Pat Guadagno - "1964" (Album)

A musical journey ... Always an unpredictable ride' - The NY Times

Pat Guadagno's long career has made him a folk legend, both in culture and musical style, known for his rousing and spot-on performance style and his unique interpretations of other artists' work. Part of the musical fabric of the historic Jersey Shore,  Guadagno is well recognized internationally by guitar magazines for his almost supernatural and mistake-free guitar technique: From raucous, invigorated strumming to tender finger-picking a showcase of Guadagno's mastery of the acoustic guitar." - Acoustic Guitar World. After decades of delivering the songs of both better-healed and lesser-known songwriters, with a soothing unflinching tenor, the 'well-traveled troubadour' has released a stirring homage to some of the artists who helped him discover and keep his passion. His stage presence has earned him more accolades than his folksy ancestors can shake a proverbial stick at. However, this folk artist gives the impression that he cares very little for all those accolades, and 1964 is the proof.

I tried to produce this new album, with the innocence of the child who first heard these songs. We listen to music with different ears as we age. Back then the magic came through the speakers without reference or perspective. Songs were unexplained and meant something different to everyone. What we saw, with eyes closed, could never be captured in a video. I included some of the songs that reached me, that year, in ways I could never describe. There is no message or theme here; just an homage to the year magic happened and a musical renaissance ensued.

Holding songwriters in the highest regard, Guadagno's respectful treatment of their work has a dedicated fanbase re-discovering their music, many preferring his versions to the originals. Genuine in his belief that music should be shared not archived, Guadagno wants everyone to feel what he felt when he first discovered 'magic'.

His music is featured in Showtime's award-winning Calfornication and films like Warrior Road, Rock, and a Heart Place, and won 'Song of the Year' at the 2022 Garden State Film Festival. The musical director on METV's Big Variety Show has released six albums wherein he collaborated with jazz legend John Tropea and Grammy award winner Keb Mo', headlines festivals from Toronto Canada to Zihuatanejo Mexico, and performed Our National Anthem at Major League football and baseball stadiums across the US.

Speak to any musician or even anyone who's passionate about music and the feeling Guadagno describes is universal: we all know it and we all remember where we were when we first heard that song that hooked us. For Guadagno, it was an entire era, and that's what 1964 is comprised of his own personal golden age. And a good age it was, with songs from legends like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Animals, Tom Paxton, Eric Anderson, and more, Guadagno puts his practiced spin on each one and makes them his own. 

When He's not performing reverent, theatrical tributes to Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Hank Williams, John Prine, and Bob Dylan, Guadagno can be found in the Florida Keys, entertaining audiences and annoying golfers in a lifelong struggle to break 100, and the dress code at the finest Golf Courses in the world.

Todd Kowaluk - "Enough is Enough"

Vancouver singer songwriter Todd Kowaluk has been working on his unique brand of indie folk for a number of years, infusing 90s-influenced indie rock and pop with a higher message since his EP, Love Can Set Us Free. With new single "Enough Is Enough,", Kowaluk found himself exploring that same topic without realizing it.

Kowaluk had the catchy, Paul Westerberg-esque indie pop guitar riff laid out four years ago, but may have been setting it aside for when he cracked the conceptual code of the old adage "enough is enough." 

"For me, as a songwriter, the question I kept going back to was 'how does this song end' ? That questioning made me want to evolve the song, find a brighter ending, hope for new beginning, a higher version of myself. I wanted to be a better human somehow, & hopefully in the process a better songwriter."

When is enough enough? How does an artist know when something is finished? How does a heart know when it's healed? Are humans as a race missing the beauty that's all around them by putting limits on themselves and others."Enough Is Enough" starts with that fatalistic phrase and turns it into a question and a call for people to be honest with their hearts, with each other and with, well, infinity. If love will set us free why constantly test it with boundaries?"

The pondering of all these questions is set within the backwards (chorus first) structure of the song and Kowaluk's personal experience with his questioning nature. 

"There's really not much traditional about this song. It starts with a chorus, and generally songs don't start with a chorus, It questions the rules and at the same time asks what is important about being human in this ever-changing world of ours. It's a protest song!"

A protest song with a storyteller's perspective and wit is a clever way with which songwriters are able to hook in their audience and suddenly, said audience is pondering along with them. The catchy guitar riff that one reviewer called "infectious" yet "unassuming" is another way Kowaluk draws listeners into his reality, and it's highly effective, if the likes of Tom Waits and Chris Rea are to be believed. Kowaluk has that same style and impact.

