Tag: amy winehouse

MIXTAPE: Ana Egge’s Addiction to Melody

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One of my favorite things in life is hearing a song for the first time that I know I need to hear again, immediately! Something about the melody or the horn part or the harmony part that catches my ear and get’s stuck in my head. Whenever that happens it’s like I need to understand why it’s so infectious. Usually I end up getting out my guitar and learning the song. It’s always fascinating to get inside a song that someone else has written. It’s a magical way to know someone. Feeling how and why they drop the beat going into the chorus or how they hold a chord longer into the bridge that gives it that special something. Here’s a short list of songs that have affected me this way over the years. — Ana Egge

Flo Morrissey & Matthew E. White, written by Kyle Field – “Look at What the Light Did Now”

My friend Mike Ferrio (Good Luck Mountain) put this as the last tune on a mixtape CD for me a few years ago. I learned it and kept showing it to all of my musician friends.

The Zombies, written by Chris White – “This Will Be Our Year”

I heard this on a TV show I think, can’t remember which one. I had no idea who it was by and I was surprised to find out how long ago it was released. It sounded so fresh! The instrumentation, the sounds, the delivery. And I still can’t get over the incredible chord progression.

The Be Good Tanyas, written by Berzilla Wallin – “Rain and Snow”

I grew up with The Grateful Dead version of this song. I just love how Frazey adds the oooh oooh‘s onto the end of the word snow. Such a great soulful addition and original interpretation of this classic murder ballad.

Phoenix, written by Christian Mazzalai – “1901”

What’s not to love about this song? I can’t sit still when it comes on. I love how they play off the beat so much!

Dengue Fever – “Tip My Canoe”

I’ve probably listened to this song more than anything other song since I got a Dengue Fever two-disc collection at a record store in Toronto on tour a few years back. It’s SO delicious and trippy and great everyday.

The Shins, written by James Mercer – “New Slang”

Such a beautiful melody and evocative lyrics. I don’t always necessarily understand what he means to say, but I feel it.

Antony & The Johnsons, written by Anohni – “My Lady Story”

Oh my god, so beautiful! Beautiful and intense and unique.

Bee Gees, written by Barry & Robin Gibb – “To Love Somebody”

One of my very favorite songs ever. How much better can a song be? They nailed it.

Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy”

Oh that dropped beat. And the melody! So cool how it builds and such a killer chorus.

Amy Winehouse – “You Know I’m No Good”

Incredible personal songwriting. So unflinching and honest and melodic. And such an upbeat feeling while being so depressing. Amazing.

Bon Iver, written by Justin Vernon – “Skinny Love”

I learned this to sing at my friends wedding a few years back. Once again, just magical what an original artist express when they have an inspired idea and melody over Am and C, y’all!

Kimya Dawson – “Anthrax”

I moved to NYC right after 9/11 and went to a talent hour type show. Burlesque and poets and then Kimya Dawson got up and sang a few songs. Her band The Moldy Peaches had recently broken up (I hadn’t heard of them). I bought every home-burned CD she was selling and loved them all. But this song about 9/11 is just brilliant.

Elizabeth Cotten – “Freight Train”

I don’t remember how I old I was when I first heard this song. But I do remember feeling like I’d always known it. It’s damn near perfect. Beyond the truth and depth of experience expressed in this song, I really love the big move to the E major in the key of C.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

The Show on the Road – Menahan Street Band (The Daptone Sound)

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week, The Show On The Road brings you a rare conversation with Thomas Brenneck and Homer Steinweiss, the braintrust behind brass-forward instrumental supergroup the Menahan Street Band. If Tarantino and Scorsese ever needed a custom-made, 1970’s greasy-soul soundtrack, MSB might be the perfect choice. While the timeless Daptone Records sound has gone worldwide thanks to breakout stars like the late Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley, most don’t know the bandleaders and songwriters behind their intricately arranged works.

