The Sunshine House

The Sunshine House is a music project from Fort Collins, CO that formed in July of 2010. The sextet consists of Philip Waggoner (vocals/guitar), Becky Raab (vocals), Zac Crider (guitar), Dylan Curtis (guitar), Jered Lish (violin), and Tyler Kellogg (drums). Their sound mixes elements of folk, indie, country, and pop; all wrapped into a lush orchestrated melody. The band name came from Waggoner passing by a daycare center and deciding to use it as the group's moniker. The band is very fresh to the music scene here in Colorado but have a promising sound and a positive outlook on their future. They recently had their debut CD release party this past weekend at Everyday Joes in Fort Collins. I expect big things from this band as they mature and become a tighter ensemble.

http://www.thesunshinehousemusic.net/

Smelly Dog

*Since February is Black History Month I thought I would feature African American musicians for the entire month. Enjoy!

Keller Williams

Keller Williams is an American musician from Fredericksburg, VA, who began perfoming in the early 1990's. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, and many other assorted genres. He is often described as a one-man jam-band because of his use of live phrase looping with multiple instruments. Although he is known primarily as a solo act, he has toured with bands such as Yonder Mountain String Band, The String Cheese Incident, and Umphrey's McGee. Two other projects he is well known for is the WMD's with Keith Moseley (bass, String Cheese Incident), Jeff Sipe (drums, Aquarium Rescue Unit), and Gibb Droll (guitar, Gibb Droll Band); and Keller & The Keels with Larry and Jenny Keel. He recently released a studio album geared towards children entitled Kids. Keller also hosts his own radio show called Keller's Cellar which has a live online stream. This video is "Freaker by the Speaker" from his album Laugh.

I have seen Keller numerous times and I would strongly recommend seeing this fella live. He has a great onstage presence and will definitely impress and even surprise you. He can play just about anything so be prepared for a cover song or two that might possibly blow your mind. Look for more videos on Youtube and Vimeo and you will see just what I am talking about.

http://kellerwilliams.net

Smelly Dog

Dan Deacon

Dan Deacon is an American electronic musician who originates from Babylon, NY and Baltimore, MD. He is known best for his quirky persona and often ballistic music. He studied music at the Conservatory of Music at State University of New York at Purchase. While there he performed some solo material as well as playing in many bands. His two most notable projects are playing tuba for Langhorne Slim and playing guitar in the band Rated R. He finished his graduate studies in electro-acoustic and computer music composition. His first two albums as a solo artist are lesser known to his mainstream fanbase. It wasn't until the release of Twacky Cats (2004) and Acorn Master (2006) that current fans associate as his music. His first mainstream release came in 2007 with Spiderman of the Rings. Dan is best known for his live solo performances, playing on the floor within the crowd. This video is from WSAV in Savannah, GA (NBC Affiliate) in February 2005. He is performing "Ohio" from his album Twacky Cats.

*If anyone knows where to find video footage of the interview from this video please pass along the link*

http://www.dandeacon.com

Smelly Dog

*Only a few days left to vote in the poll folks*

Chasing Kings

Chasing Kings are a four piece indie-pop band from Los Angeles, CA. They are fairly new to the scene but are turning heads with their sound combined with an early Radiohead edge. The band consists of Drew Beck (guitar/vocals), Mike Goldman (bass/vocals), Nick Sandler (drums), and Matt Schwartz (vocals/keys/guitar). Their debut EP was released in August of 2009, and they have been touring nonstop throughout the Western United States, with an appearance at the SXSW festival. The band is stated to have "Infectious melodies, danceable vintage grooves, and an unique quirkiness" about them. They were included in the 2010 list of the 20 Top Indie Bands from Los Angeles by Deli Magazine. This video is "Just Our Luck" from their EP The Current State of Our Future.

http://www.myspace.com/therealchasingkings

Smelly Dog

Intermission

Taking an intermission to get into my new schedule with school. I will be back and rolling along starting tomorrow. Sorry for the delay, but I have some great music lined up. Until then...

Smelly Dog

Toubab Krewe

Toubab Krewe is an American instrumental band that fuses the music of Mali with other American music styles. The band gets the majority of its American style from the Southeastern part of the United States. The Krewe is based out of Asheville, NC and has traveled to West Africa numerous times, working with the local muscians. It was in early 2005 that the band was formed. The current lineup consists of Justin Perkins (guitar/kora/kamelengoni), Drew Heller (guitar/soku), David Pransky (bass), Teal Brown (drums), and Luke Quaranta (percussion). In several West African languages Toubab means foreigner, and Krewe is a reference to the New Orleans region's way of spelling the word crew. This video was taken from Bonnaroo 2009, it is the band performing "Sirens" from their album TK2.

