I’m a nostalgic person by nature. This time of year brings out all the memory triggers – smells, sights, yearly movies, conversations with family. Thinking back on the gifts I’ve gotten through the years, the most memorable often include music.
As a kid, my cousins and I drew names for gifts. Our family didn’t get together very often since we lived in different parts of the state, so Christmas at my grandmother’s house was a big deal. Christmas when I was eight was huge – the gift from my cousin was The Partridge Family Christmas album! Three of my cousins were slightly older than me, so they talked about songs and bands that were not on my elementary school radar. The Partridge Family, however, was on my TV every Friday night and now I had their album! The songs were Christmas standards, sung by David Cassidy, Shirley Jones and studio musicians. Very pedestrian by grown up standards, but that album meant the world to me. It even had a card attached to the front of the cover that was “signed” by the entire Partridge Family. What did I know about mass produced autographs? I nearly wore that record out playing it well beyond the holidays.
As a teenager, I would often get albums as gifts – Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Don Henley’s Building The Perfect Beast, all the albums by Hall & Oates. Music is so easy to gift and so appreciated. I still have an extensive album collection, even though I have most of the music downloaded, because they bring all the great memories to the fore. Reading liner notes was the best because you would know an entire song and be able to sing along immediately. As I got older, albums gave way to cassettes, then CDs.
Then came concert tickets!
I cannot hear Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” without thinking of the first time I heard him sing it – November, 1984. It was also the first time I had seen Bruce live in concert and that song closed the show. Even though everyone in the crowd should have been spent after the four hour show, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” just re-energized the full house. There was very defined time line – those events before that show, and those events that occurred after that show. Although I had been to live shows before that, all that came after would be compared to Bruce Springsteen live. It’s a high bar, but one that most artists meet in their own way.
Another special show was taking our family friend to see Barry Manilow. Her name was Mary Louise Weaver and she could not have been a bigger Barry fan. She was speechless, teary-eyed, smiling and singing – mostly simultaneously. She knew all of his music and had the best time. I was so happy to witness her happiness.
I am now a grown up with grown children, but I still experience the same excitement when I hear a song from any time in my life. Fortunately, all three of my kids have grown up loving music, so my husband and I did something right. We have a great time listening to different genres and attending different shows. I love to sing at the top of my lungs driving in the car, around the house, or at any concert I am attending. Music is a great unifier and sharing music is a gift that we can all give each other.
Now, it’s time to fire up the turntable for that Partridge Family album.
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What’s your favorite musical memory? Share with us so we can feel that nostalgia too, over on our Facebook page!
Rising Taiwanese act The Fur. enjoyed galavanting around SXSW 2019. We know this because they shared a brief glimpse of the experience with us. Check out the view from their lens below, then head over to take a listen to their debut album Town.
“Yes, we are so happy to play at SXSW.”
We got hair done at artist lounge and felt cool and ready to be on stage.
Edit.
Ren made a new friend.
Zero is at Walmart.
We saw someone wearing the same shirt as Ren’s, so took a secret photo with him. Nobody noticed.
It’s challenging to finish a stage setting within a short period of time at B.D. Riley’s. We yelled at each other in Mandarin and moved so quickly to get the change-over done as fast as possible. It’s so much fun to recall how we did the show.
We shopped at a toy store. How we wish to bring all the Rick and Morty toys back to Taiwan but we can’t.
In an era of computer-made, beat-driven music, Grand Canyon is the antithesis of modern pop music. However, by focusing on musicianship and timeless songwriting, and drawing on the inspiration of the classic sounds and arrangements of the 70s, it is the kind of pop music that will be wafting through the canyons for a long time. Here, guitarist Joe Guese shines looks back on a rock legend that inspired his career, as well as countless others.
My journey with Tom Petty began like many others did, with a road trip.
