In the last 8 years he has released an impressive 6 albums in the studio and 5 live. In addition, he has become a mainstay for festivals all across the North American continent as well as within his home country of Australia. Xavier Rudd is an artist that is well known for his ability to synthesize and merge assorted genres from around the world; notably reggae, folk, blues, jazz, Caribbean and African sounds. In addition to that he is well known for his socially conscious themes and an almost John Lennon like way of portraying big-picture optimism – even when addressing the negative. He is a substantial advocate for Australian Aboriginals and Native American peoples, and commonly integrates their vocals into his songs. Xavier is actually widely reputed for his talent at playing the central instrument of the Australian aboriginal peoples, the didgeridoo; at times having many of them, of varying pitch, at his disposal as he sings/plays the guitar while performing live.

Xavier’s latest album is Koonyum Sun. It is different from those prior in that he has fully incorporated the musical styling of South African bassist Tio Moloantoa and drummer Andile Nqubezelo, hence this album being released under the band name of Xavier Rudd & Inzintaba. This addition of “Inzintaba” has really added a degree of vocal dynamism in the album that wasn’t as present on Xavier’s earlier material. Also, the addition of the other two band members has given the trio an energy and a deft ability to seamlessly move-through & incorporate different genres, a talent which none of them would have been able to accomplish at the same level solo.

Koonyum Sun really shines when it uses “funk’ified reggae” beats and then layers upon that other genres. There are other songs that employ western pop/rock with subtle African/Carribean undertones, and others that take on a skipping-blues feel or even subtle psychedelia. On this album Xavier’s voice, like the music overall, is akin to Paul Simon’s (specifically from his Graceland album) in the vocal pace can pleasantly fall somewhere between talking and all out singing. It is also similar to Graceland in that it has created a timeless feel through combining worldly genres, and in doing so truly offers something for everyone. Koonyum Sun is a term that refers to the ascending sun in New South Wales, a symbol of rebirth and revival. And due to its mastery, it should only serve to reinvigorate the Xavier Rudd following, and rightfully so.

Take a look below as well to check out Xavier Rudd’s Fall tour dates.

8/13/2010 – Redmond (Seattle), WA – Marymoor Amphitheatre (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
8/14/2010 – Troutdale (Portland), OR – Edgefield (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
8/16/2010 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
8/17/2010 – San Diego, CA – Belly Up
8/18/2010 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
8/20/2010 – Morrison, CO (Denver) – Red Rocks (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
8/21/2010 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
8/24/2010 – Vienna, VA (D.C.) – Wolf Trap (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
8/25/2010 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
8/26/2010 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of the Living Arts
8/27/2010 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
8/28/2010 – Detroit, MI - Royal Oak
8/30/2010 – Nashville, TN – Exit In
8/31/2010 – Atlanta, GA – Variety
9/01/2010 – Charleston, SC – Windjammer
9/03/2010 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
9/04/2010 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
9/05/2010 – St. Petersburg, FL – State Theatre
9/07/2010 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
9/08/2010 – Louisville, KY – Headliners
9/09/2010 – Madison, WI – Barrymore
9/10/2010 – Minneapolis, MN – Harvest Fest
9/11/2010 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
9/13/2010 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
9/14/2010 – Boston, MA – Wilbur Theatre

Heidi Montag/Pratt of the infamous fake reality show The Hills, performs Body Language on Miss Universe 2009. It wasn’t pretty.

For our second interview we sat down with Aaron Wright in his hometown of Dublin, Ohio, just outside Columbus. Aaron was and still is currently the frontman of the talented Chandler Wright Story. The group has calmed down a bit since their lead guitarist, Bob Murnahan moved to Arizona. The band experimented with extended solos and creative arrangements. Aaron shared the stage with a popular variety of acts like Ekoostik Hookah, members of O.A.R., Tracy Byrd, Craig Morgan, Chris Cagle and will be opening for Billy Currington in mid August. Aaron’s influences span from 90’s acts such as Pearl Jam, Counting Crows, John Popper and Dave Matthews Band to icons such as Van Halen and Johnny Cash. Aaron describes the group’s sound as a “modern alternative jazzy rock band with a little twang.”

It was not easy for us to catch up with Aaron as he currently plays in variety of bands and his weeks are full of gigs on a variety of stages. He described his background in music and mentioned he first began playing piano at the early age of 5 years old. He nurtured his passion for music by experimenting with a number of instruments such as the guitar, bass, mandolin, drums, and the harmonica. Personally, the harmonica is what caught our attention.

