Radio Free David Blog

We’ve got a really upbeat new selection for you today: Circles by Throwback Suburbia. This top ten track at Garageband has a beat, a groove and makes you want to just get up and get moving… perfect for Radio Free David, in other words!

Throwback Suburbia is Mike Collins (drums), Jimi Evans (guitar and vocals), Eric French (bass) and Paul Bond (guitar), and comes to us from the Pacific Northwest (Portland, to be precise). They’re up there crafting some darn good rock and roll, playing to full houses, and we’re happy to have them running here.

So, prepare your toes to have a good workout, and make sure they are in shape, because they’re going to moving on this number. A tremendous thanks to Liz for making sure these guys are in our rotation!

As always,
Enjoy
david

We are rounding out Elton John today, and finishing up our plan from a little while ago. Although he doesn’t have a huge amount of live material for us to draw on, he has enough. Today we’ve turned to his Here And There album which has some real gems on it, even if they are old gems. These days, Here And There is actually two concerts on two CDs (when it was first released, this was not the case). The first CD was recorded on May 18, 1974, and although the concert is not complete, it has some nice cuts on it. From this CD we’ve added Border Song (which especially appeals to us because it is just Elton John and his piano) and the ever-rocking Crocodile Rock.

From the second CD (recorded in Madison Square Garden over Thanksgiving weekend that same year), we’re adding Grey Seal. We know this is an unusual selection, but the performance absolutely rocks, so in the playlist it goes. There’s one other cut we really need to add from this CD as well: Whatever Gets You Thru The Night, performed by Elton John and John Lennon. As it all turns out, this is the last public performance John Lennon ever made, and although the song isn’t one of our personal favorites (although it was a hit in its own right), we want to honor John Lennon, and so, here it is. To this end, we’ve left in the introduction to this tune, where Elton brings John Lennon up on the stage; you can feel it in your bones when he comes out and the audience just goes wild. We normally trim this out to keep the music going, but in this very special case, we’ve made an exception.

So, that completes our Elton John line up (unless you have a personal favorite you just have to hear. In this case, let us know and we’ll work it out.)

As always,
Enjoy
david

We are really happy to be running tunes from a new label today: SideBMusic. Jerry has hooked us up with three good artists: Nicholas Alan, Nelson Bragg and Tripsitter. We think these guys are a great addition to our playlist, and am sure you will agree.

The son of an Atlanta jazz musician, Nicholas Alan played in a few bands throughout his youth and grew up listening to a wide variety of pop, jazz and rock. He is a Florida native, and currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. In the summer of 2004, Nicholas set out to make his debut album A World Like Ours with the help of his father’s band. Released in May 2005, the album is a blend of jazz and pop with unique arrangements, but it has that rock tinge that makes our feet tap. Nicholas signed with independent label SideBMusic in September 2006. We’re running the title cut (A World Like Ours) and Moonlight.

Next up is Nelson Bragg. Nelson is the percussionist for Brian Wilson’s band, however, he is an excellent songwriter and all around musician. He began working on his current album, Day Into Night even before he joined up with Brian Wilson. He has kept going on it, though, and the results are impressive. And, he even managed to get The Stockholm Strings to appear on many of tracks, giving the entire album a very rounded feel. Nelson feels this is a concept album, something we are attracted to, and tracks through a day and into the night, with the song’s moods matching the time of day. But no matter what, we like this concept. We’re running the tracks Forever Days and Turn The Darkness Into Gold, but truly, the entire album is well worth the listen.

And finally we have Tripsitter and their new album California Son. Tripsitter was formed in 2003 by brothers and southern California natives Jon and Jeff Celentano in their newly adopted home of Las Vegas. The band released a self-titled debut EP later that year and quickly garnered critical praise. In 2005 California Son was released, giving us a wide range of diverse sounds, yet evoking that California feel. In September 2006 the band signed with independent label SideBMusic–since then, the album has received airplay on half a dozen radio stations, and of course right here on Radio Free David. We’re running the title cut California Son and we like the sound. We’re also told that Tripsitter is back in the studio (in addition to playing live) working on their next album, which we are looking forward to.

So, all in all, we think these artists provide a nice sound to our playlist… as always, don’t forget to rate the tunes and as always,
Enjoy!
david

It’s time for some more fresh new music on Radio Free David!

First up, it’s another terrific Notorious LIZ pick. This time, it’s Maldroid and their new tune He Said, She Said from their Malfunction EP. We like this catchy number and it definitely has a beat, to say the least. Maldroid was formed in March 2006, and comes to us from Oakland, California. Maldroid is Ryan Divine (vocals) Johnny Genius (guitar), Mike O’Million (drums), Todd Brown (guitar), Sean “The Talented Mr.” Shippley (bass), Prince J (keys and samples), and AJ Riot (keytar and synths). What is a “keytar”, you might ask? (We did!) Well, that is a keyboard worn with a neck strap, sort of like a guitar. And if you want to see one in action, head over to YouTube and check out some of Maldroid videos. Thank you Liz, for sending these guys our way!

