March 11, 2011

Like a Fine Wine

I recently had the pleasure of seeing The Jayhawks (original lineup) perform Hollywood Town Hall in its entirety at the Vic Theater in Chicago.  After a 15 year hiatus, the group is back together supporting reissues of their two hit records from the mid 90′s (HTH and Tomorrow the Green Grass).  They also have a new record due out late spring/early summer.  I stumbled across this video, which shows just how good the harmonies still sound. like pancakes and butter.  like swiss cake rolls and milk.  like a fine wine.

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March 19, 2010

Thinking About Alex Chilton

I was devastated to hear that Alex Chilton passed away on Wednesday.  It really came as a shock.  I always assumed I would see Big Star perform live someday.  The concert always went something like this in my head….Me standing front and center, singing along to every word, somehow I end up on stage singing ‘Way Out West,’ and Alex digs it so much that he invites me to join the band, then I invite all the dudes I’ve ever played in bands with to join and we all float away together into rock and roll bliss.  Well thats obviously not going to happen anymore, but I am comforted by the fact that Alex left me so much beautiful music to enjoy.

The first Big Star song I heard was ‘Back of a Car.’  It was an amazing moment for me.  I was in a band at the time, and I remember saying to the guitarist ‘Hey I heard this band called Big Star – I think that it’s exactly what we’ve been trying to do!’  It seems a lot of musicians have had similar ‘Big Star’ moments.  For me, it became a bit of an obsession.  I purchased the #1 Record/Radio City album and listened to it nonstop for over a year.  I still listen to those albums frequently, and am always eager to share it with people who have never heard it – welcoming them into ‘the club.’  I expect that the club will continue to grow, and Chilton’s legacy will live on as long as there are kids with electric guitars and loud amps.  Thank You Alex.  LC

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February 26, 2010

Nick Vote/Genius Johnson – Live! at Birdy’s

I know, the past few posts on this blog have been to promote my own shows.  I guess thats what has inspired me lately.  So for the 20 people who stumble upon this blog in a given week, please stop surfing the internet and come to Birdy’s in Indianapolis at 9:00 on Saturday Feb. 26th.  Nick Vote/Genius Johnson will be opening the night, followed by Channel Four of Chicago, The Black Oil Brothers, and rockabilly legend Art Adams.  Here is a video that will give you an idea what to expect..

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December 7, 2009

Oh, Hello There

So I’ve taken some time off of blogging for personal reasons.  Well I’m back, and I have some things to say.  In the coming weeks there are several topics that I would like to discuss:

1.  Holiday Extravaganza III – this year the event moves to Birdy’s in Indianapolis as Spin Nightclub in Broad Ripple has sadly gone away.  The event will take place December 23rd around 9:00 PM, so get there early.  There will be many familiar faces from your childhood.  The lineup includes the regular crowd, Blue Moon Revue, Nick Vote (potentially in the form of Genius Johnson), Johnzo West, and this year APR will be joining the bill.

2.  The mighty Channel Four from Chicago spent some time recording their debut album in Rochester, IN in early October.  I would like to share some stories and pictures from this epic weekend.

And there are so many more things, so stay tuned….

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March 10, 2009

“Issue III: Emily”

emily-sticker-4x15-v2Our dear old friend and newly engaged Andrew Parker-Renga (see interview with APR in our archives) was in town last weekend and graced the stage at E Street Open Mic for a spirited three song set in support of his new album entitled “Issue III: Emily”.  APR put on a good show, and was joined on-stage by some friends for a spirited rendition of the album’s title track, “Emily.”  Lost Cowboy was testing out some new recording equipment at the show (the awesome new Tascam DP-004) and ended up with a pretty good bootleg of both APR and Scott Gould’s performances.   Scott was busy workshopping some new material.  p1010580

**Update** – Due to a technical error while trying to upload the audio to the site just now I erased the entire performance with the exception of Scott Gould’s new song “Midwest Masquerade,” which I uploaded yesterday.  I’m pretty upset about it as the recording was good quality.  I guess there is a function on the machine to protect songs which I wasn’t using.  I will not make that mistake again.  I am going to go ahead and try to upload Scott’s song as well as the studio version of the title track of APR’s latest – “Emily” – which by the way is a beautiful name for an album…

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January 19, 2009

E Street Cafe Open Mic

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E Street Cafe in Encinitas has moved it’s open mic night from Wednesday to Sunday nights and we were lucky enough to catch a couple of acts last night.  Our very own Scott Gould graced the stage for a spirited 4-song set featuring some original music and a couple cover songs.  Gould’s laid back stage presence and delicate fingerstyle delivery resonated well with the crowd.  At one point during the set, an unidentified man in the corner of the room was spotted “air-harmonica-ing” along with one of Scott’s tunes.  Scott’s set was the bright point of the evening which included some freelance poetry and some “improvisational-ukulele-single-string-chanting” from this bearded sage: 

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January 16, 2009

Badass of the Year Candidate

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In non-music related news, please say hello to Chelsey B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 that crash-landed in the Hudson River yesterday after both engines were blown by a flock of birds.  This guy is truly a bad-ass.  I dig his moustache and general aura of confidence.  I want to drink whiskey with him.

