Sunday, September 22, 2013

Recently Unearthed: Not a Planet / Nathan Corsi

I tried to tell you to keep an eye on music at Aloft Hotels, but you just never listen to me. This week, at the very last minute, I heard Nathan Corsi was going to be at Aloft Leawood. Who's Nathan Corsi? Yeah, I asked that same question. I didn't have anything going on that night, so after a quick YouTube check to make sure he wasn't the next Blake Shelton, I decided to head out to Leawood.

It was a pretty night, after a rainy day. They set him up on the patio/terrace thing, which was nice. Too bad they didn't bother drying off the seating, but this isn't supposed to be a Yelp review.

Anyway, he did a lot of covers, seemed to be recovering from a cold, but it was all really good. He broke a guitar string about halfway through and took a break. I decided to head out because I was getting a little chilly, hungry, and my back was hurting from sitting on the weird bed/couches that were on the patio.

I left impressed and looked up more about him. Turns out there is a whole band involving Nathan Corsi: Not a Planet. They are local to Kansas City and seem to get some mileage doing shows, which is good for them. They'll be in my old home of Warrensburg in October and I might just have to find my way down there to check them out.

They have lots of music to listen to online, or you can go to Reverb Nation and download some stuff for the cost of sharing your email address.

I consider them a great find! I'm very happy I went. Once again, Aloft has introduced me to some new music I love.


Recently Unearthed: Bootstraps

Where did I get my download of Bootstraps "Fortyfive"? I really don't know. I've had it since January, but it finally found its time to shine in my shuffle-way of listening to music. They don't have a lot out yet. I'm not one for regurgitating Bio's when you can read their website to find out about their personal history on your own, but from what I read, they are a really new band.

As it seems to be the trend lately, TV shows are choosing a lot of up-and-comers to feature, which is nice. I'd guess it's cheaper for them and extremely helpful for the musicians as well. From what I read, that's kind of where this band is getting started.

I will admit, I haven't listened to lots and lots of their stuff yet. I'm a little too ADD for sitting on SoundCloud or whatever the websites are that just stream the songs. They only seem to have one video on YouTube and, even though I sometimes don't really watch the videos, I need more than a little equalizer screen to keep my brain functioning... but I can listen to my iPod... I guess it's just one of my mental things; we all have them, that's just one of mine.

So if I was going to try to describe to you what this music sounds like, I'd say Ray LaMontagne. Well, I'd try to say "Ray LaMontagne", but sometimes I forget how to pronounce his name: like lasagna? or like maintain? I'm not cool enough to get caught up in pronunciation. Shoot, I only learned last year that Bon Iver is the same music I don't like as that Boney Bear everyone talks about.

So back to the sound: Ray LaMontagne mixed with Snow Patrol. I like the music, it's not overly noisy, from what I've heard so far it's good music to just put on and chill out. I need that kind of music. I don't need to confuse music with the sounds of someone putting something in the microwave: beep, boop, zip, zip, pop, bang, beep, beep, beep.

So, good job, Bootstraps. Even, not such a bad name for a world where band names are often way too cheesy and contrived.


Sunday, September 1, 2013

Recently Unearthed: Kodaline

Kodaline is good. Like, really, really good. You should stop reading this and go listen to Kodaline right now. I ended up with one song from Amazon off of a sampler and that was enough to get me hooked.

So, a bit of advice...the music is awesome, but you probably want to be sure you are mentally stable before watching some of their videos because they are a bit intense. Like, you realize after 3 minutes that you've been holding your breath, right before you pass out.

New music available in October 2013.


Recently Unearthed: Imaginary Cities

Here I am, finally with a weekend off -- sorta. Sure, there are other things to do, but I haven't talked to you for awhile. I've been thinking about you...even compiling a list of things to talk to you about. One day, life will be back to a more normal state than it has been for the past few months.

So, to start today, I'm going to start off telling you about Imaginary Cities. I first heard them on Daytrotter. I really like their sound, while the vocalist's voice might not be for everyone. It's kind of like She & Him, but more nasally. It's good though, don't be scared.

They are from Canada, I don't know much about them, nor do I own a lot of their music. I have the Daytrotter tracks, plus you can download a track for free from their website.

Their music is peaceful, but with an upbeat rhythm. It's nice music when you just want to chill, but you aren't planning on cutting yourself.

Click here to check out one of their videos...they don't allow embedding.