"Alt-Country" Becomes the Music of this Fall

What can I say….I love writing about music and I’ve found a new sound that I needed to share with anyone who is looking for some new music.

As some of you know, my love for Brit music started with bands like Oasis and Travis during my high school days and has been a constant in my musical listening life over the past 15 years. It led me to bands like Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Florence and the Machine and many others.

I will never forget buying Keane’s first album Hopes and Dreams while living in Alabama in 2001 and falling head over heals in love with the band. (No kidding right? Just look at this blog). This past summer was basically devoted to listening to them.

Moving around the South and Midwest for my radio career opened me up to country music in ways that I never, ever imagined. In high school, when people used to ask me what kind of music I liked, my standard answer was “everything but country”.

 I wasn’t alone in that opinion growing up in Boston as historically, country music never got much attention except when you stumbled onto the Country Music Awards on CBS after a Patriots game ended and you quickly laughed at the ridiculous twang of the performers.

 Ironically for me, while living in Alabama, it was a girl from Boston who exposed me to country music in a way that made me actually listen to songs and lyrics and find an appreciation for the art. Bands like Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Josh Turner, and Sugarland started to get placed on my IPod and have stayed ever since. I’ve even been to several country music concerts including seeing Rascal Flatts three times.

But then came Bluegrass and that’s how my love of Brit music and country ended up headed on a collision course.

Alison Krauss and Union Station perform some of the most amazing songs I’ve ever heard. Most people know her work from the soundtrack to the George Clooney movie O Brother Where Art Tho. Her solo work also has won her more Grammy’s than any other female country artist and she quickly became one of my favorites. Alison and her band currently sits at Number 2 on my list of bands I must see before I die (R.E.M. is number 1).

One more stop before I get where I’m going this and that was my finding of the band Old Crow Medicine Show – a southern bluegrass band that expanded my musical horizons and made me search out more bands with similar sounds. I just caught the fever of the music.

It all came together when I discovered the band Mumford and Sons, and suddenly, my love of Brit music crashed into Bluegrass and country. I literally haven’t been able to stop listening to their 2009 album Sigh No More. Dust Bowl Dance shook me the first time I heard it and their perfection of the crescendo is masterful.

It all came full circle this past week when Keane writer Tim Rice-Oxley’s spin off group Mt. Desolation, released their self-titled first album. If you haven’t heard the song State of our Affairs yet, please take the time to below and hear how haunting of a song it is. It will stick with you in a very good way.

So what to call this new sound? When I first heard the label “Alt-Country”, I wasn’t sure I liked it but then I started to hear why it works. On the Mt. album, you will hear the influence of Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Neil Young, and Linda Ronstadt. You will hear some Union Station and Old Crow inside the music of Sigh No More as well. It's an amazing redux on a great American sound.

From a love of Brit music, to country, to Bluegrass to Alt-country from Brit musicians – my music journey continues to be a passion of mine and I love where it is taking me.




And just for fun...I play this song every time I go into my favorite bar in Omaha

Just Because.....

Favorite song I heard this summer and since I was at this show and met the band right after this song....and since I haven't written on here in a while...KEANE!!

To Go Along with my Em post

This won't be make NOT hate Em if you do....but it's worth watching to learn more about what I was talking about below


http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6945449n&tag=topnews

Goodbye Summer of 2010.

For a lonely soul, you're having such a nice time
For a lonely soul, you're having such a nice time
For a lonely soul, it seems to me that you're having such a nice time
You're having such a nice time. - Keane "Nothing in my way" (see below for song) 

Met Keane in MN

When you are single at 33, there is a lot of quiet time late at night which allows for massive amounts of self-reflection and introspection. I blame my uncle for introducing me to this world of single life where the greatest question invented lives on steroids: "Why?". He is well over the age of 45, single, no kids and challenged me early in my life to pursue the road less taken and to follow my heart.  

I was reminded this summer that I'm really fortunate to have the kind of life that I always wanted. Sometimes, in the rush of living, I think I forget to stop and look around at what is good in my life and the opportunities that are provided to me because of the choices I've made. That doesn't mean I don't have issues because my life can be lonely at times.  The solemn existence is caused by a piercing desire to pursue a career that forces me to move around the country to places where I never thought I would live.

