"Leslie's Dream"

Leslie Medford

Independent Project Records (IPR) is set to release their first ever digital-only single which will be out on 28th April. Special occasions require special songs, and what you’re about to hear is a slice of moody, brooding psych with a motorik heart and a throbbing political conscience. “Leslie’s Dream” is a rare new recording from Leslie Medford, the maverick leader of 80s San Francisco psychedelic journeymen The Ophelias. According to David Fricke (Rolling Stone, MOJO), The Ophelias were “modernists steeped in the vintage, local ethos of a late set at the Fillmore Auditorium - a potent tab of futurist acid-pop…laced with post-punk menace”.

 

In 2022 Independent Project Records released a well-received retrospective titled Bare Bodkin, charting The Ophelias’ genre-defying journey (“a stunning summation of The Ophelias’ offbeat oeuvre”, said Shindig! Magazine awarding the album 5/5 stars). Almost 40 years later, Medford is still busy conjuring spacey image-rich reveries, so get ready for “Leslie’s Dream”! Check it out here.

 

If the USA was eligible for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest “Leslie’s Dream” would likely win the thing. Then again, in a perfect world Leslie Medford’s latest song wouldn’t be necessary like it is. We at Independent Project Records believe Medford hit the vein of the zeitgeist whilst asleep, and the track might just snowball onto summer dancefloors around the continent and beyond given the weather these days and this current atmosphere of impending chaos. Medford led The Ophelias (research them!) in the 1980s, and like that band Leslie still dreams big. Infectious and memorable, “Leslie’s Dream” aims to mobilize thought, booty-shaking, and an ecstatic, whooping, mosh pit of change.

 

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Results Not Typical

Ian Jones
Photo:
Justin Dylan Renney

On debut full-length Results Not Typical, seasoned Seattle singer-songwriter Ian Jones defines Northwest Americana with melodic, timeless songcraft coupled to universally relatable storytelling and evocative regional imagery.

 

Released on April 7, the album’s 11 tracks wander a contemplative, poignant sonic landscape between mid-period Tom Petty, the best of ‘70s outlaw country, and James Taylor’s accessible folk-pop.

 

“I grew up in the shadow of Mount Rainier. My dad left when I was five, leaving a single mom with three kids, bread-and-cheese-line poor,” Jones recalled. “My babysitter was a record player.”

 

Raised on a steady vinyl diet of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and David Allan Coe, by the time he was in junior high Jones was writing his own songs on a beat-up classical guitar. After years in promising bands in Seattle, Santa Barbara, and L.A., he released his cathartic debut solo EP, Evergreens, in 2021. “Ian Jones is creating a sound all his own,” raved Ear to the Ground in its review of the 6-song release, which Exclusive Magazine dubbed “A seamless collection.”

 

Evergreens was also the sound of Jones getting serious as a solo artist. The lifelong compulsive songwriter, who often finds music coming to him unconsciously – sometimes literally in his dreams – felt he was yet to truly capture what he’d written on tape.

 

“I didn’t want to be laying on my deathbed saying, ‘what if I’d made a record with a great producer and the best musicians in the world’,” he mulled. “Now I can check that off my list.”

 

Reconnecting with producer Jesse Siebenberg (of Lucas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Supertramp, etc.), a friend from his SoCal days, Jones assembled an astonishing array of first-call players for two days of live tracking at Siebenberg’s Brotheryn Studios in bucolic Ojai, California.

 

“None of the guys had heard the songs prior. There was no click track, and we never did more than three takes,” Jones recalled. “And what you hear vocally on the record is what I was singing, beginning to end – no vocal comps, no overdubs, no anything.”

 

This throwback approach to recording inspired the title Results Not Typical and was made possible by the sheer pedigree of the players involved: drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, REM, Paul McCartney, Norah Jones); bassist Jonathan Flaugher (Ryan Adams); bassist Gabe Noel (Afghan Whigs, Father John Misty); guitarist Jason Soda (Miranda Lee Richards); violinist Paul Cartwright (Father John Misty); pianist Dave Palmer (Fiona Apple, Chris Isaak, T-Bone Burnett); and pianist Aaron Embry (Elliott Smith, Jane’s Addiction). 