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Guitarist/producer Thomas Brenneck has been the secret sauce in helping hitmaker Mark Ronson create vintage backdrops for crossover stars like Amy Winehouse, while Homer Steinweiss’ slinky drumming can be heard across the Daptone universe, including on Jones, Winehouse, and Lee Fields and The Expressions records, not to mention his work with Lady Gaga, St. Vincent, and Bruno Mars. For the first time in a decade, MSB — which includes Dave Guy (The Roots), Leon Michaels (The Black Keys) and Nick Movshon (The Expressions) — have reconvened the troops to create their most effortlessly cinematic collection yet: the cheekily titled The Exciting Sounds Of The Menahan Street Band. The album art alone signifies a sensual, intimate evening is ahead to whoever listens. Is the design NSFW? Maybe.

Brenneck called into the episode taping from outside L.A. and Steinweiss from his studio in New York City. The conservation jumped back to how they formed the group in 2007, how they convinced Bradley to join them in making new music (he had been doing James Brown impression work), and how they find that out-of-body, improvisational zen zone which creates their aural moods of mystery and intrigue — showcased best in the reverb-y Bond-like jam “Starchaser.”

A favorite surreal moment that Brenneck mentioned was driving through Brooklyn hearing their song sampled by Jay-Z. For a moment, their horns were blaring from every car radio in the city. While hip-hop legends often find their beats and backdrops from classic soul and R&B vinyl, notables like Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and 50 Cent have mined the funky MSB catalog for years. Sir Paul McCartney also used their services. If you need an instant vibe, they’ve got you. Even in sparkling trumpet-led themes like “Glovebox Pistol,” which clocks in at a minute and eight seconds long, you can see a velvet-boothed, smoke-filled scene unfolding, bringing to mind the lush scores of The Godfather or The Score.

Only recently have star backing-bands like The Wrecking Crew, The Swampers, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section come to be appreciated for creating some of the most beloved songs in the American pop canon, from The Beach Boys and Aretha Franklin to Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and The Staples Singers. It can be argued that in the 21st century, Brenneck and Steinweiss (and the work of The Menahan Street Band) deserve to be included in that conversation. With one listen of The Exciting Sounds Of The Menahan Street Band, you are transported — exactly where is up to you.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

BGS 5+5: Ben Morrison

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Artist: Ben Morrison
Hometown: Oakland, California
Latest Album: Old Technology
Personal Nicknames (or rejected nicknames): Bunjo, Murray, Snowflake

Which artist has influenced you the most and how?

I’d have to say Huey Lewis might be my all-time favorite artist. His was the first music I ever bought for myself when I was a kid and I always admired his music and his outlook on performing. I saw an interview with him a while back and he talks about how lucky he was to get a break and had some hit songs, but if he hadn’t he said he’d still be playing his harmonica and singing in bars every night.

I really loved that outlook and his passion for playing music. Not to mention he wrote some great tunes…and that voice! I had the honor of meeting him a couple years back at a festival up in Canada. A band I play in called The Brothers Comatose covered one of his songs and it turned out he really loved our version. They got us tickets and backstage passes to their show and we got to hang with them afterward. He and his whole band couldn’t have been nicer dudes and their show was amazing.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

This isn’t the toughest time I had writing a song but it’s definitely the oddest and most serendipitous. I had been working on this song (“I Hope You’re Not Sorry,” from this album) about a stalker that I had that all of a sudden stopped coming to our shows and how I surprisingly felt wrecked by it. I thought writing a song about losing your stalker to someone else was kind of funny and I had a couple verses but was stuck.

It wasn’t until I traveled across the world and was playing a festival in Australia, where I was hanging at the bar after our show and met a musician, that I finished the song. We got to talking at the bar and he’s like, “Let’s be Facebook friends,” and when he pulled out his phone and plugged in my name he looked at me and said, “We have a mutual friend,” with a freaked out look on his face. Turns out my ex-stalker had become his new stalker. Right there I got the bridge to my song…but I had to go halfway across the world to find it.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

My fondest memory of being on stage is playing Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival several years back. We had a great time slot on a Saturday afternoon playing to around 20,000 people and as I looked out into the crowd, I saw that it was littered with familiar faces from old co-workers and teachers I had back in elementary school, family and friends that I hadn’t seen in forever and tons of people were singing along to the words of our songs. It was such a beautiful moment that will be seared into my brain forever.

What was the first moment you knew you wanted to be a musician?

