Category: Music News

Amazing Radio USA welcomes new presenters

Amazing Radio USA welcomes new presenters comprised of fifteen trusted tastemakers from across the country. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Amazing Radio has given artists their first break since 2007. Founded by Paul Campbell, the British new music radio station was the first to spin Alt-J, Haim, The 1975, Dua Lipa, and many more. With a continued commitment to new and emerging artists, it is free for musicians to sign up and upload a song for airplay consideration. Fans can also sign up for an account for free and can like their favorite artists, create their own playlists, and pledge money to musicians, with 100% of proceeds going straight to the artist. In May 2020, the company launched their North American counterpart Amazing USA, along with the acquisition of beloved radio festival CMJ. (Amazing Radio, 2021)

Since day one, their mission has been to turn listeners on to great music and to support the musicians who are making it and with new slogan “Reject The Algorithm,” the online radio station is making their commitment to independent artists clear. Amazing Radio is proudly curated by trusted tastemakers, aka presenters, who have the power in what they play. Think: your favorite DJ, but one who can play whatever they feel like. Free of the traditional radio format and the confinement of outside forces regulating spins, presenters play what they are listening to and the bands that they personally want to champion—the stopgap between revenue-based radio and anonymous Spotify curators.

In just over a year, Amazing USA has welcomed diverse presenters from across the country, who have each paved their way in the music industry. The current group of 15 bring unique music from all genres, inspired by their influences and underground finds, as well as local selections from their respective communities: Austin, Chicago, Harlem, Queens, Indianapolis, London, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Taos, New Mexico. View the current show lineup here and learn more about each presenter below. Listeners can sign up for an account and artists can upload their music directly at Amazing Radio USA. 

Dominick Martinez – Austin, TX: Dominick Martinez spent years as a touring musician, working in music venues and festivals, as well as documenting live music through photography, all while maintaining a passion for discovering new sounds near and far from home. Since joining Amazing Radio USA in the spring of 2021, Dominick has found a new way to discover and share emerging artists from across the globe. 

Marc Fort – Austin, TX: Marc Fort is the presenter for Amazing Radio show The Ear Candy Mixtape where he DJs delicious sounding music from all over the world in addition to “Texas Music and Music that Texans love.” Fort is the marketing and communications specialist at the Texas Music Office, within the Office of the Governor. Fort has more than 30 years of music experience performing and recording on electric bass guitar, violin, drums, and singing. Fort has performed in multiple bands which have toured with and opened for various musical acts across North America and around the world. 

Derrick “Lottery” Hardy – Chicago, IL: Derrick “Lottery” Hardy is the respected founder of the 3 Feet No Pressure agency and co-president of ArtClub International, working closely with some of today’s top artists and athletes, including gold-selling artist tobi lou. A powerful presence in music and sports, Derrick Hardy is a team player destined to win.

Linton Smith – Harlem, NY: Linton Smith II is a producer/artist from New Orleans who currently resides in Harlem, NY. He has been in the music industry for over 15 years and it is his greatest passion. You can find more information and music from Linton Smith II online.

Kevin Cornell – Queens, NY: Kevin Cornell is an Amazing Radio presenter based in Ridgewood, Queens. He got bit by the indie bug early: starting garage bands that would go nowhere, and obsessing over local Boston-area punk and indie groups in the age of burned CDs and MySpace. He has professional experience in PR, marketing and digital distribution. In his free time, Kevin also co-runs the small but scrappy Living Waters Records.

Tobi Lynn– Indianapolis, IN: Tobi Lynn started her career hosting a talk show called Tobi Talks in DeKalb, IL. This was followed by a five year stint in Los Angeles at various SoCal stations like Y107 and Soundbreak.com. She then went to DC to build the first coast-to-coast college indie channel (from scratch) called XMU. After the satellite radio merger, Tobi moved back to Los Angeles, and curated new music for ALT 98.7fm at iHeart Radio for a decade. She currently curates and hosts a new music show for Amazing Radio US. 

Charlie Ashcroft – London, ENG: Charlie is based in London, England and has been on air in the UK at Amazing Radio since joining the station in 2009. Away from his radio work with Amazing, he oversees BT TV’s SVOD content, curates playlists, runs an indie club night called ‘Somebody Told Me’ and writes a monthly column for Record Collector Magazine. 

Tyke T – Memphis, TN: Tyke T combined honest lyrics, bold production, and insight from his graduate education to climb the charts without the help of a major-label. The indie artist—who graduated with an MBA from Middle Tennessee State University—studied the charts and organized his fanbase, storming the Top 50 of four Billboard charts with his sophomore EP The Prelude. 

