laura Marling.

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Feist | Metals

2011-10-23T17:30:00.010-04:00

Suggestive, reflective, askew. An image that looks like a photograph, but is it? Just by seeing the cover of Feist's new album "Metals", you get an idea of what's inside. The funny thing is, I didn't see the "F" in the deadwood tree until now and I didn't realize that "Metals" was printed upside down. Either I wasn't paying attention as I pulled out the CD multiple times to listen to over the last few days or, and I think this is it, there's some kind of sleight of hand going on.

Leslie Feist knows how to cast a spell. And it seems even more so now, or maybe in new ways. She took a year-long break from touring and music making at the end of the last decade after going at it non-stop for seven years. "I was being still and trying to learn how to be quiet and remember silence isn't aggressive," she says.

On her return last autumn, she spent three months writing the record in a garage behind her house. In January of this year longtime collaborators Chilly Gonzales and Mocky, joined her in Toronto to arrange the record and then the three, plus percussionist Dean Stone and keyboardist Brian LeBarton, all settled in Big Sur, California to record.

The beauty and the beast of living for life and art and nature rise up through every track. Gentle, swelling vocals, group singing, sweeping synthesizers, and great guitar playing from Feist. "I feel a little more like a narrator now," she says. "Rather that saying here's my truth, I am able to say here's something I just observed to be true. Which depending on the day can be absolutely not true. There's less certainty with time, as much as you'd assume the opposite to be the case."

She found her way to the album title "Metals" as she was thinking about "quiet, raw, dormant ore versus the highly engineered result of forging that into skyscrapers." and the word "'mettle' as in a man proves his mettle by how his reaction takes him from raw act to reaction." "Metals" is a potent, primordial exploration.

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Katie Herzig | The Waking Sleep

2011-09-16T13:27:00.010-04:00

There are lots of ways to go about recording an album. For Katie Herzig, on the new "The Waking Sleep", it was "building" a record, assembling fragments of sound into a spacious, openly woven album. When she and co-producer Cason Cooley set up in the studio to start, Katie said "I don't have any songs!" Sound by sound, word by word they emerged.

"Find your voice, find your voice, make a noise," she writes in "Make a Noise". Finding her voice on this record came as she went. From this side, it feels like a giant door opened, and lo and behold, on the other side, there was a path and a process leading to all that she knew deep inside, all that she was capable of.

There is a big world that she and Cooley fashioned inside the tracks, spending hours experimenting with individual sounds, most musical, but some natural sounds--hands rubbing together, a hand brushing over someone's beard. The sound of daily life. Sounds upon sounds, layered and buried, songs rising up to life, and now with the album complete, we're all invited in for the lift, the joy, the revelation.

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Bon Iver | Bon Iver

2011-08-05T08:15:00.005-04:00

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and his brother Nate found a ranch style house a few miles from their childhood home in Wisconsin. And in the space that once housed an indoor pool, Justin created a recording studio and his new self-titled album, a stunning follow-up to 2008's "For Emma, Forever Ago".

Vernon has assembled a great supporting cast of musicians including pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz and bass saxophonist Colin Stetson. Bon Iver is out on tour, with friends The Rosebuds on some dates and Kathleen Edwards on others, and many of the shows are sold out.

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Mavis Staples at Newport Folk

2011-07-31T13:12:00.008-04:00

The joyful and effervescent Mavis Staples performed at Newport Folk Festival yesterday, running through a spirited set of songs, both old and new. "The Weight", "I'll Take You There" and "You Are Not Alone", the title track of her 2010 Grammy winning CD.

I sat down with Mavis after her performance. Click here to listen to the interview.

That old feeling...

2011-07-29T19:06:00.005-04:00

Walking around Fort Adams today, the grounds buzzing with the activity of intense preparation for the arrival of 20,000 people 35 musical acts, I got that old feeling. The one that washes over me and makes me so happy to have music in my bones, in my heart and in my life.

As we were setting up in our tent backstage, I heard Suzanne Vega's voice floating in the air. I think it was Klondike who was playing a song of hers to check the sound at the Harbor stage. It sounded so beautiful, and everything I was doing and thinking faded into the background and I thought, "this is as good as it gets. I am so happy right now."

Chadwick Stokes | Simmerkane II

2011-07-22T17:04:00.011-04:00

The first solo album from State Radio and Dispatch band member Chadwick Stokes, was released Tuesday. "Simmerkane II" was recorded in Jim Parr's studio in Oak Bluffs and produced by John Dragoneti. Lots of Chad's musical friends, including Parr, Dragoneti, Embree, White Buffalo and Carly Simon collaborated. A bonus CD is included with three tracks that Chad recorded with The Sierra Leone Refugee Allstars

Chad and his brother took a train-hopping trip across country last summer and many of the songs were inspired by that experience. The songs are tender and insightful. The beautifully detailed lyrics tell stories that reveal a sharp eye and a deep heart.

Chadwick Stokes stopped by mvyradio this week.
Listen here

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Tedeschi Trucks Band | Revelator

2011-06-11T16:30:00.002-04:00

Husband and wife Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi have been talking about doing an album together for years and now with their new CD "Revelator", the time has come. The two met in 1999 when Susan was opening for The Allman Brothers Band, the group that Derek has played with since he was a teenager. They married in 2001. One would be hard-pressed to find a better title for the record. Much is revealed, and at the heart of it all is their joyful, life-long commitment to the pursuit of musical excellence. It seems that the power of this collaboration could eclipse their successful solo careers, at least for a while.

Susan and Derek spent 2010 writing songs, assembling an amazing band and finally recording the album in their Jacksonville, FL home studio, Swamp Raga. Grammy-winning engineer Jim Scott, co-produced the album with Trucks, and like the primary pairing of Tedeschi and Trucks, this match anchors and focuses the record. "Revelator" is a spirited, loving coming together of two major talents, smack dab in the middle of their prime, supported by a close-knit cast of accomplished players.

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Sarah Jarosz | Follow Me Down

2011-05-27T21:08:00.007-04:00

Sarah Jarosz has just turned 20 and the musical maturity that she displays on her new CD "Follow Me Down" reveals a talent that sounds and feels much older, more seasoned than her years. She commands the space on the record with her confident singing and proficient playing on mandolin, banjo and guitar. Her youth is not lost, and comes through in the wonder and joy of discovery that is evident in each song.

Some of the best players in the folk, country and bluegrass world provide support. Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Dan Tyminksi, Victor Krauss, Shawn Colvin, Stuart Duncan join in. Most of the songs are written by Sarah and the covers are well chosen. Chris Thile and The Punch Brothers collaborate on Radiohead's "The Tourist" and Vince Gill and Jerry Douglas bring it on home with Sarah on Bob Dylan's "Ring Them Bells". Gary Paczosa produces with great care.

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Adele and The Civil Wars in Boston 5/15/11

2011-05-17T22:11:00.006-04:00

There was a seemingly endless line that snaked down Landsdowne Street this past Sunday night as Adele fans waited to walk into The House of Blues for the British singer's show that sold out months ago. These were people WITH tickets! and everybody wanted get in early to claim a spot for the night.

At other shows at HOB, I have found a place in the back near the sound board, but Sunday we made our way to the front of the floor section and found room, stage right with a great view of what would be an unforgettable night of music.

From this vantage point, I was able to see the roadies set up for Adele's set and this was a part of the show that I didn't expect to witness. They were getting everything just right. The straight mic stand, the stool, the table with water and tea, the fan, and the four (or was it five?) monitor wedges that would surround Adele with her voice, the voice that everyone was coming to hear.

When we did hear her, it was from off-stage. And when she appeared, it was simply, with her trademark openness, humility and thankfulness, and to great applause and cheers.

The talent that Adele displays is equally matched with the love, admiration and appreciation that her fans have for her. The appreciation is the main thing. Adele does something for her fans beyond just dazzling them with her vocal prowess and stunning presence; it seems that she holds a mirror to their best qualities.

"Rumor Has It" was one of the highlights of the show. Adele tells the story behind the song

The Civil Wars opened the show and...WOW! It was great to finally see them live to get the full picture of what they do and how well they do it. Joy Williams sang with every part of her being, using her entire body to deliver the songs. John Paul White kept the set going with his confident guitar playing and his precise vocals. They moved together in a most unusual way, an intimate musical and familial conversation that we all were part of.

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Hot Tuna | Steady As She Goes

2011-05-06T14:31:00.012-04:00

It's been 20 years since Hot Tuna released an album, so the new "Steady As She Goes" is a welcome arrival and well worth the wait.
Produced by Larry Campbell at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock NY, the album is firmly fixed in the 60's and 70's acoustic/electric rock n' roll that Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady first established in The Jefferson Airplane and their early days in Hot Tuna.

According to Kaukonen, both he and Casady felt very comfortable and free to create in the recording process due Campbell's support of their vision and the producer's clear view of what the final product would sound like. Not only did Campbell produce the record, but he plays multiple instruments, including fiddle and violin, recalling the great sounds of Papa John Creach. Barry Mitterhoff is on mandolins and Skoota Warner on the drums, making this a real band album. Teresa Williams provides harmony vocals, and in a couple of songs sounds like The Airplane's Grace Slick. The effect is perfect, and it's one of the many fine touches that serve to recapture a sound that could well be lost and forgotten but lives on in their music making.

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Alison Krauss and Union Station | Paper Airplane

2011-05-02T07:32:00.006-04:00

The sepia tone of the picture of Alison Krauss and Union Station on the cover of their new album "Paper Airplane" sends a message before the first notes of the record sound. Tradition is important here. Over the course of the past thirty of her thirty-nine years, Krauss has mined the folk and bluegrass traditions of American roots music, recording for the first time when she was fourteen. She has stayed true to her original record label, Massachusetts based Rounder Records, signing with them in 1985. She has worked with Union Station since the early 80's

This album flows like a rolling river, steady and strong, mighty, but contained. There is a depth of experience, a certain world weariness in Krauss' voice that ever so softly permeates the songs she sings here. The twenty plus years of playing with Union Station secures the music so there is not one false note. Dan Tyminski confidently takes the lead vocal on a couple of the tracks. Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day' and Jackson Browne's "My Opening Farewell" are nice additions to the new material written for the record.

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The Little Stevies | Attention Shoppers

2011-04-25T07:29:00.004-04:00

I started listening to this new album by The Little Stevies, a band for Melbourne Australia, just before I went on vacation in March. I took it with me and it ended up in a endless loop in the rental car cd player. These guys have great musical chops and an innate ability to connect heart to heart. The album was recorded in L.A. and produced by Ethan Allen who has worked with Tim Finn and Kristin Hersh.

After doing multiple takes for a video for one of the songs "Feel It", they ended up taking the 10th and last one for the final video. Sisters Sibylla and Bethany Stephen and their band mate Robin Geradts-Gill dance through the shot just like they did when they were kids putting on dance routines for their parents in the back yard. You'll see their folks applauding at the end of the video.

Check it out on Youtube

Dawes | Time Spent In Los Angeles

2011-04-20T13:16:00.007-04:00

We played the new song by Dawes today on mvyradio's What's New For Lunch. The new album "Nothing Is Wrong" will be out June 7th. The song is very SoCal- the band proudly hails from North Hills, CA. It's reminiscent of early Jackson Browne and The Eagles, with Jackson himself, and Benmont Tench appearing on the record. Dawes starts a tour May 5th in Houston, with Brett Dennen joining them on some dates, and will be doing select TV dates and live shows with Robbie Robertson.

