Last week, we challenged local artists to let us know which songs inspired them to the point of jealousy. Rob Deez was up for the challenge and shared his thoughts on the subject: Deez: “There have definitely been a few songs that I’ve heard that cause me to think to myself “they beat me to […]
I decided to start this new series because I wonder if there are other musicians like me, who are jealous of other musicians. Not jealous of their fame and fortune, but of their actual music. Most of the time, I can listen to my favorite music with a normal amount of admiration – I feel […]
The SongStream Project is a San Diego-based non-profit that explores the interwoven path of music and memory, story and song. Their mission is to use music as a way to gather and share stories of everyday people. Through creating audio documentaries they aim to explore seemingly familiar themes through new lenses in order to encourage […]
When it comes to describing the terrible loss this world has experienced from Larry Robinson’s untimely death, words come as slowly as a breaking winter’s dawn. I sift through the dozens of YouTube videos that have surfaced, searching for a way to illustrate that inexplicable spark of love and brotherhood that he so personified, but […]
Nashville songstress Bonnie Bishop made a recent stop in Julian on her nationwide tour, capping a year that saw her place a song she co-wrote on a Grammy-nominated album by her hero Bonnie Raitt and the release of her fourth disc, Free. The seven tracks on the EP-length album are all originals written by Bishop […]
The Fishtank Ensemble have history. Not only as a band, but they have also successfully blended hundreds of years of music, tracing a heritage rich with substance, style, and a near overdose of hot-blooded passion. On first listen, the term “gypsy-jazz” will be among the first things that come to mind. It is hard to […]
I’m a sucker for the sound of a cello. Always have been. Traditionally a fixture of classical music, the cello found its way forever more into the realm of contemporary rock and pop ever since the Beatles popularized the aesthetic by employing a string quartet on tracks like “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby.” Brian Wilson used […]
When the fine folks at MXL Microphones (www.mxlmics.com) suggested they bring a selection of their mics down to my Kitsch & Sync Production studio, my immediate response was “Why don’t we do it at Studio West?” As a part of their excellent TRAC (The Recording Arts Center, www.tracsd.com) program, Studio West hosts a series of […]
Start with a straight-up guitar blues band, then add more exotic ingredients: an aggressive female lead singer with plenty of sociopolitical attitude and the pipes to support it, guitar riffs that are alternately evocative and flashy, and toss in elements drawn both from early Led Zeppelin and Heart’s semi-acoustic tracks and the power-chord anthems. Finally, […]