Mimi & Muziqueen – Nashville, TN: Jamilia McCarley and Thalia Ewing, better and more affectionately known as Mimi & Muziqueen, are two names buzzing around the Nashville music industry and are synonymous with the words passion, ambition, and progress. Mimi & Muziqueen are, respectively, partner and Founder of the organization Nashville Is Not Just Country Music, which aims to cultivate Nashville’s diverse music scene. They have become a deep-rooted resource of knowledge, support and encouragement to the Urban/Hip-Hop/R&B music community in Nashville that has long been overlooked, until now. 

Justin Hammel – Nashville, TN: Working in radio since 2003, Justin Hammel has wandered through the music business running Radio Bonnaroo for over 10 years, supporting local Nashville music and running a radio station called Acme Radio Live. 

Erin Frankenheimer – New Orleans, LA: Erin Frankenheimer is a graduate of Tulane University with dual degrees in English and Communications. She worked for Entercom New Orleans after graduating and co-created and launched a late night show, “The Conduit,” focusing on new music discovery. In 2017, Frankenheimer joined the Artist and Partner Relations team at TuneCore, running their New Orleans office. She is now the Vice President of Amazing Radio North America.

Marty Minor – New Orleans, LA: Louisiana native Marty Minor has a reputation: a fashionista, botanist, spiritual advisor, gris gris enthusiast, recording artist, and all-around flaneur. He compliments 100% of the planetary denizens he meets and has been known to give the tattoos off his back. Flash photography is encouraged.

Katie Pearlman – Taos, NM: A fourth generation Los Angelian, Katie Pearlman is a singer-songwriter who prefers wanderlust to the confines of the angel city. Making a habit of traveling alone, Katie’s attachment to the places that spark magic in her are the loves of her life. Carving out an authentic life for herself, she finds home within, exploring her femininity, defiance, sexuality, and intuition through the meditative sound of her seven-track EP. 

Joe Sumner – Los Angeles, CA: Joe Sumner brings his eclectic passions into focus through music. As lead singer of Fiction Plane, he rocked audiences from Tokyo to Paris and as part of A Bowie Celebration, he has spent the last few years channeling the spirit of the Thin White Duke. Currently in the process of releasing his first solo album Sunshine in the Night, Joe has found huge inspiration from the treasure trove of as-yet-undiscovered talent in the Amazing Radio vaults. 

José Galván – Los Angeles, CA: José Galván started DJing in 2008, when his job as an on-air personality at the now defunct Indie 103.1fm demanded it. José has held down lengthy residencies at downtown LA bars like Caña Rum Bar, Las Perlas & R-bar; he has made the rounds on the Westside with the likes of Bar Lubitsch, The Pikey, Circle Bar, Parlour Room, and The Standard WeHo. In 2017, he was booked to DJ at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival’s Sonora Stage. In 2018, he was named Host and On-Air DJ of his own weekly two-hour radio program at acclaimed LA radio station KCRW. His focus is promoting new music in all genres in both English and Spanish. 

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Los Angeles psychedelic doom act Old Blood announces fall tour

Old Blood announces first leg of ‘Acid Doom Over America’ tour. Photo: Metal Assault Records

This fall, Old Blood will pour Acid Doom over America. The psychedelic doom troupe have announced the first leg of their highly anticipated tour: “Acid Doom Over America” presented by Metal Assault Records. With dates across the West Coast and Pacific Northwest, Old Blood will kick things off on October 22 in Palmdale CA at Transplants Brewing and conclude part on November 5 in Oceanside CA at Pourhouse. (Old Blood, 2021)

Even before their self-titled debut album hit the internet, Old Blood was recognized as being “different” among the growing waves of doom / stoner rock bands. Old Blood showed a push into unique territory within the genre with the addition of crystal clear vocals, keyboards, an emphasis on heady grooves and an extensive live stage show beyond the wall of amplifiers. Elements of early ‘70s rock and psychedelia woven into the down-tempo, swing-beat fabric of fuzz laden desert rock come together in what the band refers to as “Acid Doom.”

While out on part 1 of the Acid Doom Over America Tour, Old Blood will share the stage with three labelmates: Through The Oculus and Solar Haze in Palmdale, and Sea Sleeper in Portland. The three other shows in the Pacific Northwest will also feature spectacular blackened doom act Ghorot from Boise, Idaho. This will be the first Old Blood tour since the 2020 release of their sophomore LP, Acid Doom. Hailed as one of the top albums of 2020 by High Times, Doomed & Stoned and the like; Old Blood will finally get to perform their popular new album, plus selections from their 2016 self-titled debut and more. Acid Doom is out now on Metal Assault Records. Pick up your copy through Old Blood’s bandcamp page. 

Here is what Old Blood has to say about the upcoming tour: “There is Blood on the Horizon. For too long the World has waited to experience Old Blood and now is your chance to finally experience real Acid Doom from the pioneers of the genre themselves. We can’t wait to bring the full show onto the road and into your town!”