Here's a clip of "Time Spent In Los Angeles":
Click here

The band appeared with Robertson on Letterman recently, performing his "He Don't Live Here Now More". Robertson says "They're all at the top of their game. I'm the one that's a little rusty."

See the video on Youtube

Abagail Washburn | City Of Refuge

2011-04-15T15:00:00.006-04:00

Abagail Washburn's artistic aspiration of bringing traditions forward and creating music that offers "a line of connection between hearts" is more than realized in her new album "City of Refuge".

The singer, songwriter and clawhammer banjo player who was with the bands Uncle Earle and Sparrow Quintet, collaborated with many musicians on the record including songwriter, vocalist and instrumentalist Kai Welch and producer and percussionist Tucker Martine, who has worked with Tift Merrit and Decemberists. Washburn decided to work with both Welch and Martine for their indie flair, purposefully going outside of the folk music world to get a new sound working into her music.

Washburn's voice is captivating, both in it's purity and expressiveness. The tone and presence of her banjo is perfectly suited to the Asian musical colors that infuse the album. "I wouldn't be a musician if it weren't for China", she says. She lived there for years and was to return to become a lawyer in Beijing when she got sidetracked and became a musician. The music of that country seems to be written in her soul and provides a unique sensibility here.

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Fleet Foxes | Grown Ocean

2011-04-12T14:06:00.004-04:00

Following the sounds...Here's the video of another song from the new Fleet Foxes album "Helplessness Blues". Nice!

Brett Dennen | Loverboy

2011-04-08T13:42:00.007-04:00

"Loverboy", the new album from Brett Dennen is a joyful, spirited and confident cruise. The movement comes in the sweet match of music and lyrics, each urging the other on. There are a lot of musical ideas and styles working- folk-rock, soul, world, pop- and it all settles into an inviting groove.

The liner notes give meaning to the album title. Brett writes, "This is an ode to the wonderful feeling of love. Whether it be romantic, friendly, or just plain caring for people." The feel is loose but precise, it floats and busts out like a bird set free. Great songwriting, tight band. Production by Brett, with Martin Terefe assisting on a few tracks.

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The Civil Wars | Barton Hollow

2011-03-18T10:37:00.004-04:00

With so much tragedy and strife in the world, the soft and simple coming together of two voices and two musical paths soothes the troubled heart. The Civil Wars is Nashville based, California born Joy Williams, already a music veteran at the young age of 29 and Alabama's John Paul White. Both are accomplished vocalists, songwriters, and instrumentalists who met at a writing camp in 2008. There was a spark of musical recognition between them and they decided to work together. They have just released "Barton Hollow" on Sensibility Records, a record label started by Williams and her husband Nate.

Their band name is beautifully provocative and apt for musicians who have differing musical sensibilities, but what the record reveals is a civil union of their different stylistic approaches to music making. Williams comes from a more pop sensibility and White from a more alt-country one. The resulting dynamic tension is the fuel they travel on. Standout tracks are "20 Years", "I've Got This Friend" and the only instrumental on the album, "The Violet Hour".

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R.E.M.| Collapse Into Now

2011-03-11T15:31:00.002-05:00

Michael Stipe sings "oh my heart, oh my heart", the refrain in the song of the same name on R.E.M.'s new album "Collapse Into Now". His voice rises to each note, precise, pleading and full of emotion. His vocal delivery has a new simplicity and brilliance that sets the tone for the whole record. "It's sweet and it's sad and it's true, how it doesn't look bitter on you." Here is R.E.M. 2011, 30 years in.

On this, their 15th album, the band takes stock of itself. Older, wiser, still searching, and relaxing into their emerging sound. Evidently, Patti Smith, a friend and collaborator on this and 1996's "New Adventures in Hi-Fi", suggested the title of the album. Nice. Long time Patti Smith guitar player Lenny Kaye, Eddie Vedder and Peaches make appearances. Jackknife Lee, the producer of R.E.M.'s last record, "Accelerate" returns to produce. The band has no plans to tour in support of the album, citing tour fatigue. "I just don't want to," says Michael Stipe.

Adele | 21

2011-03-04T13:37:00.005-05:00

“As soon as I got a microphone in my hand, when I was about 14, I realized I wanted to do this,” Adele says. “Most people don’t like the way their voice sounds when it’s recorded. I was just so excited by the whole thing that I wasn't bothered what it sounded like.”

This part of Adele's story is at the heart of her popularity. Underlying all the musical talent that she possesses, the skill in her songwriting and delivery, the powerful vocal technique that feels like it's just the tip of the iceberg of what is yet to come in her career, lies the fact that Adele is completely at home in her music. There is no space between her and it. This authenticity is so appealing and it makes it easy to find a place at her table.

Multiple producers including Rick Rubin worked on the record. Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Fraser Smith doubled on producing and co-writing tracks. Dan Wilson co-wrote three. Adele covers Robert Smith's "Love Song", paying respects to The Cure, the first band she saw in concert -she was three years old.(!) Now 22, she's the one on stage. Her concert tour starts in Olso, Norway on the first full day of spring, March 21st, and she comes to the States in May.

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The Low Anthem| Smart Flesh

2011-02-25T08:49:00.001-05:00

An 40,000 square foot abandoned pasta sauce factory proved to be a worthy challenger and container for "Smart Flesh", the new album from The Low Anthem. Most of the record was recorded at Porino's in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where, incidentally, the band will re-claim the space for a one-time performance on March 12th.

Amazing that a album that is so warm could come in from the reported cold of that building. The songs that were forged there would certainly have been different if they had been recorded in a more comfortable studio setting and that's the point. The space inside of these songs is vast and alive, and in the experience of listening, a world of hurt and wonder wafts in on the wind and takes a deep and gentle hold.

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Over The Rhine | The Long Surrender

2011-02-18T11:27:00.006-05:00

Over The Rhine's Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, along with collaborator/producer Joe Henry have left me riding high in the vast expanse of their brilliant expression and openness to the artistic process. This lofty language is sorely lacking and doesn't come close to describing the impact and value of their new release, "The Long Surrender".

An supremely able musical crew was assembled last May at Joe Henry's studio in Pasadena, CA for a week of recording. Henry enlisted Greg Leisz, Keefus Ciancia, Patrick Warren, Levon Henry, David Piltch, Jay Bellerose, Niki Harris, Jean McClain, James Gilstrap and special guest Lucinda Williams for the album that was financed with the support of close to a thousand of the band's fans.

The excellence of the musical compositions and performances, and the layers of life experience that are reflected are only part of the story. It's the gentle, genuine invitation to enter their sweet 'ole world world that touched me the most. I found it impossible to resist. Great exchange, precious gift.

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Robbie Robertson| How To Become Clairvoyant

2011-02-09T08:30:00.003-05:00

The title track of Robbie Robertson's new album "How To Become Clairvoyant" seems to offer some insight into where the 67 year old musician is at in this time of his life and career. World weary, yet still searching. Investigating, confessing, coming to terms. All with a wry, peaceful and forgiving touch.

Robbie Robertson started "seeing around corners" with the nylon and steel as a teenager in his native Toronto, and made an everlasting mark in the hearts of many as singer, guitarist and primary songwriter for The Band. Now, after 4 solo albums and multiple soundtracks, including many for "bad boy" buddy Martin Scorsese, his former housemate during the editing of The Last Waltz, Robertson has a new solo record, his first in thirteen years.

It all began a couple of years ago when Robertson's and Eric Clapton's guitars started "talking" and the two came up with material that Robertson returned to last year. He knew he had something. Clapton was delighted to do anything on the record. He co-wrote three of the tunes and plays on six, taking lead vocals on "Fear of Falling". Guitarists Tom Morello and Robert Randolph join in. Robertson praises the two, saying "they do something that I don't understand at all; they play a different instrument". Trent Reznor, Steve Winwood and producer Marius De Vries round out the amazing supporting cast. The CD is set for release in April.

Listen for tracks from the album on mvyradio's new music show Uncharted Waters Friday (2/11) at 9 PM ET (repeats Sunday 2/13 at 9 PM ET) on www.mvyradio.com.

Amos Lee | Mission Bell

2011-02-04T09:39:00.011-05:00

The quiet soulfulness of Amos Lee's new album "Mission Bell" offers a sweet and deep listening experience and a mainline connection to the heart of one of America's best singers and songwriters.

This is Lee's fourth album and a number of elements have lined up to make it his best yet. The clarity, soft resonance and round tones of Lee's voice combine with his unwavering commitment to delivering every note as if his life depended on it.

Lee's producer and band on the record support his vision to a T. Joey Burns of Calexico produced "Mission Bell" and he and Calexico band mates, drummer John Convertino and trumpet player Jacob Valenzuela, along with Jaron Olevsky on keyboards and Greg Leisz on pedal steel are a perfect match for Lee.

The songs are lyrically and musically well-defined and spacious. Each one has a spiritual element, with the underlying sentiment being one of compassion for and connection to humanity. Amos Lee rings his mission bell for us all.

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Lori McKenna | Lorraine

2011-01-28T13:17:00.001-05:00

In the title track of her new album "Lorraine", Lori McKenna writes about her mother, her namesake.

"No one’s had a bigger say
In who I am today
I swear I’ve tried to be worthy of
The name they gave me when I was young
But I ain’t that pretty and I ain’t that brave
My kids have seen me cry
They should have given her name to my sister Marie
That don’t mean a thing to you but it does to me"

Lori's mother died when Lori was seven. This album is a testament to her and the deep and lasting impact she has had and continues to have on Lori's life. McKenna's lyrics have always been personal. Her life as a mother, wife, daughter and a hometown girl who lives blocks away from her family of origin's home in Stoughton, MA provides rich material. Her skill as a songwriter is sharp and her ability to write and deliver one powerfully nuanced lyric after another is stunning. This is Lori's 6th album and a welcome heart opening experience. I found myself tearing up often as I listened.

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DeVotchKa | 100 Other Lovers

2011-01-21T18:21:00.005-05:00

Denver, Colorado based DeVotchKa will release their fifth album "100 Lovers" on February 15th. Played the song "100 Other Lovers" today on What's New For Lunch. Check it out!

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James Vincent McMorrow | Early In The Morning

2011-01-16T21:06:00.003-05:00

It feels like someone flipped a switch -a couple of weeks into the new year and here comes the new music!! My first excursion into the sound 0f 2011 came as I, happily, put my hands and ears on "Early In The Morning", the new cd by James Vincent McMorrow. The album actually was released last year in Ireland, but this is the year that many will hear the high and lonesome voice of the Irish singer-songwriter from Dublin. It's a smokey, reedy, and haunting voice. It's elusive and slippery, and it commands attention. I don't think I have heard a voice that got inside me so deeply so quickly since the first time I heard Jeff Buckley.

McMorrow found his way to an isolated house by the sea and made this record over the course of 5 months, recording and playing all the music himself. The cd will be released January 25th in the U.S. and Canada. A very impressive debut.

This video was shot in a Parisian park for Soul Sessions.

