Musicians No One Hears

A blog in which I complain about how no one listens to my favorite artists. Inspired by the blog: writersnoonereads.tumblr.com

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Artist: The Mandolas

Song: Greatest Day

Album: My Greatest Day (2012)

It’s been fifty years since an executive at Decca told the Beatles that “groups of guitars are on their way out,” and it’s been fifty years of proving just how wrong he was. The Mandolas are a quartet of men from lovely Cork, Ireland, and they all play some type of stringed instrument: Between Michael Grace, Colm Hayes and brothers Paddy and Dorian Kelly, they employ acoustic guitar, mandolin, mandola, bouzuki, banjo and viola in their music. Their special blend of folk and pop, along with their flawless harmonies, make them an easy comparison to groups such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Fleet Foxes, but don’t be so quick to pigeon-hole them. Their mellow sound instantly makes the listener want to sing along, swaying their heads and wishing they were back on the Emerald Isle (even if they’ve never been before). Their traditional Irish folk music, mixed with contemporary pop, makes them instantly memorable, and the listener craves for more. It’s music that you can put on any playlist, whether it helps you fall asleep, makes driving around town just a bit better, fits as the “mellow song” on your party mix, or even inside your own head when you hold that special person’s hand for the first time. The Mandolas have a beautiful and simple message to their music—that life is good. If you have friends and lovers and music, then it is a good day, or possibly your greatest day. As they say, “I’m happy, at least for today.” Our lives are filled with “todays,” so why focus on what bad things happened yesterday or what could happen tomorrow? “Life, it ain’t easy, but who said it was? You just hold what you can, and forget what you’ve lost, and move forward, and make amends.” Rarely do I hear lyrics that speak so simply, yet so truthfully and poetically. Currently, the Mandolas have one EP out, My Greatest Day, available on iTunes or CDBaby.

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Artist: Tsunami Bomb

Song: Swimming Through Molasses

Album The Ultimate Escape (2002)

Tsunami Bomb was a punk rock band from Petaluma, California that was active between 1998 and October 2005; they released two studio albums and four EPs. They were founded by Dominic Davi who left in 2003. Their lineup upon disbanding consisted of Emily "Agent M" Whitehurst, Jay Northington, Matt Mckenzie, and Gabriel Lindeman.

Tsunami Bomb maintained a grueling tour schedule for most of its existence. In 2002 they signed with Kung Fu Records, and released their first full length album The Ultimate Escape. Tsunami Bomb would appear on the Warped Tour several times between 2001 and 2005. In 2003, after a split with Royal Flush Booking, the band signed with the William Morris Agency, one of the largest and distinguished names in the business. Under the direction of Ron Opeleski, the band launched their most successful tours since their inception.They also played main support for the Bouncing Souls on a world tour.

In late 2005, after years of touring and numerous line-up changes Tsunami Bomb officially broke up, citing problems with the "business end of the music industry". Emily Whitehurst and Matt McKenzie have gone on to form the musical group The Action Design, while Jay Northington and Gabriel Lindeman have gone on to form Nothington.

On January 17, 2009, Tsunami Bomb performed a reunion show in their hometown of Petaluma, California at the Phoenix Theater to raise funds for Liz Beidelman, drummer of the band Luckie Strike (1996-2002). I only mention this because I went to that show and it was awesome. I had been a Tsunami Bomb fan for a long time, and was devastated when they broke up, not least of all because I had never gotten to see them live. It was fucking rad.

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Artist: The Botticellis

Song: Stay With My Brother

Album: Old Home Movies (2008)

Founded in 2003 by friends Zack Ehrlich and Alexi Glickman, the San Francisco based group are best described as an American surf pop band, but the classification does them little justice. "The Botticellis have an obsession with pop music, melodic songwriting and the cinematic sounds of yesteryear, but they’re not lost in some oldies Neverland. The quintet gives us luminous snapshots of sun-bleached memories." My favorite description of their work is as a "muzzy, slightly drugged out, psychedelic sound."

Visit The Botticellis website

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Artist: Wayne County & The Electric Chairs

Song: Fuck Off

Album: Rock N Roll Cleopatra

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs were part of the original first wave of punk bands from the 1970s NYC scene. The band is headed by Georgia-born transsexual woman who named herself Wayne County after the Michigan county the proto-punk act MC5 hailed from, only to later change her name to Jayne County.