For the well-acquainted and the uninitiated alike, the band’s live show is a special treat, and once you witness the band live, your life shall never be the same again.

Old Blood is:
C. Gunner – guitar
Octopus – Bass
Lynx – Vocals
Diesel – Drums
Stone – keyboards

“There are nine tracks on this record that provide mysterious, unrelenting, genre-defying heavy music. Part doom metal, part acid rock, part occult-obsessed psychedelic – this is music that is sensual, ritualistic, cathartic and thundering, heavy as any heavy metal band out there. With anthropomorphic, think Jefferson Airplane covering Black Sabbath while high on DMT.” – High Times (December 2020, Page 35, Top Albums Of The Year article)

Acid Doom Over America – Part I: Fall 2021
10.22 Palmdale CA @ Transplants Brewing
10.23 Santa Cruz CA @ Blue Lagoon
10.24 Eugene OR @ Old Nicks Pub
10.25 Portland OR @ Twilight
10.26 Olympia WA @ Cryptatropa
10.27 Seattle WA @ Substation
10.28 Boise ID @ The Olympic
10.29 Salt Lake City UT @ Aces High Saloon
11.2 Albuquerque NM @ Launchpad
11.4 Phoenix AZ @ Yucca Tap Room
11.5 Oceanside CA @ Pourhouse

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Nathan Evans Fox announces new album Wasted Love

Nathan Evans Fox’s new album Wasted Love will be out October 8, 2021. Photo: google

An accomplished songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Nathan Evans Fox began playing violin at age four and has since picked up the guitar, piano, and a bit of other instruments. Growing up on family land in Glen Alpine, NC, he was surrounded by hymn books, country, bluegrass, folk, and family. Originally trained as a hospital chaplain, Fox is no stranger to grief. His music makes something out of what remains, both wrestling with country’s messy legacy and embracing its effective power to ignite a rush of joy, nostalgia, or solidarity. His songs are full of the people, things, and moments he loves, from the old Mercedes Benz down the street and slow dancing in dive bars to memories of his grandmother and his enduring love of good trucks. Listeners can feel the humidity of a hot summer night, the low-key longing for home coming through the twang of the slide guitar and the understated gang vocals. Nathan Evans Fox debuts cosmopolitan country sound with his new album Wasted Love, due out Friday October 8, 2021. (Nathan Evans Fox, 2021)

“You start with your accent, you start with your twang, but your accent is also the place where you start to appreciate the rest of the world,” says Western North Carolina-raised songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Evans Fox. “Country music is my accent but it’s also the way that I communicate my love for the world.” On October 8, Fox is releasing his fourth full-length album, Wasted Love, a collection of tunes that decidedly marks his shift from writing folk songs to his own, “chaotic hillbilly” brand of country music—or in Fox’s words, “from plunk to spunk.” Nimbly shifting affective gears from simmering anger and contemplative reflection to wry wit and unexpected sass, Fox’s songs are simultaneously playful and insightful. Fox’s lyrics evoke the post-storm sizzle of an Appalachian landscape and the Biblical imagery that saturated his childhood. Much of his music is a kind of reckoning with his cultural and religious inheritance: “Don’t know where I’m going / just know where I’m from,” Fox sings in “Carolina Boy,” which was recently released via Mother Church Pew as the first single from Wasted Love. “This song spells out the complicated relationship I have to my hometown,” he says about the lusciously recorded, vice and hardship-filled “Carolina Boy.” “No matter how much I love the hills of North Carolina, leaving my hometown meant making better decisions instead of falling into well-worn pitfalls.” Fans can hear “Carolina Boy” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Wasted Love ahead of its October release right here.

Below the surface, a thread winds throughout Wasted Love, capturing the specific ways love gets spent without expectation of return—as an unconditional overflow, as uncounted minutes with the one you love, or, watching his mother care for his grandmother near the end of her life, as “the generosity of caretaking love and the ways it refuses to keep score.” Just a few months after moving to Nashville, Fox was grieving the loss of his grandmother when he and his wife’s home got hit by a tornado, and shortly after he had to cancel shows and collaborations as the pandemic spread. Writing the album amid all this loss and uncertainty, he wanted to write songs that would provide respite. In this sense, Fox’s music is all about work: blue-collar work, care work, reflective work. “We need music to do work for us that we’re too tired to do ourselves. Our feelings are spent and our ability to do work is exhausted and we just need somebody to put some good feeling back in our body.”