Brett Dennen | Sydney (I'll Come Running)

2011-01-11T09:06:00.005-05:00

I think the first time we met Brett Dennen was during an mvyradio On The Road adventure in Louisville, KY in 2007. We already knew how unique his voice was. As soon as you hear it, it makes it's mark on your brain. He came to our hotel suite for an interview with PJ and we immediately discovered another thing about him-- he is very tall. What, maybe 6'5"? He towered over PJ and PJ isn't what you would call short. Well, it's all relative and I digress.

Upon my return to the mvy studios yesterday after some time off, PJ and I listened to some new music and Brett Dennen's new song "Sydney (I'll Come Running)" was one of the songs. It's a catchy, free-wheeling tune about standing by a childhood friend. Great lyrical run in the chorus -- "...Straight from the airport, (I'll come running), cutting through the customs' line (I'll come running), bust down the courthouse doors, (I'll come running) Sydney, I would testify..." Not sure, but the beginning bass line seems to be a reference to Van Morrison's "I'll Come Running" --nice nod.

Check out multiple Brett Dennen performances, and that interview he did with PJ in the mvyradio Archives Scroll to "Brett Dennen"

Lissie | One of the Best of UW 2010

2010-12-31T19:04:00.000-05:00

"Catching A Tiger" is the debut album for California based singer and songwriter Lissie. It was recorded mostly in Nashville and mostly with Jacquire King (Kings of Leon). Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses also participated as he had on her 2009 EP "Why You Runnin'". Great songwriting, strong vocals and sharp arrangements. Definitely one of the highlights of 2010's listening and one of the most promising.

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Lissie is included on this week's playlist, part 3 of the Best of 2010 on mvyradio's new music show, Uncharted Waters. Listen to UW Fridays and repeated on Sundays at 9PM ET on www.mvyradio.com

Best of Uncharted Waters 2010 Part 3

Friday/Sunday December 31, 2010/January 2, 2010

"Cuckoo" Lissie Catching A Tiger Fat Possum
"Only Thing That Was Missing Was You" Michael Franti and Spearhead Sound Of Sunshine Capitol
"The Word" Bettye Lavette Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook Anti-
"Central Two-O-Nine" Robert Plant Band Of Joy Rounder
"Please Speak Well Of Me" The Weepies Be My Thrill Nettwerk
"Color Of Rain" Jason Spooner Sea Monster Jason Spooner
"Blue Beard Band Of Horses Infinite Arms
"In The Years To Come" Kim Richey Wreck Your Wheels Thirty Tigers
"Wade In The Water" Patty Griffin Downtown Church Credential Recordings
"The Universe Is Laughing" Guggenheim Grotto The Universe is Laughing
"Hush" Julia and Angus Stone Down The Way Nettwerk
"God On The Drums, Devil on the Bass" Katie Melua The House Dramatico
"In Magnolia" Kenny White Comfort In The Static
"Don't Forget About Me" John Mellancamp No Better Than This Rounder
"I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" Janiva Magness Alligator
"Always Got Away" Martin Sexton Sugarcoating Kitchen Table Records

Singer Teena Marie Dies | That voice

2010-12-27T12:23:00.010-05:00

I just learned that legendary r&b, soul and funk singer Teena Marie died yesterday of natural causes at age 54 and I join with her many fans in mourning her loss. For me, her voice transcended genres. I loved the musical setting of her music, but that wasn't what got me. It was that voice!

Listening back to some of her songs and checking out some videos of her music led me back to her 1984 album "Starchild" and it felt like the first time I heard her sing. I was so drawn to the emotion and vulnerability in her strong, secure, skilled and passionate sound. I couldn't get her voice out of my head. And now it's back with me as she moves on.

Teena Marie was one of the greatest vocalists of the last thirty-five years and was instrumental in paving the way and making a bridge for the mix of r&b and hip hop that is now a staple of contemporary music. She signed with Motown Records in 1976, switched to Epic in '83 and worked continuously until 1990. She took a fourteen year hiatus, returned in 2004 and released three more albums, including 2009's "Congo Square", which reached the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200.

As I was reading through and listening to some remembrances, I found an interesting connection. Teena Marie worked with songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph, husband of another great r&b singer, Minnie Riperton. Rudolph produced "Lady T" for Teena Marie in 1980, a year after Riperton died. One of the album's songs "Too Many Colors" features the voice of 7 year-old Maya Rudolph, the actress and Rudolph's and Riperton's daughter. Maya Rudolph became Teena Marie's god-daughter.

That voice...filling up some other space. Peaceful passage.

Ray Lamontagne | One of the Best of UW 2010

2010-12-18T09:18:00.011-05:00

Subtlety has great benefits when employed in any form of expression. And when it's combined with a deep and rich inner life, and revealed in song, well, you may find brilliance. Like the light shining through a billion stars in the dark night.

Ray Lamontagne has made a career album in this year's "God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise", his fourth full-length release. It's most likely a career album that will be matched or supplanted by another one of his records down the road. That's how secure he seems to be in the place he came to with his band The Pariah Dogs as they recorded the album over a two-week period in Lamontagne's home studio in Western Massachusetts. Shades of Neil and Joni. Soaring silence of his heart.

In "Like Rock & Roll & Radio", he oh so gently asks "Are you still in love with me?" and likens the estrangement that he feels with the soulless nature of modern radio. Radio has broken his heart, it seems, with the way it's changed. Will his lover do (has his lover done) the same?

Are you still in love with me
Like the way it used to be or is it changing?
Is it deeper over time
Like the river that is winding through the canyon?

Are we strangers now
Like the Ziegfeld Gal and the Vaudeville Show?
Are we strangers now
Like rock and roll and the radio
Like rock and roll and radio?

Ray Lamontagne's song is part of this this week's Best of Uncharted Waters 2010. Here's the playlist:

Friday/Sunday December 17/19/2010 9 p.m. ET www.mvyradio.com

Best of UW 2010 Part 2

"Corpus Christi Carol/Hammerhead" Jeff Beck Emotion and Commotion Atco
"Terrible Love" The National High Violet 4 AD
"Open Arms" Patty Larkin 25 Vanguard
"Like Rock & Roll and Radio" Ray Lamontagne God Willin' and The Creek Don't Rise RCA
"Lingering Still" She and Him Volume 2 Merge
"Creep Along Moses" Mavis Staples You Are Not Alone Anti-
"Boe Money" Galactic with Rebirth Brass Band Ya-Ka-May Anti-
"Your Night Is Wide Open" Tracy Bonham Masts of Manhatta Engine Room
"Only The Wine" David Gray Foundling Mercer Street
"Carry" Ryan Montbleau Heavy on the Vine Blue's Mountain
"Rockin' Chair" Eric Clapton Clapton Reprise
"That Phone" Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Hollywood
"The Curse" Josh Ritter So Runs The World Away Josh Ritter

Frightened Rabbit | one of the Best of UW 2010

2010-12-11T13:04:00.006-05:00

Uncharted Waters is the new releases show that I host on mvyradio (Friday 9 PM; replay Sunday at 9 PM). I have started a 3 part series, looking back over the songs, albums and artists that made their way into this weekly musical container.

There's something about the concentration of approximately 50 hours of music (4 shows x 12 months) into 3 short hours that makes me dizzy and full wonder at the power of song. See part one's playlist below.

One of the songs from this week's show is from Glasglow's Frightened Rabbit, who released their third album "Winter of Mixed Drinks" this year. The record's "Swim Until You Can't See Land" seems to be about transcending the trappings of life:

Dip the toe in the ocean.
Oh how it hardens and it numbs.
And the rest of me is a burgeoned man
built to collapse into crumbs
And if I hadn’t come down
To the coast to disappear
I may have died in a land-slide
Of the rocks, the hopes and fears.

As I was listening to the refrain, "swim until you can't see land" I thought, mmm good theme song for Uncharted Waters!

Here's the playlist for this week's (12/10/11) show:

Best of UW 2010-Part 1

"Run" Vampire Weekend Contra
"I've Got Dreams To Remember" Angelique Kidjo Oyo
"Five Small Words" Elvis Costello National Ransom
"Burden Of Tomorrow" The Tallest Man On Earth The Wild Hunt
"Hurricane Season" Trombone Shorty Backatown
"Hitchhiker" Neil Young Le Noise
"I Didn't See it Coming" Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
"Unfortunate Sea" Everest On Approach
"Let Yourself Go" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Mojo
"Troubled Waters" Catherine Russell Inside This Heart Of Mine
"Swim Until You Can't See Land" Frightened Rabbit Winter Of Mixed Drinks
"Hotel Lights" Amy Cook Let The Light In
"Dry Bones" Robert Randolph and The Family Band We Walk This Road
"Unsophisticated Heart" Joe Pug Messenger

Feist | Look At What The Light Did Now

2010-12-03T08:27:00.004-05:00

In the new documentary about Feist, "Look At What The Light Did Now", the Canadian artist/musician likens herself to a peacock, a "scrawny little bird" amid dazzling plumage. The beauty that surrounds her is born in the artistic collaboration with what she calls her "amplifiers"- her band, photographer, shadow puppeteers, video director and all who work with her to bring her work to light. The film itself is a reflection of an amazingly creative mind and reveals the profound benefits of trust.

"If you trust people and their art, it grows", says Feist.

Milton Music

2010-11-30T11:19:00.004-05:00

Milton came to the Vineyard last week from his home in New York to spend Thanksgiving with his family and he stopped by mvy to sit down for a conversation and a couple of songs. We became aware of Milton in 2008 and played songs from his third album "Grande Hotel" which was released that year. Friend of mvyradio, Buffy McCleery is a fan, too and she was the matchmaker for this interview. She knew that Milton was going to be on-island for the holiday and we took it from there. Thanks, Buffy!

Listen to the interview here.

Check out clips from "Grand Hotel":

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Kim Richey | Wreck Your Wheels

2010-11-26T09:42:00.005-05:00

I read on Kim Richey's facebook page that she is in London and it was her first Thanksgiving Day there. "Turkey, mash, chestnut dressing..." Sounds like she brought a great American meal to her friends across the pond!

Over the last several years Kim has split her time between London and Nashville and her new CD "Wreck Your Wheels" was recorded in "Music City" with her touring band. It's her sixth record, and her collaborative spirit is strong. Every song is co-written by songwriters like Mando Saenz, The Jayhawks Mark Olsen, Beth Rowley and long time friend and collaborator Neilson Hubbard.

Kim has many strengths - an absolutely pristine voice and a songwriting skill that rivals the best in the business -and they are all on display here. But the key to her appeal is the subtlety that underlies it all.

Kim's fans contributed to this video for "Wreck Your Wheels"

Listen to clips from the CD...

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Belle and Sebastian | Write About Love

2010-11-23T07:55:00.011-05:00

The Scottish band that formed in the mid 90's has just released an album "Write About Love", and after years of appreciating what they do from a far, I have been captured, pulled in, won over. The vulnerability and sweetness in their indie sound is emboldened with a pop certainty on this record that lines up with what I have heard between the lines in some of their other work. Seems like a natural, inevitable and wonderful evolution.

Watch...is that Simon and Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade Of Winter" coming through?

Listen to it...pop...

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What's New... today

2010-11-19T09:14:00.005-05:00

I'm putting together a set of new music for The Lunch Hour on mvyradio ...The new tunes will roll out at about 12:20 PM.

