8:00 PM
to 9:00 PM
Shelley King
4 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Shelley King
event::about BIOGRAPHY The music of Shelley King draws from and blends a spectrum of roots music styles, but one word succinctly describes it: soulful. Be it R&B, folk, blues, country, bluegrass or rock — or combinations of and variations on those themes — she delivers the goods straight from the heart with a voice that’s splendidly rich and warm and as big as all outdoors. Writing “a proverbial trunk full of instant hits and yet-unheard classics,” as the Austin Chronicle describes her songs, King has risen from the vibrant music scene in the Texas capital city to charm fans across North America, Europe and Japan, win two Austin Music Awards, and be named the Texas State Musician for 2008. And now she truly finds her sweet spot on her aptly titled new album Welcome Home. Recorded and co-produced with John Magnie, Tim Cook and Steve Amedée of The Subdudes — rated by All Music Guide as “stellar musicians of the swampy jazz-rock-blues New Orleans persuasion” — it’s a roots music tour de force where the spirit of the church meets the soul and spices of the South and the many moods and modes of the human heart. From the opening and intoxicating sunshine of “Summer Wine,” Welcome Home travels the musical highways and byways below Mason-Dixon to echo the finest traditions and open new musical dimensions, thanks to a magical marriage of the multi-instrumental gifts and vocal blend of Magnie, Cook and Amedée with the splendorous humanity and emotiveness of King’s singing and songs. On tracks like the call and response of “I Remember,” the hymnal “Welcome Home” (written just after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans) and the prayerful “Grain of Sand,” King and company draw from the gospel oak to create spiritual sounds for the modern age. “Asking Too Much” and “It’s Starting To Rain” renew classic New Orleans R&B, and “I Can’t Make It Easy” is a swooning swamp pop slow dancer. The lilt of bluegrass meets the zest of Cajun music on “Everything’s All Right,” and King and company summon up a spirited fais do do with the boogie-woogie of “How You Make Me Feel” and swing of “Falling Fast” before closing out with the acapella and handclaps of “Welcome Home Reprise.” All told, Welcome Home is a listening experience sure to be treasured and relished by all it touches for years to come. King’s voice first rang out at the age of four in a tiny rural one-room church in her native Arkansas and then bloomed further as she grew up singing in parishes large and small across her home state and Texas. Listening to her uncles sing and play songs on their acoustic guitars by Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills & Nash also instilled in her a sense of songwriting excellence from an early age. After working her way through college by starting and running her own business, King stepped onto the club and concert stage fronting bands in Houston before moving a few years later to Austin, the longtime noted nexus of roots music authenticity and innovation as well as superlative songwriting that proved to be a welcoming home for her talents. She had been writing songs since her early teens, and in Austin her gifts found a place to bloom without the strictures of style or commercial concerns. “I just started writing for myself. I don’t care what kind of song it is — it might be bluegrass, it might be blues, it doesn’t matter — it’s whatever mood I’m in and whatever the song needs.” After King gave a copy of her debut album Call Of My Heart to Toni Price, Austin’s beloved and long-reigning favorite female voice, Price recorded two of the tunes on it — the title track and “Who Needs Tears” — for her 2001 album, Midnight Pumpkin. Her version of “Call Of My Heart” went on the win Song of the Year at the Austin Music Awards, where in 2005 King and her group were also named Roots Music Band of the Year. Price recorded another King song, “Tennessee Whiskey” for her 2003 album Born to be Blue. Then after Lee Hazelwood heard King’s “Texas Blue Moon” on the radio during a drive through the Lone Star State, he and Nancy Sinatra cut the song for their album Nancy & Lee 3. For her second album, The Highway, King traveled to the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama where icons like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and many others have tracked classic recordings. Her 2004 live album, Rockin’ the Dancehall, captured her dynamism as a performer at the famed Gruene Hall in Central Texas, and was declared “an exuberant breath of air” by the Austin Chronicle and named a Top Recording of the Year by Buddy magazine for its “excellent, high-energy country-rock-pop-blues-gospel-soul, delivered by a tight, experienced band.” King’s catalog also includes the compilation Armadillo Bootleg #1 that features live and studio tracks including a live cut from her all-woman Southern rock band Sis Deville, a collaboration with Sara Hickman and two Subdudes covers. As the Dallas Observer says of King, “Onstage, she leads her band through tangents of electric Southern blues and acoustic folk, revved-up Cajun country and rock and roll with a charismatic ease that evidences the resilience of a lifelong performer.” And for more than a decade now, she has taken her act across the U.S. and Canada and as well tours of Europe and Japan, sharing stages with scores of noted performers from a range of styles (including such top acts as Patty Griffin, Los Lonely Boys, The Flatlanders, Mavis Staples, Ricky Skaggs and many others), appearing at major festivals in North America and Europe, and performing live on XM satellite radio and the internationally syndicated concert show Woodsongs, among many other radio and TV appearances. King’s fervent Texas following led her to be nominated and then selected as the Texas State Musician for 2008. She shares the honor with such acts as Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel and Dale Watson, and is the first woman to hold the prestigious annual post. The origins of her collaboration with members of The Subdudes was first seeing the band in 1993 in Austin and being knocked out by their show, and then buying a cassette of one of their albums in a used tape bin. “I could not take it out of the tape player in my car for months,” King recalls. “I just got into the groove where that was my music and the soundtrack to my life.” She later met and befriended the group running into them on tour and playing shows together. Welcome Home started out informally with an initial session at Magnie’s home studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. “I really just went to demo a few songs and kind of goof around in the studio with them,” explains King. “We were in the studio for three days and came out with five songs, and had just an amazing time together. I wasn’t trying to do a record. But when I started listening to it all afterwards, I thought, wow, this is really special, and I’d really love to do it again.” Over two subsequent visits to Fort Collins, a full album took shape. “It came about really organically,” King enthuses. “We didn’t get together and say - we’re going to produce a record. We were just thinking about the music and having fun recording with no pressure, and whatever comes of it comes of it. When it all came down I had recorded a whole record. I savored every moment of it and didn’t want it to end. It was a total labor of love.” Welcome Home is now sure to reside in the hearts of all that hear it as a contemporary classic of soulful American music. Yet for all the honors, praise and success King has achieved — and doing so by booking her own tours and releasing her albums on her own Lemonade Records label — the ultimate rewards for King are those of the soul. “It’s joyous work,” she concludes of her career. “It’s what I love doing and it’s such a blessing to be able to do what you love every day.”
event::tags 21+
9:00 PM
to 10:00 PM
Leeroy Stagger
11 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
10:00 PM
to 11:00 PM
Lost Bayou Ramblers
14 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Lost Bayou Ramblers
event::about Traditional Cajun music of South Louisiana is alive and well in the Lost Bayou Ramblers. With hundreds of shows, five albums, and a Grammy Nomination behind them, the band finds their sound evolving into something more than what has been represented to date. The result is an amplified live show and a fresh and rocking new album to be released sometime in 2011. With the past on their sleeves, the Lost Bayou Ramblers begin a new decade with their finest material to date and a progressive sense of urgency and attitude for the bands future. The Lost Bayou Ramblers are based out of Lafayette, La. and are comprised of Louis Michot (lead vocals/fiddle), Andre Michot (accordion), Cavan Carruth (guitar/vocals), Alan LaFleur (bass), and Pauly Deathwish (drums).
