New Music (Thursday) Friday

Hey there everyone welcome to my last blog post of the week. As you may know if you regularly follow me on here I usually do New Music Thursday's but in my absent mindedness I forgot that yesterday was The Day The Music Died so I had to blog about that. Therefore today's post will be New Music Thursday on Friday.

For this round of new music I would like to take us to Texas which has bred many fine musicians and groups from Stevie Ray Vaughan to ZZ Top and countless others. Well the next guitar slinger/musician to come from Texas is a good one and he is only 19 years old! That man ladies and gentleman is Tyler Bryant.

Now Tyler Bryant is not a household name yet but I feel that he will be sooner rather than later. He was one of the featured artists in the movie Rock Prophecies that came out last year and he is a rising star in the world of blues and rock.

What makes Bryant so special. Is it the fact that he can shred on a guitar like some of the greats. Or is the fact that girls love him for his model like looks and boyish charm. Either way I think the combination of this could be deadly in today's music world because a record company can actually have a musician that has the looks that are "oh so important" and on top of it guess what, he's actually good at what he does! Wow shocker right?

Listen to some examples of Bryant's work. From his roaring cover of Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady to his originals such as Lipstick Wonder Woman, You Make Me, and Two Hearts Collide, there are many great songs out there by this young artist that have great appeal not on just a blues/rock level but on the mainstream as well.

I think it is only a matter of time before Tyler Bryant is a household name and the next guitar icon. If he keep on the path he is currently on it will happen. Mark my words, Tyler Bryant is the next big thing in the long line of Texas guitar slingers.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

The Day The Music Died

So in yesterday's blog I had said that today would be "New Music Thursday" but in my absent mindedness I forgot, and was reminded by a friend, that today was a very important day in music history, The Day The Music Died.

Crash site where Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper,
and Ritchie Valens died on
February 3rd, 1959 near Clear Lake, IA.

On February, 3rd 1959 Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP Richardson (The Big Bopper) played a concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, IA. Upon leaving the concert the three stars decided to board a plane from the Mason City Airport and head to the next show in Fargo, ND instead of taking the cold, broken down bus they had been touring on for the Winter Dance Party tour.

However this proved to be a fatal mistake as shortly after takeoff the plane crashed in a cornfield north of Clear Lake. Snowy conditions and poor visibility are believed to be the main reason why pilot Roger Peterson crashed into the field.

Now for more information on specifics of the crash click this link.
For the coroner's report click here. (Proceed with caution.)
For The Civil Aeronautics Board Report click here.

The death of these three promising rock n roll musicians left a huge mark on the rock n roll scene in the fifties. They were all looking at promising careers filled with many more hits and numerous fans. They had already charted many hits before their deaths. (Some of these hits were from Holly: Peggy Sue, Not Fade Away, That'll Be The Day; Valens: La Bamba, Oh Donna, Come On Lets Go; Big Bopper: Chantilly Lace.)

For their life to be cut so short like this is very tragic. Like many others before and after them it just goes to show that we must cherish the great musicians and minds we have for they could be lost at a moments notice.

As far as the memory of Holly, Richardson, and Valens, it still lives on. The Surf Ballroom has hosted a Winter Dance Party concert to celebrate their memory for the past several years. Many of the musicians that played with the three dead rockers have attended and usually always attend the concert along with countless other artists to pay tribute to their legacy.

It is definitely things like this that help keep the spirit of great music alive. If you ever have a chance try and go visit the Surf Ballroom and the crash site to better understand the history and impact of these fine musicians who passed before their time.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

Photo credited to Flickr/Creative Commons, Atlantic Community

An Event Central Iowa Musicians Should Attend

Hey everybody I hope you all survived the Snowpocalypse 2011 that hit Tuesday here in Iowa. I know I did because if I didn't I would not be here writing a new blog post today.

Today I just wanted to bring to people's attention, mainly local musicians, an event that I will be attending tomorrow night at the Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines. The Des Moines Music Coalition and Social Media Club of Des Moines are teaming up to host a panel on "Building Your Band's Online Presence" this Thursday night starting at 7:00 pm.

This event will feature a panel discussing how band's should monitor their online presence and give advice on how to create that presence. The panelists include Hillary Brown, Lava Row and On Pitch; Andy Brudtkuhl, 48Web; Roxi Copland, Musician; Jill Haverkamp, Olde Main and On Pitch.

This is an event that I feel is crucial for local musicians/bands to attend. With the way online/social media is playing a role in the world today, music is also being impacted greatly by it. Now more than ever new musicians are being discovered online and for some musicians it could be a ticket out of their current situation, or lack thereof, to stardom if managed properly.

