miércoles, 19 de abril de 2023

Nathaniel - She Drives Me Crazy

 Nate Gilbertson (born 14 July 1985), often known simply as Nathaniel, is a South African-born Australian singer and songwriter most notable for finishing sixth on the fourth season of The X Factor Australia. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with DNA Songs' label through Sony Music Australia, and released the single "You", which peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Nathaniel Willemse was born in South Africa and moved to FrankstonMelbourne, Australia when he was six years old. He attended Karingal Park Secondary College, now known as McClelland College. In 2006, he auditioned for Australian Idol series four and made it to the top 24 round before being eliminated. On 22 January 2008, Willemse released his debut single "Vertigo" exclusively on iTunes, through Mummy's Boy Records. The single's release also included two B-side tracks, "Shall Be Told" and "Home", each co-written by Willemse. On 29 October 2011, Willemse independently released his first extended playEP, and second single, "You Are the One". Before applying for The X Factor Australia in 2012, Willemse was a vocal coach and a wedding singer.

In January 2013, Willemse embarked on the X Factor Live Tour with Samantha Jade, The CollectiveBella Ferraro, Shiane Hawke and Jason Owen. They performed shows in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. On 6 May 2013, Willemse announced on his Facebook page that he had signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. He is the first artist signed to DNA Songs' label through Sony. He released "You" on 27 September 2013, as his first single with the label. In Australia, it peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified two times Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales over 140,000 copies. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "You" peaked at number 16. In November 2013, Willemse was the supporting act for Jessica Mauboy's To the End of the Earth Tour. On 24 January 2014, Willemse released a cover of "I Am Australian" with Dami Im, Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew, Samantha Jade and Taylor Henderson, to coincide with the Australia Day celebrations. The song peaked at number 51 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Willemse's next single "You're Beautiful" was released on 28 February 2014, and debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart. A sixth single "Live Louder" was released on 5 September 2014 and peaked at number 4. It was certified Platinum by ARIA for sales exceeding 70,000 copies. Willemse returned to The X Factor on 15 September 2014 to perform the song live. In October 2014, Willemse performed at Australia's first ever neo-soul, jazz and hip-hop festival, Soulfest. In November 2014, he was the supporting act for Mariah Carey's Australian leg of her tour, The Elusive Chanteuse Show. In December 2014, Willemse and other Australian singers recorded a cover version of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" under the name "Hope for Isla and Jude", and released it as a charity single to help raise funds for two siblings who suffer from the rare disease Sanfilippo syndrome. Their version debuted at number 79 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Willemse's debut studio album Yours was released on 23 October 2015. On 8 December 2015, Nathaniel released a new single "Jungle Boogie", a Kool & the Gang cover. It was used as the promotional song in the season two launch campaign for the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. In March 2016, it was speculated that Willemse had been dropped by record company Sony Music, along with other X Factor finalists Reigan DerryMarlisa Punzalan and Dean Ray. In June 2016, it was confirmed when Willemse announced he had signed a deal with 123 Agency.

In January, Nathaniel confirmed the release of a new single "Vapours" on 27 January. “This single is about being intoxicated by someone, or by an experience. My head space at the time was I just wanted something different, honest and a little rebellious. I wanted to experiment with different sounds and sonic landscapes.”

From October 2017 to January 2018, Willemse starred in "Let's Get it On" a musical production celebrating the life and music of Marvin Gaye.


martes, 18 de abril de 2023

The Brown Derbies - Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

 The Brown Derbies is an a cappella group at Brown University. They were founded by Darryl Shrock in 1982 and have released fourteen albums. They sing a variety of different genres, ranging from Rock, to Pop, to R&B and are known in the a cappella community for their unique use of syllables in the background vocals. They have toured throughout the United States and internationally, with recent performances in Beijing, China, Shanghai, China, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1997, the group performed for President Bill Clinton at the White House. In November 2007, they were featured on the CBS Early Show in a segment about the rising popularity of a cappella groups on college campuses, and in July 2011 they were featured on the Gospel Music Channel reality show America Sings. In January 2012, they performed in the London A Cappella Festival.