Wasted Love Track list:
1. One Of These Days
2. Mercedes Benz
3. Lordhamercy
4. Carolina Boy
5. Good Trucks
6. When They Take The House
7. These Four Walls
8. Damn Hard
9. Some Things Are Coming Back Again
10. What’s Intended
11. Put Money Down
12. Wasted Love

Catch Nathan Evans Fox On Tour:
October 8 – Nashville, TN – The 5 Spot
October 23 – Ingram, TX – Fritzers Saloon
October 24 – Dripping Springs, TX – Dreamland
October 29 – Harlingen, TX – Melodia Cafe

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Solo artist Zych to release debut album via Metal Assault Records

Zych’s will release debut album Dante’s Inferno Part I via Metal Assault Records on October 22, 2021. Photo: google

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Justin Zych, better known as Zych, has joined the Metal Assault Records roster as the label’s first ever solo artist signing. He has toured internationally and worked with bands such as Zephaniah (Indiana), Viking (Los Angeles), Munroe’s Thunder (US / UK), Them (NY / Germany) and many more. (Justin Zych, 2021)

Dante’s Inferno Part I, slated for release October 22 on Metal Assault Records, will initiate a series of solo albums dedicated to the poetry of Dante Alighieri by Zych. Unlike other albums based on Dante’s Inferno, this album goes in-depth into each canto. The album is nearly 70 minutes long with eight intense songs (No fillers). This progressive metal heavyweight of an album evaporates the boundaries between all genres. Every track takes on its own direction with an all-star musical cast of internationally well-known musicians. Each song is also accompanied by outstanding artwork from a well-established visual artist. This is THE heavy metal soundscape to lend your ear to as you read the first eight cantos of The Inferno.

Metal Assault Records will release Dante’s Inferno Part I on October 22, 2021 on deluxe digipack CD and digital platforms. The album’s cover is a scan of a canvas piece created by Tricia Cavender. Pre-orders for the digital album, deluxe digipack CD (with a full 16-page booklet included), and special merch bundles featuring the “Canto VII” t-shirt design, 12” x 12” giclee prints of the album cover art, stickers, and guitar picks, are available now via the Zych Bandcamp page.

The album’s lead single and opening track, “Canto I – Overture” premiered on August 6 along with a stunning music video in all its 4K glory.

Dante’s Inferno Part I track listing:
1. Canto I – Overture (8:56)
2. Canto II – Gates Of Sorrow (5:23)
3. Canto III – All Hope Abandon (8:27)
4. Canto IV – Limbo (10:04)
5. Canto V – Lust (6:37)
6. Canto VI – The Gluttonous (8:24)
7. Canto VII – The Avaricious & The Wrathful (9:08)
8. Canto VIII – Into the Depths of Hell (11:21)
Total Runtime: 1:08:20

Full list of participating musicians:
Justin Zych (Zephaniah, Viking) – Guitars, Synths, Bass, Vocals
Albert Rybka (Acracy, Kategory V) – Vocals
Ronny Munroe (Ex-Metal Church, Between Worlds) – Vocals
Ty Christian (Lords of The Trident) – Vocals
Troy Norr (THEM, Coldsteel) – Vocals
Patick Parris (Project Roenwolfe) – Vocals
Zebah Latifi (Zephaniah) – Vocals
Angel Cotte (Demolition Hammer, THEM) – Drums
Ed Stephens (Ringworm, Vindicator) – Bass
Ian Bender (Zephaniah) – Bass
Paul Kendall (Valhalla) – Piano, synth, guest soloist
Shaun Cothron (Zephaniah) – Guest Soloist
Brian Koenig (Lords of the Trident) – Guest soloist
Kyle Smith (Death On Fire) – Percussion
Kenny Woods – All Saxophones
Paul Rowan – All trumpets
David Cooke – All trombones
Ilona Orban – All violins
Derek Reeves – All violas
Bennett Spickelmier – All Cellos

Zych (Justin Zych) is a musician specializing in guitar, bass, and piano. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music performance from IPFW and currently teaches music online. He is an experienced international touring musician and guitar technician, who has worked with world renowned bands such as Zephaniah (IN), Viking (CA), THEM (NY/GER), Munroe’s Thunder (USA/UK) and many others.

As a composer, Zych has created several compositions for musical groups, commercials, and scores for online videos. His technical prowess and heartfelt melodies define his style and inspire young and old musicians. He has played guitar for over 20 years and continues to excel at his craft by introducing new techniques and musical concepts to his playing.

Zych has created over four hundred arrangements/transcriptions for clients over the last three years and continues to on a regular basis. Some are as simple and short as a thirty second piano piece and some are as complex and intense as a ten minute orchestral piece. His compositions reflect a mixture of romantic period composition mixed with the complex structures of 20th century composition and jazz. Add a heavy metal element to that and you get a new, diverse and extremely full sound.

