Neil Nathan’s cover of ELO’s “Do Ya,” which is featured on the Californication Season 2 Soundrack. On his upcoming album, The Distance Calls, Nathan enlisted the help of The Go’s Bobby Harlow to produce and an all-star Detroit cast of players which included Dean Fertita (The Dead Weather, QOTSA), Kenny Tudrick & Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras), John Krautner (The Go), and Ross Westerbur (Deadstring Brothers). The album is coming out soon (8/24/10), so get all the good links at http://www.neilnathan.com/
Quakers on Probation "Every Living Thing"
I reviewed a father and son duo earlier this year, so here is another combo: Daniel A. Craig and his son Daniel F. Craig joined by the Wrecking Crew legend Larry Knechtel in one of his final recordings. The band calls the genre they play “TwanglePop” (bit of twang and jangle I suppose) that borrows from the heyday of 60’s and 70’s country rock. The studied rhythms that open “Pay It Forward” are pleasing and Knechtel’s organ playing recall Protocol Harum. The twangy “Your Favorite Song” compares well to The Jayhawks and Wilco. But the focus changes on “I Know A Woman” and the title track, where horns and synths evoke those cheesy AOR lounge tracks that make even Robert Lamm fans cringe. Thankfully, the album takes a brilliant turn on the descriptive “Yard Sale,” where the gentle harmonies tug at your heart. The album just gets better as it goes forward, with the strong atmospheric “Marysville” and even the drum machine sounds great on the excellent “Hollywood Walk Of Fame.” A lot of fun ends out the last track “Lament For The Aging Rocker” where a familiar guitar ditty speaks the truth here as it names names (“Do you think Def Leppard’s deaf?/When you’re way too old to fake it and you got no hair to shake, boy/Your medication starts kicking in…). The band also covers Sammy John’s “Chevy Van” quiet well. Listen to the album streaming at quakers on probation.com.
The Power Popaholic Interview: Mark Bacino
Meet the man behind the “The Queens English”. I was lucky enough to be in contact with musician Mark Bacino this week, and we do go into detail about his last album and his experiences with computer based recording methods. Read the interview with Mark Bacino here.
In addition, I have re-posted my Virign.com interview with Seth Swirsky in the Power Popaholic interview archive.
Win the Two Hours Traffic album Giveaway!
It’s easy to win a FREE copy of the new Two Hours Traffic CD “Territory”. Become a fan of Power Popaholic on Facebook. Then leave your comment on the contest announcement post of the Facebook fan page by next Friday (6/18/10). Only two (2) lucky fans will be chosen at random the next day as album winners! (Winners will need to send me a mailing address).
Emerging pop talent for June with FREE downloads
Here are some indie debut albums, EPs and emerging talent this past month that you might want to check out…so much great music, so little time!
A Fragile Tomorrow “Tripping Over Nothing”
MySpace | CD Baby | Amazon | Itunes
Graham Czach “Lucid”
MySpace | Amazon | Free Download of “Gather Round”
J.D. Reager “The Repechage”
MySpace | Free Download at Bandcamp
The Maybenauts “Big Bang” EP
MySpace | CD Baby | Listen at Maybenauts.com
Jac & Jill “s/t”
MySpace | Looney Tunes