After a lengthy blogging absence, we are jumping back into the thick of things here at Shine A Light Productions, and we are going to be providing you with some of what we've been working on over the summer months.
Over the course of the next five weeks, we will release live footage of some of our favorite artists every Friday through a series we're deeming ROCKTOBER. These exclusive videos will be released via the Shine A Light Productions Live Music Page and through our Facebook page, so be sure to become a fan so you will receive updates announcing the latest live video releases.
The first featured artist is Surprise Me Mr. Davis, an innovative electro-folk quartet which is comprised of singer-songwriter Nathan Moore and what is surely the most under-rated band in modern rock, The Slip. The story goes that Nathan was on the road as The Slip's merch guy when the acoustics in some hotel shower convinced the Boston-based trio that they should begin collaborating musically with Moore.
Many years later, we are lucky to be witnessing the bounty of this musical partnership in venues all across the country, and nowhere are the boys more at home than at the High Sierra Music Festival, where they have reigned as unofficial good times amabassdors for the last decade. Shine A Light was on hand at the 2008 festival to capture some of the many sets that these fellas offered, from the Davis performances at all hours of the day and night, two rare and hotly anticipated sets from The Slip, and solo sets from Nathan Moore (which didn't necessarily feature Mr. Moore... a late-in-the-festival troubadour timeslot saw Brad Barr fill in and play the songs of the vocally-overworked Nathan Moore).
The Davis boys did a quick run through the North-East in August, landing in New York during what was surely the most heavily-laden week of music in recent memory, with an All Points WestRadiohead double-header sandwiched in between shows from Trey Anastasio, Wilco, and Bob Dylan. However, Union Hall played host to SMMD for a fantastic Sunday evening show, and the following day before the boys left town, Shine A Light caught up to the boys to shoot a music video for their new song, "I'm No Good At All'.
Surprise Me Mr. Davis doesn't have any tour dates on the radar until their huge New Years Eve show with their good friends the Benevento-Russo Duo at B.B. Kings in New York (conveniently located down the street from what promises to be a monster celebration at Madison Square Garden when My Morning Jacket rings in 2009). However, the Davis boys will be busy touring in other incarnations: the fall season will see The Slip touring with Sonya Kitchell all over the lower 48, and Brad Barr will be promoting his new instrumental album, The Fall Apartment, by doing solo performances to open most shows; Andrew Barr and Marc Friedman will appear in Marco Benevento's trio in November, and Nathan Moore will be the featured opener for a handful of these dates.
Rocktober's inaugural live release is featured below, and remember that you can only check out the rest of these exclusive (that means not on YouTube) videos at the Shine a Light Live Music webpage.
I won't try to hide the fact that I have thrown myself on the altar-- I'm an MMJ disciple. And because I cannot profess to being objective when it comes to this deliciously hard-rockin' Kentucky outfit, this is not necessarily a review. It's an opportunity to share the thought that this band going in an unexpected (but welcome) direction with the release of their latest record, Evil Urges.
I mean, it would be easy to expect more hair-raising, head-shaking, ear-splitting, southern-fried rock anthems from Jim James and crew, but am I the only one who thinks this record sounds more like the Bee Gees were hanging out playing bocce with Beck when their friend Prince came over and they all started to get their modern-day soul-jam on? A tune like Thank You Too! is just too luscious to be crafted in this decade, or so I thought. I'm happy to be proven very wrong.
The show that My Morning Jacket treated fans to last week at Radio City Music Hall was a show that was as classy, mature, and truly awe-inspiring as the venue itself. The newer tunes are indeed slower than some of the epics we've come to love (like Lay Low or One Big Holiday), but nary a moment is wasted on these new efforts, and the sparse arrangements are rich when one knows just how much could have been packed in between each note. Had I been seeing this newer soul-licious version of MMJ in a hockey arena with a flask in my pocket, I admittedly might have wanted more head-banging. Seeing it at Radio City felt perfect, however, as the band seemed to channel tones that have echoed through the venue in days gone by.
