Mar 1, 2011,
By Blair Jackson
When Los Lonely Boys, a trio of very musical brothers, exploded out of the small city of San Angelo, Texas, in 2004 with the hit single “Heaven” from their eponymous debut album, many wondered, “What can they do for an encore?” After all, rare is the band that hits the jackpot first time out: “Heaven” rocketed to Number One on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, made the Top 20 on the pop charts and won a Grammy; the album sold more than 2 million copies. The appealing and versatile Garza brothers—guitarist Henry, bassist Jojo and drummer Ringo, all in their mid-20s when the album hit—turned up everywhere, it seems, for the next couple of years, including TV awards shows and on other people’s albums (such as Santana’s All That I Am and the Amnesty International John Lennon tribute album, Instant Karma).
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Feb 1, 2011,
By Ron Skinner
There are two lessons to be learned from this month’s “Classic Track”: First, persistence pays off; and second, sometimes the master is the demo and the demo is the master. n the winter of 1956/57, Buddy Holly was an artist in transition. After being discovered by talent scout Eddie Crandall in the fall of 1955 and signed to Decca Records in Nashville, by late 1956 Holly found himself without a hit and without a contract. Prior to this, Holly had had three separate recording sessions for Decca between January and November 1956 with legendary country music producer Owen Bradley at his Quonset Hut studio on 16th Avenue in Nashville.
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Feb 1, 2011,
By Blair Jackson
When Lindsey Buckingham and I hook up by phone one morning in the late fall of 2010, he apologizes for sounding tired, noting, “We did this corporate in Phoenix two nights ago and I got in late from that and I have kids who wake up at six in the morning.” The “corporate” was essentially a large private party, and “we” is Fleetwood Mac. ...
Jan 1, 2011,
By Blair Jackson
His full name was Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, but almost everyone called him “Iz” or “Bruddah Iz” (“Bruddah” being pidgin for “Brother”). A gentle giant who at one point weighed more than 750 pounds, he is responsible for the all-time best-selling record by a Hawaiian artist—a simple but haunting voice-and-ukulele medley of two standards, one from the 1930s and the other from the 1960s:...
Jan 1, 2011,
By Blair Jackson
It’s been four years since My Chemical Romance (MCR) released their massively popular, death-obsessed concept album, The Black Parade, which firmly established the theatrical L.A.-based band (originally from New Jersey) as master purveyors of their own idiosyncratic blend of punk, pop, metal and alternative styles. ...
Jan 1, 2011,
Compiled by Sarah Benzuly
Paul Green, founder of the School of Rock, began giving music lessons in his living room in 1996, and has now opened Studio House, a facility where established and developing artists can record free of charge while students observe and contribute to the process.
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Dec 8, 2010,
By Matt Hurwitz
John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Grammy-winning album Double Fantasy was released in November 1980, just weeks before Lennon’s tragic murder. The disc spawned three Top 10 singles, including “Watching the Wheels,” this month’s “Classic Track,” which producer Jack Douglas counts among his favorite songs on the album.
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Nov 10, 2010,
By Tom Kenny
“What gets me the most about Shelby is her writing ability,” Schmitt says. “It’s just so real. The silver trailer—she has this love for real things, real feelings, and it’s there in her songs. But that’s who she is as a person, too. Real, warm, honest. I told her down here at McCabe’s that she should do a live album, just her and John Jackson on guitars, because the way she connects with her audience through her voice, her guitar and her emotions is just so honest.”
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NAMM 2011: Fairlight CMI
State of NAMM 2011