Edward Rogers' Porcelain To Be Released In The UK + MP3

New York based Brit, Edward Rogers will be releasing his latest album, Porcelain, in the UK & Europe on April 2 via Bucketfull of Brains. The record was released this past November here in the US via Zip Records. Scroll down to the bottom of the post and check out the video for the title track which features footage from Bond film Moonraker. You can also grab the song in our MP3 Grab at the bottom of the post.

“The title of the album,” explains Rogers, “directly reflects the emotions represented in the songs and my mood during the writing process – rage, love, broken friendships, good days, bad days…fun days.”

Rogers explains the track in his own words: "I once met a very young, very sick girl who was put in foster care because her family couldn't afford to take care of her. I couldn't get her off my mind. She made me think of the fact that life is so delicate, so vulnerable and breakable... like porcelain. That young girl and the challenges she was going to face was the inspiration for 'Porcelain.'"

MP3 Grab: "Porcelain"

Madi Diaz To Perform Two NY Shows & Releases Video + MP3

Madi Diaz recently released a video for her single "Gimme A Kiss." The video was directed by Erich Weiss and can be seen if you scroll down. Also, you can grab the song in our MP3 Grab at the bottom of the post. The song is the lead song on her Plastic Moon record which was released in January.

New York, Diaz will be in town for a couple of shows. She'll be supporting Rachael Yamagata at Highline Ballroom on April 2 (doors at 6PM / $25) and April 4, over in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (doors at 8PM / $25 / 18+).

MP3 Grab: "Gimme A Kiss"

Upcoming: Nikka Costa At Highline Ballroom, 5/24

New York, Nikka Costa is coming back to the Big Apple! Y'all know I dig this lady. If you haven't seen her live, you're missing out. You will dance, you will sweat and you will damn sure have fun.

Costa will be at the Highline Ballroom on Thursday, May 24. Doors are at 6:00PM, showtime is 8:00PM and it will cost you $18 in advance. If you wait until day of show, it'll cost you $20. You should seriously consider going if you haven't already made plans to.

Back in 2008 when I first started my blog, I wrote this about Costa ... I got hooked on Nikka's music when I fell asleep with the television on one night. I woke up in the wee hours to the video for "Like A Feather" from her then current release Everybody Got Their Something. There on my screen with a shock of fiery hair, decked out in vibrant blue and on very good terms with double-sided tape, was one funky lady with "NIKKA" flashing behind her in lights and swirling colors. I scribbled her name on the box of tissue by my bed and went back to sleep. Later that morning, I went to the store and bought the album. A Nikka fan was born.

Some years later, in stark contrast to the vibrant "Like A Feather" video, she released one for her song, "Nylons In A Rip" a while back. The song is from her most recent record, PRO*WHOA. It's done in beautiful black and white and will rock your face off. Check it out below.

Teeth & Tongue Release Video For "Unfamiliar Skirts" + Show

Teeth & Tongue debuted her video for the new single "Unfamiliar Skirts" last week. The Lucy Dyson directed video was shot in black and white; we like all things black and white. Scroll down and check it out as well as show information.

Shot entirely in stark black and white, the 60s film-noir influenced clip was directed by London-based filmmaker Lucy Dyson, and features singer Jess Cornelius, managing to be coy and be direct all at the same time. It is impossible not to be hypnotized by Cornelius’s vocals as she sings of a woman delivering this cruel prediction to her wayward lover: ‘You will seek salvation in their unfamiliar skirts, until you finally realize I’m the only thing that works.” Ouch!

The making of “Unfamiliar Skirts” was a spontaneous affair: written and recorded in just one evening while making use of an in-home studio, these initial demo recordings would become Teeth & Tongue’s mesmerizing first single, nominated for the EG Award’s “Song of the Year.”

Gig Alert!!!

Teeth & Tongue
(The Aussie BBQ)
Sunday, March 25
The Bell House
149 7th Street
Brooklyn, NY
www.thebellhouseny.com
718-643-6510
Doors @ 1:00PM
Set Time: 6:30PM
(A dozen + other bands on the line-up)
$12 advance / $15 dos

Soulsavers Set To Release New Album In May

Soulsavers, the team of Rich Machin and Ian Glover, are scheduled to release their new album on May 22. The Light The Dead See will be released via Mute Records in North America. The album features vocal and lyrics by Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan.

Soulsavers – the music and production team of Rich Machin and Ian Glover – have been a growing force since 2003’s debut Tough Guys Don’t Dance. 2007’s It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land brought their dark flair to a wider audience. The inimitable Mark Lanegan served as primary singer, though there were also vocal contributions from Will Oldham and Jimi Goodwin. In 2009, third album Broken confirmed that Soulsavers were moving away from early electronica to earthier guitars, use of space and what Machin described as “a soulful twist”. Lanegan again led the vocals on standouts such as ‘You Will Miss Me When I Burn’ and ‘All The Way Down’, with other guest vocalists including Oldham again, Jason Pierce, Richard Hawley, Mike Patton and Gibby Haynes. Clearly, there was no shortage of acclaimed singers ready to lend their lungs to Soulsavers’ stirring, seductive, soothing or startling creations.

Gahan’s lyrics and melodies came to him with spontaneity and passion. “About five songs in, I realized I was writing outside myself. I was having a go at myself, to be honest: my questions around faith, and God, or the lack thereof at any given moment. Sometimes I’m full of faith, but there are always questions. And I struggle with letting go of control of what’s going on around me. This album became very therapeutic. No restrictions. Coming out of getting sick myself, I found I HAD to get this stuff out of me. This music gave me the perfect palate to play with the BIG questions that we all ask when life becomes less about what can we GET, than: what can we DO? I’ve been very fortunate, and I’m privileged in my life, so I want to do things I feel really connected to now, otherwise there’s no point. Rich and I had both come out of something difficult. This is something to do with that. It was a wonderful experience.”