Paul Simon has a new album, done and due for release in the spring of next year. Just so happens there is a song on it called "Getting Ready For Christmas Day". What to do? Release it! Play it!

I found another track to play from The Autumn Defense's new CD "Once Around". "The Swallows of London Town" is one of the stand out tracks from John Stirratt and Pat Sansone on their fourth CD.

Louisville's Cheyenne Marie Misez has a new CD "Before Lately". "Friend" got me on the first note.

Ryan Montbleau's "Lonesome Serenade" is track # 13 on "Heavy On The Vine", some sweet stuff as the new album is coming to a close. His fans are going to want to hear this song when he plays with J.J. Grey and Mofro next Wednesday (11/24) at The Paradise in Boston!

AND FINALLY! Adele! We just got "Rolling In The Deep" from "21" her second CD due for release in February. I learned a new word from Adele -"chuffed". That's what she is after completing the new record. Quite pleased. You will be, too, when you hear it today on www,mvyradio.com

Dan Zanes | Family Man

2010-11-17T14:06:00.009-05:00

Dan Zanes and his band will play at The Zeiterion Theater in New Bedford this Sunday, November 21st. The music Dan has been focusing on for the last thirteen years or so is, by his own description, "handmade music". He has revisited songs of Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and many others and put his own particular spin on them.

The birth of his daughter, who is now 16 years old, lead him to this "parallel universe". After she was born, as he was wondering what would be the very first song he would play for her, it never occurred to him that it could be one that HE sang to her. Shortly after that, he started to make family music.

There's one thing that runs through all of his music making, from his time with Boston's The Del Fuegos in the '80s, his solo records of the '90s and his family music of the past decade and it's the element of participation. The Del Fuegos never felt like they had played a gig, unless people danced. In 2010, as he celebrates ten years of his Festival Five Records, the idea behind Dan's records and his shows is not only to inspire people to dance and to participate in HIS music but also to encourage them to make their own.

Listen to my interview with Dan Zanes here

Get on Dan's train:

Bruce Springsteen | The Promise

2010-11-16T09:20:00.004-05:00

The previously un-released tracks from the "Darkness on the Edge of Town" sessions will be released today as "The Promise". The whole package includes 2 CDs and 3 DVDs. Springsteen says it's "a new/old record, the lost sessions of music that could have/should have been released after "Born To Run" and before the collection of songs that became 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'". Springsteen went back to the music that the had abandoned thirty years ago and selected twenty-one tracks from the '77,'78 sessions. He left many of the tracks just as they were recorded, and worked on some, doing "what I would've done to them at the time and no more."

These songs were recorded at transitional time in Springsteen's career, a time when he was emerging from the tremendous success of "Born To Run" and a time that was marked by intense legal battles. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is one of Springsteen's most beloved albums. His return to music that was recorded during this period material feels like a necessary journey of discovery and reconciliation.

Listen to www.mvyradio.com today at 12:30 to hear some of the songs.

Check out songs clips from the CD here:

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NEeMA | Escape

2010-11-04T08:58:00.004-04:00

I just saw the video of a new song by Montreal based singer NEeMA, and I want to share it. "Escape" is from a new album called Watching You Think and the song makes a lasting impression, due in great part to the sweet innocence of the video, which was shot at Ecole St-Ambroise in Little Italy in Montreal. NEaMA (pronounced "Nee-mah") has had a lot experience with working with children in a pre-school in Montreal and also with street kids in Egypt. Mentor's Leonard Cohen and Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan, Ron Sexsmith) helped produce the new record. NEeMA is on tour with The Chapin Sisters.

Check out the video:

Listen to song clips from the album:

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Neil Young | Le Noise

2010-10-15T08:48:00.004-04:00

It seems that Neil Young is always very aware of the journey he is on as a performing artist and human being and spontaneously draws people and experiences to himself that manifest his life and music. "Le Noise" is Young's new album, produced by Daniel Lanois, aptly titled because of the rugged, crunchy, big sound of the record, but named for "Le Noise" --Daniel Lanois. Deeply personal, probing and raw, we are witness to pieces of Young's inner life unfolding in a vivid sonic atmosphere created by Young and partner Lanois. "Black Dub" is a technique that Lanois used for this project. He takes parts of the music that he has recorded and re-inserts it into the song, like a piece of cloth cut out of a dress and then re-applied in another spot. The result is a new sound that will be interesting to track as it, and if it finds it's way into other musicians' palettes.

Listen to some of the tracks from 'Le Noise" tonight at 9 PM ET on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters and hear the entire album on mvy's Album of The Week Wednesday (10/20) at 9 PM ET.

Tracy Bonham | Masts Of Manhatta

2010-09-24T11:05:00.010-04:00

I wondered about the title of Tracy Bonham's new album "Masts Of Manhatta". Intriguing, strong, mysterious. Come to find out that it's taken from a phrase from Walt Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." "Cross from shore to shore, countless crowds of passengers. Stand up, tall masts of Manhattan! Stand up, beautiful hills of Brooklyn." One of the many unexpected pleasures of encountering Tracy Bonham again -going back to read Walt Whitman again!

It's been five years and a lot of life changes since Bonham's last CD. She got married, got certified as a yoga teacher, moved to Woodstock and now splits her time between her home there and Brooklyn.

Smokey Hormel from Brooklyn's Smokey's Roundup is on guitars with his bass player, Tim Luntsel and drummer Andy Borger, providing the roots backbone to the album. Tchad Blake mixed it.

The record holds together beautifully, with Bonham's sense of humor and strength as a singer and player (violins, Fender Rhodes, guitar, piano, claves, spaghetti pot, cardboard box) filling the tracks. All the years of playing -her early classical training in her native Eugene, Oregon, her time in the early '90's at Berklee and playing in Boston, and her subsequent, short-lived dominance on the alternative scene in the mid 90's all serve her well and make the release one of the best of the late summer, early fall season.

Listen...

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Mavis Staples | You Are Not Alone

2010-09-11T21:28:00.006-04:00

I go through a process as I listen to an album for the first time. Because of the volume of music I listen to every week, it's rather quick, but a process nonetheless. Even with a legendary musician like Mavis Staples, one I am so ready to accept absolutely, it takes a certain amount of time before an album kicks in, takes hold. And that moment when it does, the moment when I'm swept away is my favorite part of the music listening routine.

As I made my way through "You Are Not Alone" the new CD from Chicago's Mavis Staples, I asked myself "Do I like this?" and "Am I going to get blown away?" I experienced a slow build, and by the time I circled through a few times, I was sold. The song choices are inspired, and include a few written by her dad the late "Pops" Staples, a couple by the album's producer, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy (love the title track written by Jeff!), and one from Randy Newman, "Losing You", another killer song choice. Mavis has so much depth as a singer and what I realized was happening with the slow build was that I was traveling inside her sound, with all of it's subtlety and breadth of experience. And all at once, I got to the center and found what I was hoping for, what she was going for.

Listen to clips from the CD here.

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Lou Reed at mvyradio October 1997

2010-08-26T13:40:00.002-04:00

It was a Sunday morning about 11 when Lou Reed came to the station in October of 1997. He was on the island to play a gig at The Hot Tin Roof. Several staffers showed up to get a glimpse, and a rooster was in a tree near the building. Lou was delighted with the rooster, and with the fact that a cool, independent radio station existed on the Vineyard.

We settled in and started our conversation, and I was amazed at how relaxed, open and forthcoming Lou was. We talked about what he listened to as a kid, his vocal style, his guitar playing and his home, New York City. The thirty or so minutes I spent with him was definitely one of the highlights of my career.

Listen to the interview here .

Robert Randolph | We Walk This Road

2010-08-18T08:28:00.011-04:00

Robert Randolph started playing pedal steel guitar when he was 15, but he had been witness to the "Sacred Steel" since he was a child at The House Of God Church. By the time he stared playing, he had already learned from the great players in the church that there is only one way to play, and that's with feeling. At 19, he heard Stevie Ray Vaughn and he was on his way to a career combining gospel, roots and rock into a unique style that caught the attention of Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, B.B. King, and most recently T Bone Burnett.

Robert was lookng for a producer that could connect him more deeply to his roots -the blues and gospel that were already part of his music. He found T Bone Burnett. T Bone produced "We Walk This Road" and yet again serves as teacher, facilitator, benefactor and all-around musical guru to yet another musician and musical project.

See Robert Randolph and The Family Band at Rhythm & Roots Labor Day Weekend. Get a deal on tickets to the festival with a donation to Friends of mvyradio.

I spoke with Robert Randolph this week. Click here

Check out clips from "We Walk This Road"

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Guggenhiem Grotto | The Universe Is Laughing

2010-08-13T11:01:00.006-04:00

The Guggenheim Grotto have made another outstanding album called "The Universe Is Laughing". Kevin May and Mike Lynch are top songwriters and they deliver their music with absolute perfection.

Listen tonight (repeats Sunday 8/15 at 9 PM ET) as I feature several tracks from the cd on Uncharted Waters at 9 PM ET. www.mvyradio.com

Sample the album

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Remembering Jerry Garcia with Jer Bear

2010-08-10T13:15:00.001-04:00

Jer Bear, the host of mvyradio's Shakedown Stream sat in with me yesterday to mark the 15th Anniversary of Jerry Garcia's passing. I wanted to post the conversation here in case you didn't hear it. Jer brought in some Jerry tunes to play -a newly released version of "Friend Of The Devil" from Let it Rock on Rhino Records, "Russian Lullaby" an Irving Berlin song that Jerry Garcia does on Compliments (also on Rhino) and "So Many Roads", a song recorded on July 9, 1995, exactly one month before Jerry died.

Listen to the interview here

Jer continues his Jerry tribute today (Tuesday, August 10) at 5 PM ET on mvyradio's Shakedown Stream

Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Myer | At Naukabout in Falmouth

2010-08-07T01:25:00.017-04:00

I spoke with Bela Fleck the other day in advance of his appearance at Naukabout in Falmouth today (Saturday August 7th). Check out what he has to say about hearing the banjo for the first time on The Beverly Hillbillies, being a student of music in every situation, and being involved in so many once in a lifetime career events. Click here

Find out about Naukabout

New Lee Ritenour, Guggenheim Grotto, Richard Thomson

2010-08-05T22:27:00.008-04:00

Love this photo on the cover of Lee Ritenour's new cd! There is a lot of light inside any instrument that is just waiting to be released.

That's exactly what happens on this album, with some of the world's greatest guitarists joining Ritenour for outstanding and inspired performances. John Scofield, Keb Mo', Taj Mahal, Mike Stern, B.B. King, Joe Bonamassa all contribute. Listen for a few songs from the record tonight at 9 PM ET on Uncharted Waters, the new music show I host on mvyradio.

You'll also hear new Guggenheim Grotto, Richard Thompson, Paula Cole and J.J. Grey and Mofro featuring Toots Hibbert.

Newport Folk Festival | Positive Vibration

2010-08-02T11:41:00.010-04:00

It's Monday morning following Newport Folk and we're all feeling the musical love that was filling the air all weekend long at Fort Adams State Park, and on Friday night at The Tennis Hall Of Fame. You couldn't ask for better weather and all festival goers know that the warm and sunny totally trumps sweltering and steamy or rainy and muddy.