 

Comprising songs carefully culled from Jones’ vast unrecorded catalogue, Results Not Typical is a thematically coherent yet non-repetitive collection of poetic personal narratives flecked with a minor-chord melancholy seeping in from Seattle’s famously wet winters. While so much Americana music is embroidered with Southern or Southern California imagery – desert roads, big hats, blazing sun – Jones’ Northwestern strain is washed with his upbringing amidst mountains and woods, lakes and rain, and long cold nights indoors.

 

Delightfully airy and typically resonant album opener “Rollin” relates Jones traveling down to California, with Mount Shasta looming over the emotions of not only relocating, but also searching. “Athens Smiles” exemplifies the understated power of uncluttered songcraft which, like much of Results Not Typical, is both inspired by decades of travel as a journeyman musician and offers epic driving music for listeners.

 

Upbeat, earworm single “Lost Highway” resonates all the more for being deliberately ambiguous; a jaunty, horns-enhanced story that could be about a literal road, a girl, or discussing drugs. It’s in fact not inspired by any of these – but you’ll have to be at a show to hear the real story between songs from Jones himself! 

 

The slow burning “Again” is the album’s sole non-autobiographical song but narrative nonetheless, tracing a tale of fictitious fugitives on the run across harsh terrain and perilous borders. The piano-based “She Is Lost” is a late-night lament that showcases Jones’ finely nuanced vocal timbre, while gorgeous album closer “Goodbyes Are the Hardest Words” recounts his leaving Seattle years ago, complete with a David Gilmour-inspired fever dream of a guitar solo.

 

“It’s a record that you can put on when you get home from a night on the town,” said Jones. “Something to unwind to with a nightcap, although there are also upbeat songs.”

 

Jones will accompany the release of Results Not Typical with extensive touring, both solo and with his rotating Living Room All-Stars Band. Each single will be followed by a live solo acoustic rendering of the same song, plus extensive video and social media content including behind-the-scenes and on-the-road b-roll.

 

“I believe I was put on this planet to write songs and perform. It’s a blessing and a curse,” Jones concluded. “But if I wasn’t a songwriter, I’d be divorced and probably drunk or dead. And if I write songs that bring people to tears, then I’ve done my job.”

 

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My Friends Are Internet And I Want To Break You Open

Plug Research Presents

Adult Karate’s Sophomore Album

My Friends Are Internet And I Want To Break You Open

Genres Spanning New Wave, Electronic and Indie/Dream Pop

Set for Release on July 31, 2020

~

Two Advance Singles out June 26 & July 17

Adult Karate (the musical moniker for versatile artist K.C. Maloney) is poised to release his second album, My Friends Are Internet And I Want To Break You Open, on July 31, 2020, on tastemaker label Plug Research. More than a year and a half in the making, this new album is a true expression of the artist’s musical evolution, a culmination of both his personal life journey and the integration of his various musical influences. This dynamic, boundary-crossing release defies genre pigeonholing and seamlessly glides between musical styles while Maloney’s candid, sometimes confessional lyrics and reverbed-out vocals hold the whole picture together. Two singles (both with B-sides) will precede the album release: “Euphoria” will be available on June 26, and expect “Keep Your Love” on July 17, 2020. For more information, please visit https://www.adultkaratemusic.com.

K.C. Maloney

My Friends Are Internet… is Adult Karate’s most wide-ranging effort to date, adeptly mixing and crossing over genres from acid house to disco to indie rock, all the while maintaining the kind of tender introspection that lies at the heart of Maloney’s music. Listening to the album, you get the sense that Maloney has hit his stride after working through a troubled past marked by addiction and issues around sexuality and identity—that there has in fact been a kind of trial by musical fire that’s both inspired and fed the artist’s journey through these personal issues/demons. One might interpret Maloney’s musical growth from the first Adult Karate release LXII, which the artist has said was “mostly an excursion into dark electronic music and slowed-down deep house” to the genre-bending ride that is My Friends Are Internet… as the artist’s finding more confident musical footing and integrating all the various aspects of his musical personality into one enthralling whole. The result is a powerhouse of an album—catchy, haunting, introspective, celebratory. 

