Nothing Stays The Same

NOTHING STAYS THE SAME

The Story Of the Saxon Pub

coming to VOD, EST, and DVD on July 14^TH

 

Winner! Best Music Doc - 2019 SXSW

PRE-ORDER HERE

WATCH TRAILER

For songwriters, Nashville has The Bluebird Cafe, Los Angeles has the Troubadour, and Austin has The Saxon Pub... A home for the likes of Wille Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rodney Crowell,  Ray Wylie Hubbard, Stephen Bruton and many more.

Nothing Stays the Same celebrates the last 30 years of live music in Austin, Texas, while also examining the challenges faced by musicians and music venues in one of the fastest-growing and most popular cities in the country, all through the lens of the legendary Saxon Pub. With iconic venues closing each year due to rising rents and property taxes in the Live Music Capital of the World, the writing is on the wall for the Saxon Pub, a mainstay in live music since 1990. Soon being forced to a new space - akin to closure for most clubs - its owner, its regulars and staff and its beloved musicians such as local luminaries Joe Ely, Bobby Whitlock, Bob Schneider, Patrice Pike, Guy Forsyth, Hector Ward, Carolyn Wonderland, The Resentments, Johnny Nicholas, W.C. Clark, Robynn Shayne and others, turn to face the music until they learn their fate might not be sealed after all. Call it divine intervention or a stroke of good luck, the Saxon could live to see another day if it plays its cards right... "...a really beautifully done doc...an outstanding film" - Louis Black, SXSW Co-Founder Universal in its appeal...as noted in the Austin Chronicle, "There is still something universal about the challenges facing (Saxon) owner/manager Joe Ables and all the regulars - onstage and in the audience", mirroring a  situation found in cities across America (Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Brooklyn, etc) rising rents, property taxes and gentrification of arts districts and the downtown result in clubs closing and artists and musicians being forced to move out of town. In 2019, Nothing Stays the Same made its world premiere at SXSW and was the "Audience Award Winner" in the 24 Beats Per Second categories. It also won "Best Texas Film" at the 2019 Hill Country Film Festival. That same year the film was nominated for "Best Texas Independent Film" by the Houston Film Critics Society and was an official selection of the Dallas International Film Festival and the Lost River Film Festival. "...both an exceptional document of a unique Austin venue, anchored by remarkable live footage and artist interviews, and a treatise on maintaining a city's values and priorities amid rapid growth." - Doug Freeman, Austin Chronicle "Jeff Sandmann's SXSW 2019 Audience Award-winning documentary is just as much a tribute to Austin's musicians as it is to the legendary live music venue established almost 30 years ago in the state capital of Texas." - Joe Friar, Houston Film Critics Society

California Dream

Tom Sless

NEW AMERICANA ARTIST TOM SLESS DRAWS HIGH PRAISE FOR ‘ASSURANCE, CRAFT AND CONVICTION’ ON ‘UPLIFTING’ DEBUT ALBUM, ‘CALIFORNIA DREAM’

Live Quarantine Concert Series, California Dream: Melodies and Remedies, Continues Each Wednesday to Also Help Musicians Battle Adversity

California Dream, surveys Sless’s soulful ride down the winding roads of life and love from Jersey Shore and Baltimore roots to Los Angeles with celebratory country rock, nod-and-a-wink humor, and rough-hewn folksiness.

“[California Dream’s] assurance, craft and conviction belie the fact that [Tom]’s a novice or a newcomer of any kind. … Great stuff indeed.” - American Songwriter

Critical acclaim is mounting for LA based Americana singer-songwriter-guitar slinger TOM SLESS as the media continues to discover and embrace his new debut album, California Dream.

Released just as the COVID-19 pandemic in late March forced postponement of live Album Release events at home in Los Angeles and plans to tour across the country, California Dream receives high praise in the current edition of American Songwriter as an “uplifting” work that is “Great stuff, indeed,” offering an “assurance, craft and conviction” that belie Sless’s status as “a novice or a newcomer of any kind.” The song “Astronaut,” the magazine continues, “asks the question, ‘Will anyone remember me?’ Based on the evidence offered here, the answer is an emphatic yes indeed.”

