Sean Costello February 27, 2009

This Sunday afternoon is the first annual Sean Costello Memorial Fund For Bipolar Research Benefit Concert.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since Sean Costello passed away.  Sean was an incredibly talented guitarist, singer, and songwriter.  Many saw him as the torchbearer for blues in the 21st century.  His passing on April 15, 2008 sent a ripple through the entire Atlanta music community.

In his short career he managed to release a powerful and diverse body of work as a bandleader and guest.  He recorded with Susan Tedeschi, Levon Helm and Tinsley Ellis and toured over 300 dates a year.  Many of the musicians he collaborated with will be performing on Sunday including The Wood Brothers, King Johnson, and the Soul Shakers.

The concert will be held at the North Atlanta High   Center for the Arts.  Music starts at 5 pm and Fat Matts will be catering.  You can find more information and purchase tickets at the Sean Costello Memorial Fund Website.

Rare Rocco Deluca February 26, 2009

Let the countdown begin! Rocco Deluca will be playing at Center Stage on March 27, and this is FOR SURE a must for any person that would like to go to a show that will blow your mind…..The Young Squires have a whole bunch of great surprises leading up to the show. I got to hang with Rocco a few days ago, and he played some tunes for me, and I am telling you is was like listening to the new Jeff Buckley….and FYI, I realize how incredibly strong of a statement that is, and I would only say it if I knew, without a shadow of doubt that this man has something that is completely worth listening to, and will listen to on repeat over and over. It speaks to your heart…and your mind, and makes you feel….

 

Enjoy!!

March 27

Center Stage

Rocco Deluca

MUST GO TO SHOW~!

Playing the Heartstrings February 24, 2009

I am an American, filled with shiny hopes and dreams, and the belief that if I work hard enough, I too will be able sit on my porch when I am 80 with a nice strong liquor drink, with a swig of mint in it. Actually I tend to dream about living on a horse farm/winery, and also own a bakery, and writing books, and drinking really great champagne at all hours of the day…but i digress. It is coming to my attention lately though, that the “American Dream” of hope is being called to play again. Barak Obama won this campaign because he pulled the strings of what drives humans in their core: the ability to hope. We hope things will get better, we hope that we will make money, find love, have babies, lose weight, win the superbowl, etc…..And they are even more broken down by sex, age, race, nationality, religion….We all are raised to think that if we really hold on tightly to this hope, it will come true. Obama called for change and painted a picture of an America and a world where we were all borrowing a cup of sugar from each other, the America of our dreams….AND HE WON! Now yes he is a great politian and an intelligent and intuitive man, there is no doubt about that, but is it possible to think that perhaps some of those votes came from the fact that America was downtrodden, or more poigntantly hopeless, and looking for something to make them feel better about their own lives?

Disagree? Look at the sweep “Slumdog Millionaire” had at the Oscars this year. Yes the acting was great, beautiful set, great soundtrack, well written….AND made people believe in the power of love and HOPE. It was the feel good, chin up movie of the year….People walked out of the theater with their heads up, letting cars pass in front of them, finding the perfect oldies song on their radio, and singing along, all while doing some sort of goofy dance move….

Which brings me to my point….MUSIC. It creates the soundtrack to lives. So what better way to add the snuggly-ness of todays market than to produce music that really makes you want to give the random guy in the grocery line a high five….I am not trying to be cynical, just marketable…..”Time for Change,” pay attention, it is going to be the bands that are playing in the heartstrings section of the orchestra of sound, that are gonna end up wearing the golden stars….

This trend will continue……

 

I now return you to your regular programming.

DAVE FM TO SAVE ATLANTA? February 10, 2009

 

The Ultimate in Cool

According to radio info, and the sneaky little flies I tape to the walls of this fair city, Dave FM has announced the hiring of their new PD, Scott Jameson..

“With more than 25 years experience in the radio industry, Jameson has served as Program Director at various adult rock and alternative stations across the country, including 15 years at WRZX/WFBQ. During his tenure at the Indianapolis stations, WRZX and WFBQ dominated rankings in their respective target demographics, leading to local and national prominence. He also was Program Director at KAZ”

And so what does this mean for Atlanta? Hopefully the shuffling in of the good ole’ days where you could tune your dial in to one station, and feel like you were at home. According to the flies, the station will be entirely revamped…leaving many question marks inside the heads of the pending Dave team. Will this be the dawn of a new day in Atlanta? Is it possible to recreate the ” Barnes, Leslie, and Jimmy” of the new year, and give Atlanta a new face in the music scene?