Lead Single “Euphoria” out June 26 - lyric video

Adult Karate’s first single, “Euphoria" (with "Fighters" on the B-side), which comes out this Friday, June 26, is, according to Maloney himself, “by far the poppiest-sounding music I’ve ever written.” Indeed, its four-on-the-floor drumbeat and catchy, Interpol-esque guitar hook recalls the best indie rock of the aughts more than the dark electronic roots where Adult Karate began, but Maloney’s plaintive lyrics and strong vocal performances, along with the crescendo-ing, electronic-leaning choruses, make this one of his crossover-genre masterpieces. “Euphoria” lyrically mines the process of forgetting an ex, a familiar yet timeless subject that Maloney describes poignantly: “It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s necessary.” It’s a song for shoegazing as much as it is for taking a long, breezy drive with the top down—there’s something in it for fans of genres spanning electronic, dance and rock.

Second Single “Keep Your Love” out July 17

“Keep Your Love”—with "Those Words/Robot 36C" on the B-side—the second single off of All My Friends Are Internet… was born from an idea Maloney originally worked on for his second EP, Indoors. What started out as more of a deep house track grew into more of a “dark disco kind of thing,” with an infectious groove built from live drums and looped guitars layered in lockstep. Outgrowing the house beat and moving toward the organic drum track changed the feel of the song completely, and opened the door for one of the strongest vocal performances on the album. On the lyrics to “Keep Your Love,” Maloney says, “It’s about the passage of time and how unforgiving it can be. Fear of aging and all that. Partly inspired by some health issues I’ve been going through the past few years.”

• Artist page: https://www.adultkaratemusic.com
• Label’s artist page: http://www.plugresearch.com/2018/08/adult-karate-2
• Socials:
• https://www.instagram.com/adultkarate
• https://www.facebook.com/adultkarate
• https://twitter.com/adultkarate
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/adultkarate
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3i8FZ52lJ8BJ7QWHl5xNvs

Ho, Ho, Ho, It's David Archuleta

Baby, It's Sweater Weather?
Photo:
Cyrus Pamganiban

DAVID ARCHULETA ANNOUNCES 2019 CHRISTMAS TOUR

ALL DATES ON SALE FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2019

David Archuleta has announced he will hit the road this fall with a 2019 Christmas tour which is sure to feature songs from his 2018 hit holiday album Winter In The Air.  The album featured such hits as “Christmas Every Day” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0QuvuTEGiU (which went Top 10 on the Billboard Holiday chart) as well as title track “Winter In The Air” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz70efcbPPw  with the video featuring World of Dance dancer Cassidy Forsyth and So You Think You Can Dance & World of Dance dancer Ezra Sosa.

The 2019 tour will kick off November 23 in Utah and weave through such cities as Atlanta, Nashville & Portland among others before winding down on December 23.  Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 28: https://davidarchuleta.com/home/live/

“I’m so excited to announce my 2019 Christmas tour. I had such a blast last year singing so many Christmas classics as well as songs from my two holiday albums.  It’s such a special time of year and I hope you’ll come out and make some new memories with us this year ” Says David

Additionally, David is also writing new material for his next pop album scheduled to be released in late 2019.

2019 Tour Dates

Sat 11/23/2019

Richfield, UT

Fairgrounds Hall

Mon 11/25/2019

Grand Junction, CO

Avalon Theatre

Tue 11/26/2019

Moab, UT

Star Hall

Wed 11/27/2019

Flagstaff, AZ

Orpheum Theater

Fri 11/29/2019

Queen Creek, AZ

Queen Creek Performing Arts Center

Sat 11/30/2019

Salt Lake City, UT

Capitol Theatre

Mon 12/2/2019

Snowflake, AZ

Snowflake High School Auditorium

Wed 12/4/2019

Albuquerque, NM

John Lewis Performing Arts Theater

Fri 12/6/2019

San Antonio, TX

Tobin Center for The Performing Arts

Sat 12/7/2019

Austin, TX

One World Theatre (Early Show)

Sat 12/7/2019

Austin, TX

One World Theatre (Late Show)

Mon 12/9/2019

The Woodlands, TX

Dosey Doe

Tue 12/10/2019

Atlanta, GA

City Winery

Wed 12/11/2019

Franklin, TN

Franklin Theatre

Thu 12/12/2019

Franklin, TN

Franklin Theatre

Sat 12/14/2019

Minneapolis, MN

Cedar

Tue 12/17/2019

Portland, OR

Alberta Rose

Wed 12/18/2019

Pasco, WA

Faith Assembly

Thu 12/19/2019

Tacoma, WA

Alma Mater

Sat 12/21/2019

Pocatello, ID

Stephens Performing Arts Center

Mon 12/23/2019

Logan, UT

Logan High School Auditorium

Follow David Here:

https://www.facebook.com/davidarchuleta/

twitter.com/DavidArchie 

instagram.com/DavidArchie

https://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialarchuleta

 www.davidarchuleta.com

Kingdom: The Mixtape

Gratuitous Skin Bought To You By...
David Hernandez

Prick up your eyes & ears, it's time for some David Hernandez!