There were so many amazing musical performances that it's a challenge to pick the highlights. There were some sets that totally knocked me out. Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings was the absolute top for me, and I bet for many others. The place went wild during her set! I couldn't stop dancing as I watched from the back of the field in front of the main stage. At one point I found myself jumping up and down. It's been awhile since that happened.

Andrew Bird, John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Horse Feathers, Dawes, Swell Season and Levon Helm were my other favorites, but EVERYBODY was great and once again the folks at Newport Folk outdid themselves on all fronts. The quality of the artist line-up, the sound, and the overall experience of being at the festival was absolutely top notch and that's what Newport delivers year after year. Listen to music from the festival here.

Steve Martin | Tim O'Brien |Sarah Jarosz| and more!

2010-07-30T06:54:00.004-04:00

I was looking at Steve Martin's website and in "The Martin Mirror", his "electric newspaper" he writes "Breaking News: Steve Martin's Tour Rider Leaked". A tour rider, if you don't know, is the part of an artist contract that stipulates all of the details of what an artist expects at an appearance. Because of the specificity and sometimes excessive requirements, tour riders are ripe for this kind of treatment. Under "Buffet" "Tray of Iceberg Lettuce. Important Note: Iceberg must come from Scandinavia, Canada or Russian Arctic. Artists do not like taste of Antarctic Icebergs." And this "Artist Relations: Venue must have Bela Fleck on speed dial, in case Steve's feeling lazy". Funny guy, Steve Martin. His humor is on display in everything he does and his banjo playing is such a joyful addition to what he offers us.

Steve Martin is appearing tonight at The International Tennis Hall Of Fame in Newport, RI to kick off the Newport Folk Festival. Tim O'Brien and Sarah Jarosz open. We'll see you there and all weekend in Newport! If you can't make it to the festival, join us online at www.mvyradio.com. Listen to mvy today at 12:20 and at 9 ET for a musical preview of the festival.

Tom Tom Club on mvyradio Summer of 2003

2010-07-22T11:31:00.006-04:00

Tina Weymouth, Chris Franz and their son Kid Ginseng came to the mvyradio studio in July, 2003 for an interview before a gig at the Atlantic Connection in Oak Bluffs. They talked about Talking Heads, The Ramones, radio and Jaws. Check out the conversation today at 12:30 as I celebrate 25 years at mvy.

Listen to the entire interview

What's New/Essential mvy Today

2010-07-20T11:48:00.003-04:00

Just opened the mvyradio mail and put the new Ferraby Lionheart in the CD player- love the first track "Holdin' Me Back" and will send it out on the air and web today on What's New For Lunch at 12:20. I'll also play some Carlos Santana to celebrate his birthday on mvyradio's Essential mvy. www.mvyradio.com

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers| Mojo

2010-06-18T19:01:00.006-04:00

There's something so appealing about Tom Petty. You can just tell he's a great guy -honest and dependable. This may be complete projection, and if it's not true and he's a jerk, so be it. I will just live in my little Tom Petty love bubble.

The solid-as-a-rock, "I trust this guy" vibe is an important element to his music making and songwriting, and it is in full effect on "Mojo", the new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album. His mojo, his magic, is his relatability

You believe that what he writes about happens or could happen to someone. Simple stories about everyday life and everyday feelings. The songs roll by like the countryside outside of a car window on a long cross-country drive. There are real people living lives of joy and struggle in these towns, in these songs. The musical landscape of the record is familiar, but Tom and the Heartbreakers are definitely cutting a new path. Favorite songs "Let Yourself Go", "Jefferson Jericho Blues" and "Something Good Coming". I'll play several songs tonight on Uncharted Waters on mvyradio at 9PM ET (replay on Sunday at 9PM ET).

Listen...

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Bettye Lavette | Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook

2010-05-28T17:14:00.012-04:00

The only thing better than hearing Bettye LaVette sing on her new CD "Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook" is seeing the "satisfied n' tickled, too" expression on her face on the album cover. "The Great Lady of Soul" seems to be full of joy and a sense of accomplishment as this CD, one of the most nuanced and deeply delivered albums of song interpretations ever, makes it way out to the world.

Bettye's unwavering commitment to every song resonates like the truest love and her life experience seems to be crystallized in every note. She takes it seriously, this stepping out with The Beatles, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and Elton John, and her success is due in great part to her not being daunted by the task and taking fearless leaps. R&B, Blues, and Soul influenced British rockers and now it comes full circle with the one of soul music's greats bringing it home.

Robert Plant has invited her to join him on his tour in late July.

Listen tonight to mvyradio's Uncharted Waters at 9 PM ET (repeated Sunday at 9PM) as I feature a few tracks from the CD. www.mvyradio.com

Listen...

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The Tallest Man On Earth | The Wild Hunt

2010-05-21T17:32:00.001-04:00

So much of what we experience about another person is their presence. Presence --a great word for what it is that captures us about someone. Their ability to be be present, at ease, claim the space, or not. There are a lot of ways to make a lasting impression and often there's a certain je ne sais quoi, literally a "I don't know that" quality.

I can identify much of what impresses me about singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson, a.k.a. The Tallest Man On Earth on his new CD "The Wild Hunt". His confidence, his simple, potent guitar playing, his incisive lyrics. But what is most striking to me is his ability to command the energy of the album from start to finish. The way he carries the flow feels a little like a magic trick, and after each listen, I found myself captivated again. Maybe it's just his confidence, but it seems like more than that. Je ne sais quoi...

I'll feature some tracks from "The Wild Hunt" tonight on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters at 9PM ET. www.mvyradio.com

Listen...

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Martin Sexton | Sugarcoating

2010-05-14T14:33:00.003-04:00

There's so much to love about Martin Sexton's music. Perfection, vulnerability, spontaneity, joy, questioning, wonder. But the top note, the deepest experience, is connection. He opens himself to the stirrings of his heart and to the intimate artistic process of bringing his life to music, and we're invited in. Such a gift!

"Sugarcoating" is Martin's new CD, his ninth. Beautifully realized songs with great players bringing each one home. Guitarist Duke Levine, one of Boston's finest, plays a key role, as does another Boston legend, producer, musician, songwriter Crit Harmon, who co-produced the album with Martin and co-wrote one of the songs. Dan MacKenzie co-wrote 10 of the 13 songs. Dave Mattucks is on drums and minnow bucket. I experienced the minnow bucket first hand when Dave played with Martin in a Louisville hotel suite for one of Martin's many mvyradio on-air appearances, the one where Martin so loved the guitar we had rented from a local music store, that he bought it.

Martin does the bulk of the back-up vocal work using his unique "character" approach --"cowboy vocals" on "Sugarcoating", a poignant take on post 9/11 America and "choir vocals" on "Always Got Away", a stunning song about impermanence, lessons learned anew, and love that lasts. The sequencing is perfect, giving the record a wonderful flow. So much skill, restraint and hard-won musical prowess. This is a watershed record for Martin Sexton.

I'll feature a few tracks from "Sugarcoating" tonight on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters at 9 PM ET on www.mvyradio.com

Listen...

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Trombone Shorty | Backatown

2010-05-07T09:51:00.003-04:00

Supafunkrock. That's how Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews describes his music. If anybody deserves a new word to characterize his music, it's Trombone Shorty. Along with his band Orleans Avenue, made up in part of childhood friends, he is creating an original sound born out of the musical traditions of his hometown of New Orleans. Andrews grew up in the Treme in the 6th Ward, the oldest black neighborhood in the U.S., and the fun music and dancing he experienced as a kid, and the showmanship he developed as a street performer, is the basis of his no holds barred approach.

Lenny Kravitz, Marc Broussard and Allen Touissant contribute, and Ryan Montbleau co-wrote two of the songs on the CD. Kravitz took a chance on an 18 year old Troy Andrews (he's now 24) and brought him out on tour with him in 2004. "Playing with that band was like Kobe Bryant going straight from high school to the pros," Andrews' sister told him. The experience of playing with Kravitz was pivotal, with Andrews having to learn "20 years of music" and watching Kravitz hold huge audiences in the palm of his hand.

"I'm his biggest fan," says jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. Add me to the long (second) line!

Trombone Shorty is the featured artist on mvyradio's new music show, Uncharted Waters at 9PM ET. http://www.mvyradio.com/

Listen...

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Janiva Magness | The Devil Is an Angel Too

2010-04-30T14:40:00.004-04:00

Janiva Magness does just what you want her to do on her new CD "The Devil Is An Angel Too", her second outing on Alligator Records. She gives us more proof that she is one of the best recording artists and entertainers working today.

Her live shows are electric. Janiva won the 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer of The Year and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year. She has been able to bring that excitement and energy to the new record, just as she did with 2008's "What Love Can Make You Do". Passionate, throaty, up-close-and-personal vocals, inspired song choices and great backing players. She reaches inside every song, finds the heart and then delivers a world of hurt, or a world of joy.

I'm going to feature several tracks from the album on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters tonight at 9 PM ET on http://www,mvyradio.com/ Talk to you then!

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Jeff Beck | Emotion and Commotion

2010-04-28T13:49:00.001-04:00

If an artist is lucky enough to have a long career, the musical world that he or she creates over the years can be vast, ever evolving and revealing. Who would have guessed that monster, master guitarist Jeff Beck would name "Over The Rainbow" as one of his favorite songs? But then again, given his penchant for inspired interpretations of a beautifully eclectic assortment of songs, it's absolutely no surprise.

In the liner notes to his new album "Emotion and Commotion", Beck calls the song, that became Judy Garland's signature, one of the most beautiful ever written and says "I finally figured out what it is about Judy Garland's voice that gets straight to you; her vibrato is unsteady. Anyone else with an unsteady vibrato would make you cringe, but not her." No surprise, either that he notices and understands what it is about an instrument and an artist that gets to you.

Beck seems to simply love sound, and voices in particular, and all of the possibilities that present themselves when musicians gather to play. Joss Stone, Imelda May and Olivia Safe all provide guest vocals and Beck includes two Jeff Buckley songs because of being "amazed" by "the beauty of the way he sounded." The orchestration by Peter Murray is stunning and the perfect setting for Beck's guitar.

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Patty Larkin | 25

2010-04-22T07:26:00.003-04:00

It really wasn't planned at all, that Patty Larkin's celebration of her twenty-five years of making records, would be so comprehensive, so expansive and so poignant. But that's what happened.

Patty's "25" is a collection of her songs, re-visited by her and re-fashioned by the personal crafting of twenty-five musicians that Patty has admired and worked with over the course of her career. She recorded the songs, unplugged and sent them out, and they came back, surprising musical gifts in every package.

The record is dedicated to her mother, Mary Jeanne, a painter and Patty's biggest fan, who passed away last September. Two weeks after her mother died, Patty started work on the record and she says that the emotions she was feeling opened her up "to the moment" and a raw and sometimes more mature vocal sound emerged.

The project has re-united her with many old musical friends like David Wilcox, Jonatha Brooke, Chris Smither and John Gorka. She is playing out on tour with many of them and will be at The Regent Theater in Arlington this Saturday, April 24Th with Birdsong at Morning.

Today on The Lunch Hour (about 12:15 PM ET) on www.mvyradio.com, I feature part of a conversation with Patty and give away some tickets to Saturday's Arlington show. Full interview with Patty will be posted later today in the mvyradio Archives.

