Warm Up With Mineo!

 

Mineo may be clowning around, but their music is for real.

As of September 21st, summer is officially over. Who cares if it’s getting darker earlier and that the blistering cold is right around the corner? Not me. I have Mineo to keep me in summer mode all year round.  A Floridan band, Mineo obviously knows what summer is all about. One listen of their new album devoted to their tropical home state,…

Read More...

5 Questions For The Tedeschi Trucks Band

Tedeschi Trucks Band - Revelator

  Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi prove marriage and some great friends can put together an incredible album . Before the upcoming Boston show on August 17th at the Bank of America Pavilion, I asked Susan and Derek  a few questions and this is what they had to say about it: ZME: With the soon to be released “Revelator” album, you can hear the connection between…

Read More...

Robin Trower Wants To Take Rock & Roll Back

Robin Trower

My calm Tuesday morning erupted with the pleasure of speaking with one of the most under rated guitarists of our times, Robin Trower.  At age 66 he has been nominated for the 2011 British Blues Awards, and with that he chuckled “I am not even sure I’m a blues player” and that “I think of myself as a Rock & Roll guitar player really, with a lot of Blues in there, which Rock & Roll…

Read More...

Do The Jitterbug (Boy)

“Jitterbug Boy” isn’t the best song Tom Waits has ever written. It’s not even the best song on his splendid Small Change album – that honour goes to the simply phenomenal “Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind in Copenhagen)”. It’s not as memorably clever and self-deprecating as “The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)”, nor is it as stunning a composition as “An Invitation To The Blues”. It wasn’t picked to be part…

Read More...

Download: Jens Lekman – ‘Water Runs Dry’ (Boyz II Men)

It’s just times like these that make me wish I was living in NY City. Yesterday, Jens Lekman, together with his fellow countryman, Frida Hyvonen, played an awesome set of songs down at Googie’s Lounge. Frida Hyvonen, a somewhat obscure name, even for Brooklyn’s underground indie scene, dazzled the over-crowded audience, most probably packed together to get to see Jens. From what I heard she was really, really good, with most songs coming from her…

Read More...

Al Green, The Raconteurs, Elvis Costello and more at Jazz Fest 2008

This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, or just Jazz Fest, is closing in and during its 39 year of existence, the festival has been the scene for one the most amazing Jazz and Blues spectacles ever seen. But year after year, the Orleans fest seem to stray from its roots, as more and more artists, from different genres, announce their appearance. So among the huge bunch of jazz artists, performing between April 25-27…

Read More...

New Amy Winehouse video: ‘Love Is A Losing Game’

Under the stray of drugs, booze, suicide attempts and God knows what other regretful acts the young miss Winehouse has underwent, some of us were more then tempted to forget about her wonderful singing talents. We all want a comeback and I feel like she wants it to, especially by releasing her latest single and accompanying video for “Love Is A Losing Game,” one of the most touching and beautiful songs from Back to Black….

Read More...

Vanessa Carlton: ‘Heroes & Thieves’

Artist name: Vanessa Carlton Album name: Heroes & Thieves Label: The Inc Records/Universal Motown Gender: Pop Release date: 9 Oct 2007 ZMErating: 9/10 Website: http://www.vanessacarlton.com/ According to her this is “the best patch of songs I’ve ever written”. She also describes it as “pretty uplifting” and as having “a lot of layers … [There are] very complex arrangements but everything just makes me feel good and not in a simplistic way.”. She also says that…

Read More...

Katie Melua: ‘Pictures’

Artist name: Katie Melua Album name: Pictures Label: Dramatico Gender: Acoustic/Jazz/Blues Release date: 1 Oct 2007 ZMErating: 10/10 Website: http://www.katiemelua.com/ There are those who admire and find great rewards in listening to Katie Melua and there are others who find that her music is just for your grandmother. But most listeners are just not understanding her. Her songs are not just sung, but emoted. They bind naivety, innocence, loss or hope and many other feelings…

Read More...

Scarlett Johansson’s upcoming album to be produced by Sitek from TV On The Radio

After making a name out of herself in the movie business, acclaimed actress [tag]Scarlett Johansson[/tag] is set to make her appearance in the music world as well. You may have first listened to a glimpse of her vocal talents in “Summertime” for Unexpected Dreams – Songs from the Stars, a collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors and most recently at the Coachella Festival, California where she sang with The Jesus And Mary Chain as…

Read More...