Tag: Los Angeles

BGS WRAPS: Coco Reilly, “Christmas With You”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Coco Reilly
Song: “Christmas With You” (single)

In Their Words: “I didn’t set out to write a Christmas song, but as I was playing through this new chord progression Christmas lyrics just started coming to mind and it was done within an hour. At first I thought maybe it was a little silly, but it was stuck in my head for a whole week so I decided to give it a whirl. I have to thank Todd Stopera for recording this so last minute (we recorded this right before Thanksgiving, which is extremely late to be making a Christmas record!) He was so easy to work with and it came out almost exactly as I heard the production in my head.

“I knew I wanted to fully lean into a feel-good holiday vibe with a lot of percussion and warm harmonies. When the song was finished it made it made its way to Peter Asher, who I met via my manager since moving to LA. He has worked with some of my favorite artists of all time, so receiving such kind words from him is an incredible compliment. I can’t think of a better stamp of approval. Writing a holiday song is really intimidating, there are so many amazing ones out there already and it feels bold to throw my hat in the ring but it was so much fun to make and I only hope people are as happy listening to it as I was making it.” — Coco Reilly

The Show On The Road – Jason Lytle (Grandaddy)

Posted on by Chris Jacobs

This week on The Show On The Road, a special conversation with Jason Lytle, the founder and sonic visionary behind one of the America’s most beloved and underrated roots-and-noise-rock groups, Grandaddy.

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • MP3

Starting from humble beginnings in the early 1990s as a trio of skateboarding friends in Modesto, CA, Grandaddy put out a series of daring, deeply weird records produced and written by Lytle that first caught fire in Europe. By the turn of the millennium, the band found themselves headlining rock festivals like Glastonbury in the UK and crashing late night TV in the US.

But Lytle wasn’t cut out for traditional cookie cutter stardom. Grandaddy broke up for six years, and after disappearing into the Montana wilderness, the soft spoken, mountain-crazy, multi-instrumentalist songwriter kept his devoted fanbase coming back for more.  His oddly-titled solo records, cinematically rich soundscapes that encircled whacked anti-heroes, and poetic, campfire-ready short story songs still make us worried kid listeners feel heard and seen — but also constantly keep us guessing.

His latest album, NYLONANDJUNO, which dropped in August on Dangerbird Records, is an experimental instrumental album made entirely with a nylon string guitar and a vintage Roland Juno synthesizer.

Host Z. Lupetin was able to catch up with Lytle before a recent rare solo show in LA.

WATCH: The Dales, “Homesick Summertime Anthem”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Dales
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Homesick Summertime Anthem”
Album: Easy Times
Release Date: January 10, 2010

In Their Words: “It’s a song about wishing you had more time to spend with the ones you love. I wrote it from the perspective of our friends and family in the Pacific Northwest. Every year my family and I spend the summer up there. We’ve got friends that we’ve known since first grade. They’re always asking us when we’re moving back… and if you’ve ever been in that area — it’s hard not to take them up on their offer.

“The concept for the video was to have the band surrounded by friends and family. Our videographer, Pat Carew, had the idea and enlisted us to round up friends and neighbors to be in the audience. Funny what happens when you tell folks there will be free wine and cheese… they show up! It was shot in my backyard in Woodland Hills, California. The fire shots and the vintage Rhodes keyboard helped foster the warm, analog vibe we were looking for. We almost had an incident with Jackie’s hair and a tiki torch…” — Drew Lawrence, The Dales

Photo credit: Patrick Carew

LISTEN: Shane Alexander, “Everything as One”

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Artist: Shane Alexander
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Everything as One”
Album: A Life Like Ours
Release Date: September 20, 2019

In Their Words: “I wrote the song with my good buddy and Grammy-winning producer, Rich Jacques. I came up with the guitar figure right away and we tried to put together stream of consciousness lyrics about how everything is connected. I had been listening to a lot of George Harrison’s solo stuff. The first few lines, ‘Eyes are wide with wonder, never torn asunder, all things come in threes’ just popped out and we were set off in a direction of listing in groups of threes, i.e. ‘Earth and sky and sea, moon and star and sun,’ etc. The production all centers around the guitar.” — Shane Alexander

Photo credit: Matt Pink

LISTEN: Staci Griesbach, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”

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Artist: Staci Griesbach
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Blue Moon of Kentucky”
Album: My Patsy Cline Songbook

In Their Words: “This classic country staple from Bill Monroe is one that has been covered by so many artists, we wanted to really take it in a new direction by adding more of a funk beat to it. The tempo and groove allow for the musicians to really dig in, and whenever I’m listening back to this, I find myself in the groove completely. Michele Weir helped me with the arrangement and first we started with the bass line. I knew I wanted something funky, but also that we could incorporate pedal steel, guitar and fiddle. Once we had that groove established with the bass line, we knew we had it.

“As I’m thinking about it, it could also be fun to do a little traditional bluegrass feel up front and then go into the funk or vice versa for the solos. Perhaps that’s something I’ll think about for the live performances. Again, to me, a good song can present a playground for many interpretations and that’s the joy of creativity right there at its purest form.” — Staci Griesbach

Photo credit: Kim Thiel

The Show On The Road – Leslie Stevens

Posted on by Chris Jacobs

The Show On The Road is back with cosmic California country singer-songwriter, Leslie Stevens.

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • MP3

Host Z. Lupetin speaks with the deeply intuitive songwriter and cosmic country singer. On her much-awaited solo album, Sinner, Stevens has been creating viscerally vulnerable songs that, with her shimmering voice, seem to ache right through the speakers.