The Chandler Wright Story itself began as a bit of an excuse for experimenting with an original sound on Tuesday nights. Aaron founded the band in 1999 and decided his middle name, Chandler had a better ring to it than The Aaron Wright Story. Aaron recruited Bob Murnahan, John Zuck and his drum instructor Joel Steward to form The Chandler Wright Story. The group released 2 albums “Chapter 1″ in 2001 and “A Tuesday Night On A Thursday” in 2004. They quickly grew a following throughout the Midwest and toured regionally for 7 seven years. The group now gets together a few times a year when lead guitarist, Bob Murnahan is back in town. Aaron is currently working on another album which may or may not be released as a self titled album. Check out www.aaronwrightmusic.com for more information on the group and on the in-the-works solo album.

On a personal somewhat funny note: On our way to meet up with Aaron for the third time we sort of bombarded his brother’s wife with film and audio equipment. He forgot to mention to her that we were stopping by but, I can only imagine what she thought when she looked out her window and saw our over eager camera man hanging out of the sun roof gathering footage.

Mike Reuther
mike.reuther@ourvinyl.com

As the saying goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. However, who needs a new trick when you have been rocking this long? The following is a compilation of living rock legends that you need to check out before they are finished performing.

BB King 83

Beginning his recording career in 1949, at 83 this living legend is anything but slow. Riley B King was born in 1925 and given the nickname the “Beale Street Blues Boy”, which was later shortened to B.B. Since then, he is renowned for defining the blues. Even though diabetes has left him doing his set sitting down, B.B. is still able to take a bow after the energy he pours into his shows.

Buddy Guy 72

Born in 1936, George “Buddy” Guy is a 5 time Grammy Award winning blues guitarist. Not only is Guy a legend in himself, but he has been linked as the key inspiration for other legends including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Age is not something slowing this blues legend down any time soon as he has been recently touring by himself and sharing the stage with younger generation blues phenomenon’s such as Johnny Lang and John Mayer.

Paul McCartney 67

Best know for his role with The Beatles, Paul McCartney has since fronted the legendary band Wings in the 80’s and currently tours under his own name. More than likely to pull out a larger repertoire of Beatles songs at every concert, Sir Paul McCartney will excite fans for years to come.

Eric Clapton 64

Eric “Slowhand” Clapton has already been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: As a Soloist, and a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Still showing off his legendary guitar “Blackie”, Clapton will be touring the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Japan in 2009.

Elton John 62

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, is the second person on this list to be dubbed a knight. He has sold over 200 million albums and has over 50 top 40 hits. In 1994 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Currently, he is putting on an excellent show with your last person on the list.

Billy Joel 60

Creating top 40 hits since the 1970’s, Billy Joel is no outlaw to music these days. Since he first appeared on the charts, Billy Joel has been nominated for 23 Grammy awards. After a brief stint from running from debt collectors, Billy Joel is no longer begging for tips as he is currently touring the world with his close friends and piano man, Elton John.

Patrick Kennedy

patrick.kennedy@ourvinyl.com

Copeland is a band that somewhat exists in a world of their own. This carries over to their music and should be taken into consideration when listening to or going to a concert of theirs. Their lush and eclectic arrangements never fail to shift my perspective to an otherworldly place. After seeing them at The Basement, in Columbus just a month or so ago, I realized how important it was to be in the proper setting when seeing them live. Let me just say it was my 3rd time seeing them, and the first time I enjoyed their live show. And I rarely do not enjoy a live show.

I’ve been a pretty devout fan of Copland for about 4 years now, but didn’t get the chance to see them live until after about 2 years. The mistake at these first two shows were the other bands I saw them with (not that they were bad) and more importantly, the crowd. The first two concerts I saw were the same bill, different cities. The line up was Daphne Loves Derby, The Hush Sound, Copeland and Jack’s Mannequin. While I do enjoy all 4 bands to some extent, Jack’s being my least favorite, it did not foster the right sort of atmosphere for a Copeland show. While any good band should be able to perform well in a variety of settings, the crowd at these shows was, well, too young.

I was one of the tallest people there (and I’m not tall), and I felt like all the kids were more suited for some sort summer pop concert. Let me put it this way, when Jack’s covered “My Name is Jonas” by Weezer, 95% of the crowd looked at each other in confusion, as if to say, “What the fuck is this?”. Am I that old? Is Weezer no longer an everyday band name in the vocabulary of these hip youngens? Lame crowd. I even recall some of the crowd yelling for Copeland to leave the stage. It’s not that they were performing poorly, the crowd just had no appreciation for their style.