The Derbies are known for incorporating humor and choreography into many of their live performances. An annual tradition is performing with the Chattertocks in their annual concert, "Smoked Salomon," which occurs every September in Salomon Hall on the Brown University campus. Their sister a cappella group is the Smith Smiffenpoofs.


lunes, 17 de abril de 2023

Guy Sebastian - Soul Man

 Guy Theodore Sebastian (Klang, Selangor, Malasia, 26 de octubre de 1981), más conocido como Guy Sebastian,​ es un cantante de soul, pop y gospel; compositor, productor musical y jurado de The X Factor australiano de origen malayo,​ recordado por participar y ganar la primera temporada de Australian Idol en el 2003.

En total ha lanzado siete álbumes de estudio, un álbum recopilatorio, un DVD/CD y un Extended Play.

En 2015, fue elegido por la televisión pública australiana Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) para representar a Australia en el Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión 2015, convirtiéndose en el primer artista en competir por el país oceánico en el festival.


domingo, 16 de abril de 2023

Jeffery Foskett - Telephone Line

 Jeffrey Foskett (February 17, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as a touring and studio musician for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the 1980s. Foskett was described as the Beach Boys' "vice principal" by its touring members. In 1996, he debuted as a solo artist with the album Thru My Window.

Born and raised in San Jose, California, Foskett began his first band in the 1970s known as Cherry, after the Willow Glen area street on which he lived. Foskett played mostly surf music covers in the same market as Papa Doo Run Run, with whom Foskett would join forces later. In the late 1970s, Foskett formed two renowned bands: The Reverie Rhythm Rockers (aka Reverie) and The Pranks while attending UCSB in Santa Barbara, California, gigging throughout the area with fellow area bands like D. B. Cooper. The band held a house residency at The Troubadore Nightclub in Hollywood Mondays performing with The MentorsThe CretonesThe Police and 20/20.

Foskett became a fan of the Beach Boys after he heard "I Get Around" and became determined to meet Brian Wilson. In 1976, Foskett tracked down Wilson's house in Bel Air, which had a stained-glass window resembling the artwork of the 1967 album Wild Honey. After knocking on Wilson's door, he was greeted by a friendly Wilson and quickly invited into his house as a guest. The two then kept in contact over the years.

In late 1979, Wilson's cousin Mike Love stopped by the famous Santa Barbara restaurant "1129" where Reverie was the house band. Love listened to Foskett and hired Reverie as the original incarnation of The Endless Summer Beach Band. The band toured with Love through December 1981, when Foskett replaced Wilson's brother Carl Wilson who briefly left The Beach Boys to pursue a solo career. When Carl rejoined the Beach Boys in May 1982, Foskett was asked to stay to perform Wilson's falsetto parts, which he did until 1990.

When Brian Wilson returned to touring in the late 1990s, he asked Foskett to help him assemble his touring band. Foskett was the musical director, appearing at every solo show Wilson had performed, up until his departure from Wilson's band. In concerts, Foskett provided lead vocals on several of Wilson's songs, including "Don't Worry Baby", "The Warmth Of The Sun" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" as well as others. Foskett has appeared as guitarist/vocalist/arranger on a majority of Wilson solo material, including the 2004 version of SMiLE.

In 2012, Foskett joined the Beach Boys' live band on their 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour, and subsequently recorded the studio album That's Why God Made the Radio alongside the band, performing all of the falsetto vocal parts as well as other vocals on the record. Regarding his role in the reunion, Al Jardine stated, "Jeffrey is invaluable to keeping the continuity between the various component parts. He supports Brian in every possible way. He has Brian's confidence, and basically kind of makes it possible to have Brian Wilson on the road with us. [Without] that shoulder to lean on, I think it would be very difficult for Brian to tour. And I'm very grateful for that."[2] On the tour he provided lead vocals on "Don't Worry Baby", "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" as well as singing all of the falsetto vocals.

