New Voice of FreeCreditScore.com Commercial

Does that voice sound familiar? Daniel Zott, lead singer of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., is the lead singer of a new FreeCreditScore.com commercial. Here he is featured alongside members of his other Detroit-based band, Victorious Secret.

Canadian musician Eric Violette was the frontrunner of the FreeCreditReport commercials for several years, but when the credit rating service changed their name to FreeCreditScore.com, they also searched for a new band. I was totally surprised to see Daniel Zott singing this new catchy jingle on TV and I'm not sure whether to be excited or bummed out. It is catchy though and it's a nice change from the old tune!

Remembering Earl Scruggs

Born in the county adjacent to Earl Scruggs and raised on healthy doses of bluegrass, it is only appropriate that we honor Earl Scruggs and his contributions to bluegrass and the banjo. Known to play a tune or two on the banjo myself I know that I have Scruggs to thank as a pioneer of the "three- finger picking" bluegrass banjo style.


Scruggs was born in 1924 in Shelby, NC. He rose through the ranks of musical fame in Nashville, TN and played in the first  bluegrass band, aptly named the "Blue Grass Boys". His unique finger-picking style could be heard in "The Beverly Hillbillies" theme song as well as the film "Bonnie and Clyde". Scruggs and Lester Flatt won a Grammy with "Foggy Mountain Breakdown". Scruggs died in Nashville of natural causes on March 28 at the age of 88.


Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt

Artist Review (Forecastle Preview Edition): Ben Sollee

Kentucky native Ben Sollee will be gracing the stage at Forecastle this year for the first time. Sollee is best known for his unique "genre-bending" cello style that blends classical sounds with folk, bluegrass, R&B, jazz, blues, and rock. His positive perspective on life shows in his music and lyrics.

Sollee started playing the cello in elementary school and fell in love with the classical instrument because of its many different sounds. His first musical influence (besides classical) was jazz and blues, listening to musicians such as Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles. He later got into folk music and his influence from both genres shows in his songs.

In 2005 Sollee joined legendary banjo player Bela Fleck and formed The Sparrow Quartet with other musicians, making big strides in his music career. After recording the group's first LP, Sollee debuted Learning to Bend, recorded with multiple musicians for different songs. Learning to Bend had great, upbeat songs with wonderful lyrics and soon became a huge success, allowing Sollee to become well-known throughout the folk music world.

In 2010 Sollee recorded an album with Kentucky local Daniel Martin Moore titled Dear Companion, which was produced by another Kentucky native, Jim James, of My Morning Jacket. After the release of the album the trio toured together to promote the issue of mountaintop removal in the Appalachian mountains. As the three are very close, one can only hope for guest appearances during this year's Forecastle performance.

Following his success, Sollee has done many tours with his band which features Jordan Ellis (percussion) and Emily Hagihara (vocals and fiddle). The tour that gets a lot of attention is his "Ditch the Van Tour" in which he and his band travel only on bicycles with their instruments, which he has been doing since 2009. Ben Sollee released his second LP in 2011 titled Inclusions. 

Be sure to check out Ben Sollee and his talented band the Sunday of Forecastle. His heartfelt music will leave you feeling happy with a positive outlook on life.

How to See The Sun Rise - Ben Sollee

It's Not Impossible - Ben Sollee (feat. Bela Fleck)

A Change is Gonna Come - Ben Sollee

The Globe - Ben Sollee

Hurting - Ben Sollee

Huddle On The Roof - Ben Sollee

Bonnaroo 2012 Lineup

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has a stellar lineup with music sure to please all walks of life. Headlining this year is Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish and The Beach Boys. Other notables include North Carolina bands, The Avett Brothers and Ben Folds Five (on a reunion tour), as well as The Shins and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. See the full lineup here. Other activities include a full comedy lineup (in the works), art, theatre, dance, gardening, and instrument building at "The Academy" at Planetroo, Adult Swim's Ragbag of Jollification and a beer tent featuring over 20 U.S. breweries. 



Radiohead

So what's new with the festival?

Bonnaroo is releasing an interactive app with a Bonnaroo countdown and "Radio Bonnaroo", featuring the sounds you'll hear at the festival. 

Carpooling made easy!

Bonnaroo is partnering with Zimride to make it easy to save the planet and share a ride with fellow festival-goers. Arrive with four or more people to be eligible for prizes. 

Bonnaroo is in Manchester, TN from June 7-10.



