LATE MAY – “WHAT’S NEW:

I”m easily a solid 10 days behind with posting an update here.  Ideally , these appear every two weeks but this one has pushed beyond that.  Sometimes there’s so much info to share, that I get overwhelmed with just starting, instead of just chunking ’em down into shorter updates.   SO let’s see how I do with this ‘chunking’ statement below!  🙂

REMINDER OF COOL DOWNLOADS:

I posted this sort of under-the-radar link for you all a few weeks ago:

http://www.popgeekheaven.com/uncategorized/something-extra-special-for-you-bonus-page#comments

and, of course, the MAY DIGI-COMP:  http://www.popgeekheaven.com/music-discovery/may-2013-digi-compilation

THE ORANGE PEELS:  after a fairly long absence, the Orange Peels have returned, quite gloriously!   A full new album is available for download at Amazon HERE and Itunes HERE.   Powerpopholic posted a 9-out-of-10 review at THIS LINK. 

TALLBOY RECORDS has been one of my personal favorite power pop labels for 10 years and running now.  Anna Borg has exquisite taste and has an consistently excellent catalog of stellar artists, including Sugarplastic, Kenny Howes, Eugene Edwards, Parallax Project and others.  I just tripped across this page on the TB site a few days ago with some great downloads to check out.   Go to:  http://www.tallboyrecords.com/music.html

I was talking pop scribe JOHN M. BORACK last week as we are properly beginning work on the follow-up to the “Shake Some Action:  The Ultimate Power Pop Guide” book from 2007 and amongst out discussions was the update that the 3-CD tribute to Elvis Costello that he’s been working on is close the home stretch and could be out as early as the end of this summer.   Make sure you stay informed directly on the project here:

https://www.facebook.com/CostelloTribute

Here’s the full track list:

“Almost Blue” – Nick Heyward & the 13 Satellites
“Accidents Will Happen” – Throwback Suburbia
“I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Severo
“New Amsterdam” – Parallax Project
“Radio Radio” – Tim Cullen
“London’s Brilliant Parade” – Corin Ashley
“Watching the Detectives” – Debora Iyall Group
“Blame It On Cain” – Jamie & Steve
“Everyday I Write the Book” – Gameface
“Pump It Up” – The Rubinoos
“No Action” – Chris Richards and the Subtractions
“Mystery Dance” – sparkle*jets UK
“Daddy Can I Turn This?” – A Fragile Tomorrow
“So Like Candy” – Paul Myers
“(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea” – The Stars Explode
“Night Rally” – The Smith Bros.
“The Other End of the Telescope” – Butch Walker
“Monkey to Man” – Kelley Ryan
“Green Shirt” – Scott Bennett
“Kinder Murder” – Popdudes
“Uncomplicated” – Walter Clevenger & the Dairy Kings
“Possession” – Barry Holdship
“Man Out of Time” – Bill Lloyd
“Girls Talk” – Rob Smith
“This Year’s Girl” – The Molly Pitchers
“God’s Comic” – Robbie Rist
“Welcome to the Working Week” – Ron Flynt
“Deep Dark Truthful Mirror” – Gail George
“Strict Time” – Anderson Council
“Riot Act” – Brandon Schott
“Sleep of the Just” – Steve Kobashigawa
“Indoor Fireworks” – Doug Davis
“Veronica” – David Myhr
“God Give Me Strength” – Mike Viola
“No Hiding Place” – Michael Carpenter
“Beyond Belief” – Nelson Bragg and Ken Cleveland
“(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” – The Klank
“Tokyo Storm Warning” – Fireking
“Blue Chair” – Bart Mendoza & True Stories
“Little Triggers” – Cloud Eleven
“From a Whisper to a Scream” – The Tickets
“The Only Flame in Town” – Frank Royster
“Brilliant Mistake” – Dennis Schocket & Cliff Hillis
“Alison” – Matthew Sweet
“High Fidelity” – Kurt Baker
“Crimes of Paris” – An American Underdog
“Radio Sweetheart” – Lannie Flowers
“My Little Blue Window” – Johnny Monaco
“Doll Revolution” – Hans Rotenberry
“Big Sister’s Clothes” – Matt Brown

THE BOTTLE KIDS:  One of my favorite albums from 2012 was the self-released debut from The Bottle Kids “Such a Thrill”.  SO many of the songs remind me of classic Plimsouls and early Paul Collins’ Beat.  It’s now been picked up for proper distribution and re-packaged by Kool Kat Musik so if you missed it the first time around, now is the time to pick it up at THIS LINK.

