Brandi Shearer in Austin at ME Television

As part of the Amoeba Presents Tour, Brandi Shearer along with tour mates Quincy Coleman and Kate Walsh, paid Austin a visit. Is Is it possible to have a bad show in Austin? i think the same thing about Chicago. Two great music towns. Brandi stopped by ME-TV studios to chat with Josh Shepherd and play 4 songs. Here's Heaven. I wish more cities had ME TV!

Suzanne Vega on Songwriting

There is a nice piece Suzanne Vega wrote about her song Pale Cowboy in the NY Times and how she pondered over the lyrics.

If your friend is an orchid then you are a rose.
Upright and thorny against your horizon.
Still solitary with all petals closed.
In the heat when the heart’s desert sun is arising.

In the song she refers to men as a rose and an orchid. It's a delve into a songwriter's psyche and an enlightening read.

JIM BOGGIA

Seeing Jim Boggia live is always a treat. You're never quite sure the turn the show will take, but you will be entertained, the banter will be lively and you may even hear a reference to Pete Barbutti. During his set Monday night at the Living Room he played a few new songs from Misadventures In Stereo which is coming out this August. More about that later. He started the show off with his take on Meatloaf, took requests from the audience, covered the Kinks, Waterloo Sunset and then proceeded to do something which seemed old school and refreshing. He told a story about opening a show that Jill Sobule headlined. Before her set, he met up with her, said he was a big fan and he performed her songs live. She invited him on stage with her that night, warning the audience that I've never heard this guy, so he may suck. On Monday night while getting to the gig, Jim sat next to a woman named Kate on the bus. She told him she played, they talked about Laura Nyro and he invited her to perform with him that night, also warning the audience, she may suck. They turned Stoned Soul Picnic into a smilefest. Kate at the piano tackling lead vocals and Jim on guitar and harmonies. It was a lovely, spontaneous jam. She left the stage and he immediately brought her back to add a lamentable keyboard riff to No Way Out.

Boggia's album comes out on bluehammock August 5th. I think it's his Something/Anything. It's a mix of styles, all songs are well crafted, it has some needed talking in between tracks and there are jump out pop tunes. He worked with some great people on this record. Al Anderson lends his guitar to Listening to NRBQ and he co-wrote Chalk Up One For Albert's Side with Tony Asher - Yes that Tony Asher from Pet Sounds! There is a hint of homage to Brian Wilson's production. The album, which was mastered at Abby Road, closes with the epic Three Weeks Shy. If radio stations programed like the old WNEW-FM, this album would be in heavy rotation. Vinyl is making a comeback, maybe FM radio will too and more people will be turned on to a talent like Jim.

Amoeba Presents Tour Kicks Off Tonight!

The tour starts tonight in the Northwest. Get out to see Brandi Shearer, Kate Walsh and Quincy Coleman. The fun begins in Portland, OR: In-Store at Music Millennium tonight at 5pm, followed by a show at The Doug Fir.
Amoeba Presents three amazing artists. They cover the country, so they're probably in a city close to you.

5/12 - Douglas Fir - Portland, OR
5/13 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
5/15 - Café Du Nord - San Francisco, CA
5/16 - Roxy - Los Angeles, CA
5/20 - Lamberts - Austin, TX
5/22 - Eddies Attic - Decatur, GA
5/24 - Iota - Arlington, VA
5/25 - Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA
5/26 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
5/27 - Middle East - Cambridge, MA
5/29 - Club Café - Pittsburgh, PA
5/30 - Schubas - Chicago, IL
5/31 - Café Montmarte - Madison, WI
6/01 - Duck Room - St. Louis, MO
6/03 - Soiled Dove - Denver, CO

StubHub and Madonna Deal to Resell Tix

I guess any news that is music business related should not surprise me, but it still does. Years ago you would not see the artist getting into bed with the scalpers, but I guess Madonna feels if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

According to an article in today's Wall St Journal, Madonna will get a a percentage of sales as well as a flat fee from StubHub. This is her first tour under her new $120 million deal with Live Nation. She is doing 18 dates in the US this fall. Several of them will be stadium shows including Dodger Stadium. I've only seen Madonna once and it was at Radio City. It might have been the Like A Virgin tour. I can't image her show translating to a big stadium where she has to connect with at least 45,000 people. Even though Madison Square Garden isn't intimate by any means, you can still see the dancers. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling her fans will not want to see her in a major league ballpark. So Madonna plays bigger venues than ever, gets into the scalping business and is releasing her last record on Warner Brothers. It was also reported in the Journal that the Warner Music Group's losses widened. Some things will still surprise me, others won't.

Sam Beeton

Sometimes I pay attention to the Record Of The Day, sometimes I'm too busy to click on it or I don't have my headphones handy. Sam Beeton was featured today. His record comes out this summer. I scoured his website and was pleasantly surprised that I like all the songs I heard. I'm assuming he's written the songs. It is hooky well-constructed pop. I'm a sucker for a good pop song. Note my enduring love for Nick Lowe. Nice production. He is 19 and from what I've seen on his videos, he's charming. Just from his blogs I can tell the record label is spending some solid money. A New York photo shoot with the master, Danny Clinch, an LA video shoot with Tony Petrossian and another photo shoot in Malibu.
Talent and charisma: I have a feeling this guy will do very, very well.