Sweet Talk with The Disco Biscuits Part Two
Part Two of Sweet Talk's interview with The Disco Biscuits. ... read more
Sweet Talk with The Disco Biscuits Part One
Sweet Talk had the good fortune to catch up with The Disco Biscuits on their tour bus and talk about what it takes to make it in today's music industry ... read more
Mean Creek
I know I'm regionally biased, but Mean Creek is not merely a great Boston Band; they're a really great band period. The J. Geils Band at the Worcester Centrum was the first concert I ever experienced. This was a few years before "Cenetrfold"/ "Freeze Frame" J. Geils . It was more the Full House LIVE J. Geils era, with "First I Look at The Purse", "(Ain't Nothin' but a)House Party", "Whammer Jammer" ie the down and dirty street shuffle, combat zone, jungle boogie shit that makes you proud of your dirty water heritage. I was twelve years old wandering around backstage when I ran into lead singer Peter Wolf, my... read more
CMJ Side Trip: The 52nd Street Project
In between enjoying all your free skunked beer and ear shattering buzz bands at the Bowery, Cake Shop, and every open phone booth or hip neighbor's house when CMJ takes over NYC next week, do yourself a favor and check out some real emerging talent. The 52nd Street Project, through which accomplished theater actors and directors mentor Hell's Kitchen kids, is presenting public performances Oct 23 - 25 at Manhattan¹s TBG Theater.Entitled GETTING THERE: THE JOURNEY PLAYS, the program consists of 8one-acts written by Project kids and co-starring the kids and adultprofessionals. This is probably the last show they'll do outside their own theater,... read more
Songs/Videos for Indian Summer
The changing of the guard when summer gives way to fall is a sensory explosion in New England. The clear mornings, mild days and cool nights give you that extra ounce of oomph in your boogie woogie tap shoes. You don't really want summer to fade away completely but no crowds at the beach, better surf, forgotten sweaters and scrumptious cider donuts make the Indian Summer oh so sweet. Here's the September soundtrack so far: 1) Javelin's new Thrill Jockey 12" Release Javelin: Best song "Soda Popinski" this will be used in a new Apple ad sooner rather than later. Trust me. Here is... read more
Ask Black Crowes Drummer Steve Gorman Anything
My end of Summer soundtrack revolves around the Black Crowes (they just scratch so many itches), and after burning through their entire catalogue and a couple of fine bootlegs the hankering for seeing the boys in three dimension took hold. I wandered their website in search of tour dates only to discover their rougish drummer, Steve Gorman had found his inner Dear Abby, offering pearls of wisdom to the greater world. In a stoke of good fortune I was the first person to engage Gorman's sagacity: Steve, Will the Red Sox take the Wild Card Spot and why are you so damn wise? Respectfully submitted, Sweet... read more
Austin Lucas' "Somebody Loves You"
Great song by bullish talent, artist Austin Lucas: A reminder on a blue back-to-school Monday that somewhere, out there, someone does love you. ... read more
The Avett Brothers Impromptu Backstage Jam @ Newport Folk Festival
Hopefully you have seen Paste's recent A/V video where Sweet Talk brought the Avetts to the top of Fort Adams overlooking Newport Harbor during the Folk Festival. Obviously, it's been our supreme pleasure and good fortune to be part of these mini-concerts over the last couple of years. The guys ability to play at the drop of a hat has never been in question, and this two-minute ditty which happened backstage post-main-stage-set/pre-top-of-the-fort-video shoot exemplifies their bluegrass chops. When they started pickin' and pluckin' it was just for their own enjoyment, then people just start wandering over. Not the best video, but fun! ... read more
Revisiting David Ford's "Go To Hell": A Perfect Six-Minute Break from Your Boring Day
I'm a sucker for clever, I'm a sucker for catchy tunes and I'm a sucker for orginality. I've watched this video several times and I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to finally post. I figured between all us music wonks over here that someone would have already done so, but alas. For this, my apologies.... read more
Glostah Blottah Foddah
Our loyal readers like to keep us posted on the coming and goings around Sweet Talk's homebase while I'm "at Large" playing music critic. Not surprisingly, they feel the best way to stay abreast of the local crew is to read the Gloucester Police Blotter.... read more
Good Friday, Good Music
Lately the CD pile has been swelling to unsustainable proportions. Sweet Talk receives anywhere from 50-75 a week and has been lagging behind separating the wheat from the chaff.... read more
Some Good News: Because Everyone Needs Some