LIAR’S CLUB:  I’ve mentioned the band a few updates ago.  Liar’s Club were around in the early/mid 90s and they have gotten back together and recorded a really excellent album.  Powerpopholic posted a cool review:  http://www.powerpopaholic.com/2013/05/liars-club-saltshakers.html and now the disc is up on CDBaby:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/liarsclub/from/powerpopaholic

PHIL ANGOTTI:  A new album has just been released.  “Life and Rhymes” can be purchased at Kool Kat at THIS LINK and you can listen to soundbites  on AMAZON HERE.

A great article on 70s soft-rock was posted on ROLLING STONE three weeks ago.  As a BIG fan of the studio musicians that played on albums from Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Rondstadt and the like, when I saw this article, I was pretty excited. It’s a good one, too.  (btw, I was such of fan of so many of the studio musicians talked about in this article and others like Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather that I became a collector of albums that these musicians appeared on – I have many hundreds of albums featuring these musicians.)  Read it:  http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-section-knights-of-soft-rock-20130411

Power Pop artist, STEVEN WRIGHT-MARK has a new project out whose main thrust is to support music education.  Here’s what he has to say about it:  “Please support music education, and independent music. Buy Steven Wright-Mark’s new single “Almost Summer” for only $1.29 (pocket change!), and 50% of the proceeds go directly to The Fender Music Foundation, which supports music education by giving instruments to students. In a time when music education budgets are being cut across the board, it’s important to do something to foster our next generation of musicians.”  You can make a difference here –http://www.reverbnation.com/stevenwrightmark/songs (click on the “Download” link with the heart)

Jamie Hoover and Steve Stoeckel  are one half of The Spongetones. They are always busy playing in-studio live streams and constantly writing.  You should stay in touch with all that are up to because these two dudes are two of the very best.  They just launched a YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/JamieAndSteveMusic  Their main site is here: http://www.jamieandsteve.net/

How good are these two guy together?  Watch and listen to this video:

I’m a big fan of FRANK TURNER, the British songwriter and one of the best live performers out there today.  If you’ve not familiar with him, his whole body of solo work is stellar.  I had the great pleasure to meet him in my town, Ft. Collins, CO a few years ago when he did a secret gig in a small tiki bar 1/2 block from my office that is about 80 people capacity and it was stuffed with well over 100 people.  It was just a man and his guitar and it was the most riveting performance by a single artist I have ever seen.  He has a new album but there’s a documentary that was just released that is about 15 minutes long that is a great introduction to Frank.   Watch it below:

THE ZOMBIES at SXSW this past March saw Colin Blunstone and Rod ARgent to a post-gig show in a small backyard house after their gig.   YOu can listen to the show at this link: (but you have to sign up)http://www.daytrotter.com/?_escaped_fragment_=%2Fconcert%2Fthe-zombies%2F20056609-12100

“This session, recorded at Good Danny’s in Austin, Texas, during the tail-end of the South By Southwest music festival this March was taped just hours after a full band performance at a Paste party downtown. Argent and Blunstone were shuttled over to the house as the twilight sky had begun to set in. A crowd of admirers were lying out in the grass in the backyard, enjoying a beautiful end to a day when Blunstone comes up to the back porch, having seen many others with beers in their hands. He asks if there might be any more beers. He cracked a Pabst and became just like everyone else before he started to sing, moments later. Standing next to Argent, who was seated at a sturdy, old upright piano in the intimate living room, Blunstone was spectacular. Argent was a wizard and together, it was one of those moments where you can really believe in and feel their line, “The warmth of your love, like the warmth from the sun.” That was this day I spent, we spent, in the middle of this last March.”