Radio is who I am and without it, I don't know what I would do with myself. I have my uncle to thank for my career. This summer was quite possibly the greatest of my life, yet I spent the majority of it alone or with just one or two people along for the experiences. It causes me to wonder - have I spent too much time alone these past few years that I'm now forever destined to live solo? My poor mother is wondering if her oldest son will ever grow up and settle down but it sure doesn't look like it at the rate I'm going. I am 33 for god-sakes.

I'm now even asking myself if I will ever give up this bachelorhood? I don't think I want to but don't I have to if I want to do the wife and white picket fence life kinda thing? Debating that is my new late-night struggle.

I've written of my childhood before, explaining how we never traveled anywhere beyond New York City. It was like the world stopped at tip of lower Manhattan. This bubble was allowed to remain intact because everything you focused on was in Boston or New York. Movies, art, TV news, baseball, football, it was all about Boston and New York.

But then radio came along and this Pandora's Box of experiences was opened up for me and I was never the same. I call it "the ride" and it's been filled with so much selfish fun.

I'm not going to bore you with every detail of what I did this summer but the highlights are pretty wild and gives some background to why I'm still single. Yes, I did go home to Boston to see the family for five days but the real fun started afterwards.

Keane performing in Vegas

Everyone should spend the 4th of July in Los Angeles just once, especially if you are from the East Coast. I don't want to say that people in Cali aren't patriotic because they are, but the 4th there feels like a played-out family tradition rather than a celebration of our country's history. I also learned a big lesson in California this summer - growing up means you have to learn to keep your mouth shut and let your friends make their own mistakes with love. Even when you want to scream at them, you have to just accept their decisions because saying what you think can be devastating. I lost a connection with a close friend in July and I hope one day, we are able to re-build our friendship. He was my best friend for many years before a woman entered the picture one night in Vegas.


Speaking of Vegas, my annual July trip this year was highlighted by staying at the Green Valley Ranch Resort and getting a ton of stuff comp'd due to a connection I had at the hotel. If you are looking for a place off the strip that is really chill and very nice - that's the place to stay. The 21+ pool rocks too. I walked out up $250 from the casino, so that was a nice treat as I left the desert. It was different without my friend around though who had been a major part of my last three trips to Sin City. 


But Vegas 2010 will be remembered for seeing the band Keane for the first time at the House of Blues (pic above). I don't know if I'm normal or weird that I can go to concerts alone but I've always been this way and it further fuels my thoughts that I won't ever settle down. My first concert ever was seeing Cracker by myself at the Avalon club in Boston when I was 16. My favorite thing in the world to do is go to concerts but since many of my bands aren't popular with a lot of people, finding friends who want to go see those bands can be tough sometimes. I couldn't care less about going by myself to shows.

I'm happy to report that I finally made it to Chicago to cross off another bucket list item. In fact, after not going there for 33 years, I made two visits to the Windy City this summer. I first went for a couple of AAU tournaments for my website and then I went for Big 10 Football Media Days. While in Chi-town for the second time, a connection got my co-host and I great seats so I could see Wrigley Field - home of the Cubs for the first time.  

Chicago feels a lot like Boston with its history and quaint neighborhoods. I also made it up to Minneapolis in August and found out that their downtown is simply awesome. So much going on but so easy to get in and out of and so clean!


After going 7 years without seeing Keane, I got to see them twice during a 3 week period. The second time was in the Twin Cities at the famous First Avenue Club. That's where Prince made his name so it was pretty cool to be in there but not nearly as cool as meeting the entire band and having them sign something for me (see pic above) after the show. My friend Kat (she works in the music industry) set the whole thing up and I owe her a huge debt. It was the highlight of my summer as the band could not have been cooler to talk to for the 10 minutes I spent in their dressing room. 

But again, while Kat was hanging out with her work friends, I roamed the club by myself, dancing along to the music. It just felt right I guess.