My mom was in a band when I was a kid and my brother and I used to sit and watch them rehearse all the time. That was the first seed that was planted. But it wasn’t until I was a young teenager and my parents took me to a holiday party at a local recording studio called Prairie Sun Recording and a bunch of musicians showed up, not knowing each other, and just started playing songs together and that was magic to me. I wanted to be able to do that and I knew right then and there that being a musician is what I wanted to do with my life.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I have two things that I always do before a live show and people think it’s weird but it feels great to me. I always like to brush my teeth before I go onstage. Singing a lot dries my mouth out and brushing before I hop up for a show gives me that clean and fresh feeling. I also like to breathe in steam before singing at a show — it really helps lube up the ol’ vocal cords for singing. I carry a collapsible water kettle with me and before I go on stage you can usually find me with my face over that thing breathing in deeply.

Photo credit: Michael Bonocore

Baylen’s Brit Pick: Elles Bailey

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Artist: Elles Bailey
Hometown: Bristol, England
Latest Album: Wildfire

Sounds Like: Mollie Marriott, Jo Harman, Bonnies Tyler and Raitt, with a touch of Amy Winehouse.

Why You Should Listen: I love a husky voice and Elles Bailey has it in spades. Of course a voice that sounds like it’s had more nights out than me and smoked more cigarettes than Maggi Hambling (art school reference for you there) isn’t enough to make a great album, as wonderful as that voice may be.

So it’s good news that Elles combines that voice with sharp-edged lyrics, a soulful bluesy sound, country roots sensibilities, and top notch musicianship. Combine all that with a contemporary edge and you’ve got yourself a great new hope of British music. The smokey voice, by the way, doesn’t come from either cigarettes or art school; it’s the result of a stint in hospital when she was a child. Elles doesn’t dwell on that though and neither should we. It’s just another reminder of how sometimes light comes from darkness; she’s embraced it, turned it to her advantage.

I’d known of Elles for awhile and played her on my radio shows plenty but I only got to catch her live at the opening party for last month’s Nashville Meets London festival, and she blew the roof off the place. She has an easy, engaging stage presence and is the only artist in three years of the festival to start her set at a grand piano. A grand piano always adds a bit of oomph doesn’t it? She’s also a dab hand at a self-deprecating story, which makes you love her all the more.

All that aside, she could just stand stock still centre stage and sing her songs and that would be plenty, they are that good. Her latest album Wildfire was produced by Brad Nowell, tracked in Nashville, and features Grammy Award-winning guitarist Brent Mason and Musicians Hall of Fame keyboard player Bobby Wood, so all the boxes are checked in the Real Deal category. She’s appearing at The Long Road festival in England in September, thank God it’s an outdoor festival, I don’t think the insurance would cover another roof blown off by Elles Bailey.

As a radio and TV host, Baylen Leonard has presented country and Americana shows, specials, and commentary for BBC Radio 2, Chris Country Radio, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 2 Country, BBC Radio 4, BBC Scotland, Monocle 24, and British Airways, as well as promoting artists through his work with the Americana Music Association UK, the Nashville Meets London Festival, and the Long Road (the UK’s newest outdoor country, Americana, and roots festival). Follow him on Twitter: @HeyBaylen

Photo credit: Alex Berger

3×3: Lindsay White on Undies, Hippies, and Cookies

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Artist: Lindsay White
Hometown: Corcoran, CA
Latest Album: Lights Out
Personal Nicknames: Annie, but only my family calls me that. I keep pressuring my wife to come up with something more creative than “babe,” but no luck yet.

What song do you wish you had written?

Monetarily speaking, probably something like “White Christmas.” But for the song’s sake, “I Know” by Fiona Apple. I have to mop my guts up off the floor every time I hear that song.

Who would be in your dream songwriter round?

No fair, this is too hard! Okay: Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple, and the spirit of Amy Winehouse. Also maybe Jay-Z or Haim to provide a little levity during intermission.

If you could only listen to one artist’s discography for the rest of your life, whose would you choose?

Dylan’s music speaks to me differently as I get older, plus he has a bajillion albums. It’d probably be five years before I started missing other artists’ music.

 

Aww @audriemag our gloves are in love. @title_sandiego @societynine

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How often do you do laundry?

I wait til the last possible pair of clean underwear, so typically every three weeks.

What was the last movie that you really loved?

I just saw Moonrise Kingdom and got a kick out of the story, the acting, and the style.

If you could re-live one year of your life, which would it be and why?