American Idol’s David Hernandez has released his highly anticipated second studio album Kingdom: the Mixtape through his own label.  Self-produced and recorded in various home studios in Los Angeles, California — proving artists don’t need fancy studios to make a great record anymore — Kingdom: the Mixtape is David’s first full album release since 2011’s I Am Who I Am.  The record displays a fresh sound for Hernandez and includes collaborations with fellow American Idol Blake Lewis and the Grammy winning producer of Black Eyed Peas, Printz Board.  The music video for the album’s first single, “Shield (Coat of Armor)” is available now on Youtube.  Kingdom: the Mixtape is available on all digital platforms including iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and Tidal.

“I’ve been sitting on most of this material for years, waiting for the right time to release it,” says David Hernandez of his new album, Kingdom: the Mixtape.   “I’ve listened to too many people’s opinions about when to release, how, what images and content are appropriate… I was just over listening to what other people think I should do.  One day I finally stepped back and realized I had a great body of work that deserves to be heard, now.”

In Kingdom: the Mixtape, David Hernandez delivers 20 original tracks plus a cappella versions of “Kingdom” and “Where Love Begins” as well as a bonus cover of Hailee Steinfeld’s “Starving,” featuring YouTube star Rajiv Dhall.    Many of the songs reflect on the heartbreaks and loss Hernandez has experienced over the last decade since rising to fame on American Idol. They explore his rebuilding trust and love, his refusal to give up, his persistence to change for the better and to grow as a human.  Other songs touch on forgiveness, joy and fun because as David explains, “Life isn’t always that serious and sometimes you just wanna let go and rage!”

From Pop to R&B, with influences of soul, no one song on Kingdom: the Mixtape is the same.  The title track, produced by Mikal Blue (Jason Mraz, Colbie Caliet, One Republic) is a mid-tempo power ballad that soars with electric guitars, triumphant drums and a grand piano.   “Beautiful” produced by Mark Grilliot, is a pop anthem while “Last Supper” and “Animal,” produced by Printz Board, are beat driven dance numbers. 

Then there’s “Break,” an introspective mid-tempo song, produced by Alex Teamer, where David Hernandez opens up about his struggles with addiction.  “I wrote the song at a time when I was drinking a lot and popping Xanax. It was an awful time. We were being evicted from our apartment and everything was going to shit. I ended up in rehab and eventually got clean of prescription drugs and life became much better.”

He admits it is a daily struggle that he prefers to battle privately but felt compelled to put the song on the mixtape because prescription drug addition has become an epidemic among youth. “Young people are dying and committing suicide.  They need to know there is help,” he says.

David Hernandez began singing at age six, starring in musicals and performing with various theatre companies. At fifteen, he started writing original music and recording his arrangements.  In addition to American Idol, he has showcased his talents on The Ellen Show, The Today Show, MTV’s TRL, EXTRA, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Teen Choice Awards, Idol Tonight, FOX-TV’s Idol Gives Back.  He was also named among TV Guides’ Sexiest Stars.

At the start of his recording career, Hernandez was signed to a major music label but couldn’t meet the high expectations of its executives. “Labels were always telling me to be me but then expected me to fit their mold of what David Hernandez was supposed to be.  It was impossible.  I felt powerless and lived in constant fear that I would get dropped.”

His feelings about the music industry are reflected in the cover art for  Kingdom: the Mixtape.  It depicts a crown, symbolizing David and his music, being held by a robotic hand:  the music industry.  It is intended to illustrate an industry that is fake and how it holds and controls an artist’s work and career. 

“I hope listeners hear a piece of my soul in Kingdom: the Mixtape,” David Hernandez wraps up.  “I hope they get where I am coming from, really see me for who I am, and that they, too, can relate to the songs. I want the Mixtape to be healing, enlightening, and revelrous.”