Americana Highways hailed California Dream for its “wealth of good musical touches [with] style & a commercial charm that’s not too sweet,” adding that the “superb rollicking” guitar-driven track “Gimme the Breeze” – also featured in the Los Angeles Post-Examiner and Baltimore Post-Examiner – is “worth the price of the CD” alone. That rock-fueled energy, the review continues, is beautifully countered by the “sweet and dynamic” cut “Too Much On My Mind,” a looping, Grateful Dead-like, exploration of a musical theme driven by the pedal steel of — no relation — Barry Sless (Phil Lesh, Chris Robinson) with “excellent lyrical imagery.”

Midwest Record joyously noted “it’s always a treat to stumble across a singer/songwriter that knows how to make sensitive, personal songs without stooping to bleeding gums music,” adding that Sless “captures the wanderlust” in creating an album that’s “a dandy ear opener throughout.”

Sless likewise earned high marks from New Jersey Stage (“refreshingly honest”), Short and Sweet LA/NYC (“a songwriter not to be deterred” with “an insidious way” of “getting our feet tapping while he delivers lyrics of substance”), and Exclusive Magazine (“[he] immediately gets our attention, and as we progress, his musical messages carry us along on his rich journey”). Elmore Magazine and Nashville.com are among others planning coverage.

With coronavirus consciousness for his fellow musicians and followers in mind, Sless continues his weekly live streaming quarantine concert series “California Dream: Melodies and Remedies” also designed to help battle adversity through music and discussion. The interactive series premieres new episodes every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific/10 p.m. Eastern on Instagram Live at www.instagram.com/tomsless with on-demand archived episodes at www.soundcloud.com/tomsless.

“California Dream: Melodies and Remedies” includes under-the-hood discussions of the inspiration for each week's featured song from the new album, an interview with a key contributor to the song's production, and an audience-Q&A round table focused on self-help strategies applicable to the pandemic, such as dealing with anxiety, maintaining motivation, and “finding joy in the little things.”

Co-produced by the Jersey Shore native with John Bottrell (Christina Perri, Mike Posner) and recorded live in the studio at comp-ny in Glendale, CA, California Dream carries us along Sless’s soulful ride down the winding roads of life and love with a vibe that alternates between the celebratory country rock of Luke Combs, the nod-and-a-wink humor of Sturgill Simpson, and the rough-hewn folksiness of Donovan Woods. Through canny lyrics and infectious tunes, California Dream captures Sless’s love of LA, the highs and lows of his decision to move there from the Baltimore area after college, and his struggles to embrace the past and push forward. Like Steve Earle, Sless displays bracing honesty in his songwriting, and like Jason Isbell, has a knack for creating a world in which our souls struggle to define themselves. With ceaseless creativity, Sless possesses an ear for the just-right melody and lyric, and a passion for songs that evoke his disappointments, hopes, joys, and loves.

Sless still plans to host album release events on the West Coast and East Coast once the live music terrain gets more clearly defined.

“This album is a huge step toward a realization of myself as an individual and a creative artist,” he says. “It’s a jumping off point into a world in which I can fully express myself as a human being. There truly is no better feeling.”

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Monday Motivation

"Hi There"
Peter Gabriel

"The place where I come from is a small town, They think so small, They use small words" Big Time, Peter Gabriel

Lately Imagination has been on my mind. Why you may ask? Well since I have been laid up post bunion surgery I have a lot of down time (can't wait until that is over) thus I have been doing more writing.

"Yes" I am writing things hither and yawn, meaning today's Monday Motivation is Imagination. Imagination is something you use to create anything pretty much. Yep Imagination, it's not just for writing. It can be something you use to get you through a day at the office, it can be used to solve problems and it can propel you into alternative universes.

While there are many fanciful things I can think of to illustrate this I chose the video for the song Big Time off of Peter Gabriel's great album So. It came out in 1986, I was two years out of High School (insert old guy comment here,) the visuals in the video are so cool and full of Imagination that even if you didn't like the song you stayed for the visuals.

Not to mention I had a crush on Gabriel back when I used to find musicians hot (still do on occasion, but from a distance) I actually even dated one at a point and juncture, but I'm saving that for the book. 

