"Breakfast With You," my new song!

The River Walk Gig

We played a gig at the River Walk in Breckenridge. Here is my 9 year old nephew starting us off on "Red Haired Boy." We played bluegrass and blues for two hours and everyone involved had a good time.



Here is our second song "Blackberry Blossom." Fun stuff... I'm the guy in the white shirt and baseball hat playing my Martin D18GE.

"Caroline," Moses Atwood

Moses Atwood sings his song "Caroline" on Vimeo. I like Moses Atwood and the way he plays. He bends his face along with his notes. I like his song Caroline and I like Vimeo as an alternative to YouTube.

This and other tasty morsels of fine homemade music can be found here:
http://www.vimeo.com/UsFolk


"Caroline" Moses Atwood from CTD3 on Vimeo

"All the Way Down," Glen Hansard

Song: "All the Way Down"
Album: Once (Music from the Motion Picture)
Artist: Glen Hansard



Glen Hansard's voice sounds almost like a cello on this very sad, but beautiful song. I was introduced to Glen Hansard's music on Fabchannel because he is the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Frames. He has the ability to get seriously intense with his singing, a quality he displays on this song (on the same album) called "Say it To Me Now."



The movie "Once" was recommended to me by a friend and it was a little gem if you haven't seen it. It's a simple little movie and the lead parts are surprisingly well played by the musicians themselves. Perhaps the most famous song coming from the album is called "Falling Slowly." It's a wonderful duet, between Hansard and Marketa Irglova.

Hansard is an amazing song writer with the ability to get the very essence of his subject matter. Incredibly, he also possesses the ability to do the same with his voice. Irglova is the perfect compliment for the songs and the film as well.

Here's a fun live performance of "Falling Slowly" featuring horrific camera work:

"Over the Rainbow," Eva Cassidy

Song: "Over the Rainbow"
Album: Songbird
Artist: Eva Cassidy

There are many notable versions of this song, including: the original from The Wizard of Oz soundtrack by Judy Garland, a live version by Eric Clapton and a famous ukulele version by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. But, this is my favorite.

Eva Cassidy's wiki page explains her sad and remarkable story. She died in 1996 of cancer and was not "discovered" until after she was gone. Her album Songbird reached #1 on the UK charts in 2001. Listen to this and you will understand why.



Here's what the wiki page says about this video.

In 2001, her album reached number 1 in the UK charts after the BBC television show Top Of The Pops 2 aired a video of Eva performing Over The Rainbow at Blues Alley. It became the most requested video ever shown of Top Of The Pops 2 despite the fact it was just a homemade video made by somebody watching Eva perform.

"Bron-Yr-Aur," Led Zeppelin

Song: "Bron-Yr-Aur"
Album: Physical Graffiti (Remastered)
Artist: Led Zeppelin

In celebration of iTunes releasing The Complete Led Zeppelin, I'll offer my three favorite Led Zeppelin songs in the next three posts.

"Bron-Yr-Aur" is my wife's favorite Led Zeppelin song, and it's growing on me. It is a calm acoustic guitar masterpiece appearing on Physical Graffiti amidst their hard rock classics "Kashmir," and "Houses of the Holy." Led Zeppelin made albums-- complete works of art intended to be enjoyed from start to finish-- and this song's place is to give the harder songs on the album a counterpoint. It's a short song; a breath, which offers a reflective, beautiful sound scape. Led Zeppelin's slow stuff makes their hard stuff more powerful and visa-versa. If you like this, other Zeppelin songs you'll love include: The Rain Song, That's The Way and Going To California.

The song is named for a cottage in Wales where the band stayed. In Welsh it means "Golden Breast." Here's the wiki article.

Here's a collage of photos of Led Zeppelin someone made, backed by the song.

"Lights Fade (Live)," Cubworld

Song: "Lights Fade (Live)"
Album: The Sample
Artist: Cubworld

I was introduced to Cubworld on Fabchannel. If you've never checked out this awesome live music resource, I suggest you try it. Cubworld is the type of guy you just want to give a big hug to. As a vocalist, he has the rare ability to convey very personal themes in a way that is sensitive without being sappy.

Watching this clip is almost voyeuristic as Cubworld almost doesn't make it through the song. He breaks up when the lyrics touch on the people who've "walked through his life."

"Tamacun," Rodrigo y Gabriella

Song: "Tamacun"
Album: Rodrigo y Gabriela
Artist: Rodrigo y Gabriela

Just listen. Wow. My friend Dave turned me onto Rodrigo y Gabriela. It's beautiful guitar work. This music reminds me of Spain and makes me want to pick up some castanets and stomp around the room like a Flamenco dancer. Now that's successful music. It was fun to learn that they are former thrash metal players from Mexico City.