www.toubabkrewe.com

Smelly Dog

Alexi Murdoch

Alexi Murdoch is a singer-songwriter that was born in London, but grew up in many different countries, such as Scotland, Greece, and France. He was born to a Greek father and a Scottish-French mother in London, the family moving to Greece when Alexi was 10. He moved to the United States in 1998 to attend Duke University. He later moved to Los Angeles to see about a girl and this is what sparked his career. It was a DJ from KCRW in Santa Monica who first discovered Murdoch and started playing his music on the station. His songs have been featured in many television shows and a couple of big screen movies. Murdoch has been compared to the likes of Nick Drake and John Martyn with the feel of Cat Stevens or even Gordon Lightfoot. He is slated to release Towards the Sun, his 3rd album, sometime in early 2011. This video is "Orange Sky" from his 2nd release, Time Without Consequence.

http://www.aleximurdoch.com/

Smelly Dog

*User error on entering the post date, today is in fact January 21st, 2011*

Band of Horses

Band of Horses is an American Rock band that formed in Seattle, WA in 2004. The band was actually first called Horses, but that was quickly changed. The group has gone through numerous changes since its incarnation, most notably Mat Brooke (guitar/vocals) leaving the band in early 2006. The current lineup is Ben Bridwell (vocals/guitar), Creighton Barrett (drums), Ryan Monroe (keys), Tyler Ramsey (guitar/vocals), and Bill Reynolds (bass). In early 2007, Ben relocated the band to his native home of South Carolina stating all of the touring made it seem that there was no real "home." The current lineup all had parts in the production of Band of Horses 3rd album Infinite Arms. This video is "Ode to LRC" off the second album Cease to Begin.

I am a real big fan of this band and recommend listening to all 3 albums. They are each a bit different, and I feel the 3rd album lost its raw edge and sounded a bit overproduced. I have also seen this band live and it's always a great show..great job soundboard! Band of Horses was slated as the opener for the Widespread Panic Spring 2010 tour, but jumped at the chance to open for Pearl Jam instead. Definitely catch this band live if they are ever traveling through your neighborhood.

www.bandofhorses.com

Smelly Dog

The Fresh & Only's

The Fresh & Only's are an indie band from the San Francisco Bay Area that formed in 2004. The band started putting songs together with just Tim Cohen (vocals) and Shayde Sartin (bass). The lineup addition includes Wymond Miles (guitar), Kyle Gibson (drums), and Heidi Alexander (backup vocals). Cohen and Sartin found themselves hanging out after work listening to punk and classic rock records and this how the friendship and band all got its start. The duo started recording with a tape machine and found they weren't hearing anything they liked. These two eventually started working with past projects even though they had tons of material recorded. These two are actually very picky about what they release and do all the writing and recording. The final cuts are usually fleshed out in the studio with the other band members. They have released a handful of albums, singles etc. since 2004; this video being "Waterfall" from their 2010 album Play It Strange.

Happy Birthday Mike! I hear this is one of your favorite bands; hopefully I did the band justice and chose a great song. Celebrate!

http://www.myspace.com/thefreshonlys

Smelly Dog

Morcheeba

Morcheeba are a British based band that mixes influences of rock, trip-hop, R&B, and pop in their music. It was during the mid 90's that the Godfrey brothers (Paul on turntables and multi-instrumentalist Ross) met Skye Edwards (vocals) and formed the band. The band saw great success with their second album Big Calm that hit stores in 1998. It was on the band's third album that things seemed to be changing. Edwards was not featured on many of the tracks with her vocals being replaced by acts such as Kurt Wagner from Lambchop and Slick Rick. The brothers cited musical differences and released her in 2003. A greatest hits album quickly followed to sustain the momentum of the band's energy and in 2005 they released their fifth album. Daisy Martey and Judy Sternberg had very short tenures with the project; Daisy being released during the promotional tour of their album together. It was in 2010 that the brothers announced Edwards was working with them once again. She made her first live appearance (post hiatus) with the band in April 2010. This is a live version of the radio hit "The Sea" from their album Big Calm.

http://www.morcheeba.co.uk/

Smelly Dog

Wild Nothing

Wild Nothing is an American indie pop one-man band created by Jack Tatum in late 2009. Jack Tatum previously played in bands Jack and the Whale and Facepaint in the college town of Blacksburg, VA. Tatum's demos garnered attention around indie music circles with a cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting." Tatum signed with Captured Tracks and began touring. His live band consists of Chuck Violand (bass), Nathan Goodman (guitar), and Michael Skattum (drums). They released their debut album in May of 2010 and a follow up EP was released in October of the same year. This video is "Live In Dreams" off of Gemini.

