Listen (TRT 56:49): Lo-Fi mp3 > Higher-Fi mp3 | Shop | Recommendations

I first heard Eli "Paperboy" Reed (nee Eli Husock) when one of his songs was in a Salon song competition with Hallelujah the Hills, who I interviewed last year. About twenty seconds into his song, I started Googling him and was surprised to learn that he was from Brookline, Massachusetts, one town over from me in Jamaica Plain. By the time I finished listening to the song, I wanted to know more: how did a guy so young learn to infuse so many great influences and be able to turn it back into something that is both familiar and exciting?

Exposed to a lot of great soul, rhythm and blues, country, and gospel music from his father, former Boston Phoenix writer Howard Husock, Reed became a fan of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Al Green as well as becoming something of a historian about less-known musicians working in all of these American genres.

Continue reading "Episode 047: Eli "Paperboy" Reed and The True Loves" »

Posted by Charlie at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Listen (TRT 50:31): Lo-Fi mp3 > Higher-Fi mp3 | Shop | Recommendations

I first discovered the music of the band Ida in kind of a backward way. As a dad with crazy snobby tastes in kid's music, I had heard Dan Zanes had started making family music about seven years ago when my daughter was born. As a fan of his from The Del Fuegos, I got the chance to interview him for Well-Rounded Radio in 2004. When I asked him about other artists playing "good" family music, Elizabeth Mitchell's name rose to the top (as did Ella Jenkins, who has also become a favorite of my clan).

Not long after I saw Mitchell and her husband, Daniel Littleton, perform a terrific concert at FirstNight Boston in a cavernous convention room and picked up her first two CDs, You Are My Flower and You Are My Sunshine. Any band that plays Velvet Underground covers for kids is alright with me. I was hooked. Digging a bit, I discovered that Mitchell and Littleton actually got started out playing music in the slow core band Ida, so I picked up a bunch of their earlier CDs and was equally blown away. I'll attribute the fact that I was living on the west coast for the latter part of the 90s for why this Brooklyn-based band wasn't on my radar sooner, but Ida has an impressive catalogue.

Continue reading "Episode 045: Ida + Elizabeth Mitchell" »

Posted by Charlie at 04:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Listen (TRT 47:14): Lo-Fi mp3 > Higher-Fi mp3 | Shop | Recommendations

I first heard Eilen (rhymes with feelin') Jewell's music as she was playing at the Green River Music Festival in Greenfield, Massachusetts in the summer of 2006. Jewell was playing an outdoor stage, under a tent, with a myriad of activities going on around the festival property for both kids and adults, but the crowd was listening with rapt attention...not an easy thing to do when playing in such a setting!

Jewell's debut album, Boundary County, was self-released in 2005 and she subsequently signed to Signature Sounds, which released Letters from Sinners and Strangers in late June 2007. Jewell is playing live in the coming months at various points around the US.

Continue reading "Episode 040: Eilen Jewell" »

Posted by Charlie at 01:55 PM | Permalink

Listen (TRT 40:38): Lo-Fi > Higher-Fi > Quicktime | Shop | Recommendations

Sarah Borges has now won the award for most patient subject I've ever interviewed, as I had numerous technical glitches before we even got started with our conversation (thank you very much, Pro Tools) and she was as gracious and funny about it as one could be.

Borges' debut CD, "Silver City," was released in 2005 by Austin's Blue Corn Music and she's been working her way across the US gaining new fans and wowing critics with her songwriting and live shows. Reviews from both her CD and live shows have helped label her this year's "it" girl and the buzz about her work is so strong that it has spread across the country.

Continue reading "Episode 028: Sarah Borges" »

Posted by Charlie at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Listen (TRT 34:41): Lo-Fi > Higher-Fi > Quicktime | Shop | Recommendations

Michael Tarbox has held a variety of jobs over the years, including a cab driver, freelance editor, landscaper, factory worker, and record store clerk. Now in his 48th year, the singer/songwriter is using all these real-life experiences for full effect while writing riveting original blues, gospel, and Americana music with his band, Tarbox Ramblers.

The Tarbox Ramblers' eponymous debut was released in 2000 by Rounder Records and featured eight covers of songs from Bukka White, The Memphis Jug Band, and an assortment of traditionals. Their second release, "A Fix Back East," released by Rounder in January, features mostly originals, varying from smoky blues to lively rock and roll, from jug band music to country-tinged, front porch sing-a-longs.

Continue reading "Episode 008 : Tarbox Ramblers" »

Posted by Charlie at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Listen : Lo-Fi > | Shop | Recommendations

AshbyAshby is an ambitious duo from Boston whose music isn't easy to define. Their name is a tribute to few of their favorite artists, including film director Hal Ashby and jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby.

Willard Grant Conspiracy is singer Robert Fisher and an ever-changing cast of musicians from Boston and around the world who help him flesh out a music best described as Americana.

As proprietors of a good time wherever they play, Pressure Cooker incorporates reggae, ska, rock-steady and dancehall elements into their live and recorded sets.

Continue reading "Episode 001 : Ashby, Willard Grant Conspiracy + Pressure Cooker" »

Posted by Charlie at 11:36 PM | Permalink