Ok. I based on all of the music I listen to lately, its official - I’m just going to have to move to Europe somewhere! Thanks to Grey’s Anatomy, I am now a fan of Irish artist Damien Rice :).

Damien Rice was born on the outskirts of Dublin in the early 70’s and grew up in Celbridge Co. Kildare. He spent much of his childhood down by the River Liffey fishing…hours of catching little left plenty of time for thinking…

Damien was also part of an act called Juniper who managed to get a big record deal with Polygram, and released “The World Is Dead” and “Weatherman”. However, all was not well. The record company put pressure on Damien to write upbeat radio friendly songs. Damien struggled and in despair one night stumbled onto to a song which became Amy. He left the band but the remains of Juniper became Bell X1.

In March 1999 he moved to Tuscany, then travelled around Europe, busking the streets. He arrived back to Dublin a year later, with a clear head, loaded with idea’s, he approached his music with a new found freshness and decided to put some songs down.

http://www.damienrice.co.uk

9 Crimes:

Cannonball and Volcano after the cut! (more…)

Yep. I am an American Idol fan :). I just wanted to give a little shout out to one of my favorite contestents from this past season: Daughtry.

“I began my music career as a songwriter, but I’ve always believed in the power of a band. The great moments are when you’re able to capture that extra special connection between members that you can’t really define. That’s what I’m striving for. We’ve found the right guys and I’m really excited about the prospects of what we can do. We didn’t have time to feature them on the album but I canÌt wait to hit the road with them.” For Chris, who drew consistently rave reviews on the summer-long Idol 5 jaunt, mixing it up with his own players will give his live show an even greater dimension. “There’s nothing like the camaraderie of a band. That feeling that you’re surrounded by a group of people who feel closer to you than just about anybody. It makes such a difference in the music.”

Overall I think this upcoming cd is pretty solid. It does seem a little ‘made-for-radio-rock’ but hey, for a first outing under Clive Davis, thats not bad.

Crashed - mp3, and my personal favorite from the album.

Self-titled Cd comes out this Tuesday, Nov 21st. Get it Here. Listen to the whole album thanks to Vh1 Here.

It’s Not Over from tuesday’s GMA:

acoustic It’s Not Over after the cut! (more…)

Another artist from across the pond! Because I am in no way a writer, here’s James’ words about his music:

“My Uncle used to play the guitar and watching him made me want to learn. I remember him showing me a blues riff which got me started. Id listen to tunes on the radio and try to learn to play and sing along to them. I was about thirteen at this point.

I found that singing and playing guitar was a way for me to release any frustration I had at the time. Not that I couldn’t express myself any other way, just that music has a more powerful way of doing it. I like being creative but it took me a few years of playing other people’s stuff before I could create my own style of songwriting.

I grew up on artists like Otis Redding, Al Green, Cat Stevens, The Kinks and Van Morrison. I always loved songs where the singer would sing with real soul, like they really believed in what they were singing about. Those are the kinds of songs that really stayed with me. I can’t sing a song about something I don’t believe in.”

Current Single: Call the Police

Better Man mp3 - a highly recommended download :) *the link has been updated!*

More vids after the cut

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She’s the girl most known for Black Horse and a Cherry Tree. But in my opinion, this Scottish singer/songwriter needs to be known for a bit more than that. Huh, there’s just something about the Scotts - first Paolo now KT…

“On the whole, I’m a positive, skippity-lala person,” Tunstall says of her album’s richly textured intesity, “but I’m equally facinated by the dark side of life and I always want to explore that. I think it’s an album full of positivity, but there’s stuff underneath it for sure.”

Tunstall grew up in the “beautiful but sheltered” university town of St. Andrew’s. Her parents informed her at an early age that she was adopted at birth. “I grew up knowing I could have had a million different lives,” She says. “It reminds you how mysterious life is am makes your imagination go wild.”

Black Horse: (this video is a bit loud - just to warn those wearing headphones ;) )

Excellent cover of ‘I Want You Back’:

More after the cut (more…)