I know I do! At least if work doesn’t get in the way…
I covered Gaslight Anthem’s music video shoot for “45,” the first single off their latest album Handwritten back in May. While there was a lot of downtime during the shoot, the guys satisfied fans who waited for over six hours in the rain with an hour long concert in between takes.
While I’m not quite sure how the process will go for their next shoot for single “Here Comes My Man,” it will no doubt be fun. Here’s all the info you need to know as posted on their Website:
“We’re shooting a music video for our new single “Here Comes My Man” this Friday in the NYC/NJ area! If you are over 18 years old and want to be in the video please email tgacastinghcmm@gmail.com with a photo and all of your contact info. Thanks!”
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of interviewing OneRepublic. The first single off their upcoming album was released on Monday and a portion of the proceeds of the song go to Save the Children. Frontman Ryan Tedder told me how the idea came about and how important it was for the band to do something bigger than they are.
“Initially we just had the beginning of a song. Save the Children came along and it coincided with another thought that we had as a band which was on this album to really focus on doing stuff that actually served a greater purpose other than just putting out another song,” he said. “The process of trying to get hits or constantly keep up with the Joneses, after a certain point it’s like, ‘Wait. Why are we doing this?’”
Because sometimes you have relationship questions and why not ask someone who writes about them for a living?
Much of Colbie Caillat’s music details the ups and downs a relationship can bring. “Lucky” was written with Jason Mraz and tells the story of falling in love with your best friend. Colbie has told me in the past that it’s a song she relates to.
“When I wrote that with Jason Mraz, I hadn’t been in love with my best friend before. It’s just a song that I knew other people could relate to. But now when I sing it, I’m like ‘Oh my God, this is really weird. I’m relating to my song right now.’ It makes me happy knowing that I can relate to it.”
So of course I had to go straight to the source and ask her: do you tell your guy friend when you’re crushing on him?
“It depends how the other person is interacting with them. If they think there are signs that the person feels that way,” she said. “I think anyone would be flattered to know that the other person either has a crush on them or is in love with them. I don’t think it should really affect the friendship. I think everyone would want to know that. I think you should tell him.”
Grace Potter has spent her summer on the road with dudes. On the aptly titled Brothers of the Sun tour with Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Jake Owen, Potter proved she could hold her own as a standout opener. I caught her set earlier this month when covering the show for Billboard and as Potter danced around the stage during her performance, she exuded energy. In fact, at one point she kicked off her heels to run around the stage and it wouldn’t have been a huge shock if she started doing cartwheels.
The band opened their set with the soulful “Nothing But the Water” where Potter was found alone on vocals center stage for nearly two minutes before the rest of the band jumped in. Her high energy set continued with the rocking “You Can’t Stop the Beat” with ear-grabbing percussion, plenty of guitar distortion and Potter’s captivating vocals.
Prefacing “Stars” off her new record, she explained the story behind the song.
“This song I’m particularly attached to and there’s two versions of it on the record,” she said. “That’s because Kenny Chesney heard the song when I was still working on it and he said, ‘I gotta sing on that song’ so we recorded it with him.”
A slow burning ballad, the piano driven track impressed with Potter’s powerful vocals. While Chesney didn’t make an appearance on the song during her set it was easy to see why he was so taken with the track.
“What’s the point of being the warmup band if we’re not warming you up?” Potter asked the crowd.
And that she did. In fact, watching Potter dance around the stage, wailing her arms in the air it was hard not to do the same as her excitement was contagious. Closing her set with the sultry and jazz fused “Medicine,” Potter even took to the drum kit to pound on the drums before running down the stage’s catwalk and shaking fans hands. With so much energy and a sold-out audience at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals no doubt made many new fans.
As Potter’s opening set impressed it was her striking duet with Kenny Chesney on “You and Tequila” that had the crowd screaming for more. Chesney even prefaced the track saying it was “one of my favorite songs I’ve recorded,” as he welcomed Potter back to the venue: “She always makes the stage so pretty.” Having Chesney as a fan is an impressive endorsement and I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from Grace Potter & the Nocturnals in the near future.
Only his third performance in New York, you’d never know it as the Texas native brought a dedicated fan base to his show at Joe’s Pub last week. “I tune ‘cause I care,” Wade Bowen told the audience as he and guitarist Jeff Queen took the stage with their acoustic guitars.
