I’m not sure, but i don’t think i’ve ever posted an unsigned artist on here before. At the end of the day the internet is full of them and for what it’s worth, generally i find many people are unsigned for a reason, because they’re not very good. However i believe Tom Hanson is an exception to the rule. I bought both of his cd’s, 2001’s Wake of the moon and last years Everything takes forever from the brilliant cdbaby and have been listening to them over and over again. To copy what cd baby says ”Dark folk’; ‘acoustic dream-pop’; music with a haunting, hypnotic impact: swirling finger-picked acoustic fuses with spaced-out synths, ethereal electric guitars and deep, mellow vocals.” That saved me a lot of time. I will add though at times his voice reminds me of somewhere between Nick drake and Cat stevens. You can actually download for FREE the whole of wake of the moon here from Toms webpage. I paid good money for this album and even though it’s free i would still encourage you to do so too. This music isn’t going to get you up in the morning but it’s certainly going to help that wine taste sweeter as you sit looking longingly out of your window, daydreaming of lost loves, what the future holds and wondering what our existence is all about. When listening to this, with it’s mellow strings, his whispery vocal style and lush guitar playing, you find yourself almost slowly being hypnotised, it’s beautiful.
James Moors ? You’ve surely already heard about this songwriter as his previous stage name used to be ‘Sterling Waters’. According to his sonicbids page : “... Moors now finds himself a family man and the fortunate father of two young girls. In an effort to live more presently and simplify his life a bit James has shed the stage name and relishes a new begining.”
And for a new beginning, James Moors has been joined by an amazing list of renown musicians : Lisa Germano on violin (Bowie,Neil Finn,U2, John Mellencamp and Jewel), Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks) on bass, Ed Ackerson (Polara) and Ben Wisch (David Wilcox, Marc Cohn) on keyboards.
Sorry James, I’m a bit lost in translation these days… Your music will speak for yourself. Thank you so much for this brilliant new beginning. Fatherhood is, on any point of view, the deepest mirror.
Stuart Staples, David Boulder and Neil Fraser are back with Tinkersticks for a new album. TheHungry Saw has been recorded in France – Limousin and will be available on April the 28th from Beggars Banquet.
According to their myspace page : “The band has simultaneously stripped down to its core and expanded into a larger family of musicians – some familiar faces, some new ones. This fresh input, along with the perspective of our time away, seems to have made us rediscover the soul of the band.”
Listen to the new song : The flicker of a little girl from this coming release !
Few artists have the talent to attract your attention at the first note of an album and catch it till the very end. Scotish multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, saxophone), Grant Campbell has achieved this songwriting prowess releasing his second album last year : Beyond Below.
Campbell’s gravely voice is openning ‘Bowery Beat’ as a first measure to an exceptional collection of 14 powerful & soulful tracks. From Townes Van Zandt to Bruce Springsteen, or from L. Cohen to B. Dylan, the Glasgow songwriter’s music navigates through differents genres (americana, folk, country and blues) and tempos (lullabies, ballads to almost steady-rock).
I’m still embarrassed to select the right track for streaming with such a good album, where each track reaches the quality of the previous… I’ve finally found the solution : Track One – Bowery Beat.
Couple songs are available on his myspace page and bebo.com is hosting also some tracks from his previous release : ‘Postcard From Nowhere’. I’m still awaiting for the delivery of this album… But from what I’ve already heard and read, sure this is a collector too !
14 songs in 28 days is the challenge ! What’s the story behind this unbelievable concept ?
Back in 2003, Burr Settles a singer songwriter from Madison WI completed a short novel for National Novel Writing Month. Following this writing experience, Burr decided with 3 friends to transpose this creativity exercise to songwriting using a weblog to share compositions and comments.
This 2008 edition is on and already more than 1000 FAWMers (understand FAWM participants) are already registered and gave birth to more than 2000 songs !
YCD : Bonjour Burr, as both the FAWMaster and as a regular FAWMer how you doin’ ? Burr Settles : Ça va bien, merci! This February is much busier than previous FAWMs for me… I’m a graduate student and have a full-time job in addition to volunteering to run the project. So I’ve fallen a little behind schedule in terms of songwriting. Of course, I’m also working with a handicap this year since I usually write acoustic indie/country/folk songs, and I’ve banned myself from the acoustic guitar this year to stretch myself. I’ve written punk, R&B/soul, and a French reggae tune so far. On the other hand, when I do find the time to sit down and write, I’ve been able to bang out songs more quickly than in the past, I think… probably due to the years of practice. (This is my fifth year doing FAWM).
YCD : 14 and 1/2 songs in 29 days is simply awesome ! Have you got couple stats from the previous years ? How many songwriters succeed / failed ? Burr Settles : The challenge is usually “14 Songs In 28 Days.” 2008 being a leap year with 29 days, though, we decided to challenge everyone to try an extra “1/2″ song, or to take part in a songwriting collaboration. There has been more of that going on each year at FAWM, so this year we thought we’d encourage it outright.
