Tag: the colorado sound

News Notes & Spins – March 1, 2012

Sorry I got this month’s column off late.  Officially? – hand surgery sucks.  Until you get to use the hand that got fixed and you realize it feels much better than before you got it fixed.  So, with that in mind, thank you for the many kind emails and text messages this past week.  It was a lot of one finger typing this weekend.

In radio news – this is a very important time of year as local community/public radio stations go on-air to encourage your financial support.  So far, from what I’ve been able to see and hear, those efforts are producing wonderful results.  As I was listening to Colorado Public Radio (CPR) recently I heard they hit their membership goals in record time, hitting goal two days early with record numbers.  In Crested Butte, KBUT reports they completed their “…2012 Winter Pledge Drive on February 17th, raising a record $42,000 in 12 days. Spirits are high and support for community radio is strong in the Gunnison Valley.”  KRFC Fort Collins is celebrating their 9th B-day this month.  They are hoping to set new records themselves in fund raising, in order to maintain their focus on music from here in Colorado.  KGNU’s (Boulder) membership/fund drive runs through March 10.

All in all, local support is the key to maintaining a vibrant community/public radio station in our cities and towns … and from the looks of our charts every month, the key to keeping Colorado music on the air throughout the state.  Community/public radio stations are by and large the most significant media outlets for our music scenes.

The University of Colorado student radio station KVCU aka Radio 1190 (Boulder) has been undergoing some changes since the departure of Mike Flanagan and some of the old Radio 1190 kids, who went on to form Open Air 1340.   In October the station hired Mikey Goldenberg, formerly an air talent and producer at commercial hot adult contemporary outlet KALC/105.9 Alice (Denver), as their new GM.   Since then the  CU Student Government’s Legislative Council has identified several problems that required a reasonably large restructuring of the station’s budget and staff, and a redirect of the station’s marketing and branding efforts.  There’s an excellent article on it at the Daily Camera, entitled CU-Boulder’s Radio 1190 to restructure, rebrand.\

I’ve got a new Colorado music show to introduce — the show itself is not new, just my awareness of it.  It’s hosted by David Browder Sunday nights 10-11 pm on KWRP 100.3 fm in Pueblo.  Thanks to David for spreading the music in the Pueblo area.

TOP 40 MOST SPUN TITLES – February 2012
(336 titles tracked / 164 titles reported as played)
(LM) TM / [date added]
(D) = debut, first time on chart
(R) = re-entered chart

