I received a copy of John Mayer’s new CD Battle Studios last week, and I have to be honest, I’ve listened to it about 25 times. I have never been a huge fan of John. I have always enjoyed his music – but not enough to actually buy one of his CD’s. And then I got this CD, and I was pleasantly surprised! I really love it! There are so many great songs! I especially like his duet with Taylor Swift, “Half of My Heart”, but my favorite is “Assassin”.

It’s been 3 years since John’s last CD, and this album was WELL worth the wait. It has eleven amazing songs on it! John is kicking off a HUGE tour to celebrate the new album, GO HERE to see when he’s coming to your city!

John Mayer’s Battle Studies was released on November 17th, 2009 on Columbia Records. The seven-time Grammy Award winner’s fourth studio album was co-produced by John Mayer and Steve Jordan and debuts three years after his critically acclaimed 2006 album, Continuum. Incorporating the warmth, melodies and simplicity of 70’s and 80’s California rock/pop, Battle Studies is a confessional, relaxed and liberated album recorded in a private home in California where Mayer lived and worked over the course of six months before wrapping at the famed Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.

The album’s first single, “Who Says” challenges conventional standards of what one can accomplish or undertake – despite society’s constraints. Battle Studies also showcases universal themes on “Heartbreak Warfare,” “Assassin,” and “War of My Life,” while flexing guitar chops on “Rock Song,” and a reinterpretation of “Crossroads.” The famously collaborative guitar player also invited one of music’s brightest new talents, Taylor Swift, to appear on “Half of My Heart.”

“I approach music like a director doing a period piece,” says Mayer. “Where Continuum was R&B and Soul, Battle Studies was written with the timelessness of Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young in mind. The melodies and message are concise and from-the-gut with the efficiency of simplicity.”

A John Mayer North American tour is currently being planned and will follow the release of Battle Studies in early 2010, details to be announced soon. In the meantime, two rare performances by John Mayer Trio (John Mayer, Steve Jordan, Pino Palladino) have been announced for December – December 29th in San Diego at the Copley Symphony Hall and a New Year’s Eve show on December 31st in Las Vegas at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

In place of Mayer’s annual Holiday Revue, these concert events will raise money for two veteran’s charities – Military Outreach Ministry Camp Pendleton (MOM) and NCIRE – the Veterans Health Research Institute. MOM is a nonprofit organization that supports young military families of all faiths and NCIRE is the largest non-profit research institute affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among other investigations, NCIRE researches the causes and best treatment for post- traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related injuries.

JohnMayer.com
John Mayer on Myspace
Buy Battle Studies on iTunes

I looooooove me some Mat Kearney. Two years ago I was able to see him when he came to Portland, and it was one of my favorite show’s I’ve ever seen. (See that review, and a picture of me with him here!) His first album, Nothing Left to Lose is still one of my favorites, I listen to it at least once a month. He took a long break after heavily promoting that album, and I’m happy to announce that he has a new album, which came out May 19th called City of Black & White! This album was worth the wait! I love it so much! It’s everything I loved from his first album, and so much more! My favorite tracks are his first single, Closer to Love, Here We Go (which is amazing! I hope this is his next single!) and All I Have. The songs are so well written, and so beautiful, if you liked his first album, even a little – then you’ll love this one.

I saw him at the Roseland Theater last night, and he definitely did not disappoint!   He played all the songs I love from his first album Nothing Left to Lose, and played a ton of amazing songs from his new album! Before the show began, I had the chance to meet him backstage, and it was great to meet him again! He claims to have remembered meeting me the first time – and while I’d love that to be true – I highly doubt it. He’s charming, and nice, and puts on one of the best show’s I’ve ever been to.  He is an amazing performer!!

He only has 4 more dates on his tour left, so if you’re near any of these places – CHECK HIM OUT!

Nov 05 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore

Nov 07 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues

Nov 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theater

Nov 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre

After spending five years traveling the country establishing himself as a new artist, Mat dug his roots into his new hometown of Nashville, TN, allowing the songs on City of Black & White to evolve from various places and sources – in the back room of a studio where he stopped in to visit a friend, writing with people he met at coffee shops, hearing someone fiddling around with the guitar and humming along. He opened up the writing process to friends and to the community of musicians in Nashville, and crafted songs such as “Fire and Rain,” “Here We Go,” and “Lifeline.”

Kearney’s major label debut, Nothing Left To Lose includes the hit singles “Nothing Left To Lose,” “Undeniable,” and a late addition to the record, “Breathe In, Breathe Out,” which was used in television promotions for the fourth season of Grey’s Anatomy and included a music video that premiered during the season preview. Kearney was also a VH1 You Oughta Know Artist, headlined the first VH1 You Oughta Know Tour, and his video for the single “Nothing Left To Lose” tied the record for the most weeks in rotation (45) on VH1. Six separate songs from the album received prominent television licensing on popular shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, Friday Night Lights and more. Kearney has toured with John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, The Fray, Jason Mraz, and more.