event::tags 21+
11:00 PM
to 12:00 AM
The Refreshments
29 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists The Refreshments
event::about Two decades have passed since a bunch of kids from Gavle decided to walk in the footsteps of their Rockpile heroes and put all their bets on basic three-chord rock. It was a wise decision. Twelve consecutive gold albums, two platinum and more than half a million albums sold proves it. The list above includes their latest album "A Band's Gotta Do What A Band's Gotta Do", which was certified gold on pre-order alone. Once again the band delivered. "A Band's Gotta Do What A Band's Gotta Do" is a new convincing proof that The Refreshments have created their own unique sound. A mix of high-energy rock'n'roll, melodic pop and bittersweet country boogie, which have turned into Sweden's most commercially successful rock'n'roll band. A lot has changed in the music industry since The Refreshments took off, but Joakim Arnell (bass/vocals), Johan Blohm (piano/vocals), Micke Finell (sax/vocals/guitar), Mats Forsberg (drums) and Jonas Goransson (guitar/vocals) has managed to stick by a few simple guidelines like "Three chord songs - a minute to learn, a lifetime to master" and "It's gotta be both rock'n'roll". "We don't want to change our style, switch instruments or make any other changes just for the sake of it. The only thing we try to do with every new album is to write the best songs as possible and make them rock as much as we can", Joakim Arnell says. As the most prolific songwriter in the band, Arnell is behind 11 of the album's 14 songs. "I started thinking about the 20th anniversary and the time that's passed since we started the band in the autumn of 1989. After a while I had the lyrics to 'A Band's Gotta Do What A Band's Gotta Do'. It became a summary of what we've done so far." The Refreshments have always treasured their rock'n'roll heroes. In "Rock'n'Roll Heaven" some of the giants are looking down from a heaven where nobody dies: Elvis, Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and so on. "I heard they were opening a new restaurant in Stockholm with the concept taken from 'Mel's Diner' - the restaurant in 'American Graffiti' - and instantly knew that it was the perfect subject for a song. That it turned out to be a Buddy Holly pastiche was logical, I guess." The band's pianist and vocalist Johan Blohm is one of Sweden's best piano players in the country boogie tradition of Jerry Lee Lewis. Was it with him in mind Arnell wrote the steady rolling "Just Like Jerry Lee" - including the lyrics "say look at me, I can play just like Jerry Lee"? "No", Arnell smiles, "Johan is aware of the similarities in their respective styles and is cautious of not coming to close to the original. There are a lot of Jerry Lee wannabe's out there, and they really try to imitate him down to the last detail - they're just as extremely dedicated to their calling as the Elvis impersonators. I figured that was quite a good subject for a song." Speaking of the Killer, Arnell has actually become part of the extended Jerry Lee Lewis clan. Two years ago he met Annie Marie Dolan, daughter of Jerry Lee's younger sister Linda Gail Lewis. "She Makes Me Cool" describes a guy who's only hip factor is his girl. "Well I never was one of the boys/I was just a weird dressed kid making noise/when the guys hit the town I stayed in/playing old records again and again". Self-biographical? "To some extent, yes. When I was young I guess I was the typical musical nerd who hung around in record stores, listening to records and checking out who was playing what on the album sleeves". If you share that kind of enthusiasm, you might want to know that the albums only cover, "I Still Love You", is written by the former NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson. Also worth noting is that sax player Micke Finell has co-written two tracks - "Hard Luck Jim" with Gary Primich and "Taking A Chance" with Brian Hodgson and Mike Berry. A lot of things have changed these last 20 years. As "A Band's Gotta Do What A Band's Gotta Do" proves, The Refreshment's job is the same as ever. Write a good song. Deliver it with passion and conviction. Record a killer album. Go out on the road and make the clubs rock. Collect a gold album. If you wonder where The Refreshments are heading, look no further than the new single, "Keep Movin' On" - a reassuring point of direction from the band who still are unsurpassed in doing what they once set out to do.
event::tags 21+
12:00 AM
to 1:00 AM
Willie Nile
21 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
1:00 AM
to 2:00 AM
Semko Fontaine Taylor
4 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Semko Fontaine Taylor
event::about Saskatchewan's new trio Semko Fontaine Taylor release their first full-length album "Heartaches and Numbers" (Busted Flat Records/Universal) on November 16th, 2010. Semko Fontaine Taylor (SFT) is a new trio from Saskatchewan consisting of core members-veteran singer/songwriters Jay Semko, Kim Fontaine and David j Taylor, alongside live touring drummer Charles Dumont (Emm Gryner, Brad Johner, Cody Prevost). The group, who are longtime musical friends, made it official at the annual University of Saskatchewan Emma Lake Songwriting Retreat, where they are also songwriting instructors/mentors. Saskatoon-based singer/songwriter Lyn McGinnis threw down a challenge when she said, "You 3 Amigos should really make an album together". SFT took up the challenge; each bringing 3 songs to the table. Heartaches & Numbers is the byproduct of that recording project. The album was recorded old school, mostly live-off-the-floor using 2 microphones placed in Jay's open concept living room in Saskatoon. Canadian recording legend Peter j Moore (producer of Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Sessions") mastered the album in Toronto. SFT have played across the prairies and look forward to their upcoming tours/music conference/festival appearances for 2011 in support of their new album release. Who are these people anyway? Jay Semko is one of Canada’s most significant songwriters. As a founding member and vocalist/bassist of The Northern Pikes, Jay and the band scored numerous top-10 radio hits and sold over 750,000 units of their 7 studio albums, recording with such legends as Garth Hudson and John Sebastian, and touring with David Bowie, Robert Palmer, Peter Frampton and many others. A number of Jay's hit songs are now, and forever shall be, a part of Canada's musical landscape (Things I do for Money, Girl with a Problem, Teenland). As a solo artist, Jay has released six critically acclaimed studio albums (his most recent in 2010), and as a twice Gemini-nominated film/TV composer (Due South), Jay has had his music featured in countless TV programs and films. Jay currently resides in Saskatoon - Saskatchewan's "Bridge City". Kim Fontaine is a Canadian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who began touring Canada in the early '80s as a bassist. In the early 2000s Kim, who kept herself busy as a sideman throughout the 90s, got the itch to finally step up to the microphone and record her debut solo album. She enlisted Shaun Verrault (Wide Mouth Mason) and David j Taylor to co-produce her first album, the critically acclaimed Morning Pages. Kim released her 2nd album Life Happens in 2006 and her 3rd album Blue Sky Girl (co-produced by Semko and Taylor) in 2010. Kim has also developed songwriting programs for the University of Saskatchewan. David j Taylor is an award winning (WCMA Producer of the Year Winner ‘07) Record Producer (Geoff Berner, Despistado), Re-Recording Mixer/Engineer/Sound Designer (Corner Gas and 2010 Gemini Award Nominee for The Saskatchewan River Delta), Music Supervisor (renegadepress.com) and a Singer-Songwriter (15 album releases from 92-10) who lives off the beaten path on a 20 acre farm at Milestone, SK. David cut his teeth in the music business in Vancouver BC, working for Greenhouse Studios (K.D. Lang, Nickelback) in the 90s. He fronted the Vancouver band Big Cookie, (releasing 4 albums, 3 music videos from 94-00). In 2000 he and his partner moved to Regina where David began working in audio post for TV and film. In the 2000s, David released albums with the groups Dollar Store Mary and Generals and Majors. During that time, he also released 7 solo albums. David writes a lot of songs and currently works as an in-house producer/engineer for Twisted Pair Productions in Regina, Saskatchewan's "Queen City".