Following the reunion tour, Foskett resumed touring with Wilson in 2013. Wilson enlisted guitarist Jeff Beck to accompany him and Foskett on his tour and collaborate with him on his next album. Foskett left the touring band in late 2013, citing sudden heavy workload on touring and recording the album. Foskett said “After the Jeff Beck tour, I was completely stressed and burned out. That whole year, recording that album and that tour — because I knew Jeff so well — a lot of things fell on me to get done that normally would have been other people’s responsibilities. So, at the end of that tour, I kind of snapped — literally — and just said, ‘I can’t do this anymore'. However Brian views me, is alright with me, as long as he knows I love him." Foskett was replaced by Matt Jardine, who joined Wilson along with his father and founding member Al Jardine on his tours.

On May 15, 2014, it was announced that Foskett would be re-joining the Beach Boys as a permanent member of the touring band. Foskett also performed on Love's solo albums Unleash the Love (2017) and Reason for the Season (2018).

In early 2019, Foskett took leave from the Beach Boys due to undergoing throat surgery. In late 2019, Foskett announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 anaplastic thyroid cancer in early 2018 and that his falsetto vocal range has heavily deteriorated as a result of several surgeries and treatments on his vocal cords. In addition, he said he would release his next album Voices, which he said may possibly be his last album as a solo artist, on November 22, 2019, though added that he would also continue as a live musician and possibly explore doing record production work.

Foskett has released several solo albums including Thru My Window, touted as "The best Beach Boys album they never recorded", Cool and Gone and Twelve and Twelve. Foskett has won several awards including Top Selling Artist of the Year in New Zealand and Best New Foreign Artist in Japan. He is also a member of "California Rocks" the California Rock Hall of Fame

In addition to The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson, Foskett has toured and recorded with other friends in the music industry such as Paul McCartneyJeff BeckRoy OrbisonThe Everly BrothersChristopher CrossMichael McDonaldChicagoAmericaHeartRoger McGuinnEric CarmenEric ClaptonJimmy Page, and Ringo Starr. Jeff is one of a very few Artists who has recorded and performed live with The Big Three Guitar Greats Beck, Page and Clapton. He also produces other artists including Harry Shearer of Spinal Tap and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.


sábado, 15 de abril de 2023

The Mike Eldred Trio - Heartbreak Hotel

 Mike Eldred is an American guitarist and luthier. Eldred originally came to national attention while backing Lee Rocker in the mid-1990s. He also served as director of the Fender Custom Shop. He has put out four albums as leader of the Mike Eldred Trio.

Eldred, a native of Arizona, started playing guitar at 14 when his parents bought him an instrument. He started building guitars at age 19 and was hired by the Charvel company in early 1979. He worked there for about eight or nine years, then joined Yamaha Corporation, where he also spent roughly eight or nine years.

Eldred also eventually started a blues band called the Ace Tones, which recorded a demo tape to get club bookings. The tape came to the notice of Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, who were breaking up. Setzer passed his copy on to Stray Cats bass player Lee Rocker.

Rocker then formed Lee Rocker's Big Blue, which put out its first album in 1994 and its second in 1995. Trouser Press called the group "a likable, sharp blues trio" and observed that "Eldred kicks out impressive junior Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar panache. In a writeup of a 1996 live performance, the Los Angeles Times noted that Eldred's stinging guitar lines enhanced Rocker's singing.

Thanks to Eldred, among the debut's featured guests was Scotty Moore, well known for being Elvis Presley's studio and touring guitarist. Eldred had befriended Moore (then semi-retired) a couple of years before. As Moore recalled in his 2013 memoir, Eldred wrote Moore a letter that mentioned how much Moore influenced his playing. To Eldred's surprise, Moore responded and wound up driving from his home in Nashville to Memphis, Tennessee, where Big Blue was recording.