Mat Kearney Official Website

Mat Kearney Official Myspace

Order City of Black & White Here!

I get music sent to me all the time, which I LOVE. I love discovering a new band that I’d never heard of before, especially one I turn out to really love. Some music I like, some I hate, and some of it I can’t stop listening to.  This CD is one that made the “can’t stop listening to it” category – and I thought I’d share!

I first heard of Band of Skulls when I heard their song “Friends” on the New Moon Soundtrack, and I knew I had to have the whole album! I got a copy of their album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, and I aboslutely love it! There are so many great songs! My favorites are Death by Diamonds and Pearls and Honest. I had to learn more about the band, and why I hadn’t heard of them before! I did a little digging, and found out who they are…

The three Southampton, UK members of Band of Skulls, Russell Marsden (guitar & vocals), Emma Richardson (bass & vocals) & Matt Hayward (drums), first met at college and quickly discovered that having two lead singers and three songwriters in a band was always going to present unlimited possibilities. With their creative process and sonic path fully intact the band quickly established themselves in the music and art community with a series of culturally inspired club nights in Southampton, London and further a field in Moscow and Tokyo.

The band, previously known as Fleeing New York, were working on new demos in late November 2008 at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire when their paths crossed with an music, art and management international collective based in London, Montreal and LA who are now, in a very modern way, partners with the band. After more studio time, the band formed the foundation of their debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. With a working relationship sealed with a handshake the album was recorded, mixed and mastered from January through March 09 before contracts had time to be signed.

At this time their music came to the attention of iTunes staff and made such an impact that the band’s undeniable debut single ‘I Know What I Am’ was selected for the coveted iTunes Single of the Week campaign beginningon April 7th. Within weeks of completing the album the band will be introduced globally to a digital audience in the USA, UK, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands via this free download. Music fans around the world will get the first taste of the band’s driving guitar force, heartbreaking duets and sun-kissed, Wall of Sound harmonies of not only their single but their debut breakthrough album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey on Shangri-La Music which will be exclusively at iTunes for two weeks beginning April 7th.

Band of Skulls is awesome, I love their music, their CD is great, and I think you’ll like it too!

Check out Band of Skulls on Myspace

PS: At 5:00 is my favorite song on the album, “Honest”.

Those of you that have been following me and my little blog since I started in 2006 know how much I love Brandi Carlile. I’ve seen her four times in Portland, Oregon – and have each of her three albums; Brandi Carlile, The Story and the new Give Up the Ghost.

Brandi is one of those artists that really gets to me. Her music has always moved me. The music is so passionate and emotional, I’ve been known to cry and at the very least get goosebumps when I listen to her.  Forget seeing her live.  I’m a complete mess! She has one of the strongest, most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard.  I feel like I connect with her when she sings, and I know that’s why most people love her like I do.

Portland loves Brandi.  Her hometown is close, just outside of Seattle, Washington.  When Brandi comes to Portland, she is so jazzed and excited and happy to be onstage. When I talked to her last night, I told her I thought the show was great – and her performance was so energetic. She said that when she gets close to home, she gets her “second wind”. Like I said earlier, I’ve seen her perform three times previous, all in smaller venues. Last night she performed for the first time in the Arlene Schnizter Concert Hall, which seats over 2,700, and there were few empty seats. She spoke over and over about how much it meant to her to be playing in the Hall, which is one of Portland’s most beautiful theaters. You could tell she was loving it, it was her best performance to date!

Give Up the Ghost is Brandi’s third album, and in my opinion is her best yet.  She collaborated with her idol Elton John on the track “Caroline”, and the rest of the album boasts talent like the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls.

Her voice is her greatest instrument. She has a voice that has only gotten better over the last three years. There are a few songs in particular that really got to me on the new album.   My favorite song is “That Year” which Brandi said she wrote for a dear friend who committed suicide when they were both 16. She told the audience it took her 10 years to forgive her friend for committing suicide.  She woke up one morning, and realized that she was wrong – and wrote the song “That Year”.

When she sang the song – I melted.  I witnessed a suicide when I was 18 – and just hearing her sing the song, I got chills. This song is one of the reasons why she is so special to me.

I must have been sleeping, I must have been drinking,
I haven’t been dreaming about you for years. There was a sharp
turn and a sunburn I was too cool for high school that year.

Must have have been New Years. No one invited you, took things too far but I missed you and your antics. You were lonesome and blue-eyed and so special to us.

You could have taken a long break instead of a long drop from a high place. Ten years I never spoke your name. Now it feels good to say it. Your my friend again.

Said he forgave you, I said I hated you, he was the bigger man, I was sixteen. All the innocence it took well I guess you finally made the year book. That year. That year.