event::tags 21+
8:00 PM
to 9:00 PM
Vandaveer
30 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Vandaveer
event::about VANDAVEER is the song-singing, record-making, globetrotting project penned and put forth by alt-folk tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger. Born in Ohio, raised in Kentucky, and currently camped out in the nation's capital, Vandaveer offers up melodic Americana that is both haunting and easy, forlorn and welcoming, with stories as universal as the songs they inhabit. Vandaveer shapeshifts from studio to stage and back with a revolving cast of characters, most prominent among them Rose Guerin, offering up the loveliest harmonies heard this side of Eden. Vandaveer's third full length, Dig Down Deep, offers a collage of churning rhythms, steady guitar and ringing piano beneath tales of war and impermanence, loss and love. The music serves as both mirror and platform for Vandaveer's stories-booming bass drum during moments of turmoil and conquest, throaty cello in moments of peace and predation, trembling keys in moments of uncertainty and hope. Out of the mosaic rise two voices in perfect harmony (Heidinger and Guerin), narrating and navigating the lives of Vandaveer's characters with confidence and grace. Heidinger's lyrics incorporate imagery both grandiose and familiar, and he balances the two with ease. He calls to the young man in the title track, 'you plant your feet, you stand your ground, while the bricks you laid come crumbling down from head to toe, covered up in dust like Jericho... you know a house don't make a home when you build it all alone'. Vandaveer has an disarming ability to stand, walk and feel in someone else's skin, using familiar words in a fresh context to give them new life and meaning. Dig Down Deep will be released April 26, 2011 in the North America on Supply and Demand Music.
event::tags 21+
9:00 PM
to 10:00 PM
Matt Duke
13 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Matt Duke
event::about We've all heard the old song about the hip bone being connected to the leg bone, but what about the heart-strings and the grey matter? That connection is harder to make but it's one that Matt Duke manages to forge with the whip-smart, emotive songs on his second Ryko album, One Day Die an album which touches on the darkness implicit in that title and uses it as a springboard to redemption and rebirth. 'You could look at the title and think, 'wow, that's dark,' but it's not meant to be morbid, it's meant to raise questions about how to cope, how to get past the darkness,' says the 25-year-old South Jersey native, who grants that he went to his own dark place last year after suffering a hand injury that was serious enough to jeopardize his ability to play guitar again. 'As strange as it sounds, that was a blessing in disguise,' explains Duke, 'because it was something of an enforced break that made me reconsider everything. When I started again, I found myself taking a completely fresh approach one where I was willing to just experiment with no reservations.' With the help of producer Jason Finkel, Matt accelerated his healing process and dug deep to craft 11 songs. The pensive songwriter began to expand his horizons both sonically evidence the doomy, string-laced opener 'MLT' and the ethereal 'Lay,' which brings to mind the delicate tension of the late Jeff Buckley and in the incisive wordplay he works so effortlessly. Duke's impressionistic lyrics delivered in a pure tenor that cuts straight to the bone -- shine bright, particularly throughout the edgy 'Kangaroo Court' and on the guitar-driven 'Needle and Thread,' in which Duke assumes the role of the troubadour yearning to find 'open arms at the bar for the prodigal son that often goes astray.' Such quests make up the heart and soul of One Day Die an album which finds Duke asking questions of himself and which grabs listeners by the lapels and shakes them into a similar frame of mind. He literally puts them on the therapist's couch for the roiling 'Psycho-Babble,' and then reminds them in the unflaggingly beautiful 'Shangri-La' 'I know Shangri-La is somewhere near/ I've seen it, I've been there.' That paradise aside, Duke has been to a lot of places since he began his musical career. Writing and performing around South Jersey and Philadelphia while in high school helped him win the respect of soon-to-be-collaborators like Marshall Crenshaw, Suzzy Roche and Dylan sideman David Mansfield. Barely past his 18th birthday, Matt recorded a demo that caught the attention of Mad Dragon Records, a label run by students at Philly's Drexel University. Mad Dragon released Matt's critically-acclaimed debut album, Winter Child, paving the way for his signing to Ryko, which spawned the well-received Kingdom Underground, produced by Marshall Altman. 'Those records were definitely a part of who I was at the time when I made them,' says Duke. 'But [One Day Die] really is me. Every character, every narrative is me in a lot of ways. With Jason's help, I realized that it's a good thing to get carried away. I got carried away a lot here.' That's evident throughout One Day Die, an album that runs as much on adrenalin as it does on intellect. As Matt reminds us in 'The Hour': 'Wounds heal in good time Remember all of the joy and all of my love for you We all one day die And you'll be alright' Not just alright. Mended and made well.
event::tags 21+
10:00 PM
to 11:00 PM
Andrew Belle
37 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Andrew Belle
event::about Andrew Belle is a new artist on the pop singer/songwriter scene. Residing in both Chicago and Nashville, he is currently touring clubs and universities across the country, and is also a member of the critically acclaimed national tour Ten Out Of Tenn. Andrew released his debut EP All Those Pretty Lights in 2008, containing songs featured in hit TV shows and achieving national radio airplay. His debut full-length album The Ladder was released February 23, 2010 and is already garnering nationwide airplay including Chicago’s WXRT, Nashville’s WRLT, Philadelphia’s WXPN, Los Angeles’ KCRW, and Austin’s KGSR. His music and vocal stylings draw comparisons to Coldplay, The Fray, and John Mayer. Fans and critics often refer to his songs as “smart pop”—nuanced melodies and sophisticated, contemplative lyrics coupled with bold, infectious hooks.
event::tags 21+
11:00 PM
to 12:00 AM
Tony Lucca
11 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Tony Lucca
event::about Singer-songwriter Tony Lucca's sixth studio album 'Rendezvous With the Angels,' out July 13, 2010, on Rock Ridge Music (through Warner Music Group's Alternative Distribution Alliance), finds the performer crafting his most thoughtful, tuneful, and mature work yet. The album includes appearances by Lucca's 2009 tour mate Sara Bareilles (who duets on 'Back to Me') and Lady Antebellum guitarist Jason 'Slim' Gambill (featured on the bonus track 'Nobody But You'). The songs on the new album, mostly penned on the road over the course of a busy 2009 touring schedule, demonstrate new growth and fresh perspectives on the artist's part. Lucca notes, 'A lot of my earlier records have break-up songs on them, and woe-is-me songs, and pointing-finger songs. Those make for emotional music, and a lot of people can relate to those songs. But that's not really so much where I am anymore.' Now married for three years and the father of a baby girl, Lucca found the expanding emotional parameters of his life working their way into his material. ''Always' was a song I wrote for my baby girl,' he says. 'I wrote that before she was born; I wrote that while I was on tour in September of 2009, and the baby was born in October. I had a lot to think about on the road. The idea of being able to honestly, unconditionally love someone, forever and always, became an overwhelming source of inspiration, and I was able to write that pretty easily. 'Love Light' follows that, and is a creative take on the miracle-of-life adventure, about how wonderful it is to pass things along.' Three tracks on the album 'Stay With Me Tonight,' 'Song to a Martyr,' and 'Nobody But You' are longtime concert favorites that attained a life of their own via exposure on the Internet and YouTube. Lucca decided to record them after years of fan requests at shows. The album also includes a nod to one of Lucca's key influences in a cover of Billy Joel's 'Vienna.' He says, 'That was a song that I have loved since I was a kid. I spent a lot of time with Billy Joel's 'The Stranger' and '52nd Street.' Those two records were in full rotation when I was growing up. When I started learning how to play piano, I, of course, took to Billy Joel and Elton John. 'Vienna' was always one of those tunes that you had to tackle. I started playing it live, and the lyrics really hit home for me.' 