So let's get this Monday Motivation started Big Time! Check out the video after the jump - 👀

"The Motivator"

The Motivators
Cherie Currie & Brie Darling
Photo:
Corey Parks

CHERIE CURRIE & BRIE DARLING

Join Together to Release New Album “The Motivator” - Out August 2

Los Angeles-based, female rock icons, Cherie Currie and Brie Darling have joined together to record their debut album, The Motivator.  The album was produced by the six-time Grammy nominated Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Stray Cats, Janiva Magness, Tom Waits) and features nine classic covers by bands including T. Rex, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and John Lennon, plus three powerful new originals, “Too Bruised,” “I’m Too Good, That’s Just Too Bad” and the topical “This Is Our Time.”  The album will be released August 2, 2019 on Blue Élan Records with the title-track, lead single, out  on all streaming services. 

Listen  HERE

The Runaways front-woman and solo artist, Currie, met the Fanny drummer and singer, Darling, in 2017 and immediately connected.  Currie had come in to contribute vocals to Fanny Walked the Earth, a reunion album from the trailblazing Fanny, the first all-female band signed to a major label (Reprise) in 1969.  Though the two musicians were certainly admirers of each other, they had not yet met until that session.  Once connected, the idea to continue collaborating was hatched and soon the idea to record an album was solidified.

It was decided they would record an album of cover songs that resonated with the duo.  The covers chosen mostly share—unintentionally—a socio-political resonance that’s as relevant today as when the songs were written.  “The original album concept was that Brie was going to sing a few, I’d sing a few, and we’d back each other up,” furthers Currie. “But I knew our voices really work well together. On T. Rex’s ‘The Motivator,’ Brie did a great soulful rock scratch vocal but maybe I have more of a tough rock quality to my voice, so I think Dave decided I was going to sing it.  But in my head I heard a duet, me doing the first verse, her on the second verse….and that started the dialog of using our voices together as a concept. Our voices complement each other, so we decided we should share the majority of these songs, because it makes them better.”  Producer Dave Darling says, "It's extremely rare to have two such powerful vocalists in the same band. Cherie's a steam roller and Brie's a flame thrower. That just doesn't happen!"  

Guests on the album include a host of family and friends who came in to do backups, including Currie’s sister, actress Sondra Currie, her ex-husband, actor Robert Hays; friends, Susan Olsen of Brady Bunch fame and actress/director, Allison Scagliotti. Darling’s brother, Henry Berry is on “He Ain’t Heavy”; and brother Phil Berry does a guitar solo on the Kinks tune “Do it Again” while her sister, Rory Berry Bishop plays drums on Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air.” Patti Quatro—Suzi’s sister and a member of Fanny—plays guitar and sings on “For What It’s Worth.”

To listen or purchase “The Motivator,” visit: http://smarturl.it/ccbd-themotivator

Follow Cherie Currie here: Facebook

Be the first to follow Cherie & Brie on:

Instagram “New”- cheriecurrieandbriedarling

Twitter “New” - @CherieandBrie 

Ponyboy: "Nobody Wants To Die On Christmas, Unless They Have To"

Ponyboy: Whose Package Is Bigger?
l-r Charles McVey & David Zey

Merry Christmas Peeps! I could not pass up the Holiday Season without posting one of my favorite modern Christmas songs by art fag alternative rock group Ponyboy.

This writer is a  HUGE Ponyboy fan and I have promoted them heavily here on Entertain Me. The group consists of two brilliant musicians/artists/raconteurs Charles McVey and David Zey. Their music is unapologetic, edgy and brutally honest.

"I'm Gonna Kill Myself On Christmas"  addresses the issue of LGBTQ suicides around the "happiest time of the year." While satirical in it's approach the underlying message is loud and clear.

Christmas is not only about giving and family. It's about being thankful. Please take the time to be grateful and give thanks to the universe for what you have and to realize there are others out there who are in pain.

If you are one of those people who is hurting please reach out to others for help. Trust me it's out there and people are willing if you ask.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Enjoy the video after the jump!

Get a Ponyboy for Christmas at: 

https://www.facebook.com/GodHatesPonyboy/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ponyboy./id435765746

Viva LA! @ The Well

Last night I had the extreme pleasure of attending the music event Viva LA! at The Well downtown Los Angeles.

