You may remember producer CJ Luzi and OnCue, the rapper he most often works with, from my previous posts. Around Thanksgiving, OnCue dropped the cleverly-titled Leftovers, featuring tracks that didn't make the cut for Cuey Sings The Blues, including a few with beats by Luzi. You can find that tape for free download here. [photo by Erika Ricchini of Troubador] CJ and mutual friend and producer Bryan "Pianoboi" Porter, who was actually the entertainment during the dinner of my junior prom, were part of the iStandard producers showcase at Fluid just off of South Street, at which Luzi was dubbed the crowd favorite. The biggest development is the launch of cjluzi.com, the front page of which links to the two OnCue tapes and my personal favorite track, "Lucifer and Friends", Luzi's contribution to Mick Boogie & Terry Urban's Viva La Hova re-release. For those who didn't cop it the first time out, Viva La Hova is a mixtape mashing Jay-Z vocals with Coldplay-sampling instrumentals. For those who did, make sure you grab the remastered version here, and especially the bonus tracks to get this jam from Luzi.
A few months back I went on a short California tour with Letters from the Prom. We shot a bunch of video footage, and Marc recently edited it all together to make a video for his song "Over the Moon" starring himself, me, my girlfriend, and her friend Brooke. Check it out:
My friends in Troubador are celebrating the release of their "Between the Truth and the Lies" EP at the Auction House in Audubon, NJ on March 19th, joined by Dinner and a Suit, my friends in Swie Back, and Color House. The show is at 7 pm and tickets are $10.
Here's a video of the recording process (ongoing since summer) with Matt Trowbridge of Swie Back at Gradwell House in Haddon Heights:
They also released this b-side for free download via their Twitter:
For more information, check out my previous posts on them by clicking [here], go to the show, and pick up a copy of their CD. Support good local music!
Back in November, I booked Alex Brubaker for a show at Messiah's Philadelphia campus. For those who don't know or don't remember, Alex plays instrumental guitar, integrating diverse techniques such as percussive fingerstyle into his various experimental pieces [see here and here]. The show in Philly was accompanied by a cooking contest, during which Alex played a long set, followed by a short break and finishing with a few fan favorites.
Imagine that you're in college. You're stereotypically broke and trying to balance your time between studying for exams, playing Halo or playing ultimate frisbee. Your college thinks it best to bring options to you, in the form of a relatively unknown singer-songwriter, whose music sounds nice on the iTunes previews and who is at the level of popularity where you can pay $5 for a ticket. If you need a study break, or if it's too dark for disc golf, you go to the show. No problem. Imagine that you're an upcoming artist, who is getting paid to play gigs at a college. You are trying to establish a fan base, you are trying to perfect your musical abilities - you want the audience to leave and go buy a CD. The stage was set for such an experience on Saturday in Brubaker Auditorium at Messiah College, who hosted Zee Avi, a fledgling musician from Malaysia who, thanks to the world wide web, garnered some attention in the United States via YouTube. The show opened with opening act "The Backroad", an entertaining act of some college dudes who are skilled at their instruments and got the crowd involved [Edit: The Backroad is Kyle Morgan's band]. After wrapping up their set, the band cleared the stage for the headliner. Avi, joined by a drummer and a comatose bass player, opened her set with an a cappella number. The audience smiled and snapped along, totally into Avi's sound. That's when the proverbial shit hit the fan.