'Rendezvous With the Angels' is the culmination of a life spent in music. Raised in Waterford, Michigan, Lucca began singing at age 3; by 12 he was writing and playing in Detroit-area bands. As a teen, he lived in Orlando, Florida, where he worked for four seasons on the Disney Channel's 'Mickey Mouse Club' alongside such future superstars as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and *Nsync's Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez. Lucca says of that experience, 'A lot of the kids who came out of 'Mickey Mouse Club' wound up sitting at a big banquet of stardom and celebrity and pop success. That was awesome for them, and exciting. That was what they chose to do. There was another handful of us who didn't do that. I got to California in 1995 and saw what was out there, and got away from the star-making machinery, and thought about what I was going to say before I had other people tell me to say it. For me, it wasn't so much about being big and famous and doing whatever it took to do that. It was about having a sense of self as an artist and a sense of credibility, and doing something that I was happy with, regardless of the accolades or the success.' Lucca went the Internet route and sold his first two independent releases, his debut 'So Satisfied' (1997) and the follow-up 'Strong Words, Softly Spoken' (1999), through his own website. His first commercially distributed album, 'Shotgun,' arrived in 2004. It was succeeded by his Rock Ridge Music debut 'Canyon Songs' (2006) and 'Come Around Again' (2008). His songs have been featured on TV's 'Friday Night Lights,' 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Shark,' and 'Felicity' and in Kevin Costner's feature 'Open Range.' He has been seen on E! Entertainment Television and A&E, and performed numerous times on NBC's 'Last Call With Carson Daly.' Over the course of his career, Lucca has shared stages with *Nsync, Marc Anthony, Macy Gray, Johnny Lang, and the late Chris Whitley. His 2009 dates included an opening stint with Bareilles, gigs with Tyrone Wells, and a cooperative tour with Jay Nash and Matt Duke (which resulted in 'TFDI,' a collaborative EP recorded at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois, and released by Rykodisc in late 2009). A variety of musical influences flow through Lucca's music. Among his peers, he says, 'There have been a few artists of late who have raised the bar and have forced me to reach higher Ray LaMontagne, Jeff Tweedy and Wilco, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes. These are people I listen to now that have become the underscore, the soundtrack to my life. Whenever I'm stuck on a lyric I think to myself, 'What would Tweedy do?'' As far as the veteran artists who have helped shape his sound and style, he adds, 'I'm a huge Crosby, Stills & Nash fan, and a Joni Mitchell fan. Lyrically and compositionally, I've always tried to incorporate their integrity into what I do. And over the last five years I've spent an ample amount of time with the Beatles. There's music, and then there's the Beatles. They're almost like a course you'd take in school.' Lucca's life-long immersion in music and his ever-deepening experience have resulted in a potently affecting new work. Summarizing his achievement on 'Rendezvous With the Angels,' he says, 'I set out to make a record that was me, as much as possible. I was trying to look at things from another angle. There are songs that deal with faith in love and letting go of relationships in hopes that they may return. It's about the ebb and flow of love.' www.tonylucca.com www.facebook.com/TonyLucca www.twitter.com/Luccadoes www.myspace.com/tonylucca For more information, please contact: Krista Mettler Skye Media / Director of Publicity, Rock Ridge Music publicity@rockridgemusic.com
event::tags 21+
12:00 AM
to 1:00 AM
Jay Nash
24 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Jay Nash
event::about By today's standards, Jay Nash is the rare musician who does not compromise. He creates music based on the world as he sees it. Nash writes songs with humor, irony and heartbreak and delivers them all with a rustic, honest sound. Nash's music is not manufactured or contrived, it's 100% organic and delivered from the depths of his soul. His current album, ‘Diamonds and Blood’, was recorded at Phantom Vox Studios in Los Angeles. Chris Seefried produced and two-time-Grammy-winner, Seth Atkins Horan, engineered. Performers include David Immergluck (guitars, mandolin, lap steel) and Charlie Gillingham (piano and B3 organ) of the Counting Crows. Don Heffington (Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams) and Jamie Wollam (Jackson Browne) shared the drums and percussion duties. Chris Joyner (Ray LaMontagne, Rickie Lee Jones) played keys. Rob Wasserman (Ratdog, Bob Weir) plays bass. On the subdued, yet powerful, ‘Golden State Goodnight’, Nash is accompanied by Kenneth Pattengale and Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) in a heartfelt farewell to the place that he loved so much for the last nine years. Jay Nash's sultry, burlap-meets-silk voice truly distinguishes him. His music is captivating in its delivery of raw emotion. Inevitably, an ever-growing audience is appreciating Nash for his inimitable style and his passion for his simple yet pure art form.
event::tags 21+
1:00 AM
to 2:00 AM
TFDI
6 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists TFDI
event::about Apparently they couldn’t get enough of the “bromance” that began last year on their first annual “Totally F*ckin’ Doin’ It” Tour, because Tony Lucca, Jay Nash and Matt Duke are doing it all over again – one year later. To celebrate that anniversary, this year’s 2.0 outing kicks off on November 11th at SPACE in Evanston, IL, and the three music compadres plan to criss-cross the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the South and the Midwest. (See tour schedule below.) Says Lucca of the tour: “After years of recording, experimenting and exploring new sounds and directions, you just know when you've tapped into something truly exceptional - something that far exceeds any kind of expectations you might have had, whether your own or of others. That's how the first TFDI felt to me. I've never been one to tempt fate twice, but in this instance I'm willing to give it a go. I look forward to recording and touring with Jay and Matt again.” “It's a simple equation, but it works incredibly well,” says Nash. “Three distinct songwriting voices and three guitars is the general blueprint, but this time around, expect surprises. Lucca gravitates toward an R&B and soul vibe, Matt Duke brings in the alternative rock, and I suppose that I am the hippie/Americana fan. Somehow it all blends together into beautiful cacophony. Last fall, I think that we found a great starting point and I cannot wait to continue on stage and in the studio. Also, Matt Duke, if you could bring an extra toothbrush along, that would be great.” "The first TFDI was a rollicking, melt-your-face-off, don't-forget-to-call-your-babysitter-because-tonight-is-rocking-way-too-hard-and-you-might-be-home-later-than-you-originally-thought, kind of tour,” says Duke. “It wasn't just fun and games hanging out with Tony and Jay on the last tour, it was also probably one of the best bills I've ever been a part of - Tony brings a soulful, bluesy style to the stage, while Jay is Americana at his core; each penning thoughtful tunes with killer melodies. TFDI Part Deux is going to be a rip-roaring, where-did-my-face-go?, take-the-week-off-because-you-partied-way-too-hard-and-can't-find-your-keys-anyway, kind of tour, and I'm lucky to be a part of it." During last year’s tour, a series of video blogs allowed fans to watch the nightly shows and the travel between them, and there is sure to be more hilarity, musicality and hijinks of the same sort this go-around. Last year, the tour name was prompted by Nash’s “Totally F*ckin’ Doin’ It” clip, a high-energy video blog jingle turned motto, and the rest was history. From then on, the venues were filled every night with fans singing and chanting the jingle along with Lucca, Nash and Duke. The first outing spawned the “TFDI” EP, which was recorded to commemorate the tour and was released last November. A recording session is already planned at SPACE’s state-of-the-art studio this time around, where they will be recording a full-length follow-up to the “TFDI” EP. The November 11th show will also be recorded for a potential live album. Rock Ridge Music President Jason Spiewak (Benjy Davis Project, Pat McGee, Ernie Halter) will be co-producing the studio album alongside Lucca, Duke and Nash.
event::tags 21+
8:00 PM
to 9:00 PM
Birds & Batteries
24 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Birds & Batteries
event::about Birds & Batteries are on a steady rise with consistently sold out shows in San Francisco, a new album and more national touring ahead. Their March tour will bring them to several festivals including SXSW, Noise Pop (SF), Foburg (New Orleans), 35 Conferette (Denton), Mission Creek (IC) and Switchboard (SF). "Panorama" is the third full-length from Birds & Batteries and their finest work to date (Spune/ Velvet Blue Music). The new album is a rare mix of organic and electronic, pop and experimental and an effortless play of surprising elements. Panorama conjures up blue skies and big views and is unlike anything in the current indie landscape. Birds & Batteries' "Up To No Good" EP (2009, Eightmaps) showed singer / bandleader Mike Sempert exploring synth-funk and the influences of Bowie's "Scary Monsters" and P-funk. On "Panorama" (2010, Spune/Velvet Blue Music) his love for artists like Harry Nilsson, ELO, and David Byrne shines through, and he trades in a bit of the irony for empathy. Sempert might as well be a scientist in his next life, as he is able to blend his classic folk-ish voice with synth textures for down right futuristic results. When pressed for a simple summary, he's described the sound as "Art-rock meets Tom Petty." Basically it's not all that easy to define. Sempert is joined by Christopher Walsh (guitar), Jill Heinke (bass), and Brian Michelson (drums). The music of Birds & Batteries has been featured on Gossip Girl, Fuel TV and MTV.