In an effort to promote good cheer amidst our 24/7, fear-mongering news cycle, we bring you the first of what we hope to be regular doses of....drum roll....Some Good News: Because Everyone Needs Some. It's no water-skiing squirrel, but at least we are trying.... read more
Pete Seeger B-Day Party at Madison Square Garden to Feature Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and More
Folk legend Pete Seeger is having a birthday party at Madison Square Garden. The fact that the environmentalist crusader and pioneer of protest music is turning a spry 90 is a big reason to celebrate on its own, but when the guest list includes Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp, Ben Harper, Billy Bragg and Emmylou Harris, to name just a few of the 50+ artists scheduled to pay their respects on stage, it's time to kick up your heels and grab a ticket. ... read more
Five New Random Websites That Make Me a Better Person
5) BeardHead.com: What happens when a couple of mountain freakers get together and try and figure out how to make a living without having to leave their "high" altitude. I suggest the "Viking." 4) SeatGuru.com: Being the Editor At Large I do my fair share of air travel, and when not ensconced in the warm womb of Jet Blue, Seat Guru is a must visit. Billing itself as "the ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline information," it also helps land those coveted upgrades to first class. (Thanks to Will for the insight.) 3) Midomi.com: Being tone deaf and reluctant... read more
Running With the Rabbit: My Memories of John Updike
When I was in 8th grade, I had two teachers who changed my life. One was Mrs. Downes who kindly fostered my passion for creative writing, and the other was Mr. Dore who proved reading of great literature to be as important as listening to great music. This yin and yang, this one-two punch of mentors on my pubescent and malleable mind set my future course, which, gratefully, I still tread. However, I am most indebted to them for introducing me to the words of John Updike. As our school was a mere mile or so from the house America's most distinguished living writer called home, both teachers made him a... read more
Sweet Talk's Top Ten Live Songs 2008
Being Editor at Large means, well, one is at large a great deal. When one holds such a post for a top notch music magazine, it generally means a lot of time is spent on the road, catching artists in their natural habitat. Over the course of 2008 Sweet Talk did just that. I manged to see shows in fourteen states and four countries, as a journalist, fan, rookie roadie, and even a producer of several festivals. While I did not manage to see as many club gigs as I once did ( a second child will do that to you), I obviously ingested my fair share of the... read more
Star Wars Holiday Special, Lucas' Dark Secret
I have a four year old son that has seen the first Star Wars trilogy 5 times. Yes, he is junkie and the "Force" is the smack. Yesterday on Santa's Lap, he went into a didactic analysis of how Lando Calrissian is both a good guy and a bad guy before asking the bug eyed, red nosed jolly old elf for Jabba's Barge AND a Sarlacc Pit. ... read more
Curing the Holiday Blues with "Rock Steady"
Okay, face the white page and hope some words start to flow. It's true I have been living under a rock of late and I have no idea what hot bands are doing what in the last month or so, but the one thing I can tell you is I have feverishly kept track the economy, and how it has quickly soiled my professional career. Therefore in order to try and cure my ever increasing holiday blues, I am making an early New Year's resolution to stop watching CNBC, NYSE and every other piece of media that capitializes on fear. The vultures will no longer... read more
How Apollo Sunshine's "Singing To the Earth" Can Make Your Day
As most know, I'm a pure Masshole and thus take great pride in our homestate musical bretheren. Heck, my first concert was J. Geils Band at the Worcester Centrum. It does not get much more MA-centric than that does it? While "Whammer Jammer" always puts a smile on my face, it's another Boston band which always pulls me out of a truly sour mood, Apollo Sunshine. Their musical soma first hit me on a particularly decripd day a few years back. The song was "Today is the Day," major chord calamity with just enough Violent Femmes chutzpa to knead out... read more
Friday Random Weekenders: Get your mind off the Dow
My eyes and ears are twitching from the free fall of the U.S. economy. Somalian Pirates?! Iceland bankrupt?! Hockeymom politicians?! Heck, the regular paper is reading like the Onion lately. Only more bizarre and apocalyptic. What better way to end the work week, then, but to procrastinate with some eye and ear candy? * Letters To Cleo will reunite for 20th Anniversary Shows Now, I pride myself on being a pure Masshole, but I somehow missed the era of LTC the first time around, so maybe it 's worth checking out: LETTERS TO CLEO REUNION DATES 2008November 8 - Los... read more
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