The Elected at the Troubadour

It’s been four years since my favorite band, Rilo Kiley, produced a new album, but luckily for me, frontman Blake Sennet has been hard at work on his side project, The Elected, which has just released its third album --“Bury Me In Rings”.

The disc’s 12 tracks are full of dreamy pop with a 70’s vibe. One could liken it to the jingle-jangle feel of The Byrds, with a plethora of instruments creating a full and satiated sound. The effervescence of each song leaves the album sounding softer, smoother and a little less strident than their previous albums.

The album kicks off with two sprightly sounding songs: “Born to Love You” and “Babyface” – both consisting of spot-on, mellow harmonies. “Look At Me Now” is an upbeat and catchy tune with buoyant guitar riffs, while a more subdued “Trip Around the World” makes excellent use of the ukulele. (I’m always a sucker for a good ukulele song.)

In the sweet and soulful ballad, “Have You Been Cheated,” Blake brings the lyrics to life as he sings, “You put all your best words in your worst song and you can’t bear to sing it when they won’t sing along.”

The album closes on a bittersweet note with “Time is Coming,” where among the soft and melodic guitar, Blake sings “Will you hold me if I cry, will you miss me if I die? Will you come and heal my wounds?”

At the band’s record release gig at the Troubador in LA on May 17, Blake proved he has lost none of the passion or intensity he had on prior tours of either of his bands.

Opening with a cover of Tom Petty’s “You Got Lucky,” Blake and the boys then dove into “Babyface,” before treating the crowd to “I’ll Be Your Man,” from 2006’s “Sun Sun Sun”.

During the few moments between songs when the venue was quiet, members of the audience started shouting out songs they wanted to hear. Most of them yelled out “Ripchord” (a song off of Rilo Kiley’s 2004 album, “More Adventurous”) while others requested The Elected’s “Bank and Trust,” which Blake himself admitted he didn’t know how to play anymore.

At live shows, I feel like the audience should just let them play what they play. There’s a set list for a reason. If the band asks for requests, then by all means speak up, but otherwise, just let them do their thing. I know fans want to hear their old favorites, but sometimes you have to let your favorite artists share their new material with you. That’s why they’re there. That’s why they’re excited and why they’ve been rehearsing over and over to give you the best performance they can.

Anyway, back to the show. After a few more songs off the new album – “Born to Love You,” “Have You Been Cheated,” and “Where Are You” – and after a little tuning problem with the guitar during “Time Is Coming,” they played a fan favorite “Biggest Star,” which had Blake rocking out, while belting “Honey, I can’t lose!”

For the encore, they only played one song: “A Response to Greed” from 2004’s “Me First”--leaving hungry fans salivating for more when the lights came up. I’m sure I speak for the rest of the crowd when I say the show was a big success and a great way to welcome back a guy who’s been gone from the music scene way too long. (Sure, it’s only been a few years, but it felt like a lifetime!) Welcome back, Blake!

Bad Religion/Rise Against

It was a sold out crowd at the Long Beach Arena where we were all treated to a genuine arena rock concert. This would mark my first time seeing The Descendents, Bad Religion and Rise Against in concert. I wasn’t disappointed.

All three sets were fast-paced and high energy, complete with crowd surfing and several mosh pits that were fun to watch from the balcony seating. It was like little moving crop circles running clockwise in the crowd. Maybe one of these days, I’ll be brave enough to try it, but in the meantime, I was quite content with my nosebleed seats.

After The Descendents opened the show, punk rock legends Bad Religion set the stage ablaze with their energetic and dynamic set. Playing many of their classic hits and fan favorites, including “Infected” and “Sorrow,” it’s hard to believe that they’ve been doing this for 30 years. They haven’t slowed down at all and had just as much endurance and gusto and twice the stage presence as any fledgling band that has only been touring for a couple years. They also performed “The Resist Stance” and “Cyanide,” newer tunes off of their most recent album, “The Dissent of Man.”

