Music With A Side Of What?

I really hate it when people refer to a band as a "Side Project."
To me it seems like somehow it is less than a band if you call it something else.

Case in point...Black Prairie.

Chris Funk, Nate Query, and Jenny Conlee From the Decemberists, with Annalisa Tornfelt of Barefoot and Jon Neufeld of Dolorean (as well as Jackstraw).

Most often, people will refer to Black Prairie as a "Decemberists Side Project", and I can understand that maybe they're trying to just get some skin off the popularity of the Decemberists brand.

But after your first listen it becomes apparent that there's way more to this group of musicians than killing time between Decemberist gigs.

Black Prairie is, exactly as their name suggests, dark ...yet inviting and open. 

Often associated with the word bluegrass (albeit a distinctively Portland, Oregon style of bluegrass) Black Prairie gives the listener so much more than just one genre of music to enjoy within each song. 

These musicians cover so much more than what can comfortably fit into a quick and easy descriptor of music type and go well deeper into the moods and themes of what drives the a particular genre to begin with.

They've taken the blue part of bluegrass and wrung from it each and every ounce of sadness that it would release. They distilled it into its rarest form and then blended it with the purest elements of folk tradition, romantic classicism, and a dash of punk rock rebellion...and that's just the launching pad of what makes the band what they are.

These extremely talented musicians then take what they want to express from the music and serve it flawlessly with what can only be described as the joy of musicianship.

Black Prairie is so much more than just a side project, it's a glimpse of humanity encapsulated in a prism of spirit and history.

Expectations For This Week Of Live Music

Monday afternoon, the group 7Horse will be live in my studio.

     Then from Wednesday through Saturday, I'll be seeing live performances from: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Joseph Arthur, Citizen Cope, Jonathan Wilson, Lee Fields & the Expressions, JD McPherson, The Barr Brothers, Father John Misty, Beth Orton, War on Drugs, Polica, Brandi Carlile, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Dry the River, Rebecca Ferguson, The Walkmen, Zeus, Diego Garcia, Nada Surf, Good Old War, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, Dex Romweber Duo, Rufus Wainright, Sons of Fathers, Elle King, and Nick Waterhouse in addition to live interviews with John Mayer, Dr. John, and Joe Jackson.

     Of course it's only natural that I would be more excited about some performances and less so about others.

Right now these are the 5 acts that I am most excited about seeing on stage this week.

Good Old War

The Barr Brothers

Norah Jones

Zeus

Dry the River

But the list changes about every 6 hours or so.

Non-Commercial Radio

Later this week, I will be driving up to Philadelphia, PA to attend the Triple A Radio Non-Comm Convention hosted by WXPN.

 For some of you, this brings up the question of, "What do you mean by Non-Comm?"

     Well, radio stations are either privately owned and put money into the pockets of their owners/shareholders, or they have a nonprofit status and all of the money that a station makes is reinvested back into the radio station.

     Not that you care very much, but most non-commercial radio stations are located between 88 and 92 MHz on your FM dial. (for those 3 people left in America who still have radios with dials on them)

Okay, so we know what it is, but why should we care?

*(Damn, I love it when people ask why they should care!)

    Non-Commercial radio is best known as the home of Jesus and NPR... but that's really just a bad stereotype.

     Non-commercial radio is also where we keep most of the good stuff.
It's like America's private music stash.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing commercial radio... after all, I work for a commercial station.

     It's the way that these stations pay their bills that determines what they play and how they play it.

Your typical Hot 97 or Rock 103 station needs to have relationships with McDonald's and Miller to keep the lights on. So they play music that will make them popular with the McDonald's and Miller crowd.
There's nothing in the world wrong with that.

     Your typical Non-Comm is funded by underwriting, grants, and donations from their listening audience.
As it happens, the people who give out that kind of money have profoundly open minds and a more discriminating level of taste.

     Miles Davis is great, but you aren't going to get a 7 share (12+) in the ratings if you play him on your station. Jazz, Bluegrass, Classical, Indie etc., all need a place where they can be played and enjoyed by the public. It's just a simple truth that quality and quantity are never in the exact same place, at the exact same time, in the exact same amount.
So you have to pick more of one and less of the other depending on which way it's going to work best for you.

     Non-Comm radio stations can be any format they choose. Some are talk, others are contemporary christian, and so on and so forth.
     This Wednesday thru Saturday in Philly, the Non-Comm Triple As are having their annual convention and I'm going to tag along.

But why am I going to the Non-Comm convention if I work for a Commercial station?

     I'm going so that I can expand my ideas about radio programming, enjoy some great live music, and have a little face time with some of my favorite people on this planet.

Here are some of my personal picks for AAA Non-Comm Radio if you'd like to do some listening online:

KXT   Dallas, TX

WNRN   Charlottesville/Richmond, VA


WFUV   New York, NY


WXPN   Philadelphia, PA

KCSN  Los Angles, CA

KUT   Austin, TX

Mishara Music

So there's this guy named Marc who calls me about once a week.

   Marc lives in Maine with his wife, son, and a small stuffed toy version of Bert from Sesame Street that has a series of wild adventures.

   Marc loves music as much as I do which is why he devotes so much time and energy to Mishara Music.

    Mishara is a far cry from Universal / Sony / Warner Brothers Records.
It's a small dedicated company that is focused on pure, sincere music and the artists that create it.

     Sure, these days there are tons of record and music companies that are smaller and more focused on the individual artists on their roster. Nobody would say that Mishara is the only company out there with a sincere passion for their artists, but after a closer look at all of the music companies out there, you'd be hard pressed to find one that is doing a better job of serving fans and artists equally.

Want proof?

That's easy to provide.

Go download some of Mishara's free music from Amazon.com.

Yes.

Right now.      

I'll wait.

The links  are here     here     and here.

What you'll find when you've downloaded the songs is that you have something wonderful that inspires you to think and feel in ways you thought you had forgotten about.

Peter Bradley Adams

"Full Moon Song"

Barnaby Bright

"Reverend's Son"

Clarensau

"I Would Trade"

WPA

"Rise Up"

"Sky Falls"

Kat Maslich-Bode

I could post 35 great songs from Mishara artists without much effort at all.

      What I love most about Mishara is that they make my job so much easier.
I know that they have put their very best into each album and all I have to do is pick out the ones that fit best into my music mix.
No politics.
No excuses.
No over-hyped overnight one hit wonders.

I know that there are more hard working and dedicated people at Mishara... it's not just Marc.
 But Marc is the guy who deals with radio stations, so he's the only member of the team that I know at all.

My point here is that you should get to know more about Mishara Music and their roster of talented artists.
If you haven't already, go download the free samplers from amazon.com and then share the links with your friends.

Sharing great music with people is some of the best fun you can have.

I know ...because I do it for a living.

Folk Music Musing #1

     So I'm really kicking myself over the fact that I didn't go to see Mandolin Orange when they were in town a few weeks ago.
    It was a free show at Martin's Downtown...but it didn't start until after 10pm and doing the morning show makes me not want to stay out late listening to folk music.

     I was listening to The Milk Carton Kids yesterday and thinking to myself how much I would love to see them play with Mandolin Orange.

Provided they started before 10pm on a school night.