Tag Archives: rock

Dan Auerbach: Black Keys Frontman’s Production Efforts Are Unmistakable

Dan Auerbach must be one of the busiest men in the music business.  In addition to doing his part to keep bluesy rock & roll vital with the Black Keys, he’s been a very active record producer.  When you listen to some of the work he’s produced, you can clearly hear that he’s not afraid to infuse it with his own style.

Later this summer Valerie June will release “Pushing Against a Stone” in the U.S., with Auerbach as co-producer and co-writer of a number of songs. June is just getting noticed, playing festivals all over Europe this summer after opening for Jake Bugg earlier in the year (see our recent post Jake Bugg). Listen to “Raindance” from June’s self-released album “Valerie June and the Tennessee Express”, then listen to “You Can’t be Told” from the upcoming album. The latter pretty much screams Black Keys.

Another of Auerbach’s recent production efforts is “Nomad” by African guitar wizard, Omara “Bombino” Moctar. The subject of Ron Wyman’s documentary “Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion”, Bombino is touring the world this year including a month in the U.S.  Listen to “Mehegagh” (What Shall I Do) from “Agadez”, then listen to “Amidinine” from “Nomad” to hear Auerbach’s influence.

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RIP Mack Emmerman, Founder of Criteria Recording Studios

Fascinating obits ran recently, noting the passing on May 17th of Mack Emmerman, founder of Criteria Recording Studios in North Miami, Florida. The story of Criteria is not too different from the story of Sound City in Los Angeles, which was richly chronicled by Dave Grohl in his recent documentary (see our earlier post Dave Grohl’s “Sound City”), though Criteria was arguably even more successful.

Opened in 1959, Criteria’s history of landmark recordings includes The Allman Brothers’ “Eat A Peach” as well as Eric Clapton’s “Layla”, which featured the iconic slide guitar work of none other than Duane Allman.

Savor these tracks from Criteria’s catalog.

Criteria was purchased by New York’s Hit Factory in 1999 and continued to put out big albums including Michael Jackson’s last studio recording “Invincible”.  While the Hit Factory’s original New York location closed in 2005, the Miami facility lives on to this day, apparently a favorite of many rap and hip-hop acts.

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Cayucas Gets Us Ready for Summer

Summer is just around the corner, and this year’s beach music will definitely include tunes from Cayucas’ freshman release “Bigfoot” due out this week.

Cayucas began a couple of years ago as a one-man, bedroom studio recording effort by Zach Yudin.  He put his first tunes out under the name “Oregon Bike Trails” but apparently decided that a variation on the name of a California seaside town suited his vibe better.  “High School Lover” was first recorded under the OBT name a couple of years ago.  The video for “Cayucos” sets us straight on the proper spelling of the town but is otherwise baffling.

If you need a couple of other tunes get you in the mood for summer, it’s hard to beat these two classics.  Feel free to send us a comment or email with your favorite summer songs, and we’ll round them up for post when the weather gets hotter.

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Reader Suggestions: Justice, Hundred Waters, and Vintage Trouble

Over the past few months readers have suggested some bands definitely worth a listen.

First up, Justice, a French electronic duo who gained notoriety (Grammy nominations, etc.) with the release of their debut album “Cross” in 2007.  “New Lands” is from their 2011 release “Audio, Video, Disco”.  This track and others from the album pay homage to older synth-rock styles, funk, disco and more.  And the video’s Rollerball theme is more evidence that Justice enjoys updating the past.  Thanks for the suggestion, Cliff!

Next is Hundred Waters performing “Boreal”.  A close-up of musicians recording with a mix of vocals, classic instruments and electronics makes this video especially fun to watch.  Looks like this band is set for take-off, too, touring with The XX beginning in May. A link to their website is also included below – some really cool art work on the “Images” page. Thanks for the link, Charlie!

http://www.hundred-waters.com/

As for something definitely NOT electronic, check out “Blues Hand Me Down” from Vintage Trouble. The track appears on their debut 2011 release “The Bomb Shelter Sessions”. The rock and soul band is opening for The Who on a number of tour dates in 2013, has been hitting all the big festivals, and has recently made the late night talk show circuit. Got to be a good band to see live! Thanks for the tip, Rainer!

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Django Django, Go Go’s & Duran Duran

There aren’t many bands with name names, but new music from Django Django (“the D is silent”) and Belinda Carlisle of the Go Go’s is in the news.

Django Django has a stripped-down sound (check out the drum kit on the video below), and their eponymous first album was named to Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the best 50 albums of 2012.

Belinda Carlisle was the lead singer of the early-80’s hit machine the Go Go’s. The band had the beat everyone danced to in that era, and in the first single she’s released in the U.S. in over 15 years Belinda updates her dance sound and shows that her voice hasn’t lost anything in the last few decades

Likely the most popular name name band of all time is Duran Duran.  Drawn from a character in the bizarre Jane Fonda sci-fi vehicle “Barbarella”, the band’s name was apparently inspired by the night club Barbarella in their hometown of Birmingham, England.  After watching the Duran Duran video, feel free to send in a comment about your favorite name name band, or place an order for a wedding dress!

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