Music Monday No. 4

Wow a whole month and I have yet to miss my Music Monday deadline, I’m so proud of me, not really of course, because I did almost miss it entirely. Any who… today’s post is a musician recommendation, the musician is Grant Lee Phillips.

Some of you may perhaps recognize him from a little Television series called Gilmore Girls, in which he was the town troubadour, I would very much like to be all hipster right now and say that I knew him before I watched the show…but alas I am no hipster, and hadn’t any idea who he was til I watched said program. His unique voice and lovely guitar playing skill were enough to capture the attention of my mother, sister, and myself, to the point of doing a bit of research on him and buying a few of his albums.

Town troubadour.

Troubadour is defined as one as “one of a class of lyric poets and poet musicians”. I honestly feel that is the best way to describe Mr. Phillips. He is a brilliant singer/songwriter/musician, everything he does, he does full on. Every song has a strong story and beautiful sound to it. Thus making him the perfect topic for today.

After preforming solo for a few different clubs in the Hollywood area Phillips put together the band Grant Lee Buffalo in the early 90’s, the band consisted of Joey Peters, Paul Kimble, and Phillips himself. The band did quite well for about another 8 years, their debut album Fuzzy received high praise from Michael Stipe of R.E.M, he said it was “the best albums of year hands down.”More accomplishments include Phillips being named Critics Choice for best male vocalist of ’95. Other albums of Grant Lee Buffalo are Mighty Joe Moon, Copperopolis, and Jubilee. Grant Lee Buffalo disbanded in ’99.

Sadly we were only able to hunt down their album Mighty Joe Moon.

I am actually currently listening to this album, and I feel as though this cd is contradictory and consistent all at the same time. Their is a noticeable 90’s grundge rock vibe to it, yet their is a soft folksy melodic quality to it all. So you could honestly say it is a versatile album, or that they stay very true to their style. Honestly the description is up to you. It is hard for me to pick just one song of off the album as my favorite…but I must admit I am quite fond of Mockingbirds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVnWAkOGxK0 If you can manage to find yourself a copy I highly encourage you to purchase it.

After the disbanding of Buffalo, Phillips signed with the indie label Rounder Records, continued furthering his solo career, and released more albums of brilliance; Ladies’ Love Oracle, Mobilize, Virginia Creeper, Ninteeneighties, Strangelet, Little Moon, and released just this year Walking in the Green Corn.

I would very much like to give you my opinion of every album, however we only tracked down Virginia Creeper 😦 so I will give you my opinion about this album. Virginia Creeper is a good deal more melodic than Mighty Joe Moon, yet still just as powerful. There is a definite country influence to Virginia Creeper, yet not so much that if you are not a fan of country you wont still enjoy it. My mother is not a fan of country (she makes faces) but adores this album so that should say something. Every song hits it out of the park, and buying this cd should be on your to do list if you happen to be someone who enjoys wonderful music. Whereas every song is lovely Mona Lisa is holds a special place in my heart so give it a listen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCBLJyIrMik I will probably be searching for more of Grant Lee Phillips’ albums after I finish this blog, and hope that you all do the same. I also hope that you all have an incredibly happy and Musical Monday!

 

 

Concert Photography.

So the other night I went to a concert, with some of my favorite people. It was a really great venue…for being up close and doing a little photography! We got their shortly after the doors opened, so I was able to position myself quite close to the stage. Added bonus though, was that I brought my 300mm lens, so I could get right in their face all from the comfort of my seat. This was my first time photographing a concert, with all the equipment I would normally leave at home, because of rowdy concert goers. But since the setting was really relaxed I was able to get some great pictures of Elizabeth Wills, Emmet Cahill, and Keith Harkin.

Elizabeth Wills was the opening act for Keith, now I will be honest my expectations for an opener are always pretty low. But in this case was pleasantly surprised with Elizabeth. She has an amazing folksy sound and pretty much everything she preformed was her own. So be sure to check her out http://www.elizabethwills.com/!

After Elizabeth, Keith Harkin of Celtic Thunder was up, a nice surprise though was that Emmet Cahill came too. Emmet is new to Celtic Thunder he joined in 201o, and I must say is immensely talented for someone so young (21) he has a beautiful classical voice and winning personality. You can check him out at http://www.emmetcahill.com/ There is much more information about him on his website, including a long list of musical accomplishments, that would take quite a while to list on my blog, so be certain to pop on over and check him out.

Emmet Cahill and Keith Harkin. Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how adorable these two are? 

Keith Harkin, the main reason everyone came. Keith has been with Celtic Thunder from the beginning, 2007. His musical style is sort of hard to define, some of his influence include Tom Waites, Neil Young, The Beatles, and Bon Iver, so there is a little something for everyone when he performs. Keith not only tours with the world-wide phenomena that is Celtic Thunder, but he does individual tours, rocking out with his McPherson guitar and wonderful vocals, and winning hearts all along the way. All of his fans are currently waiting on his solo album, it has taken a good bit longer than originally thought, mostly because he has signed with someone new, just a little somebody known as DAVID FOSTER! Color me impressed. David has discovered house hold names like Michael Buble and Josh Groban. So I am certain even bigger things are in store for Keith. http://www.keithharkin.com/

Keith Harkin. Good grief! The way he plays guitar is like nothing I have ever heard before! So much talent.

His hands just fly when he is playing his guitar!

He was just killin’ it. and I loved every minute of it. When the concert ended, the guys stuck around to pose for pictures and sign things, so naturally I had to say hello, how much I love their music, and of course have my picture taken with them. It’s not everyday you get to be around gorgeous Irish musicians is all I am sayin’.

Keith was real sweet, even though just about every woman in the place was clamoring for his attention, he managed to give real attention to his fans individually (myself included) *swoon*.

Then I went and said hi to Emmet. He was such a sweetheart, great people skills, and really down to earth. He and I actually talked for a little bit, so that pretty much made my night. *swoon again*

All in all I had an amazing time and can’t wait to see these guys again. I hope everyone enjoyed this post! Happy Tuesday!