Last year, we had over 800 register, but only 250 or so took it seriously. Of those, about half crossed the finish line with at least 14 songs (almost 2,700 new songs total). Each year, FAWM roughly doubles in size, so I’m guessing we’ll see over 500 serious fawmers… and maybe more than 250 “winners.” We’re 12 days in this so far and have almost 1,900 finished songs logged on the site, so that says something!
YCD : Having a quick look over your shoulder, how do you feel about this project ? Burr Settles : I love it. It’s funny, because I selfishly started FAWM in 2004 as a way to force myself to write songs and be accountable to that. But the community of songwriters it’s grown into is really the best part of it these days. There’s a spirit of creativity and competition — not against one another, but to better one another. Fawmers come from all over the world, write in every possible genre, and range from music industry professionals to folks who have never finished a song before. It’s a remarkably safe and fun place to try and stretch yourself musically. I’m really humbled to have played a role facilitating that.
If statistics prove that Valentine’s day is increasing November births, sure this 2008 FAWM edition will be the craddle of some new and talented songwriters. If I dare to draw one more sexual parallel, let’s say that FAWM.org is also the perfect place to extirpate yourself from an unfruitful muscial solo-masturbation !
To help you start amongst these crowds of songwriters, I’ve selected from this first half of FAWM, couple songs – which for sure is so restrictive. The best way to get through FAWM is to stick your browser on the FAWM Jukebox page and open up your ears !
Sunday's Work Has Just Been Done (Delmar Beneath The Water) - Steven Wesley Guiles [3:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
I can’t believe it’s been two years since I met this beautiful soul of a man. He is simply amazing. I blogged about him late in 2006 at my old blog, which I’ve since left for YCD.
It’s rare the times when a singer has given me goose pimples. I still remember the first time I saw him at Room 5, when he sang everyone listened. It’s great to be able to be a part of an artist growth.
He will be performing this month at the Troubadour, one of my favorite local places to see live acts. If anyone lives around the area come out and support Shane Alexander.
The dynamic collection of ten new songs was recorded over two weeks during late September / early October in Los Angeles. Shane once again teamed up with LA production duo, Heroes & Villains, with whom he made his 2006 release Stargazer. Longtime sideman and co-conspirator, Chad Crawford appears on bass, and returning from Stargazer are drummer Charlie Paxon (James Blunt, Colin Hay), Billy Mohler (Macy Gray, Liz Phair) on electric guitar, piano, keyboards and bass, and Kim Bullard (Goo Goo Dolls, Tori Amos) on Hammond organ. Veteran producer / engineer / mixer Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Wallflowers, Chris Whitely, Trey Anastasio) mixed the record.
Stylistically, the new album has a sound all its own and features some of Alexander’s best studio performances to date. There are more up-tempo songs than his previous effort, including the anthemic opener “Amsterdam”, the driving “Difference of Opinion” and the groovy “Outside the Lines”. After touring so much as a solo acoustic artist, Shane sought to get back to a “band sound” and something that could get a crowd moving. However, there are still the trademark acoustic ballads – the title track is a delicate, infectious song with soft finger-picked guitar and doubled vocals that whisper “all is as it should be” and the sunshine-infused “Coffee Kiss” will be sure to please fans of songs like “Valentine” and “Front Porch Serenade” from his two previous efforts.
Shane Alexander’s The Sky Below is scheduled for a February 20th record release show with a full band international tour to follow.
If you’re not already addicted to the ‘Take Away shows‘ from ‘La Blogothèque‘, it’s time to subscribe ! They’re really doing a great artistic job highlighting some distinctive artists.
Couple weeks ago, Alela Diane has been beautifully captured under the centuries of Notre Dame singing ‘Tired Feet’. Tired but not enough to avoid a great promenade on the parisian quays, floating on her smooth intro/projection titled ‘Oh Mama’. Both songs are part of her first re-edited album ‘The Pirate’s Gospel‘.
This week, it’s Findlay Brown’s turn. If you’ve spent the past year without listening a single track from this London songwriter, be sure to check Findlay’s site, his first album “Separated by the Sea” released last year, contains some great tunes.
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And for a new beginning, James Moors has been joined by an amazing list of renown musicians : Lisa Germano on violin (Bowie,Neil Finn,U2, John Mellencamp and Jewel), Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks) on bass, Ed Ackerson (Polara) and Ben Wisch (David Wilcox, Marc Cohn) on keyboards.
Couple songs are available on his 
I can’t believe it’s been two years since I met this beautiful soul of a man. He is simply amazing. I blogged about him late in 2006 at my old 