It was the summer of ’92. I was 10, and my family was taking our annual road trip. California was that year’s destination. I had just recently purchased, or more likely my parents purchased, Into the Great Wide Open. We set off on our journey for the west coast. Little did I know then, it would be a road trip for the rest of my life. I put Into the Great Wide Open on my discman, letting it be my soundtrack through the endless canyons and expansive horizons of the west. The music always seemed to have a vision of hopefulness, positivity, and pure rock ‘n’ roll. I picked up the guitar two years later and never looked back.
He provided the soundtrack for my youth. I’ll never forget my first Petty concert at Red Rocks, the soundtrack to high school parties, hearing “Room at the Top” the day Columbine happened, and his music present at many other seminal events in my life. Tom Petty led to some of the best and longest lasting friendships I’ve ever had. Fast forward to the winter of 2002, I had just finished up a rehearsal with my college band who was trying out a new bass player. That bass player was Ethan Mentzer. We decided to make the long walk back from the rehearsal space to the Berklee dorms. On that fateful walk, we discussed our love of Petty, girls, anything rock ‘n’ roll, and more Petty. We would go on to become lifelong friends and start a band that would tour the world. He taught us everything: cool guitars, cool amps, great songs, how to record, and most importantly the attitude and feeling of rock ‘n’ roll music. He was the embodiment of “cool”.
Petty has led me down some pretty strange and wonderful roads. I had the pleasure of playing “Running Down a Dream” with three members of the Heartbreakers and two great friends Jamie Arentzen and Matt Pynn (the Elmbreakers) a couple years ago at a Grammy party. That road also led me to Casey Shea who would also become a lifelong friend. Our mutual admiration of Tom Petty pushed us to start Grand Canyon in our mid 30s. Talk about running down a dream!
So cheers to that summer of ’92 in the back of a suburban, where I’m at now in Los Angeles, wherever that road may lead, to all the bad girls, and those boys who play that rock n roll.
New Jersey-based pop/rock collective The Ones You Forgot – comprised of Jenna Bruno (Vocals), Matthew Thompson (Guitar), Ferdinand Benauro (Guitar), Justin Rodman (Drums), and Lance Nelson (Bass) – has a beautiful new video for their track “Luna”, and we’ve got the exclusive premiere. Against a simple backdrop, allow Bruno’s 90’s-inspired vocals (think Liz Phair) to to croon this acoustic love song to you, with smokey contrast and artful dance. In addition to the video premiere, the band was wonderful enough to provide some date night ideas. As we approach the month of love – and every day – with bigger hearts, let’s see if we can’t integrate a few of these ideas!
Jenna: I would love to go on a Zip line and ropes course date! Anything outdoors-y is fun (maybe not for a first date though). I’d also love to just get some dinner, see a movie and take a drive to the beach at night – a classic date!
Lance: My first idea for a fun date would be going out to some trails and hunting for geocaches together. Another idea would be ice skating and catching a hockey game!
Justin: My first ideal date idea is beer, hatchet throwing, philly cheese steaks, and insomnia cookie! A great combo. Another fun date would be going on a hike to a waterfall.
Ferd: My first ideal date idea is going record shopping and going to the arcade!
My second date idea would be going
to the beach, hiking and top golf (all in one day)!
Matt: A fun date idea for me would be going record store hunting.
I would also love to go to the arcade and have a nice dinner. I’m thinking Ferd and I should just date already.
Keep up with The Ones You Forgot here. Too Afraid to Say is available now.
If there is one thing we can learn from Shawshank Redemption, it is this: we have to either get busy living or get busy dying. Americana trio TheDeepHollow are firmly planted in the former. Through their sophomore record, Weary Traveler, Micah Walk, Liz Eckert and Dave Littrell dig into this sorrowful life of getting older, longing for a stable home and the sometimes unbearable weight of the open road. Sonically, the band fits somewhere between the pulse of Patty Griffin and John Prine and the adventure of Jason Isbell, The Lone Bellow and Brandi Carlile. Below, Dave Littrell shares the story of his first musical experiences and how they shaped him as a musician.
