It's
funny, I had heard his name well before I heard his music. It danced
on the periphery of my awareness for years. I don't know whether I
had actually received his prior CDs, or had just read about him, but
for whatever reason, it is now that I am catching up to john Arthur
martinez. And having just moved to Texas, that has tripled. He has a
new band, and they rock. He writes with so many people I have been
fortunate to make the acquaintance of through the years, that it is a
wonder how I missed him in the first place. No longer. From his new
CD Purgatory Road, here is a solo take on Cobalt Blue, written for
his wife when they were courting. And listen at the end of the song
for the Nashville rain pouring down on the roof of the bus...
Ashley Cleveland's voice is assured, powerful and V-8 engine easy. And then there is Kenny Greenberg on guitar, with the facility to rip the most delicious licks. And if you need to hear what I am talking about, there is a kick ass audio montage on her website that just puts it out there. Her tour is taking her to three of Music Fog's city haunts. DC on the 18th, Nashville on 10/23 and Threadgill's in South Austin for the Gospel Brunch on 10/25. I will be there for sure! Here is the linkto her dates. Check back often to see if she is coming to your town. And if not, savor this video from the Americana Music Fest in Nashville.
Don't look at me, if it were up to "business as usual," we wouldn't have had time for Annie and the Beekeepers to visit us. There are hundreds of artists that attend these festivals, it is so hard to make time for all of them. So I have a confession...since I was being slammed, I didn't think we could book Annie and company. The ONLY reason it happened was Aaron being pro-active, as he checked them out online and said, "We should do this. They are interesting." So we brought them by in the evening, and I am so happy we could accommodate what turned out to be one of our most magic moments on the Nashville trip. Over 1,100 people have already viewed the other video we put up from them, "Again and Again," and it's only growing from there. Here is more!
