Congratulations to last week's winner for the Good Records gift certificate. As you may have noticed, the pattern of ending on Christmas day has been derailed. Not to worry, there will still be twelve days worth of treats, just on different days than originally anticipated.
Today's treat is from Idol recording artists Charming Gardeners. I feel that their EP released this year slipped under the radar of most of the local music scene. That's a shame, as this group has quite an impressive list of local musicians as members, including Marc Solomon (ex-Clumsy plus the man behind Zound Sounds), Amy Curnow (ex-Shanghai 5), and Wade Cofer (Rose County Fair, Homespun Remedies). Oh, the songs are catchy too. Just listen to "Punchline Afternoon" to see what I'm talking about. Or better yet, download it.
"You're No Good", Pale Horse J.R. Denson and the gang from Pale Horse were kind enough to let me adopt their EP release party this Friday at Double-Wide as a post birthday celebration. Speaking of Pale Horse, J.R. and Aaron Carder were the first victims of a GOBL interview. If you had witnessed the interview, you'd know why I call them my victims.
"Just Wanna Try", Luna Matto Why, oh, why, Luna? Why do you have to play Friday night against Pale Horse? It's been too long since I've seen one of your shows. Let's change that. The sooner, the better.
"Teenage Dope Fiend", Flickerstick I got into a conversation about Flickerstick with a girl at the Airline Farewell show the previous weekend. Ever since that, the band's music has been on my mind. Here's one of my favorites from Tarantula.
"So in Love With You", Katie Carroll First of all, thanks to all who came to Opening Bell Saturday night for my birthday celebration, musicians and friends alike. And I say an extra special thanks to Ms. Carroll for tossing me the first flower during this song. It made me feel special and all.
"¿Dónde Está Mi Pantalones? ", Clay Pendergrass Mr. Pendergrass recently recorded a couple of new tracks, one of which ("Unicorn $") was originally going to be on this week's Lucky Thirteen. Alas, I couldn't download the track, so look for that track on an upcoming playlist. In the meantime, enjoy this song with the muy divertido title.
"German Chocolate Cake", Bravo Max I previously mentioned how John Keener from Lakewood Bar & Grill is quite the fan of this band. I'm sure he's thrilled that they'll be playing at the bar this Friday night.
"Turn Out Empty", The Beaten Sea After all the buzz that's been surrounding the band, I figured it was about time I give it a listen. I'm not going to lie; I'm not as in love with the band as many in the scene, but they do have some good tunes. "Turn Out Empty" definitely is a quite nice tune.
"Country Fried Quickie", Spector 45 Pale Horse isn't the only band with an EP release show this weekend. Spector 45 will be at La Grange this weekend, and I'll be continuing post-birthday celebrations there.
"Shake Your Dandelion", Ishi After all, we all need to shake our dandelions from time to time.
"Tempo Bledsoe", Smile Smile I liked Blue Roses, but their new CD, Truth on Tape, shows that the band is growing in its songwriting abilities. The title track is easily one of the songs I've listened to the most this year, and "Tempo Bledsoe" is quite a catchy tune as well.
"Punchline Afternoon", Charming Gardeners Speaking of catchy, I just can't get enough of this tune.
"Alibi", The Orbans Here's a leftover from Peter Black's days as a Lifter that made it onto When We Were Wild. This is easily the most rocking song off the band's new album, and probably my favorite as well.
"Godot", Carter Albrecht Mike Snider and Allgood Cafe are throwing a little block party this Saturday that benefits the Carter Albrecht Music Foundation. There are too many good acts to list, so just click here to see the lineup. Sure, I could have posted a song by one of the performing artists, but it was the perfect excuse to post a Carter classic. Not that any excuse is needed.
(Standard disclaimer: any artists, record labels, etc. who do not wish to be on the playlist for any reason whatsoever, email me at ghostofblindlemon@gmail.com and I will gladly remove the track. And if you'd actually like to be on the playlist, you can use the same email addy to email me mp3's, and if I like the song then odds are it'll wind up on a playlist.)
"Punchline Afternoon", Charming Gardeners Authors often obsess over the first sentence of a novel, knowing how it establishes the tone of the story. Musicians likewise have to create an opening hook to a song that will be memorable to the listener. "Punchline Afternoon" has a killer intro that sets the tone for this powerhouse of a power-pop song. My hats off to Marc Solomon, Amy Curnow, and the rest of the band.
"The Longest Winter's Gone", The Crash That Took Me The band plays an all too rare show this Friday at Granada Theater, playing with Speak and Radiant.
""In Reach of Fame", R. Jason Bonner You've probably heard that Jason is no longer with THe BAcksliders, opting to focus on his solo career. The man is responsible for writing many of the band's song, such as this track. After seeing him at Lakewood Bar & Grill, it is apparent that he has plenty of good songs in him.
"New Dress", The Orbans I've said before that this band was on the verge of hitting it big. I'm obviously not their only fan, as their album When We Were Wild is at #74 on the College Music Charts. A forewarning to my readers: expect to see lots of Orbans songs on upcoming playlists.
"City of Hate", Toadies Kirtland Records has finally released Feeler, the album that was originally supposed to be the follow up to Rubberneck. Here's my question: is it fair to call this a "new Toadies" song?
"Harder Than It's Ever Been", Fergus & Geronimo Let me make this clear: I have no objection to the music of Fergus & Geronimo. This is catchy indie rock with a slight hint of 60's pop in the songs. I also think that Fergus & Geronimo are as much Funk/R&B as Cake are Rap/Hip-Hop. I do not feel Dallas Observer should have nominated the band in that category, much less let them take home the award. I know it's late to chime in on this, but it's been weighing on me. I feel better now, having gotten that off my chest.
"Long Live the Live Long Day", Western Giants The band sent me their EP of the same name earlier this year, and while I liked it at the time, it never got the full attention from me that it deserved. After having come up several times on iTunes shuffle, I'm finding that their dreamy alt-country style is really growing on me. Fans of Pleasant Grove and Elkhart will probably really dig this.
"A Long Time", Trey Johnson I'm not ready to render a final verdict on Mr. Johnson's new album, Where the East Ends, but I will dare say that this track is one of the catchiest songs Trey has ever written. Nice work.
"Romance Tried to Kill Me", Cocky Americans Cocky Americans are now being represented by Manhandler Booking. In case you're not familiar with Manhandler, it's run by Chelsea Callahan. I wish Ms. Callahan and all her bands much success.
"Where the Light Is", Emmeline
"Paper Girl", Katie Carroll
"Supernatural", Rahim Quazi Major announcement: "The Ghost" is turning 25 next week. Really, I am turning 25. Just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and so on. Here's the point. I'm celebrating my birthday this Saturday at Opening Bell Coffee with the three aforementioned artists, as well as two out of town acts (Peter Janson and Corrine Chapman). The show starts at 6:00 with Emmeline, and cover is only $5. Don't miss this!
"Autumn Leaves", Danny Balis Since Opening Bell Coffee closes at midnight, don't be surprised if I drop by Adair's to check out Danny and the rest of the King Bucks. Oh yes, there will be fun.
As you may have heard already, Ace McNeeley passed away last Monday. My condolences and sympathies go out to his family and friends. In tribute, I offer this video of Ace's band, Grant Jones & The Pistol Grip Lassos. I think the song title sums everything up perfectly.
Congratulations to last week's winner for the Good Records gift certificate. As you may have noticed, the pattern of ending on Christmas day has been derailed. Not to worry, there will still be twelve days worth of treats, just on different days than originally anticipated.