event::tags 21+
9:00 PM
to 10:00 PM
Leslie Stevens and The Badgers
4 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
10:00 PM
to 11:00 PM
Gabby Young And Other Animals
10 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Gabby Young And Other Animals
event::about Tickets This Way for the Wildest Ride in the Music Business!! Gabby Young and Other Animals Announce New Single, Album & Festival Dates! “Imagine a Victorian circus having a baby with Beetlejuice and raising it on a diet of Tori Amos and a slightly brighter Nina Simone” THE FLY (live review) “Wildly flamboyant and with a good selection of brassy-backed, jazz-edged songs" THE GUARDIAN “a mixture of Pre-Raphaelite beauty and antique shop. As much art-school as Agent Provocateur.” MOJO “Gabby’s vocals range from Enya-like swoons to unexpected Bjorkesque pantomimic outbursts and always, always command notice.” DISORDER (live review) Meet Gabby Young, the most entertaining soul on the circus scene. With a live following most independent singers would chop out a lung for, Ms. Young’s effervescent reputation continues to precede her – which conveniently for our beloved belle has calumniated in 15 major UK festival bookings this year...and counting. With her 8-deep band of merry cohorts - comprising wind, brass and percussion sections, Gabby's exuberant reckless and yell-a-long live shows have hastily whipped up an impressive following both online and offline. With the re-release of her debut album – including bonus tracks and remixes; Gabby now invites you to draw your own conclusions, have a listen to the album and come see what all the fuss is about at her many festival appearances this year. Gabby didn't invent burlesque, Top Hats, Dickensian decadence, circuses or art deco, but what she did do, is grab these and other influences by the delicates, shoved them in a blender, added a healthy dose of unique eccentricity and out popped the most unpredictable and delicious musical smoothie you've ever been party to! To tred placidly amongst the noise and draw heed to Gabby's unique songwriting ability, this album’s heartfelt lyrics and other-worldly insight would awaken the most derelict of hearts. Whispered fairytale prose intertwines with rambunctious just-for-the-sake-of-it-opulence on this fairground of an album, and offers the listener just a peek in to Gabby Young’s ever-occupied mind. Gabby's show-stopping vocals have provoked comparisons with everybody from Bjork to Brian Blessed! Yes, the girl can sing. But don’t take our word for it; Gabby was the youngest ever singer invited to join the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Furthermore, when the legendary Al Stewart saw her performing at a bar, he wasted no time in inviting her to support him on his North American tour last year. The title track from the album “We’re all in this together” is released September 6th 2010 with the album released September 13th 2010. If you are anywhere near a muddy field with a stage on it this summer, listen out for a swashbuckling burlesque-tinged hoe-down and get yourself amongst it. It’ll be Gabby and Co wailing their hearts out for your sumptuous cider-fuelled delight. You’ll have fun... Gabby Young confirmed festival dates 2010 so far: 5th June, Sunrise Festival, Somerset 12th June, Wiltshire Jazz Festivals, Wiltshire 17th June, Beach Break Live, Wales 25th – 27th June, Glastonbury, Somerset 9th – 10th July, Marlborough Jazz Festival, Wiltshire 10th July, Nozstock Festival, Herefordshire 16th – 18th July, Latitude Festival, Suffolk 23rd July, Womad Festival, Wiltshire 25th July, Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire 30th – 1st August, Camp Bestival, Devon 6th - 8th August, Standon Calling, Herts 20 – 22nd August, Green Man Festival, Wales 27 – 29th August, Shambala Festival, Northamptonshire
event::tags 21+
11:00 PM
to 12:00 AM
Talking To Turtles
13 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Talking To Turtles
event::about Talking To Turtles is a mixed duo living in Leipzig and a fantastic piece, especially live as from solo to five piece - sometimes described as Moldy Peaches from Germany, even they don't sound German. They sound warm, melancholic, weird and of course unique in a way you have to discover! After self releasing a first EP in 2008 they wrote songs for their debut album „Monologue“ (DevilDuck Records) and recorded these in a friend’s living room 2009 in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. Ten days of isolation in a 20 square meters micro cosmos between nicotine and pasta, enthusiasm and defeat, between „perfect“ and „shit“ – isn’t that the place where good music comes out of? Talking To Turtles is Florian Sivers and Claudia Göhler, but that’s not it. „Monologue“ shows how important friendship nowadays is in creating music. Photos, cover, recording and the live scenario has become true under the title „AYF = Ask Your Friends“ instead of the good old DIY. Nevertheless this music is not less than gorgeous and nothing you can listen to without not being emotionally impressed. In 2010 they’ve already toured with Angus & Julia Stone and First Aid Kit plus several solo shows and festivals like Immergut & Reeperbahnfestival. Quotes „Sometimes whimsical, sometimes dramatic, „Monologue“ is the sound of a band on an adventure. Talking to Turtles are an authentic, unpredictable band that defy categorization." (Joey Goebel, Autor) „Exquisite, charming, unpolished songs. The emotional qulaity of his voice reminds me to the LowFiness of the Moldy Peaches – it’s great!“ (MusikExpress) „I can say totally unknown going crazy, sighing and clapping. Don’t miss it! A high on melancholy, oops I mean melody.“ (Josef Lewe, Jenseits von Millionen Festival)
event::tags 21+
12:00 AM
to 1:00 AM
Hilary York
1 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
1:00 AM
to 2:00 AM
Anna Nalick
24 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Anna Nalick
event::about Her beautifully mysterious and uplifting hit "Breathe (2 a.m.)" continues to grace radio, TV and movie soundtracks. Nearly 1 million copies of her debut album "Wreck of the Day" are cherished by fans to whom she remains indebted and appreciative. Her songs and recordings are a reminder that she is one of the most intriguing and promising singer/songwriters of the new millennium. As a sole writer and principal performer, Anna was awarded a prestigious ASCAP Pop Award. Anna is currently working on a new album to be released this year.
event::tags 21+
7:30 PM
to 8:30 PM
David Berkeley
15 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists David Berkeley
event::about "[Berkeley] sings in a lustrous, melancholy voice with shades of Tim Buckley and Nick Drake. As his melodies ascend to become benedictions and consolations, the music shimmers and peals." Jon Pareles, The New York Times David Berkeley's fourth studio album Some Kind of Cure is rich with the images and tales from Corsica, a Mediterranean island where he lived for a year in a remote mountain village of 35 people. Earthy, tender, intelligent and unpredictable, his lyrics are full of reflective moments, enticing details, and emotional impact. Simultaneously he is releasing a companion book of 13 charming and funny short stories 140 Goats and a Guitar:The Stories Behind Some Kind of Cure that inform each song. These stories are always an integral part of his on hilarious on stage banter. His original song "Fire Sign" was featured on the CBS TV series Without a Trace. Career highlights include performances on This American Life, Mountain Stage, Daytrotter Session, World Cafe, Live from the Loft on XM Satellite, KCRW, WFUV, WXPN and many more. David was the recipient of ASCAP's Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award and a finalist in the Mountain Stage New Song contest 2010.