The Well is quite the hipster place it's a clothing store, beauty salon and event venue all rolled into one. Oh and they really do know how to throw a party!

I can't praise my Viva LA! experience enough with an indoor and outdoor stage that allowed one act to perform while the other was setting up, is genius.

With some top notch musicians on the bill such as Ariel Beesley, The Planters and Slutever, The Well put on one cool event...Share in the fun with pix I took from last night below. Happy Monday!

Ms. Ariel Beesley Hitting the Ukulele

U-Hauls: They're Not Just For Moving

Rock Out With The Planters

Let's Get Some Shoes!

Me & The Awesome Ariel Beesley

Experience The Well at: http://www.thewell.la/

Hang With Ariel at: https://www.facebook.com/Arielbeesley

Rock With The Planters at: http://theplantersband.bandcamp.com/releases

For A Good Cause: O.A.R. & Phillip Phillips

O.A.R. and Phillip Phillips give it up for a great cause, Habitat for Humanity International. Keep the love flowing..

Rock band O.A.R. and singer Phillip Phillips announced today their joint summer tour will benefit Habitat for Humanity to support the organization’s mission of providing safe, decent, affordable housing in partnership with low-income families.

“Home means everything to us. It’s our DNA. It’s who we are,” said Marc Roberge of O.A.R.  “We had the chance to meet amazing people building Habitat for Humanity homes in LA, pouring love and sweat into the foundation, taking pride in the work they were doing, alongside the Habitat partner family, and it was an honor to be a part of that. Words can’t properly describe the positive swell that brought to our hearts. We hope the donation from our tour will help families, like the ones we met, achieve their dreams of homeownership.”

The 24-city joint tour kicks off in St. Louis on June 12 and wraps up in Atlanta on July 26. For every ticket sold, O.A.R. and Phillip Phillips will donate $1 to Habitat. The tour will also host online auctions for a VIP experience in each city, including two premium tickets and an opportunity to meet with the artists. Proceeds from the auctions will go to local Habitat affiliates.

“My team has personally seen the incredible impact Habitat for Humanity can have on lives. We have worked on builds from the Musician's Village rebuild in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina to local neighborhoods in my community,” said Phillip Phillips. “Habitat's roots stem from my home state of Georgia but their reach is now worldwide  I am honored to partner with Habitat for Humanity in carrying out their mission - to build homes, communities, and hope."
 
The artists will also donate 10 concert tickets to the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in each tour city, for use by Habitat volunteers and staff, as well as Habitat partner homeowner families, who they will meet at each tour stop. Habitat affiliates will be provided with space at each venue to raise awareness about their affordable housing work within their communities.

“O.A.R. and Phillip Phillips share our passion for helping low-income families realize the dream of homeownership,” said Colleen Ridenhour, deputy director of Corporate, Foundation and Institution Relations for Habitat for Humanity International. “We are honored to be recognized during their summer tour and are grateful for their generosity in helping raise funds to create safe, decent, affordable housing.”
 

O.A.R. – Phillip Phillips joint tour dates:

June 12:  Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO                                                      
June 13:  Crossroads, Kansas City, MO
June 14:  Red Rocks, Morrison, CO                                        
June 15:  Stir Cove, Council Bluffs, IA
June 17:  LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH                                     
June 18:  Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA
June 20:  Jacobs Pavilion Nautica, Cleveland, OH                              
June 21:  FirstMerit Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago
June 22:  Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, Sterling Heights, MI           
June 23:  Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI
June 28:  Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH                             
July 2:    Art Park, Lewiston, NY
July 6:    Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT      
July 10:  Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA
July 11:  Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY   
July 12:  P.N.C. Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
July 13:  Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC                     
July 16:  Uptown Amphitheatre at the NC Music, Charlotte
July 18:  Festival Pier at Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA              
July 19:  Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
July 20:  NTELOS Pavilion, Portsmouth, VA                                          
July 24:  Innsbrook Pavilion, Glen Allen, VA
July 25:  Family Circle Tennis Center, Charleston, SC      
July 26:  Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA

About Habitat for Humanity International


Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat has helped more than 4 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and supports a variety of funding models that enable families with limited resources to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit Christian housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer visit habitat.org.