(6) 1. Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams – Live at Hodi’s (self)  Alt-country   [Jan-12]
(D) 2. Otis Taylor – Otis Taylor’s Contraband (Telarc)   Blues   [Feb-12]
(1) 3. The Longest Day of the Year – Turn Into the Ground (self)   Americana/alt-country-rock   [Nov-11]
(D) 4. Tennis – Young & Old (Fat Possum)   Pop/indie/alternative   [Feb-12]
(10) 5. Fierce Bad Rabbit – Live and Learn (self)   Pop/indie/alternative   [Nov-11]
(13) 6. Harry Tuft & Friends – Treasures Untold (Manasses Records)   Folk   [Nov-11]
(D) 6. Katya Chorover – Big Big Love (Cat and Moon Records)   Americana/country-folk   [Feb-12]
(14) 7. Great American Taxi – Paradise Lost (self)   Rock/roots rock   [Oct-11]
(3) 8. Devotchka – 100 Lovers (Anti-)   Adult alternative   [Dec-10]
(D) 9. FaceMan – Feeding Time (self)   Rock/adult alternative   [Feb-12]
(R) 10. The Haunted Windchimes – Live at the Western Jubilee (Blank Tape)    Folk-rock   [May-11]
(11) 10. Varlet – The Drifter (self)   Rock/indie/alternative   [Dec-11]
(D) 11. Hindershot – Curse Us All (Hot Congress Records)   Rock/indie/alternative   [Feb-12]
(21) 12. Lionel Young Band – On Our Way to Memphis (self)   Blues   [Aug-11]
(D) 13. Katie Glassman – Snapshot (self)   Americana/bluegrass   [Feb-12]
(14) 13. The Yawpers – Savage Blue (Adventure Records)   Americana/alt-country-rock   [Jan-12]
(2) 14. SHEL – When the Dragon Came Down (Mad King Records)  Folk/adult alternative   [Sep-11]
(R) 15. Juno What?! – Shameless (self) Funk/disco   [Jan-11]
(R) 16. Ian Cooke – Fortitude (Pop Shop Music)   indie/alternative   [Oct-11]
(D) 17. Bad Weather California – Sunkissed (Family Tree)   Rock/indie/alternative   [Feb-12]
(R) 18. Spring Creek – Hold On Me (self)   Bluegrass   [Jul-11]
(D) 19. Coles Whalen – I Wrote this for You (self)   Pop/country crossover   [Feb-12]
(20) 19. Places – No More Wasted Days (self)   Pop/rock   [Jan-12]
(D) 20. Turn 4 – What You Do About It (Fuck All Y’all Records)   Alt-country   [Nov-11]
(R) 21. Petals of Spain – Late Night Visitor (self)   Pop/adult alternative   [Sep-11]
(R) 22. Jim Stranahan – Free For All (Capri Records)   Jazz   [Apr-11]
(7) 22. Rose Hill Drive – Americana (Slowly and Shirley)   Rock/hard rock   [Jul-11]
(9) 22. The Don’ts and Be Carefuls – Sun Hits (self)   Rock/indie/alternative   [Sep-11]
(R) 23. Justin Roth – Now You Know (Rothirric Music)   Folk/singer-songwriter   [Mar-11]
(5) 24. John Oates – Mississippi Mile (PS Records)   Blues/country-blues   [Apr-11]
(8) 25. Finnders & Youngberg – FY5 (self)   Bluegrass/country-folk   [Apr-11]
(D) 26. Achille Lauro – Flight or Flight (Hot Congress Records)   Pop/indie/alternative   [Feb-12]
(R) 26. Rorey Carroll – Roadside Lullabies (self)   Americana/country-folk   [Dec-10]
(19) 27. Georgann Low – Les Progres De L’Amour (Seasons Of Love)   (self)   Jazz/vocal   [Aug-11]
(4) 27. John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light – Beautiful Empty (Free School)   Rock/adult alternative   [Apr-11]
(R) 27. Juno What?! – Late Night Live (self)   Funk/disco   [Oct-11]
(D) 27. Wasteland Hop – Mother Acre (self)   Hip-Hop/rock   [Nov-11]
(R) 28. Fox Street Allstars – Welcome to the Mighty Pleasin’ (self)   Rock/roots, r&b   [Jan-11]
(R) 28. Rene Marie – Voice Of My Beautiful Country (Motema)   Jazz/vocal   [Apr-11]
(R) 29. Andy Palmer – Sometime Around (self)   Rock/adult alternative   [Sep-11]
(R) 29. Kim Jones – Lucky Girl (self) Alternative adult contemporary   [Jul-11]
(R) 29. You Me and Apollo – Cards with Cheats (self)   Folk/indie   [Aug-11]

DROPPED OUT OF TOP 40
12. Cassie Taylor – Blue
12. Honey Gitters – Poor Gitters’ Almanack
12. Paper Bird – Carry On (Long Spoon)
13. Cary Morin – Sing It Louder
13. Chris Kennison – Simply Steel
14. Air Dubai – Day Escape
14. Churchill – Happy/Sad
14. Jesse Manley – Devil’s Red
14. Mancub – The Secret Machine
15. Kentucky Parlor Pickers – Barn Burner
16. Wendy Woo Band – Austerity
17. El Toro De La Muerte – Danger These Days
17. John Statz – Old Fashioned
17. Sam Lee – Better Half
17. The Quiet American – Vol. II
18. The Patti Fiasco – The Patti Fiasco
19. A Mouthful of Thunder – Slow Burn
19. a. Tom Collins – OH NO!
19. John-Alex Mason – Jook Joint Thunderclap
19. Lizzie Huffman – Pretty Old Soul
19. Mike Marchant – Lost and Found Sound (2008-2011)
19. Patrick Dethlefs & Friends – Stays the Same