Growing up, like many, our home was filled with music. It seemed like the radio was always on, a record or cassette was always playing, or a music video was always on our TV. After all, I am most definitely a product of the MTV generation. When Sting sang “I want my MTV!” in the introduction to “Money For Nothing,” his declaration was powerful and something this 7 year old could rally behind!
I am so grateful to have grown up in a home where music wasn’t just entertainment or background noise, it was important. You could even say it was a family value. I remember walking into the house after school to the sounds of Otis Redding, The Temptations, Diana Ross, The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and on and on. The Beatles LIVED in our home as far as I was concerned. John and Paul sang me to sleep most nights. We even had a full jukebox in our basement where my parents and their friends would spend nights and weekends singing (loudly) to their favorites. My mom had this charming habit of taking anything you said to her and breaking into a song. If I was being annoying to my older brother and he said “Stop!” she’d burst right into “Stop, in the name of Love, before you break my heart…” She still does it this day. This pure love for music shaped me in a way I could never imagine. I was just a kid who liked dancing in the kitchen to Motown artists, never realizing what an influence those experiences would have on me as I grew older. As a father, I try to pass that love onto my kids and there’s nothing more fun than watching my kids sing and dance to those same songs.
With that said, it is a little difficult to write about my “First Record.” To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what that record specifically was, because there were so many. But, The Beatles were kings in our household so “My First Record” has to be a Beatles album.
My uncle owned a huge record collection AND a great stereo system, which means Uncle Del was obviously the coolest guy in the world. Our tight-knit extended family all lived in the same small town in central Illinois so naturally we spent a lot of time together. Anytime I was at his house I would run directly to his stereo and start poring over his records and cassettes. He had these expensive headphones which allowed the music to be directly implanted into my brain. It felt like these musicians were playing just for me. The music was so crisp and clear, much better than my little tape player at home. It sounded so amazing! My first experience with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Billy Joel’s “52nd Street” were through these marvelous wonders of technology, but hearing The Beatles through these headphones was one of the most perfect memories of my young life.
“Beatles” was hand-written on this cassette tape and once I started listening I couldn’t stop. I think I had heard a lot of the songs before, because like I said, my Mom was a big fan. But this was different. Listening on headphones made these songs have more depth and they came alive. I couldn’t necessarily relate to the infatuated teenage lovesick lyrics or the heartache caused by my crush not answering the door or telephone in “No Reply.” (I would uncover those gems later as I experienced my own girl-crush drama.) But the melodies, harmonies, energy, and songcraft were undeniable. I distinctly remember swinging on the swing set in the backyard as the sun was setting and listening over and over. I couldn’t believe that I loved every song. With other artists, even artists I loved, I didn’t like every single song. My uncle gave me this tape (or I just kept it, who can remember?) and I became a life-long Beatles fan.
Later, I wanted to use some birthday money to buy my own, proper copy of my favorite record. (Uncle Del also said it would probably sound better if it wasn’t a taped copy.) After perusing through the cassettes at our Sam Goody at the local mall with my Mom, I realized I didn’t know the actual name of the album. It just said “Beatles” on my tired, worn-down copy. After looking at all the titles, we discerned that the tape I had listened to religiously contained the first side of “Beatles For Sale” AND the entire “Rubber Soul.” Just looking at the songs on these two records floods me with memories and remind me what incredible songwriters they were. I still play several of these songs, and “In My Life” was used in my wedding ceremony, for example.
I am constantly on the lookout for new music, and I hope to find an artist that can even come close to replicating that feeling I had listening to Rubber Soul for the first time. Unfortunately, I don’t think it can really happen. My adult brain inevitably gets in the way and I immediately decipher lyrics or chord progressions instead of listening to music the way I did as a kid. I think we should all try to listen like a kid, because it was magic.