County had originally begun performing in New York, who along with a band called “The Backstreet Boys” were managed by the manager of the trailblazing Punk club Max’s Kansas City. She was a regular at the Stonewall Inn, and took place in the historic Stonewall Riots. She was also an actress for Andy Warhol's Factory, as well as having roles in the seminal punk film The Blank Generation and Derek Jarman's Jubilee.

After little success, she moved to London, recruiting a new set of musicians to form “The Electric Chairs”, which included guitarist Greg Van Cook, bassist Val Haller, and JJ Johnson on drums. Her act is consistently known for campy and foul-mouthed ballads, basic punk rock, and image which was heavily influenced by the Theatre of the Ridiculous.

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Artist: Mike McGear

Song: Uptown Downtown

Album: Woman (1972)

Michael McCartney (1944-), professionally known as Mike McGear, is a British performing artist, photographer, writer, as well as the brother of Paul McCartney. McCartney was born and raised in Liverpool, and at the age of 18,  became an apprentice hairdresser. More important than his work on women's hair though, was his work in the Liverpudlian comedy-poetry-musical group The Scaffold, along with Roger McGough and John Gorman.

The Scaffold recorded a number of UK hit singles between 1966 and 1974, including "Lily the Pink" and "Thank U Very Much." In 1968, McCartney and McGough released a "duo" album (McGough & McGear) that included the usual Scaffold mix of lyrics, poems, and comedy. The Scaffold ended up hosting a TV program, which limited the musical portion of their career, and they were dropped by Parlophone. McCartney then signed to Island Records and released a solo musical album entitled Woman in 1972—which again included many tracks co-written with McGough, and the Scaffold subsequently released their own album on the label, Fresh Liver.

The Scaffold then added several other members and released two albums on Island in 1973 as Grimms (an acronym for Gorman-Roberts-Innes-McGear-McGough-Stanshall). However, McCartney quit Grimms after the second album due to tension between himself and one of the poets added to the group.

McCartney then signed to Warner Bros. Records and in 1974 released his second "serious" musical album, McGear, in which he collaborated with his brother Paul and Paul's band Wings. Also recorded during McCartney's sessions with Wings was a Scaffold "reunion" song, "Liverpool Lou", which became the Scaffold's last top-ten hit. This led to the group's re-formation in 1974, and they recorded and performed together through 1977.

McCartney has also had an illustrious photographic career, and has published a number of books, including photos of the Beatles, life in Liverpool, as well as a children's book, Sonny Joe and the Ringdom Rhymes. However, I think he is most well-known for my ridiculous crush on him. (Obviously.)

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Artist: Clarence Carter

Song: Getting the Bills (But No Merchandise)

Album: Patches (1970)

Clarence Carter (1936-) is an American soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Carter attended the Alabama School for the Blind and Alabama State College in Montgomery, graduating in August 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in music. His professional music career began with friend Calvin Scott, signing to the Fairlane label to release "I Wanna Dance But I Don't Know How", as Clarence & Calvin, the following year. After the 1962 release of "I Don't Know (School Girl)," the pair joined Duke Records, renaming themselves the C & C Boys and releasing four singles for the label, though none were commercially successful.

The duo performed regularly in clubs in Birmingham, Alabama in 1966. After Scott was seriously injured in an auto accident, Carter continued as a solo singer. In 1967 he recorded "Tell Daddy", which reached no.35 on the Billboard R&B chart and inspired Etta James' answer record, "Tell Mama", for which Carter was credited as co-writer. Carter's biggest hit came in 1970 with his version of "Patches", first recorded by Chairmen of the Board, which was a UK number 2 hit and a US number 4. The record sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A. in September 1970, just two months after its release, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1971.Carter's biggest hit came in 1970 with his version of "Patches", first recorded by Chairmen of the Board, which was a UK number 2 hit and a US number 4. The record sold over one million copies, and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A. in September 1970, just two months after its release, and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1971.

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March is Women’s History Month! In honor of lovely ladies, I’m posting solely female musicians this month.

Artist: Basia Bulat

Song: In the Night

Album: Oh, My Darling (2007)

Basia Bulat is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in London, Ontario. Her debut album, Oh My Darling, was released in 2007. Her second album, Heart Of My Own, released in January 2010. As reviewed in Pitchfork, Feb 8/10, “…but while Bulat’s versatility’s a selling point, it’s her rare, extraordinary voice that makes her a fresh find in the notoriously musty folk-pop bin. Graceful and incandescent, confident but approachable, her alto’s the aural equivalent of the perfect party host who makes every guest not only welcome, but certain they’re the most important person in the room.”