A monitor was rumbling, causing Avi to quit mid-song and ask for a new monitor. The sounds were driving her, and a few audience members, crazy. Fine. Weird, ill-timed, a bit bitchy, but fine. Some jokes from a Malaysian audience member eased the tension, but this ice breaker, as we would soon find out, was only temporary. As Avi began to play her first single, the audience scratched their heads, trying to figure out where this single had been played. Halfway through the song, the audience was taken off guard when we were put in the spotlight and asked to sing the chorus. We fumbled, we laughed nervously, we whispered rhymes that we thought might fill in the blanks. After closing her song, Avi stared at the audience and asked, blankly, "So how many of you out here actually know my songs?" Of course, most of us hadn't, so it was silent. Some girl and some guy probably whistled or cheered, but the rest of us sat stunned. A song or two later, some more technical problems arose, but this time it was the fault of the musician, not the tech crew. Avi gave a death glare to the sound booth throughout the rest of the number, determined to win the staring contest. She played a cover song, then addressed the audience abruptly by informing us she was about to end the show. The drummer left the stage and she crooned her final number, eyes-a-rollin, and then left the stage. There was hope for humanity when we thought she apologized for being bitchy; to our dismay, though, she just apologized for being pitchy - evidently, she couldn't hear herself for the last fifteen minutes.
[evidently she's always like that]
I realize that not much has been said about Avi's music, and this noticeable omission is no oversight. It's difficult to review the music of the show, because music took a backseat to her stage antics. Technically speaking though, Avi sounds brilliant. While her songwriting and guitar-picking skills are average, her voice is smooth and smoky, compensating for any other musical deficiencies she may have. The type of performance that Avi displayed was the type you would expect from a diva, someone not having anything to lose or prove, someone who could afford to be, for lack of a better word, rude. But Avi is quite the opposite - the crowd didn't sing along with her because we don't know her songs. She isn't familiar. We are looking for a good impression. Whether we know it or not, we are looking for an artist who can sail through a technical glitch without letting it ruin her evening. Her poor showmanship and eyerolls took center stage - not her music. Such a reality turned what could have otherwise been a pleasant, enjoyable concert into a painful, awkward spectacle that simultaneously alienated any pre-existing fans and snatched the possibility of any of us wanting to go buy her music. That's a mistake no musician can really afford these days, and Avi is no exception.
Last Friday Messiah's Philadelphia Student Activities Board (PSAB), of which I am a member, put on a Homeboy Music show featuring my friends in Troubador and the big homie Marc Seeley, who goes by the moniker Letters from the Prom. The following will be my article on the subject for The Broad Street Journal student newspaper:
For the first time ever, MCPC had its own concert. On Friday, September 18th, students were serenaded by central Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Marc Seeley (otherwise known as Letters from the Prom) and Troubador, a band of youthful indie pop upstarts from South Jersey. Sipping hot cider and munching on s'mores and other snacks around a crackling fire in our beautiful backyard as live music floated over the gathered community prompted Director of Community Life Ryan Wilson to wonder, "Why haven't we done this before?"
Letters from the Prom is the solo project of Marc Seeley, a singer-songwriter so talented that he recorded all the tracks (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keys) on his debut album "Nostalgia Is Dead... And You Killed It" himself. A self-taught musician, he treated us to an hour-long acoustic set of his own material, peppered with occasional covers as diverse as The Postal Service and Bob Dylan, closing with his almost absurdly catchy tune "Discover & Deliver".
Troubador, fresh from a performance on Radio 104.5's local spotlight "Live at 5", played a short set of material from their upcoming "Between the Truth and the Lies" EP and a cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box". Lead vocalist and keyboardist Erika Ricchini was delighted to play in what she described as "a garden" despite a few minor technical difficulties. Due to a recent personnel change, the first few songs were played with keys, acoustic guitar, and one drum for an effect some students described as "like a lullaby" before being joined by the full kit, electric guitar, and bass for the latter half of the performance.
Be sure to check the bands out at www.youtube.com/icoelmono and www.myspace.com/troubadormusic respectively and look forward to more upcoming PSAB events!
Here's a live electric version of "Discover & Deliver" by Letters from the Prom:
and a video of Troubador performing "Between the Truth and the Lies" on Radio 104.5:
So. I finally saw my friends in Troubador live. And they were fabulous. I put up with two reasonable openers, and then skipped out on Maps & Atlases and the support band after their set. Their myspace recordings don't do them justice, so I can't wait to hear the forthcoming EP. Check out my Homeboy Music profile on them here. Apologies if this is a short review, but the show was a while ago. I remember liking it, my guest liked it, and nearly everyone at the show was specifically there to see them. Go figure.