One part June Carter sassing Johnny Cash along with two dashes of Itzhak Perlman on a midnight hayride, Mad Crush’s songs contain theatrical, back-and-forth performances between their singing protagonists Joanna Sattin and John Elderkin. Complete with humor and heartbreak, their songs are in fact bright little dramas about fussing, fighting, and occasionally making up—universal truths sprinkled with brand-new magic dust. Below, Elderkin discusses his first musical influences, which are readily apparent upon listening to Mad Crush’s recently-released debut LP.
I have a habit of dismissing great albums on my first listen. I had friends with an advanced copy of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” who freaked out when they heard it, but when I listened, I thought it sucked. Later, I gave it another try and realized I was way wrong. Like the rest of the world, I ate it up. I had a similar reaction to R.E.M.’s first EP, called “Chronic Town.” Friends I respected said that it sounded unlike anything they’d ever heard anywhere. I listened and shrugged. It was different, but what was it? But when I pulled the record out again a few months later, I was flabbergasted. Those guys were speaking my language!
The one time I got it right came before these albums, on my first listen to The Clash’s “London Calling.” I was a teenager but I’d never heard of The Clash, and I bought it because I liked the cover picture of the bass player smashing his guitar on stage. I turned on my record player and by the end of the first song I was jumping up and down on my bed like a maniac. When my younger brother came in to ask what the hell was going on, I pointed to the record player and sure enough, he jumped on the bed, too. The only time I got down was to turn over the sides. I didn’t own a lot of records yet, and afterward I probably assumed that most albums would knock me out this way, that life would be one “London Calling” after another. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t so impressed later with other records that were supposed to bowl me over. Or maybe it’s just that great…
A lifelong resident of Jeffersonville, IN, NickDittmeier finds a needed reprieve from the looming presence of loss in his life with his new record All Damn Day (due October 26th). Fronting NickDittmeier & the Sawdusters, the singer-songwriter lingers on the omniscient Grim Reaper in a way that’s hopeful and uplifting as it is forlorn, harkening to the works of such literary giants as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Roald Dahl and Mark Twain. Read Dittmeier‘s story on his first musical influence below:
The first musical experience I had that really made me want to be in a band was watching the scene in The Muppet Movie where Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are introduced at their rehearsal space. Although the band was comprised of Muppets, they looked like an actual rock n’ roll band and the song they played really grooved. But it was really the band’s attitude that made me wanna be in a pack like the Electric Mayhem.
If you don’t recall the scene, let me refresh you. Kermit and Fozzy, on their road trip to Hollywood, stop in an old church where they discover a psychedelic Muppet band playing music. Dr. Teeth, the band leader, has a strikingly resemblance to Dr. John and other members of the band had loose characteristics to other rock stars of the day. You could say Janis resembles Joni Mitchell and Animal resembles John Bonham. They lay out their long term plans for the church, which included a music venue and coffee shop with organic food.
What I loved about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem was that everyone in the band was visibly weird and quirky but were completed accepted within the context of the group. They had invented their world and all lived in it. Part of the larger premise of the Muppets was racial and gender diversity, and that’s why many of the characters’ identity was fairly ambiguous. Some characters you couldn’t really discern if they were animal or human. Why they had bright green skin, if they were human, but that wasn’t important— all you needed to know is they looked different but were accepted.
The lyrical content of the song they sang was basically how great it was being in a band and helping people and each other. Also, everyone in the band sang. That scene didn’t make me go out and get a guitar, but it did plant a seed in my head about what kind of community I could be a part of if I learned an instrument.
All of those lessons in the scene are applicable to the current situation I have with my band and the people surrounding it. We’ve gotta manage quirks and personalities and realize we’re for the most part strange people, but those are the personalities that drive this business. It takes a certain kind of weirdo to stop band practice to help a frog and a bear paint their Studebaker psychedelic colors.
Follow the Roof Dogs as their live music journey takes them through Cincinnati, Lexington, Nashville, St. Louis, Bloomington, Chicago, Toledo, and all the in-betweens on their most recent autumn tour!