ADDED IN FEB.
Achille Lauro – Flight or Flight
After Midnight – Hit the Jive Jack
Bad Weather California – Sunkissed
Catch Bees – Newman’s Open Choir
Chris Griffin – Now
Churchill – The Change
Coles Whalen – I Wrote this for You
Coupstick – Light’s Shadow
Craig Corona – About Time
Eric Gunnison – Trios
FaceMan – Feeding Time
Foam Bullets – Looking Out for No. 1
Hindershot – Curse Us All
In the Whale – Cake
Jake Schepps – An Evening In The Village: The Music Of Bela Bartok
Josh Quinlin Quintet – Mountain Time Standards
Katie Glassman – Snapshot
Lindsay & the Lost Caravan – You Don’t Know Me
Oak Creek Band – 2012 (Quetzalcoatl) [single]
Otis Taylor – Otis Taylor’s Contraband
Rick Stahl – Harmony House
SAUNA – The Teen Angst Tape
Tennis – Young & Old
The Autumn Film – 8 Track Tape
The Foot. – The Crowd Control EP
The Fray – Scars and Stories
The Swayback – Double Four Time
Various artists – Under Age, Over The Top
Wasteland Hop – Mother Acre

STATION BY STATION

KAFM (Grand Junction)
1. Otis Taylor – Otis Taylor’s Contraband
2. The Longest Day of the Year – Turn Into the Ground
2. Rorey Carroll – Roadside Lullabies
3. Juno What?! – Late Night Live
3. SHEL – When the Dragon Came Down

KBUT (Crested Butte)
1. Great American Taxi – Paradise Lost
1. Rorey Carroll – Roadside Lullabies
1. Tennis – Young & Old
2. Gauntlet Hair – Gauntlet Hair
2. Grass It Up – Grass It Up Live

KDNK (Carbondale)
1. Devotchka – 100 Lovers
2. Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams – Live at Hodi’s
3. John Mieras – Painted Glass
4. Juno What?! – Shameless
4. Juno What?! – Late Night Live

KGNU (Boulder)
1. Jake Schepps –  An Evening In The Village: The Music Of Bela Bartok
2. Bad Weather California – Sunkissed
3. Harry Tuft & Friends – Treasures Untold
4. Lionel Young Band – On Our Way to Memphis
5. Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams – Live at Hodi’s

KOTO (Telluride)
1. Breathe Carolina – Hell Is What You Make It
1. Spring Creek – Hold On Me
2. Devotchka – 100 Lovers
2. The Yawpers – Savage Blue
3.  Great American Taxi – Paradise Lost

KRFC (Fort Collins)
1. Otis Taylor – Otis Taylor’s Contraband
2. Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams – Live @ Hodis
3. Fierce Bad Rabbit – Live and Learn
4. David Richey – No Peace of Mind
4. Katya Chorover – Big Big Love

KUNC (Greeley)
1. Kathryn Mostow – Rich Girl
2. Eric Forsyth – The Thin of Thick Things
3. Cassie Taylor – Blue
3. Justin Roth – Now You Know
3. Otis Taylor – Otis Taylor’s Contraband

KUVO (Denver)
1. Eric Gunnison – Trios
2. Georgann Low – Les Progres De L’Amour (Seasons Of Love)
2. Playground – Dreams Go Through My Mind
3. Dotsero – Storyhouse
3. Jim Stranahan – Free For All

KVNF (Paonia)
1. Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams – Live at Hodi’s
2. Otis Taylor – Otis Taylor’s Contraband
3. Katie Glassman – Snapshot
4. Cassie Taylor – Blue
4. Finnders & Youngberg – FY5

Open Air 1340 (Denver)
1. Tennis – Young & Old
2. Bad Weather California – Sunkissed
3. Mike Marchant – Indulgent Space-Folk Vol. 3: Binary Beach
4. Hindershot – Curse Us All
4. Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Unentitled