The theatrical venue inspired whimsical frontman Jim James to explore its upper reaches, as you will witness as he serenaded the first balcony with some searing guitar riffs during a powerful Steam Engine, from their 2003 album It Still Moves. This song is a perfect example of how their gentle songcraft can suddenly accelerate into a blistering crescendo (which is the moment when James took advantage of his wireless setup to do some stairclimbing).
And to offer some alternatives to those who still want their rock a little more, well, raucous, I will give you two extremes of rock, both hailing from my native country. The first is Canada's heir to the Tragically Hip throne, The Constantines, and just witness how they not only heartily endure a vicious hailstorm at the Gorge, but get the crowd whipped into an astonishing frenzy as they endure getting pelted. (Highlight comes at 2:45 when keyboardist Will Kidman climbs the rafters... thanks for this one, Mary!)
The other extreme is something that I fully expected to bring me shame-- the worst cover ever performed is by a Canadian? According to Total Guitar Magazine, Celine Dion's version of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long gets top honors in the dregs department. But before you concur, just check it out and tell me if this clip doesn't define "guilty pleasure"... Maybe I love AC/DC too much, or maybe the hilarity of Celine and Anastacia changing the lyrics to describe a man are too good to hate. I mean, "knocking me out with his American thighs"? Let's begin with Celine not only air-guitaring her entrance, but then somehow combining the air guitar with a can-can on one stiletto-heeled leg? This woman is a brave, brave performer, and I deem this is too good to pass up. So sue me.
The full run-down is here, but perhaps the most entertaining upshot of the conference is Bill O'Reilly's take on the whole affair: he calls the people calling for media reform 'facists', saying of the more than 3,000 participants that, "You know, clearly these are unstable people". That, coming from Bill O'Reilly, ladies and gentlemen.
You can hear the gems for yourself below, and then hear Bill Moyers take down a FoxNews producer during a heated exchange at the conference. Those who feel compelled may want to take action by sending word to FoxNews to tell Bill O'Reilly to 'stop pretending to be a journalist'...
This is a new regular feature (ha!) of this blog devoted to discovery: we will present bands you probably haven't heard of, but that we suspect that you will feel deep gratitude for knowing once you come out the backside of this here scribbling. Shall we begin?
Because there is more to life than music (gasp), kmmmmusic... will now include a monthly media news posting for your enlightenment. It is more important than ever that the average citizen remains alert with regard to where their news comes from, and as The New York Times recently reported, propaganda is not just an antiquated rallying technique for the masses employed by the likes of Hitler and Mao. Our current administration has long held a tight grip on conservative media outlets such as Fox News, but Bush's misinformation missions have grown into outright propaganda.
The Pentagon launched a "Military Analyst Program" whereby "experts" on military operations were planted in myriad mainstream media outlets and encouraged to assuage fears with regard to the war in Iraq and to generate favorable news coverage about the current administration's military strategy. The Times pointed out that, "most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air".
While The Times blew the lid on this effort to transform the media coverage of terrorism and the war from within the major TV networks and radio stations, there has been a media blackout in other media outlets concerning this story. The very media outlets that conformed to Bush's plan have refused to report on the exposé, and further, some outlets are still parading the pundits on the air (as you will see in the clip above). PBS is the only major outlet that has reported on the story, and in their piece they invited CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX News and MSNBC to participate, all of whom declined.
Free Press is leading a charge to have this story become public. Their website states, "The mainstream media’s silence illustrates the effects of corporate owners invested in stifling in-depth reporting and dissenting views. Not only is this a violation of every conceivable standard of journalism, but spreading "covert propaganda" is illegal under federal law." It is now up to independent media outlets such as Democracy Now! (whose piece appears below) and everyday citizens (and their blogs) to take action on this issue.
