Del Amitri

I might as well get it over with since it is probably my biggest musical pet peeve that these guys just don’t get their due. In a parallel universe, these guys are the biggest band in the planet taking U2’s place selling out arenas and soccer stadiums. Justin Currie (singer) is a darling of the talk show circuit and the band appears on Letterman, Conan and even Lame-o..er..Leno. But in THIS universe, Del Amitri exists as another great band struggling along, not knowing whether to even get up in the morning and try to be a musician. They are the only band I’ve ever felt passionate enough about to write a review on amazon. A review of an album THAT WASN’T EVEN RELEASED IN AMERICA!! A crime most MASSIVE!!

They had one hit song, "Roll to Me" which you can still hear every now and then among the piped in "light rock" music played in drugstores and supermarkets.

This is a band that cannot write and play a bad song (well, maybe one or two clunkers among a hundred or so gems). If my crummy blog does any good, it will get Del Amitri some new fans who will become maniacs like me and spread the word like a virus. A GOOD virus that will make you happy, not sick! Sick like corporate radio!! OK, I’m starting to rant, so let me finish up. If anyone out there is a member of the BMG music service, they are offering the Millennium edition “Best of Del Amitri” for $1.99!!!! A crime in itself, but heck, Del Amitri’s financial loss is your gain, in this case. That’s reason enough to join BMG!! It will be a good introduction to this band and get you started on buying all their CDs. Did I mention they put out an album of “B-sides” that’s better than most bands could ever aspire to?!! I’ll stop now....

Art/Illustration site

Rather than fill up junkbrain with a ton of links to other artist's sites, I'd rather refer you to some folks who get it right 99.99 percent of the time. Check the link to the right for "Drawn", a collaborative Blog that is one of my favorite destinations on the web.

Best show on TV

Two plotlines: A father of many is sleeping with a neighbour's wife and also sleeping with her daughter who happens to be his son's girlfriend. Another son of this guy is sleeping with his boss, a man who is married with children. Sounds like Greek Tragedy or Shakespeare, but they are two stories in the greatest show on television right now, "Shameless" on BBC America. Their web site has it listed as a drama, which blows my mind since it is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Like all good television it centers around a classic character, the aforementioned father, Frank Gallagher, who is so amoral you can only laugh at him (since he's not your dad, thank God!!). Further proof that the Brits do comedy much better than their rebellious stepchildren who moved 'cross the pond. Sometimes I wish they had subtitles, since the cockney accent is thick as potato soup sometimes, but careful listening is rewarded with gems that you can annoy your unknowing friends with ("Massive!"). The cast is excellent and all flesh out colourful characters. Careful readers of this blog will note the influence of the show by my spelling certain words in the British style...

Insomnia

Everytime I'm doing something different the next day, be it going to Vegas, or hanging an art show or any other thing I'm looking forward to, but also have some anxiety about, I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, hence, my sitting here at 3:43 in the AM typing...you see, tomorrow (well, actually today) is the beginning of a "Boy's Weekend". My 2 bro's and I and a few others are going to our pal Joe's upstate NY home for some male bonding which will most likely involve beer, a drumming circle, some chanting, some laughs and some tears. As we all get older, these kind of things are few and far between, so I'm very much looking forward to it.

Maroulis OUT!

Last night on American Idol (I should know better...but I am a fan!) the Prince of Pout, Constantine Maroulis got the boot. Perhaps that was what he was thinking of when doing all those perfomance kicks. I'm glad there is only one rocker left, Bo Bice. This way, the rocker vote won't be diluted a la Ralph Nader or Ross Perot...Anyway, I'm pulling for Bo or Carrie Underwood. For those "haters" out there, tell the truth, the Kelly Clarkson song, "Since You've Been Gone" sort of rocks, don't it?

OK, so here’s the first music recommendation...Regina Spektor. I was reintroduced to her music while browsing through the music videos on iTunes (I’m impressed by the sound and quality of these streamed videos). There I watched a video for her song “Us”. I then got the song locked in my brain and I watched, and re-watched the video a ton of times last week, before ponying up the dough for her album on iTunes (a bargain at 7 bucks and change). The video is a good introduction to this great artist. Regina has a great musical and visual style and an obvious sense of humor that comes across in the video.

A few years ago, a friend and I were at NYC’s “Living Room” to see a singer. We arrived a few hours before her set and grabbed two spots at the back of the bar and settled in to hear some of the other performers. Before its current incarnation, the Living Room was about the size of one and it had a real intimate feel (that sometimes bordered on feeling like the 6 train at rush hour). So at some point, a group of young women arrive and end up standing near to us by the bar. My immediate impression was that these folks were fans of the singer I was there to see.

But when the act on stage finishes up their set (The L.R. likes to keep acts changing on the hour) one of the women walks up to the stage and begins to prepare for her performance. It was Regina Spektor. She sat at the piano and proceeded to blow my mind. I was struck by the odd combination of shyness and confidence in her singing, playing and lyrics. In that sense she reminded me of the first time I saw Fiona Apple in NYC and of Norah Jones’ performing style. Afterward, I spoke briefly with her and bought her previous CD “11:11.” It was just one of many great experiences and surprises at the Living Room (you’ll hear more later...) Check her out! She is starting to get some great recognition including a recent Leno appearance and an opening spot for “Keane” on their American tour.

Welcome!

Hey there!
Welcome to my first foray into the world of blogs. Now instead of my wife and friends rolling their eyes at my ranting and raving, I might have the world's eyes rolling! As a matter of introduction, I'm daveB an artist by choice, occupation and calling. I am also a wannabe Rockstar (and actual drummer) and a huge music fan (current iTunes song count 9,606) so you'll probably hear a ton of complaints about mainstream radio and music videos, but also some music recommendations and stories that you might appreciate.

In any case, I'm going to try and post things as often as life and work permits, so come on back, y'hear!!

later....