You should have taken some time away instead of a long drop, instead of a leap of faith, ten years I never spoke your name. Now it feels good to say that your my friend again. your my friend again.

I was angry, I was a baptist, I was a daughter, I was wrong.

She wrapped her show with a very long encore.  She covered Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues - which had the whole crowd on their feet and dancing. She covered the Beatles’ Let it Be, and ended the night with the most beautiful version of Mad World I’ve ever heard.

After the show, which was unbelievable and amazing, I was able to meet her.  And I was able to thank her for what she’s done for me.  She is one of those performers that has really gotten to me, and my husband. Three years of listening to her beautiful music – and I was able to thank her in person.  That doesn’t happen everyday.  She was just as beautiful in person.

She asked asked what we thought of the show. I was like “ARE YOU KIDDING!” Of course she was brilliant!

So what’s my bottom line? Brandi Carlile is amazing, and if you don’t have her latest album Give Up the Ghost, then you have to pick it up.

Here I am meeting Brandi last night.

Visit Brandi on Myspace
Order Give Up the Ghost on Amazon

Pictures by Troy Kujala

I got my copy of the New Moon Soundtrack last week, and I haven’t stopped listening to it yet.  The album is full of original songs from huge artists such as Thom Thorke, Death Cab for Cutie (video above!), The Killers, Muse and more!  It’s really hard to find an album where every single song is amazing, and this CD really is one of them.  Each song is so great! With the movie still a month away, this soundtrack is helping ease my anticipation!

You don’t have to be a Twilight fan to enjoy this album. It is full of amazing songs – you’d be hard to find a song on the CD you don’t like!

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

Ever since the lineup went public, MTV News has been hitting up these musicians for their thoughts on joining the “Twilight” universe and the inside word about the songs they’ve contributed.

“We were all really excited to be asked to write for it, because it had become such a massive phenomenon,” Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard said. “We wrote and recorded the song and turned it in, and you hoped the people deemed it worthy.”

It was indeed deemed worthy, as was the track recorded by Bon Iver and St. Vincent called “Rosyln.” “I think there’s something vampirey and creepy about the two of us singing together,” said St. Vincent, whose real name is Annie Clark. “It’s a simple, stripped-down kind of song. It’s really elegant and beautiful.”

Swedish singer Lykke Li revealed that she caught an early viewing of “New Moon,” sat down at the piano and composed “Possibility.” “It’s almost like a fever haze,” she explained. “It’s very repetitive, like a mood you go into. … The lyrics are like, ‘When you walk, you walk like a thief with blood on your hands, because I die when you leave me.’ ”

Returning for the second “Twilight” soundtrack, Muse said they were thankful for the increased exposure. “I think our music has reached out to whole loads of new people that haven’t heard us before,” drummer Dominic Howard said. “It’s great to know that people are discovering our music. It’s a nice side project to be involved in.”

Here is the official track listing:

* DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE — MEET ME ON THE EQUINOX
* BAND OF SKULLS — FRIENDS
* THOM YORKE — HEARING DAMAGE
* LYKKE LI — POSSIBILITY
* THE KILLERS — A WHITE DEMON LOVE SONG
* ANYA MARINA — SATELLITE HEART
* MUSE — I BELONG TO YOU (NEW MOON)
* BON IVER & ST. VINCENT — ROSYLN
* BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB — DONE ALL WRONG
* HURRICANE BELLS — MONSTERS
* SEA WOLF — THE VIOLET HOUR
* OK GO — SHOOTING THE MOON
* GRIZZLY BEAR — SLOW LIFE
* EDITORS — NO SOUND BUT THE WIND
* ALEXANDRE DESPLAT — NEW MOON (THE MEADOW)

Here is a review and pictures from their live show in Portland, Oregon.  They were awesome!  Pictures by Troy Kujala Photography. Review written by Trista K.

Having just released their much-anticipated Senior album, Daisy, Brand New appeared to be immersed in their on-going transformation during their sold-out performance at the Roseland Theatre. A somber-looking Jesse Lacey (lead vocals/guitar) leisurely walked out on stage in a casual flannel and bright blue beanie, not to move from that very spot for the entire 90-plus minute set. Jesse did, however, manage to bellow out a variety of new songs from Daisy, as well as more familiar tracks from Deja Entendu (2003), and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006), with an obvious raw sincerity. Brand New’s other members kept the crowd eager by thrashing around the rest of the stage. Sing-alongs ensued, followed by what seemed like confusion at times as to what to do with the bands latest, and more introspective, complex tracks. With the light of a single spotlight, Lacey closed the show with a moving rendition of “Play Crack the Sky”, where in the darkness of the stage, Jesse’s younger brother and theManchester Orchestra front man, Andy Hull, stepped up and added more effect to an already compelling conclusion. Overall, Brand New’s performance left you with more questions than answers and a new curiosity to further explore the inner-workings of Daisy.