While it is news to nobody that the American media focus has always been enormously skewed toward reporting on domestic events, there is a very real danger that we are not receiving fair and balanced reporting in the US. The picture to the right shows a map of the world according to how it is reported on in US media outlets (where the swollen purple mass is the US and the green area represents an inflated Iraq). This graphic was featured as a part of a TED talk on why we know less than ever about the world, and the four-minute talk suggests that it is not for a lack of audience interest: thirst for international news is actually growing while domestic media feeds on trivial celebrity scandals like Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith. It falls to independent media outlets to keep the checks and balances in place, you might also benefit from checking out The Huffington Post, Stop Big Media, Democracy Now!, and Free Press if you are looking for the "rest of the story".
1. Because it doesn't get any cooler than Stevie Wonder.
2. Because a very close second in contention for the King of Cool is that kid freaking out on top of the stairs-- my word!! What a peaker!! I wonder where we might find this wee bastion of music appreciation today... I'll start my search down at Jazzfest.
3. Because not only is Superstition already a pretty bold selection for the Sesame Street set, but just when you think the song is going to end and they'll cut to commercial, Stevie and crew launch into a major Sesame Street JAM. Listening to the full 6 minutes is crucial. There's even a pump-fake at the 5-minute mark that they're going to wrap it up, but they go one more round. Amazing.
4. Because those HORNS! That funky band! I count no fewer than 8 people on that set, not including the pint-sized percussion section on the stairs.
5. Because I always did want to get to Sesame Street. This just confirms how much.
It had been just over 8 years since my last trip to Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, and as I drove up snake road I had many flashbacks to the 24-hour period of anguish and anticipation that I had endured on the same stretch of pavement in 1999. This time we were driving at speeds that cars normally go on highways and not staring at tail lights through the night. So that was a good thing. I hoped it was a sign that Langerado had made the right move by upping from Markham Park and heading further from the environs of Fort Lauderdale.
However, I think that Langerado’s leap to the swampy interior of Florida was perhaps premature. I felt that the size and scope of last year’s festival was ideal—I still claim that last year’s offering might have been the most perfect festival I’ve yet attended. Last year’s success can be attributed to the incredibly dense and diverse lineup, a perfectly-sized venue, and it goes without saying that Florida’s weather in early March is simply a wonderful way to awaken slumbering senses. Sadly, this year’s festival paled in comparison, as the size of the venue seemed larger than necessary, the lineup was thinner and less astutely arranged, and the combination of torrential rains, tornado warnings and a Saturday night cold front plagued the festival this year.
There were highlights, of course. Grace Potter’s Sunday afternoon set was one such gem: try as you might to dismiss her as a pretty face with hot red boots, there’s no way you can deny the vocal talents and showmanship that this girl is blessed with. Add to that firstly some charisma on the keys (indeed, she was playing Marco Benevento’s organ that day and fearlessly channeling his rock-neck expression) and secondly some chops on the guitar, and you’ve got a Grade A performer that is a delight to behold. The full-band drum breakdown was an entertaining indication of how Grace and her band-members interact playfully and intrepidly while creating music, and I would endorse their act to any fan of rootsy rock n roll--or to anyone who simply likes to watch babes in boots belt it out. (I think that's most of us...)
The Wood Brothers were my Saturday-in-the-sunshine pick, delivering some tunes from their forthcoming album, Loaded, along with some of the stellar tunes from Ways Not To Lose. Their harmonies and plucky breakdowns are candy to my ears: having seen their very first gig at Tonic in March of 2005, it is a real pleasure to see how they have grown ever-more comfortable making music together, and it is a sound that isn’t being played better by any duo out there.
American Babies had an early set on Saturday, but my fave musical offering of the Brothers Hamilton, Sir Russo, and Scott Metzger was a fortuitous stroll by the JamCruise tent where they were delivering an acoustic mini-set, and Russo invited Metzger up onto his lap for some brotherly love of his own. Danjaboots in action:
Bands I had hoped to see for the first time (and love thereafter) included Of Montreal, The National, and Ghostland Observatory. I was distracted by shaving cream and histrionic stage-wear at Of Montreal, and felt that their music wasn’t as compelling live as it was on my iPod (huh? I know… I, too, thought bands were supposed to be better live than on your F train commute). The National disappointed me by sounding like a thinner, less-spirited version of Arcade Fire, with all the live gusto of a dead legless lizard (see above). And Ghostland Observatory escaped me for scheduling reasons, as I was packing up gear from shooting the previous Chickee Hut pair, The Benevento-Russo Duo.
