Daily Loaf

photos by Jeff O’Kelley

magine a girl born to sing. A girl who, at a very young age, channels the likes of Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash, but growing up in dreary Seattle, is surrounded by visceral and dangerous contemporaries like Nirvana and The Supersuckers. At age 16, she lands a gig as a backup singer to an Elvis impersonator, is eventually diagnosed with ADHD, and instead of medicating herself down the long, hard road to the middle, drops out of high school to focus on writing and performing her own music.

Brandi Carlile was signed to Columbia records at age 23 and has been on the road non-stop. Her third and most recent album, Give Up the Ghost, was produced by Rick Rubin and features an appearance by Elton John. Carlile’s repertoire is a mash-up of country, pop, folk and indie rock. It displays the kind of craftsmanship that should force lesser artists, like Carrie Underwood, into early retirement. But it’s her voice that seals the deal. Carlile is capable of incredible vocal range, from a guttural and deliberate baritone to a smoky, haunting falsetto, and it’s the traversing of the two that lands a hook squarely in your chest.

Last night, Carlile kicked off the “Give Up the Ghost Traveling Show” (her first headlining tour of Florida) to a sold-out crowd at Clearwater’s Capitol Theater. And the crowd had been waiting.

Several times, to standing ovations and raucous applause, Carlile was genuinely blissed-out and smiling, repeatedly thanking the crowd and telling them how “amazing” they were.

At the end of the night, however, it was Brandi who proved to be amazing. Read the rest of this entry »

A little while back, for no specific reason at all, I decided to revisit my musical past. I set out buying every 7″ I could remember that had a profound effect on my life and steered me in the direction of becoming what can only be referred to as a “music snob.” Much to my surprise, locating these sought-after gems was an easy feat. Among my purchases were “No More Words” by Berlin, “You Got It” by Roy Orbison, “The Dukes Of Hazzard Theme” by Waylon Jennings, “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV, “We Built This City” by Jefferson Starship, and “Stand” by REM. After my “songs I grew up on” collection was complete, I began to wonder what songs or bands had influenced some of my friends but soon realized that no one knows my friends. So I set about asking some local business owners and a Bay area musician which songs or bands got their goat when they were growing up, and led them down the path to music. Along with each individual’s musical memories, I also asked for a top three, then and now. Here you have it. Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s recommended releases as well as a breakdown of other worthy albums available now.

Vinyl:

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
The band’s third album is a set of songs both heavier and lush than in previous efforts but still full of the Monkeys’ punch and vitality.

Jeff Beck – Beck-Ola
Jeff Beck – Truth
Exact replicas now available on pristine HQ-180 vinyl. Taken from the original analog master tapes.

Chocolate Watch Band – No Way Out
Chocolate Watch Band – Inner Mystique
Hailing from San Jose, Calif., the Watch Band — featuring the pouting, Mick Jagger-influenced lead vocals of Dave Aguilar, the thrilling guitars of Sean Tolby and Mark Loomis, the solid bass of Bill Flores and the thumping drums of Gary Andrijasevich — made all the right scenes in San Jose, including appearances with the Syndicate of Sound and Count Five.

John Fogerty – Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
Among the special guests are Bruce Springsteen.

Fugazi – 3 Songs 7″
Remastered.

Woody Guthrie – Woody, Cisco And Sonny
Woody Guthrie – Woody The Agitator
Woody Guthrie – Woody’s Roots
Woody Guthrie – Woody’s Greatest Hits
Classic Guthrie vinyl reissues — now available.

Jet – Shaka Rock
bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

Willie Nelson – American Classic

Pearl Jam – The Fixer 7″
Two new tracks from their upcoming album on white vinyl with glow-in-the-dark ink on the label!

Chuck Ragan/Brian Fallon split 7″
They of Hot Water Music and Gaslight Anthem fame, respectively.

Reigning Sound – Love and Curses
New release — now available on vinyl.

The Smiths – The Smiths
The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
The Smiths – Queen is Dead
The Smiths – Strangeways Here We Come
180 gram vinyl reissues. Remastering supervised by Johnny Marr. Read the rest of this entry »

Time to get caught up. As the T-shirt reminds us, “So many books, so little time.” Let’s hit the road.

AMERICA THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD: We’re all about road trips here at Creative Loafing and so imagine this: The dude who pulls up next to you at the Tastee Freeze parks a little too close. You glance at him when he gets out of the car and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the former president of the United States.

Don’t worry. W isn’t behind the wheel. This is the absolutely true story about a much-more-wonderful time when the president could move out of the White House and on to the highways.

Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure (Chicago Review Press, $24.95) by Matthew Algeo is the thoroughly charming story of how the former president and first lady drove across country in 1953. It was for fun, not publicity. At first, you might think this book is science fiction, since the guy playing the president of the United States is so bullshit-free. But this is an all-true story.

Algeo pulls together the narrative of the trip and retraces the route in his own car. It’s part road-trip meditation and a wonderful morsel of American history. We learn all kinds of things, including that Truman was a shitty driver. He paid off the other drivers in his prolific fender benders, mostly to keep Bess Truman from chewing his ass.

Back then, ex-presidents didn’t have Secret Service protection or even a pension plan. It was, as I say, a different world. This wonderful book allows us the opportunity to get a glimpse of that America.

Read the rest of this entry »