For many years, starting in the late 1990s, Eldred ran the custom shop division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, which designed high-end instruments for celebrity clients including Eric ClaptonZZ TopBrad Paisley, and Keith Urban.

Among the projects Eldred oversaw was the Tribute Series, in which replicas of axes used by guitar heroes such as Jimi HendrixJeff Beck, and Rory Gallagher were made through a meticulous process of reverse engineering, carefully photographed. In 2007, Fender produced 250 copies of Stevie Ray Vaughan's well-worn guitar "Lenny" (one of his two performance workhorses). When Eldred disassembled the 1965 Stratocaster, he found to his surprise that it contained a component from his days at Charvel: a neck that had the name of ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons written in pencil on the heel.

Eldred's technical insights into guitar gear are visible in several books, including Fender histories by author Tony Bacon.

Eldred left Fender in 2014 after a management shakeup.

This group features Eldred as lead vocalist and primary songwriter in addition to playing guitar. It includes John Bazz, bass player for The Blasters.

The Mike Eldred Trio formed around 2000. It was visible playing out in the Los Angeles area as early as 2001.

The self-titled first album was released by Virgin France in 2002.

The second album, 61 & 49, came out in 2010. Guitar World magazine said that Eldred expertly led his trio into blues, rock and rockabilly territory, likening his playing to Hendrix as well as Vaughan. Guest musicians included old pal Scotty Moore, Ike Turner, and Cesar Rosas.

Elvis Unleaded followed in 2012. It consisted of 20 cover versions of Elvis Presley songs. The Arizona Daily Star described Eldred as "one of roots music's most celebrated guitarists."[

The group's most recent album to date, Baptist Town (2016), was recorded at the famous Sun Studio in Memphis. It featured guest appearances from David HidalgoJohn Mayer, and Robert Cray.


viernes, 14 de abril de 2023

Dawson Hollow - Dreams

 Dawson Hollow is an indie-folk-rock band from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. Members of this group have cut their teeth and earned their chops with years of touring under their belts, each learning music from a young age, they have toured all over north America from Florida to Alaska. Pulling from their roots in americana music while yet tapping into the modern sounds of today, they have emerged with a fresh new sound.



jueves, 13 de abril de 2023

Jeff Cook - Travellin' Band

 Jeffrey Alan Cook (August 27, 1949 – November 7, 2022) was an American country music artist. He was best known for being a founding member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed to occasional lead vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano and other musical instruments.

Jeffrey Alan Cook was born in Fort Payne, Alabama, and was of English and Native American descent. He was a graduate of Fort Payne High School and Jacksonville State University. He obtained a broadcast engineer license three days after his fourteenth birthday, and worked at a local radio station as a disc jockey while still in high school.

Cook co-founded the band Wildcountry, along with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry, in 1972 (the name was changed to Alabama in 1977). He contributed lead as well as backing vocals, lead guitar, keyboard, and fiddle to the group's productions. Since the band ceased active production and performance in 2004, Cook has formed the groups Cook & Glenn and the Allstar Goodtime Band, with which he performed.

In addition to his performance work, Cook founded Cook Sound Studios, Inc., in his native Fort Payne, and also established radio station WQRX-AM, which he later sold, in adjacent Valley Head, Alabama. Cook is also noted for his culinary endeavors, having operated a restaurant and marketed his own sauce.

Cook endorsed the 2008 presidential candidacy of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, and made appearances with the candidate in Alabama.

Cook was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019.

Cook toured in 2022 with Alabama for their 50th Anniversary tour. On April 11, 2017, Cook disclosed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years earlier. He stopped touring regularly with Alabama in 2018. Cook died from complications of the disease in Destin, Florida, on November 7, 2022, at the age of 73.