The Colorado Sound
1. The Longest Day of the Year – Turn Into the Ground
2. FaceMan – Feeding Time
3. Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams – Live at Hodi’s
4. Coles Whalen – I Wrote This For You
4. Fierce Bad Rabbit – Live and Learn

News, Notes & Spins – November 1, 2010

I love this time of year.  I love the weather.  I love that there are more new releases that come out every October than at any other time of year.  At least it seems that way to me.  Look at October’s spins and there seems to be a record number of DEBUT titles.  Leading the charge is Fierce Bad Rabbit, which on the strength of spins at KCSU, KRFC and the Colorado Sound is one of the highest charting DEBUTs I’ve tracked the past few years.  This being the first of November (or thereabouts) the next couple of monthly reports will no doubt focus on end-of-year stuff … your picks, and the top spins of 2010.  Have a great November — and for my friends in RMCR, see ya all soon 🙂

MUSIC CHART LEGEND
DEBUT = 1st time appearing on chart
(NC) = not charted in previous month
(XX) = last month’s chart position

Colorado TOP 40 Spins October 2010
(235 titles listed, 117 reported as played)
(1) 1.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners (Remington Road) folk, americana
(2) 2.  Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams – Sinners and Saints (self) Americana, alternative country
(DEBUT) 3.  Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread (FBR) rock, alternative
(17) 4.  Apples In Stereo – Travellers in Space and Time (Yep Roc) indie pop
(DEBUT) 5.  Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention (OA2) jazz
(DEBUT) 6.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster (self) americana, folk-rock
(14) 7.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss (Rounder Records) modern folk
(DEBUT) 8.  Chris Thompson – The Road Ahead (self) rock, jamband
(3) 9.  Big Head Todd & the Monsters – Rocksteady (BIG) rock, adult alternative
(DEBUT) 10.  the Heyday – Till We See the Sun (self) rock
(DEBUT) 11. Brad Goode – Tight Like This (Delmark) jazz
(10)12.  John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light – Beautiful Empty (Free School) rock, adult
(21) 13.  Jeff Brinkman – To the Bones (Devonshire Records) rock, adult alternative
(4) 14.  White Water Ramble – All Night Drive (self) bluegrass
(9) 15.  Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound (self) bluegrass
(25) 15.  Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3 (Telarc) blues, trance blues
(26) 16.  Sweet Sunny South – Carried off by a Twister (2Dolla Reccas) americana, bluegrass
(DEBUT) 17.  Musketeer Gripweed – Dyin’ Day (self) rock, jamband
(16) 18.  Jeff Finlin – The Tao of Motor Oil (Bent Wheel) rock, adult alternative
(8) 19.  Danielle Ate the Sandwich – Two Bedroom Apartment (self) folk, pop, modern
(NC) 20.  Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight (self) folk, americana
(23) 21.  Grant Gordy – Grant Gordy (self) neo-acoustic, new grass
(NC) 22. Something Underground – Intention and Release (self) rock, pop
(19) 23.  Greg Harris Vibe Quintet – Glass Gold (Greg Harris) jazz, vocals
(11) 24.  Kinetix – Let Me In (Steel Giant) rock, pop
(24) 25.  The Foot. – Primary Colors (self) rock, adult alternative
(NC) 26.  Bailey Stauffer & the Katy Janes – Bend or Break (self) rock, alt-country
(NC) 26.  Pretty Lights – Passing By Behind Your Eyes (self) electronic
(NC) 27.  Dan Craig – Alchemy (self)  rock, folk-rock
(NC) 27.  David Rynhart – By the Hollow Tree (self) rock, adult alternative
(NC) 27.  Fuzzy Killing Machine – Enjoy & Destroy (Chair 8 Records) rock, alternative
(16) 28.  Bobby Walker – Way Back When (BWM) blues, r&b
(6) 28.  John McVey – Unpredictable (self) folk, singer-songwriter
(17) 29.  Lonesome Traveler – Looking for A Way (self) bluegrass
(26) 30.  30db – One Man Show (SCI Fidelity) rock, adult
(15) 30.  After Midnight Jazz Band – Midnight in Madison (self) jazz, trad, vocal
(DEBUT) 30.  Air Dubai – Wonder Age (self) pop, hip-hop
(8) 30.  Big Jim Adam & John Stilwagen – Back in My Hometown (Fossyl Records) blues
(NC) 30.  Dave LeMieux & House of Soul – Jazz Shaped (House of Soul) jazz
(DEBUT) 30.  Jubilant Bridge – Power Lines (Get Over It) folk