Visit Basia's website here.

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March is Women’s History Month! In honor of lovely ladies, I’m posting solely female musicians this month.

Artist: Big Mama Thornton

Song: Hound Dog

Album: The Original Hound Dog

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (1926–1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter.

Thornton was born in Montgomery, Alabama. Her introduction to music started in a Baptist church, where her father was a minister and her mother a church singer. She and her six siblings began to sing at very early ages. Thornton left Montgomery at age 14 in 1941, following her mother's death. She joined Sammy Green's Georgia-based Hot Harlem Revue. In 1948, she settled in Houston, Texas, where she hoped to further her career as a singer She was also a self-taught drummer and harmonica player, and frequently played each instrument onstage. It was during this time that she was discovered by Don Robey, a black entrepreneur who owned several clubs and record stores in the Houston, TX area. Impressed by her massive size (6 ft, 350+ lb),formidable multi-instrument abilities, and fiery stage presence, Robey signed her to his Peacock Records label in 1951, where he began the task of translating the forceful belter’s energy onto record.

Her career began to fade in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She left Houston and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she mostly played local blues clubs.Thornton continued to record for Vanguard, Mercury, and other small labels in the 1970s and to work the blues festival circuit until her death in 1984, the same year she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

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If you've never cried over a Warren Zevon song, you're living your life wrong.

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March is Women’s History Month! In honor of lovely ladies, I’m posting solely female musicians this month.

Artist: Cake Bake Betty

Song: "Gigantomachy"

Album: To the Dark Tower (2008)

Cake Bake Betty is Lindsay Powell, a multi-instrumental singer-songwriter from Millstone Township, New Jersey. Her other musical projects include Festival (with her sister Lex on Language of Stone Records) and SkyBlazer (with the boys of Jeff on Infinity Cat Recordings). CBB uses piano, violins, synthesizers, and everything in-between to craft original songs which are sometimes quirky, sometimes deeply emotional, but all with an undeniable endearing quality. 

Powell is now performing as Fielded, plus as the vocalist of Ga'an and one half of Festival.

You can follow her tumblr here.

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March is Women's History Month! In honor of lovely ladies, I'm posting solely female musicians this month.

Artist: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel

Song: März - Prealudium un Choral

Album: Das Jahr (The Year)

Fanny Hensel, née Mendelssohn (1805-1847) was a German pianist and composer, the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. The siblings shared a great passion for music. Like Felix (who was born in 1809), Fanny showed prodigious musical ability as a child and began to write music.

However, Fanny was limited by prevailing attitudes of the time toward women, attitudes apparently shared by her father, who was tolerant, rather than supportive, of her activities as a composer. Her father wrote to her in 1820 "Music will perhaps become his [i.e. Felix's] profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament." Although Felix was privately broadly supportive of her as a composer and a performer, he was cautious (professedly for family reasons) of her publishing her works under her own name. He wrote: "From my knowledge of Fanny I should say that she has neither inclination nor vocation for authorship. She is too much all that a woman ought to be for this. She regulates her house, and neither thinks of the public nor of the musical world, nor even of music at all, until her first duties are fulfilled. Publishing would only disturb her in these, and I cannot say that I approve of it."

Felix did however arrange with her for some of her songs to be published under his name, three in his Op. 8 collection, and three more in his Op. 9. In 1842, this resulted in an embarrassing moment when Queen Victoria, receiving Felix at Buckingham Palace, expressed her intention of singing the composer her favorite of his songs, "Italien", which Mendelssohn confessed was by Fanny. In turn Fanny helped Felix by constructive criticism of pieces and projects, which he always considered very carefully.

Fanny Hensel died in Berlin in 1847 of complications from a stroke suffered while rehearsing one of her brother's oratorios, The First Walpurgis Night. Felix himself died less than six months later from the same cause, but not before completing his String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, written in memory of his sister.

In recent years, her music has become better known thanks to concert performances and a number of CDs. Her reputation has also been advanced by those researching female musical creativity, of which she is one of the relatively few well-documented exemplars in the early 19th century.

Hensel composed over 460 pieces of music. Her compositions include a piano trio and several books of solo piano pieces and songs. A number of her songs were originally published under Felix's name in his opus 8 and 9 collections. Her piano works are often in the manner of songs, and many carry the name Lied ohne Worte (Song without Words). This style (and title) of piano music was most successfully developed by Felix Mendelssohn, though some modern scholars assert that Fanny may have preceded him in the genre.