Personally, I would love to see this happen. If all the right geese align, perhaps we could have another “locals only” allowing for the great music of this city to be heard….
In the past two days, I have heard of the creation of three new bands, filled with local Atlanta musicians, that I am anxiously awaiting to become the Godmother of.

Bottom line: it is not time to give up on Atlanta yet…The greatest part of this city is that right when you feel like you are the Fonz, somebody slaps you upside the head, and tells you to move along.

Lady

Bonnaroo ’09 February 5, 2009

For the past couple of months there have been rumors floating around in the musical atmosphere about Phish and Bruce Springsteen playing at Bonnaroo.  I dismissed them at first, but then they lingered and grew stronger.  There was even a rumor that Zeppelin was going to play, but that was eventually extinguished by their manager.  But Springsteen and Phish were not disputed…..hmmm.  The night before the announcement was like the anticipation of a Chanukah from my younger years (yes, this squire is Jewish).

I’ve never seen Phish before and have been a big fan for the past 5 years or so.  When they announced a tour this year I almost shit my pants, yes…. some of us have an inner wookie inside of us.  I can’t help it.  My brother fucking loves Bruce Springsteen and was ready to drop $100 + on a ticket when he comes to Atlanta.  Fast forward to this Tuesday…. I call my brother.  The rumors are true (not to mention the David Byrne addition)…. we’re going to Bonnaroo this year.

You see, Bonnaroo was my introduction into music festivals and since then I have attended 4 more Bonnaroos and several other festivals in other states (FL, TX, WV, GA to name a few).  I wrote a paper in my freshman English class in college on Bonnaroo.  Bonnaroo was a holy thing to me…. that is until Metallica headlined last year.  I wasn’t even planning on going until I got a free ticket last minute.

The day of the lineup announcement several my friend’s flooded their facebook statuses with reverence for the reborn Bonnaroo:

“Tennesee, Tennessee ain’t no place I’d rather be”

“____ is going to the Roo this year!”

“____ wants to go to Bonnarooo!” etc……

So, staying with the Jewish theme here….. “What makes this year different from every other year?”  A few things:

-Great bands are touring right now… they need to make money, just like the rest of us.

-As much as I hate to say it, the headliners are a big part of the reason why people to go to these festivals.  It is why people like me can justify paying $250 a ticket…. (because you could pay that much going to one Phish show in Virginia).

-They are staying true to their fanbase.  Hardcore Metallica fans never went to Bonnaroo.  Sadly, when you don’t stay true to your roots you’ll have to cancel a festival.  RIP Langerado.

This might be a tough year for the economy, but it’s going to be a great year for live music.  Instead of attaching a photo/logo/video from the Bonnaroo website, I thought I’d post some photos from my personal collection.  See you at the Roo!

-Sir

Crowfield January 29, 2009

“I watched the sun murder the moon….”

What would happen if Levon Helm met Ray LaMontagne and Chris Robinson for a drink down by the port in downtown Savannah?

Here’s my answer…… Memphis horn stabs, honest lyrics, subtle harmonies and soulful guitar tone.  These guys aren’t trying to be anything other than what they are…. a few boys from Charleston, South Carolina writing about what they know.

This music makes me want to go on a road trip through the delta.  Sure, I wouldn’t title a song “Jesus in my Pocket” but I can forgive them for that because the song feels so good (not to mention it has the line “I couldn’t fuck up if I tried, with all these people who care”).

Keep an eye out for Crowfield …… I know I will.