Their 75-minute set spanned Bowen’s 14-year songwriting career and included his current hit “Saturday Night” as well as older fan favorites like “Who I Am,” the third song he ever wrote.
“I’m not used to this. You’re all so quiet,” Bowen said after he ended his first song of the night. Throughout his intimate performance he told the tales behind many of his songs, one which included “A Battle Won.”
“I grew up with three sisters and no brothers. There was a little bit of drama in my house growing up but I learned through it that you don’t ever ever argue with a woman ever,” he admitted. “This is one of those moments when I forgot this. My wife loves this song.” Singing of his stubborn ways, Bowen’s raspy and booming vocals got his point across.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been living in Brooklyn for two years now. I still remember the first time I came to Park Slope as if it was yesterday. I was celebrating a friend’s birthday and as we were walking to our cars to head back to Jersey two guys walked out of a local restaurant on Fifth Avenue and I did a double take. Dressed all in black with tattoos on their arms I turned to my friend (and now roommate Monica) and said, “Those guys are definitely in a band.” As I got a closer look I realized they were two of the guys from Gaslight Anthem! Naturally, I blogged about it (see below).
Last Friday, Monica, Wendy and I headed into Brooklyn to celebrate friend and fellow music journalist Emily’s birthday. After an artery clogging meal at Chip Shop, frozen hot chocolate to die for, an impromptu stop at Southpaw and a few packed vintage stores later, we headed back to the car. Coming out of a restaurant with takeout bags in their hands were two guys that HAD to be in a band. After getting a closer look I realized they were from Gaslight Anthem, Jersey’s very own up-and-coming rock stars, and a group I’ve been trying to interview for nearly two years now.
I wish I could say I didn’t act like a stalker and casually continued to the car, but I HAD to say hi! I approached the guys and asked rather eagerly if they were Gaslight Anthem to which they said yes and we chatted for a few minutes. Monica and I told lead singer Brian Fallon that we used to work with drummer Benny Horowitz in college at Rutgers’ newspaper, The Daily Targum. He told us about moving to Brooklyn, missing Jersey and their current tour schedule. Meanwhile, I tried to maintain my composure without sounding like a crazy fan because they’re all I listen to at full blast while driving around Jersey. Apparently, I’m the first person that’s recognized them on the street, although bassist Alex Levine told me they’ve been mistaken for Depeche Mode.
As we were saying our goodbyes, they told me to reach out to their publicist about setting up an interview. Hopefully, this time around it’ll actually happen. I’ll keep you posted!
Over two years later I’m glad to report I finally did get that interview! Sometimes being patient is everything.
For the past two years I’ve lived with Farrah and Monica and it’s hard to imagine living with anyone else. The Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” was our soundtrack to the summer two years ago when the three of us were apartment shopping all over Brooklyn. An exhausting job, we came across some great places (way out of our budget) and some awful spots.
Next week at this time Farrah will be headed to Israel and although I don’t think it’s hit either of us yet the apartment will be a lot quieter without her. Over the years she’s introduced me to so many bands which I’ve featured on this blog (one of our favorites Whale Belly who’s playing Mercury Lounge next Tuesday!) and I hope I’ve done the same for her. Farrah, this ones for you.
Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with OneRepublic about their new single, forthcoming album and what they think of Kanye West’s new song about Kim Kardashian interestingly titled “Perfect B****.” For more, watch the video below and read my article on CBS.
I’m not quite sure why, but I keep running into famous artists in the bathroom at work. I guess it’s not a huge surprise since we have musicians come in almost every day at CBS but it remains to catch me off guard.
A few months ago my boss had Neon Trees in for an interview and since she was playing their music all morning I had one of their songs, “Animal” stuck in my head. Walking into the bathroom I was definitely humming it when I realized the drummer was at the sink washing her hands. I was pretty mortified and couldn’t think quick enough to say anything witty so I simply said nothing at all.
Yesterday, I walked into the bathroom at work and there was a line (there’s never a line in the girl’s room — at least at work). Out of the stall comes Melissa Etheridge. THE Grammy Award Winning Melissa Etheridge. She was joking of how the toilet wouldn’t flush as if she was one of our co-workers and we all just stared, most likely thinking the same thing: Melissa Etheridge is in the bathroom and she’s talking to us!
When I went into the stall I noticed a pair of glasses and immediately told my friend, “I think these are Melissa Etheridge’s glasses!”