Cincinnati, Sean and his bass on the drive. Touring in a Toyota Corolla can be difficult. While The Bascinets’ vehicle held most of the gear for tour, on the way to Cinci we had to travel with Walker’s drum hardware and Sean’s bass in the backseat.
Pre-show R&R at the Airbnb
Found a lighter with some flare.
Nick Wellman of The Bascinets fishing for Pigs at Northside Yacht Club.
Tristan (Bascinets) before he lost his glasses. Tristan would continue to lose several other items before the tour was done.
Andrew with Bourbon (neat). Andrew played NSYC’s “$4 Whiskey Wheel of Wonder,” he landed on Jim Beam.
Dinge. Was the first time we played with them for about three years. They rock.
The Bascinets
Ezra (Dinge)
Trevor (The Bascinets)
Tired after day one…
Our friend Nick (left) let us hangout on his rooftop in Northside after the show. He also let us play his harmonium and theremin. Great fun was had by all.
“Please, no pictures” – Zlata
Eden Park, Cincinnati
Lexington, KY. Game day. The show didn’t start until 11:30 because the Wildcats were “stomping ass.”
Andrew strings up
There was a lot of time to kill, but luckily the door guy charged the folks who came for the game. Many hung around when the show started, too.
Setlist debate
The Bascinets, feat. Mannequin
Abandoned motel shoot between Lexington and Nashville.
Twinning. It seems that almost all of the Midwest claims ownership of Lincoln. The same cannot be said for Andrew.
Nashville: Trevor insisted on $5 cups of coffee at his favorite spot. (They were actually amazing though so it’s okay). Jesse pictured here writing nursery rhymes.
Alberto & Friends in their delightful basement.
The Bascinets
Matt of Superstarfamus1day. He was closely supervised by the doll. They played an impressive impromptu set when their drummer George got very sick right before and couldn’t play.
Our performance did not meet Alberto’s expectations. He locked us up by the doghouses.
Shew (left) and Alberto (right). Post-show hangs in the backyard. His house was an old doctor’s office from way way back in the day (the 40’s?) so his backyard was actually a parking lot that was converted into a giant driveway. They have the perfect band house and we are jealous.
Triple Jesse
We loved the wallpaper.
Sleepy bois. The Bascinets brought along portable cots.
Wellman in the haunted basement.
“No pictures in here, honey. Some people aren’t here with the people they’re supposed to be with.” Hermitage Cafe in Nashville. Great country-fried steak.
St. Louis: At the Arch
Bright bois, where’s Walker?
Farmer Nick
Andrew with the cigarette machine at CBGB.
The Snapchettes, they typically perform as a seven piece.
Frankie Valet. Jack (at microphone) hosted us and took us to a good breakfast spot the next morning. Incidentally, he and Jesse share a birthday on September 14.
Outside CBGB
Felix at the board.
Sean relaxes at Jack’s. He managed to cranked out The Silmarillion on tour. Jack’s excellent cat can be seen in the background.
Jack, our host in St. Louis
Tristan after breakfast. There are more cash-only diners in this country than I ever knew.
Forest Park, St. Louis
En route to Chicago. It was somewhere around this point that Sean and Jesse began to argue over the fortitude of their respective bladders. Sean would soon prevail.
Walker driving
Chicago. We had two days off here with a show in the middle. There was a lot of relaxing but we didn’t get as many pictures here, but had a great time exploring the city. On our last night we rode the train to a 107 year old jazz club, the Green Mill in Uptown where they were broadcasting live on AM radio.
But first a visit to the lake.
Beers on the pier
Tristan and the great beyond
Curious old maintenance man tinkers at the venue.
Wallpaper
Fahrenheit 808, who was, sadly, not allowed by the venue to play due to dumb age restrictions. They were gracious about it.
Oxford, OH. Captain Redbeard and the S.S. Friendship. We played at our friends house, The Secret Garden. It’s a beautiful home.
