Gavin DeGraw - "Follow Through" (stripped)

Thirty-four year old Gavin DeGraw grew up in the Catskills region of upstate New York and is known as a pop-singing piano player with soul.  I first heard his music with his 2003 release of the album 'Chariot.' The album had a number 3 hit on the US pop charts called "I Don't Wanna Be."  But what really struck me about this album was the fact that DeGraw included an entire second disc with the purchase of the record.  This second disc consisted of all of the exact same songs but it was recorded differently and resulted in much different arrangements.  The first disc was the straight-forward studio version of the songs and it turned out to be a relatively surprising commercial success.  For the second disc, DeGraw and his band recorded each song live in the studio, in one take, during one late night session.  For me, this was the keeper.  While the studio version received decent airplay, not as many people heard the 'stripped' version.  Frankly, I'm not sure I listened to the studio version more than a couple times but I wore the imaginary grooves out on the 'stripped' version.

Unfortunately, an attack on DeGraw made the news just last month in New York City.
From Wikipedia:  On August 8, 2011, DeGraw was hospitalized after being assaulted by several persons in New York City.^[10] Police said a group of men attacked DeGraw early Sunday morning at 6th Street and First Avenue in the East Village, near The National Underground. He suffered a broken nose, a concussion, two black eyes and lacerations to his face. Only minutes after the attack, DeGraw was then struck by a taxi. He was admitted to Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center for treatment. He had to cancel his scheduled August 9 performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, located in Saratoga, New York.^[11]
I have since read that he had been recovering slowly but surely since the incident....thank goodness.

So anyway....
Today's song pick "Follow Through" comes from the stripped version of 'Chariot.'...ENJOY!

Listen to "Follow Through" (stripped)
From the album 'Chariot'

Click to view Gavin DeGraw tour dates.
Click here to view a video of Gavin DeGraw "Follow Through" live.

Reed Foehl - "Stoned Beautiful"

Love this title track from Reed Foehl's 2007 album. Here is some background directly from his website:
A Boston native based in Colorado since 1989, Foehls third solo release of Once An Ocean (2009) comes on the heels of his acclaimed Stoned Beautiful (2007), a departure from the jam-oriented repertoire of his band Acoustic Junction and his first solo release, Spark (2004).

With an endless stream of bleeding-heart songwriters, its not often that you find one with such a voice, along with a matched musical sensibility. If Foehl was singing in Yiddish, I'd still get what he's feeling. In other words, this guy's got soul.

His simple yet powerful, direct compositions have caught the attention of new fans nationwide through commercial radio airplay and placements for television and film.

Reed has performed with

Arlo Guthrie, Ray Lamontagne, Patty Griffin, Dave Matthews, Mike Doughty, Glenn Phillips, Colin Hay, Taj Majal, David Lindley,

My Morning Jacket, Marc Cohn...to name a few.

This one sounds good LOUD.  ENJOY!

Listen to "Stoned Beautiful"
title track from the album

Click here to view Reed Foehl tour dates.
Click here to view a Reed Foehl video.

Phish - "Heavy Things"

Phish first got together back in 1983 on the campus of the University of Vermont.  Since then they have become almost as much a part of the Vermont culture as snow boarding and Ben & Jerry's.
With a rabid fan base that almost parallels the Grateful Dead's following in size and fervor, and a penchant for extended jams and spacey segues, comparisons between Phish and that legendary group are pervasive.  There certainly are some similarities, but Phish doesn't have such a loyal following simply because they remind people of the Grateful Dead, these guys have a genuine musical prowess that stands on its own and has for the better part of 30 years.

On Wednesday of this week Phish made big news and stepped up to help their fellow Vermonters.  They played to a crazed, sold out audience at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, VT for a benefit concert helping raise money for thousands of Vermont citizens dealing with the aftermath of historical flooding due to Hurricane Irene.

"Heavy Things" is my personal favorite studio recording of theirs and it comes from their 2000 album entitled 'Farmhouse.'  Love the Trey Anastasio lead guitar solos.
Just try NOT to tap your toe along with this one.....ENJOY!

Listen to "Heavy Things"
From the album 'Farmhouse'

Click here watch a video of Phish performing "Heavy Things" on Letterman.

Nizlopi - "Helen"

Nizlopi is a British band I just stumbled across a month ago or so.  These guys have a unique sound and have been referred to as folk hip-hop artists...go figure.  I heard "Helen" on my personal Pandora station and was immediately intrigued.  I subsequently read a little about them and found out a few interesting facts about them:

1)  They had a number one hit in England in 2005 with a song called "JCB Song."
 
2) They no longer exist...
From Wikipedia:   
On 10 February 2010 an e-mail was sent out to all mailing list subscribers confirming that the band had split up after being together for 17 years. Luke Concannon stated "And that after many wild meanderings and much confusion I feel I must go on, on my own from here. That my dream is now to do another project, not Nizlopi, and to build a new life. So, this is good bye from Nizlopi. We are no more! Wow, there you go I said it. Scary as it is."

3) There entire sound comes from only two band members, one of which was a beat box artist...
More from the Wikipedia entry: 
Nizlopi were a two-piece band comprising Luke Concannon on vocals, guitar, and bodhrán, and John Parker on double bass, human beatbox, and providing backing vocals. They were based in Leamington Spa, England...and were educated at Trinity Catholic Technology College. Prior to attending Trinity Catholic Technology College, Luke and John attended St. Joseph's Primary. The band is named after a Hungarian girl that Luke had a crush on at school.

Our song-of-the-weekend today comes from their 2006 album called 'ExtraOrdinary.'

ENJOY!

 Listen to "Helen"
From the album 'ExraOrdinary'

Click here to watch a video of Nizlopi performing "Helen" live.  (song starts at 2:45)

Cracker - "Euro Trash Girl"

During the mid 1980's I was a huge fan of the California band Camper Van Beethoven.  When they disbanded around 1990 lead singer and guitarist David Lowery formed the band Cracker with guitarist Johnny Hickman.  Since that time, they have released 10 studio albums, two live albums, have toured extensively, and have had several hits along the way.  Their music is an eclectic mix of rock, punk, alt-country, psychedelia, blues and folk.
All these years later, Cracker is probably still best known for their second full-length recording, the 1993 album 'Kerosene Hat.' That record features our song-of-the-weekend selection "Euro Trash Girl" about which Daily Vault Music Review blogger Sean McCarthy writes:  Arguably the most beloved hidden track is the eight-minute-plus ode to bohemian listlessness "Euro Trash Girl." The song details one of the worst weekends you could ever have in a foreign country: having your car broken into, getting ripped off by a junkie, getting a case of the crabs, calling your folks for money only to have them hang up on you; but somehow, the chorus of “Yeah, I’ll search the world over for my angel in black” still leaves you hopeful.
I get a kick out of the story he tells and, for me, this one's as easy to slip into as an old pair of jeans.  ENJOY!

Listen to "Euro Trash Girl"
From the album 'Kerosene Hat'

Click here to view Cracker tour dates.
Click here to view Cracker live "Euro Trash Girl" video.