Chris Cornell's family has notified fans of the gifted songwriter's passing through his publicist. This come all too soon, as Chris was only 52 and still writing and performing on tour. Along with Cornell's many writing and performance accomplishments, he was a driving force in establishing the grunge movement in America - primarily with his band Soundgarden. He is already missed.
CHRIS CORNELL Web / Wiki Chris covers Led Zeppelin
Boston, MA - Long before the term 'taste-maker' was coined in popular culture (and decades before music bloggers came to bear influence on the industry) there was the rapscallion rock critic Lester Bangs. An unrepentant super-power of creative prowess, the only thing greater than his legacy as a vital '60s and '70s contributor to counterculture, was his apparent unending passion for music itself.
Erik Jensen is Lester Bangs in How To Be A Rock Critic
I will readily admit I attend the show curious. But I was thoroughly convinced I had seen and knew everything I needed (or even desired to know) about Lester Bangs.. That was until I witnessed stage and screen actor Erik Jensen's humanizing potrayal of Bangs in the ArtsEmerson production of How To Be A Rock Criticat the Paramount Theater this week. In 70-some-odd minutes, I went from being a passive participant in the same world that Lester Bangs once lived to being invoked to feel and understand some level of the man's pain and his glory. It was an inspired production.
Most music lovers recall seeing Lester Bangs immortalized by the late acting genius Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000) but even that fan-favorite telling largely didn't sway me. It's hard to fight popular tide and old ghosts. And there have been other portrayals of Bangs, each with its strengths. But to put it plainly, Erik Jensen's Lester Bangs is my favorite. Let us return to the play: The stage of Rock Critic is a clutter of Bangs' life. At times he paces the stage like a damaged and caged tiger. And at others, he is a music-loving Everyman, playing us favorite songs from his personal collection.
Here we see a fiery, self-destructive Bangs intermixed with moments of quiet tranquility and grace. We certainly see his flaws. There in his rag-tag apartment, amidst piles of music magazines and LP records - we see the path that killed Bangs. (His drug abuse ultimately led to his premature demise - and his occasionally thrashing of art, a penchant that caused him to be released by Rolling Stone magazine early in his influential career.) And on that same small stage we come to witness and admire Bangs' indomitable character. This is the telling of one man's unflinching dedication to the truth found in music.
If you aren't careful you might miss the key moment of the play. Jensen's Bangs (in the moment of another classic rise-and-fall) admits he is just looking for something real to hang on to. Something in music (always music) that's "moral." And there you have it. A man is rebuilt and torn down and rebuilt before our eyes. Long gone but never forgotten. This is the Lester Bangs for the world to know. I met him this week.
Celebrating Valentine's Day with a new, unapologetic non-love song from Connecticut songstress Daphne Lee Martin. For three years now, Daphne has traveled to Boston to play The Outlaw Roadshow radio program and unveil a new love-themed song for our audience and readers. This year, she is choosing a most unlikely cover by Bright Eyes. It's a twist without a knife, and completely gorgeous!
"Lover I Don't Have to Love" by Bright Eyes has been one of those go-to songs that I use when coaching my bandmates' performances. I show them live performances that I feel capture the rage and passion and sorrow and fear and recklessness that I want the piece to convey, and Bright Eyes has several live performances of this song that just slay, so we decided to take a crack at covering it, says Martin.
Bright Eyes get the cover treatment.
"I've never been too technical with music theory terms when asking for what I want from my band, because it's more about feeling than execution. This song ranges through so much emotion: it growls, it weeps, it doesn't give a fuck, it is a bottomless hole, it is lazy and fierce, delicate and cruel. It smells like bad decisions. And though I still loathe the sound of my own voice, this song is just perfect."
CREDITS:
Isaac Young: Moog, Hammond
Kieran Ledwidge: Violin
Thor Jensen: Guitars
Danny Motta: Trumpet
Steve Cusano: Drums
Daphne Lee Martin: everything else
Final Mix and Master by Jim Carpenter
The intersection of lives and counting the magic moments are what The Outlaw Roadshow is all about. So many receptive hearts and minds. That is what it was for us all in New York this past fall as we gathered to celebrate life. And this is how we came to work with Love And The Zealous.
It was amazing to see how quickly we fell in step with these fine gentlemen. Singer Richard Love is a unique talent. He delivers stunning vocals and I'm thoroughly convinced most of it comes straight from his heart. Love and guitar player Marcus Leemann started the band out of Texas where the pair spent countless hours killing time, casually scratching out the start of what would soon prove to be a dynamic trio. Joined on bass by Matthew Ramirez, the trio have brought the best out of each other.Described as purveyors of "Southern Rock and Soul Funk," this is a band you need to take note of. Each member has brought influences from their journeys creating a rich environment for creativity. And none has gone to waste..A set by this act can fill a very large room in a hurry. Audiences appear stunned for a moment that such strong tones are emerging from three young men, but that's the way the gift of music works... It finds a way to reward those who work hard and believe. Here they are, recorded in the Garden in New York City. The trio are seated in front of our cameras flanked on all sides by original paintings from celebrated painter Felipe Molina - who enjoyed the sets just off camera - with other artists who had gathered.
MORE TO COME: All footage and production (how about that sound??!!) for this year's Outlaw Roadshow in New York are the work of Ehud Lazin of SBG. It has been a joy to work with someone as passionate about new music and historic performances as we are. We want you to share Ehud's videos to the world!
One of the great live music memories of 2016 for me will be seeing a completely immersed, energetic and triumphant Life Electric show at The Outlaw Roadshow New York. Helping close out a wild night of music, they brought a huge ear-to-ear smile on my face as they completely took over a room of strangers and made them their own.
For nearly half a decade now, the five-piece have proved to be one of the great dance rock acts in the Northeast. Elements of dance music wrapped into a wild, machismo rock on-stage sensibility... and a massage that's utterly positive have encouraged thousands to, 'just dance.' These are the elements that exploded for audiences during their victory on the stage in New York during our capacity show. But how would The Life Electric fare dialed down and in front of our Outlaw Session cameras? Here, for the very first time anywhere, get a load of this moment locked in time: The Life Electric perform their songs surrounded by the phenomenal original paintings of artist Felipe Molina. The genre lines are burned away as only pure performance remains
MORE TO COME: All footage and production (how about that sound??!!) for this year's Outlaw Roadshow in New York are the work of Ehud Lazin of SBG. It has been a joy to work with someone as passionate about new music and historic performances as we are. We want you to share Ehud's videos to the world!
When it comes to Star Wars, so long as it's good execution - this writer and movie geek cannot get enough. A new fan-filmed short story from Danish Director Jesper Tønnes is the Star Wars fix you need. Released a month ago, the movie is starting to make the rounds globally, amassing an impressive 70K views already. (I've already watched the thing twice today!) Happy to relay that it's definitely worth 20 minutes of your life and it'll put a serious smile on your face.
The Last Padawan is simple but nearly flawless, with a handful of gifted friends and almost no budget. The film stands tall over some of the unfortunate George Lucas-led prequels with their massive budgets. Tønnes, who is an actor as well as a director, plays the protagonist role in the movie himself. The plot introduces us to desperate times in the Galaxy. Presumably the last surviving student of the Jedi Knights, the Padawan is on a mission on backwater world. He walks a path that leads him face-to-face with the Empire's evil Inquisitor.
