I’m not quite sure how I came up with the decision to start asking bands relationship advice, but I’m sure glad I did. Maybe it’s the sheer fact that we all need a few tips every now and then. And come on, who doesn’t want to ask Robin Thicke his thoughts on love? The guy has been married to the same woman he started dating as a teenager so he clearly has done some things right.
To find out everything Robin shared with me, visit Radio.com for the complete article and watch the YouTube clip below.
I also chatted with the Plain White T’s, Parachute, Drop City Yacht Club and Far East Movement and got their thoughts on telling your best friend you have a crush on him, whether or not a girl should ask out a guy and plenty more. For the complete article, visit Radio.com.
Last week, I interviewed Train frontman Pat Monahan. While we chatted a lot about songwriting and country music, he also touched upon the influence love has in his music. In fact, he admitted that most of the songs he writes are about love. “That’s all music is. That’s all movies are. That’s all anything is. When you look at all things in this world, everything is about love,” he told me.
One of my favorite tracks on their last album California 37 is a stripped down song called “Feels Good At First” which details the start of a relationship, when everything is going well. When I told him this, he confessed that it’s one of his songs that he really hopes to hear on the radio. Read a snippet of my interview below and for the rest visit Radio.com.
How did “Feels Good At First” come together?
I wrote that song with Allen Shamblin outside Nashville, Tennessee. Somehow Allen inspired that vibe in me. It’s a definite truth, that song. I sent it to my manager in New York and he was like, “How did you think of this? Actually, the better question is, how is this the first time anyone has thought of this?” He said, “It’s so simple. It’s so true. Love feels so good at first and then it starts to get funny and complex.” I don’t know why that song got written but it’s definitely a real place inside of me.
Is there any chance you’ll release “Feels Good At First” as a single?
That would be amazing. If you said to me, “Hey, is there a dream song?” That would be it. My manager is so a believer in that song that he had us do a video for it to put it out on YouTube and get wheels rolling. When we do that song in Europe I don’t even have to sing it, they sing every word. That’s my dream-come-true song if we can get that on the radio somehow.
I’ve been to Maxwell’s in Hoboken so many times over the past few years that I’ve lost count. In fact, I couldn’t even tell you the first show I saw there. I can tell you, though the feeling I felt every time I was inside: comfortable. While waiting in line to see the last show the venue would host Wednesday evening (July 31) before it closed its doors indefinitely, I befriended an older man who lived nearby. Talking about the venue and the shows we’ve seen there over the years, I described Maxwell’s as “homey” and he agreed.
I can’t explain it, but it’s the closest I have gotten to finding my Cheers bar. Over the years I have covered countless shows there and I didn’t even need to have my name added to the guest list. It was one of those places where, yes — everybody knows your name. One of the first shows I saw there was Tyrone Wells and Jason Reeves, both singer-songwriters who I went on to interview after thoroughly enjoying their sets at Maxwell’s. I also interviewed one of my childhood favorites — Kris Roe of The Ataris in the basement of the venue. (Picture below).
In 2008, I hosted my one-year blog anniversary show. I pitched the show to the booker of Maxwell’s and said my goal was to have 150 people attend. He laughed at the idea because hardly anyone who books their first concert can guarantee that amount will actually show up. But I was set to prove that I could do it. Josh Charles, Joey DeGraw and The Canon Logic, a band I would later come to manage, performed and 152 people attended. Not too shabby for my first concert.
I have reviewed countless indie sets, folk bands and even a few hardcore groups at Maxwell’s and loved every second of it. Covering concerts at Maxwell’s really helped pave the way of my career in music journalism, whether I was writing for my own blog or the Hoboken Patch.
Maxwell’s was hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the best rock clubs in the country and I couldn’t agree more. It has quickly become my favorite concert venue and it’s truly a shame to see it go. Maxwell’s, thanks for the memories.
Living in Brooklyn and covering music, I constantly meet talented musicians while at shows or just hanging out in the neighborhood. I met Amelia Robinson at a food tasting in Park Slope and when I learned she was a children’s music and story entertainer by day and a grown-up music siren by night, we kept in touch and I caught one of her shows at The Rock Shop nearby.