Justin Zych. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
2021-10-22T13:03:00

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Brandy Zdan announces sonically and soulfully inspiring new album Falcon

Brandy Zdan’s new album Falcon will be released October 29. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Brandy Zdan is a Canadian musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer based in Nashville, TN. After spending several years in Texas-supergroup, The Trishas, Zdan released her self-titled debut album in 2015. In 2018, Zdan’s second album, Secretear, was released on Tallest Man Records. Around that time, Rolling Stone dubbed Zdan “a guitar hero of the highest order,” only further cementing a truth which tour mates like Buddy Guy, Will Hoge, and Aaron Lee Tasjan knew all along. Her third album, the entirely self-produced and engineered Falcon, will be released on October 29, 2021. (Brandy Zdan, 2021)

For anyone who has ever said something along the lines of “You can’t do everything”—they have obviously never met Brandy Zdan. Amongst the most tumultuous season of her life to date, Canadian-turned-Nashvillian Zdan set out to make her new album Falcon on her own—writing, playing, producing, and engineering it by herself—leaving not the slightest clue that most of the recording was done in her laundry room during her baby’s nap times. The deeply personal recording process mirrors Falcon’s deeply personal songwriting. “Falcon is my story of the last two years. A story of miscarriage, loss, grief, pregnancy, motherhood, trauma, isolation, depression, hope, and love,” says Zdan. “I wanted to express all of those tangled feelings, and I hope that it encourages other women to express their grief and loneliness in whatever ways they choose.” But it is not the hardship that Falcon blossomed from that sticks with you after listening to the album, rather the unique liberation of disclosure it provides. “Everyone talks about being vulnerable, but there’s something different about this. This is the type of shit women aren’t supposed to be vocal about,” says Zdan. “It’s a stigma that needs to end, and now that I’ve broken that barrier in my own life I want to help others experience what a freeing place it can be.” Falcon is the hyper-personal and the universal wrapped into one record, and Zdan’s songwriting prowess—the razor-sharp detailing of the detangling of her life—is what makes these songs a salve for anyone else experiencing loss, or grief, or heartache.

Recently Zdan shared a music video for “Protector,” the first single from Falcon. Leaning into a J.J. Cale-esque, vintage drum machine feel, “Protector” starts off on a jovial foot with Zdan singing the first line: “I wanna get drunk, smoke a thousand cigarettes, chew a pack of Nicorette, and play dumb.” Before the end of the feel-good groove, however, the metaphor opens itself up, revealing an inner battle between Zdan and her tendency to guard her heart from the worst of it all. “This is my plead to call off the protector side of myself so I could really get down to it and deal with some grief and pain,” says Zdan. Like a lot of the songs from Falcon, “Protector” is a masterclass in how to share a bad feeling with a good song, greasy guitar solo and all. Fans can watch the “Protector” music video at this link and pre-order or pre-save Falcon ahead of its October 29 release right here.

After flirting with the idea of calling this new album life/death/life, a reference to the cyclical nature of her experiences, Zdan instead took note of the symbolism surrounding her. While grappling with her miscarriage, she experienced a vision of a spirit floating up to the sky on a falcon’s wing. Shortly afterward, she started to see a falcon fly throughout her neighborhood. Then, the week before her daughter was born, that falcon returned to perch on her property. The bird felt like an obvious icon for what her album stood for; strength despite size, gentle tenacity, and an ability to soar through the roughest weather. Listening to Falcon, those themes of perseverance and understated courage not only come through but are so effective that it feels like being in the room next to Zdan while she plays the album, recognizing those very traits within oneself and becoming part of a community that refuses to stay silent. “This album is a victory to overcoming almost every obstacle that can be thrown at a woman, mother, and musician,” she says, “and coming out on the other side intact and better for it.”

Falcon Track list:
Dying Inside
The Worst Thing
Falcon’s Wing
I Am Wild
Protector
Everyone Wants
Canceleer
Can You Be Alone
Mama

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Asleep at the Wheel to release new studio album ‘Half A Hundred Years’

Half A Hundred Years is the new studio release from Asleep at the Wheel. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Founded in 1970, Asleep at the Wheel has been part of the American roots music landscape for more than fifty years. Although the band got its start on a farm in Paw Paw, West Virginia, Asleep at the Wheel became a cornerstone of the Austin, Texas, scene upon its arrival in 1973. Inspired by Western swing and honky-tonk country, the band has accrued ten Grammy Awards. In the fall, a career retrospective recorded with the current lineup and a few special guests will carry the band back onto the road, where they have remained a staple for five decades. (Asleep at the Wheel, 2021)

With a sneaky half-time groove and a slinky fiddle and guitar trade-off, America’s favorite Western Swing masters Asleep At The Wheel—and their special guest, the beloved Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Lyle Lovett—ease right into their new single, “There You Go Again.” Written just before the recording sessions for The Wheel’s new album Half A Hundred Years, “There You Go Again” is a feel-good, light-hearted jab at pretentiousness and all the silly ways it shows up in the writers’ lives, brought together with flourishes of fiddle and steel before crescendoing into a full-on New Orleans second line, walking back out the door as quickly as it came in. “I suppose it’s a song about pretentious people!” says The Wheel’s fearless ringleader Ray Benson of their new song. “My pal Lyle Lovett, one of the most unpretentious people I know, joined in and made it a very special track.” Fans can listen to “There You Go Again feat. Lyle Lovett” right now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Half A Hundred Years ahead of its October 1 release right here.

