There was a lot of non-dig stuff going on for me this past week (shit was cray, one could say) so I feel like I'm playing from behind to bring this new Weekly Roundup to you. But here it is, with some cool new music and videos.
Digcast Epsiode IV is out today and in it I interview the reknowned classical guitarist, composer, and professor Ronald Pearl. We discuss his performance history, the loss of liner notes in contemporary music, his instrument, his compositional approach, baseball, and more. Ron Pearl is an insightful, talented, and multi-dimensional musician and we are proud to have him on the podcast.
Read on to check out the full episode as well as to get the links for everything we discuss in the interview. You smartphone users out there can also download the interview via the itunes store for FREE here. You dig?
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I'm trying to get this feature happening the week the new album reviewed comes out and should have it that way soon, but I'm going back to March 13th for tonight's post. Based on your votes, I've got the self-titled release from Delta Spirit in the First Impression crosshairs.
Professor Penguin is a London based nine piece we recently featured on the Dig here. Their newest single Pirate was released yesterday and along with it came an uncomplicated, earnest, and nostalgic music video. What I dig about these guys is the cleanliness of their songwriting, and the warmth of their sound. With a nine piece band I expect to be overwhelmed by texture and effort, but Professor Penguin is the perfect balance of harmony, rhythm, melody and countermelody – they've got me hook line and sinker. I look forward to the release of the full album and grand things to come from our friends across the pond. Please do remember to show the guys a little love via their social media at Twitter, Soundcloud, Official Webpage, and Facebook. You dig?
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After releasing their self-titled EP at the tail end of 2011, First Blush is making their stage debut March 20th at the Upper East Side Music Festival in NYC at Bar East. In case you missed it we featured the band on Episode 3 of the Digcast and you can check them out here to catch back up.
Tuesday night's performance will feature Charles Sekel and Carlo Neda on synths, keyboard and vocals, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, Zach Honoroff on drums and Zak Croxall on bass. Although the first band takes the stage at 7:45, First Blush will play at 9:15. Tickets are only 10 bucks and can be purchased in advance here or at the door. The show is 21 and older so bring your ID and take advantage of the excellent craft beer selection. The festival also features the music of Jett Brando, My Short Happy Life, and Machine Life.
The full EP is streaming via Youtube for your listening pleasure, but the audience should also be on the look out for new material Tuesday night. We love interacting with the Dig Nation so have your smart phone on hand and send us updates, gig feedback, and photos by way of Twitter and Facebook for this and any of the Gigs We Dig.
First Blush: Be Back Home/Gemini
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It was quite the week at Dig HQ. Saw some great shows, March Madness – my favorite sporting event – kicked off, Community returned, St. Patrick's Day festivities, and more. I'm ready to cap it off by sharing some awesome music in this new Weekly Roundup.
Last night I watched EMA play at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. I've seen her before and was very much looking forward to another performance. Read on for a brief recap of the show.
Last week, we unveiled a new feature called First Impressions, which is a single-listen, stream of consciousness style review of a new release chosen from reader votes. I kicked it off with Bruce Springsteen's latest album, Wrecking Ball. But the truth is, the vote was a tie between the Boss and the newest from Andrew Bird. So before we get to this week's release, I gave a spin to Mr. Bird's Break It Yourself for all those that voted for him.
Tomorrow night (March 16th) you all should make your way to the Music Hall of Williamsburg to see EMA live in concert. I promise it will not disappoint. Read on for more details.
It's safe to say that I've been a quiet fan of Tears for Fears my whole life. More recently however I've been enjoying the way that artists are re-contextualizing their music and taking the originals to strange and beautiful new places. With melody at the forefront of stoic and warm harmonies, the music of Tears For Fears is ripe for exploration in other genres. A few months back I posted a video performance of the incomparable jazz trio The Bad Plus performing TFF's classic Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Check out that article and video here. Today I am happy to share another dip into the canon of TFF by the massively talented and imaginative pianist and composer Michael Sheppard with his new work entitled Mad World Fantasy.
Read on and kick off your Thursday with a little bit of music from the friges of two genres. You dig?
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