Listen...

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Angus and Julia Stone | Down The Way

2010-04-20T09:50:00.003-04:00

Musical partnership is the bedrock of music making and no matter what the relationship of the partners, the sound of the bond has traveled far and deep by the time it reaches our ears.

Australian sister-brother team Angus and Julia Stone have just released their second full album "Down The Way" and I find myself thinking about the sibling aspect of their association because all I know about it is what is revealed in the songs. It's an aural entree into a connection that only the two can begin to understand.

A gentle feel and a quiet, sweet wondering keeps on throughout. The record has a long-ago tint; the sepia photos (of their family? other families?) inside the liner notes add to this. Self-produced, recorded in different locations all over the world, a perfectly realized album.

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Jonsi | Go

2010-04-16T09:58:00.002-04:00

What do you do when you're sitting on a pack of breathtaking songs that don't quite work with your current band? Jonsi, lead singer and cello bowing guitarist of Iceland's Sigur Ros, answers the question with his solo debut "Go"and an ambitious tour. Sweeping, sometimes bleeping, earnest vocals against a back drop of high-flying, dramatic arrangements. The majority of songs are sung in English. Descriptions of his live shows indicate that the production elements match, support and blow the roof off, just like the music.

Listen tonight at 9 PM ET to mvyradio's Uncharted Waters on www.mvyradio.com as I feature tracks from Jonsi's "Go", plus new music from Angus and Julia Stone, Justin Currie, and Ruth Moody.

Sample some clips from "Go" here:

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Freelance Whales | Weathervanes

2010-04-13T13:37:00.001-04:00

An emerging sound palate. A new sound scape. Same language, different dialect. With a name like Freelance Whales, the sky's the limit, right? And the deep blue sea.

Listening, I say to myself, "I like this." After a few songs I ask myself, "Where's this going?" Then I feel the direction. It's kind of vertical, swooping up then down, then up again. And it's more in than out. Quiet joy. Some of the sounds are toy-like, popular these days, and this underlines the child-like quality that washes over the whole record. There's a great mix of acoustic and electronic, lovely vocals, and...the glockenspiel. Nice! Magical, spacey private world. Available today.

Listen...

Natalie Merchant | Leave Your Sleep

2010-04-09T11:40:00.004-04:00

It's been seven years since we've had a studio album from Natalie Merchant and "Leave Your Sleep", her new collection of songs adapted from the works of a wide spectrum of poets, is, in Merchant's words "the most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined." Indeed! Over 130 musicians playing on 26 tracks in multiple musical styles- Cajun, reggae, chamber, jazz, Celtic, r&b and early music. The songs were recorded in live ensemble settings and the spontaneity and live feel come through beautifully.

The project was inspired by a "long conversation" between Merchant and her daughter during the first six years of her life, with Merchant bringing the characters of obscure poems to life as she read aloud. Five years of research ensued and in the process, Merchant, who has never thought of herself as a poet despite her years of writing song lyrics, became absolutely enthralled and "used music to enter these poems." The CD will be available April 13th. Album cover and Natalie picture here by the amazing Mark Seliger!

I'll play tracks from "Leave Your Sleep" along with new music by Josh Ritter, Jonsi, and Doug Wamble today during mvyradio's The Lunch Hour (12 noon ET) and on Uncharted Waters tonight (9 PM ET) www.mvyradio.com. Tonight's featured artist on UW is Angelique Kidjo.

Kenny White | Comfort In The Static

2010-04-07T18:04:00.003-04:00

He's the go-to guy for lots of musicians, producing Peter Wolf and Shawn Colvin, and going out on the road with Cheryl Wheeler, Jonathon Edwards, and Judy Collins. After a listen to his new record "Comfort In The Static" (his second on Collins' Wildflowers label), it's SO clear why so many people want to work with him and why he is so respected by his peers.

His stated aim, to give an honest account of what's in his heart, is true. He has a sharp eye for the details of everyday life and brings this to bear in his lyric writing. And musically, his melodies, great chord changes, arrangements and dynamic piano playing create an intimate setting for his songs. Shades of Mose Allison, Randy Newman, and Ben Folds.

Amy Cook | Let The Light In

2010-03-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Alejandro Escovedo produced Amy Cook's new CD "Let The Light In". Two Austinites and two musicians of seemingly like minds. There's an edge to Amy's lyrical approach and who better to support that than someone like Escovedo who is equally at home with screaming guitars AND string quartets in the mix. Tosca String Quartet is featured on the record and their participation along with Patty Griffin's on "Hotel Lights" knocks me out. A perfectly realized song! Great string arrangements throughout from Stephen Barber and stand out guitar playing by David Pulkingham.

Listen tonight for Amy Cook, the featured artist on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters at 9 ET on www.mvyradio.com

Hear clips of "Let The Light In" here:

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Angelique Kidjo | Oyo

2010-03-17T09:21:00.007-04:00

Beautiful, focused, committed, unforgettable. Angelique Kidjo. You see it in the picture here, hear it in the music she has created over the past two decades and know it from her untiring philanthropic efforts. In her new album "Oyo", she interprets some of the music she heard growing up in Benin, West Africa by artists like Aretha Franklin (her biggest influence apart from Miriam Makeba), Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Carlos Santana, plus some Beninese traditional music and songs from Hollywood and Bollywood fims. Each song choice has a story behind it, and the album is a journey into Kidjo's musical heart and life experience. The CD will be released April 6th.

Peter Gabriel | Scratch My Back

2010-03-12T13:55:00.005-05:00

I saw Peter Gabriel in the 80's -can't remember exactly what year, but it was at The Orpheum in Boston. During the performance, Gabriel fell backwards from the stage, on purpose, into the waiting arms of his fans. This was something he did a lot during that time period. I was so moved by the gesture and all it implied. Trust, fearlessness, abandon, humanity. Peter Gabriel employs these qualities, that seem to be still in great supply, on his new CD "Scratch My Back". It's a covers album with a wide assortment of songwriters represented -Lou Reed, Talking Heads, Randy Newman, The Magnetic Fields and Elbow. Songwriting is what got Gabriel into music and he has long wanted to make an album where he is the interpreter of the songs rather that the writer.

At first. the record seems plodding but once you lock into the rhythm of Gabriel's intent, and let John Metcalfe's beautiful arrangements and orchestration wash over you, it starts to gel as a whole record. The centerpiece is Lou Reed's "The Power of The Heart", a commanding song that is so suited to Gabriel's style. "Listening Wind" written by David Byrne and Brian Eno and originally on Talking Heads "Remain In Light" CD is also a great choice for Gabriel. I feel like I can hear his process as I listen to the album. It seems like each aspect was carefully considered and that the journey lives inside each song.

Listen tonight at 9 PM ET to mvyradio's Uncharted Waters as I feature tracks from the CD. www.mvyradio.com

Listen to clips of the CD here:

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Ellis Paul | The Day After Everything Changed

2010-03-01T09:27:00.002-05:00

I'm listening to Ellis Paul's new record "The Day After Everything Changed" and as each song reaches my ear, I'm thinking about the intimacy of songwriting and making records. Here I am on my computer at my kitchen table being invited into Ellis' heart. And he doesn't even know it!

Well, he might guess that I'd be enjoying what he does so well, based on the fact that 20,000 others, his fan base, and a legion of other singer-songwriters and music business types admire the songwriting and sensibility that has been over 20 years in the making. In fact, his fans funded his new album, and you can hear the evidence of their involvement. There is a cohesiveness and depth to this record that seems to be in part about this connection.

My favorite songs -"The Day After Everything Changed" -a soaring homage to love, beauty, revelation and the passage of time; "Rose Tattoo" -a story about a couple's love in tough economic times, with wonderful everyday references in the lyrics; and "Dragonfly" -simplicity and wonder fuel this love song, acoustic guitar weaving, high and lonesome vocals rising.

We're giving the CD away today as The Monday Free CD on www.mvyradio.com

Listen to clips of the new CD here:

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The Holmes Brothers | Feed My Soul

2010-02-26T14:30:00.004-05:00

It isn't surprising that Joan Osborne was drawn to The Holmes Brothers after meeting them in New York in the '80's. The sound that the band had developed by then, a mix of gospel, soul, country and roadhouse rock was right up her alley. They all became friends and collaborators and in 2001, she produced "Speaking In Tongues". She has returned to produce the new CD "Feed My Soul".

Wendall and Sherman Holmes, and Popsy Dixon formed The Holmes Brothers in 1979, and this is the 4th album that they have done in a decade, all on Chicago's Alligator Records. Wendall's 2008 cancer diagnosis was a devastating blow to the group, but the triumph of his recovery lead directly to the making of this album with it's ever-present sweet and stunning vocals, strong songwriting, gently commanding performances.

I'll feature the album tonight on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters at 9 PM ET. www.mvyradio.com

Listen to clips from the CD here:

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Sonos | SONOsings

2010-02-19T10:30:00.005-05:00

We had a visit from the band Sonos this week and they joined me on mvyradio's Lunch Hour Wednesday. Sonos is a group of six singers from L.A. who all came out of the Southern California college A Capella scene. They have just released their debut CD, covering songs by artists as diverse as The Jackson 5, Fleet Foxes, and Radiohead. I loved the new record immediately when I heard it last December, and I thought as I listened that it would be great to have the chance to interview Sonos at some point and to hear them live. And that's just what happened inside the cozy main studio at mvy!

The interview process is so great for connecting with an artist or group, to get the inside scoop on what goes on with the creation of a certain sound, how it all comes together, the challenges that present. And then the music plain and simple and superb right there before your eyes and ears. It seems that Sonos is treading new ground inside an old tradition. The harmonies and arrangements are precise but the spirit is free-wheeling. That combined with adventurous song choices make this vocal group one to cheer for.

Listen to my interview with Sonos.

Listen to clips of the new CD "SONOSings" here:

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Corinne Bailey Rae | The Sea

2010-01-29T14:16:00.008-05:00

When Corinne Bailey Rae's self-titled debut album came out in 2006, millions went crazy for it and this bright new voice from the UK. "Put Your Records On" and "Like A Star" became hit singles and the album was nominated for multiple Grammies and Brit Awards. As big and accomplished as that album was, nothing could have prepared us for the monumental acheivement of Bailey Rae's new album "The Sea".

As I listened, I keep asking myself, "Is anyone else doing anything like this"? The record breaks through and rises above any idea of genre. It's completely unique. Her influences are clear - jazz, soul, r&b, singer-songwriter - but as Bailey Rae writes in the song "Diving For Hearts", "I long to keep on diving until my heart is found". That's what she has done and the fearlessness of her pursuit has translated into the most compelling album of the new year.

I'll feature tracks from "The Sea" tonite at 9 p.m. ET on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters.

Listen to some clips from the CD here:

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Joe Pug | Messenger

2010-01-15T08:03:00.005-05:00

A few years back, hands around a cup of coffee, Joe Pug decided to leave his life as a playwright student at The University of North Carolina, to start putting ideas, originally meant for a play he was writing, to song. He moved to Chicago and eventually recorded a pack of songs that became the EP "Nation Of Heat". Joe started offering this CD to his fans for free, mailing it out, complete with a thank you note and postage covered. He still does this on his website. Recognizing that his potential fans might not want to throw down $ for an unknown entity, Joe makes an offering of his music, spreading the word and building his audience by going over to their side of the musician-fan relationship.

