Any music history buff will want to take the next two minutes to watch the official trailer for Muscle Shoals, a music documentary appearing at Sundance this weekend.
Tag Archives: Jimmy Cliff
My inerview with Jimmy Cliff as it appears in Vegas SEVEN (6 14 12 Issue)
14 JunNext week Jimmy Cliff will take the stage and perform poolside at the Hard Rock Hotel here in Las Vegas. A few weeks ago I had the honor of speaking to him for a feature in Vegas SEVEN to preview the show. Before you read the below I have to tell you, not only is Jimmy Cliff an amazing musician but personally I believe he is an even better human being. He has such a beautiful outlook on life and is someone who we can all learn something from. Without further adieu, my interview with Jimmy Cliff. Hope to see everyone out at the pool next week.
News: The latest SXSW 2012 Artist Additions (Round 4)
17 JanSo SXSW just took another turn towards greatness today as they announced the fourth round of artists slated to perform at the festival and can you say holy awesome!
Just look at this list below, I mean you could just have these artists performing and Id be thrilled:
Best Coast, M. Ward, Lana Del Rey, Of Montreal, A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown, The War On Drugs, Counting Crows, Tommy Stinson, The Wedding Present, Andrew WK, Brendan Benson, Hot Water Music, The Fresh And Onlys, Gardens And Villa, P.O.S., Anika, Gauntlet Hair, Youth Lagoon, Tennis, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Dan Deacon, Sharon Van Etten, Zola Jesus, Nicolas Jaar, The Polyphonic Spree, The Drums, Astronautalis, Bear In Heaven, Ceremony, Chairlift, Crystal Antlers, Little Boots, Deerhoof, Dragonette, Gossip, Matthew Dear, Miike Snow, SBTRKT, Oneohtrix Point Never, Thundercat, The Ting Tings, Action Bronson, The Crystal Method, The Black Angels, Blondes, Busdriver, Ezra Furman, Apparat, Freelance Whales, Here We Go Magic, Free Energy, Eleanor Friedberger, Friends, Memoryhouse, Mikal Cronin, Buraka Som Sistema, Spank Rock, Corrosion of Conformity, Jimmy Cliff, Rye Rye, K’naan, YACHT, Band of Skulls, White Rabbits, Beth Jeans Houghton and The Hooves of Destiny, Supreme Dicks, Caveman, Cerebral Ballzy, Miniature Tigers, Zechs Marquise, Purity Ring, Justin Townes Earle, The Love Language, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Micachu & the Shapes, Grieves and Budo, Imogen Heap, Ingrid Michaelson, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Henry Clay People, And So I Watch You From Afar, Fake Problems, Azari And III, Sleepy Sun, Bahamas, Japanther, The Knux, Carter Tanton, Cassettes Won’t Listen, Jacuzzi Boys, CHALI 2NA, Cities Aviv, Is Tropical, Javelin, Kids These Days, Living Things, Scattered Trees, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.
Coachella 2012 Line-Up & My Initial Thoughts
10 JanAnother year of anticipation has come and gone as the 2012 Coachella line-up was released and while it’s pretty awesome they secured all the acts for back-to-back weekends on April 13-15 and April 20-22 I have to say my initial reaction was meh. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of phenomenal musicians slated to play the festival but I personally feel they lacked in the bigger acts category but did a stellar job with the smaller ones.
Headliners: Radiohead, great score and definitely one of the most sought after acts this year, The Black Keys love ‘em but bumping them up one slot from last year into the headline act…., Dre and Snoop, ok I get it and Cali kids will probably love this but is this how you really want to close out three days of music (I’ll probably be eating my words as this may end up being the most talked about performance)?
Also this year has so much more EDM and on the main stages, I know its music of the present but I wonder if/how it will influence and change the dynamic of the festival since it’s thrust to the top. I’m a big fan of EDM and these artists but Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Avicii, Kaskade, Afrojack, Justice, Sebastian Ingrosso and Madeon all as “main acts” it could get interesting just look at how many other EDM acts are booked.