One of her songs was recently selected by Michelle Obama’s Partnership for a Healthier America and Hip Hop Public Health to appear on a cross-genre kids album, Songs for a Healthier America which helps to promote nutrition and exercise in youth across the nation. Some other artists who will be featured range from Doug E. Fresh and Jordin Sparks to Ashanti and Matisyahu.
The song feature is a huge opportunity to get her name out there and she’s in the process of recording two albums — one of kids songs and one for the adults, but she needs our help. Watch the video below and for more information on Amelia and how to help visit indiegogo.com. Her deadline is tomorrow (July 15) at midnight!
This past weekend I heard a familiar voice on the radio: Mike Rosenberg of UK-based band Passenger. I chatted with the singer-songwriter five years ago about the band’s upcoming album and U.S. tour dates and hadn’t heard much from them since until their current single, “Let Her Go” was being played on the radio.
Passenger’s music is catchy, but the stories within each song are much deeper and even more intriguing. Take “Night Vision Binoculars,” a song about a guy who has a stalker-like crush on his co-worker. “If you listen to the lyrics you realize it has quite a darker side to it. It’s quite tongue-in-cheek,” Mike said.
Below is my interview with Mike from 2008, right before Passenger released their debut EP, Night Vision Binoculars. For more on the band, visit their website and catch them on tour in the U.S. later this summer.
Tell me a little about Passenger. Did you grow up always wanting to be in a band?
Yeah. I’ve always played guitar since I was little really. It was just one of the things that I felt I was good at. Well, one of the only things I felt I was good at. It’s always been a dream really. I started writing songs when I was about 15 and they were really terrible and I hope they got a bit better. I met Andrew, my songwriting partner, about five years ago and we just hit it off and we started writing together and that’s about it. Then we recorded the album and got the band up and running.
I just got a chance to listen to your debut album, Wicked Man’s Rest and it deals a lot with heartbreak and unrequited love. Did you go into the studio having a certain concept for it or was there an overlying theme to the album?
I don’t know really. What I try to do in my songs is just to tell stories, stories from all sorts of different walks of life. Whether it’s an old man in a pub or a guy who can’t get a girl, or a stray dog or whoever it is. There wasn’t really a concept behind the album, it’s just trying to be as honest as possible about everyday situations and they can be really heartbreaking.
Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Oh, I hate them all now [laughs]. Favorite song, I like “For You” it’s the little quiet one. It just takes me back. I was in Mexico when I wrote it. It’s a really lovely time in my life. It takes me back there a little bit.
I wanted to ask you about the title track. There are clips of Allen Ginsberg talking throughout the song, how did you come up with that idea?
That song took a long time to write, and sort of get right. There were a couple of different versions; it’s such a complicated track. The other songs are much more natural really and they seem to just fall out. I don’t know really. I always explain it as, you know when you’re lying in bed and you can’t sleep, and you’ve got billions of things running around in your head and the later it gets the worse you feel? It kind of reminds me of that really. That part of you that grows with anxiety. I think Ginsberg, there’s just something about the tone of his voice and what he is saying it’s so massive, it’s so poetic and it works in the song.
I really liked “Things You’ve Never Done,” especially that one line “The only failure is never to try.” What inspired the song or what were you thinking when you wrote it?
From personal experience I guess. I think we’ve all made decisions in our lives that we regret, and I think most of those regrets comes from not doing things rather than trying something and failing. I think it’s a very simple concept and a very simple line but it seems to really affect people and really ring true of it. There’s something sad about growing old and not fulfilling everything you wanted to do. I think everyone can relate to that.
How would you explain your music to someone who has never heard it before?
That’s a difficult one. To be honest, I usually try and get the storytelling aspect of it across. It gets the hat of people like Neil Young and Bob Dylan, but also with the production and the band side of it, it’s kind of more elements of massive attack and that whole sort of thing. It’s a really difficult question and after five years I still haven’t gotten it figured out. Lots of local harmonies, lyrically-based kind of country-pop music I guess.