In the first verse of "Enough Is Enough," Todd Kowaluk admits he doesn't know where he's "going with this song," and that "it's a question I've been asking all along, and a lifetime long ago and far away; guess I really never had a voice to say." With this track, it seems Kowaluk has found that voice and will no longer be alone in asking this question anymore; with his great musical hook and relatable lyrics, audiences won't be able to get enough of "Enough Is Enough."

Kowaluk enlisted the production support of local Vancouver electronic music legend Dave King of longwalkshortdock.

"I met Dave King in the hallway of the studio I had been renting a couple nights a week over the last year or so. We hit it off pretty well and he like some of my original songs and kept saying he was willing to put a song of mine together as a producer sometime. I was like ya sure that sounds great. He suggested recording Enough is Enough which at the time wasn't a complete song and he gets credit and major kudos for lighting a fire under my ass to finish the song."

"Enough is Enough" hits digital platforms on July 18, 2023.

Wes McClintock - "Open Dream"

The story of singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Wes McClintock's second album Open Dream is not unlike that of many artists trying to create during COVID. For so many musicians when touring, nightlife and even commercial opportunities were cut off during the pandemic, the model was adapt or perish. McClintock and his wife, artist Lyra Howell (who designed Open Dream's album art), were luckily able to adapt and flourish. 

Moving out of the real estate price-hike center that is Toronto to St. John, New Brunswick for the express purpose of finishing his album inspired McClintock to create the great indie rock/funk/electronica crossover it's become.

"This is the album I've always wanted to create. It evolved out of re-working some very old songs of mine and turned in to a 2-year odyssey that incorporates everything I love about music. The album was begun in a cramped rental home in Toronto in the midst of COVID, and finished in a beautiful house by a hill in the peaceful city of Saint John, New Brunswick. It's a very personal album and a pretty good reflection of who I am, both artistically and personally."

Over two years in the making, Open Dream is a bit of a departure from McClintock's first album, No Service in that he leans much more on his electronic production prowess. It's not unexpected, however, as McClintock has years of multi-genre experience and influence to draw on; experimentation comes with the territory. Self-taught in all his disciplines, McClintock played in many indie bands, including the Juno-nominated Wildness of Manitoba, before going solo and also scores comedy videos and films. 

McClintock plays all the instruments and does all the production on all his work, but where No Service was largely Pink Floyd-esque progressive rock with an electronic backing, Open Dream is heavier on the electronic production and gives a more ambient vibe than his previous work. Constructed as a concept album, Open Dream picks up where No Service left off as a commentary on modern society's addiction to technology but there's less irony and more wistfulness in this album, at least if the teaser track "Falling" is anything to go by. 

"Falling" also give fans a glimpse of a much more diversified musical style from McClintock, with lashings of Yes, Zappa and Switched-on Bach. A complex think piece that's both fun and funky, it's no wonder it took two years to create. In McClintock's case, it is indeed a very good thing that he was able to adapt and finish this beautiful Open Dream.  

Dale Sheppard - "She's Sowing Time"

Canadian Musician and Hybrid Rock Singer Songwriter Dale Sheppard expresses blunt force resilience on his singularly powerful new post-punk-soaked single "She's Sowing Time". Since building his own home studio and embarking on solo musical projects, he's found a winning writing combination by collaborating with his wife, Kim Sheppard, who is quite a brilliant lyricist. "She's Sowing Time" benefits from it's potent themes, having been directly inspired by Kim's journey through cancer.

"She's Sowing Time" is a song I composed from the poem my wife, Kim Sheppard, wrote during her journey with cancer. In the intro to this video, she writes... "It is the collision of terror and hope that are the force behind "She's sowing time".  It is the terror that drives, but the hope that saves. That, and the love and strength of my husband who took my words and so brilliantly composed the music to create this song."  - Dale Sheppard

"She's Sowing Time" was released on June 1, 2023 with an accompanying music video.

 

 

Maarten Rischen - "Serenity?"

Experimental Rock Musician and Composer Maarten Rischen takes a headstrong deep dive into the unknown on his chaotic and deeply affecting new single "Serenity?", released June 23, 2023 via The And Scene Records. Maarten, who creates his extraordinary music from The Netherlands, is truly the personification of “man with no plan”, unless the plan would be to do a completely different thing every other day. 

Maarten Rischen's musical approach is wholly unique and effortlessly challenging, freely drawing from the avant-garde, rock, alternative, emo, ambient, alternative and experimental sounds. "Serenity?" is a singularly sprawling 8-minute opus that demands one's full attention. 