Luckily, when I saw Copeland in Columbus a month ago, they were headlining, and everyone there was there for Copeland. It was wonderful to be among a group of fans eager to watch such a talented group. It was the sort of fun you have when everyone around you has the same appreciation and you can close your eyes and be taken to Copeland’s own world.

Sure, Copeland isn’t for everyone, but I still believe they are one of the strongest acts around today. For anyone who is a fan of honest and beautiful music, I recommend checking out Copeland. Their most recent album is a true work of art and any one who appreciates music should find something to enjoy while listening to Copeland.

Alex Hoffman

alex.hoffman@ourvinyl.com

Our first interview landed us with The Compass Rose of Madison Wisconsin. We caught up with the band in the middle of their 2 week tour. The Compass Rose Quartet formed in January of 2008 and developed an eclectic sound that dances on the boarders of genres as diverse as hip hop, folk, and a cappella. Mike Drohomyreky served as a front man supported by Ida Pajunen’s violin, Scott Lamps’ upright bass and the vocal percussion of Anthony Lamarr. The release of These Parts Unknown allowed the group’s unique backgrounds to clash into a beautiful demonstration of creativity. The band has shared the stage with The Roots, The Black Keys, Matt Wertz, Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, The Violent Femmes, Brett Dennen, Joshua Radin, Matt White, Matt Kearney, Lifehouse, Carbon Leaf and a handful of other mainstream acts.

Mike Droho himself has seen quite a bit of success as an independent musician and has sold over 11,000 records. While studying at The University of Wisconsin, Mike formed The Profits and put out 2 full length albums. In 2006 Mike released the album The Alleged Euphoric State of Self Actualization which included popular favorites Come for Me, The Groove Song, and My Own Fool. Since his start at the age of 19 Mike has preformed over 1,000 shows across the country and currently is competing in Madison, Wisconsin’s Triple M Challenge. The winner of the challenge will have the opportunity to meet with an A&R Rep from Atlantic Records, have their track played on 105.5 FM and potentially land a record deal.

Click here http://www.1055triplem.com to support Mike.

The Compass Rose’s Anthony Lamarr acts as the group’s drummer by adding vocal fills throughout tracks. Anthony virtually acts as a mobile snare while engaging the audience with his unique personality and style. He explains in our interview that he has been involved with art and music since an early age. Anthony keeps himself busy with other personal ambitions outside the group as well and recently finished writing his first musical titled Ballots. He plans to submit the musical to The New York Fringe Festival and hopes to be one of the 200 productions selected this upcoming year. To find more information about the musical check out ballotsthemusical.com.

The Quartet has recently decided to take a break but both Anthony and Mike are continuing to tour the country. They are already planning a Fall tour and we may see them soon with several new additions to the group. Below is the interview and live recording of the group’s newest song Jesus Louise.

Please feel free to comment and give us suggestions and recommendations for new artists in your cities!

Mike Reuther

mike.reuther@ourvinyl.com

Meiko has come a long way since being a cocktail waitress just over a year ago.  Releasing her self-titled debut album on myspace in September of 2007, Meiko has catapulted herself from serving martini’s to LA’s finest to appearing on some LA’s finest television shows.  This mellow singer-songwriter combines her talents of songwriting with her smooth as silk voice to create an immediate coffee-house atmosphere anywhere her music is heard.  After listening to Meiko’s album several times through, I can refer only to the album’s appeal as the “it” factor.  Something about the honesty in her voice combined with the perfect melodies makes it near impossible to skip a track; something can be rarely said about a full album.  The stand out song on the album is obviously Boy’s With Girlfriends.

The hook in the chorus never seems to get old leaving you yearning to hear the chorus one more time even after the song is over.  Another great draw about this song is that it begins with just the keyboard and vocals and immediately after the climax of the bridge, it drops back into the chorus reduced to just keyboard and vocals; coming full circle and making the listener feel complete.  The other tracks on the album that carry an upbeat but, easy going tone are How Lucky We Are, Heard It All Before, and Walk By.

A great album is always defined by the last song, and this one is exception.  Meiko’s slow and haunting song Hawaii projects the same feel as Damien Rice’s Cheer’s Darling. The lyrics taken alone appear to be something written for an overly optimistic song strummed on an up-tempo guitar.  Somehow, they end up fitting perfectly behind an eerie slow tune that sets a melancholic ambiance that makes you allow the CD to go back to the first track and start all over again just to get back to the optimistic singer-songwriter you first met.  That being said, I have fallen asleep while listening to this album multiple times; and that’s a good thing!

Patrick Kennedy

patrick.kennedy@ourvinyl.com