http://capturedtracks.com

Smelly Dog

Pretty Lights

Derek Vincent Smith aka Pretty Lights is an electronic music artist from Colorado. He has been producing beats since 2006 and his career really took off in 2009. In high school, Smith focused on producing hip-hop beats, but was introduced to the rave scene by such acts as Aphrodite. He attended the University of Colorado after high school, but dropped out during his freshman year to focus on his music. In the summer of 2009 him and Cory Eberhard hit the festival circuit, playing such summer festivals as Bonnaroo, Rothbury, Camp Bisco, and 10KLF. These festivals led to a nation wide tour that same year. I was lucky enough to see this act at 10KLF in 2009 and it was a great show. 2010 was even a greater year for Pretty Lights, attracting a large fanbase and selling out shows across the U.S.. Cory (drummer) was replaced in 2010, by Adam Deitch. Adam made his debut at Red Rocks on August 7th, 2010. The video is Pretty Lights performing "Let Em Know Its Time To Go" from the album Passing By Behind Your Eyes.

The name Pretty Lights comes from a Pink Floyd poster that read "Come and Watch the Pretty Lights." Derek's music is the product of digital sampling across many genres, such as hip-hop, soul, and funk. He uses the monome and the Akai MPD32 to accomplish these sounds through the Ableton Live 8 software.

http://prettylightsmusic.com/#/home

Smelly Dog

Peter Wolf Crier

Peter Wolf Crier is a duo from Minneapolis, MN comprised of Peter Pisano (guitar) and Brian Moen (drums). Pisano is not new to the scene, he is best known for his work with the band The Wars of 1812. After this band went on hiatus, Peter kept busy by teaching school kids during the day and honing his passion at night. During this time he asked Brian to add some percussive elements, and thus the record was born. These guys are currently busking around the U.S. promoting their new album that was released in May of 2010. This video is "Hard As Nails" from the LP Inter-Be.

http://www.peterwolfcrier.com/

Smelly Dog

Arthur & Yu

Arthur & Yu are an indie folk band from Seattle, WA. They are Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott, the band name coming from childhood nicknames of theirs. Their sound has been compared to the likes of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and to many other 60's bands. They stumbled upon each other through a Craigslist ad and were both intrigued by each other's influences. They started playing each other's demos for one another and thus the band was formed. The duo never meant for the songs to travel beyond them and were not looking to "make it." Having drawn comparison to the Velvet Underground, the two quickly developed a fanbase after their release of In Camera in 2007. The band has yet to release another album and I'm not quite sure if they ever will. I really enjoy this album and would strongly recommend giving it a listen. This video is of their big hit off the album, its entitled "Afterglow."

www.myspace.com/arthurandyu

Smelly Dog

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is a 9-piece, Chicago based group, featuring 8 sons of Phil Cohran on horns. The brothers are Tarik Groves "Smoov" (trumpet), Amal Baji Hubert "Baji" or "June Body" (trumpet), Gabriel Hubert "Hudah" (trumpet), Tycho Cohran "L.T." (sousaphone), Jafar Baji Graves "Yoshi" (trumpet), Uttama Hubert "Rocco" (baritone), Seba Graves "Clef" (trombone), Saiph Graves "Cid" (trombone), and the non-brother Gabriel Wallace on drums. These brothers came from an extraordinary musical family with other sisters and brothers of theirs being professional musicians as well. Their mothers are singers, and Philip Cohran, their father, has roots running back to Mississippi as well as the 1940's St. Louis musical scene. He also played a seminal role with Sun Ra during the 1950's. As well as hearing their father rehearse after bedtime, they were awoken at 6 AM for several hours of practice before school. They have recently relocated to Queens, NY. HBE has managed to produce 11 albums since 2004. This video is "War" off of their 2007 LP War/Mercury. Enjoy!

http://hypnoticbrassensemble.com/

Smelly Dog

*Don't forget to cast your vote in the poll!

Glasser

Cameron Mesirow aka Glasser is a new project coming out of Los Angeles, CA. This synth siren sounds like a weirder and more credible version of Enya. She has a three piece band that puts all of the sounds to her music. She is fairly new to the scene with big things expected in 2011. She grew up in a family of performers and her father is currently a member of the Blue Man Group. Her stage name was inspired by "a midnight vision of a figure hovering over water." She was composing her music on GarageBand before they were properly fleshed out in the studio. She also invented a bifurcated (splitting of a main body into two parts) pipe organ which she plans on having built and patented this year. This song is "Treasure of We" off her debut album Ring, which was released in September 2010.

www.myspace.com/glasssser

http://www.glassermusic.com/

Smelly Dog

Old Crow Medicine Show

Old Crow Medicine Show is an old time string band with a rock and roll attitude. They have an alternative style jamgrass approach to the traditional bluegrass sound. The band met up in New York of all places in 1998 and hit the road traveling city to city in a van and busking on the streets. They eventually found their way to North Carolina and settled there for a year. One day while playing outside a pharmacy in Boone, NC the daughter of Doc Watson happened upon them and liked what she heard. Doc Watson invited them to play at Merlefest and after that performance they were off to Nashville where they are now based. The Medicine Show consists of Ketch Secor (fiddle/harmonica/banjo/vocals), Kevin Hayes (guitjo/vocals), Morgan Jahnig (upright bass), Gill Landry (slide guitar/banjo/vocals), and Cory Younts (mandolin/vocals). This video is "Hard to Love" from their 5th album entitled O.C.M.S..