Now what really excites me about Coachella:
Friday: M83, Jimmy Cliff & Tim Armstrong (oh wow this is going to be awesome), GIRLS, The Rapture, Madeon, Yuck, Dawes, WU LYF, GIVERS, Wolf Gang, Ximena Sarinana, Band of Skulls, honeyhoney
Saturday: Miike Snow, St. Vincent, Manchester Orchestra, AWOLNATION, Azealia Banks, Kaiser Chiefs, The Head and The Heart, Laura Marling, tUnE yArDs, The Black Lips, Childish Gambino, The Vaccines, Grouplove, Gary Clark Jr., We Are Augustines
Sunday: Beirut, The Weeknd, The Hives, Real Estate, Wild Flag, Fitz & The Tantrums, araabMUZIK, Lissie, Gardens & Villa
Something else that I love and hope is a trend for all the festivals this year is the addition of acts from outside the United States. Bands like WU LYF, Wolf Gang, M83, The Vaccines, The Hives and others that are extremely talented will get introduced to so many new fans.
All in will it be fun, heck yeah but what else will be fun is Coachella East aka Las Vegas. With a week in between you better believe Las Vegas is going to be a mid-week retreat with acts popping up for DJ sets in clubs and concerts peppered all over the Las Vegas Strip.
News & Notes: George Harrison, Jimmy Cliff & The Roots, RHCP and more
29 Nov- Today marks the 10th anniversary of George Harrison’s death. Do yourself a favor and listen to some of his works today
- Did anyone catch THIS sweet Jimmy Cliff & The Roots performance of “The Harder They Come” last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
- Read this little piece on Frank Ocean and his recent NYC performances
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justice, Laura Marling and Grimes announced some of their tour dates for next year
- And props to Rolling Stone for their new issue featuring the Top 100 guitarists of all time. Great list, awesome group of voters and some really powerful print as to who and why they were selected
Glastonbury 2011 Line-up Announced!
14 AprOut of all the festivals this summer I really am starting to think that Glastonbury has the best line-up of them all. June 24-26 this is going to be the place to be, just look at the poster below and your jaw will drop. Insane!
I mean the main two stages include: U2, Coldplay, Beyoncé, Morrissey, Elbow, Pendulum, Biffy Clyro, Paolo Nutini, Plan B, B.B. King, Tinie Tempah, Paul Simon, Wu Tang, Clan Rumer, Laura Marling, Two Door Cinema Club, The Gaslight Anthem, Don McLean, Metronomy, Tame Impala, The Low Anthem, The Master Musicians of Joujouka Stornoway, Fisherman’s Friends, Primal Scream, The Chemical Brothers, Queens of the Stone Age, Mumford and Sons, White Lies, Kaiser Chiefs, Fleet Foxes , Friendly Fires, The Eels, Bright Eyes, Jimmy Eat World, TV on the Radio, The Wombats, The Kills, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Vaccines, Jessie J, The Noisettes, The Naked and The Famous, Twilight Singers, Cold War Kids, Brother Treetop Flyers, Clare Maguire, Chipmunk, Alice Gold and Dan Mangan.
2010 In Music: Some of My Favorites
29 DecThese are in no particular order (except for the first one with good reason) because there is so much good music and moments to capture and look back on in 2010. I know I have forgotten some and welcome your additions but here are some are of my favorites from the past 365 days.
DoYouHearTheMusic.com – simply because I finally did it and started my own blog. For me it was a huge accomplishment and I only hope that if you are reading this you found some new music to listen to. Looking forward to adding and improving the site next year
Temper Trap – the Australians blew up in the US in 2010, headlining tours, “Sweet Disposition” being remixed into one of the best electronic songs, “Fader” taking off on the charts, etc.