“Well, go give them to her,” she said.
For some reason all common sense just escaped from me. On my way out to find her she came back in looking for her glasses and thanked me. All I could think was, “I just met Melissa Etheridge in the bathroom and held her glasses in my hand!”
I don’t have too many starstruck moments but this was definitely one of them.
If you told me I’d be seeing Kenny Chesney twice this summer I wouldn’t believe you. Back in June I caught a private performance of Kenny’ s on the rooftop of 230 Fifth in New York. He was doing a taping for a 4th of July special so he pretty much played two songs the entire night, but I didn’t mind. It would probably be the closest I ever saw him live.
Last year I covered his show with Zac Brown Band for Rolling Stone and it was a true summer concert experience (and my first Kenny Chesney concert!) Kenny Chesney summer tours are synonymous with tailgating and with that fun.
Before the show I was invited to Zac Brown Band’s eat and greet and it was unlike anything I ever witnessed. The band cooks for 100 or so fans and eats with them before the show. Lucky for me, Zac Brown just so happened to sit across the table from me and we chatted about the summer camp plans he had for Camp Southern Ground for special needs children and he even showed me the floor plans.
I’m not quite sure any show will top that experience, but I’m willing to find out this weekend at the Brothers of the Sun Tour. I’ll be covering the show for Billboard so stay tuned for my review and be sure to follow my country Twitter account, countryNYC for all things country.
Texas born and bred singer-songwriter Leyla Fences is tired of today’s country music so she decided to do something about it. Since the songs she heard on the radio didn’t relate, she wrote some that would.
“I found myself listening to today’s mainstream country and feeling two things,” Leyla said. “One, that it didn’t sound like country music anymore and two, that even though songs today might still portray everyday life, it’s mostly only the happy, picture-perfect parts. I sure wasn’t hearing songs that I could relate to based on what I was living at the time so I decided to write about those experiences – even though they didn’t all have fairytale endings.”
All 14 of the tracks on her sophomore release Itty Bitty Twang Twang were written or co-written by Fences and portray the heartache and pain felt after a breakup, being cheated on and trying to move on. Embodying traditional country music, Fences blends her sassy style with a comedic touch.
Itty Bitty Twang Twang kicks off things right away on the tongue in cheek “Get the Truck Outta Here.” The song tells the tale of an ex trying to come back into one’s life despite having a new wife. With a distinct country twang that recalls Loretta Lynn, Fences is well on her way.
“You took me for a ride/Drove me half out my mind/Now you’re cruising back this way/Honey, I ain’t got the time,” Fences sings with catchy fiddle and steel guitar accompaniment.
Next track, “Something Right” switches gears as Fences finds herself lucky in love. In awe that her lover has decided to stay, her quirky lyrics tell a unique story. “I guess I must have done something pretty darn right in another life…Yes, I must have done some amazing Mother Teresa-like deeds/I must have done something right,” she sings. Not your typical honey-coated pop-country lyrics, Fences’ memorable writing style leave a mark on the listener.
“Pretty Lies” brings to mind another singer with a distinctive approach: Gretchen Wilson. Telling the heart-wrenching tale of catching her love red-handed with another, Fences won’t stand for it. Alongside a steady percussion beat, wavering steel guitar and compelling piano and fiddle features, Fences’ laments and moves on.
“What I Do” continues to mourn the end of a relationship with slowed instrumentals and Fences’ emotional singing style while “Too Far Gone” livens things up with fast-paced electric guitar and soulful background vocals. On “The Next Time” Fences gets out of her own situation and offers advice to a friend who has lost the passion in her love life. She should heed her own advice in her next track, the rollicking “How Things Have Changed.”
Eight tracks in and it’s evident Fences has quite the amount of heartache to get over. “Just a few more tears in my beer and I’m gonna be all right,” she sings on the twangy “One More Honky Tonk.” Meanwhile, “I Wonder” follows suit and is a relatable song in which Fences can’t help but think of what went wrong in a past relationship and whether her ex ever wonders about her.
While the soulful, piano driven “Pain Relief” quickens the pace alongside Fences’ sultry singing, “The Cards” slows things right back down. As “Trophy Wife” and “We’ll Just Figure It Out” close the album Fences’ talent continues to shine. Not shy to reveal her true emotions while exemplifying true country music icons like Loretta Lynn and Gretchen Wilson, Leyla Fences is one country artist to watch.
