Poster Unveiling! The Outlaw Roadshow Providence 6/28/18

Original Poster Art by Chris King

The Alpaca Gnomes


Rick Berlin with The Nickel & Dime Band

Eddie Japan

Brian Dunne

Jenee Halstead

Alchemy in Downtown Providence, 6/28/18
Please arrive early and see it all.
Doors 8:00pm
8:30 Jenee Halstead
9:10 Brian Dunne
9:45 Eddie Japan
10:45 The Alpaca Gnomes
11:45 Rick Berlin with the Nickel Dime Band

The Outlaw Roadshow
Website / Event Page / Alchemy

PREMIERE :: War Twins - American Kids

WORLD PREMIERE VIDEO
Video Credits: Cory Ingram & Zakk Conner

HOT NIGHTS - Starting summer off with a bang, we debut the hot new video "American Kids" by LA rock duo War Twins. We've been following the act for about a half-decade now and their hard work is beginning to truly take off. What better way to kick off the heat than this in-your-face music video?  

American Kids will appear on the War Twins' forthcoming album produced by the award-winning Sylvia Massy (TOOL, Prince & Johnny Cash.) The record will be released on tour this summer.

Known for their powerful performances War Twins recently shared stages with Wolf Alice, Filter, and Alien Ant Farm. I still remember the very first time I saw them years ago and even then I knew they were on to something powerful. This is a band you need to experience for yourself. National tour dates listed below.

THE AMERICAN KIDS
US SUMMER TOUR:
6.3 Phoenix AZ Joe’s Grotto
6.6 Santa Fe NM Boxcar
6.7 Amarillo TX Leftwoods
6.8 Dallas TX The Prophet Bar
6.9 Houston TX Madness on Main Festival
6.13 Knoxville TN Preservation Pub
6.15 Raleigh NC Deep South
6.16 Charlotte NC Snug Harbor
6.18 Lancaster PA The Chameleon Club
6.21 Washington DC The Black Cat
6.23 Brooklyn NY Saint Vitus
6.26 Lowell MA UnchARTed
6.28 Worcester MA Ralph’s Rock Diner
6.29 Boston MA ONCE Ballroom
6.30 Philadelphia PA Kung Fu Necktie
7.4 Durham NC Eno River Festival
7.5 Johnson City TN The Hideaway
7.6 Nashville TN The End
7.7 Knoxville TN Scruffy City Hall
7.8 Birmingham AL The Nick
7.11 Columbus GA SoHo
7.12 Jacksonville FL Jack Rabbits
7.13 Daytona Beach FL Rok Bar
7.19 Pensacola FL Chizuko
7.20 Houston TX TBA
7.23 Austin TX Mohawk
7.26 Tuscon AZ Sky Bar
7.27 Las Vegas NV The Beauty Bar
7.28 Los Angeles CA The Viper Room

WAR TWINS
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

New Pages To Turn from Hallelujah The Hills

Keeping score on a band now logging in more than a decade of time-served can be difficult, especially if that band is Hallelujah The Hills. The indie rock band have toured extensively, released five albums to acclaim and now embark on the most ambitious phase of their career - finding fertile new sound space, falling in behind their rock-author front man Ryan Walsh.

Walsh's new novel, the widely celebrated 'Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968', has set the songwriter - and the band on a new trajectory as they prepare to craft and coax songs for their sixth album. Hallelujah The Hills recorded the soundtrack for the audiobook, making the best seller book a collaborative effort to celebrate music and the northeast's special place in pop history - focusing on Van Morrison and the cult of American music.

Returning from a creative hiatus of sorts, Hallelujah The Hills return to Providence this Thursday to play their first Outlaw Roadshow lineup in more than three years. There are more dates planned and more book signings. What you have right now is a fountain of creative energy - a stream of lava right from the core of the earth. And despite the highest expectations for the band's output, we can be assured all kinds of unanticipated bits of brilliance. This is one of the best music outfits in the country. And this is an important time.

HALLELUJAH THE HILLS
Albums / Web / Fb / Tw / Insta
Astral Weeks (Amazon)

Sinnet is a fun-first, tone-heavy love affair.