The only problem I had with Bad Religion’s 12-song set had nothing to do with the band itself, but the three people in front of me who spent the entire set on their cell phones texting and Facebooking. All three of them…the whole time. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: get off your phones and enjoy the music, people! Who wants to be distracted by an incoming text when you’ve got great live music to stimulate you? It takes away from the full experience, so do yourselves a favor and either leave your phones in the car or just use them to snap a few pictures to commemorate the show and then put them away and enjoy the concert.

Vent over. Now back to the show.

When the main act of the night, Rise Against, came out on stage, the crowd went nuts and more moshing commenced immediately. Playing hits like “The Good Left Undone” and “Prayer of the Refugee” off their 2006 album, “The Sufferer and the Witness,” they had the entire crowd fist pumping, head banging and singing along. One particular song that got me out of my seat and dancing around was my personal favorite, “Audience of One.”

Lead singer Tim McIlrath’s vocals were a little lost at times amongst the over-powering guitar levels, but once the kinks were worked out, he sounded great and his voice filled the entire venue.

Touring in support of their brand new album, “Endgame,” they didn’t stray from performing songs off that album, including their current hit single, “Help Is On the Way,” a song whose video is inspired by and depicts the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Being known as an activist band, Rise Against strongly advocates causes like animal rights, environmental issues, and even fighting against the bullying of gay teens and the onslaught of gay teen suicides last year, which they so passionately sing about in “Make It Stop (September’s Children).” As Tim McIlrath sang, “And too much blood has flown from the wrists of the children shamed for those they chose to kiss. Who will rise to stop the blood?” I thought about how great it is to see a band that stands for something and believes in the word they’re singing, especially when they do so while entertaining a crowd of thousands.

Their sixth studio album, “Endgame,” is available now. If you’re a fan of pure, pulsating rock combined with socially conscious and prevalent lyrics, then you’ll love this album.

Avril's New Album: "Goodbye Lullaby"

It’s been a long time coming. Four years, to be exact.

Now, Avril Lavigne’s new album, “Goodbye Lullaby,” is finally here!

Some might call the Canadian native’s style “pop,” some call her “rock” and some try to describe her as everything in between. Well, I say, ‘Let’s refrain from labeling her.’ She is simply a musician, plain and simple. And true musicianship means taking a leap and not being afraid to explore every kind of sound and emotion that inspires you, which is exactly what she does on this album.

So, we all know Avril originally from her “Complicated” days — and more recently, from her “Girlfriend” days. On her fourth album, the angst is still there, but it’s not as prevalent as it has been in the past. We definitely get that sound in the lead single, “What The Hell?”, but don’t let that catchy song fool you. The rest of the album is much more subdued and meditative. She’s showing signs of growing up as evidenced in songs like “Push” and “I Love You.” She poignantly explores heartbreak in “Not Enough” and “Remember When.”

Perhaps the most personal song on the album, “Goodbye,” is a hard one to listen to, particularly if you’ve ever had your heart broken. The words, as simple as they are, are all too true. As she sings, “I have to go, I have to go and leave you alone,” the song builds into a crescendo and tugs at the heartstrings.

Still, the album isn’t all “what if’s” and “goodbyes.” In “Smile,” she sings about making out with someone all night and then waking up with a new tattoo. Never one to be lacking in the lyrics department, in her signature ballad, “Wish You Were Here,” she sings, “Damn, damn damn, what I’d do to have you here… I love the way you are with who I am. Don’t have to try hard.”

Just as a fair warning, she makes good use of swear words on the album, which I’m personally a sucker for in songs.

Avril worked with producer Max Martin on “Goodbye Lullaby,” as well as ex-husband Deryck Whibley (of whom a lot of the songs seem to be about, but you can read into it what you will). Yet, there seems to be no ill will between the two.

The proof is in the words sung by an older, wiser Avril.

Getting to know April Smith

Tamara and I with April Smith!




If you don’t know who April Smith is, I guarantee you will soon. This girl is blowing up and shows no signs of slowing down. In the past six months, the New Jersey born, Brooklyn-based singer's music has been featured on Showtime’s “Weeds,” multiple commercials, and her band, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, also released their new music video for the dark and mischievous song, “Terrible Things.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg9-I0ULERA She just finished up a successful tour and most recently, April’s song, “Can’t Say No” (a song inspired by her adorable dog, Scout) was featured in a montage on the season premiere of “American Idol.”

