Combining a blender full of what might seem like totally different musical styles together may appear like a formula made in hell, but not for Smooth Hound Smith (Zack Smith and Caitlin Doyle), who manage the task of combining seamless elements of folk, blues, rockabilly, country and rock together in a minimalist, accessible and wonderful way. There’s a bit of a growl in Zack’s vocal which is smoothed out here and there by the sweet blend of Caitlin’s. Here on California Sway…
Read MorePerfect for an after New Years’ party post, comes Lora Faye’s personal folk-blues-grunge single, Old Gas Station (November 2012). Lora’s voice literally cries out for someone to tell her what happened, when she wakes up to find a dead man and herself covered in blood. She has no memory of what happened. The video is draped in darkness and uses an old speakeasy vibe to portray the story, the mystery, and the song. Check out Lora Faye by visiting her website (social links included) and purchase Old Gas Station and her previous EP, Social Magic, from bandcamp.com. Check out Lora Faye…
Read MoreIt has to be a pretty exceptionally awesome live performance that makes it to the video blog. Generally, I’m looking for a high-quality studio video, or at minimum, a well recorded personal effort. This video (recorded live in 2010) for Give Em Hell from Little Hurricane’s 2012 debut long-player, Homewrecker, is a live performance, but it is recorded very well, with the intent to highlight the duo’s performance, not the crowd noise. Give Em Hell is a bluesy, at times sweet and…
Read MoreUpdate December 2021: Like many artists, Mark Lowndes didn’t make it. The original video is no longer available. All of the links here are dead as well. YouTube still has the Simple Days audio track, which I’m including here. Original Post: Much as I hate (no really, despise is a more accurate term) reality TV, here is a very deserving Australian who participated in “Australia’s Got Talent” reality show. Did he win? Don’t know and I don’t care. I know that he participated because I can…
Read MoreUK singer, Jon Allen adds just a dash of gravel to his voice, but it isn’t at all unpleasing, as the tuneful (and funny) Dead Man’s Suit from the June 2009 album by the same name suggests. This up-beat romp on death is, yes, a little dark, but the toe-tapping kind of dark, and the “I can’t believe I’m laughing” kind of dark. Jon Allen’s words don’t get lost in the mix, and that’s always a good thing, and the mix…
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