News

Bryan John Appleby: Fire On The Vine

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Here's a little secret Dig Nation, sometimes, I do judge a book by it's cover. In fact, I do it a lot. I do it at the grocery store while looking at egg cartons. I do it at the liquor store while deciding which new beers to try, and I do it while perusing through TWD submission emails. Strike that, I do it a lot while going through submissions. I don't even bother with emails that use words like remix, dub, mash up, or versus, and I hardly ever pay attention to any thing that starts their genre-title off with the word dream. In all fairness, it is awesome that starting this music blog has brought an entire world of music into my inbox on a daily basis, but let's get real, ain't nobody got time for that.

Regardless, the other day I was going through my emails, making sweeping generalizations left and right, when I encountered a very curious name – Bryan John Appleby. Read on for my full thoughts as well as a collection of videos and the a full streaming copy of Appleby's album Fire on the Vine.

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Unearthed Music

Barna Howard

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Portland OR seems to be teeming with a unique breed of melancholic Americana and Mama Bird Recording Co. has been quietly amassing their talents for the last couple of years. TWD has previously written about both Denver and Sainseneca leaving us to address Barna Howard; the third artist represented on that label.

As I previously mentioned, all of Mama Bird's artists fall under the guise of folk musicians. However, as opposed to Denver and Saintseneca who sound uniquely contemporary, Barna Howard's compositional voice is a throwback to the tradition of Arlo Guthrie and the folk musicians of that ilk. Listen below to the two track teaser from his 2012 full length self-titled released and take note of the way Barna slips in and around his vowel sounds while singing and uses his highly polyphonic guitar to lay out a three voice accompaniment in the traditional folk style. 

His playing is clean, his voice is clear, and his stories are welcoming and well written. Barna Howard should have a bright future in the folk community where a talent such as his is surely to be recognized and sought after. Click here to purchase his full length album and then drop him a line on his facebook page and let him know that you dig it.

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Weekly Roundup

Weekly Roundup Mar 3 – 10, 2013

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Hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was practically spring here in NYC and great to get outside and feel the energy of the city ramping back up as the warmth returns. Looking forward to that continuing. Now, please dig the latest Weekly Roundup.

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News

Jonny Fritz: Ain't It Your Birthday

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Friend of the Dig Jonny Fritz is riding high in 2013 with his new record Dad Country due out April 16th on ATO Records and an expansive tour that features dates on SXSW as well as time with The Weeks, Heartless Bastards, and The Devil Makes Three. 

Read on for those dates and locations as well as a link to your free copy of Ain't It Your Birthday by Jonny from his new record.

Jonny Fritz: Ain't It Your Birthday

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Those Who Dig Presents

Those Who Dig Presents: The Ballroom Thieves

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Hold on to your socks Baltimore because we are doing it again. Those Who Dig is proud to present The Ballroom Thieves live this Friday March 1st at Liams Flynn's Ale House (22 W. North Avenue) starting at 8:30. There is no cover charge for this show but any and all support for our traveling troubadours is appreciated by way of tip or purchase of their merchandise. You can RSVP for the concert by stopping by our facebook event page and then when you're at the show please tweet Those Who Dig and the band your thoughts and/or photos with the hastag #twdpresents. We always love to hear from the Dig Nation.

You may remember The Ballroom Thieves from an article I wrote here last year but just in case you missed it they are comprised of Martin Earley (Guitar/Vocals) Devin Mauch (Percussion/Vocals) and Rachel Gawell (Cello/Vocals). This fly by night indie folk trio has been successfully romping around the country by way of Boston for over two years now and it's high time that they broke into town for their Baltimore debut.

The Ballroom Thieves are not to be missed. With three part harmony, thoughtful songwriting, ripping cello solos, and a relentlessly engaging live persona The Ballroom Thieves bring energy and talent together in their music. Their debut EP The Devil & The Deep is a five song tour of the band's wide emotional pallet and sonic potential. Read on for the full article as well as a video performance of their song Down By The River.

See you Friday night Baltimore!

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Saintseneca EP

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Saintseneca is the collection of Zac Little, Steva Jacobs, Grace Chang, Luke Smith, Maryn Jones, and Steve Ciolek. Being that they all grew up together in Columbus Ohio they like to say that "Childhood and Chance" brought them together. It's a beautiful thought which reflects both the immediate appeal of their sound and the depth of their sentiment. The band is in the fortunate company of Denver and Barna Howard on Mama Bird Recording Co. and if you've been keeping tabs on us at TWD you'll know that Denver is a favorite around these parts (previous articles).

The streaming EP below was released in October of last year and I have been absolutely loving Saintseneca's broad emotional pallet and forthright vocals. Saintseneca sounds like a modern day revival meeting where both emotion and music flow abundantly. While they are not currently on tour you can keep in touch with the band via Facebook and I look forward to following the band's work in the coming months and years. Saintseneca is shaping up to be one of my favorite new discoveries of 2013. You dig?

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