My First Record: Ben Bassett of Vintage Blue

02/09/2012 By

I can picture it now, the first album I ever remember owning.  I may have only been a few years old, but I can picture the cover of the album in my head right now.  Red, Yellow and Blue stripes across the front and I seem to recall some skeletons.  I was so young that I really could not even tell you the names of most of the songs on the record, but if I heard them now, you would catch me singing along.  “There’s a little black dot on the sun today.”

As for the first record I ever purchased, that is a whole different story.  I grew up with a step-brother who was ten years older than me and was into Guns n’ Roses, real early Metallica and those hair bands of the 80’s.  By the time I had eventually moved on from Sting, Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson I was ready to rock.  I remember gathering up some cash from allowance and whatnot and walking down to the music store in downtown Chico and buying (what was then a pretty new technology) a CD!

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Nice Playlist, Brah: Anthony da Costa’s Top Favorite Songs of 2011

12/29/2011 By

Hey guys! Anthony da Costa here, twentysomethingyearold singer/songwriter from New York City. Rachel  asked me to share some of my favorite songs of 2011, and so here they are! Spoiler alert: some of them are by my friends. Click to Stream!

1) “Time Spent in Los Angeles” from Nothing is Wrong by Dawes

I saw this band open up for Josh Ritter once in New York City, and they hit me completely by surprise. I was waiting on a date to show and sitting alone towards the back of the theatre. From their opening song to the last, they had me completely captivated and, better yet, GROOVING. This Laurel Canyon roots rock band pumps out some killer jams. This is track one from their excellent new record (produced by Jonathan Wilson) and it’s tasty as hell.

2) “Lucky Now” from Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams

This guy has gotten his fair share of shit from a lot of people over the years…I personally think that Ryan Adams is one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. He is prolific as hell, and I think that’s a good thing. I’ve been a fan since my own early years of writing and am always excited to hear what he comes up with next. Ashes and Fire does not disappoint; it’s pretty mellow compared to his last outing with the Cardinals, and features some of his best writing to date. In this track, Ryan demonstrates his ability to craft a heartbreaking and meaningful pop song that says a lot with a little (and all in just under 3 minutes).

3) “The Way It Will Be” from The Harrow & The Harvest by Gillian Welch

I believe I first heard of Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings after having my first listen to Ryan Adams’s Heartbreaker…I’ve been a huge fan ever since. The chemistry between these two is unreal and unrivaled (in my opinion). After a long wait between Welch albums (something like 8 years – they were keeping busy!), The Harrow & The Harvest brings us a batch of new tunes played just the way they were meant to be – two guitars and two voices, weaving in and out of each other, yet entirely cohesive. This particular song has been around for a while..glad it stuck around. Unison!

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Nice Playlist, Brah: Mike Jackson’s Favorite 2011 Jamz

11/29/2011 By

Well, here’s my two cents. And since a few of my favorite hip hop tracks this year aren’t on Spotify, welcome to my very white 2011 playlist. Still, this isn’t extremely comprehensive or ranked in any order…just some of my favorite tracks of the year that I keep going back to. Here it goes!

1. “Sunday Best” from I Believe You Liar by Washington
Somehow, I hadn’t yet heard of this chick from down under, but her debut full length is chock full of great pop songs and superb production. Great singer as well. This song was the first track from the album that hooked me in. Then I was done for.

2. “No Light, No Light” from Ceremonials by Florence + The Machine
Superb artistry. Grandiose, theatrical production. Great songs. Just what you’d expect from Florence Welch on her sophomore record. This song’s got serious attitude. Wonderful.

3. “Cannons” from The Year Of Hibernation by Youth Lagoon
When this kid put out this single back in the summer, all of a sudden folks knew Youth Lagoon brought something to the table. Great hooks with creative instrumentation.

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The Ardent Sessions with John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives

08/24/2009 By
The Ardent Sessions with John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives [ 55:45 | 102.09 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I have been lucky enough to get to work in Ardent Studios  on a couple of occasions, and I can attest that it is a very special place. They just don’t make ‘em like Ardent anymore.

Usually, a studio falls under one of two categories: A.) funky and cool but a little less than state-of-the-art, or B.) top notch technologically, but sterile, with no atmosphere. Ardent Studios is the only one I’ve ever worked in which is both first-class sonicallyand incredibly cool, vibe-wise. You feel like you can get as artistic and esoteric as you want, without compromising any sound quality. That’s a very rare combination.

We live in an era when most recording is being done at home, on computers, and one of the arguments for this is that the artist is completely empowered and independent, and is not forced to sell an arm and a leg to pay for studio time. While this is certainly true, it is a tradeoff. For one thing, there’s no substitute for the kind of classic analog equipment and acoustically tuned rooms found at Ardent. And recording the way we did, with the full-band-live-in-the-studio approach, would be impossible to do in a home studio.

At Ardent, you feel just as free to get creative and take risks there as you would in front of your demo rig at home, but you can do it with a full band, live on the spot, and the results you will get on tape (or hard drive) will have all the warmth, richness, and complexity of the classic records we all grew up on. And no other studio gives you that almost mystical feeling of being close to greatness; if you’re a Big Star fan like I am, it’s always in the back of your mind while working there. (Of course, it’s hard not to think of Big Star when Jody Stephens drops by the session to say hi!)

For some kinds of music, you have to use a real studio. And for those kinds of sessions, I’ve never encountered a better facility than Ardent. It was an honor and a pleasure to get to work there.

- JPK

JPK and the One Four Fives tear up the Ardent Sessions

JPK and the One Four Fives tear up the Ardent Sessions

Setlist:

01:50 Smoke in a Bottle
05:53 Pure Cane Sugar
09:07 Second Hand Heart
12:58 Lookin’ for a Thrill
16:03 Otherwise
18:21 Drinking for Two
22:37 If I Were You
27:55 Too Hip
33:10 She’ll Dance to Anything
37:44 Phonograph
41:48 Baby’s Got a New Tattoo

Local Producer/Engineer Extraordinaire Kevin Cubbins

Local Producer/Engineer Extraordinaire Kevin Cubbins


John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives, “Lookin’ for a Thrill”

On this week’s edition of the Ardent Sessions we check in with John Paul Keith and The One Four Fives. JPK, formerly of The Nevers, Stateside and Ryan Adam’s Pinkhearts, has spent the last few years in Memphis playing with Harlan T. Bobo, Jack Yarber and even the legendary Jim Dickinson. He also teamed up with some of Memphis’ finest to showcase his own songwriting chops. Last year he released Spills and Thrills locally on vinyl and magically the gospel of the 145s spread. Back in April the album was released worldwide on Big Legal Mess, an imprint of the Mississippi-based Fat Possum label. The band will be out on the road in October opening for Lucero, and Jack Oblivian & The Tennessee Tearjerkers, as a part of Lucero’s ”Ramblin’ Roadshow & Memphis Review”.
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