It is hard to evaluate the musical merit of shows that you are committed to capturing in other ways, so take my shout-outs to The Duo and Earl Greyhound with a grain of salt. But Joe and Marco delivered a truly solid set, in classic Duo form, and their large, enthusiastic crowd (on-stage as well as off) was surely treated to one of the best sets at the festival. Tommy Hamilton sat in for a trio of songs, and while at the time I was more concerned with capturing him in the frame than listening to his sonic output, I will say that he played harder and faster than I knew he was capable of, and I’m beginning to like the sound of the Duo with a guitar. But, hey, I like my breakfast cereal with a guitar, too.
Earl Greyhound had an opening slot on Friday that was well-attended considering the seemingly premature time slot for such hard rock. They have a sound that is very hard for most soundboards to translate: their intricate vocal harmonies need to be balanced with thundering drums and lightening quick electric guitar shredding, so the high winds and short soundcheck didn’t do EG any favors. But they delivered their Soft Targets standards tightly, and their newer songs show great promise in the Rock Your Face category.
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars were a lovely Friday evening sunset feel-good dance party; Citizen Cope was a mellow but mellifluous surprise; the Beastie Boys were nothing but fun; Phil Lesh sounded kind of like every other Phil Lesh show I’ve seen before; Mickey Hart gave me nothing to complain about but nothing to blog home about either: hosting Steve Kimock and former Deep Banana Blackout front-woman Jen Durkin (whom I recognized solely from her signature spinning moves).
But the biggest surprise (read: disappointment) of the festival was R.E.M. Granted, their music isn’t exactly what I would have selected for a Saturday night headliner (you could never top last year’s Sat Night rocker from My Morning Jacket), and granted they had to deal with a brutal change in weather that severely stunted the festival revelry, but the morose and political set –even while peppered with those cool throw-backs like Orange Crush--was just not what the doctor ordered. And there was slim pickins for alternatives between 9-12, so patrons were pretty much forced to stick those sets out. Absolutely none of the late night options (Phix, Disco Biscuits, STS9 and the like…) were enough to tempt me to turn into a pumpkin, so this festy patron got two rare solid nights of sleep. I don’t regret for one moment missing any of the pre-dawn activity—my only regret is not making it to MMW and Scofield’s set post-Duo. That might have provided me with enough warmth to stick out Stipe and company.
It will be interesting to see how Langerado responds with next year’s festival: either they will need a deeper lineup to justify having such a large, remote location or they may have to consider a return to the safe haven of Markham Park. Unless the lineup sees a return to something rivalling last year’s highlights, I have reservations about returning to Big Cypress—pun intended.
All photots courtesy the lovely and talented Mercy Southam.