With his "Serenity?" release, he regards the powerful accompanying music video as essential viewing. In fact, it's impeccable that fans watch the video in full to imbibe the full effect of the piece. Filmed in Koh Phangan, Thailand with the accompaniment of the fascinating movements of dancer Alina Spittan, the "Serenity?" music video is an epic, must-see.

“Serenity?” starts out as a meandering wistful ambient piano piece, but  takes a dramatic turn for pretty much every human emotion there is - or at  least the ones I’m personally capable of. But at least equally important to the music is the accompanying video, as the music is half written and produced  in the studio, half written/composed and played during the shoot of the video. 

I have a very strong negative stance on music videos in which the artist is pretending to play their instrument or lip syncing, as it takes away any and all risk and creativity that an actual recording or live performance has - leaving either an empty or overly exaggerated ‘performance’, and none of it is what I regard as making art. 

So in many of my videos I want to only be seen with an instrument if you  actually hear that instrument, in the case of “Serenity?” it’s the Rhodes /  piano parts. Moreover, none of these parts were written in advance, and  completely improvised on the spot as soon as the camera started recording. The same goes for dancer Alina Spittan, who in fact heard nothing of the  song before we shot the one-take video, and had no idea of the big shifts  that would occur midway, or the chaotic ending. Her dance is therefore  maybe the purest form of expression-in-the-moment I have ever had the  pleasure witnessing, and her interpretation and interaction with me on  camera dictated strongly the direction in which may own improvisation  flowed. Equally big parts were played by the completely impromptu camera decisions of In Between Raw Frames, and the bipolar weather patterns of Koh Phangan in the background." - Maarten Rischen 

Eric Anders and Mark O'Bitz - "Answers Belie" (Album)

Folk Rock Duo Eric Anders and Mark O’Bitz continue their conscious musical evolution with the haunting and thought-provoking new album "Answers Belie", out now on digital platforms. This is the Bay Area prolific duo's 8th full-length album. They have also released 4 EP's and 5 singles, and that's not including solo material. "Answers Belie" finds them once again mining for truth and meaning while speaking truth to power through poetic disobedience and seasoned song craftsmanship.

Eric Anders explains the underlying meaning and literary inspiration behind the mysterious title: "The title track is about how the answers we’ve had to life’s big questions often disguise/reveal our deepest uncertainties and fears. In his poem, “The Second Coming,” Yeats writes “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.” The “answers” that the worst hold so tight to not only belie their fear and insecurity; they are also the foundation for their passionately intense violence against those who are otherwise."

Eric describes the first song on the album, “Slow Movin’ Nightmare” as “a dirge for American democracy.” The second song, “Force of Old” starts out “Heard about a war to come/Heard it might be unlike wars of old/Heard it won’t be civil/Heard it might be hot or cold.” The third song is a reimagining and updating of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address: “Long Ol’ Civil War.” 

But not all the songs on this album are political. Some are philosophical (the title track, “Answers Belie”) while the other three are sentimental.  With the song “The Hardest Lesson,” Eric returns to what was a common theme for him when he wrote the lyrics for his first three albums: the repetition of dysfunctional relationships. Of course, this was a theme before he met and married his wife in 2005.  

“Eyes, A Child, Bedside” is Eric’s ode to his maternal grandfather who was a Harley-riding CHiP who developed MS and spent the eighteen years Eric knew his grandfather in a hospital bed in his grandparents’ living room–because healthcare sucks in the U.S. even for people who devote themselves to civil service for decades.

The final song on the album, “I Hope Time Will Be Kind,” is an ode to Eric’s three kids and an expression of the universal fear of growing old. It is also an expression of his fear that the world is going to get worse for his kids with climate change and the rightward drift of U.S. and world politics.

This new release was produced by Mike Butler.

International Furlough - "Haven"

Denver-based Alternative Metal Solo Project International Furlough have announced the release of a hard-hitting, 90's influenced new single "Haven". The new single is characterized by heavy lyrical themes, snarling melodic vocals, relentless, de-tuned guitar riffage and pummeling, groove-heavy beats. International Furlough is the musical alias and voice box of multi-instrumentalist and cathartic lyricist Ian Luddy, who enlisted the support of Ryan Elwood on drums for this recording. On "Haven", Ian continues his droning vocal snarl over intense electric riffage and hammering rhythms.

Uncensored and holding back nothing, International Furlough is content making an unholy racket to exorcise his inner discontent. Fans of CKY, Helmet, Tool and early Smashing Pumpkins should enjoy this hard-edged new release. A new album is currently in the works.