Thu
Aug
30
Or maybe you don’t hate Texas, but it sure can seem that way. I see so many tours nonchalantly skip over Texas as if this giant land mass does not exist.
Is it because you don’t like Bush? That’s fine! Nearly 40 percent of the state voted against him. And you can be assured those numbers have grown since the election. Also, he’s not even really from here — he just chose us. Give it a break if that’s the case!
Is it because you don’t think anyone here listens to good music? Do you think we’re a bunch of toothless hick country music fans? (Not that all country fans are toothless hicks, some have good dental plans.) I’ll have you know that the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex have good indie scenes. Just north of Dallas, you have the college town of Denton, which is brimming with potential fans. Heck, up-and-coming indie darlings Midlake are from there.
Is it because you have to drive through the expanse of nothingness that is West Texas? Well, isn’t the whole West that way? Can’t you curve up and hit up Oklahoma, Kansas or Missouri next?
Is it your booking agents who hold these prejudices? If so, where do they live, and what threats do they respond to?
Anyway, please, all those who skip Texas, bring this madness to an end! You have tons of loyal fans here, and you could have even more. After all, Texas is a big state!
Sun
Jun
24
So here it is. My little blog. Below is the first entry, it’s “old” but not really. Not unless things age beyond use after two days. Anyway, I will be constantly tinkering here, but aim to always maintain my schedule. I will quite possibly have mini updates throught weeks, too. So … enjoy!
-Jamie
It was the first time in a long time that my heart had truly winced at news of a musical split-up.
The announcement of Victoria Bergsman’s departure from The Concretes made me ache, not only because her voice would no longer accompany the Swedish act’s tunes anymore, but because I had never been able to catch them live.
I was relieved to find out that she and The Concretes were carrying on independently, though. The Concretes have moved on with “Hey, Trouble,” and now Victoria has joined them under a new moniker: Taken By Trees.
TBT’s debut, “Open Field” is much more mellow than Bergsman’s former ilk, but still treats with sensitive, yet graceful vocals and subtle arrangements. The pop sense so perfectly displayed with The Concretes lurks in the background, but swells at just the right time (“Julia” and “Lost And Found”).
Backing Bergsman is a variety of musicians, including Peter Bjorn & John’s John Eriksson and Bjorn Yttling, among others. The no-frills production by Bergsman and Yttling never gets in the way.
A relatively short 10 songs and 34 minutes, “Open Field” lets you wander in the misty, colorful woods of Bergsman’s mind just long enough to start falling in love, before having to wave goodbye and hope for another visit soon. So, no, it’s not The Concretes, but it’s good enough for now.
It doesn’t hurt that I could listen to her sing a phonebook and still be happy.
Check out Taken By Trees at:
www.takenbytrees.com [demos available on flash player]
www.myspace.com/takenbytreesmusic [Album tracks on flash player]
Hello,
My name is Jamie. This is my new music blog. What’s the point of another blog talking about music? Well, there isn’t much of one, other than me just wanting to do my part and spread the word on music I enjoy.
The lame bullet list version:
1) I am constantly awash in a flood of music new and old, and I’m always telling people to listen to this and that.
2) I see a lot of live music, and have a passion for concert photography. This might be a fun way to share that.
3) Much of my life basically revolves around music.
4) So why not?
So I’ll update this probably on Mondays at first (after the initial article), and see where this goes. I’ll see about adding more as I go, too. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
Hopefully I’ll see you around.
-Jamie