She also wrote, amongst other works for the piano, a cycle of pieces depicting the months of the year, Das Jahr ("The Year"). The music was written on colored sheets of paper, and illustrated by her husband Wilhelm . Each piece was also accompanied by a short poem. In a letter from Rome, Hensel described the process behind composing Das Jahr: "I have been composing a good deal lately, and have called my piano pieces after the names of my favorite haunts, partly because they really came into my mind at these spots, partly because our pleasant excursions were in my mind while I was writing them. They will form a delightful souvenir, a kind of second diary. But do not imagine that I give these names when playing them in society, they are for home use entirely."

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Artist: Delta Rae

Song: Ooh Caroline

Album: Delta Rae (2010)

Delta Rae is an American band formed in Durham, North Carolina in 2009. The band consists of three siblings Ian Hölljes (vocals and guitar), Eric Hölljes (vocals, guitar, piano and keys) and Brittany Hölljes (vocals), as well as Elizabeth Hopkins (vocals), Mike McKee (percussion) and Grant Emerson (bass guitar).

They released their first album, Carry the Fire, in 2012. The music displays the great stew of the band’s own shared histories and influences, as well as those of the land that bore them. There is the richness of Americana, of gospel, bluegrass, blues and pop, but there is also the well-oaked, deep-rooted tradition of storytelling, folklore, mythology. There is a thread that binds together west coast harmonies and the gospel choir, Southern gothic and civil rights, all of the tensions and the joys and the fierce, bright hope of America’s great cultural, geographical, musical journey.

Visit Delta Rae's website at http://deltarae.com

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Artist: The Exciters

Song: "He's Got the Power"

Album: Tell Him

The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group consisting of seventeen year old high school classmates, although a male member (Herb Rooney) was added later. The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker. Reid's "no nonsense, tough girl" vocals in particular made this group so distinctive in the era of girl groups.

The Exciters' first hit record, produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, was "Tell Him" (U.S. #4) in late 1962. Other songs included "He's Got the Power", "Get Him" and Northern Soul classic "Blowing Up My Mind". The Exciters also recorded the original version of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" in 1963; it was covered shortly after by Manfred Mann, for whom it was an international hit.

Trivia: Dusty Springfield was on a stop-over in New York City en route to Nashville to make a country music album with The Springfields in 1962, when she heard the Exciters' "Tell Him." The song helped Springfield decide to embark on a solo career with a Pop/Soul direction. She'd recall: "The Exciters sort of got you by the throat... out of the blue comes blasting at you 'I know something about love,' and that’s it. That’s what I wanna do."

Where you might know them from: The Exciters' hit song "Tell Him" has been featured in such films as "My Best Friend's Wedding," "Monsters vs. Aliens" and the TV Show "Ally McBeal."

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I guess I should start updating this blog again, eh? Might as well do something useful!

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Katie what happened to this blog? This is pretty much what made us friends. <3

Errrrr...... Because I'm a lazy sod? ;)

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Artist: Jay Brannan

Song: "Half-Boyfriend"

Album: Goddamned (2008)

Jay Brannan is a contemporary singer-songwriter based out of New York City. Born in Texas during the early '80s, he found difficulties relating to his family in part due to his homosexuality. In the early '00s, he moved to NYC and was cast in the independent film Shortbus, in which one of his songs was performed and recorded for the soundtrack. Since then, Brannan has released two albums and accumulated a large cult following on YouTube. His musical style can best be described as indie-folk, much in the vain of Ani DiFranco, Sinead O'Connor and Liz Phair. Brannan's high tenor and sweet acoustic guitar, as well as lyrics that are honest, funny and poignant, he is personally one of my top five favorite contemporary artists. I was able to meet him last week, and he was incredibly sweet, only deepening my love for him. If you have a chance to see him perform, please do!

Visit Jay's website

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Artist: The Dead Milkmen

Song: “Punk Rock Girl”

Album: Beelzebubba (1988)

The Dead Milkmen (1983-1995, 2008-present) is an American punk rock band, formed in Philadelphia, PA. Starting out in the underground hardcore scene in the early ’80s, they quickly gathered a large following, fans loving them for their fun, jangly sounds and satirical, humorous lyrics. With the success of the single “Punk Rock Girl”, they became regulars on MTV’s video rotation. However, due to health problems and a disastrous signing to a major label, the band broke up in 1995. They reformed in 2008, releasing their latest album “The King In Yellow” this year.

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