Chiddy Bang – “Opposite of Adults” – what can I say, I dig these guys and I just hope more people give them a listen in 2011
Fitz & The Tantrums – the second half of my 2010 was dedicated to this band. I am in love with their sound and can’t wait to see them live
ImWithTheDJ.com – can always count on my friends’ blog for fun, inspiring and another side of music, posts
Tinie Tempah – not only is he one of the hottest artists across the pond but Tinie Tempah is quickly making his way to the US with his hit song, “Miami 2 Ibiza” ft. Swedish House Mafia
Tinchy Stryder – Another UK hip-hop act who should get some crossover into the US in 2011
Laidback Luke – What can I not say about this guy, he’s incredible. Three songs he remixed in 2010 that stick out to me: Calvin Harris – “You Use To Hold Me,” Robyn – “Indestructible” and of course Wynter Gordon – “Dirty Talk” (hands down one of the BEST songs of the year)
Vampire Weekend – if these guys were big before, Contra made them a global brand
Kings of Leon – I’ve been a fan of KoL for as long as they’ve been a band and Come Around Sundown reminds me of their original works. One of my favorite tracks of the year “Back Down South” I hope gains mainstream airplay
Brandon Flowers – went solo in 2010 and wow did he impress. Much more than I ever imagined he would. Bravo
Trombone Shorty – have you heard “Show Me Something Beautiful”
Dave Matthews Band – after announcing that they were taking 2011 off, I knew I had to see DMB as much as I could in 2010 and to me, they sounded incredible. So good it hurts to know they are taking next year off
LCD Soundsystem – wow, these guys rocketed to the top of the charts in 2010 and to be completely honest, the show I saw at the Pearl at Palms in Las Vegas, one of the best concerts of the year
That two DJ friends of mine have opened sneaker boutiques in Las Vegas- DJ Vice’s CRSVR inside the Cosmopolitan and DJ Ikon’s Feature off Spring Mountain/Jones
Bobby Long – getting set for a big release in 2011 and big things to come. He was one of the big surprises for me during Mile High Music Festival
Pepper at HRH – always guarantee a good time when going to see Pepper Live and once again they rocked the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas poolside to a HUGE crowd.
“One” – Swedish House Mafia – not much to elaborate on this except the BIGGEST song of the Summer 2010
Wolfgang Gartner – with a half filled nightclub, those who made it out to Vanity at the Hard Rock Hotel this summer were treated to one of the best DJ sets
Mark Ronson – “Bang Bang Bang”
Dave Matthews Band – “Write A Song” Live – this has quickly become one of my top DMB songs and hearing it live cemented its place for good
Taio Cruz – “Dynamite” – this song is club gold. The reactions when this song is played is right up there with “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “Just Dance,” “Since You’ve Been Gone” and the likes where people go absolutely insane for it.
DJ Khaled – “All I Do Is Win”
Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – “We No Speak Americano” – took some time but gained serious momentum in the second half of 2010
Roger Sanchez – “2gether” – what a remix and breath of fresh air
Edward Maya – “Stereo Love”
Michael Franti – Sound of Sunshine – Love me some Michael frantic but his latest disc was a real surprise for me and I am forever grateful to have had this as a soundtrack to my summer
Kanye West – “Power” – forget how good his whole album is, “Power” is my jam
Lupe Fiasco ft John Legend – “Never Forget You” – what a song and definitely some lyrics you should pay attention to
Jimmy Cliff – seeing the legend perform live at Mile High Music Festival was one of the best musical highlights of my life. Man still has it and I could listen to him perform any day
Miike Snow – wow the surge to stardom keeps rising for these guys
Dr. Luke – this guy produces hit after hit after hit. I mean Katy, Perry, Ke$ha, Eminem, etc. all have top hits because of him
Cee Lo – what can’t he do?
B.o.B. – his debut disc is flat out phenomenal
Biffy Clyro – keep an eye out for these Scottish rockers
Graffiti6 – love love love
Good Shoes – English band you have no excuse not to listen to
Duck Sauce – The team of A-Trak and Armand van Helden make you wonder where the musical boundaries are going to be pushed to next
Pirate Radio on DVD – this is one of my favorite movies of all time and definitely a great music flick
The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St. rerelease – it still amazes me what they are able to do today with remastering original recordings
Treme – what a great job HBO did with this series. Can’t wait for season two
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp” one of my favorite tracks of the year
D.W. Brandt – “Some Fantasy” another amazing track this year
Drake – what else can you say about this guy and “Over” with the Dead Prez beat SICK
Wavves
The Crookes
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon because of The Roots as the house band – did you see the performances?