"Messenger", Joe's first full-length CD is due February 16, 2010. Two times through the album now, I am sitting with his clean, unadorned sound and approach, layers of unaffected nuance emerging as light as a feather. Joe Pug has piercing blue eyes, and I'm thinking about this as I write. You know that expression, "You can get lost in his eyes"? Well, what is true about Joe Pug's eyes is true about his music. An open space that draws you in and affects you. Lost and found.

Chicago visual artist Shawn Stucky provides the beautiful album art.

Listen to some tracks from the new CD tonight at 9 PM on mvyradio's Uncharted Waters and on Joe's website.

New! Galactic with Irma Thomas | "Heart Of Steel"

2010-01-12T12:16:00.010-05:00

Galactic, one of New Orleans' premiere bands and just about the funkiest of the funky will release a new CD, "Ya-Ka-May" on February 9, one week before Mardi Gras. Good timing! We got a song from the album in yesterday - I jumped right on it and played it on What's New For Lunch today.

Irma Thomas guests on the song, "Heart Of Steel", and she is one of about 15 New Orleans' musicians that join Galactic on this, their sixth album. "The Soul Queen of New Orleans" delivers in her usual solid, understated, right on the money way. Allen Toussaint, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Rebirth Brass Band and other New Orleans' musicians from many different genres collaborated with the band not only in the performances, but also in the writing of the songs.

Listen to a clip of "Heart Of Steel":

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Best Of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters 2009 Final!

2010-01-05T11:43:00.011-05:00

Okay, I know, it's over ---2009. We've counted down the Top 25 (check the list here) and we're already five days into 2010. But I have the song list for part 3 of UW Best Of '09 and another artist to praise.

One sure way to realize how you feel about a record is where said record ends up ---physically, I mean. I'm on vacation in Florida (it's not as cold as many other locales this morning, but it's not exactly beach weather!!) and before I left home, I loaded some CD's into iTunes on my computer and brought a few to listen to in the rental car. Madeleine Peyroux's "Bare Bones" came with me both on my computer, and by chance, tucked inside a Mozart Piano Quartets CD jewel case.

So, as I drove around Delray, I listened for the ?? time to this one-of-a-kind album by one of today's most intriguing songwriters. Collaboration, introspection, playfulness, precision, sonic intuition, understatement ---I could go on and on. I am once again reminded of why I'm a music fan, and a fan of all artistic expression. To be happily marooned in a new, yet familiar world. The skillful and easy connection the artist provides, the bridges they make. Madeleine Peyroux is an artist creating her art for herself and her fans, but it feels like it's just for me.

Listen to clips of "Bare Bones" here:

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Friday/Sunday January 1/3 2010 - Best of Uncharted Waters 2009 part 3

"Fairlie" Rey Fresco The People Eight O Five
"I Should Speak" Sarah Blacker The Only Way Out Is Through Sarah Blacker
"Get Lucky" Mark Knopfler Get Lucky Reprise Records
"Videotape" King Wilkie King Wilkie Presents The King Wilkie Family Singers Casa Nueva
"Wilco (the song)" Wilco Wilco (the album) Nonesuch
"Homeless Happiness" Madeleine Peyroux Bare Bones Rounder
"Time Stands Still" Chris Smither Time Stands Still Signature Sounds
"Oh, No" Andrew Bird Noble Beast Fat Possum Records
"Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow" Roseanne Cash The List Manhattan
"Groove Of the Storm" Kellar Williams Odd kw enterprises
"Jackdaw" David Gray Draw The Line Mercer Street Records
"Fan It" Willie Nelson and Asleep At the Wheel Willie & The Wheel Bismeaux Records
"Cedars Of Lebanon" U2 No Line On The Horizon Interscope
"Horses" Dala Everyone Is Someone Campus Music

Best of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters 2009

2009-12-29T09:04:00.009-05:00

"Townes" is Steve Earle's tribute to the great and troubled songwriter Townes Van Zandt who Earle met in 1972 at The Old Quarter in Houston, TX. Van Zandt became Earle's friend and mentor, and even though Earle has recorded and performed Van Zandt songs throughout his career, with this album, Earle gives himself the opportunity to comprehensively demonstrate Van Zandt's skill and heart by applying his own. Earle's wife, singer Alison Moorer, and his son Justin Townes Earle (named after Van Zandt) contribute to the record, as does Darrell Scott and Tom Morello. The result is an intimate and deeply personal record, an insiders view on this great American songwriter.

Best of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters 2009

2009-12-22T22:23:00.009-05:00

I featured Part 2 of mvyradio's Best of Uncharted Waters 2009 last Friday 12/18 (repeated on Sunday 12/20, and now streamed in our program Archves at www.mvyradio.com). What was going to be a 2-parter has become a 3-parter --too many great songs and albums to reprise.

Scroll down and read what I wrote about back in June about one 2009 UW Discovery, and listen to her music...

Listen for Part 3 on 1/1 (repeated on 1/3).

BTW, mvy would like to know YOUR favorites of 2009! Click here to vote.

Check out the Part 2 song list:

mvyradio's Uncharted Waters playlists

Friday/Sunday December 18/December 20 2009

"Fire Escape" Diane Birch Bible Belt S-Curve Records
"Move Along Train" Levon Helm Electric Dirt Dirt Farmer Music
"Sweet Rose" Eilen Jewel Sea Of Tears Signature Sounds
"California Zephyr"" Benjamin Gibbard/Jay Farrar One False Move And I'm Gone Music from Kerouac's Big Sur Atlantic Records
"Great Mistake" Brookville Broken Lights Unfiltered Records
"All The Pretty Girls" Fun Aim and Ignite Nettwerk Records
"It's Gonna Be" Norah Jones The Fall Blue Note Records
"Mrs. Cold" Kings Of Convenience Declaration Of Dependence Mawla Records
"Drops In The River" Fleet Foxes Sun Giant Sub Pop
"I Really Love You" Ruthie Foster The Truth According To Ruthie Foster Blue Corn Records
"Love That Conquers" The Swell Season Strict Joy Anti
"To Live Is To Fly" Steve Earle Townes New West
"Hiram Hubbard" Among The Oak And Ash Among The Oak and Ash Verve Forecast
"Your Gonna Miss Me" The Band Of Heathens One Foot In The Ether Band Of Heathens
"Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" Neko Case Middle Cyclone Anti

Diane Birch's "Fire Escape" started the hour. I loved her from the start in June, recognizing her connection to the songwriting genius and performance of Laura Nyro and Carole King, and now that the year is almost done, I still feel excited when I listen to her music and stand by what I wrote here:

Famous Blue Blog post from June 29th

Diane Birch | "She's Got The Juice"

Soul and R&B legend Betty Wright, one of the producers of Diane Birch's debut album Bible Belt, is the one who's talking about "the juice" here as she describes the young singer from New York City. This is the best album to be released so far this year! And lot's of people are going to jump right on right on in because of Birch's superb songwriting and musical vision. Effortlessly drawing from doo-wop, singer-songwriter, blues, r&b and a life lived all over the world, Birch wants to connect and she does so, instantly, like an old friend.

Listen to Diane's music:

Best Of Uncharted Waters 2009

2009-12-17T09:57:00.002-05:00

As I look back over the year in music at mvy, I'm thinking about all the years of album releases that have provided the radio station with it's currency and it's basic structure. There are songs and artists that come along that are a natural fit for mvy, some that are obvious from the start and some that are wonderful surprises. Actually, Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini's 2009 CD "Sunny Side Up" falls into both categories.

We got to know Paolo's music in with the release of his 2006 debut "These Streets". We couldn't get enough of the song "New Shoes", and when the new record arrived in May of this year, we couldn't wait to hear it. I kept returning to the CD and every time I did, I liked it more and more. There's a maturity to the songs and his delivery, and an old soul sweetness that is impossible to resist.

Listen to clips of the album here:

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2009 Discoveries | Best Of mvyradio's Uncharted Waters

2009-12-15T09:27:00.006-05:00

I started a two-part Uncharted Waters 2009 Retrospective last Friday 12/11, and will continue this coming Friday 12/18. I'm featuring songs from albums that stood out as I went through the music week after week over the course of this year. It has been a very interesting process, looking and listening back, a wonderful return to the initial feelings I had as I listened to these albums for the first time. I have a deeper recognition of the qualities that make these records so NOTE-worthy!! Scroll down and read what I wrote about back in August about one 2009 Discovery, and listen to his music...

BTW, mvy would like to know YOUR favorites of 2009! Click here to vote.

Here's the UW Best list from last week. If you haven't checked out these albums, consider giving them a listen!

mvyradio's Uncharted Waters playlists

Friday/Sunday December 11/December 13 2009

"Two Grains Of Sand" Piers Faccini Two Grains Of Sand Tot Ou Tard
"Wish You Well" Katie Herzig Apple Tree (05557)
"Sweet Inspiration" Derek Trucks Already Free Sony Music
"Fee Da Da Dee" Guggenheim Grotto Happy The Man United For Opportunity
"Baby I'm A Fool" Melody Gardot My One and Only Thrill Verve Records
"Letter From A Flying Machine" Peter Mulvey Letter From A Flying Machine Signature Sounds
"Windshield" Peter Mulvey Letter From A Flying Machine Signature Sounds
"Darkness" Robert Francis One False Move and I'm Gone Atlantic
"My Love" The Bird and the Bee Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future Blue Note
"Master Macqui" Rodrigo y Gabriela 11:11 ATO Records
"Cuckoo's Nest" Lee Harvey Osmond A Quiet Evil Latent Recordings
"The Killer In Me" Amy Speace The Killer In Me Wildflower Records
"High Hopes" Paolo Nutini Sunny Side Up Atlantic Records
"Dead End Driving" Ari Hest Twelve Mondays Project 4

Famous Blue Blog post August 13, 2009:

A New Friend-Peter Mulvey

I have a new friend and his name is Uncle Peter. I never expected to make such an acquaintance on a record but that's exactly what happened. I met Uncle Peter while listening to Peter Mulvey's most enjoyable and engaging new CD "Letters from A Flying Machine". Uncle Peter is Peter Mulvey himself, appearing on the record as a character, a narrator of sorts, offering his worldly wisdom and stories to his actual (I think) nieces and nephews. He does this from his seat on an airplane in the form of several spoken word pieces that serve as the connective tissue between songs on the album. Mulvey's done this in his performances for years, but it's the first time he has presented such pieces on record. The effect is progressive; step by step you are granted wider entrance into a very personal and rich world made all the more substantive and compelling by Mulvey's folksy delivery and language. The songs are fantastic, too, and you forget just how good they are because of the strength of the spoken segments.

A good friend is hard to find --thanks Peter.

Listen to clips of Peter Mulvey's Letter From A Flying Machine:

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Daphne Willis | New Music on mvy

2009-12-10T12:29:00.005-05:00

I just played "Bluff", a new song from Daphne Willis, on What's New For Lunch. The CD came in earlier this week, and I happily put it in the player to check it out. Things pretty much come to a grinding halt as far as new releases go at this time of year, so any action is welcome. I always thought it was a smart move to get a song to radio this week or next 'cause it's much easier to get our attention when things are so slow!