photo credit: Wes Orshoski I've been conducting a poll over the past year or so with people whose music tastes I respect concerning Eric Clapton's "Godliness". It seems I naively thought it went unquestioned, but I have recently learned that many question the depth with which Clapton plays "White Man's Blues". My instant retort was simply, "But what about Layla?" Apparently that mighty riff was conceived by Duane Allman. "But what about..." The conversation ensued, and I was left questioning all I loved about EC. Last night at Madison Square Garden put to rest any doubts I had as to whether I still worship the man and his profound yet dazzling bluesy touch. This concert blew away the Cream reunion show I was lucky enough to catch a few years back (whose highlights were Ginger Baker and a Stormy Monday). Last night's show was that much superior because Clapton shared the stage with the wonderful Steve Winwood-- thus the talent and the classic rock song pool were doubled. Hearing Winwood sing live was a revelation: he just may be my favorite rock n' roll vocalist ever. Never trying too hard, never hitting a bad note, simply Steve Winwood. It doesn't hurt that his talents on the keyboard are matched with his going-toe-to-toe with the other guitar player onstage. From the opener of Had To Cry Today it was clear that these men were going to deliver rock n' roll in a straight-ahead, nostalgia-free manner, and their interplay was remarkably natural and tight. You can get a taste of that clean, driven sound in this opening segment of Forever Man:
Once I knew the rock was going to be legitimate, I was rather satisfied. But Clapton delivered some unexpected gems (Them Changes by Jimi Hendrix!), some gorgeous blues (again Hendrix, with Voodoo Chile), and even some freakin' psychedelic jams. I am of the opinion that psychedelics should only be played by bands that once delivered the style in their youth-- and on the condition that they now do so sober. And I have to admit that if I closed my eyes and boogied, (which I did a lot of) there were some suspiciously phish-y moments in the later half of the show. Granted, Trey has always had Clapton in his bag of tricks and licks, but I didn't know that EC could plumb the depths of heady jams so well. Listen to this clip of Glad and tell me if you can't hear a little bit of the Vermont quartet in there (especially toward the end of the clip...)
The only complaint I had about the show was typical of these sorts of aged-superstar shows, where the crowd is composed of people who paid a lot of money in order to remain seated during a rock n' roll concert. In 30 years (and you can hold me to this), I hope I'm never one of the ones yelling "Sit Down!" instead of "Hell Yes!" at a concert. From behind the stage, the seated bumps-on-a-log were pretty spoiled with 3 big screens to see the magic of quick fingerwork, so I stayed true to the cause. I picked my moments to concede (acoustic solo songs from both EC and SW), but eventually we created a small revolution of dance in our section. (Attendees at the final show this Thursday: just see which section is grooving and go join 'em... and once After Midnight starts up, if everybody in there isn't dancing, well, then something has gone terribly, terribly wrong in this world).
Many options abound for Gotham denizens when it comes to the New Years countdown, and this year was no exception. While some people still opt to watch the ball drop in Times Square for some godforsaken reason, music is the top priority for me, thus I had no fewer than 4 stops on my schedule on NYE.
But when the countdown began, I opted for the Mercury Lounge to hear Earl Greyhound deliver their first cover tune (or at least, first cover tune of the modern Ricc Sheridan-era). Days earlier, guitar-slinger Matt Whyte had intimated to me, "It's the perfect song for us right now," which started my hamster on its jukebox wheel, but all my guesses were way off. When the midnight bassline introduced "You Make Loving Fun", I was surprised and delighted, but was perhaps more surprised by the fact that I had my face melted right off by a Fleetwood Mac cover. I hope 2008 is full of similar satisfying surprises...
Thanks to the shooting skills of Danielle Lurie, you can see it for yourself here:
That wasn't the only surprise from the ever-rockin' Brooklyn trio. They bravely offered up some acoustic numbers penned by Whyte, a bold gift for a crowd expecting a heavy dose of rock n' roll on a rowdy night. But the ditties they chose were well-received, and featured a side of Whyte and Thomas that most EG fans wouldn't know existed unless they had frequented the HonkyTonk Happy Hour. "Black Sea Vacation" is a song Whyte wrote for a rock-opera Thomas produced in April of 2006 called "Bulgaria". Even more surprising was the delivery of a beautiful children's song written by Whyte called "This Tree" (which he modestly ascribes to be a rip-off of a Dylan Thomas poem), a tune they played at the request of mighty drummer Ricc Sheridan. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea (Earl Grey or otherwise), these acoustic selections revealed a depth of rich musical talent that most hard-rock bands could only hope to reach.
Once they began rocking-face again, the trio played a promising new song based on their trip to Japan, and to my delight, they are finally letting audiences revel in the glory of the finest song they've written to date: "The Ghost and The Witness". If you think their "Monkey" is thundering, just you wait...
