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The response has been very positive on my last show featuring Ruby James. Additional video footage of her live acoustic set is starting to show up on Ruby’s Myspace page and on YouTube. I’m in the process of editing several more songs from the performance. Be sure to keep up to date on her website and her Myspace page.
I’ve also confirmed my interview with Shane Alexander to talk about his new CD The Sky Below and will be featuring his music and words on an upcoming show.
Today’s show has a variety of music styles, which reflects the mood I’ve had most of the week. The theme leans more towards Jazz, R&B and Soul. It is another of my “Oreo” style shows, where the mood takes on distinct layers going from upbeat and fun, to soulful and unique, then finishing with a chill-out and reflective vibe.
We start off strong with Kelly Mueller and her song Real Love. This woman sings as beautiful as she looks. This lays a good foundation for the debut of a new artist to The Big Break this week, and that is Kerry Politzer. From her 2007 CD titled You Took Me In we get to hear Love Is In The Atmosphere.
I’ve always been a fan of Martha Redbone, even before my interview with her way back on show # 14. The first track I heard of hers is still one of my favorites which is Hard Livin’. I continue my re-visit with past interview guests by playing Heaven Knows by Dahlia Wakefield (show # 17). That song always reminds me of 70’s vintage Olivia Newton John. We follow that up with Love The Beat by Stefanie Seskin and Blue Number Nine. Stefanie holds a special place in my heart as she was my first interview guest (show # 4). Finally I bring that set to a close with Crazy by Whitney Steele (show # 41)
I received a new CD in the mail from Mick Wainman from Digital Music Marketing this week featuring the band Sky Cries Mary. This Seattle based band gets inspiration for their name from the song “The Wind Cries Mary”, made famous by another Seattle rocker named James Marshal Hendrix. Their music has been featured in film (Bourne Supremacy) and on TV. From their brand new album release Small Town, we hear Five Train.
My R&B/Soul layer for the show comes from Ola Onabule off his album In Emergency, Break Silence and it’s called Parallel Universe. Robin Stine continues the jazz theme from the warmer climates of Florida with her song Never Say Goodbye. Another great tune from Joan Osborne off her album Pretty Little Stranger is called Who Divided.
Nearing the end I build the foundation for the final musical layer of this week show with Beth Hirsch and her song Wholehearted. An episode of The Big Break Music Podcast featuring smooth jazz would not be complete with another of my favorite songs from the lovely and talented Karmyn Tyler called Drifting.
I’m a big fan of many of the social networking sites out there today. I have a presence on Myspace, Twitter, Facebook and many more. A lot of people complain about Myspace saying that the user interface is not as pretty or “Web 2.0″ as the others. However if you’re involved in the independent music scene (either as an artist or promoter), having a Myspace page is a necessity.
I established a presence on Facebook a while back and have slowly been building my network of friends and contacts. One thing that bothers me about Facebook is the increasing and overwhelming number of application plug-ins that keep being created. Lately almost every interaction with people requires me to “join” some new application.
I’ve been to Facebook pages where the owner has added what surely seems to be every single “latest and greatest” plug-in. In the beginning they had a relatively short profile page. Now I have to scroll down through an endless stream of widgets, lists, plants, drinks, stuffed animals, etc. Some are so packed with this stuff that I am starting to miss the old days of static HTML pages for websites.
The result of all this Facebook clutter has forced me to reject or ignore a lot of those requests, even from those who I consider close and special friends. Call me an old fart, but I still think using plain old messages and those features that are part of the core Facebook profile works just fine for me.
It’s always great to check back in with artists and bands that I’ve had the pleasure of featuring on The Big Break Music Podcast. Back in November 2006 I was told about singer/songwriter Ruby James and shortly thereafter got to interview and feature songs from her first EP called Sweet As Sin (episode # 49). At that time she talked about a new album she was working on with Will and Charlie Sexton in Austin, Texas.
Recently I was contacted by Ruby’s manager to review her new album and was surprised to find that this CD is the result of an entirely new project. She and band member/songwriter Rene Reyes put together an entire album’s worth of material over a three day period and quickly hit the studio to record what would soon become her first full-length album called Desert Rose.
So on today’s episode I have an interview that was recorded just before she was scheduled to fly back to California to film a music video for the new album.
Tracks from Desert Rose featured:
Suicide Serenade
Desert Rose
Oh Mama
Everything Good Goes Away
When I’m Gone
Mistress Of The Devil
I also produced Ruby James’ first live internet video performance of the new album on Ustream.tv. Click here to visit view a portion of the live show.
