Episode 065: Song Sparrow Research
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As you might imagine, I listen to a lot of music. I've always been pretty damn picky, but in some regards, Well-Rounded Radio now has me acting like the radio DJs and A&R people I used to hate so much when I was in bands (and trying to get them to listen to me!). So much stuff, you put it on, and if something doesn't grab your attention in a minute or two, you start reaching for the stop button.
My favorite album of 2009 was Song Sparrow Research's Welcome to the Potato Famine. I downloaded it in the fall via Bandcamp and found myself going back to it again and again for many months. Needless to say, given the amount of music now available to all of us, that doesn't happen as much as it used to for me.
You might recall the 50th episode of Well-Rounded Radio with Mike Dreese of Newbury Comics where I talked about the origins of Well-Rounded Radio. My friend, Marion Seymour, who played a big part in the story, has two sons. Her oldest, Harrison Boyce, is a terrific designer and you can see his work at harrisonboyce.com. Harrison also created the current Well-Rounded Radio site (in Movable Type).
Marion's younger son, Hamilton Boyce, is a musician who Marion has been telling me about over the years, from going to Garfield High School in Seattle and playing jazz to his first band, Grotto Fork, to the recording of Song Sparrow Research's first EP, The New Ragtime Revolution.
Last fall, I downloaded Song Sparrow Research's first full album, Welcome to the Potato Famine, from Bandcamp and was, to put it plainly, blown away.
