Bloggerhythms

As everyone knows by now The Beach Boys staged a triumphant 50th anniversary tour in 2012. Fans and critics alike raved about their live show and the boys' new album, That's Why God Made the Radio . I made a decision not to throw down my hard earned cash to see the ancient oldies revival act when it landed in my town because it had been over twenty-five years since the famous surf-rockers had been a viable franchise in the studio and, after the passing of Carl Wilson, their concerts deteriorated to the point where Mike Love continually embarrassed himself on stage. However, I downloaded the new album anyway and was very pleasantly surprised with the results. Brian Wilson showed the world that, when inspired, he still has the goods. Now, as an epilogue to last summer's tour, the band has released a new, forty-one song, double CD package, The Beach Boys Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour . It's a good souvenir for those who saw them on stage together for what is pr...

There are several similarities between New York City's up and coming band, The Lone Bellow , and last year's big sensation, The Lumineers. Both bands are trios featuring two men and a woman and both play acoustic based folk-rock for adults. But, the more meaningful connection between the two groups is that both were created out of tragic circumstances. The Lumineers' songwriter, Jeremiah Fraites, lost his brother to a drug overdose. Fraites then teamed up with his brother's best friend, Wesley Schultz, to write and play music as a way of coping with their loss. Then, with the addition of Neyla Pekarek they released their debut album featuring the recent huge hit single, "Ho Hey," that has already become a classic. In the case of The Lone Bellow the wife of lead singer and songwriter Zach Williams suffered critical injuries in a horse riding accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down. Like Fraites, Williams also used songwriting as therapy w...

Davy Knowles was only eleven years old when he fell in love with Mark Knopfler's axe work on Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" while listening to the radio in his father's car. That seemingly minor event was a turning point in young Davy's life because from that moment on all the kid wanted to be was a guitar player. Knowles was only twenty-one years old when he, drummer Ross Doyle, and bassist Adam Jones decided they wanted to emulate Cream, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and Peter Green's early Fleetwood Mac and become gods of the British blues. Out of that desire sprung their new band, Back Door Slam, a name they stole from a Robert Cray song. In 2007 the power trio, who hail from the Isle of Man, issued Roll Away . It would become the one and only studio album ever released by the group's original lineup. On Roll Away Knowles proves he can play with the best of the bluesmen. His sonorous singing voice sounds like someone much older and ...