I went to other places like Dallas for Big 12 Football Media Days, which was very routine in nature and we didn't do much fun stuff except go to a Rangers game to see Cliff Lee pitch. Kansas City was where I flew to Las Vegas from but went to a big AAU tournament first, so I spent a couple days there.

Yet, I keep coming back to a larger debate with myself when thinking about this summer: how long can you keep doing this and remain happy?

Marriage, relationships, and family have always been part of how I saw my life unfolding. I'm a family oriented guy living the most non-family friendly lifestyle. What girl wants to be around this madness?! It's a catch-22 for me.

Most of my relationships recently have been of the one to two month variety which has been perfectly OK. I date very differently than I used to. In the past, I would go years with the same girl and never walk away soon enough. Now, I get bored of them or they get sick of my behavior. There is no way that I could have gone to Boston, LA, Chicago twice, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Dallas during a 8 week period if I were married - but that's exactly what I did this summer and loved every minute of it. I know it's the quintessential single guy life that leads many to get hitched - coming home to your cat and empty loft of silence after days of partying, but how many unhappy married guys would take my life in two seconds?

All I know is, I had a blast this summer and most of it was spent by myself on planes, in cars, at shows, in hotels or at work. What does that say about me....I don't know exactly yet but I'm still loving my career, loving my freedom and loving my next chance to ask that great question:

Why?

Set List from Minneapolis Show for Keane

Hear the Encore in Minny below!

A Quick Thought On Golf

The thing I have always loved about the game of golf is that its principles extend way beyond the course or the country club.

America took the game and made it “exclusive” by creating the country club atmosphere, the polo brand, and high priced courseside houses, but I think the game has always been about learning life’s lessons. There is nothing exclusive about that at all. We all can learn something from the game.

It’s the only contest where you get to police yourself. Nobody to argue with, in or out, it’s your call. People say you play golf the way you live your life and I think that’s pretty accurate.

For me, I play golf with a love for the competition but have to fight the urge to cut corners and stay focused on each individual shot. When I get caught up in the bigger picture, like my score, I struggle and normally implode. I can be easily distracted and make mistakes if I start to play too quickly. 

My behavior in life is very similar.

So when I had surgery on my shoulder and I thought my golf career was over, I suddenly felt like I had lost something that had been a part of me since I was 11 years old.

I taught myself how to play the game by sneaking onto the Andover Country Club course at dusk on summer nights when nobody was out playing it. My friend Mike and I would get 3 or 4 holes in and then we’d putt until we couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces.

As the summer grew on, we would get braver and braver as to how early we’d go out to play. By the end of the season, we would be nuts enough to sneak between groups and play nearly a full 9 holes. Needless to say, we got chased off the course more than once.

Golf has taught me another life lesson just recently however, as I’m back to playing the game again. 18 months removed from surgery, I simply cannot swing the club as hard as I used to be able to and it’s difficult to accept that fact. I was the guy who could step up to the tee and drive the ball 300 yards straight down the middle.

I thought about this new lesson as I drove from the course this morning after shooting a 41 on a Par 35 for nine holes.

Driving the ball is a guy’s ego in full affect, a dick-measuring contest that we don’t really talk about much but it’s the reason why Drivers are $300 and a putter is $100. I’m a decent golfer but the one thing I could do was hit the ball a long ways. It was fun to see the reaction of people when I hit a drive. I’m not that big of a guy but I could really get into a golf ball. 

Not anymore.

Surgery has robbed me of the ability to swing hard and go after the ball with the force I used to uncork. I was angry for a while until I learned to accept my limitations and play within myself. I have to hit a 4 iron from 190 yards now.

Smooth swing. Slow back, controlled on impact. Proper finish.

The result – I’m probably a better golfer now than I was before the surgery and I’m not as wild off the tee as I was before. I’m not swinging “for the fences” if you will and instead just trying to put the ball where it needs to be put.

The lesson – learn what you can do well and do it to the best of your ability. Don’t worry about the showmanship and ego side of things, as all they will do is get you hurt. Be smart about yourself and know what you are capable of doing.  

It’s not the beginning that matters, it’s the end result. Golf, once again, teaching tools that can help you in life.