What can we expect from your EP being released in the U.S. later this month?
Our EP, the title is Night Vision Binoculars. You can expect a quirky song in “Night Vision Binoculars.” It’s quite tongue-in-cheek. It’s about a guy who falls in love with one of his co-workers and she doesn’t know he exists. He ends up hiding up in a tree outside of her house. The idea behind the song is people listen to it and sort of start singing along and only the third or fourth time of hearing it, if you listen to the lyrics you realize it has quite a darker side to it.
So how many songs are going to be on the EP?
I believe, I’m not actually sure exactly, but I think four. I think there’s an acoustic version of one of our songs and possibly some live ones as well. I think its a little taste of what’s to come really.
What do you feel makes your band different from other bands?
I think the subject matter of our songs is different. A lot of modern day pop music all revolves around the person’s girlfriend or boyfriend or whatever. I’ve tried to broaden that a bit. [Going] back to Bob Dylan and country and folk music when storytelling was a common thing and now it’s not so much. We just try and be slightly different, the production is slightly different and hopefully my voice is different.
What inspires your music? Do you have a certain writing process?
When I’m walking along, I don’t know if it’s the blood flow or whatever, I get a lot of ideas when I’m out and about. I use my mobile phone, which is a picture phone, when I get ideas. It can come at any point. You can go two months without writing a song and I wrote five last week. I don’t understand it at all, but I love the process.
As I sat in my childhood bedroom this weekend, I was reminded of how far I’ve come. Home in Jersey for the Fourth of July, my room is full of hints at my future career as a journalist, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought all this would have come to fruition. My walls are surrounded by posters, photos with bands and quotes from my favorite musicians. One that I live by is from Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman: “Be honest, and never let anyone else define success for you — money ain’t it.”
On the wall behind my bed is a framed copy of my very first front page article from the Rutgers school paper from October 2003. Nearly 10 years later I have two more articles to frame — my first concert review on Luke Bryan and band review on Mike Mangione & the Union for Billboard magazine. It took 10 years, but I finally feel like I’m exactly where I belong. I love that I can write about bands I believe in for a reputable publication like Billboard. That’s why I first began my blog: to write about artists I believe in and bring their music to those who might not stumble upon it themselves. Nearly six years later, not much has changed.
This past month I’ve interviewed some of the artists I grew up listening to. Chatting with Jack Johnson was a dream come true as much of my college years were spent listening to his music. Earlier last month, I sat down with Robin Thicke and he gave me a ton of relationship advice. A week later his single “Blurred Lines” went to No. 1.
I’m a strong advocate of the saying, “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” While getting to this place was by no means easy, there is nothing else I’d rather do. There have been many times this past month that I said to myself, “Remember this moment forever.” I still feel like a kid when I get to a show only to realize my seats are better than I thought. Granted, I’m covering these shows, but the excitement never wears off. The moment it does I’ll have a major problem. But, I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
This week I had the fortunate pleasure of seeing Jack Johnson perform live for the first time and then interviewed him in person. As a result, I’ve had his music on repeat all week and have found myself in an incredibly relaxed state. While his new album From Here To Now To You doesn’t come out until September, he gave me a preview of what to expect (see interview below). In the meantime, listen to his popular track “Banana Pancakes,” which I’ve had stuck in my head all week!
While the album is populated with love songs for his wife Kim (like first single “I Got You”), others are written through the eyes of his children.
“I have three wonderful kids and its fun to look at the world through their eyes,” he told me earlier this week. “It’s inspiring. And then I have a few love songs. Its just usually me trying to make my wife laugh and then they end up being the songs.”
One of those love songs on the album is “Never Fade,” a track Johnson played Monday evening. “Picture a Bill Withers drum beat,” he said before he began to strum the song on his acoustic guitar. When discussing the song with us the following day, he explained the difficulties of playing his music solo.