The song "Wagon Wheel" has become a signature song for the band, but its origins predate its formation. It is actually an old Bob Dylan tune from one of his many outtakes. The song was incomplete and Ketch Secor basically finished it. Secor and Dylan have since signed a co-writing agreement on the song.

This is a favorite band of my brother Danny and it just happens to be his birthday today. Happy Birthday Brother!

http://www.crowmedicine.com/

Smelly Dog

Wintersleep

Wintersleep is a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They formed in 2001 and have released 4 albums since; the most recent hitting the shelves in May 2010. Wintersleep is Paul Murphy (vocals/guitar), Tim D'Eon (guitar/keys), Loel Campbell (drums/guitar), Mike Bigelow (keys/guitar), and John Samuel (keys/vocals/guitar). The first three members mentioned have been with the band since its incarnation. The band's members frequently collaborate outside of Wintersleep with many different side projects. In 2009, Wintersleep was selected as one of the opening acts by Paul McCartney for his Halifax Common concert. This video is "Weighty Ghost" from their 3rd album Welcome to the Night Sky.

www.wintersleep.com

Smelly Dog

Cloud Control

Cloud Control are an indie folk band from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. They have been strumming around Australia since 2007, and recently released their debut album in May 2010. The band is Alister Wright (vocals/guitar), Heidi Lenffer (keys/tambo/vocals), Jeremy Kelshaw (bass/vocals), and Ulrich Lenffer (drums/vocals). The band met at the rehearsals for Pirates of the Penzance and after a bit of conversation decided to enter their first "Battle of the Bands." Cloud Control has supported a host of local and international acts such as Vampire Weekend and the Local Natives. This video is "Gold Canary," from their album Bliss Release.

http://www.cloudcontrolband.com/

Smelly Dog

Brian Jonestown Massacre

The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an indie rock band from the San Francisco area. They are led by the multi-talented, somewhat psychotic, and often volatile Anton Newcombe. He has actually been the only constant member of the band. The founding members include Newcombe, Matt Hollywood, Ricky Maymi, Patrick Straczek, and Travis Threlkel. The band has had over 40 members since its incarnation. The current lineup consists of Newcombe, Hollywood, Maymi, Frankie Emerson, Collin Hegna, Dan Allaire, Rob Campanella, and Joel Gion. The name "Brian Jonestown Massacre," is a promanteau of The Rolling Stones' founder and guitarist Brian Jones and the infamous mass cult suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. This video is "When Jokers Attack" from their album And This Is Our Music.

This band has a lot of material and some of it is really good and some of it is really bad. Anton Newcombe has some mental issues but is a very talented musician. There is a lot of intrigue with this band and I could go on for days trying to describe them to you. I would recommend watching the documentary on the band called DiG!. This will give you your own perception on the persona of the band.

http://www.brianjonestownmassacre.com

Smelly Dog

R.I.P. Captain Beefheart

Don Van Vliet, born Don Glen Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart was born January 15th, 1941, in Glendale, CA. He recently passed away on December 17, 2010, of complications from multiple sclerosis. He was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and artist who's status was always cult instead of commercial, and for most of his career he was broke. Yet, he remained a hero to most of the musical avant garde, such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Jethro Tull. He was noted for his powerful singing voice that had great range. Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone, and many other wind instruments. His music blended rock, blues, and psychedelia with elements of free jazz. This is a video of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band in 1974, performing "Upon the My-O-My," from the album Unconditionally Guaranteed.

The Magic Band were Beefheart's backing musicians from 1965-1982. the name of the band was an extension of the "Captain Beefheart" persona that Frank Zappa, Vic Mortenson and others helped Van Vliet create; the idea being that Captain Beefheart was magic, and thus would have a "magic band." He would simply drink a Pepsi, and the band would appear behind him. His relationship with Frank Zappa began when they were teenagers and was described as "mutually useful but volatile." ABBA ZABA!

http://www.beefheart.com

Smelly Dog

*The numbers are in from the December 2010 poll "Who Would You Invite to Dinner." The winner with 64% is Frank Zappa. I am sorry for all of the U2 fans out there because Bono managed to receive 0 votes.

Happy New Year!

Wishing Everyone a Safe and Melodic 2011!

Smelly Dog