Fell out of Top 40 in October
(5) Great American Taxi – Reckless Habits
(7) Eric Shively – Eden’s Light
(12) Adam Bodine Trio – Blue Mud
(13) Gabrielle Louise – Mirror the Branches
(17) Dominant 7 & the Jazz Arts Messengers – Fourteen Channels
(19) Ash Ganley – Universe Acceptable
(19) Eddie Turner – Miracles and Demons
(20) Candy Claws – Hidden Lands
(20) Romano Paoletti – Story of a Lifetime
(20) Tequila Mockingbird – Luck & Trouble
(21) Snake Rattle Rattle Snake – Snake Rattle Rattle Snake
(22) Haunted Windchimes – Honey Moonshine
(23) Euforquestra – Soup
(24) Matt Morris – When Everything Breaks Open
(24) Tickle Me Pink – On Your Way Down
(25) Head for the Hills – Head for the Hills
(26) Hello Kavita – To A Loved One
(26) Selasee – African Gate

ADDed
Air Dubai – Wonder Age
Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
Brad Goode – Tight Like This
Brett Brady – After All
China Venture – Blows the Fuck Up
Clam Daddys – People Like Us
Chris Thompson – The Road Ahead
Feverbird – Feverbird
Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread
Heyday, the – Till We See the Sun
Jenn Cleary – Back to the Wheel
Jim Bradford – Redraw the Line
Jonathan Stark – Comfort
Joshua Novak – Dead Letters
Jubilant Bridge – Power Lines
Lawn Chair Kings – Lawn Chair Kings II
Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention
Matt Shupe – The Greying Heart
Michael Adam – The Maybe EP
Munley & the Lepercalians – Petr & the Wulf
Musketeer Gripweed – Dyin’ Day
Otem Rellik – Elephant Graveyard
Overcasters – The Whole Sea is Raging
The Raven & the Writing Desk – Somnambulist
Remember May – Feather
Robert Marcey & Familyman Barrett w/the Wailers – Wailin’ for Justice
Thrifty Astronaut – Caffiene Heartache
Waiting On Trial – W.O.T.
Wonderlic – Wonderlic

DROPPed
Andy Ard – What She Did
Apples In Stereo – #1 Hits Explosion
Asia Jazz Project f/ Molina Soleil & Aju – Sacred Paths
Candy Claws – In the Dream of the Sea Life
Coles Whalen – The Whistle Stop Road Record
Danny Shafer – One Morning
Devil Got Five – Devil Got Five
Dubskin – No End In Time
Emmitt-Nershi Band – New Country Blues
Erik Applegate – Red Skies
Gadzukes! – New & Used
In the Whale – Songs About You
Inactivists – Love Songs and Other Songs About Love
Jen Korte & the Loss – Jen Korte & the Loss
Los Rojos Calientes – Corazon
M. Pyres & New Past Tense – Apart The Echo
Martin Gilmore – Martin Gilmore
Mary Louise Buirgy & Pamela Robinson – A Call To Prayer
Post Paradise – Here to Anywhere
Yonder Mountain String Band – The Show

KAFM (Grand Junction)
1. Stray Grass – Written in the Stars
2. Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
3. The North 17th Street Band – Dirt on the Tires
3. White Water Ramble – All Night Drive
4. Bobby Walker – Way Back When
4. The Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound
5. Head for The Hills – Head for the Hills
5. John McVey – Unpredictable
5. Otis Taylor – Clovis People Vol. 3