Silly Saturday

Mahna, Mahna
Kylie Minogue & Some Friends

Today I am feeling light and breezy, "No" definitely not easy and breezy...

Thus this image of Pop Superstar Kylie Minogue with The Muppets is exactly what one needs to take in on a Silly Saturday. I feel silly, oh so silly I feel silly and witty and bright. And I pity anyone who isn't me today!

Kylie took some time out to be a special guest on The Muppets Take The 02 in London, England recently and it looks like she had a blast. Thus in return I have put you all on blast that she is now Queen of the Muppets - Ha! Kidding, or am I.

Don't you love a good secret? Of course you do. Especially when it's Kylie Minogue's .

The tone has been set for the day, enjoy it!

Mic Drop!

Kylie on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kylieminogue/?hl=en 

Just Because...A Royal Wedding Portrait

What A Feeling!
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

Just Because I love black and white photography, Just Because the magic still lingers & Just Because they make such a great pair - here is the official portrait of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle brought to you by the words Royal & Wedding.

You know I really don't have much to say about posting this, since I am probably one of the last individuals covering and commenting on pop culture to do so. 

This beautiful image speaks for itself. You don't need me to tell you my impressions of it, because I am betting mine are simpatico with yours.

Plain and simple this image evokes positive energy. That's something everyone needs right here, right now. So let's go with it - what a feeling!

Enjoy more Royal Wedding photos here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44201476   

Shonen Knife Is On The "Top Of The World"

Yes, This Happened In August! OSAKA’S SHONEN KNIFE TO PLAY 1000TH SHOW ON 2014 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

Having covered The Carpenter's "Top of the World" on the compilation CD: If I Were A Carpenter - It seems fitting to toast Osaka Legends, Shonen Knife with said song to celebrate their 1,000th performance. Cheers!

Osaka, Japan’s legendary Shonen Knife are about to reach another milestone in their 30+ year career of bringing the joys of punk rock, fantasy and food to the hearts and ears of the fortunate. Shonen Knife's 1000th worldwide performance (since their inception in 1982) will take place in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota at The Turf Club on 9/16 during their upcoming 33 show North American tour. This latest visit takes place during the months of September and October in support of their latest album “Overdrive” released in April 2014 on Good Charamel Records. Shonen Knife will be taking requests for this special show from fans via their Twitter and Facebook pages, and the 1000th performance will also include an appearance by original Shonen Knife member Atsuko (sister of lead singer Naoko). The "Overdrive" tour has already seen successful runs in Europe, The UK and Japan and now Naoko, Ritsuko and Emi will be taking the show around North America including performances at “Anime Weekend Atlanta”, Buffalo, NY’s “Music is Art Festival” and a stop at the “Pop Montreal Festival” in Canada. Shonen Knife “Overdrive” North American Tour 2014 9/11 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts: Black Box 9/12 Brooklyn, NY The Wick 9/13 Buffalo, NY Music is Art Festival (Delaware Park) 9/14 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom 9/16 St. Paul, MN The Turf Club 9/17 Iowa City, IA The Mill 9/18 Chicago, IL The Bottom Lounge 9/19 Detroit, MI The Magic Stick 9/20 Toronto, ON The Silver Dollar 9/22 Cambridge, MA The Middle East 9/24 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar 9/25 Durham, NC The Pinhook 9/27 Atlanta, GA 529 9/28 Atlanta, GA Anime Weekend Atlanta 9/30 New Orleans, LA The Beatnik 10/01 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s 10/02 Dallas, TX Club DADA 10/03 Austin, TX Red 7 10/06 Tucson, AZ The Flycatcher 10/07 San Diego, CA The Casbah 10/08 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theater 10/10 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill 10/11 Portland, OR Dante’s 10/12 Seattle, WA The Tractor Tavern 10/14 Boise, ID Neutrolux 10/15 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge 10/16 Denver, CO Oriental Theater 10/17 Kansas City, KS Record Bar 10/18 St.Louis, MO The Firebird 10/20 Pittsburgh, PA 3st Street Pub 10/21 Asbury Park, NJ The Saint www.shonenknife.net www.goodcharamel.com www.twitter.com/shonenknife www.facebook.com/ShonenKnifeOfficial