event::tags 21+
8:00 PM
to 9:00 PM
Eliza Doolittle
83 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Eliza Doolittle
event::about In the charming video for her first U.S. single, “Rollerblades,” Eliza Doolittle, a lanky, saucer-eyed brunette in a white tank top and denim short shorts, cycles leisurely around New York’s Lower East Side. A boy from her past appears to tie a bunch of bright blue balloons to the back of her bike, disappears, then reappears with her on a sofa on the sidewalk, then evaporates again before reappearing to buy her an Icee, after which Doolittle leaves him in the dust, jumping into a shopping cart with her girlfriends and riding off into a perfect Manhattan afternoon. “The boy in the video is a bit unreliable the way he keeps popping in and out,” Doolittle explains, “so it’s kind of a metaphor for him not knowing what he wants. In the end I realize that I need to move on from that and get on with my life.” If only we could all live in Eliza Doolittle world. The Cass Bird-directed clip, which also shows Doolittle frolicking joyfully in the cooling spray from a busted hydrant, manages another neat trick. It beautifully captures the idyllic feeling of being young and carefree on a summer’s day — a mood that saturates the 22-year-old London-born singer and songwriter’s self-titled debut album, which was released in the U.K. in July and will be released Stateside in 2011. Doolittle has already created a buzz across the Atlantic with her breezy singles “Skinny Genes” and “Pack Up,” the latter of which climbed to No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and has been a mainstay in the Top 10 for months. The album was certified gold in the U.K. within four weeks of its release. The album’s appeal is rooted in Doolittle’s rich, feel-good vibe of the music, which she co-wrote with a host of top-notch songwriters and producers, including Greg Kurstin (Sia), Steve Chrisanthou (Corinne Bailey Rae), the late Jonny $ (Kylie, Massive Attack), and Craigie Dodds (Amy Winehouse). Vintage sounds from the ’60s and ’70s are merrily mined and wed to buoyant melodies informed by classic pop, old soul, ska, folk, and even good old-fashioned barbershop quartet, creating something with a happy-go-lucky retro feel, but still indisputably youthful and fresh. “’Rollerblades was the first song I wrote, and I knew I had something special with the sound,” Doolittle says. “It’s got something to it that I hadn’t quite heard before, so when it came time to write the whole album, I made sure I put my stamp on it with that sound no matter which producer I was working with.” “Pack Up” boldly raids the chorus of the George Henry Powell marching song “Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag” and repurposes it to startling effect, creating a dance-hall ode to the joys of being the eternal optimist. “Money Box” is an orchestrated rant against senseless materialism, with Doolittle touchingly insisting “I don’t need no cash machine…all I need’s right here, right here with you my dear.” “Police Car,” a down-tempo lament swaddled in melancholy woodwind, is about Doolittle getting herself in trouble with her bluntness. “I do regret my mouth sometimes,” she says, “but then I think, ‘Well, that’s what I think, it doesn’t matter.’ But maybe I’m still learning!” Her disarming frankness and tart observations are actually her strong suits. “Skinny Genes” is “a cheeky song about a really annoying boy who has no good qualities, except for one really good one,” she says, while “Nobody” dismisses the cheap lure of fame with a simple question: “What’s wrong with being a nobody?” “Everyone's got a dark side, but mine definitely isn't the first thing you notice about me,” she says. “So it was important to me to be in touch with my personality through the music, and I think this album really shows that.” Raised by a piano-playing dad and singing mom, Doolittle has been writing songs since she was 12. “I told my mum that I wanted to be a singer and she told me to start writing because that’s where the money was,” Doolittle says with a laugh. “I love the writing aspect of what I do. That fulfilling feeling of finishing a song is just incredible. It’s like making babies. I mean, I'm sure when I have a real baby it will be a stronger feeling than this, but creating a song is like giving birth. Though perhaps not quite as painful.” Her precocious songwriting talent soon got her noticed, and Doolittle signed a publishing deal at 16. As she matured, her songs began to flower into the magical blooms they are today. Although she is a diehard fan of classic pop, and cites the Beach Boys, The Kinks, and Stevie Wonder as influences, Doolittle doesn’t see herself fitting in to a cut-and-dried pop mold. “I’d like to be a pop musician in the proper old school vein of pop when there weren’t any different genres like there are now; it was all just pop music,” she says. “I just want to write songs people can sing along to. I can’t think of anything more exciting than traveling the world and playing to audiences and having them sing your words with you.”
event::tags 21+
8:30 PM
to 9:30 PM
SO & SO
2 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists So & So
event::about SO & SO are a 5 member Los Angeles based band who has been together for 14 months. SO & SO regularly play at HOTEL CAFE , HOUSE OF BLUES, VIPER ROOM and other venues throughtout LA. Canadian producer Rob Wells colablorated with Amie Miriello and Jay Dmuchowski to write and record 12 tracks that will be released in the spring of 2011. SO & SO will have 2 songs featured in 2 episodes of ONE TREE HILL, Air Dates are February 8th and February 15th.
event::tags 21+
9:00 PM
to 10:00 PM
Lenka
54 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Lenka
event::about Just before Lenka steps on stage to begin recording her video for her first single “The Show,” she makes a promise: “I want to write more songs about being in love. On album two you’ll hear more of those.” It was 2008, and at the time, her self-titled debut album had yet to drop and there was a lot yet to come for the petite Australian singer, including a move to America, live appearances on Conan O’Brien and other late-night talk shows, and the celebratory moment when her album hit No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. Oh…and there was also an engagement to James Gulliver Hancock, a visual artist with whom she’s shared many creative collaborations. So, this year, she makes good on her word and returns with Two, an album full of love songs. But, as you’ll hear, not all of Two’s songs were all spun from lazy, romantic mornings. That’s because, thanks to the success of her debut, Lenka spent most of 2009 touring the world. She played intimate clubs and large festivals like Bumbershoot and Summer Sonic. And, while the stage wasn’t new territory for her – she’d previously fronted the indie band Decoder Ring and had acted professionally in her teenage years – traveling to 21 countries in ten months was eye-opening. “It was intense. Life is just so concentrated when you’re on the road. One day feels like a month.” She continues, “But, I’ve always been a little bit of a gypsy, so I do love it. I really wanted to get more out of it than just touring as a musician. I wanted to connect with people and almost pretend that I was just traveling, like backpacking or something to experience the different cultures.” She was impressed by many of the countries she was seeing for the first time on that tour, like Denmark, Japan, and Thailand, but it was her experience in Vietnam that really blew her away. “It’s rare for an artist to get the opportunity to perform in Vietnam, so I felt quite honored and lucky.” The incredible experiences just kept coming, and between them, Lenka had to find a way to process all of those new sights, sounds, and emotions. She turned to what had gotten her there in the first place. “I was writing as a way to process. That’s the wonderful thing about being a songwriter. You have some way to put out all of the emotions and reactions to what you’re seeing. I probably wrote 35 songs when working on this album.” Some of that processing included dealing with the toll of being away from almost everyone she knew and adjusting to the move from Sydney to Los Angeles and from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, and inspired tracks like the determined “Roll with the Punches” and the plucky “Sad Song.” Regarding the latter, she says, “I had been indulging in the depression, but I was just emerging out of it and I used that song to snap myself out of it. I think we just all fall and stumble constantly and usually when I write the song is when I’m getting up again.” But, not all of those growing pains were bad. “I think I grew up quite a lot last year. I learned so much about the world and myself as an artist and felt like I came into my own a little bit more as a woman as well. I’m less timid now and a bit more sassy, a bit more gutsy.” That inner strength guided her in the decision to travel to London to record a portion of Two with David Kosten (Bat for Lashes). She says, “I had spent so much of the year traveling, I wanted to give it a bit of an international sound and London is such a big music city.” And while she admits that the physical location doesn’t really matter once you’re inside a dark studio, recording in the The Kinks’ studio was unique. “There were all these vibes in there and tourists would come by. Some were shaking they were so excited to see it. But, for us, it was cool because all The Kinks’ original instruments were in there and I got to use their mellotron from the 1970s.” She also had the courage to take her album in a different direction than her last, one that is more distinctly electronic. That’s evident from the moment it opens with the bright, dance-friendly song “Two” that she co-wrote with British artist Eg White (he also worked on the more emotionally-intense “Here to Stay”), but even more so on songs like “Heart Skips a Beat.” For that song, which was inspired by a time she told a doctor that her heart occasionally skips a beat and he suggested maybe she was just in love, she turned to musician/producer Guy Sigsworth who had previously worked with Björk on some of her most well-known tracks. Lenka admits, “I never really liked electronic music when I was a teenager. Björk was the first artist that made me realize it wasn’t illegal to have a computer beat in a song and that it can still be beautiful and emotional.” One track quickly turned into three and she asked him to take the reins on two more love songs: “Shock Me into Love” and “You Will Be Mine.” But, no matter what the subject, the songs, be they about love or coming into her own, reveal a braver Lenka, even more ready to take on the world.