I caught up with April recently to chat all about her whirlwind year and what’s on the horizon for her in 2011, starting with her reaction to “American Idol” using her song. “I was so excited. People started calling me and were like, ‘Oh my God, your song is on ‘American Idol!’ I think they were just looking for a song that fit and I guess mine kind of came up in the search. I'm really excited!”

Seeing as how over 26 million viewers saw the premiere of "Idol," April is sure to gain even more momentum. This kind of success doesn’t come easily, though.

“I don't have a label, so it's basically a DIY operation. You kind of have to get a team together that's 100% gunning for you at all times. After you make the album, it's like you’ve planted the seed and now you have to water it. You have to get promotion and radio and marketing and all that stuff and you have to pay for a tour and it's all so expensive... I've been pretty lucky as an artist without a label that I've gotten the opportunities that I've had because it's really tough to get those things happening.”

With the success of April Smith and the Great Picture Show’s album, “Songs for a Sinking Ship,” April is just now starting to hit her stride and has big plans ahead for the coming year.

“I've been writing. When you're involved in the business side, it's so hard to take off the ‘business hat’ and say, 'Now I've got to be creative.' So, I'm trying to find the balance between the two. I'm writing now and I'd like to have the next album written by the end of the year.”

The underlying style of her most recent album is a retro pop ‘30s and ‘40s inspired sound fused with vintage, jazzy vocals. She says she's looking forward to exploring and developing that sound even more.

“The retro/swing/big band sound has always been a favorite of mine, so it was definitely a different direction for me when it started influencing my writing. And I'm really happy with the way that 'Songs for a Sinking Ship' sounds, but I think as an artist you should hope that you evolve and change a little bit, even if it's not a drastic change. I definitely feel that on the next album, it'll be a little bit of a different sound, different instrumentation. It'll still have that retro sound, but maybe different elements.”

Perhaps why April is doing so well is because her music really is unlike anything else people have heard before in our generation.

"I feel like it's accessible, but it's not typical mainstream music," she continued. "I hope that works in my favor.”

If you read my previous review on April’s album, you’ll remember that I marveled at her powerful, moving voice and it had me wondering exactly when she discovered she could sing like that and how she got her signature sound.

“When I was little, I used to sing all the time. I would not shut up. I loved the ‘Annie’ soundtrack, so I used to sing that anywhere. When I was 13 and I realized I wanted to sing, I had this horrible stage fright and I was really nervous and gradually I got less nervous. It's just really important to find your voice and not try to sound like other people. You should always try and be unique in your style. When I tried to tune out everything around me, all the mainstream music, I think that's when I became a better singer. It was really easy for me to find my own voice."

If you listen to the entire album, each song tells a story and they all seem to be connected in a way, which led me to believe it could be turned into a pretty stellar musical. I asked April if she would ever consider taking on the task of turning her songs into a musical someday.

"I would love to do that, actually. My first college major was musical theater, but I switched to broadcasting. My big passion is to create my own music. I would love to do a musical. I've been approached by a couple people who are playwrights who have asked me if I wanted to write something and that would be a really fun thing to do when I have some downtime between albums, even if it's a really short show or writing a couple of tunes for a musical."

While a musical isn't out of the question, there is one goal that April would love to attain:

“What I really would love ultimately, is I would love to have one of my songs on ‘Glee.’ That would seriously rule. If someone told me I'd have sell my kidney, I'd say, ‘All right.’ I just want to have a song on that show. I think ‘Colors’ would be an amazing song for them to do.”


OK Gleeks, so have a listen to April Smith -- and after you discover exactly what I've been raving about, let’s get a Facebook campaign going to get one of her songs on “Glee”!


5 Quick Questions With April Smith:

What is the song that made you want to become a musician?
"'Somebody to Love' by Queen."

What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
"Listening to Wham."

What is one thing you want to try that you've never tried before?
"I would love to jump out of a plane someday. With a parachute, of course!"

What is your favorite city to play live in?
"Spokane, Washington."