Friday night I rode down to Coffee Co. in Lancaster for one of Alex's frequent coffeehouse gigs. He played a couple of his older songs, along with nearly all of the material from his album, which is currently being mixed'n'mastered. I've heard a pre-release version, and it's excellent. For those that don't know Alex Brubaker, or haven't read my previous Homeboy Music entry on him (here), he plays what is known as percussive fingerstyle guitar, as well as experimenting with looping, processing, and other technical aspects. Here's a video of him performing at Messiah's monthly Coffeehouse, which he has won 3 times:
Side note: apparently Coffee Co has live music Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 7-9, and they make delicious lattes-one of which is called a Michael Jackson-that look like this (highly recommended):
Troubador is an indie outfit from South Jersey, with ethereal female vocals and piano-driven ballads composed by a semi-rotating cast of characters, most of which I went to high school with. Focused primarily on lyrics, they sound like a less-processed Eisley without the background vocals. Catch them live this Friday at The Loft in Audobon with Swie Back (expect an upcoming profile) and This Is Capture. Click the flyer to RSVP on Facebook.
House Exit, a Mechanicsburg rock outfit fronted by my friend Matt Hannigan, has gone through a few incarnations, and currently consists of Matt on guitar and vocals, Wayne Trump on bass and backing vocals, and Mike Nebistinsky on drums. Check out a review and four wma downloads here. You can buy their latest album on CD Baby, and check them out live at Juice & Java Saturday the 21st. Click the poster to RSVP on Facebook.
Singer-songwriter Sam Coakley has been doing this music thing for quite a while now. His mastery of the piano and love for good stories have joined forces to produce music impressive in both quantity and quality. Though he only has one physically released EP, a live performance will reveal his vast store of other material and the extent to which his songcraft has improved over the years. According to Tim Mackie of campus newspaper The Swinging Bridge:
Upon hearing Coakley perform, most listeners immediately draw parallels with Billy Joel and Elton John, and indeed Coakley cites them as his major artistic influences. "If you're going to play pop music on the piano, that's pretty much all there is" he said. After being introduced to these artists by his piano teacher, Coakley began writing his own music at age fourteen out of a profound dissatisfaction with the mainstream pop zeitgeist. "I figured I could write what I wanted to hear better than what I was hearing on the radio." (full article here)
Though he usually performs solo, he is occasionally joined by drummer Mark Hunsberger as The Sam Coakley Trio, and plays with a full backing band on his EP, available on iTunes. Sam plays shows around campus somewhat frequently, usually at the SouthSide Cafe, as well as occasional gigs at bars and coffeehouses. If you get the chance, by all means go see the show. The atmosphere is usually somewhat intimate and allows you to really appreciate his lyricism as well as musicianship.
Homeboy Music is a series I'm starting where I will cover one friend of mine who is also a musical artist of some kind once a week until I run out. This week's artist is Alex Brubaker.
I met Alex when I hitched a ride with him to see August Burns Red at the Champ freshman year and then again to see Haste the Day. He's a really good guy who also happens to be an amazing musician, which makes going to shows with him interesting since he's always analyzing the guitarists' technique.
Alex is a guitarist whose technical proficiency never ceases to amaze me. He makes frequent use of tapping (yeah, that crazy August Rush ish), looping, and a bunch of other techniques that I don't fully understand, similar to artists like the recent indie darling Kaki King. He cites King, Trace Bundy, and Angel Vivaldi, among others, as influences. I just saw him do his thing at a Messiah coffeehouse the other night and it was awesome.
Check out this video of him playing "Horse in the Clouds" on his couch:
Go see him with singer/songwriters Sam Coakley (expect an upcoming profile) and Brian Turner for free at South Side Cafe this Friday @ 8 and/or next Saturday at Juice and Java in Mechanicsburg (a 2-hour show he tells me will involve 2 guitars).
[photo by Erika Ricchini of Troubador]