event::tags 21+
9:30 PM
to 10:30 PM
Brandi Emma
4 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Brandi Emma
event::about Brandi Emma is a Silverlake, CA-based singer/songwriter/musician who gained considerable critical buzz under the moniker Emma Burgess. Hailing from small town in western Massachusetts, Brandi moved around a lot as a kid and sought refuge in the radio. While training at a theater conservatory, she taught herself to play guitar, which she then brought along with her on her cross-country drive to Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles that she wrote her first songs and began playing regularly at local venues and singing backup for acts like Peter Bradley Adams (Eastmountainsouth). Brandi soon scored a record deal with the Love Yourself label and released her full-length debut, Swim, in 2007 under the moniker Emma Burgess. It was produced by Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney) and Ofer Moses, featuring such genius as Mike Garson (David Bowie) on piano and Josh Freese (NIN) on drums. The record quickly earned critical acclaim from Rolling Stone Magazine (“Break-out indie song of 2007 for Big Break”), LA Times (“Buzz Band Artist 2007”) to URB Magazine (“1,000 Artists to Watch in 2007”). In addition, several songs from Swim found their way onto network television shows. After a guest collaboration in 2009 with the Folktronica group The Smart Set, she decided to go out on her own. Returning to her birth name- and to her original, alt-country instincts-she has carved out her own distinctive, soulful sound. The newest creation of this talented 27 year-old's ongoing pop investigations is her debut EP, Photographic Memory, produced by Tom Livemore (Carina Round) in LA and Birmingham, featuring guest musicians Ragman Jones, Simon Smith and Ryann Snow. Brandi Emma first worked with UK's Livemore in 2009, back on her instant alt-country torch classic, Let It Go . The song was never released, but sat itching with anticipation as Brandi experimented with other writers/producers. Happily for all of us, Brandi and Tom ultimately harkened to the muse and reunited to add four more songs -- all stellar bits of folk-inspired pop intimacy with heart and soul. These five nuanced songs explore the wistful side of romance with a steely tug that won't easily let you go. Photographic Memory was recently released on Emma's own label, Emma Phonics Music, on October 12, 2010. She is currently touring the east and west coasts in support of the release.
event::tags 21+
10:00 PM
to 11:00 PM
The Damnwells
44 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
event::about Formed in 2001, the Damnwells represent the songwriting efforts of singer/guitarist Alex Dezen, whose mix of alt-country and alternative pop/rock is supported by a variety of talented musicians and producers. The group took root in Brooklyn, where Dezen was joined by ex-Whiskeytown drummer Steven Terry, bassist Ted Hudson, and guitarist Dave Chernis. A series of EPs helped cement the band's sound and the Damnwells were soon asked to tour in support of Cheap Trick. After the tour The Damnwells headed to their Manhattan Mini Storage space, which doubled as a rehearsal space and makeshift studio, to record their first full-length album. Pairing Dezen's slow, codeine-laced ballads with up-tempo rock, they completed Bastards of the Beat before signing a deal with Epic Records. In a rare display of confidence, Epic released Bastards of the Beat in 2003 without any major revisions, allowing both the band's artwork and track list to remain intact. When the Damnwells returned to the studio two years later, however, they found themselves dropped from Epic's roster, an incident that was later captured on the documentary “Golden Days”. After months of uncertainty, the band found a new home at Zoe/Rounder Records and issued Air Stereo in late 2006. The record widened the Damnwells' sound with lap steel, piano, and sublime harmonies. A tour alongside the Fray helped the band to expose larger audiences to their music. In 2008, Alex Dezen enrolled as an M.F.A. candidate at the University of Iowa, where he participated in the acclaimed Iowa Writers' Workshop. Meanwhile, he continued recording music with a revised version of the Damnwells, which now included drummer Andrew Ratcliffe, bassist Adrian Dickey, and producer/guitarist Freddy Wall. The band’s third album, One Last Century, was released in partnership with Paste Magazine, which offered the album as a free digital download. During his stay in Iowa, Dezen wrote material for an album called No One Listens to the Band which was entirely funded by fans though PledgeMusic.com. The band’s Pledge campaign raised almost double the amount they set out to raise which allowed them to spend more money on recoding, production and a 2011 tour to support the release. As a result of the success of their campaign, the Damwells was signed in late 2010 by the newly formed PledgeMusic Recordings for the release of No One Listens to the Band Anymore.
event::tags 21+
10:45 PM
to 11:45 PM
Lucy Schwartz
8 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Lucy Schwartz
event::about LUCY SCHWARTZ Life in Letters Her latest CD, Life in Letters, introduces the new 20 year-old face of Lucy Schwartz, but listeners may already know her voice. How could anyone forget it? Rich and dreamy and all lit up in Technicolor, it’s graced movie theaters and TV sets across the country. “Darling I Do,” is one example: Lucy created the love theme to Shrek Forever After and performed the song with her co-writer Landon Pigg on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has also written for numerous films including Mother & Child, Post Grad, Adam, and the Meg Ryan comedy The Women, for which she created songs for both the front and end credits while still in high school. She recently penned the international theme song for Parenthood, and her songs have been featured in more than a dozen hit television shows, from Grey’s Anatomy to Make it Or Break It; ER to Brothers and Sisters. For Schwartz, who sang the hilariously campy jingles “Mister F” and “For British Eyes Only” on Arrested Development, drama comes naturally. “I did a lot of theater growing up,” says the effervescent Lucy, “so I like the idea of escaping into a character and becoming someone else.” Now, Life in Letters establishes Lucy Schwartz as a major talent, big and bright and bursting with energy. She recorded the album with producer Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney). “There was a lot of experimentation,” she recalls. “We didn’t have a band come in and play together. We did it part by part.” Froom’s home studio in Los Angeles served as their playground. “The whole place was filled up with keyboards,” Schwartz continues, “so for ‘Graveyard,’ we layered ten different keyboard parts at once. For ‘Those Days,’ I found these bells and hit them with a yellow toy hammer. Now, some songs are a little zanier than they were when we started, but they’re also a lot more interesting.” Lucy commands dramatic torch songs and breezy pop ditties with equal vigor, bringing a spectacular whimsy to everything she does, adding ukulele or a capella harmonies where you’d least expect them, cranking up every emotion into surround sound. There’s so much joie de vivre in her music, she’s written no less than two songs – “Graveyard” and “Shadow Man” – about what it takes to feel truly alive. “I feel like I’m always asking myself, ‘Am I living a fulfilling life? Am I making the most of my time?’” says Schwartz. “When I wrote ‘Shadow Man,’ I’d just decided to leave college. I needed to do what I needed to do and not just what I was expected to do. And I needed to make music. One of the most playful songs is called “I Want the Sky” – which should tell you something about Schwartz’s ambitions. “I have all these crazy schemes and dreams that most people are too afraid to ask for,” she admits. A longtime fan of Landon Pigg, she simply wrote to him and asked him to play Shrek to her Fiona on “Darling I Do”, the song from Shrek Forever A fan of Matt Hales – aka Aqualung -- Lucy contacted the brooding Brit to sing with her on “Seven Hours,” included as a bonus track on Life in Letters. The tactic worked again for the “Graveyard” video: after marveling at an episode of So You Think You Can Dance, she wrote the show’s Sonya Tayeh and asked her to choreograph the video for “Graveyard.” Tayeh accepted: now Schwartz uses her moves in the clip, twirling and jumping through a smoke-machine haze. “I like to have everything just the way I’d imagined it, from the artwork to the visuals to the songs,” she admits. “You might call me an artiste,” she proclaims in a haughty French accent, before dissolving into laughter. Funny as it might seem, it’s also true. Lucy Schwartz is an emerging artist who’s deeply engaged with the world – the good stuff, and the bad. And Life in Letters challenges that world to engage with her the same way. “Lucy Schwartz literally means ‘light dark,’ and I tend to write that way, too,” she says. “Some songs seem bright and happy but the words are more thoughtful and introspective. Others feel darker, but I sound more hopeful. Sometimes you can hear both the light and dark in my voice.” True, you already knew that voice. But thanks to Life in Letters, you’ll now remember her name.