On October 15, Asleep At The Wheel will take the stage at Austin, Texas’ brand new Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park for a special guest-laden concert covering the band’s fruitful 50-year-long career. Asleep at the Wheel alumni returning for the event are singer Chris O’Connell, steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar, bassist Tony Garnier, multi-instrumentalist Danny Levin, pianists Floyd Domino and John Michael Whitby, fiddler Jason Roberts, and drummer David Sanger. Additionally, The Wheel is expecting a special guest or two who are not to be missed. Check out a preview of the concert at Austin 360 and purchase tickets for the October 15 show here.

Half A Hundred Years is a nineteen-track celebration of Asleep At The Wheel’s half-century-long career, filled out by several world-class friends of the band; a guest-list testament to Asleep at the Wheel’s reputation as a cornerstone of American music for the last 50 years. Greats like Willie Nelson, George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, and Lovett appear throughout Half A Hundred Years on a host of classic and destined-to-be-classic Western Swing and Country tunes. Additionally, three original members of Asleep at the Wheel—Chris O’Connell, Leroy Preston, and Lucky Oceans—returned after forty years to lend their voices and musicianship to several tracks on Half A Hundred Years. Ahead of the album release, CMT shared The Wheel’s take on the Bob Wills classic, “Take Me Back To Tulsa,” which features two more Texas icons, George Strait and Willie Nelson, and Rolling Stone premiered the album’s title track, saying, “Elevated by buoyant horns and singer Ray Benson’s drawling baritone, [“Half A Hundred Years”] is the ultimate road song.”

Half A Hundred Years Track list:
Half A Hundred Years
It’s The Same Old South feat. Chris O’Connell
I Do What I Must feat. Leroy Preston
There You Go Again feat. Lyle Lovett
My Little Baby feat. Chris O’Connell
Paycheck To Paycheck feat. Leroy Preston
Word To The Wise feat. Bill Kirchen
That’s How I Remember It feat. Chris O’Connell
The Photo feat. Leroy Preston
I Love You Most Of All (When You’re Not Here) feat. Lucky Oceans
The Wheel Boogie
Take Me Back To Tulsa feat. George Strait and Willie Nelson
The Letter That Johnny Walker Read feat. Lee Ann Womack
Bump Bounce Boogie Feat. Chris O’Connell, Elizabeth McQueen, & Katie Shore
Miles And Miles Of Texas
Get Your Kicks On Route 66 Feat. Leroy Preston, Johnny Nicholas, & Ray Benson
Marie Feat. Willie Nelson
Spanish Two Step Feat. Johnny Gimble And Jesse Ashlock
The Road Will Hold Me Tonight Feat. Emmylou Harris And Willie Nelson

Key West Film Festival announces the Diana King Memorial Fund

Key West Film Festival announces the Diana King Memorial Fund in partnership with the King Family Foundation. Photo: google

The Key West Film Festival and The Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation are pleased to announce the creation of the Diana King Memorial Fund, in memory of the Foundation’s founder and longtime President and Chair, an outstanding philanthropist recognized for her commitment to educational opportunities in film, television and other media, who passed away in 2019. The five-year grant from the Foundation, beginning with the 10th Anniversary of the Key West Film Festival November 17-21, 2021, will support Key West Film Festival’s annual celebration of film and filmmakers, as well as student film awards and educational initiatives. (Key West Film Festival, 2021)

“We are beyond grateful for this generous grant from the King Family Foundation. Creativity is alive and thriving through the challenges of the past year – we have seen it in this year’s surplus of film submissions. The Diana King Memorial Fund will help us ensure we can celebrate film, education and student filmmakers for years to come.” – Key West Film Festival Chairman, Brooke Christian 

Diana King grew up in the world of television, a daughter of the late Charles King (who founded King World Productions in 1964) and his wife Lucille King. King World became the leading distributor of television syndicated programming in the United States, including such iconic series as The Little Rascals, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! The Oprah Winfrey Show, Inside Edition, and Dr. Phil. Diana began working in the accounting department of the family business in 1972, and at the time of King World’s acquisition by the CBS Corporation in 2000 served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Director. 

Diana established the Foundation in 1988 to support individuals and organizations committed to educational excellence and professional development, in film, television, and other media. During her 30-year tenure as Board Chair and President, the Foundation awarded hundreds of scholarships to students with a focus in film, television and related media/communications studies at colleges and universities around the country, in many instances to individuals who would have been financially unable to continue their studies without this assistance. In addition, the Foundation has functioned as a longtime sponsor of programs at several leading cultural and educational institutions around the country.

