Seattle is our second favorite city after New York City. I have been there twelve times. I started visiting Seattle when I worked for Microsoft in 1992. My wife and I adore the city especially the topography and the Four Seasons Hotel. The arts scene there is vibrant and embracing.
Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music and Arts Festival will be hosting a gangbuster Bumbershoot 2013. Take a look at the lineup below and then navigate to the Bumbershoot Website to increase your knowledge about this way cool event.
Bumbershoot takes place at the Seattle Center which is complete with a Monorail system, the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. I find this spot reminiscent of the New York Worlds Fair site.
Adding Bumbershoot 2013 as a strong possible to the wish list in the music of our heart.
I receive The Red Bulletin, “A Beyond The Ordinary Magazine” every month. The April 2013 US issue finally achieved that “objective” for me.
Pictured on the cover is “The Guru” Questlove who I find factoring more and more into my music equation. He is a college professor at NYU Tisch School of Music. My family got to see him live last year at a Late Night with Jimmy Fallon TV taping as The Roots are the house band.
I recently wrote about the public discussion that took place with Questlove and David Byrne at NYU (see Related Articles below). I enjoy and respect seeing Questlove’s logical ascension in musicology circles.
Questlove is a Mentor for the Red Bull Music Academy 2013 that will be taking place all around New York City from April 28-May 31. This month-long plus annual international music event is where up and coming producers, singers, arrangers, DJs and musicians get the opportunity to learn from top industry professionals. Who better to school ya than Questlove and others I am thinking?
I hope to attend one of their events. Stay tuned to which ones I get tickets for
Little did everyone realize that when Dave Grohl announced at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park NYC on September 30, 2012 that he was taking a hiatus from the Foo Fighters the significance of that pivot point in his music career.
Before playing ‘Learn To Fly’, the group’s fourth song of the night, Grohl said: “Without making a big deal out of it, we
don’t have any shows after this. This is it, man. Honestly I don’t know when we’re gonna do it again…and this is the perfect place to do it.”
Dave has produced a labor of love movie about Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California, Sound City. This studio has been the birthplace of many of the greatest recordings in rock and roll history. The studio has since closed but we get to visit it once again through the miracle of the camera lens.
I really feel like SOUND CITY is my life’s most important work. I hope you do too. – Dave Grohl
Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin, Copyright Kevin Estrada
There is a companion motion picture soundtrack, Real to Reel with many new tracks recorded through the 1970′s Neve Sound Board Dave Grohl purchased from Sound City Studios.
The making of this film and the soundtrack initiates the nucleus of an innovative sound direction for Grohl and friends.
Dave Grohl will debut a new supergroup, named Sound City Players, at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where the Sound City movie will début reports Rolling Stone. The track listing above gives a good sign as to who that new supergroup may feature
2013 promises to be an extremely busy and productive year for Dave Grohl. He will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on March 14. He will also be drumming on the forthcoming Queens Of The Stone Age album.
If time travel was an option, I would love to be transported back in time to The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. When I look back on what Monterey Pop accomplished, the rich set of artists that performed, there was a magic that weekend that formed peace, love and the power of music for generations to come. It’s the music festival I would most want to attend and experience.
I would love to attend that festival at the age I was in 1967, close to 16. I would also like to experience the event fully with no understanding of the events as I know them now. What I mean is that I would love to witness each act unfold, be surprised by The Who and Jimi Hendrix, boogaloo to Otis Redding. I would just love to have been there from beginning to end.
Imagine meeting his Majesty Prince Jones as he walked amongst the crowd. Monterey Pop celebrated its 45th anniversary this past June.
There are so many rock stars that are no longer with us who performed at Monterey Pop. For that reason alone revisiting the Monterey Pop Festival would be worth it.
Imagine seeing The Who go insane smashing their instruments amidst the smoke bombs and fireworks Keith Moon planted under his drum set. Or witnessing Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire. Hendrix was in top form that night as he one upped Peter Townshend of The Who.
There is a fantastic official Monterey Pop International Festival Web Site. I visit it often. I urge you to go hear Eric Burdon sing Monterey and watch the images, view the vast information available. Then go rent or own the rock documentary, Monterey Pop, directed by D. A. Pennebaker. That’s what I plan to watch later today. I own the deluxe video set (no surprise there folks…).
Cover via Amazon
If that’s not enough content for you, I wanted to point out that there is a new book available about Monterey Pop. Maybe Santa Claus will be good to me and put this under my Christmas tree, hint, hint
13. Jerry Garcia
14. Alice and White Rabbit
15. David Crosby
16. Keith Moon
17. Neil Young
18. John Philips
19. Jimi Hendrix
20. Ravi Shankar
21. Wavy Gravy
22. Ben Fong Torres
23. Brian Jones
24. Spencer Dryden (*JA drums)
I leave you with this video clip of Janis Joplin with Big Brother & The Holding Company. This was THE breakout moment for Janis and her band. Of all the performances that happened that weekend, this one is truly special. Enjoy.
