Category: MMMM (New Music)

MMMM …. an irregular Monday Morning Music Meeting … takes less than five minutes … HOT new adds to The Colorado Sound.

FEATURED ARTIST/RELEASE – MOLLY COTTRELL S/T EP Sample Tracks:  Not What I Need [single, 2010], Undecided Blue, Fellow Travelers (Molly Cottrell, EP, 2011)
Genre/Style:  neo-soul, vintage r&b/soul, gospel
RIYL:  Otis Redding, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse
Website: http://mollycottrell.webstarts.com/
Notes:  “Not What I Need” produced by Ryan West (Kanye West, Jay Z, Rihanna).  There’s a link to free downloads (hi-res available) on Molly’s website.  One word = delectable.  Molly has one seriously cool sounding voice, a compliment that Ryan West also passed on.  She’s got mad skillz and deep soul.  Molly has been among us for four years, attending school at the University of Denver-Lamont School of Music, majoring in voice.  I hope she intends to stay in Denver for many more years.  The EP is very nicely co-produced and recorded, mixed, and mastered by DU/Lamont School of Music graduate and two-time Downbeat award winning recording engineer Drew Sowell (the Foote., Ellison Park, N.E.R.D.) at Sowell Sound Productions  and Lamont Recording Studios.

3 MINUTE RIDE – A ROCKNROLL ROADTRIP  The Whiskey Bottles – Ain’t No Crime
Sample Track:  Blackjack Betty
RIYL:  Black Crowes, Drive By Truckers, Lucinda Williams
Genre/Style:  Rock, alternative-country-rock
Website:  http://www.thewhiskeybottles.com/
Notes:  #1 most spun Colorado release at KAFM (Grand Junction) last month, breaking the RMMN TOP 40 at #19.

John Statz – Ghost Towns
Sample Track:  Ghost Towns
RIYL:  Tom Petty, Ryan Adams
Genre/Style:  Rock, roots, alternative-country-rock
Website: http://www.johnstatz.com/
Notes: Originally from the Madison, Wisconsin area – Ghost Towns was mostly recorded there w/Madison players, with a couple of tracks recorded in Bupapest (the Budapest Sessions EP was just released).  Ghost Towns has been nominated for a Madison Area Music Award for “Folk/Americana Album of the Year,” from the Madison Area Music Association (MAMA), an award that John also won in 2007.  Welcome to Colorado John 🙂

a. Tom Collins – OH NO!
Sample Track:  Pants Off Dance Off
Genre/Style – Notes:  rock, unique, experimental, folk, americana, blues, jazz, traditional, modern, complex, tongue-in-cheek, lo-fi, irreverent.
Website:  http://atomcollins.bandcamp.com/album/oh-no

Veronica – Emerging from Troubled Days
Sample Track:  Hurley Wax
Genre/Syle:  rock, garage rock, roots rock, punk
Website:  http://veronica.bandcamp.com/album/emerging-from-troubled-days (free download)
Notes:  In one way or another this band has been around since about 94, when Baldo Rex guitarist Ted Thacker wanted a side-project.  “Frederick” needs a radio edit, but that song and Hurley Wax are the go-to tracks on the album.

Stingray Jones & the Mad Men – Bad Girl [single]
Genre/Style: rock, roots, country-rock
Website:  http://stingrayjones.bandcamp.com/
Notes:  this band features Glenn Esparza on guitar (Goldie & the Bears, The Jars,  Savage Henry, Wish We Were Floyd, Chute Nine, Sherry Jackson)

 

Thanks to my pal Russ Christiansen for turning me onto John Statz … who’s new to the Denver area.  He moved here from Wisconsin.   I’ve been sitting listening to his two most recent releases with my morning coffee and email reading … and I’ve requested he send his stuff to me for the show … Folks are gonna be talking about John.  Welcome to Colorado .

It’s been a few weeks I guess since I featured some new music I’ve been into.  This week I’m featuring three fairly new singer-songwriters in the library … two of whom share friends in common, two of whom went to CU Boulder … all three of whom are exceptional singer-songwriters in the best tradition of the style.  All three albums equally should be well represented at community/public radio around the state.  I really do expect to see them chart respectably… and to come up for regional music awards.

David James Band – Street Performer Genre/Style: Rock, Pop, Adult Contemporary
Website: www.davidjamesband.com
RIYL: Ben Folds, Jamie Cullum, Elton John, Billy Joel, Chicago
Sampled Tracks: Street Performer, Midnight Hide & Seek, Alcohol.edu
Notes: count this one as among my picks for best self-written, arranged, and produced records of 2011 so far …. strong strong writing and arranging skills (something more BANDS to take notice of in every style of music).    Equally strong are the individual performances of the core trio of David James (piano/vocals), Justin Francoeur (guitar), and Preston Smits (bass/vocals).
From the website: As a university trained classical pianist, David James brings a unique technicality to piano pop music. Striving to keep tunes both radio friendly and musically challenging, his group’s newest album “Street Performer” targets a wide variety of listeners by incorporating memorable melodies and jazz influenced harmony. The final track “Alcohol.edu” earned him the 2007 John Lennon Scholarship for Songwriters from The BMI Foundation, NY.
Free Album Download at: http://www.thedavidjamesband.com

Justin Roth – Now You Know Genre/Style: singer-songwriter, acoustic pop
Website: http://www.justinroth.com
RIYL: Michael Hedges, Crosby, Stills & Nash
Sampled Tracks: Out Of The Blue (The Orchard), The Last Time, Trembling Like A Train
Notes: It took me a while to really warm up to this record … simple as it may sound on first or second listens, the simplicity and subtlety belie an underlying sophistication that takes you by surprise and is genuinely breathtaking at times … a superbly done singer-songwriter/acoustic guitar album.

• Engineered and Produced by Justin Roth
• All Instruments and Vocals by Justin
• Mixed by Alex Oana
• Mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

• “Fans of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges will find themselves right at home with the intricate guitar work…beautifully written lyrics.” –  San Francisco Art Magazine
• 2007 Songwriter Showcase Honorable Mention – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
• 2006 NewSong Honorable Mention – Mountain Stage NewSong Contest
• 2005 Best Songs Winner, “Shine” – Indie Acoustic Project
• 2005 New Folk Finalist – Kerrville Folk Festival
• 2005 Troubadour Honorable Mention – Telluride Bluegrass Fest
• 2004 New Folk Finalist – Kerrville Folk Festival
• 2004 Songwriter Showcase Honorable Mention – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
• 2004 Troubadour Contest Alternate – Telluride Bluegrass Festival
• 2004 SMAF Songwriting Competition Finalist – Susquehanna Folk Festival
• 2003 Emerging Artist Showcase Finalist – Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

John Mieras – Painted Glass Genre/Style: singer-songwriter, acoustic rock/pop
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/johnmieras#!
RIYL: Paul Simon, David Gray
Sampled Tracks: Love & Rent, Yesterday (I Wish There Was A Way), Constellations
Notes: John was raised in Washington state and educated to be a musician, eventually moving to Colorado to pursue a MA in Choral music at the University of Colorado.  Like his friend Justin Roth, he is friends with the duo Storyhill.  Painted Glass , and produced by Chris Cunningham and recorded at Bascamp Studios in Bozeman, Montana.  Like David James, he received his formal education at CU Boulder.  I like John, especially his sensitivity about the world around him.  Unlike the others, I’ve been able to spend some time getting to know John – and the way his music presents is in fact deeply reflective of how he sees his life, the world and his family.  A very strong addition to the singer-songwriter collective here in Colorado.