If the softer side of the Greyhound caught your fancy, you will want to be sure to catch the next three Sundays at the Living Room, where the HonkyTonk Happy Hour will be making its much-awaited return. This is the forum where Thomas and Whyte play country classics with some of New York City's finest; a gang so good they're being featured in an upcoming documentary, and word is that son-of-Waylon Shooter Jennings will be making the rounds, so there will be some roots royalty around. Pretty sweet way to rock off your new year, y'all.
The King of the one-note solo reigns supreme in my book. I was enthralled with the show Neil put on at the United Palace in mid-December: the two-set theatrics were well worth the triple-digit ticket price, and I wouldn't normally endorse cashing a Ben Franklin for entry to a rock concert.
But Neil is a different story: I wish I had seen all six nights at the opulent Harlem venue (okay, maybe just three, but one outing with Mr. Young was clearly not enough). The first set featured Neil wandering around the carefully-cluttered stage amongst his musical toys, a set of keys on each side of the stage and a ring of guitars hovering in the middle.
Acoustically, he delivered some unexpected favorites of mine such as the poignant and political Campaigner (inserting George Bush for Richard Nixon in the latter half of the song), the pure acoustic perfection of Out On The Weekend, and the epic A Man Needs A Maid.
Each song was announced with the arrival of a piece of art on the side stage, featuring the song's title rendered in a painting, a theatrical touch that enhanced the magnificence of the set he played in. The second set featured some heavy rock numbers made all the more raucous by a clearly liberated and perhaps inebriated frontman, with a particularly lengthy (bordering on extenuating) jam during No Hidden Path. Electric highlights included Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, and I was personally humbled to hear Oh, Lonesome Me warbled to perfection, as well as the awesome ditty Winterlong. See the clip below to see a segment of the second-set Cortez Jam complete with propeller fan, Neil's heavy-footed jam-dance, and that unmistakable tone that simultaneously hammers and sheers notes with its raw energy:
It was an honour (Canadian spelling in honour of NY, y'all) to hear the 2007 renditions of these songs from the beautiful, ragged pipes of Neil at 63: the messages of his songs are eerily still relevant, which at once thrills because of his acuity in penning such gems, and yet chills because many of the haunting warnings of his words have still not been heeded. His songs are timeless, his shakey-shakey voice is peerless, and he is a living legend of rock n' roll.
p.s. Because I said I would blog-tattle, I might as well follow through: it should be noted that a certain Relix staff member had the audacity to counsel me to avoid the lengthy bathroom lines by "leaving during the jams", and further, his advice was delivered while drinking a can of Coca-cola--with a straw! Whatever happened to rock n' roll, I ask you! I think you can be fired for those sorts of things. Not that I'm going to name names, here...
The news that Reed Mathis would be stepping in to fill Ben Chambers' shoes in Tea Leaf Green was slightly befuddling to me at first, if only because the news came to me in the form of Marco Benevento enthusiastically belting "Tea Leaf Reed!" to me over a pre-show dinner in Woodstock, NY on the weekend. But once I garnered the facts, I was in full support of the union.
Reed will add some incredible depth to a lineup that that is in need of this kind of injection of sonic originality. Tea Leaf Green has developed a sound that is straight-ahead and rather predictable, but that is not to say they haven't crafted their own distinct sound. I was most impressed to have caught their all-acoustic performance at Mo Pitkin's earlier this fall, and the country-funk vibe came through just beautifully unplugged. I would take an acoustic TLG show over a boisterous frat-boy sell-out at Irving Plaza any day, but now that Reed is on the scene, I will happily get up front to hear some of the amazing basslines that he will spew forth. He will bring only good energy to the band and their sound, and I applaud his bold move to expand on musical horizons. The backlash indicates that perhaps jam fans aren't as ready to think outside the box as they think they are, and Reed's response only indicates what a beautiful human being he is:
"music CAN be a force for unification and community. why are the differences between us our favorite thing about ourselves? why do we want coltrane INSTEAD of the rolling stones. why not coltrane AND the rolling stones? do people need music? if so, what do they need it to do?"