Opening for Brand New, no one seemed to want to move anywhere but forward in anticipation of Atlanta, Georgia’s Manchester Orchestra. And rightfully so. This rock band put on a non-stop, delightfully intense performance that was both exhilarating and highly animated. Though they are a young band, the dynamics of Manchester Orchestra on stage tell a story of a unique unity that surpasses the more experienced. Manchester’s latest album, Mean Everything to Nothing, has received much praise from critics and fans alike, and their live performance leaves no less to be expected.

For their first performance of the tour, Portland’s own The Builders and the Butchers kicked off the show with an effective set list from their latest album, Salvation is a Deep Dark Well, that had the crowd clapping and stomping along to every song. These five natives of Alaska have settled into an ever-growing fan base since forming their Southern-Gothic quartet in 2005. The Builders and the Butchers left an energetic buzz swirling around the venue as they exited the stage, proving to be a great new addition to the tour.

Brand New on Myspace
Brand New is available on iTunes
Buy Daisy here

Pictures below by Troy Kujala Photography

I absolutely LOVE the Avett Brothers. I first heard them last year, and was eagerly awaiting the release of this new album. I finally got my hands on it last week, and I’ve loved every song on the album. It’s great! It’s so good, in fact, that it’s hard to believe this is their first big-label debut. My favorite songs are the title track “I and Love and You” and also the beautiful “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promises”.  The album contains 13 amazing songs, and I am confidant after listening to them for a few minutes you’ll be as big of a fan as I am.

Each time I listen to the album, I love it more. It really grows on you.  If you haven’t heard of the Avett Brothers before – this is the perfect album to start with. They have previous albums, but this one is the best to date.  I love them! I hope you guys check them out!

Buy “I and Love and You” on iTunes! PLUS! the album is still streaming on NPR and is available in Starbucks everywhere .

There is no harmony like brotherly harmony. Something indelible in the weave of voices and play of sensibilities is stamped into the fraternal DNA and also stems from a lifetime of shared experiences. You can hear it in classic brother acts across the musical spectrum, from the Louvin Brothers to the Everly Brothers and on down the decades through the Wilson brothers (Beach Boys), the Davies brothers (Kinks), the Allman Brothers and even the Brothers Gibb (a.k.a., the Bee Gees). You can clearly hear fraternal magic at work in the songs of Scott and Seth Avett, better known as the Avett Brothers, as well.

That magic is abundantly evident on I and Love and You, the Avett Brothers’ big-label debut. Its 13 songs are delivered in a style that defies pigeonholing but might be described as a rootsy amalgam of folk, country, bluegrass, rock and pop – even a jab of punk-style dynamics here and there. Drawn by the naked honesty of their songs and the rousing intensity of their live shows, legendary producer and talent scout Rick Rubin signed the Avett Brothers – consisting of siblings Scott and Seth, plus bassist Bob Crawford – to his American Recordings label in 2008.

The Avett Brothers released I and Love and You, their major label debut on American Recordings/Columbia Records yesterday! I and Love and You was produced by multi Grammy Award winner Rick Rubin. The band performed the title track on the Late Show with David Letterman last night (See above). The band will also be seen performing another new track, “Laundry Room,” on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Tuesday October 6th.

The band’s diverse style and consistent touring, along with independent releases, have helped the band build a loyal and rabid fan base. Rolling Stone recently highlighted the band in their ‘Artists To Watch’ proclaiming “Over the course of a decade The Avett Brothers perfected a blend of bluegrass picking, country harmonies and rock & roll energy.” While O Magazine proclaimed “The North Carolina rock band creates elegiac Americana.” The Avett Brothers have toured most of 2009 testing out new material, as well as their older songs. This year alone, the band has performed at SxSW Music Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as well as upcoming stops at Newport Folk Festival, Mulberry Mountain Festival, Outside Lands Festival, Britt Festival, Austin City Limits Festival and more (see full itinerary below).

THE AVETT BROTHERS ON TOUR:
9/22 Oxford, MS The Lyric Oxford
9/24 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
9/25 Little Rock, AR Robinson Center Music Hall
9/26 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
9/27 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
9/29 Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge River Center Theatre
10/1 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
10/2 Austin, TX Austin City Limits
10/3 Midwest City, OK Rose State PAC
10/5 Murray, KY Lovett Auditorium Center
10/15 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
10/16 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
10/17 New York, NY Terminal 5
10/18 Boston, MA House of Blues
10/20 Iowa City, IA The Englert Theatre
10/21 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
10/22 Urbana, IL Canopy Club
10/29 Huntington, WV Keith Albee Theatre
10/30 Louisville, KY Louisville Palace
10/31 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium

http://www.theavettbrothers.com
http://www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers