Dean Fields Talks about “Any Minute Now,” Arriving Tuesday

Cover artwork by Brian Thibodeau

Cover artwork by Brian Thibodeau

Any Minute Now is a new EP from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Dean Fields due to arrive… wait for it…. As much as I’d love to type “any minute now” at this point, there is a release date and it’s just days away, Tuesday August 13. The EP follows his 2011 EP Under A Searchlight Moon, a clever and wildly romantic selection of tunes that Fields wrote himself. On this collection all but one of the tracks were co-written with other artists, yet they are tracks that he felt strongly invested, and that he felt spoke for him as an artist. It was a big change for an songwriter who had always worked alone. It may seem odd to follow up an EP with another EP, and in fact, he had planned a full length album.  But a confluence of life circumstances and aesthetic considerations led to the decision to release this collection of songs now, saving the others for a later release. The songs seemed to belong together, and they were ready for release.

I learned about all of this and more in an August 1, 2013 interview with Fields in the Stratton Student Center at MIT, in the midst of a series of concerts in Cambridge, Boston and environs. Now based in Nashville, he grew up in Mechanicsville, VA, just outside of my hometown of Richmond, VA. I’ve been listening to his music for a while, but had not seen him perform. We talked the morning of his show at that institution of the Cambridge music scene, Club Passim. Of course the main topic of conversation was the new record Any Minute Now. Continue reading

Concert Scrapbook: Paul Weller with Matthew Ryan Opening

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This gallery contains 14 photos.

I’ve been a fan of Paul Weller since a friend introduced me to The Jam back in high school. His musical styles have evolved and changed with the times, but the fundamentals have remained. Clever, socially aware lyrics set to … Continue reading

Concert Scrapbook: July 27, 28 at the Newport Folk Festival

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This gallery contains 68 photos.

This is just a collection of randomly selected and arranged photos from Saturday and Sunday, July 27 and J8 at the Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI.  The Newport Jazz Festival was this weekend.  I … Continue reading

Grassroots Organizing with the Music Community and Fans: An Interview with HeadCount Director Andy Bernstein

HighRes_Logo_20120814_94734Ask someone who goes to a lot of concerts what the organization HeadCount is, or what it does, and they’ll probably say it’s a voter registration organization. Ask HeadCount co-Founder and Executive Director Andy Bernstein the same question, and you’ll get a very different answer.  He’ll also tell you about voter registration, of course, but in almost in the same breath he’ll make sure you understand that’s not all they do.

He’s understandably very proud of HeadCount’s success with voter registration, registering over 250,000 people in their short history. That’s an incredible accomplishment, but it is only part of their mission.  He’s equally very proud of the organization’s role as the “grassroots organizing arm of the live music community.”  He believes passionately in the potential of music to affect positive change through grassroots efforts and effective use of the political system.  That, to my mind, is the new and innovative aspect of HeadCount’s vision.

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Concert Scrapbook: Scorpios, Americanarama & the 6 Act Sunday Show

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This gallery contains 25 photos.

Thursday July 18 through Sunday July 21 I saw a lot of great artists perform live! These are my photos. They’re not great, as I was experimenting with a brand new camera. Still I wanted to share. I don’t have … Continue reading

Cory Branan, The Middle East, and Feeling Better Than It Should

Cory Branan @ The Middle East

Cory Branan @ The Middle East

Cory Branan makes Mutt Music! That may sound like a lame insult I’ve just invented, but it’s actually the term he’s been using to describe his music for some time, and it’s what he alluded to in titling his most recent album Mutt. He proudly owns the hybrid, eclectic styles of music it contains, and well he should.  He shifts and combines styles seamlessly.  It’s brilliant. His musical style was one of the topics of conversation when I interviewed him before his set at the Middle East Downstairs on July 21st.
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Tim Barry on Why He Doesn’t Want to Be a Rock Star, His Secret City, His First Song and More

At the Middle East, July 21st

Among the crowd at the Middle East, July 21st

When I asked Tim Barry how he would classify the style of music he plays, he told me, “I just say it’s Rock & Roll with an acoustic guitar.” I’ll buy that.  I know that his solo set during the show at the Middle East Downstairs on Sunday, July 21st   reminded me of what rock and roll is really about as much or more than did any of the sets by artists with full bands and electric instruments.  He had the nervous energy and desire to please that an aspiring artist might bring to an important audition, yet he was confident and a consummate performer.  He established a rapport with the audience that made it seem like he leading a sing along with a bunch of friends at a pub. This was especially true when he took the microphone stand from the stage and put in on the floor in front so he could sing in the midst of the crowd. This was a guy who was working his ass off to put on a great show, but having a great time at it. He told stories and philosophized, but mostly he played his heart out, and the crowd ate it up.