Reed brings up a lot of pertinent questions, and I agree with him when he says this is an important conversation to have. Enjoy the full spectrum of Mr. Mathis' musings here.
And speaking of getting outside the box, the Benevento/Russo Duo invited Brad Barr on a 3-night run in the Northeast this past weekend, and it didn't take long for the trio's sound to convince me that this should be the new band... Their show at the lovely Bearsville Theatre was a heady affair indeed, with Brad providing a whole new level of ethereal range to the Duo's jams. The jams in Woodstock all became quietly intimate and intense, and were just a beautiful antithesis to the Duo jams I've come to recognize. Three sets of ears onstage were wide open, and with the crowd politely following suit, it made for one of the most enjoyable evenings of music in recent memory... (Okay, I confess that the occasional appearance of two guitars onstage was just a small bonus... a little slice of guitar-mony heaven for me).
The following night took the trio to Northhampton, MA where the energy was the polar opposite: the Duo were back up to their typical aural intensity and the crowd had gusto to match. I was behind the camera for this show, so stay tuned for the highlights. Having The Slip's frontman sit-in only enhanced the Duo's dynamic, and it underlines the importance for musicians to keep it fresh.
And while we're on the topic of fresh... sample a sneak peak of Marco Benevento's new album featuring Reed Mathis and Andrew Barr/Matt Chamberlain here. Beware: The Real Morning Party will set up camp in your phonological loop and stay there all day. Album will be out on Hyena Records in January!
i hold every person i meet like a treasurei defend the ones i love to whatever the end isthat's why i take it to you through the musiccause when the music's connectedit's like everyone's protected -the slip
After a lengthy blogging absence, we are jumping back into the thick of things here at Shine A Light Productions, and we are going to be providing you with some of what we've been working on over the summer months.
October 3 - Surprise Me Mr. Davis
The first featured artist is Surprise Me Mr. Davis, an innovative electro-folk quartet which is comprised of singer-songwriter Nathan Moore and what is surely the most under-rated band in modern rock, The Slip. The story goes that Nathan was on the road as The Slip's merch guy when the acoustics in some hotel shower convinced the Boston-based trio that they should begin collaborating musically with Moore.
Many years later, we are lucky to be witnessing the bounty of this musical partnership in venues all across the country, and nowhere are the boys more at home than at the High Sierra Music Festival, where they have reigned as unofficial good times amabassdors for the last decade. Shine A Light was on hand at the 2008 festival to capture some of the many sets that these fellas offered, from the Davis performances at all hours of the day and night, two rare and hotly anticipated sets from The Slip, and solo sets from Nathan Moore (which didn't necessarily feature Mr. Moore... a late-in-the-festival troubadour timeslot saw Brad Barr fill in and play the songs of the vocally-overworked Nathan Moore).
The Davis boys did a quick run through the North-East in August, landing in New York during what was surely the most heavily-laden week of music in recent memory, with an All Points West Radiohead double-header sandwiched in between shows from Trey Anastasio, Wilco, and Bob Dylan. However, Union Hall played host to SMMD for a fantastic Sunday evening show, and the following day before the boys left town, Shine A Light caught up to the boys to shoot a music video for their new song, "I'm No Good At All'.
Surprise Me Mr. Davis doesn't have any tour dates on the radar until their huge New Years Eve show with their good friends the Benevento-Russo Duo at B.B. Kings in New York (conveniently located down the street from what promises to be a monster celebration at Madison Square Garden when My Morning Jacket rings in 2009). However, the Davis boys will be busy touring in other incarnations: the fall season will see The Slip touring with Sonya Kitchell all over the lower 48, and Brad Barr will be promoting his new instrumental album, The Fall Apartment, by doing solo performances to open most shows; Andrew Barr and Marc Friedman will appear in Marco Benevento's trio in November, and Nathan Moore will be the featured opener for a handful of these dates.