What is one thing you can't live without on tour?
"A fingernail brush. I am super creeped out by dirt under my fingernails."

AvLav is back!

I’ve been waiting a long time for this: new Avril music!!! Nearly four years since her last record, her fourth studio album, “Goodbye Lullaby” is set for release in March. The track list has already been revealed. While I’m anxiously awaiting the release, the Max Martin produced kick-off single, “What the Hell,” gives us a taste of what’s to come from the new album and if this song is any indication, we definitely have a lot to look forward to from Avril this spring.

With synth-filled, steady beats and a prominent keyboard sound that doesn’t let up, “What the Hell” is an infectious, in-your-face, fist-pumping good time. Avril shows off her young, carefree attitude with taunting and teasing lyrics reminiscent of her lead-off hit song from her third album, “Girlfriend.” Her cheekiness is unrelenting in the power-pop single as she sings, “All my life I’ve been good but now I’m thinking ‘What the hell?’/ I don’t really care about if you love me, if you hate me, you can’t save me…” She even ends the number with a few playful “la la la’s.”

Avril kicked off the New Year by debuting the catchy, party song on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” to an amped-up audience. Based on that performance, the new single and the forthcoming album, it looks like 2011 is poised to be the year of Avril.

So… have you still not heard the song yet? “What the Hell” are you waiting for?!

Ingrid Michaelson at the Troubadour

Closing out her North American tour, singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson headed to the Troubadour for the first to two sold out shows in Los Angeles. I’ve seen her live before, but after this performance, I have made myself a solemn vow to see her in concert every time she comes to LA. This girl puts on a hell of a show. She is a consummate entertainer, to say the least, and left me with a perma-smile on my face the entire night.

Shortly after 10:15pm, the band entered to Led Zepplin’s “Immigrant Song” and started playing their version of the song. Immediately following the cover, Ingrid went right into her song “Soldier” (off her current album, “Everybody”). After a bit of ukulele trouble, she moved over to her keyboard to perform an older song, “Breakable.” After sharing a story of how Leann Rimes quoted her lyrics on Twitter, she busted out in to a short little ditty, appropriately titled “Famous People Know Who I Am” then dedicated the bubbly sounding, but lyrically heartbreaking “Once Was Love” to none other than Leann Rimes.

Then came time for “Die Alone” - her obligatory ‘happy song’ (as she called it). Don’t let the title fool you, it really is a song about hope in finding true love and realizing that maybe you won’t die alone. See? Happy song! With the ukulele problem now solved, it was audience participation time where we all sang back the chorus to “Mountain and the Sea.”

During the fun and catchy love long, “You and I,” each band member got to sing a little line and everyone joined in on the foot-stomping and hand-clapping at the end. After that, Ingrid was left alone on stage to regale the audience with her story of meeting R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, then proceeded to make my heart nearly explode with delight when she covered my favorite R.E.M. song, “Nightswimming.” It was a remarkable a capella rendition using a looping pedal to record her voice harmonizing the melody as she sang the lyrics over it. The entire crowd was captivated, even the ones who had never heard the song before.

After throwing in some new tunes, including “Annihilate” (which is a pending title) and her current single, “Parachute,” she began to sing one of my favorites: “The Chain.” At this point, I’d like to take a moment to really convey exactly how insanely good her vocals are. This girl has got chops. I’m really not a fan of that expression, but there’s really no other way to put it. Her vocal prowess is top notch. During “The Chain,” her voice filled the entire room, with Allie Moss and Bess Rogers singing the backing vocals in a round.

Learning her lesson the hard way in previous shows, she knows now never to play ‘the hit song’ first for those who just came to hear that one song. Her big hit, “The Way I Am” came about an hour into the show followed by another hit, “Maybe” (which is the song that takes me days to get out of my head once I’ve heard it.) I don’t think her fans could have asked for a better closing number than Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” which came complete with synchronized line-dancing and a fun little cheer-type pyramid at the end. While I love her original songs, I always look forward to seeing her live just to hear her cover songs, whether it’s Radiohead’s “Creep,” Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” or the theme song to “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”

Instead of doing the traditional “run off stage and come back on two minutes later for the encore,” Ingrid and the band opted to simply have the lights go down and they each found a hiding spot on stage until the audience applause grew to deafening heights, waiting for an encore. We were all very pleased with her playing “Be OK” and then she got us all dancing around to a raucous, punk rock version of “The Way I Am.” She covered her own song and made it even more awesome than it was…if that’s possible.

