Canadian musician Chris Kirby recently released his Gordie Johnson produced sophomore effort, Vampire Hotel. When I first looked at the CD, I thought, oh, no way in hell I'm going to like this. But, I popped it into the player to give it a listen. Always listen folks. I have been pleasantly surprised more than once in my lifetime by something I just knew I'd hate.
ing show. You never know. Hey, my mind is still boggled at the fact that I found a Tony Bennett show to be entertaining!
Brooklyn band Calypso have set loose a four song EP titled Teen Age. If you're in or around the NY area, you've probably already checked these guys out or at least know about them. But for those who aren't in the know, the band is fronted by brothers Sonny and Michael Kilfoyle, is terrifically fun and full of catchy tunes. Check out their wicked tune "Casually Sad Mercedes" HERE (right click, save as).
DC band U.S. Royalty released their debut EP, Midsommar, on August 25 while the 7" vinyl version of the album will be available on October 6. The digital download will include a bonus track, the Bo Flex remix of "Keep It Cool." Speaking of cool, you can grab the first track off the record, "Every Summer," HERE and check out the video below.
New York based pop rock band Audio Fiction are playing their first Brooklyn gig of the year. They'll be over at Public Assembly this coming Tuesday, September 1. They're melodic, dramatic, cheeky and fun. That's a recipe for a good live show.
a nice mix of pop and rock. Y'all know I'm a guitar fan and Park laces these songs with some wicked guitar bits especially live. He does good guitar face too, by the way. I dig "Wishful Thinking" which stood out when I saw them perform it. I think the majority of us can identify with this song ... digging someone who doesn't know you even exist. "Ever Wonder" and "Suffocate" both of which have wicked guitar. The latter of the two is my favorite song on the album and rocks itself into somewhat of a dance mode. It's a solid album from a delightful live band.
Be Set Free, the upcoming record from Langhorne Slim is scheduled to be released on September 29. You can grab "I Love You, But Goodbye" from the album HERE.
I came to hear about Memphis based band Star & Micey via Twitter some months ago. I'd never heard of them but they started following me. I liked their name. How could I not? So, I made the following mutual. No formal tweetroductions (that's what introductions in the land of Twitter are called) have been made so I'll do it now. Hi Star & Micey, how are ya? I'm Quirky NY Chick ... QNYC for short, nice ta meet ya fellas. How are things down in Memphis?
Every time a quirky chick tries to put R.E.M. nice and neatly away on her shelf of "I'm over that phase" stuff, they come flying down, whack her on the head and make her listen ... again! I like R.E.M.. I seem to go through the R.E.M. phase on a regular basis. And, I'm not ashamed to admit my geek girl Mike Mills love fest issues. However, that's a story for another time. I digressed.
Beatles fans rejoice! The original Beatles catalogue has been digitally re-mastered for the first time and will be unleashed upon the world on Wednesday, September 9. This is also the date the much anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band video game will be released. To make the day all the more Beatle-rific it's worldwide Beatles Day. Hey, is that a take off of work holiday?
h case you should have all of your rock 'n' roll records confiscated as punishment for lack of rock trivia knowledge but, I digress. Anyway, over there at Abbey Road a team of engineers spent four years hunched over ancient, I mean vintage equipment while using new fangled, modern day, state of the art technology, re-mastering the analogue master tapes. They painstakingly fiddled around with the catalogue keeping the authenticity and integrity of the original recordings intact thus making everything all nice and spiffy for Beatles fans the world over.
notes as well as newly written notes and rare photos. Each disc will also have a brief documentary about the album but only for a limited time. For those who like those nifty packages known as box sets, there will be two boxed collections available the same day.
tional two discs of mono masters which is I guess you could call the equivalent of Past Masters. The discs in this collection are only available in the boxed set making it more for the collectors or the hardcore fans. As a bonus, Help! and Rubber Soul will include the original 1965, previously unreleased on CD, stereo mixes. Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles are making their mono mix CD debuts.