(this short note below is repeated each day for those missed previous days)
I’m getting ready to release the latest installment in the “Best Power Pop” CD compilation yearly series in about a month. Each year I do something different and hopefully fun, adding an element of discovery to the process of the promotion of the latest in the series. Regardless of whether one decides to purchase the CD(and all its crazy, over-the-top bonuses), I try set up each day to be an experience, a pleasure rabbit hole to go down and encounter new music from the present and past that you might have missed – or just were not aware of.
By the end of the 7 days, you’ll have some great new discoveries and you will have been able to check out some of the 61 artists appearing on this year’s 3-CD set. You’ll hear about ordering it and the extra special package connected to it at the end of these seven days. But leave that all aside…let’s have some fun below!
So, to summarize – Three Sections. THE PRESENT and THE PAST and THE VIDEOS.
Scroll on and let’s continue on this journey with Day Three!
(if you missed, Day One – click HERE)
(if you missed, Day Two – click HERE)
(if you missed, Day Three – click HERE)
(if you missed, Day Four – click HERE)
(if you missed, Day Five – click HERE)
Each day I’ll be spotlighting 4-5 bands that are appearing on the upcoming “Best Power Pop of 2018” release coming out in next month(October). Step right in, get to know some of the finer power pop artists of the last few years. Here’s the next batch of featured artists.
WILKERSON
Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Danny Wilkerson (veteran singer/songwriter/musician) is touring in support of his debut solo album, Wilkerson. Don’t let the deceptively simple album title fool you: Wilkerson’s music is truly an uplifting feast for the ears, brilliant mature power pop veritably exploding with inventive musical and lyrical twists and turns and featuring a boatload of pure pop melodies to die for. Featuring contributions from pop masters Bleu McAuley and Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., Wilkersonwas awarded “Album of the Year” by multiple music journalists and magazines including Goldmine, Hooks and Harmony, and Discussions Magazine to name a few.Additionally, scores of critics, bloggers, radio DJs’, and the like around the world included Wilkerson in their “Best of 2018” lists calling it “pure pop bliss” and an “absolute masterpiece.”
Artist Page: www.dannywilkerson.com
Snippets of songs to listen and more: https://www.dannywilkerson.com/listen
Goldmine Magazine Review (it’s Graded “A”): https://www.dannywilkerson.com/reviews#goldmine-magazine
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/26sy1hBYOxJuktfuTYo2xV
Interview with Danny Wilkerson: http://soundwavestv.com/2018/09/24/twirl-radio-843-danny-wilkerson/
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ADDISON LOVE
Addison Love is a young songwriter who made his Big Stir Records debut in 2018 with his first solo effort “Thoughts on Lunch?” Love may be young in years but has made his way around the Southern California pop scene as a frequent member of the rotating cast of Popdudes, as well as Yorktown Lads, a pop trio consisting of Love, Michael Simmons (of Sparkle*Jets UK), and Cameron Lew (of Ginger Root).
His latest single, “Endless,” with B-side, “Unsolicited Phone Calls,” can be heard as a part of the first wave of Big Stir Digital Singles series. Addison recently moved from Orange County CA to Cedar City UT, but you can still expect to hear his Southern California pals on future projects. Love continues to write and is currently in production for a second album!
Artist Page: https://www.bigstirrecords.com/addison-love
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Addison-Love-Music-128878300476086/
Instagram: @addisonlovemusic
Spotify – Click HERE
Listen to album on YouTube(play video below)
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THE STANLEYS
Making their live debut in Los Angeles in July 2011, The Stanleys Australian Power Pop machine has notched up hundreds of gigs around the world playing festivals, crazy college frat parties, Chinese Hutongs and plenty of sweaty pubs and clubs in EUROPE, USA, CANADA, JAPAN, CHINA and AUSTRALIA.
They kept us waiting but their debut LP released via Spain’s Rock Indiana, USA’s Pop Detective and Australia’s Off the Hip Records was definitely worth the wait. The international power pop community really did fall in love with the LP so if you missed out don’t miss your second chance!!
Outback Western Australian sunshine captured on 2” tape, The Stanleys is guaranteed to supercharge your spirits! Keep an eye on their social media pages for EUROPE and USA tour announcements for 2020!! (Bruce Note: make sure you play the great video of their single below, very well done!)