One To Watch - Think a number of my readers are going to really dig today's spotlight. Gifted Boston graphic designer Aaron Spransey has a geek-pop band I love - and need to share with you. Sinnet is a fun-first, tone-heavy love affair. Initially created by Aaron Spransy as a laptop bedroom project following his move from Milwaukee to Boston. Soon thereafter a band was formed and all kinds of creative and wacky dreams came true. 

Today, Sinnet is a three-piece with Spransey joined by Kevin Junker and Thom Valicenti. (Projects for the trio include The Fatal Flaw, Mount Peru and Soft Pyramids.) They have a new-to-you album called "Nervous Soul" (2017) which I adore for it's maniacal song-assertion and it's inherent weirdness. 

It's a collection of tightly arranged indie rock gems that drill down to the listener's psyche and then - once there, mess you up real good. Serious fun and quite irresistible once you've cracked the seal.  

Questions that keep a music blogger up at night: on Houdini Hands, when Spransey sings about the target of his affection, he utters, "she's a keeper, .. a trapper keeper" - is this just cleaver wordplay or something deeper, perhaps even profound?

From The Website: The name 'Sinnet' comes from the license plate Aaron's late mother Mary Spransy had on several Toyota Camrys. It was a birthday gift, she loved playing tennis. Their sound? As if Spoon, Elliott Smith and Booker T had some bizarre love triangle while writing a blog post about 80's horror movies.

SINNET
Music / Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

Elisa Smith plays Garth Brooks' Guitar

Elisa Smith is an alternative spirit in a country rock world. Literally touched by Country stardom when Garth Brooks asked the impressionable young singer on stage to perform, Elisa has embarked into a world where her personal convictions and the blessing of a Country legend have set her on the path of conviction and discovery.

Moments of Brilliance - Elisa met Garth when she attended a talk he and Trisha Yearwood were giving in Boston. During the Q&A, Elisa asked him how he overcomes his nerves when he's on stage. Garth “baptized her by fire” and invited her on stage to play a song. After the performance, Garth gave her his guitar (the one she plays with now) and told her to sing her heart out. That's what she's been doing ever since.

Elisa Smith
Album / Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

Ethereal Surf Pop from The Garrys

ONE TO WATCH - Hailing from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - The Garrys are an all-female, surf pop trio bringing a 'Sophia Coppola' swirl of sound to the world of garage rock. On tour right now in Europe, they have new music to celebrate. 'Makeout at the Drive-In' is their newest. It's fresh this week

The Garrys
Album / Fb / Tw / Insta

Thursday in Providence!

Music blog Ryan's Smashing Life and 
The Outlaw Roadshow present... Providence 5-17

poster by Canary Coalmine

ALL AGES SHOW - 8pm!
HALLELUJAH THE HILLS
SINNET
ELISA SMITH

The Outlaw Roadshow
Event Page / Tickets / Alchemy

At the Crossroads with Daniel Miller

One To Watch - Today we find ourselves at the junction of past and present where the creative soil is particularly fertile. Super impressed right now with northeast songwriter Daniel Miller. He's got the chops as a songwriter - delivering lessons learned on the road. Miller's got this great voice - and those lyrics resonate with listeners because of the singer's likability and his believable emotional intelligence. The man has skills.

The record I'm holding, 'East Tennessee,' will soon gain a sister record. Daniel's band, The High Life, have been recording songs on his followup 'Dusk.' There's a whole lot here to be excited about. Don't let yourself forget about Daniel Miller. 

From The Website: Daniel Miller is a singer-songwriter with a penchant for centering his music on locales that inspire him. Upcoming album, Dusk (June 2018), has been described as his most beautiful and consistent record to date. A mix of original compositions and cover songs by artists he admires, the album is poised to be his most important work. Joining Daniel on the album are members of his touring band (The High Life), as well as Grammy award-winners Jerry Douglas, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson), and Robby Turner (Chris Stapleton, Waylon Jennings), among others.

DANIEL MILLER
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta

THE BUZZ: Coyle Girelli

ONE TO WATCH - Coyle Girelli,​ frontman of The Chevin, releases his moody solo debut “Where’s My Girl?”​ tomorrow. It's a gorgeous production -- this is somebody you need to watch. This live version (remember you saw it here first) has the swirling atmospherics but sets out on a different path. 

"Where's My Girl" is the first single of a new album 'Love Kills' out this summer.  

Coyle Girelli
Web / Fb / Tw / Insta