She had the crowd laughing and singing all night and we all hung on to every word of her little anecdotes, not wanting her witty badinage to end. But I was lucky enough to get to meet and talk to her after the show. She's an absolute sweetheart. Her tour may have come to an end, but she does have four dates in Australia later this month. In the meantime, while you’re waiting for her to come back around to your city, be sure to download her current single, “Parachute.”

The Magic of TayTay

So, if you haven’t heard by now, Taylor Swift sings about the people in her life, and her exes in particular. Yes, some are famous. Yes, she doesn’t hold back. And yes, she’s done it in the past and she’ll continue to do so in the future. We can speculate all we which song is about what guy, but that would just overshadow the album itself, wouldn’t it? So let’s just put that aside and focus on Taylor’s music and impeccable songwriting.

At 16, Taylor broke ground with her sweet and mellow hit song, “Tim McGraw.” That’s when I first took notice of her. As a country artist, she definitely had what it took to maintain staying power. I knew she’d be going places, but I never imagined how huge she would become until I heard 2008’s “Love Story.” When a teenage girl can write a song that even my sixteen-year-old nephew (who is considered, by all definitions, a “jock”) likes to belt out, then obviously Taylor knows she’s struck a golden chord. Now nearly 21, Taylor continues to mature and grow into her role as prolific songwriter with the release of her third disc, “Speak Now,” an album that speaks volumes about heartache and regret. And Taylor, we’re listening.

“Mine” is the first single and the song that kicks off the album. A warm and lighthearted love song, it reached number 3 on Billboard Hot 100, making Swift the second female artist in the history (along with Mariah Carey) to debut multiple tracks in the top five during a calendar year – not an easy feat.

“Back to December” reminds us that we all have regrets, even Taylor. She’s usually the one who’s scorned, but in this number, she’s the one who made a mistake, and now wants to assuage the situation. We see a different side of Taylor in the title track “Speak Now,” in which she breaks up a wedding, claiming the guy deserves better than the girl he’s about to marry. The song contains one of her secret messages in her liner notes stating, “You always regret what you don’t say.”

As for “Mean,” this song is country through and through, complete with the twang of a banjo and the use of hand clapping as percussion, while “The Story of Us” leaves no metaphor left unturned as she describes the demise of a once perfect relationship.

“Innocent,” as we all know from Taylor’s VMA performance, is the “Kanye” song. Cleverly, her secret message in the liner notes for this song is: ‘Life is full of little interruptions.’ Regardless of the subject matter, it’s still a really affecting song. Making mistakes and having regrets seems to be a common theme on the album.
The claws come out on “Better Than Revenge,” which is a lot of fun lyrically with Taylor singing “…she’s an actress, but she’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress…She thinks I’m psycho ‘cause I like to rhyme her name with things…no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity.”

“Last Kiss” is heartbreaking ballad that focuses on the little details of a broken relationship, as opposed to the big milestones. It paints a vivid picture we can all relate to. At one point or another, we’ve all been crying on the floor, lamenting on what was and could have been.

There is not one ancillary song on the album and in spite of some of the more serious tracks, it’s clear that she knows how to have some fun. The album really does read as a diary put to music, which is excellent. So many great songs are based on personal, real-life experiences. The important thing to remember is to include your listeners by making it something they can relate to and avoid making it too self-indulgent. By not specifically naming names, Taylor pulls this task off very well. Having been a fan from the beginning, I’m glad to see she’s only getting better and better. And despite being in my late 20’s, I too find myself sometimes grabbing a hairbrush and singing along to Taylor. It can’t be helped. And I know I’m not the only one who’s done it, so no judging. That’s just my point. She reaches a wide variety of people and has a diverse audience, which bodes very well for the future of this talented young lady.