event::tags 21+
11:15 PM
to 12:15 AM
Lelia Broussard
19 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Lelia Broussard
event::about My career in bullet points because bios are boring. - i was an egg, then i was fertilized, then i was born - first concert, paul simon age 3 the cajun dome in Lafayette Louisiana. cool - Cajun Dome again, age 6, I sang Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” in front of 15,000 people, they cheered, that was cooler - sang incessantly all through childhood, annoyed the crap out of my mother - i once had 15 cats.creepy right? - the first song i wrote was about my orthodontist - recorded my first record in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - moved to new york when i was 17 - waited tables, got fired for yelling at my boss (he was a special kind of douche) - i’ve been an under paid full time musician ever since. - started working with writer and producer rob fusari (of bootylicious and now miz lady gaga fame) - toured extensively throughout the US - signed a publishing deal with Rondor Universal Music Group - moved to Los Angeles, California - met Snoop Dogg (I like to call him Mr. Dogg) at the Grammy’s (did I say met? I mean I saw him) - wrote wrote wrote - recorded Waiting On The 9 with producer, Dave Trumfio (Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Built to Spill) - Wrote a song about a sad robot in love called “Satellite” - Another Record “Masquerade” with Dan Romer, producer extraordinaire coming out Nov 2nd 2010 - On Tour everywhere 2010/2011
event::tags 21+
11:45 PM
to 12:45 AM
Austin Hartley-Leonard
5 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Austin Hartley-Leonard
event::about AUSTIN HARTLEY-LEONARD Originally a classically trained cellist, Austin Hartley-Leonard began as a solo singer/songwriter in Austin, TX after attending the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. His first demo earned him an invitation to the SXSW Music Festival. Soon after, he started looking for other musicians to round out the band, and the group St. James Inc was born. The band went on to see success in the Austin music scene and was invited to perform at the Austin City Limits Festival. After releasing the '8 Hours' EP in 2006, St. James Inc performed at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago and then relocated to Los Angeles, where they continued to see great success. After meeting producer Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, Tim Myers, AM) in Los Angeles, the two began work on Austin's debut solo record 'Franklin Ave' in December 2007. Following the release of the album in 2008, Austin played 5 shows at SXSW 2009 including a slot on The Hotel Cafe Showcase night. Austin's songs have aired on such hit shows as 'Chuck', 'The Ghost Whisperer', 'Men In Trees', 'Friday Night Lights,' and 'The Real World'. In addition, Austin has been commissioned to write a number of commercial television spots, the most recent of which being the theme for a nationally aired campaign for 'Troybilt Inc." Over the last year, Austin Hartley-Leonard has become one of the most popular Los Angeles based independent artists, headlining his own shows at top venues at home and around Southern California, as well as playing cello with such artists as Greg Laswell, Cary Brothers, and Laura Jansen. Austin's long awaited EP 'Everywhere I've Never Been' was recently released in November, 2010 and debuted at #4 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. Produced by Bill Lefler (Cary Brothers, Dashboard Confessional, Gym Class Heroes) and supported by artists Matthew Ramsey (vocals, banjo, guitar), and Brother Sal (piano). As Austin moves forward into 2011 he's looking forward to releasing his new record's first video for his dark cover of the late 90's hit 'Flagpole Sitta' starring Rachael Leigh Cook, as well as continuing to tour around Southern California.
event::tags 21+
12:15 AM
to 1:15 AM
Henry Wolfe
8 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Henry Wolfe
event::about Henry Wolfe (born Henry Wolfe Gummer, 1979) is a songwriter and singer living in Los Angeles. From 2004-2007 Henry fronted the New York-based indie rock group Bravo Silva before striking out on his own to pursue a solo career in the sunny climes of California. His first solo release, The Blue House EP , is an eclectic collection of modern, guitar-driven folk songs co- produced and recorded by Malachi DeLorenzo (Langhorne Slim). Soon after releasing The Blue House, Henry recorded an album of songs penned by Portland-based writer and satirist Peter Field. Entitled Wolfe Sings Field the album’s distinctive instrumentation features arrangements for harp and string quartet by the Los Angeles composer Oliwa. Paired with Henry’s hushed renditions of Field’s darkly comic story-songs, the resulting genre might best be described as “gothic-baroque-folk.” Henry recently completed his first full-length record of original material, entitled Linda Vista. Produced by Nico Aglietti and Aaron Older (Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros), the album is set to drop late March 2011.
event::tags 21+
12:45 AM
to 1:45 AM
Keaton Simons
3 schedule::attendees
Location
The Tap Room at Six
eventtype Music
Artists Keaton Simons
event::about With a depth and richness similar to some of the best singer/songwriters like John Lennon and Bob Dylan, masterful, fluid and bluesy guitar playing comparable to Jimi Hendrix and early Eric Clapton, and a voice as authentic and soul-bearing in the vein of Ray Charles, Keaton Simons (CBS Records) stands as a dynamic musician with a sound all his own. While the honest beauty and sensuality of his voice is enough to hypnotize an audience, it's his guitar playing that completes the true voice of Keaton Simons. Easily identified on its own, Keaton's guitar work showcases a man whose musical vocabulary is extensive. From studying world music at The Evergreen State College, to working with notable hip-hop acts like Black Eyed Peas, Medusa, Snoop Dogg and Tre 'Slimkid' Hardson's The Pharcyde, and sharing the stage with artists like Coldplay, Chris Isaak, Gnarls Barkley, Mike Doughty, Josh Rouse, Guster, Five For Fighting, Josh Kelley, and most recently REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar, there's no question that Keaton's ear, and ultimately his fretwork, are experienced. He is able to adapt to any genre, style or circumstance and improvise in such a way that makes his audience believe every note, riff and solo he plays has been engraved in him since he picked up the guitar at age 12. In 2004 after signing a deal with Maverick Records, Keaton released his debut EP, Currently. Unfortunately, Maverick's fortunes began to falter, and when the label was absorbed by Warner Bros., Keaton became a free agent. He remained undeterred though, touring the country, sustaining his airplay, and garnering exposure in other media as well. His songs were tapped for several movie soundtracks while Keaton himself appeared in feature films like Hollywood Dreams, and was recruited for guest appearances on such popular network shows as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Malcolm in the Middle and American Dreams. CBS Records later welcomed Keaton to their family, and in June of 2008 he released his debut full-length, Can You Hear Me. Produced by Dave Bianco and Keaton Simons, Can You Hear Me gives listeners a sampling of what Keaton is capable of. Keaton is currently working on his sophomore full-length with producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz, One Republic), due out in 2011. For more information on Keaton Simons please visit: http://www.keatonsimons.com
event::tags 21+
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