Track Listing

• La Ribera
• In The Morning
• Longest Day
• Presence of God
• Just Try
• Gone Too Far
• Point Sur Pt. 1
• Take Me Back Home
• Bitterman
• I Can’t Stay
• Take
• Tonight

Yuna To Release New Album In April + Video

Malaysian singer/songwriter Yuna is set to release a full-length album in April. I had the chance to catch Yuna at Mercury Lounge last year and became an instant fan. Should she happen to perform near you, I highly recommend you go. In the meantime, Yuna has released a video for the first single from the forthcoming self-titled album. The song is "Live Your Life" and is out now. Check out the video below.

Artists Announced For The 2012 Newport Folk Festival

The Newport Festivals Foundation announced the line-up for the 2012 Newport Folk Festival this evening. The festival will take place at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI on July 28 & 29. Tickets for the festival go on sale March 1 at 10AM at www.NewportFolkFest.net. Check out the line-up below.

SATURDAY, JULY 28 ~ 11:30 am – 7:00 pm
Fort Adams State Park, Harrison Avenue

My Morning Jacket
Iron & Wine
Patty Griffin
Guthrie Family Reunion
Dawes
City & Colour
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Deer Tick
Blind Pilot
Alabama Shakes
Sharon Van Etten
First Aid Kit
Brown Bird
Jonny Corndawg
Frank Fairfield
Spirit Family Reunion
Robert Ellis
Apache Relay
Honeyhoney
Sleepy Man Banjo Boys

SUNDAY, JULY 29 ~ 11:30 am – 7:00 pm
Fort Adams State Park, Harrison Avenue

Jackson Browne
Conor Oberst
Punch Brothers
Tallest Man on Earth
The Head & The Heart
tUnE-yArDs
Gary Clark, Jr.
Trampled By Turtles
Tom Morello
Of Monsters and Men
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker & Yim Yames performing
Original Music set to the Lyrics of Woody Guthrie
Sara Watkins
Carl Broemel
Ben Sollee
Spider John Koerner
Jonathan Wilson
Deep Dark Woods
Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons
Kossoy Sisters
Joel Rafael

*Artists Subject to change

Harriet Releases New Video

Los Angeles band Harriet, the band led by former Dawes member Alex Casnoff, released a video for their song "I Slept With All Your Mothers" this week. The video which you can check out below was directed by Ethan Berger. FYI, there's a naked chick wandering about in the video so I suppose we have to stick the NSFW label on it. The song is the lead single from their EP Tell The Right Story which the band is offering for free on their website HarrietMusic.com ... good music for free, you can't ask for anything better folks.

Royal Southern Brotherhood To Debut Record In May

Royal Southern Brotherhood are scheduled to release their debut record this coming May 8 via Ruf Records. If you're unfamiliar, the band consist of Cyril Neville, Devon Allman and Mike Zito ... there are some other folks in there too, I think. At any rate, I like what I'm hearing. The band has released a video for their song "New Horizon" which was directed and produced by Yadira Rodriguez. Check it out at the bottom of the post.

Gig Alert!!!

Royal Southern Brotherhood

Friday, March 9

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill

237 W 42nd St

New York, NY

www.bbkingblues.com

Doors @ 11:00PM

$18 advance / $22 dos

Mr. Big To Release Live From The Living Room, 2/28

Rock band Mr. Big is set to release their new record, Live From The Living Room on Tuesday, February 28 via Frontiers Records here in the states. The record was recorded live in Japan in January 2011 in front of an intimate audience.

The stellar musical skills in Mr. Big have always stood out. They are technically some of the tightest musicians to come out of the 80's. What set them a step ahead of many of their peers were their harmonies. The trademark raspy voice of Eric Martin surrounded by incredibly tight vocals of his bandmates was just special. Well, Martin, Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass) and Pat Torpey (drums) haven't lost a step.

Live From The Living Room is Mr. Big stripped down and showing off what they do best. Oft times, when rock bands strip down, some of the musical fire is lost. This isn't the case with Mr. Big. Dare I say that I think this is some of the best live work I've heard from them? Well, it is. It's a record you can put on from start to finish without skipping a track. The harmonies are there and tight as ever as is the musicianship. This record should satisfy die-hard fans and casual fans alike. And, for those people who back in the day (y'all know who you are), were a bit disappointed that everything they did didn't sound like their hit single "To Be With You," this stripped down side of the band is probably closer to what you were expecting from them. Ironically, it's that song that I find to be the weakest of the tracks. It sounds good but personally, I just don't think it has the same spark as the rest of the rest of the record.

Mr. Big's most recent studio album, WHAT IF..., was released last year via Frontiers Records and featured the original band line-up reunited for the first time in 14 years. Formed in 1988, Mr. Big forged its place in hard rock history by combining trademark virtuosic musicianship with stellar vocal harmonies. The original (and now reunited) line-up features vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Pat Torpey. The quartet produced numerous hit songs that ranged across a wide array of rock genres, including the ubiquitous "To Be With You," which was a Billboard Hot 100 #1 single in 15 countries for weeks, propelling the band to huge international success and record sales in the multi-millions.

Track Listing

• Undertow
• Still Ain't Enough For Me
• As Far As I Can See
• Voodoo Kiss
• Take Cover
• Around The World
• Stranger In My Life
• All The Way Up
• To Be With You
• Nobody Left To Blame