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January 13, 2009

Interview with APR

apr-logo-iiWe recently had the opportunity to sit down and catch up with a heavily bearded APR (Andrew Parker-Renga).  The Burlington, VT based crooner is currently at work on his 2nd studio album, with a scheduled completion some time early 2009.  Below is a excerpt from our conversation:

 

LCR: Who do you consider your biggest influences?

APR: My family, friends and nature to start.  Well, there are so many musical ones it’s hard to list.  Everything really that’s every touch my ears, but usually what I am listening too.  Technique wise.  My guitar knowledge came a lot from Dave Matthews, classic rock, and 90s bands like Nirvana, Weezer, Pearl Jam etc…   Song-structure, from Paul Simon, Counting Crows, and weird feelings in my heart. My voice has been recently influenced a lot by Ray LaMontagane, just so much feeling, so much.  I love Jeff Buckley’s voice and have sang tons to his records.  When I was younger, I wanted to be Dave Matthews.

LCR: Compare your sound now to your sound when you released your first album?

APR: That’s a great question.  This album I have a band for starters which gave me a back bone.  I didn’t do hardly any overdubbing, mostly one takes.  Also, I quadruple tracked everything on the first record.  This one every production tech. was planned not formulaic. Last record was a collection of exercises.  This album is a collection feelings.  The new album breathes more to me.

LCR: To what do you attribute the changes in your sound, if any?

APR: Having great musician’s to play with changes things. My age.  My girlfriend.  All the music I heard between records.

apr1LCR: How are things going in the studio?

APR: Almost finished.  Tracking is done.  Just picking mixes and rolling out the pressing

LCR: When do expect the album to be completed?

APR: This month (Jan).  Looking at mastering facilities right now.  CD release in late Feb. 
 
LCR: Do you have plans to tour in support of the album?

APR: God willing.  And by god I mean me.  I’m on the cusp of being able to financially get myself in a place to go all over the country.  I will deff. be setting mini tours in New England.

LCR: Who are you listening to right now?

APR: Mason Jennings, Ray LaMontagane, Damien Rice, old Outkast, local DJ mixes from Lotus entertainment, Zack duPont, the Woods Brothers, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Davenport, Tom Petty, Beethoven

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January 7, 2009

Back in the Saddle

The past few weeks have been a bit hectic, so sorry for the lack of activity here at Lost Cowboy Records.  We were fornutante enough to make it to Indianapolis for a couple weeks and thoroughly enjoyed the Spin Nightclub Christmas Extravaganza featuring Blue Moon Revue, Nick Vote and Johnzo West.  Rumor has it that Blue Moon Revue is working on an album which will be released some time later this year.   Those boys certainly know how to put on a show. 

The new year brings some exciting news regarding upcoming events and shows.  Our dear friend Scott Gould has relocated to Encinitas, California, and plans on taking some of his new material to the ‘woodshed,’ more commonly known as E Street Cafe’s open mic night, which apparently has been moved from Tuesdays to Sundays.  

belly-upLost Cowboy  has been playing bass with an up-and-coming San Diego singer/songwriter named Matt Commerce, and the group has 2 upcoming shows in January:  A Television appearance on KUSI San Diego on January 25th, followed by a show at the legendary Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California on the 27th.  Be sure to check out the Belly Up show if you have the means.   The television appearance should be on the world wide web, and will certainly find it’s way to this site when available.

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December 19, 2008

Classic Christmas Album

Lost Cowboy Records hosted its first annual Christmas Party last night, and we are proud to report that 100% of those invited were in attendance.  The two most important things at a christmas party (after the booze of course) are the food and the music.  The party was strong in both categories, with a delicious spaghetti squash prepared by the hosts, and a nice Holiday mix on the stereo.   squash3We used this recipe for the squash, and it turned out great.  Apparently this is a healthy alternative to actual spaghetti – I just thought it tasted good.   For desert, we enjoyed Mochi ice cream puff balls.  These things are incredible.   The music was good but it could have been so much better.  I was digging through my old CD book and stumbled across the Holiday Classic “Mission Possible Christmas.”  The CD looked like it had been left in a puddle of egg-nog and never cleaned off, so I went through the time-tested CD cleansing routine of a steam coating followed by a delicate shirt rub-down.  It is important to be wearing a soft cotton or flannel shirt for step 2.  Anyways, despite my valiant effort, I could not get the CD to play.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mission Possible Christmas, it is a CD that Lost Cowboy Records (at the time doing business as “Haven Records“) released in 2000.  I think we raised something like $500 dollars for an orphanage in Africa by selling them for 5 bucks apiece in the high school cafeteria.  Some of the highlights include the shred-metal version of Carol of the Bells, and Scott Gould and Brad Phillips beautiful duet of “The First Noel.”  While home for the holidays, I will be tracking down a mint copy and making duplicates so I can enjoy for years to come.  If you would like your very own copy of this Classic Record please contact Lost Cowboy Records.  The price is zero dollars with free shipping inside the continental US.  Sales tax not applicable in California or Indiana.

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