Bandcamp: https://thestanleysau.bandcamp.com/album/the-stanleys-debut-album
Band Page: www.thestanleys.com.au
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thestanleysau
Interview: click HERE
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr9bC2F197MXfyj59PeSMig
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DAVE SHEININ
Building off the momentum of his 2018 full-length debut, First Thing Tomorrow (rated No. 8 in Absolute Power Pop’s list of the year’s best releases), Dave Sheinin released a single, The Lies of Summer, in July 2019 (produced by power pop legend Andy Bopp), and is prepping a new full-length for release in spring 2020. In real life, he is an award-winning sports writer for The Washington Post.
Bandcamp: https://davesheinin.bandcamp.com/
Buy the CD at Kool Kat Musik – Click HERE
Spotify – click HERE
Itunes: click HERE
Review of “First Thing Tomorrow” at Power Pop News: click HERE
PAUL MCCANN
After many years of performing alongside Ireland’s biggest talent (including Aine Cahill, Pugwash, The Strypes, Duncan Maitland (Picturehouse), and Sandy Kelly), Paul McCann released two self-produced EPs. These EPs as well as 2018’s full length album ‘Here Comes the Rapture’ were self-produced by McCann, with him performing most of the instrumentation. In his review of ‘Here Comes the Rapture, The Irish Times’ Tony Clayton Lea said “with his debut offering McCann comes into his own….10 exuberant songs…..Here Comes the Rapture has flawless influences…McCann delivers a collection of taut tunes….numerous dingers here that well and truly hum. 4/5″:
Hot on the heels of the highly acclaimed album, McCann released a stand alone single called ‘Widow Maker Blues (feat. Majella O’Reilly)’. Again this Murder Ballad was met with much acclaim and strong radio support, drawing comparisons to Johnny Cash and Nick Cave.
2019 has seen Paul McCann back in the studio recording his second long player. This time around, the album will include a number of other musicians with Paul calling on a number of Power Pop legends to perform. The album (working title: Here Comes the Difficult Second Album) is scheduled for release in Early 2020.
Ø “McCann has been honing his craft for almost 20 years as a multi-instrumentalist with various different projects and his level of proficiency as a musician shows” – Puremzine
Ø “His style has everything power pop fans could want and more” – Power Popaholic
Ø “Think George Harrison meets Tom Petty….. Wow. Just Wow… truly magnificent: Bayview Sounds
Website: https://paulmccannmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulmccannmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solidrawk/
Song of the Day Podcast: Click HERE
Streaming Links:
Spotify: click HERE
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paul_mccann
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There are THREE parts to each day in ‘the past’ section.
The first part is a re-presentation of a promotion from 2 1/2 years ago called ‘the music discovery experience‘(what can I say, it’s a theme for me – ‘discovery‘) Each day there will be one folder for you to download. In each folder, there will be 5/6 songs of different varieties and sub-genres of the power pop genre, spanning the 60s-00s. These songs are truly off the normal track and go deep.
CLICK HERE to download “MDE – Day 6”
(there are six great ‘finds’ in this folder)
The second part is various fun tracks from the (mostly) 70s and 80s that are rare, unreleased and hard to find or completely unavailable. For the next seven days, I’m calling it…DISCOVERY DAYS. The folders that you will see from each day are similar to the ones right above here. These songs, though, I’ve pulled together just this last week, poring over almost a thousand other tracks before arriving at these. Going deep, going good.
Discovery. Let’s begin.
CLICK HERE to download “Discovery Days – Day 6”
The third part is even easier. If you have the time and inclination, just watch some of the videos I’ve pulled in from over the past 8 years of Pop Geek Heaven video activity.
As always, I leave this kind of activity from me with a simple request….ENJOY.
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So you payin’ attention, ‘ole friend?! Going through these posts and enjoying the Discovery Journey? Well, right on! Here’s some extra tuneage, which if you are new to these parts in the last 3 years or so, you’ve not seen. This is from some years back when I was going through the archives of my entire 20+ year music business journey(not even including the years I worked in the music biz in L.A. in the 80s). Not Lame Recordings released over 120 CDs and distributed well over 5,000 indie power pop-oriented artists and small labels in its time(1994-2010). Catch a small bit of that legacy here. There was so much that I was just sharing and giving away for the only reason of ‘keeping the music from these great artists alive’. Keep the Fire Burning, Pop Fans!
(note: this link will only be live during these Discovery Days – go below)