I want to say I’d go back and tell my 24-year-old self, “DON’T GET MARRIED! YOU’RE A LESBIAN, DUMMY!” Then I’d spend that year in an identity crisis, figure my stuff out a little earlier, and perhaps meet my wife with more time to spare on the ol’ biological clock.

 

Tour kickoff show =  great night with great people!

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What’s your go-to comfort food?

I never met a cookie I didn’t like.

Kombucha — love it or hate it?

I hope I don’t get my hippie folksinger card revoked, but I’ve never even tried it.

Mustard or mayo?

Mustard. However, I feel very strongly that one should be notified of its yellowness or dijonery before being served. I don’t want to be surprised by my mustard.

MIXTAPE: Dustbowl Revival’s Myriad Musical Influences

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We’ve always liked stirring the pot in the Dustbowl Revival — bringing a lot of genres into our own out-of-left-field soul-roots sound. With our unconventional eight-piece instrumentation (a string section with a brass section) and two lead singers (and a lot of cooks in the kitchen), deciding what songs would make it when we were going into the studio in January was quite a challenge. 

Luckily, we reached out to Ted Hutt, a lovely British producer now living in our hometown of L.A. and he jumped in to steer the ship. As one of the founders of Flogging Molly and a Grammy-winner for producing bands we love — like Old Crow Medicine Show and the Dropkick Murphys — Ted was like having a really pleasant pirate calling us on our bullshit and bringing forth the bluesiest, funkiest, and most emotional tunes we’ve ever laid down. While there is a soul flavor to a lot of these songs, we think it was more about finding the raw root of each story and getting after it. Here are some tunes that I was inspired by when I wrote much of the album. — Zach Lupetin

Old Crow Medicine Show — “Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer”

This song is kind of how we found Ted to produce the record. He did several of Old Crow’s albums, and I love the fatness to the sound on this — the bass is just thumping so sweetly and the mean groove contrasts with the winking humor in the lyric. We pretty much asked him, “Can get some of THAT on our record, too?”

Al Green — “Love and Happiness”

It’s a tune I can never get enough of, honestly. As the soul theme started to permeate the songs we were linking together on the record, I kept thinking I wanted something like this Al Green classic. “The Story” definitely comes from this. 

Shovels & Rope — Tiny Desk Concert

Liz and I aren’t married like these guys, but I always try and match the deep connection that can happen between male and female vocals totally in sync. Every time I see them, I get goosebumps.

The Meters — “Fire on the Bayou”

Josh, our drummer, always encourages us to listen to these classics, and I always love the repeating groove here. “Call My Name” which opens our album was a straight 12-bar blues until we twisted it around and funkafied it. Ted loved the “row your boat” repeating refrain as a call to arms … and we rolled with it.

Creedence Clearwater Revival — “Born on the Bayou”

Also one of my all-time favorite tunes, it’s hypnotic and mean and catchy as hell. CCR seemed to always merge spooky folk and blues elements into their own sweet stew, and our tunes like “Leaving Time” and “Don’t Wait Up” definitely spring from this. If I could have one voice, it would be Fogerty’s. 

Wilco — “How to Fight Loneliness”

Being from Chicago, I was lucky to have Wilco as one of my favorite groups from like age 16 on. Jeff Tweedy’s imperfect voice always sounds equally sly and vulnerable to me — and this tune always hits me hard. The way Wilco incorporates electronic and ethereal elements into folk songs always inspired me. 

Amy Winehouse — “You Know I’m No Good”

As I started writing tunes for Liz to wail on, I kept thinking how awesome and complex the compositions were for Winehouse, mixing vintage soul with her own vulnerable approach. The way the horns sneak in and out on this track is so cool. 

Mary J. Blige — “Family Affair”

I probably had this song in my head for like five straight years. When we were brainstorming on a groove for “If You Could See Me Now,” we went out of the box a bit and thought of this groove. So nasty good.

The Cavaliers — “Oh Where Can My Baby Be”  

There is definitely a morbid fascination in old country and rock songs with young people dying or losing each other. I’ve always wanted to write a mournful type of song like this, but one that questions the tragedy … like how could something so sweet like being young and in love go so wrong so fast? 

The Dustbowl Revival — “Debtors’ Prison”

This is how it all comes together.