“Sometimes when you have it on a record you picture or hear the production a certain way,” he explained. “I hear the drums when I’m playing so when I’m playing that song alone I miss my drummer or I miss having the ukulele on top or the bass line. ‘Never Fade,’ when I play that one alone it feels particularly sparse to me but the story is still there and I have to remind myself that that’s the way I would hear it because when I wrote it, it was like that.”
For my complete interview with Jack Johnson, visit Radio.com.
Last summer, my friend told me about Girls Write Now, a mentoring program that pairs women in the writing field with high school girls who are looking to pursue a career in writing. It has always been a dream of mine to mentor someone once I was more established in my career, especially since I never had that growing up. Some of my mentors in later life as a freelancer are now my colleagues and I know how important it is to have someone else show you the ropes or just make you feel like you’re not crazy for pursing a career in journalism.
I was accepted as a mentor on the day of my 28th birthday and it has been an experience like no other. My 17-year-old mentor has helped me jump outside my comfort zone and realize my love of writing in first person. She was always so intrigued by my adventures interviewing bands that it hit me that maybe others would want to hear about my experiences as well.
Earlier this month, we had a Chapters reading where mentors and mentees took the stage to read some of our pieces. The first time I’ve ever read my article in front of a crowd, I was a bit intimidated but my mentee Priscilla and I took the stage together and once I got a few laughs from my opening line I calmed down. I thought my blog was a fitting place to post this. Enjoy!
28
“Annie, you know you’re now closer to 30 than you are 20,” my brother-in-law reminded me on my 28th birthday.
Just the thing every girl wants to be told.
At 17, I dreaded the thought of no longer being a teen and soon entering my twenties. I felt old and decrepit and the thought of college and the dreadful “real world” soon filled me with fear. I did not want to be an adult with responsibilities, with a boring 9 to 5 job. I didn’t want to be miserable.
At 17, that seemed to be my immediate future and it scared me to death!
It’s strange that now, being 28, I feel so young. While I have what seems to be adult responsibilities — rent to pay, a job to go to — most days I still feel like a kid.
Perhaps it’s because I’m a music journalist and the majority of my days are spent writing about Justin Bieber or which boy Taylor Swift’s current single is about. Sometimes I even get to hang out with the bands I hear on the radio. I once interviewed One Direction at their hotel as a swarm of girls were outside screaming and anxiously waiting to meet them. Confession: all five guys gave me a kiss on the cheek.
The truth of the matter is that I have every teenage girl’s dream job and that’s why I feel so young. On a daily basis I’m channeling my inner 17-year-old self, trying to figure out what questions I would have wanted to ask my favorite bands. It also doesn’t hurt that I look about the age of the demographic I write for. But I don’t mind it. To be in your 20s and still get mistaken for someone in their teens is a good thing.
Well, I’ll see how I really feel about that when 30 comes around. Given my day job and my annual request for a Backstreet Boy in my stocking each Christmas much to the chagrin of my parents, I have a feeling my future will still involve listening to boy bands, writing about Justin Bieber and endlessly deciphering Taylor Swift’s song lyrics. Being a grown up isn’t so bad after all.
I have been playing this song on repeat all week. While part of it was because I was preparing for my interview with Robin Thicke (yes, that’s us above!), the other part is that this track is so undeniably catchy. It instantly makes me dance in my chair, which is a little awkward if you pass by my desk at work. I talked with Robin Monday for Radio.com about the song, which just went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
“In the studio, Pharrell and I started jamming,” he told me. “One of the first things Pharrell did was go, ‘Hey, hey, hey!’ and then we started having such a great time. We were dancing around the studio like old men. We were doing our old men barbecue dances.”
Pharrell and Thicke found themselves dancing around the studio all night to “Blurred Lines,” but he never fathomed the reception it would receive a year later.
“We felt like maybe it was something special but it was so different,” he admitted. “We didn’t know it would be this big.”
Read my complete article at Radio.com and stay tuned for my video interview with Robin where he told me what to expect from his upcoming album and gave me some love advice.