Red Hot Chili Peppers



The Beach Boys

Concert Recap: Neon Indian + Purity Ring

Purity Ring

It was a sold out show at the Cat's Cradle this Wednesday, as Neon Indian and Purity Ring fans got a megadose of low-fi synth-pop. Purity Ring opened the show and, given their talent, is sure to have someone opening for them next time I see them. Instead of relying on stage lights the DJ had a contraption rigged to his sampling equipment. The colors on the lights around his console corresponded to the beat and a large bass drum on the stage would light up during bass beats. Megan James' vocals were slightly haunting, though meticulously well-pitched, and married well with the DJ's almost spooky music samples and beats.

As the anticipation built for Neon Indian, a sea of flannel shirt-wearing fans wielding PBRs packed in around the stage. Neon Indian opened with "Local Joke" from Pyschic Chasms (2009). Much of the original music remained in tact, but some guitar leads were slightly lost in translation. They also relied on a drum kit instead of low-fi drum samples. The crowd responded well to the more popular tracks. The band played a long synth-heavy segue into "Pyschic Chasms" and the crowd began to move as the synth-bass line drove the song along. "Polish Girl" (Era Extraña, 2011) was also a huge hit and a segue into "Dead Beat Summer" made both tunes even better. Lead singer Alan Palomo even let the crowd sing the chorus. Palomo told the crowd there was one song left in the set but said that since we were "such a great audience" they would play on through the encore set, which included "Terminally Chill" and "Should've Taken Acid With You". All in all it was a great night of low-fi/chillwave, right in my backyard.

Alan Palomo (lead singer, synth)

Leanne Macomber (synth, vocals)
 playing a tune on bass

Artist Review (Forecastle Preview Edition): Galactic

With all the great bands set to play at Forecastle in Louisville, KY this summer, one band that I am looking forward to seeing is a New Orleans-based funk/jazz band Galactic.

Their music has a lot of energy with roots of Cajun music mixed with many other genres, such as, hip hop, electronic, world music, rock, blues, and jazz. Many songs feature contributions from artists of various genres, giving Galactic an even more unique sound.

Galactic has been around since 1994, having released nine LP's since that time along with live albums and music on various soundtracks. However, I only started listening to Galactic in college when I got a hold of Ya-Ka-May in 2010 while working at WRFL 88.1 FM. They released another album just after Mardi Gras this year titled Carnivale Electronics. The album has a lot of Cajun and funk influences, which makes listening quite enjoyable. The band has a lot of passion and energy in their music and that energy is sure to carry over into their live performances. Galactic consist of 5 regular members, Robert Mercurio, Jeff Raines, Richard Vogel, Stanton Moore, and Ben Ellman, however, I can see them inviting many other artist to play with them during their performance at Forecastle.

I couldn't think of a better place than to see this band perform than outside on a warm, summer day. Galactic is scheduled to play on Saturday and I will be there ready to dance to some great tunes. You should join!

Heart of Steel - Galactic

Cineramascope - Galactic

Dark Warter - Galactic

Voyage Ton Flag - Galactic

Hey Na Na - Galactic

Carnival Time - Galactic

Upcoming Concert: Neon Indian vs. Miniature Tiger

Two great bands are headlining shows in separate venues just miles apart on the same night and I still haven't decided who to go see. Neon Indian will be at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, N.C. and Miniature Tigers will be at the Night Light in Chapel Hill.

Neon Indian

Texas-based Neon Indian is headlining at the bigger venue of the two and is a very tempting choice. The quintessential low-fi, chillwave group is sure to have concert-goers enthralled with their usage of classic synthesizers and looping gear. Opening act Purity Ring's beats go hand in hand with Neon Indian, and features a female lead vocalist to cut through heavy synthesizers and looping.

Miniature Tigers

Miniature Tigers, a Brooklyn-based indie-rock group, is headlining with several smaller but talented opening bands. Electro-punk group, The Chain Gang of 1974, and gritty surfer-rock group, Pretty and Nice seem like two interesting opening acts. However, I would most like to see San Francisco-based trio, Geographer. Their music falls somewhere between acoustic indie-pop/rock and electronic, and frontrunner Michael Deni's vocals are nothing short of amazing. I do worry that with three opening acts, each band will only get a short gig on stage though. Which show would you choose?

Purity Ring - Loft Cries
Neon Indian - Polish Girl
Geographer - Kite
The Chain Gang of 1974 - Undercover
Pretty and Nice - Tora, Tora, Tora
Miniature Tigers - Female Doctor