Season Ammons is Living Her Dream

Season Ammons, Courtesy of the artist

Season Ammons, Courtesy of the artist

Texas-born, Florida-based, singer-songwriter Season Ammons has been making music in front of an audience since the once shy child found found her voice in a middle school choir.   When she was just 17 she moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams.  She had some brushes with quick success, such as being advanced as a finalist for the USA Network show Nashville Star in 2004.  Ultimately she wasn’t chosen, yet she refused to give up doing what she loves and kept building a following.

In a phone interview she told me that when she finally released her first studio recorded CD, tellingly titled “I’m Alive,” she intended to make a statement.  The self-produced disc what her way of asserting that she was in the music business to stay.  I wanted to announce that I’m here, I’m doing this full time, and I wanted to show people what I could do.” As an independent artist responsible for every aspect of the project from the songs and sound to the packaging and marketing, there was a lot to do and a lot on the line, and she had to learn fast.   Continue reading

Concert Gallery: Dean Fields and Ari Hest Play Passim

Gallery

This gallery contains 30 photos.

I had a chance to chat with Dean Fields before his show at Club Passim last Friday, opening for Ari Hest.  I was excited to hear about his upcoming tour with Eliot Bronson, Jason Myles Goss, and Andy Zipf.  All … Continue reading

Leon Russell and Eric Himan on Tour

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This gallery contains 9 photos.

Hey all you Southerners, specifically those in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, if you’re anywhere near the venues on the list below, get yourself to this show and see Leon Russell with Eric Himan opening. I saw … Continue reading

Concert Gallery: Bettye LaVette and Jesse Dee at Johnny D’s; February 4, 2014

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This gallery contains 27 photos.

I’d been wanting to see Bettye LaVette in concert ever since I happened to catch the broadcast of her concert on Austin City Limits back in 2008. She blew me away, especially the performances of the song “Choices‘” by Billy … Continue reading

Music is Everywhere in New Orleans

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This gallery contains 49 photos.

I’ve never been to any other place where music is as omnipresent as it is in New Orleans. Of course there are more important centers of the music industry, producing much more of the stuff the world listens to and … Continue reading

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

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.

Continue reading

The Musical World of Roger Kuhn Around X-mas Time

Cover Art for "Every Year Around XMas Time"


Singer / Songwriter Roger Kuhn will be at the American Indian Community House in lower Manhattan tomorrow, Friday, December 3, for a concert marking the release of “Every Year Around Christmas Time”  a collection of original Christmas songs available at most online music outlets. (Click here for information on the show.)
The record marks a return to the studio for the farm boy from North Dakota, turned New Yorker, who’s now become a Boston resident since moving here with his husband in May, 2009.  He has spent the last year reading, studying yoga, meditating, and enjoying married life off the road.  But now “he’s got the bug again,” and the Christmas collection is just some of the new music coming our way. A new single, My Vow to You, is already available on iTunes.
In this video interview he talks about his childhood, becoming a musician, the importance of music in negotiating his identity as a gay man of mixed Native American  and White heritage, his spirituality, his career thus far, and what is still to come.
Continue reading

About Train Songs

I recently discovered this song about train songs. It’s not new, but rather from a 2008 release by Tyler Reeve called “Whiskey Down.” It’s Inability to have erection in man during sexual intercourse is uk generic viagra referred as ED. Online services have come with a purpose of increase awareness of effective Kamagra for men who are fighting with impotence may get a hardcore along lowest price for tadalafil with tough impotence planned for a longer time 5 hours if they generally are sexually motivated. These will be helpful for those who are donssite.com purchase cheap viagra uncomfortable in using the illuminated reticles or have limited uses. This medicine, used to sale levitra treat erectile dysfunction (ED), tends to relax smooth muscles that contribute to blood pressure control. a great song and a fine album.

What do you think?

"Every Move" by Eric And The Adams

Just a cool new video I thought I would share. Check it out.
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Eric and the Adams, “Every Move”