Category: MMMM (New Music)

Happy Labor Day and almost fall. The summer is just about over, and I realized I hadn’t done an MMMM post in some time. That and the fact that we’re just three full months away from picking who we feel are our “best of 2011” I thought I’d better get back in the swing of things.

I’ve been listening to a lot of ladies sing lately – and for damn good reason… there have been some truly excellent recordings that have come out recently from the ladies in the state. Couple those great voices with some of the best top shelf players in the region, and at some of the best studios under the direction of some of the best producers and engineers in the region….and no doubt we’ll see several at the top of “critics” lists year end. Here’s just a handful.

The Dirty Lookers – Audio Voyeur [EP] (self) Genre/Style: rocknroll, punk, garage, rhythm & blues
Executive Producer – Kato Femmenino
Produced by – Kelly Cowan, Bill Thomas
Tracking Engineers– Bill Thomas, Kelly Cowan, Dave Fox
Mixing Engineers – JP Manza, Bill Thomas, Kelly Cowan, (Cry On) Patrick Haight
Mastering Engineer – Patrick Haight
Recorded at Alley Recording
Mixed at Colorado Sound
The Dirty Lookers are:
o Pamela Puente (vocals, guitar)
o Sara Fischer – (guitar, vocals)
o Chris Kieift – (bass, guitar, vocals)
o Gerry Feit – (drums)
Focus Tracks:
1. Whiskey, She’s A Liar
2. Cry On
3. Pretty Baby

Driftwood Fire – How to Untangle a Heartache (self)Genre/style: folk, americana, singer-songwriter, contemporary adult
Produced and engineered by John McVey at Coupe Studios, Boulder
Mastered by Dominick Maita at Air Show Mastering, Boulder
Featured musicians:
o Christian Teele (drums)
o Chris Engleman (upright bass)
o Sally Van Meter (dobro)
o Scott McCormick (accordian, piano)
o Eric Moon (piano, sound design)
o Kailin Yong (violin)
o John McVey (guitars, electric bass)
Driftwood Fire is:
o Lynn Scharf (lead vocals, background vocals, acoustic guitar)
o Charlotte Formichella (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, background vocals)
Focus tracks:
1. Small City Nights
2. Appalachian Hills
3. Paper Bag

Hazel Miller – Coming To You Live…from KUVO [EP] (self)Genre/style: adult contemporary, soul, jazz
Executive producer: Hazel Miller
Produced by Denise Gentilini and Steve Avedis
Chief Engineer @ KUVO – Mike Pappas
Asst. Engineer @ KUVO – Devin Shorb
Mixed at WOM Studios by Steve Avedis and Denise Gentilini
Mastered by Steve Sundberg, FTM Studios Lakwood CO
Featured musicians:
o Hazel Miller (vocals)
o Brian Monroney (guitar)
o Dana Marsh (piano)
o Rich Lamb (bass)
o Chris Stongle (drums)
o Tracy Busby (background vocals)
o Lori Cohen (background vocals)
o Denise Gentilini (background vocals)
Focus Tracks:
1. Time After Time
2. Spider Web
3. Moon Was Right

Jami Lunde – Big Black Birds (awnrygirl records)Genre/Style: Americana, singer/songwriter, contemporary adult
Executive producer: Scotty Anderson
Produced by Eben Grace and Jami Lunde
Recorded by
o John Macy @ Macy Sound Studios, Denver;
o Eben Grace @ North Fork Studios, Lyons;
o Greg McRae @ Coupe Studio, Boulder;
o Chris Funk @ Funk Studio, Portland OR;
o Jeff Lunde @ Elk Creek Ranch, Frasier CO
Mixed by Eben Grace and Jami Lunde @ Coupe Studio, Boulder
Mastered by Jeff Coppage, Nashville TN
Featured musicians:
o Jami Lunde (vocals, guitars)
o Eben Grace (guitars and pedal steel)
o Todd Patrick Livingston (guitars and lap steel)
o Greg McRae (guitars, organ and percussion)
o Jack Leahy (baritone guitar)
Focus tracks:
1. Some Place Tonight
2. A Little Bit Blue
3. Tupelo