-Sir

Oh what a week… January 26, 2009

I like to consider myself to be a pretty productive individual, especially when it come to work…I think it is engrained in me to work hard…this becomes especially easy when my job is so entertaining, that my overactive imagination continues to come up with challenges for me…However, every once in awhile, something snaps in me, and I just can’t function…actually it’s worse, because I go into complete self destruction where I see how chaotic I can actually be…I have no idea where this little tazmanian devil comes from, probably from Catholic school terrors and a military family, I just have this little voice in me that whispers how badly it wants to break the law…..Last week was one of these weeks, and although I must pat myself on the back for not ending up being arrested, I certainly developed some memories that I am going to have to mark to be deleted at  a later date…

So here I am Monday morning, and looking at the scroll of things I need to get accomplished and my eyes are starting to twist inside their sockets…

MUSIC UPDATE: Well this week so far I am excited about going to see The Constellations, they are playing at The Earl this friday, Jan. 30, and the show I imagine will be packed, they are playing with The Modern Skirts, so the show will definitely sell out….I AM SO EXCITED!

Saturday, Jan. 31, local Atlanta singer Ben Deignan is having his CD release party at The Hard Rock Cafe. Ben and his band Suburban Soul, are very John Mayer meets Maroon 5…he is a pint size little package, but puts on a very heated live show…Not my typical style of music, but there is a lot of buzz around this boy, especially because he is a Q100 golden boy…I imagine it will be a room filled with the people that are always photographed in Six(Sex) Degrees magazine, but nonetheless as a supporter of local music, I recommend paying attention to ALL artists, that are a movin’ and a shakin’…..

Lady

What’s in the stars for Atlanta… January 22, 2009

THE CONSTELLATIONS…..this band is so freaking badass….I have listened to them non-stop, and guarantee this is a band to watch…I honestly think this band could unearth the cool side of Atlanta again….The music is just plain naughty, and according to the band, was really just an experiment between some friends….but there must have been something more going on in that studio, cause what got unleashed was a sexy combination of sounds, made with several different instruments, voices, and will keep you feeling like you live in some 1930’s underground society…the music you would hear playing in some dark back alleyway….

The band was founded by Gnarls Barkley engineer Ben H. Allen, and you can feel the eclectic jubilee running through it…

It is like being in a psychadelic maze….and I just do not see myself gettin out of it anytime soon…..Once this band gets leaked out…they will spread very very quickly…a trippy virus….I love it!

Lady

Is music going visual?

So after a long discussion with my good friend the pirate, which involved copious amounts of wine and seafood, he brought up the idea that the future of music is going towards the visual…everyone and their moms are on youtube, spending hours of their working days scanning videos, hoping to see something cool, funny, hopefully someone making an ass out of themselves, or perhaps just looking for something to move them, shake them, reach them in the very core of their being,….to take them away from their mundane lives, even if only for a minute and a half….So where does music come into play in this?  We came to the conclusion that music is becoming less audio and more visual…Thus an intriguing video, leads to wanting to see a live show….and we all know with the economy where it is, bands are only going to survive through touring and making as many fans as possible….

I have to admit, I am a little disheartened by the fact that you really do have to reach all senses of a person, before they choose to invite a band into their auditory repatoire, these days most likely called their ipods, but then again we are very a much a super-served group. We want to do several things all at one time, and thus it becomes pertinent for the music makers to catch the average listener for a minute out of their day and grab their retinas and make them feel…anything.

Is there truth in this? I can very clearly remember seeing a Radiohead video for the first time, and thinking to myself, “Self, this is amazing….I HAVE to see them when they come to town…” And, when that day rolled around, I made sure that I was in line early to buy a ticket, and have continued to do so on every tour….hmmmm

Lady

The Young Squires January 21, 2009

The purpose of this blog is not to create anything deep or profound.  We the Young Squires, felt that there was something lacking in the music scene in Atlanta.  We simply want to let people know where good music lives.  This is not to say that our tastes are the only ones that matter, but that this is just the stuff we dig.  We both come from different listening backgrounds that encompass a wide range of music.

It’s easy to sit back and complain about the music scene in your town (or industry for that matter) but what we see is something different. Opportunity.  There are no excuses any more, if a band doesn’t have their shit together, they won’t have any longevity. Plain and simple.  Write good songs, put on a good show…..rinse and repeat.  More music is consumed now than ever and it is accessible to almost anybody, anywhere.  Because of this, listeners don’t have to put up with mediocre bands.  They can just fast-forward, or click to another page.

We will let you know when we go to a show that leaves us half-deaf, when we hear about a new band doing something that has never been done before and when we hear a song that takes you to a completely different place.  We are on a never-ending search for good music.  We’ll let you know what hit’s us…… let us know what hit’s you.  Join us for the ride.

-Sir