Honoring creativity, diversity, sustainability and beauty, the Key West Film Festival is an annual celebration of film and filmmakers set to take place November 17-21, 2021. A diverse, entertaining, and artistically rigorous selection of films will be represented through a broad array of categories that offer opportunities for filmmakers, both aspiring and established, to commune and exchange ideas while showing their work to audiences in an historic and artistically vibrant tropical paradise.

Early James releases new music

Early James releases Dan Auerbach-produced 7-inch featuring ‘Tumbleweed’ and ‘Mama Can Be My Valentine.’ Photo: google

Early James, an Alabama native, released his debut album, Singing For My Supper, via Easy Eye Sound and Nonesuch Records on March 13, 2020. The album spans hard-charging blues, wistful folk, and ages-old pop crooning, anchored by the singer’s voice that alternates from gravel-gruff shout to a honey-smooth whisper. James’ inspirations run from Fiona Apple and Tom Waits to the Southern gothic poets, as heard in the album’s darker themes and in the wry humor with which he writes about them. He recently released the Dan Auerbach-produced 7-inch featuring “Tumbleweed” and “Mama Can Be My Valentine.” (Early James, 2021)

“Don’t got no tattoos cause Grandma knew it’d keep you out of heaven,” sings the prolific, eclectic, and flat-out entertaining singer and songwriter Early James in the opening line of his newly released tune, “Tumbleweed.” Further cementing the Americana blend of styles and sounds he has becoming known for, “Tumbleweed” finds James delivering quick, gravelly verses over a jovial fingerstyle guitar part, exploring an idea he describes as “patting yourself on the back while getting pickpocketed.” Finding a song under a previously unturned stone or in the quickness of a passing thought is, his unique vocal delivery notwithstanding, James’s calling card, and “Tumbleweed” is very much on brand.

“‘Tumbleweed’ is about how you’re always kind of in this limbo of thinking you’re smarter than your older self while falling for someone’s new bullshit at the same time,” says James in his profoundly straightforward way. “Tumbleweed” and its b-side, “Mama Can Be My Valentine” are holdover tunes from James’s 2020 debut, Singing For My Supper, produced by Dan Auerbach and released via his Easy Eye Sound label. After a full year of touring was canceled, the tracks were shelved, but are now available digitally at this link and in 7-inch vinyl format through independent record stores, the Easy Eye Sound online store, and at all Early James tour stops. A complete tour schedule is available online.

“Mama Can Be My Valentine,” which fills up side two of this new release on Easy Eye Sound, leans a hair more Bakersfield country, grooving and swirling forward as James lists off his ideal “type” of a yet-unattainable lover. The refrain— “Until then, Mama can be my valentine”—came about out of hilarious necessity. “I didn’t have any songs about Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day so I killed two birds with one stone,” James recalls. Overall, the one-two punch of “Tumbleweed” and “Mama Can Be My Valentine” are a natural extension of the songs from Singing For My Supper, both different examples of just how well James can weave together a story and deliver it with his commanding, earnest voice. “Some people are good singers,” says The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who decided he needed to produce the singer’s debut album at his Easy Eye Sound studio after watching just two seconds of a video of him performing. “And some people are better than good singers, they just have this great form of expression.” That expression which James possesses is on full display with his new 7-inch release and will officially be getting the live treatment on a healthy run of tour dates with The Lone Bellow this fall.

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Catch Early James On Tour:
October 10 – Wildwood Revival – Arnoldsville, GA
October 14 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS #
October 16 – Standard Deluxe Fall Boogie – Waverly, AL
November 4 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN *
November 5 – Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI *
November 6 – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI *
November 7 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL *
November 8 – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI *
November 10 – Taft Theatre – Cincinnati, OH *
November 11 – Asbury Hall Babeville – Buffalo, NY *
November 12 – Center for the Arts of Homer – Homer, NY *
November 13 – Gateway City Arts – Holyoke, MA *
November 14 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA *
November 16 – Webster Hall – New York, NY *
November 17 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA *
November 18 – Troy Savings Bank Music Hall – Troy, NY *
November 19 – Vogel Theatre – Red Bank, NJ *
November 20 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC *
November 21 – Haw River Ballroom – Saxapahaw, NC *

* – with The Lone Bellow
# – with Seratones

Bevar Sea signs with Metal Assault Records

India’s premier stoner doom rockers Bevar Sea signs with Metal Assault Records. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Metal Assault Records is thrilled to announce its first international signing. India stoner/doom metal band Bevar Sea joins the Metal Assault Records roster. Stalwarts of the Indian stoner doom scene for well over a decade in addition to carrying a solid fanbase internationally within the heavy underground, Bevar Sea has inked a multi-album deal with Metal Assault Records and will release the band’s third full-length studio album, The Timeless Zone, in early 2022. Album pre-orders will be launched in Fall 2021. (Metal Assault Records, 2021)