Daphne is a 21 year old singer-guitarist and songwriter from Chicago and Vanguard Records has signed her to a record deal for the album "What To Say". She and her band mates have been together for only two years, playing lots of gigs in the Midwest, and it was after one of these shows that Nashville based A&R rep Gary Paczosa, who has worked with Alison Krauss and others, lent his talents to recording an EP with Daphne.

Listen to "Bluff" and other tracks on Daphne's MySpace page.

Jay Farrar, Ben Gibbard and Jack Kerouac

2009-12-04T21:05:00.013-05:00

It's when you can't tell the difference between art and life that you know you're in good shape, in good company. Jack Kerouac merged his life and art in ways far beyond most similar mergers, and the writing that came of it is uniquely musical and transcendent, and to this day absolutely resonant, touching and important.

Benjamin Gibbard and Jay Farrar are among the many that admire Kerouac and they seized the opportunity to apply their singular talents to providing music for Curt Worden's documentary "One False Move and I'm Gone: Kerouac's Bid Sur". Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Dar Williams and Sam Shepard are also fans and it's great to hear their take in the movie. Gibbard and Farrar stayed with it and went on to make an album of songs inspired by Kerouac's book. The insightful documentary and this wonderful musical by-product are proof of Kerouac's continued and brilliant relevance.

I feature tracks from the album on this week's Uncharted Waters (Fridays and Sundays at 9 ET, and next week in the Archives at www.mvyradio.com)

Listen to clips from the CD here:

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New Marc Knopfler | Get Lucky

2009-11-24T00:14:00.001-05:00

The years have been kind to Marc Knopfler. The title of his new CD "Get Lucky", his fifth solo album of this decade, is a reference to the good fortune he has had in his career as a musician . This set of eleven songs is full of observation, insight and heart. "Monteleone", a triumph of a song, inspired by New York guitar maker John Monteleone is a brilliant, romantic homage to art and artistry. No surprise here. The author of "Private Dancer" "Romeo and Juliet", "Sailing To Philadelphia" and so many other great songs that fill his albums knows how to get a story across. And he loves the work of making records, just wants to get to it. His good luck is ours.

Listen to some clips of "Get Lucky" here:

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Chad Stokes visits mvyradio

2009-11-19T20:07:00.013-05:00

A couple of months ago, Chad Stokes stopped by mvy to say hi and drop off a copy of the new cd by his band State Radio. It was one of those great small town radio moments when you feel the power of the personal connection that is still possible in this world. The friendly hello and sharing/presenting of music one on one. Chad and I made a plan that evening to get together around the mic in the studio and have him play some of the music from "Let It Go". That's what we did, with Sybil and Lefty hanging out (pictured here outside the station).

Go to http://www.stateradio.com/music to listen to and buy the new album.

Parkington Sisters

2009-11-12T12:32:00.010-05:00

I'm on the air, playing Parkington Sisters on What's New For Lunch, and I have to write a few words about this amazing band RIGHT NOW. Man oh man, what a sound!!! So pure, so clear, so heartfelt. Sisters Lydia, Rose, Norah, Sarah and Ariel are from Wellfleet, MA and they have delicately mastered a unique sound influenced by musicians as diverse as Joni Mitchell, The Pixies and Stravinsky. Absolutely unforgettable! Their harmonies are so beautiful that I find it hard to keep my excitement contained!! No need to.

They are playing tonight at Narrows Center with King Wilkie. We'll stream the show live starting at 7:45 at www.mvyradio.com . They are also playing at The Jailhouse Tavern in Orleans on November 27th. Go see them!

Here's a link to their myspace page www.myspace.com/parkingtonsisters

King Wilkie | Sweet and Low

2009-11-09T08:40:00.008-05:00

Great listening here! I'm in the sweet and low King Wilkie flow of newly fashioned, old-fashioned sounding songs of soaring lap steel guitar, reverb laden electric guitar, honky-tonk piano and rich vocals. "King Wilkie (Presents) The Wilkie Family Singers" is a conceptual album and finds founding member Reid Burgess leading the New York based band through songs about the fictional world of mostly adult musical siblings who live in house together. Unique concept!! Peter Rowan, David Bromberg, Robyn Hitchcock and Abagail Washburn make appearances. Old time jazz, doo-wop, bluegrass, folk influences combine for a softly compelling record.

We're going to stream (and record for the Archives) their performance at Narrows Center this Thursday November 12th. Welfleet's talented Parkington Sisters open the show. Listen in at 7:45 p.m. www.mvyradio.com.

Listen to samples of the new CD!

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The Swell Season | Giving Thanks

2009-11-03T08:40:00.001-05:00

I heard Marketa Irglova, an Irish lilt permeating her Czech accent, speaking in a radio interview, saying that she is as equally thankful to those who have caused her pain as to those who have given her joy. The songs by Irglova and her partner Glen Hansard on The Swell Season's new album "Strict Joy"are testament to this sentiment. There's a new kind of vulnerability on this, their second record together; it's muscular, strongly infused with the experience of loving and losing and carrying on. The James Stephens poem that gives the record it's title reveals a purpose,

For, as he mediated misery
And cared it into song - Strict Care, Strict Joy!
Caring for grief he cared his grief away:
And those sad songs, tho' woe be all the theme,
Don't make us grieve who read them now -
Because the poet makes grief beautiful

By becoming familiar with grief, one transforms it.

See the white space behind these words? For me, listening to this record is like being held in such a place, open yet defined, secured by Hansard and Irglova's absolute commitment to life and music. Some of Hansard's band mates from The Frames play on the CD, which was recorded in producer Peter Katis' home studio in Bridgeport, CT. Every song has a purpose, and like all great albums, the effect grows with each listen.

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Robert Francis | Before The Nightfall

2009-10-29T21:13:00.007-04:00

There's a black and white photograph of Robert Francis on the cover of his new record "Before The Nightfall", showing him sleeping in bed with his hands folded across his heart, as if in prayer, but it's probably just the way they ended up. It captures the innocence of a private moment and it seems completely natural to be privy to it. His songs are just the same, an open invitation into a well-lived and deeply considered life, laid bare and delivered in a sometimes quivering, sometimes booming baritone. Francis is 21 and has been playing in bands in his native Los Angeles since he was in third grade. He lost interest in guitar playing at one point, only to be coaxed back with some guitar lessons from Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante. I love this record, have listened once straight through, and I'm going to cue it up again.

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Kristina Train | A New Voice from the American South

2009-10-23T09:25:00.006-04:00

From the very first note on "Spilt Milk", Kristina Train's debut album on Blue Note Records, you know that you're in the presence of a strong and confident singer with a vulnerability that keeps the ears and heart open. The similarity in style and tone to Dusty Springfield, one of her idols, is uncanny. The old school arrangements with strings and well placed back up vocals recall a sound that few employ. Kristina is from Savannah, Georgia, and in a Dusty-story-in-reverse, she went to London to record with British producers/songwriters Jimmy Hogarth and Eg White who have worked with Adele, Duffy and Corinne Bailey Rae.

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Uncharted Waters | New Music from Devandra Banhart

2009-10-16T16:08:00.020-04:00

When Devandra Banhart started recording about a decade ago, the material was loose and the songs were half-finished. He worked on hand-me-down machines and never intended to do anything with the demos. He briefly attended the San Francisco Art Institute but left to wander and busk and traveled to Paris and eventually back to L.A. where he performed regularly. In 2002, his material was publicly released and was immediately critically recognized. Devandra was signed to Warner Brothers this year and the album What Will Be will be released October 27th. We got the song "Baby" in this week and it found it's way right into the cd player and onto the air on What's New For Lunch and Uncharted Waters.

Listen to Devandra's music here: http://www.myspace.com/devendrabanhart

Carol Brown Goldberg and Andy Chase | The Artistic Tradition

2009-10-09T14:45:00.003-04:00

When I went to artist Carol Brown Goldberg's website and heard the music of her son Andy Chase's band Brookville play as the website loaded, I was struck by how sweet the gesture was AND how wonderfully the music complimented Carol's work. I knew that Carol painted to music, and mostly to Andy's various bands, Ivy, Paco, and Brookville, so it made sense that the music would be perfect. But hearing it in this way made me curious about Carol and Andy's relationtionship as mother and son, their individual and combined artistic processes, and how the artistic tradition is passed on in families. Both Andy and Carol spend considerable time on the Vineyard and I invited them to come in for a visit this past August. I wanted to share the conversation, which includes some of Andy's music, with you.

Listen to my interview with Carol and Andy

visit Carol's website www.carolbrowngoldberg.com
and Andy's www.andychase.com

Rodrigo y Gabriela | A Brilliant Journey

2009-09-28T17:07:00.006-04:00

11:11 is the new album from this Mexican born guitar duo and there is not a false note to be found, only an absolutely brillant journey to be had in the listening of this record. The CD's eleven tracks are a tribute to musicians that they have either been inspired by or deeply respect. Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Michel Camilo, Paco de Lucia are among those chosen and Rodrigo and Gabriela not only express their gratitude and reverance by the composition and recording of these pieces, but also their desire that their fans be exposed to these legendary musicians.

They are very serious about their music making, with a big emphasis on technique, practice and creativity. They built a studio in Ixtapa, Mexico so they could record at home without the added stress of being on the road during the recording process. They will be out on tour supporting this new record and their live shows are quite stunning, with just the two of them on the stage with a screen behind them showing their intricate and exciting playing. The reason that they started doing this was so that their fans who play guitar could see what they were doing so they could try it themselves. Not so easy, but maybe with some practice...

Listen to "Hanuman" Rodrigo y Gabriela's tribute to Santana

Mary Steenburgen and Mike Benjamin| Just Say "Yes"

2009-09-21T00:15:00.011-04:00

When Mike Benjamin told me a couple of years ago that he had been working with actress Mary Steenburgen on some songs that she had written, I was very curious to say the least, and couldn't wait to hear the music. Mike brought over a CD, and on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we played Mary's song "New Orleans, An Unbroken Heart" about post Katrina New Orleans. I hoped that one day Mike and Mary would come on the air to talk about their collaboration and that's exactly what happened a few weeks ago. It was the first time that Mary had publicly talked about her songwriting.

She started "hearing" music and said yes to a new phase, a new direction in her life and began writing lyrics and melodies. Mary was encouraged by her friends and family, and things accelerated when she met Mike at the party she hosted for President Bill Clinton's 60th birthday, and they started working together. The two are in the middle of pursuing this wonderful collaboration, both complimenting each others considerable talents.

Listen to the interview with Mary and Mike

The Band of Heathens | The Real Deal

2009-09-17T11:28:00.009-04:00

The new album from this band from Austin, TX has found it's way onto the Uncharted Waters and What's New For Lunch playlist several times over the last month. "One Foot In The Ether" is a roots rock record with r&b, gospel, country, swamp influences mixing in, and the result is a very listenable CD that kept me interested all the way through. The band formed in the spring of 2006 after a long-time sharing of the Wednesday night bill at Austin's Momo's by the the three principle songwriters, Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist. They just started an extensive tour that takes them throughout the US and Europe. Maybe they'll come to your neighborhood!

Listen to "Shine a Light" by The Band Of Heathens