Another artist that is represented by Ruby’s management is Shane Alexander, whom has also been interviewed and featured on this podcast (episode # 57). Shane’s new album The Sky Below is slated for release on February 2oth, with a CD release party to be held at the famous Troubadour club in Hollywood, CA. The first track from that album is called Amsterdam.
Find Ruby James here and on Myspace
Find Shane Alexander here and on Myspace
I’m calling New and Familiar because I have a great mix of both new music being featured for the first time on the show along with songs from artists that you’ve been listening to for years.
There are lots of reasons why someone decides to become a musician. Maybe it’s the lure of fame and fortune or the thrill of performing in front of others. It could be that music is in their blood and drives their desire to work long hours for little money just for enjoyment that only music can provide.
I’m going to kick the show off today with a track from the band King Karma that reminds us of one of the many reasons why guys like to be in a band, and that’s the chance to hook up with an enthusiastic fan after the show; just looking for someone to Shake My Bones. A selection from Mark Kerr’s killer album “One Drink Away From The Blues” that I haven’t played for some time is Thinkin’ and Drinkin’.
I then offer up a two-fer of sorts with songs featuring Ann Wilson. First up is a live version of Crazy On You by Ann and Nancy Wilson with their band Heart. Then we get to hear Ann once again, this time from her solo album “Hope and Glory” with the song Where To Now St. Peter (with a little backup vocal help from Elton John).
I always love getting to feature new artists on The Big Break, and this week I bring you a fun tune from Patty Reese called She’s So Happy (Just To Have A Bo Like You). We then get “funky” with Way To Funky by the Funky Blues Messiahs. Did I mention we get funky?
A return visit by Amy B with Each Thing You Do continues our middle set followed by one my favorite live tracks from Matthew Ebel’s album “Beer and Coffee” called Single Man’s Lament. Laura Clapp (now Laura Davidson) rocks us out with Hey, Hey, Sister.
Another new artist featured today is Alvin Jett and The Phat noIz Blues Band with their song Boogie To The Blues. The always talented Daddy Mack Blues Band brings us Giving You My Money followed by Cold Blooded Lover by W.C. Clark.
For a little post “Fat Tuesday” vibe I bring the Irene Sage Band from Louisiana with her song Dig Down Low. And we close out the show with the title track from Joan Osborne’s 2006 album Pretty Little Stranger.
Don’t miss next week’s show where I feature an interview and new music from Ruby James’s new album Desert Rose.
We may be still in the middle of winter for most of the country but music-wise it’s already springtime. My mailbox has seen a bunch of new CDs arrive from artists that have not been featured on The Big Break before now. I’m also excited about the new CD coming out from Ruby James. Ruby was an interview guest back on episode #49 and I got to sit down with her recently to talk about her new release. That interview and many of the new tracks will be on an upcoming show.
More former “major label” artists are migrating over to the podsafe water’s edge and this week I start the show off with a tune from the Black Crowes called Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution. The band Soul Summit returns with a new song called Cold Snap
Ruby James has followed up her previous EP “Sweet As Sin” with a brand new CD that will be available in a week or so called “Desert Rose“. I play the first track off the album called The Words Goodbye.
A number of new artists get airplay on this week’s show, the first of which is B. J. Allen and Blue Voodoo with a funky-blues tune called Your Blues Is My Blues Now. I received the album “On A Dime” by Aaron Netsell which is packed with great blues music and strong message on how quickly events can result in a complete change in someone’s life. The first track from the CD is Things Change.
The John Earl Walker Band provides us with good up-tempo blues song called Little Girl, followed by another artist that sent in his CD; this time it’s Gary Segal and his song Cartwheels. We continue this set with Dirt Road by Ron Rutherford found on “Lone Wolf” CD. I always enjoy playing music from talented female blues artists and this week I get the chance to highlight the song I’ve Earned The Right To Sing The Blues by JoAnne Redding.
Since way back on The Big Break, episode # 14 I’ve had the pleasure of playing the excellent music of Martha Redbone. One of the many songs that I can listen to all day long is Talk About It.
Another band that I’ve not played in a while is Stone Blue and this time I’ve selected She’s My Baby. An artist that I’ve added to my collection courtesy of the Radio Submit music service is I Underestimated You by Tom Hunter and the song we close out the show with from Ed Stallman called Stevie Ray.
Promo: KarmynKast