That is why I encourage any musician that knows about this or reads this blog to attend tomorrow night's event. Heck even if you are not a musician but aspire to be or are a manager or agent for a band or musician, this would still be a great event for you to attend as well. I feel that any knowledge musicians can learn about branding themselves online would be a great benefit not only to their careers but to keeping the music scene in Des Moines alive and healthy.

So I hope to see a lot of people at this event tomorrow night and I know I am looking forward to what I will learn. Also make sure to check back to my blog tomorrow for New Music Thursday.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

Thoughts on the 46th Annual ACM Nominees

Welcome back everybody to Music Reviews by a Musician where today, while in the middle of the snow apocalypse that everyone seems to be calling it, I am sitting nice and warm at my computer. Today's blog is about this morning's announcement of nominees for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards that will be shown live on CBS Sunday April 3rd from Las Vegas.

Miranda Lambert, led the ACM nominations
with a total of seven.

Now as I am reviewing the selections I have to say that nothing really surprises me to much. There are many of the familiar names here such as Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift....(ugh), The Zac Brown Band, and many more.

In all reality the nominees for the awards are to be expected. They are the hottest and brightest names in country music right now. For a full list of nominees click here. However for the purpose of this blog I would like to review briefly the nominees for the top categories and give my predictions and thoughts.

First off there is Top Female Vocalist of the Year. Those nominees are Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Reba McEnitre, Carrie Underwood, and Lee Ann Womack. Now this field to me seems to be pretty accurate. The one that surprises me the most is Lee Ann Womack but hey I am not the one making the nominations. I think that the other four ladies are the top of the year and they should probably be the only ones nominated.

With that said however I have to give my nod to Miranda Lambert in the category. She has had a remarkable past year and I feel that her work and success at the CMA Awards this past November will carry over into this awards show and get her at least this award.

Now for Male Vocalist of the Year the nominees are Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, and George Strait. The one problem I have with this list and it is a small one is that Dierks Bentley got left out. I think he too has a great past year much like the five nominees and he would deserve to be a nominee as well. But once again I'm not making the nominations.

This group is tougher to judge who will walk out as the winner on April 3rd. I think it comes down to either Blake Shelton or Brad Paisley. Both artists seem to have had just a slightly better year then the others and if I had to pick a winner now I would go with Shelton. To me his year seems more meaningful than Paisley's and I would like to think that he would get the nod for this award.

Finally there is the award for Entertainer of The Year. The nominees for this award are Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and Taylor Swift. Looking at these nominations I believe that from a performing standpoint it is right. All of these nominees are great performers and the only problem I have with this list is that I would like to see Blake Shelton on this list for the year he has had.

However going with the nominations that were announced I would have to say that Brad Paisley will win. He is one of the, if not the best entertainer in country music today. I would put him slightly ahead of Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban for this award simply because of his performing ability. Brad Paisley is country music today in my opinion and seeing as he won this award at the CMA's in November, I think he will get it again on April 3rd.

Once again for a full list of the nominees please click this link.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons/Flickr, ronnie44052

An Artist You Should Check Out

Well its Monday, the start of the work and school week, which means another new blog post from yours truly. As I was driving back from a weekend away I happened to catch a song on the radio that I really liked. That song pushed me to check out this artist, Chuck Wicks.

Chuck Wicks in concert.

Now up until now I had never really listened to anything by this rising country artist but after hearing his latest single "Old School", well lets just say I was impressed. Wicks has a few great songs and a great sound that definitely fits the mold of what I consider the new country music sound.

A perfect example of this new sound would be the song "What If You Stay". To me it really sounds like a new rock song but the elements of country are there. That is definitely the new sound that I am hearing out of Nashville these days. I touched on this in a previous blog post, What Is Country Music Anymore.

Wicks however is definitely a rising star in the world of country. He has that combination of a great country music voice and some very good songs. I know I will definitely stay tuned into this artist for time to come. The big hit off of his first album was "Stealing Cinderella" and I can definitely hear how he has already evolved as an artist listening to his latest releases.

Another new song he is currently playing on the road and that is on his second record is called "She Gets To Me". This song is definitely a branch out from country and it almost has a reggae feel to it. I really like it and I think it could be a hit down the road when it gets released.

Honestly I cannot wait for the full second album of Wicks' to be released because I have a feeling that it will be an all around well rounded album. Everybody who follows country music or music in general should keep their eyes on the lookout for Chuck Wicks because I believe he could be the next country superstar.

For more on Chuck Wicks check out his website here.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,
JAS

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons, goaliej54