Bloggerhythms

The Blues Project, from New York City, is a 60s band famous for not living up to their advanced billing. The group splintered quickly with hardly any success. The band's most famous members, Al Kooper and Steve Katz went on to form the original incarnation of Blood, Sweat, and Tears while two other refugees from the Greenwich Village outfit, Andy Kulberg (flute and bass) and Roy Blumenfeld (drums) moved to the West Coast and formed Seatrain. Seatrain was a bluegrass/country/rock outfit whose big attraction was electric fiddler Richard Greene. He came over from another well known folk group, The Jim Kweskin Jug Band, that once featured singer Maria Muldaur. Seatrain's eponymous second LP is the one most people remember and by the time of its release Blumenfeld had already moved on and was replaced by Larry Atamanuik. Also on board for this record were keyboard player Lloyd Baskin and guitarist Peter Rowan. "13 Questions" was a minor hit single that reached #49 ...

John Lennon, in 1957, on the day he met Paul McCartney Why would four young, inexperienced musicians from England's fourth largest city, especially one frequently described as a deteriorating and depressing outpost, make such an impact on music and culture across an entire planet? Without discounting their obvious talents, their endearing personalities, and the publicity machine behind them, there has always been another important component to The Beatles' success story that is frequently overlooked: their hometown. Liverpool is the second largest port in the entire United Kingdom. This resulted in thousands of Americans coming to live and work in the city on the Mersey River. In addition, there was Burtonwood Royal Air Force Base located just a few miles from town. It was home to the largest contingent of American air personnel assigned to the U. K. during World War Two. Even after the war almost 20,000 American armed forces continued to be stationed there. The U. S. ...

Many of us lived in trepidation that That's Why God Made The Radio would clobber us with a tsunami of such devastatingly bad music that even the most ardent Beach Boys devotees would easily believe Satan, and not the Lord, is really responsible for Marconi's wonderful invention. What a pleasant surprise to find that what floated ashore instead were the gentle waves of a really fine album that proves, when given the right set of circumstances, talent never really leaves those who have it. That's Why God Made The Radio is the first album by California's native sons that Brian Wilson fully participated in since 1985's mildly satisfying, eponymously titled record produced by Steve Levine. It's the only official Beach Boys album not featuring the late Carl Wilson and that's sad because the youngest Wilson brother's voice was always an integral component of their effortlessly beautiful harmonies. Carl was also the man who kept the band together for ma...

Live At The World Cafe, Vol. 33 The World Café , a very eclectic music program syndicated nationally by NPR celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. It's a daily, two hour show hosted by David Dye, a local Philadelphia DJ, who has a long history in rock radio dating back to the early 1970s. Dye plays a wide-ranging mix of folk, jazz, country, rock and even some world music. The show originates and is transcribed from the studios of WXPN , the alternative-rock station owned and operated by the University of Pennsylvania. It's currently aired on more than 250 NPR outlets nationwide. Dye's on air guests have included hundreds of fledgling artists trying to find their way in the music business as well as many interviews and mini-concerts from superstars such as Paul McCartney, Yo-Yo Ma, and Joni Mitchell. As with all programming on public radio the show is commercial free so that means it relies heavily on funding from corporate sponsorship, the government, and don...