And, we have another treat for you today, too: Leiana. Radio Free David prides itself on offering you a wide range of musical styles and selections for your ears. We’ve explored the softer side of rock and in past weeks put on some wonderful acoustical selections. Leiana isn’t one of those. In fact, Leiana floats closer to the punk side of the fence, but we like the beat on some of their stuff, and so in our playlist it goes. From their No Going Back album, we’ve added the title cut of No Going Back which, well, has a beat and Suffer, which also has a beat. Leiana is Leiana and Chuck Treece, when it comes right down to it. Located in the Philadelphia they play shows around that area. If you feel like some serious rock, then you might want to catch one of their shows.

As always,
Enjoy!
david

It’s Thursday… a day we don’t usually release new tunes, but let’s make an exception today!

We’re adding the new tune Not A Soul by The Appearance into our playlist. This is another song on The Appearance’s upcoming album, Lost In Aurora, which will be hitting the shelves next month. But, until then… you can hear them here on Radio Free David! We like this tune…it’s catchy, has a good hook and is a good listen.

Update: I just heard from The Appearance, who would like me to pass this on to you:

The album tracks are available for download starting May 8th via iTunes Music store and all digital download stores…with CD in stores on May 22nd (US).

For fans of the band outside the US, they can log on and preorder/direct purchase the album here:

http://www.adrenalinemusicgroup.com/mediaProduct.php?mediaId=11

As always,
Enjoy!
david

We’ve got two fresh new artists to tickle your ears today, and we’re excited by both of them. We’re following up our addition of Till Ten Tonight with some more great acoustic selections, and we’re excited to play them for you.

First up for us is Eren Cannata and his brand new album Blame It On The City. We’re running two good songs from here, Nostalgically and the title track Blame It On The City. A New York native, Eren has been playing venues in the Big Apple for a little while now, and in the process picking up fans. We’re certainly happy to count ourselves as a fan, and hope you will too once you hear his music. His songs are well written, both musically and lyrically and bring a genuine touch of reality with them.

And, we’re also pleased to bring you the very fresh face of Jonathan Blake and his new album Wake Up Call. Jonathan comes from the other side of the country (California, in fact) and makes today a wonderful East to West kind of day. We’re running the title cut, Wake Up Call, from that and like Eren, we really like his style, music and lyrics. Jonathan has a great voice, with guitar skills to match, and we trust that you will enjoy this tune.

As always,
Enjoy!
david

Once again, you asked us for more music, and once again we respond to you, our listeners, with more Stroke 9!

A little while ago we got this e-mail in our inbox: “Stroke 9 - Cafe cuts would be another great addition to your station. All acoustic versions of several of their hits. Great CD.”

And who are we to disagree? That e-mail hit the nail on the hit: Cafe Cuts: A Collection Of Acoustic Favorites really is a very good CD, and we’re really happy to announce that we’re running several cuts from it. This is an all-acoustic CD (see? You knew we’d like it right away, didn’t you?) and covers their first three albums nicely. It is chock-full of their catchy, feet-tapping tunes and if you’re a Stroke 9 fan, this CD is for you (and if you’re not, you soon will be, that’s for sure). So, all in all, we dig this album and think it rounds out our playlist nicely.

First off, we replaced our studio version of Washin’ & Wonderin’ with the one on this CD. We really like this arrangement, to say the least, and think it compliments our style very nicely indeed. And, we’ve added their hit Little Black Backpack, as well as the songs Letters, Just Can’t Wait and California.

So, thank you for that suggestion. Don’t forget to write us with your thoughts and comments and keep those suggestions coming!

As always,
Enjoy!
david

We’re really excited about our latest artist to our playlist: Till Ten Tonight! And they are our feature artist on the Voices podcast.

These guys are out there, making great music for the love of music; their songs, both musically and lyrically really speak from the heart and to the heart: they well represent what Radio Free David is all about. We’re running two of their songs from the new EP Sailing Under: Shinedown and Sometimes Late At Night (which has quickly become one of my favorite songs). And, I was lucky enough to score an interview with all Eric, Steve and Lou from Till Ten Tonight, which you can hear in its entirety on the podcast. Voices is available in the m4a format as well as mp3 format for your listening pleasure.

Till Ten Tonight is an exciting group to watch and they have an album due out this summer. Watch for more of these guys here on Radio Free David!

As always,
Enjoy!
david