As he recounted in the post Musicians Egos and…, he had been largely responsible for bringing the show together, and several acts expressed their appreciation to “nice guy” Tim, either from the stage of when I talked to them later.  It was a Sunday night show that certainly didn’t feel like it was happening on a Sunday night! I’ll have more to say about the other acts in later posts, but for now let me tell you about Tim Barry, and incredibly exciting artist I had the good fortune to interview on June 17 by phone from his home in Richmond, four days before the show in Cambridge.

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Saint Paul de what? Even If You Can’t Pronounce the Name of this Seattle Band, You Want Them On Your Playlist

St. Paul de Vence are, from left to right: Mike Sievers, Kale Lotton, Jonny Gundersen, Lydia Ramsey, Benjamin Doerr & Alex Malloy.

St. Paul de Vence are, from left to right: Mike Sievers, Kale Lotton, Jonny Gundersen, Lydia Ramsey, Benjamin Doerr & Alex Malloy.

If you’re a musician and someone asks you to write their story, there’s probably a good chance that it’s going to come out in song. That’s precisely what happened when Seattle-based musician Benjamin Doerr set out to write the stories he collected from his grandfather who had come of age in France under the German occupation of World War II, then joined the Free French to fight for the liberation of his country. Though the stories may still find themselves into print in some form someday, Doerr found they initially came out as songs. Eventually those songs evolved into a band and a self-titled 11-song album, St. Paul de Vence, named after a town in Southwest France where Ben’s grandfather was stationed for a time.

Now if you’re yawning and thinking who cares about something that happened decades ago and ocean away, well…  I’ll skip the cliche about those who don’t study history, even though it’s true, because the album isn’t a history lesson at all.  It’s a collection of 11 catchy tunes with compelling lyrics that will appeal even if you can barely place France on a map, or didn’t know it was ever at war with Germany.  It’s just even more fascinating with context.  On July 16, I talked to Ben about the project from his home in Seattle about the project, the band, the album, what he’s working on now, and what’s next for St. Paul de Vence.

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Musicians’ Egos and the Six Acts Playing Sunday in Cambridge, Friday in Detroit

June21We all know how musicians are and how tough the music business can be.  Musicians have huge egos and the business is intensely competitive.  Because of these big egos, artists don’t work together well, and when the record companies make them do so, it’s the stuff of big drama. It’s what made last season’s tv drama Nashville a hit, and it’s the reason why we can only have one American Idol or winner of The Voice each season. Yet I hardly ever hear those kinds of stories when I talk to musicians. The kinds of stories I hear much more often are ones like the one Time Barry told me about how the six act show on Sunday, July 21st, Downstairs at the Middle East came about.
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Getting Gracefully from Formal: Eric Himan Tells the Story of his New Album

Eric Himan

Eric Himan

In 2012 Eric Himan decided he wanted to record an album with a different sound than anything he’d done before. Though the 34-year-old, Tulsa-based, singer-songwriter had already released 10 albums on his own label, he knew that this project would cost a lot of money, so he took to Pledgemusic to raise money for an album to be called Formal. T-shirts were printed with bow ties on them and everything. He recorded six songs,

but wasn’t happy with the results. So what did this guy who’s previously only been accountable to himself on his own label do? He pulled back, retrenched, and started over. The result was no longer called Formal, but Gracefully, named in honor of his grandmother who had raised him, and had died while he was working on the project.

Gracefully is a 12-track collection of original songs, the 8th such album he’s released since his self-titled debut in 2000, and it is different, both sonically and in the way it came into existence, but Eric doesn’t see it as radically so. He rightfully points out that there’s a natural progression between it and the albums leading up to it. He’s been increasingly experimenting with the styles of music on this album, as well as playing with other musicians and, of course, with the piano. On July 7 I had the chance to talk with him in some detail about the album, the frustrations and joys of making it, and the people he worked with. Along the way we also talked about the challenges of supporting oneself as a musician in the industry today, songwriting, and a few other topics.

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