Kim Jones – Lucky Girl (self)Genre/style: Singer-songwriter, contemporary adult pop, folk-rock, americana
Serviced to radio/press by Chris K. dba Rocky Mountain Music Network
Produced by Kim Jones & Colin Bricker
Recorded & mixed by Colin Bricker at Mighty Fine Productions, Denver
Mastered by Tom Capek at Colorado Sound, Denver
Featured musicians:
o Kim Jones (vocals, guitar)
o Jim Duffus (guitars, mandolin)
o Ron Bland (bass)
o Brian Mikulich (drums, percussion)
o Eric Moon (keyboards, accordion, string/horn arrangements)
o Wendy Woo (harmonies)
o Melanie Susuras (harmonies)
o Megan Burtt (harmonies)
o Glenn Taylor (pedal steel)
o Tom Hagerman (violin)
o Takanori Sugishita (violin)
o Lora Stevens (viola)
o Evan Orman (cello)
o Mark Harris (saxophones)
o Gabe Mervine (trumpet)
Focus Tracks:
1. Saying Something
2. Everything’s Frozen
3. People Are Tired

Okay, so you can call me a slacker if you want, but I really have been busy with music related things … collecting new music, doing sound, emceeing events, booking bands for events …. You know – stuff like that.  😉  Since I last wrote a reasonable MMMM (Monday Morning Music Meeting) post about new music, I’ve added the following to the show’s catalog.

Here’s the list:

3 Twins Broadband – I Always Cry at the Movies/How Could You Not [singles] (Americana, roots music)

Adam Bodine Trio – Up ‘N Hear (jazz/roots/piano)

Adam Stern – High Country Gentleman (jazz/rock/funk/country/instrumental guitar)

The Alan Baird Project – Spark the Revival (rock/modern-alternative)

The Broken Spoke – Before There Were Easy Riders (americana/roots music/alt-country-rock)

The Chain Gang of 1974 – Wayward Fire (electronic/dance/modern pop)

Chimney Choir – Chimney Choir (folk, electronic, modern)

Dave Sonner – the American Campus (rock, alt-country-rock, roots rock, pop)

Dotsero – Storyhous (jazz, pop, modern, contemporary, rock)

The Foot. – The Hangman EP (rock/pop, modern)

Great American Taxi – Blair Mountain [single] (roots rock/Americana)

Hazel Miller Band – Come to You Live …. From KUVO (soul/jazz)

The Hickman-Dalton Gang – The Hickman-Dalton Gang Vol. II (alt-country)

I’m With Her – I’m With Her [ep] (singer-songwriter)

Jami Lunde – Big Black Birds (Americana)

Kevin Dooley – Moonlight Highway (Americana)

Matt Nasi Band – Unsafe and Sound [single] (rock/pop)

The Patti Fiasco – The Patti Fiasco (roots rock/Americana)

Reverend Hooch – Gray Skies [single] (southern rock)

Rose Hill Drive – Americana (hard rock)

Spring Creek – Hold On Me (bluegrass)

Tennis – Is It True? (Brenda Lee cover) [single] (indie pop)

Tyson Ailshie – The Send Off (jazz)

Wendy Woo Band – Austerity (adult pop)

Xiren – Sunshine [single] (adult pop)

Zach Heckendorf – The Cool Down (pop)

Finnders & Youngberg – FY5
Bluegrass/country
http://findersandyoungberg.com/

“I’ve been sold on you since day one.”  The heartbreak is palpable; the yearning in Mike Finders’ voice implicitly crying.  A bevy of beautific singers swing some joy as the full band join in the very feel good gospel infused “Give A Little Back.”  There’s old timey ..  and at times a sense that it all does somehow remind me a bit of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks circa somewhere in the 70s… but really that’s a very fleeting thing.  Erin Youngberg grabs hold of her own “For Old Time’s Sake” and with the fellas swinging and singing behind her the sashay is all flapper and tease…. and then turns around in the next song and rails against loneliness as a women left “out on the open plains, all alone in the cold dry winds” in the Mike Finders penned “Nebraska.”  “Driftwood” is by far my favorite of the Mike Finders penned and sung tracks on the album. It’s one of those songs that makes you want to push the repeat button … repeatedly even — it’s got one of the most kick ass and tightest vocal harmony arrangements I’ve ever heard.  And at the end, Mike’s palpable yearning in the love song “Just A Friend” is a performance that truly would rival anything heard on the radio in the 50s, 60s, or 70s … or on one of Colorado’s great public/community radio stations today.

Finders & Youngberg a few years ago released the very excellent debut “Keep Your Suitcase Packed.”  It was one of the most spun records in 2009 at public/community radio around the state.  In its first month out at radio around the state in April “FY5” debuted at #2, before landing at #1 for most spins in June 2010.  I expect it will be near the #1 position by the time we get to the year end charts in December… and to be a serious contender for best bluegrass/country album of the year.