Mumford and Sons – my tip of the hat to CC for the good look before these guys struck it big
Maccabees – just check em out
Aerosmith – finally getting to see these guys live and good thing I did since Steven Tyler broke up the band for American Idol
Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger – one of the most fun concerts I’ve ever attended and well worth $31
Friendly Fires – another band you haven’t heard of
Rehab at Hard Rock Hotel
The music program at Wet Republic – just do a search for the recap of all the artists
The Dirty Dutch invasion – DJ Chuckie crushed it
Afrojack – monster year and now has a Vegas residency
David Gray – never lets you down
Aloe Blacc – How To Make It In America on HBO pushed him to mainstream and “I Need A Dollar” isn’t even his best work (did you catch Kid Cudi the actor?!)
David Guetta and Kid Cudi – “Memories”
Discovering Blue King Brown
John Butler Trio – April Uprising – hands down one of the best albums of the year
The Parties- Coast Garde
Donvavon Frankenreiter – “Glow” – I’ve been a Donavon fan since the first time I saw/heard him opening for G. Love at Hob Sunset Strip and anytime he has new music out, I don’t even have to wonder, I just know it’s good music
Subway Sessions – really really cool concept
Chromeo teaming up with Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend on the track “I Could Be Wrong”
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – if you haven’t listened to her, you are missing out
The Black Keys – finally hit stardom
Elton John and Leon Russell – The Union
The Gaslight Anthem – back with their third LP, the Jersey rockers killed it again
Calvin Harris
Gyptian – “Hold Yuh” – the original is wonderful but the Major Lazer remix is awesome
Hot Chip
Mile High Music Festival – a great two days with an insane amount of top tier bands to see
Revisited: My Mile High Music Festival – Day 2
18 AugWith a successful first day at Mile High Music Festival I was definitely looking forward to Day 2 and the great line-up.
- Day 2 started out at the Wolf Stage to check out Los Angeles based Oh My Stars and they delivered way more than I was anticipating. Rocking out with tons of energy definitely help set the tone for the day of music ahead. Their set included fun renditions of Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” and a wicked performance of their single “Bloody November”
- Next up was a southern rock performance by Drive-By Truckers. It was good old rock and roll jam session perfect for the mid-afternoon
- One of the big highlights of Day 2 came mid-afternoon when Ozomatli performed. Always an upbeat, festive time, the boys did not disappoint and really had the crowd in unison singing and dancing the entire hour of their set. In traditional Ozo fashion it was straight into the crowd to end the performance and I can’t wait for them to hit Vegas again on September 3 at the Hard Rock Hotel
- Jimmy Cliff may be getting up there in age but he can still put on a show and I was thrilled to see the legend live. Hearing him sing “I Can See Clearly Now” and “The Harder They Come” made my day
- Knowing that Dave Matthews Band was going to draw the biggest crowd of MHMF, we decided to home base it from the Kyocera Main Stage which turned into the best idea for multiple reasons but one being that we got to check out Trevor Hall’s set at the adjacent Cougar Stage. While I have one of his LPs I really was wowed by how good he was live and his performance was definitely one of the top surprises for me at MHFM. He also did a fun cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”
- My Morning Jacket performed next on the main stage and while I didn’t get to hear my favorite song by them, “Dancefloors,” it was still an entertaining set with a fun sing-along of “Off The Record”
- Another pleasant surprise for me and a band that has been around for some time was Railroad Earth jamming on the Cougar Stage. In addition to myself becoming a fan I think they gained a whole heap as folks trickled in grab their spot for DMB and grooved to their whole set
- DMB as expected came out and rocked MHMF. In what typically is always an amazing show, the fellas brought a festive energy and a mix of old and new songs. Looking back the set list was an amazing one. Starting out with “Shake Me Like A Monkey” set the tone and hearing “What Would You Say” followed up by “#41” was definitely a highlight as was “Lie In Our Graves” with a little cover of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” Last three songs before the encore were “Two Step” “You & Me” and “Ants Marching.” The whole set list can be found here
Overall Day 2 was a rousing success. I would have loved to have taken in the performances by Weezer, Z-Trip, Boombox and Atmosphere but just like Day 1, too much music and too many decisions to make.
Also pretty saddened of the Denver Post’s coverage of the festival since it was in their backyard and only sending one reporter to cover and not even given a fair shake to many of the 40 plus acts over the two days. I mean on Day 1 the reporter didn’t even arrive until after 4 p.m. surely missing some great performances. You can read the recaps here and here.
Do You Hear The Music? 