KCSU (Fort Collins)
1.  Fierce Bad Rabbit- Spools of Thread
2.  Act So Big Forest Compilation- Volume 1, Triton
2.  Brett Brady – After All
2.  China Venture – Blows the Fuck Up
2.  Fly and Family Stone- Demo

KGNU (Boulder)
1. Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
2. Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
3. Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3
4. Great American Taxi – Reckless Habits
5. Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound
5. Danielle Ate the Sandwich – Two Bedroom Apartment
5. Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams – Sinners and Saints
5. Haunted Windchimes – Honey Moonshine
5. Jeff Finlin – The Tao of Motor Oil
5. Lonesome Traveler – Looking for A Way
5. Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight
5. Romano Paoletti – Story of a Lifetime

KRCC (Colorado Springs)
1.  Apples In Stereo – Travellers in Space and Time
2.  Apples In Stereo – #1 Hits Explosion
3.  Big Jim Adam & John Stilwagen – Back in My Hometown
4.  the Reminders – Recollect
5.  the Changing Colors – Ghost of Red Mountain
6.  Eric Shively – Eden’s Light

KRFC (Fort Collins)
1.  Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread
2.  Brad Goode – Tight Like This
2.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
2.  Halden Wofford and the Hi Beams – Sinners and Saints
3.  Musketeer Gripweed – Dyin’ Day
3.  Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
4.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
5.  Jeff Finlin – The Tao of Motor Oil
6.  Danielle Ate the Sandwich – Two Bedroom Apartment
7.  The Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention
7.  Grant Gordy – Grant Gordy
7.  Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight

KUNC (Greeley)
1.  Andy Hackbarth – the Last Love Song
2. Grant Gordy – Grant Gordy
3.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
4.  Jerry Palmer – Cherry Picking

KUVO (Denver)
1.  Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention
2.  Greg Harris Vibes Quintet – Glass Gold
3.  Adam Bodine Trio – Blue Mud
3.  Brad Goode – Tight Like This
4.  Dominant 7 & the Jazz Arts Messengers – Fourteen Channels
4.  Erik Applegate – Red Skies
4.  Jeff Jenkins – The Healing

KVCU (Boulder)
1. Munley & the Lepercalians – Petr & the Wulf
2. Overcasters – The Whole Sea is Raging
3. Apples In Stereo – Travellers in Space and Time
4. Don’ts and Be Carefuls – Risk Assessment
4. Otem Rellik – Elephant Graveyard
4. Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight
4. Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Buried Behind the Barn

KVNF (Paonia)
1.  Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight
2.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
3.  Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound
3.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
4.  Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3
5.  Gabrielle Louise – Mirror the Branches
5.  Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams – Sinners and Saints
5.  Romano Paoletti – Story of a Lifetime

The Colorado Sound
1. Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread
2. the Heyday – Till We See the Sun
3. Halden Wofford & the Hi Beams – Sinners and Saints
4. Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
4. Brad Goode – Tight Like This
4. Chris Thompson – The Road Ahead
4. Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention
4. Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners

MMMM – Monday August 17, 2010

Okay, I have to admit I have been incredibly busy this summer.  I’ve got home remodeling to complete before mid-September, festivals to produce and/or be a part of as emcee (People’s Fair, Carbon Valley Summer Festival, Bohemian Nights) or as a performer (Carbon Valley Summer Festival)… my show to produce weekly … records to listen to … sound gigs to do …. I really needed a day or two or three to just simply relax and listen to music that not only doesn’t shake, rattle, and roll but just sounds somehow refreshing to the soul.  I need that on occasion.  Today (Sunday) is one of those days.  Sun tea anyone?