Today we are attending the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen, Ct. Hoping it doesn’t rain too much today. We will be seated under the tent. This is our first time going to this event.
There will be many new jazz artists for us to listen to and learn more from today. I love having my music consciousness expanded with new music inputs.
The artist I am most excited to seei and hear is Ambrose Akinmusire, #1 New Artist in the JazzTimes Reader’s Poll. I am enamored with his début CD on Blue Note RecordsWhen the Heart Emerges Glistening.
The International Festival of Arts and Ideas closes out tomorrow night on the New Haven Green with a headliner concert from Rosanne Cash and her band. Its been a fantastic festival this year.
Rosanne Cash will highlight music from her recording, The List. The List is a deeply personal album: a peaen to her father, Johnny Cash. The selections and the album’s title derive from the list of 100 Essential Country Songs that her father had compiled for her and instructed her to learn when she joined his road show after high school graduation.
The American songwriter says The List is “imbued with tremendous life force.”
It bodes being a wonderful evening under the stars in New Haven with one our nation’s gifted singer/songwriters, Rosanne Cash.
The Coachella Festival being held in the California desert in two parts begins tomorrow. Weekend 1 is April 13-15.
There is strong high tech participation for this event. Google will be streaming the event live on YouTube on the Web. I received an email from Google Play offering free music from Coachella All-Stars.
Coachella attendees are encouraged to bring their Apple iPads to the event. There is of course an Official Coachella 2012 iPad App available.
I’m underwhelmed by the GOTV artist lineup compared to recent years to be very honest. I’m hoping the schedule is not complete as Sunday July 22nd is very weak without a major artist anchoring that day. The Gathering of the Vibes has been known to add more major acts as the festival gets closer so I am hoping Ken Hays has some aces up his sleeve for Vibes 2012.
Last night we attended the International Festival of Arts and Ideas season preview which is scheduled to take place June 16-30, 2012 all around New Haven. New Haven continues to figure prominently in my world music consciousness. I minored in music at the University of New Haven in the early 70s. Many of my music professors were graduates of the prestigious Wesleyan University world music program.
This blog post will highlight the major music events announced that interested us. Please note the entire schedule of events which features 900 artists from 17 countries will be available at the end of April on the official International Festival of Arts and Ideas Web site.
The other major theme will be the free concerts, Headliners on the New Haven Green. We have been to several free concerts at this picturesque, historic setting. Its fun to bring a picnic basket, chairs and a blanket as you listen to live music in the fresh open air.
Red Baraat & Noori – June 24 (7 pm) – Red Baraat is a fiery blend of raucous Indian bhangra combined with funky New Orleans brass.
Roseanne Cash – June 30 (7 pm) – I am excited that Roseanne Cash will perform The List, a paean to her father, Johnny Cash.
Now that the Litchfield Jazz Festival and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas plans are announced, I have one more 17th annual Connecticut music festival to learn about Monday, April 2nd the line up for the Gathering of the Vibes festival in Bridgeport, Ct will be unveiled. Then I will be able to author my, “How I spent my summer music vacation” paper for back to school in the fall
One of my 2012 New Year’s resolutions is to include more jazz in my life. In pursuit of more jazz the first two concerts of 2012 were jazz events. We saw Tim Berne‘s quartet at the Rubin Museum in the Chelsea district in New York City and the Lionel Loueke Trio at Wesleyan University (for free) in February.
I am hemming and hawing about catching Vijay Iyer at Birdland and Wayne Escoffery at the Smoke Jazz & Supper Club in NYC in April. We have decided to pass on the Newport Jazz Festival 2012 due to the cost of a hotel stay being out of our price range.
A jazz festival I want to attend instead is the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen, Connecticut. I received e-mail notification that tickets are now on sale for the 17th Annual Litchfield Jazz Festival to be held August 10-12. We’ve been spending more time in Litchfield County the past few years as patrons of Infinity Hall. The Litchfield County environs offer a picturesque setting with a rolling pastures set against the Connecticut hills.
Saturday August 11th looks like the best day of events. I am very interested in seeing the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet play.
Seattle is our second favorite city after New York City. I have been there twelve times. I started visiting Seattle when I worked for Microsoft in 1992. My wife and I adore the city especially the topography and the Four Seasons Hotel. The arts scene there is vibrant and embracing.
If time travel was an option, I would love to be transported back in time to The 
Now that the Litchfield Jazz Festival and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas plans are announced, I have one more 17th annual Connecticut music festival to learn about 
One of my 2012 New Year’s resolutions is to include more jazz in my life. In pursuit of more jazz the first two concerts of 2012 were jazz events. We saw 