On signing Bevar Sea, Metal Assault Records owner Andrew Bansal states: “This one is special, and close to home (literally). When I briefly moved from Los Angeles to India in 2012-13, little did I know that I’d get to discover this amazing band. I happened to attend a gig in Mumbai wherein I got to see Bevar Sea live for the first time. It was their debut album release show and they left an indelible impression on me with their musicianship and performance that night. I made sure to attend as many of their shows as I could, particularly the ones in their hometown of Bangalore. Even after moving back to the US in 2013, I kept track of Bevar Sea’s progress and stayed in touch with the band members. Fast forward to 2021, they are now signed to my label and I could not be more excited!”

Bevar Sea issued the following statement in celebration of their signing with Metal Assault Records. “Having managed the first two releases ourselves and having seen where most of our fans and orders come from, we looked out for a North America or Europe based label to release The Timeless Zone, essentially to fix some of the issues we’ve had with worldwide distribution and logistics, and also to allow us to focus more on the music itself. We’ve known Andrew as a friend and a fan for many years, and quick trivia, he was also our manager for a short while back in 2012, so his label and its diverse roster is an ideal match for us for this album and beyond.”

Established in 2008, Bevar Sea roared into the live scene in 2011. The following year, their eponymous album was released and earned them rave reviews worldwide along with the title of “Best Emerging Act” at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards India. Bevar Sea also snapped up a performance slot at the coveted Maryland Deathfest in 2013. Their debut album was mixed and mastered by the legendary Billy Anderson. The enthralling 45-min hook-ladened stoner/doom experience quickly garnered the band a firm reputation among fans in their country and internationally. Album track “Abishtu” which tells the story of a serial killer out for hipster blood and on the run from the law quickly became a live show favorite among fans while the 14-min track “Mono Gnome” about a short-statured man and his love for a witch turned out to be the pick in the doom circles.

Bevar Sea followed up their debut album with Invoke the Bizarre in 2015. Drifting into new sonic territories, the band recorded at a breakneck pace over 10 days at Adarsh Recording Studio to complete the album. Mixing and mastering duties were managed by Matt Lynch (LA’s Mysterious Mammal Recording, also from the incredible band Snail). Invoke the Bizarre was well received by music media and fans alike for its intricate song arrangements, unique story-telling and mature, well-rounded execution. Now, five years after releasing Invoke the Bizarre Bangalore’s Bevar Sea utilized the Covid-19 imposed lockdown as an opportunity to regroup and begin working on their third studio album, The Timeless Zone. Against backdrop of enigmatic lyrics portraying a tryst with the consciousness of man during a period of deep introspection; The Timeless Zone pays homage to the glory years of the 70s and 80s hard rock era while keeping things heavy handed in a gloomy haze of gnarly guitar riffs, raspy vocals, and apocalyptic fuzz. Expect even more crushing from Bevar Sea amidst the arrival of The Timeless Zone slated for release early 2022 on Metal Assault Records.

Bevar Sea The Timeless Zone lineup (2021):
Ganesh Krishnaswamy – Vocals
Srikanth Panaman – Guitars
Michael Talreja – Guitars
Avinash Ramchander – Bass

The Timeless Zone track listing:
1. The Timeless Zone
2. Alpha None
3. Sterilise The Divide
4. The Circle
5. Kiss The Sigh
6. Cadaver Awake

The Timeless Zone. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Close the Hatch, Insidiant, and more at Ruby Tuesday Live

Live show at Ruby Tuesday this Friday September 17, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Close the Hatch, Insidiant, NovaGrave and Waste of White will perform at Ruby Tuesday Live in Columbus, Ohio on Friday September 17, 2021. Presented by Epitome of Stupidity Podcast and Ebony Jeanette PR. (Epitome of Stupidity Podcast, 2021)

After nearly eighteen months of pandemic imposed shutdowns, the return of local concerts has come roaring back to life. On Friday September 17, 2021 Dayton, Ohio’s sludge metal doom-bringers Close the Hatch will descend upon Columbus, Ohio for an unforgettable performance at Ruby Tuesday Live.

Presented by Epitome of Stupidity Podcast and Ebony Jeanette PR, the evening will feature Close the Hatch alongside special guests Insidiant (rock/metal) NovaGrave (doom), and Waste of White (alt-metal). Tickets are $8. Doors open at 6p.m.

“This show has been in the works for well over a year and through a pandemic. Happy to finally get it on the books and play some loudness with everyone! There’ll be something for basically everyone, doom, sludge, rock metal the whole nine yards! The virus still blows but come enjoy some good tunes with us!” – Clint Stockham of Epitome of Stupidity Podcast.