Selasee and the Fafa Family – African Gate
Genre/Style: World, African, Reggae
Sampled Track: African Gate
Website: http://www.selasee.com
Bio from website: Born and raised in West Africa, Selasee’s pursuit of music eventually led him to Boulder, Colorado, where he currently lives.  Selasee’s music is a unique blend of Reggae, West African Highlife and American Pop music.
Notes: I only recently became aware of Selasee’s music.  This record was enough to convince me to check out his previous release called “Run.”  Most reggae bands rarely ever fully embrace the style or immerse themselves in it authentically.  That’s why those whose soul is tied to the message and the “nation” win out every time … This album is highly recommended if what you’re looking for is the authenticity that lies beneath the pop trappings of most who try to play African and reggae styles.

John McVey – Unpredictable
Genre/Style: Adult Contemporary, singer-songwriter
Sampled Track:  Unpredictable
Website: http://www.johnmcvey.com
Notes: In today’s world, you just don’t take ten years off between doing records and hope that anyone who heard that “one” will remember you ten years later.  John did just that … took ten years between albums.  The result?  Amazing.  And it’s not that John didn’t have chops to begin with.  He’s an accomplished producer/engineer at Coupe Studios in Boulder who stays so busy that this record actually took two years to record.  The care, professionalism, and attention to detail shows in every imaginable way.  This record is truly as good as it gets …

After Midnight Jazz Band – Midnight in Madison
Genre/Style: jazz, big band, vocal, trad, blues, americana
Sampled Track: Hallelujah I Love Her So
Website: http://www.aftermidnightjazzband.com/
Recommended if You Like (RIYL): Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Lyle Lovett and His Big Band
Notes: I grew up in a house filled with the music of Benny Goodman (The King of Swing), Lionel Hampton, Pete Fountain, and other Swing Era greats.  I am tremendously happy that bands like After Midnight not only keep the style alive, but do with the care and skill they do.  This record represents the best of four sets of music the band did live in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2008.  It is a joyously good listen!

Gabrielle Louise – Mirror the Branches
Genre/Style: Folk
Sampled Track: I’ll Turn Myself in on Monday
Website: http://www.gabriellelouise.com
RIYL: Joni Mitchell, Patty Griffin
Notes: There’s a gypsy in Gabrielle’s soul.  I knew that BEFORE reading this on her website, “The daughter of two gypsy musicians, Gabrielle inherited the genetic predisposition to wanderlust and song.”  On this, her fifth independently released album, Gabrielle follows further out across the trail she’s been traveling the past four years since the release of Journey.  One of the most striking songs on the record is “Strange Summer Snow,” and I do dare to say that it is the equal to some of the best folk songs in anyone’s catalog.  This isn’t simply singer-songwriter fare … Gabrielle, over the course of a few short years, has really and truly become a major force as a folk artist – not just singing love songs, but singing about the heart and soul in ways that MOST singer songwriters can only hope to achieve in their dreams.

Eric Forsyth – (the thin of thick things)
Genre/Style: Folk
Sampled Track: Flannel Shirts and Boat Shoes
Website: http://www.ericforsythmusic.com/
Notes: A solid performance and maturing songwriting are the highlights of this sophomore record from this California transplant who was, “Born of a jazzer father and very accomplished professional organist for a mother, “Er-Bear” Forsyth was homegrown in Northern California in the shadow of his late great grandmother’s baby grand Steinway.”    A multi-instrumentalist, Eric wrote, produced, and recorded this effort with the skillful mandolin work of Dave Willis.  Focus tracks include “Flannel Shirts and Boat Shoes” and “Happenstance.”

Dan Craig Band – Alchemy
Genre/Style: Folk, singer-songwriter
Sampled Track: Enough
Website: http://www.dcraigmusic.com/
Notes: Recommended if you like Josh Ritter and Damien Rice.  Dan Craig’s music has recently been featured on the hit show “One Tree Hill” and has shared the stage with many artists including Gregory Alan Isakov, Mike Doughty (Soul Coughing), Ari Hest and Katie Herzig in the past year.  Recommended tracks include: “Alchemy,” “Solid Ground,” and “Enough.”  There are few voices as self-assured as Dan’s … and fewer still the songwriters whose arrangements are as fresh as those on this record.  It’s solid… and he’s got a new one apparently in the can for a Christmas 2010 release … dude stays busy that’s for sure.