The weather has been strange here in Houston as of late. One day I'm turning the fan on to circulate the air, and the next I'm huddled under blankets to keep warm. Yes, Winter seems to have hit and oh how I long for one of those LA winter days.
One of my favorite venues in LA is Hotel Cafe and I still go on their calendar to see who's playing just to have that pang of regret that I can't go. That and to discover some new artists. That said, I'm a little slow to realize that they put out an album for this cold season called Winter Songs. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional Holiday music, but I do own a few albums like Bleu's "Bing Bang Holidang" and Nettwerk's Maybe This Christmas series. I think I'll be adding "Winter Songs" to my collection.
Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson – “Winter Song”
Always remember, there is nothing worth sharing Like the love that let us share our name Always remember, there is nothing worth sharing Like the love that let us share our name
"Murdered in the City", from The Second Gleam
The song is a morbid one, but beautifully so. I saw the Avett Brothers headline a show that Will Hoge was opening at. The song also betrays their style on stage, which included banjo-pickin' and kick drum thumping as the only percussion. Let's just say I came to the show that night for Hoge, but left a fan of the Avetts.
This time of year I start to pull together songs for a year end mix. For me it is a sort of musical yearbook, marking some of the artists I've been listening to or discovered over the course of a year. As much as I hate to whittle the list down to fit on a cd, it forces me to be fairly selective in my choices. I tend to throw out anything too mainstream (usually). If the artist was on last year's mix, it is highly unlikely that they will make this year's mix. That said, as I was going back through some "notes" there are some remnants of the artists/songs that didn't make the cut. Figured, this would be a good place to showcase a few of those.
First up is Emerson Hart. If you listen to the song and think he sounds familiar, that would be because he was the voice of Tonic in the later part of the 90s. Hart came out with a solo album, "Cigarettes and Gasoline" in 2007 and this song is one of my favorites: Emerson Hart - "If You're Gonna Leave"
Meet Rinny. He's our team mascot. He's a dancing Caddyshack gopher that sings Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright" while shaking his little booty. When we first got him, it was Summer so his attire was a hula skirt and lei. Then came Fall and he was just naked as a gopher can be again. November rolled around, and with it my birthday and the purple balloon. But it's getting to be "winter" here in Houston, so I thought it only appropriate to dress him warmly. Having leftover green yarn, I knitted him a nice scarf and hat, complete with pompom last night.
This past weekend was quite a busy one which ended perfectly with a pint and some great music down at the Mucky Duck. Last time Glen Phillips was in town, I opted to catch Griffin House play a short set at the Hard Rock Cafe before catching Ryan Adams next door at Verizon Wireless Theater. I don't regret the choice, but this time around I wasn't going to miss out on Glen. I used to drive down to LA to see him play at clubs like Largo and the Troubadour where some guy named John Mayer opened for him.
On this visit to Houston, Glen brought along Sean and Sara Watkins, the siblings that make up 2/3rds of Nickel Creek. They opened the night with a nice set, mixing songs from Sara's upcoming album, some of Sean's songs, and a few others. Glen's set also included a mix of Toad the Wet Sprocket tracks, solo songs, and some nice covers. A little bonus was David Garza joining in the revelry on stage off and on the entire night. An interesting highlight was a live mash-up of Linda Ronstadt's "Tracks of My Tears" with Tom Petty's "Free Falling." That said, it was one of Garza's own songs with the lead sung by Sara Watkins that caught my ear. It seems only right to post David singing his own song at Largo.
