STRATEGIC ARTIST ADVOCACY SINCE 1997
This is fun! Thanks to Parade today for premiering the lyric video for Mark Bryan’s "A Little More Rock N Roll," featuring VHS footage from 1993 of a pre-fame Hootie and the Blowfish on a road trip to Buffalo, NY for a gig opening for Dread Zeppelin.
The song is from Mark's upcoming new solo album Midlife Priceless, out April 2 from Stone Point Records (distributed by Slow Start). Pre-order the CD/LP here and use code "MIDLIFEPRICELESS" for 15% off.
Cheers to the Bay Area Reporter for including Samantha Sidley’s “I Like Girls” on a Valentine’s Day roundup of “New music From LGBT artists.” The song, which “could not be clearer in its sapphic intent,” is “both witty and unique.”
Since releasing Interior Person, the album from which “I Like Girls” is taken, Sam has put out several cover songs including her new version of “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” from Disney’s Cinderella. Stream it here.
Twangville has a personal Q&A with Mark Bryan, the Hootie and The Blowfish lead guitarist whose solo album Midlife Priceless is due April 2 from Slow Start Records. There are a few great stories here, going all the way back to the pre-Hootie days when Mark was writing songs while grounded as a teen.
Mark has released three singles from Midlife Priceless, and the fourth - called “Explain That To A Heart,” a cowrite with Wyatt Durette (the Zac Brown Band, Luke Combs) - comes on Friday.
Terry Borden of Blesson Roy is the guest on the newest edition of the Stereo Embers Podcast hosted by Alex Green, who says his debut LP “Think Like Spring is emotional, thoughtful and vulnerable and it soars mightily away with the kind of muscle and grace that brings to mind everything from the Cocteau Twins to RIDE." Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts.
A masked Los Angeles, featuring a cyclist who biffs it and a liquor store parking lot dancer who clearly does not… “It’s basically the designed cinematic and aural engaged focus, rhythm, and pacing of a real ’climactic’ human moment,” says director Tom Gorai (aka Sweeten) of “Should’ve Known Better,” the new video from Blesson Roy.
Under The Radar Magazine just premiered the clip, writing that the song conjures the “bright tones and sweet melodies of Britpop. Amidst a jangly guitar-led instrumental and sharp vocal hook, Terry Borden takes listeners on another trip back through his record collection, showing his ability to incorporate and synthesize styles as both a creator and a fan."
Find the song on Think Like Spring, out now via Slow Start Records.
On the Godmuffin ballad “We May Never Be This Young Again,” The Big Takeover writes, “Mike Viola’s lightly wistful, aching vocals float over the slow sway of a gentle drum beat, ticking cymbals pace, and softly strummed guitar lines.”
The song soundtracks the third installment of Viola’s monster movie trilogy, which isn’t a monster movie at all but instead a sci-fi Twilight Zone inspired story featuring an aura that visualizes the malaise that ordinary domestic distress brings. It's a beautiful and stirring way to represent the song’s Fifties-esque sonic overtones. Directed with grace by Silvia Grav.
“I arranged the song so it would feel trippy and retro – like an atomic aged dream. It’s one of my favorite songs to sing.” Jazziz Magazine has just posted Samantha Sidley’s rendition of the Disney classic "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" as part of its "Week in Jazz" column. Once again, Sam knocks it out of the park with a vocal performance that'll melt your hardened heart. Track available everywhere this Friday via Release Me Records.
Great writeup at V13 on Blesson Roy’s new lyric video for “Should’ve Known Better!” The site writes, Think Like Spring finds Blesson Roy in his zone, emphasizing his lifelong love of music, both as an artist and as a fan.” The video was put together by the extraordinarily talented Hector Gallardo at Subharmonic City, who has done quite a lot to help shape the Blesson Roy visual world.
About the LP as a whole, V13 contends that “ultimately, Think Like Spring is an album focused on positivity and renewal, a very topical theme that comes at an important time where the allure of negativity is all too tempting. We could rest on our laurels and sulk. Or we could take an optimistic tone, and work towards bettering ourselves, just as Blesson Roy has done with his latest creation.” The record’s for sale on Bandcamp via Slow Start Records - use code “ThinkLikeSpring” for a 20% discount at checkout!
“With advance words of praise from author Neil Gaiman and influences ranging from classical to electronic to the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson and Kurt Weil,” The Bay Area Reporter writes, “experimental queer singer/songwriter Fredo Viola draws us into his renewed world (following a lengthy battle with Lyme disease).”
The iconic newspaper, which has been serving the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community since 1971, has Viola atop its “Queer Tunes For Your New Year” feature. Writer Gregg Shapiro praises his “dramatic touch… at a time when we could all use some healing.”
My New Head is out April 9, 2021.
“Let Your Soul Light Shine.” Mark Bryan’s newest advance single from Midlife Priceless is about letting all the good stuff out. Thanks to Holy City Sinner for premiering the song!
The Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky.com) has a feature on frigidkitty’s new album Indulgence, “an album merging electronica, cinematic ambiance and rich pop pageantry.”
The paper dives into the veteran artist’s rich history, her fruitful collaborations with other Lexington, KY musicians, and her vital work releasing others’ music via Desperate Spirits. According to Kim Conlee, “Sharing music with someone is such a special experience… I have been so blessed over the years to be included in some fantastic projects and have been really willing to dive into other people’s visions. But it’s also amazing, when you turn around and it’s your turn to put something out.”
Powerpopaholic contends that “years of producing others and his own experimentation have left their mark” on Mike Viola, who is known for myriad accomplishments including his band the Candy Butchers, his production work for artists including Mandy Moore and Panic! At The Disco, and his vocals on the late Adam Schlesinger’s iconic theme song for That Thing You Do!
The site recently recommended Viola’s Godmuffin (out now on Grand Phony), a wholly self-recorded LP on which he applies his “top-notch” songwriting to introspective songs that explore tragedy, loss, and “the stress and isolation of the time.”
Samantha Sidley’s version of “Waltz For Debby” is featured in the new film Sylvie’s Love starring Nnamdi Asomugha and Tessa Thompson. The Amazon Original is streaming now and getting rave reviews - it’s 93% fresh, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
According to Sidley, “I had to learn ‘Waltz For Debby’ in Swedish. Jemima Kirke lip syncs to me about 12 minutes and 30 seconds in. A couple months later I was doing a casual at the Jonathan Club and an old man walked up to me asked, ‘Do you know ‘Waltz for Debby?’’ I was like ‘DO I!!!’” Hear her take now.
Thanks out to Earmilk contributing writer René Cobar for including Chance Emerson’s The Raspberry Men on their Best of 2020 list!
"From the energetic acoustic guitar strums that open 'How Can I' to the rich floating harmonies in 'Incredible,’” Cobar writes, “Chance Emerson tells a story about who he is and where he is headed."