Trevor, some light leak, and a stray vine. After the show we all went to Bagel & Deli and waded through an ocean of college students to the counter. Every five minutes or so, one worker at the shop would get iced (Smirnoff) by customers and proceeded to jump on the counter and chug to the applause of everyone. I’m pretty sure we waited in “line” for like half an hour. Someone stole my bagel once and I had to order again. Ultimately the wait was worth it. -Andrew
Hot sauce with salt at Hometown Eatery. College Corner, IN. Tristan apparently eats this to curb his appetite. He chose to spend his diner money on a candy apple red Jaguar.
Propane rodeo star, Andrew Marczak.
At Joe’s house in Oxford.
“Joe, where are the forks?”
Wellman with spork.
Toledo, OH. Ottawa Tavern, our last stop, with bangin’ sign.
Watching the game. “Pizza Cat,” the attached restaurant, was delicious and had good deals for performers. We were all satisfied.
Teamonade ripping it right up.
Trevor the angel
Wavves
“It Can Happen to YOU”
One shot of the Roof Dogs playing.
Family photo. We then parted ways and ventured back to Columbus for a day off before we all went back to our day jobs at NASA.
I had the good fortune and complete ambivalence of being surrounded by excellent music from a very young age. I had The Eagles, Rod Stewart, and The Boomtown Rats coming at me from my father, and Elton John, Toni Braxton, and Whitney Houston coming at me from my mother. While those great songs were being absorbed by my brain in some sort of osmosis way that would show itself later in my life, at the time, my heart and ears belonged only to the pure ecstasy of 90s pop. Take a trip down memory lane with me to a simpler time… MTV was in its golden age, the Lip Smackers and Gelly Roll pens were plentiful, the Gushers and Dunkaroos were delicious, and Britney Spears ruled the world.
From age 3 to 9, I had the coolest babysitter ever; a teenager named Katie who helped me make scrapbooks and watched Clueless with me after school. She introduced me to the Starbucks Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino, took me to the pottery painting place to make my own mugs and plates, and even let me hang out with her and her high school friends sometimes – the ultimate achievement for a mere elementary schooler. We were two peas in a pod, and she would frequently take me with her on her teen excursions to the mall while my mom was building her business.
One day on one of these trips, when I was around 7 years old, we walked past HMV (the big music chain store in Canada) and I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of a blonde, bronzed, blindingly bleached-teethed teenager. Britney Spears. Baby One More Time. The album with the curly lettered font I had been seeing all over MTV and in the pages of Tiger Beat magazine, had finally arrived, and I needed it.
Katie, a saint if there ever was one, looked down at my desperate face, walked right into that HMV, grabbed a shrink wrapped copy off the shelf, took it to the register, and paid for it with her own money right then and there. Assuming she was buying the CD for herself, I was green with envy. I wished I were a cool teenager so that I could have a job and money and could buy my own CDs. I silently glared at the pink and white plastic bag in her hand, and without a word, we left the store and continued on our journey towards our Frappuccinos. As we waited at the Starbucks counter, my jealousy subsiding at the prospect of an impending sugar rush, she handed me the bag and smiled, “it’s yours.” WHAT!!!!!!!!! Pure excitement, pure delight, what a joy! My own CD! Oh my god!
In the car, before we even left the mall parking lot, we tore off the shrink wrap, put the CD into the disc drive, and gave ourselves over to the magic of a 1999 Britney induced bliss. It was the best thing I had ever heard. It sounded to me like fun in sonic form. We slurped our 1400 calories of cream and syrup, danced our faces off the whole way home, and continued to do so every day for the rest of the Summer. Still to this day, no matter how “good” or high-brow or critically acclaimed the music, nothing has made me feel that same visceral joy and pure excitement that Baby One More Time did almost 20 years ago. Just last week a song from that album came on, and I immediately found myself craving a strawberry Frappuccino…
