Blog — "music"
Music Typography and Art
In our basement we have a music area of sorts. Last year for Christmas, Andrew gave me three wall mounts to hang my guitars out of their cases and on the wall. As we slowly tackle the decorating scheme in each room, the basement has been pushed aside and to the bottom of the list. I have a few concert posters that I hope to frame and add to the "music area," but I was hoping to find a few more simple yet stylish pieces to include. These are some of my favorites that I found.
I'm having a hard time deciding which I like best, though I'm leaning toward the Spanish Bombs poster. But then again maybe it's because I've had the song in my head since I spotted the poster the other day.
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| via The Medium Control |
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| via handz |
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| via LuciusArt |
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| via LoversRockShop |
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| via At A Glance Graphics |
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| via forever500francs |
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| via yumalum |
What's Better Than a Hurricane?
Heidi Shenk "Bruce Hornsby" "Chris Thile" "music" "Punch Brothers" "weather" "Wolf Trap"
Power outages that cause the first day of school to be cancelled. And why was I excited about that? We had planned to drive down to Wolf Trap to see Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers. I knew it'd be an hour and fifteen minute drive back up to Baltimore after the show so I was relieved that I wouldn't have to wake up early this morning for school.
Bruce Hornsby has been one of my favorites since I was a small child. He is an incredibly talented pianist, songwriter, and singer. He's played for and toured with the best of them including the Grateful Dead and Ricky Skaggs. He's one of those musicians that could play just about anything without even thinking about what he is doing-- a complete natural. And as if Bruce isn't an amazing musician as is, we were lucky enough to see the Punch Brothers open the show resulting in Chris Thile playing with Bruce for the majority of the set. What's better than a hurricane? School cancellations, Bruce Hornsby on piano, and Chris Thile on mandolin.
Excuse the craptastic sound quality, but I wanted to share anyway in the event you could hear just the slightest bit.
Unscathed by Irene, the evening turned out to be one of the best in terms of weather that we've had all summer long. We were lucky to have power the whole time. A bit of water leaked in under our front door, but was soaked by the towel we had put in place. Several trees were downed in Patterson Park, but that was about it. Of and our Black Eyed Susan trellis was a few inches askew. Needless to say, we were impacted nearly as badly as they had predicted. However, the majority of the west side of the city struggled with power outages as well as my school's neighborhood a mere five minutes away. Let's just say as an extreme weather enthusiast I was a little disappointed. Now I'll just have to hope for a blizzard this winter!
But back to the subject of Bruuuuuuuuuuce. Here's a better video of one of his most recent songs that seemed appropriate for this past weekend.
Bruce Hornsby has been one of my favorites since I was a small child. He is an incredibly talented pianist, songwriter, and singer. He's played for and toured with the best of them including the Grateful Dead and Ricky Skaggs. He's one of those musicians that could play just about anything without even thinking about what he is doing-- a complete natural. And as if Bruce isn't an amazing musician as is, we were lucky enough to see the Punch Brothers open the show resulting in Chris Thile playing with Bruce for the majority of the set. What's better than a hurricane? School cancellations, Bruce Hornsby on piano, and Chris Thile on mandolin.
Excuse the craptastic sound quality, but I wanted to share anyway in the event you could hear just the slightest bit.
Unscathed by Irene, the evening turned out to be one of the best in terms of weather that we've had all summer long. We were lucky to have power the whole time. A bit of water leaked in under our front door, but was soaked by the towel we had put in place. Several trees were downed in Patterson Park, but that was about it. Of and our Black Eyed Susan trellis was a few inches askew. Needless to say, we were impacted nearly as badly as they had predicted. However, the majority of the west side of the city struggled with power outages as well as my school's neighborhood a mere five minutes away. Let's just say as an extreme weather enthusiast I was a little disappointed. Now I'll just have to hope for a blizzard this winter!
But back to the subject of Bruuuuuuuuuuce. Here's a better video of one of his most recent songs that seemed appropriate for this past weekend.
Hot August Blues
Heidi Shenk "Derek Trucks" "j roddy walston" "music" "Susan Tedeschi"
We spent yesterday at the Hot August Blues and Roots Festival at Oregon Ridge Park. And to say that it was hot August blues would be an understatement. A roasty toasty day in the sun sweating it out with some steamy blues and funk would sum it up quite nicely.
We got to the festival nice and early a little after 11 in the morning and scored a nice spot to put our blanket for the day. The day started with the Tom Larson band, a bluesy slide guitarist from the Eastern Shore. We stuck around for a bit, but then headed to the falaffal stand for some lunch so we wouldn't miss the next act. J. Roddy Walston and the Business, a Baltimore based band, cranked up the heat one more notch with their raucous rock and roll. Following was Kings Go Forth, a relatively new dirty soul group that we were really looking forward to. However, their live act was not incredibly spectacular and, we both agreed, a bit of a letdown. Looking back, they should have had J. Roddy follow Kings Go Forth.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band continued the show in the early evening, stepping up with the flavor of funk and grooves that Kings Go Forth lacked. This was our fourth time seeing Robert Randolph, and he and his band are absolutely amazing. We were lucky to most recently have seen them at Eric Clapton's Crossroad Guitar Festival last summer in Chicago. Robert plays amped up pedal steel and his family literally backs him up-- his sister is on backing vocals, his cousins on drums, bass, and guitar. There is no denying that they're family either-- they're all the spitting image of each other. The whole group is amazingly talented not only with their instruments, but with their vocals as well as each took on a lead at some point in the show. One thing that I love about watching them is that there is not a single moment that they aren't enjoying themselves on stage. Robert is smiling nearly the entire time and the rest are dancing and getting down just as much as the crowd.
The closers of the festival were the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Another group that we'd seen at Crossroads last summer, I highly anticipated seeing them again. It was complete luck to have seen them then. The Allman Brothers Band was to have played until Gregg Allman just happened to get a liver donor for his transplant the weekend of Crossroads. So instead, Eric Clapton brought the Tedeschi Trucks Band aboard. Personally, I couldn't have been happier. I was much more glad to see them than a washed up group that I wasn't entirely into.
Susan Tedeschi is by far one of my favorite musicians-- she has an amazing voice comparable to Bonnie Raitt and is an incredibly talented blues guitarist. She recently has paired up with her husband Derek Trucks, another amazing blue guitarist, and his band to round out the Tedeschi Trucks Band. They are probably the most humble musicians I have ever seen perform. They're extremely gracious and appreciative of the talented members of their band and give huge credit to each and every member. There's no gloating or crazy showmanship from either of them, especially Derek, as he has little to say, but flawlessly and effortlessly lets his guitar to do the talking. They closed out the night wonderfully and yet again blew me away with their musicianship. All in all a great day and a wonderful way to end my summer break.
We got to the festival nice and early a little after 11 in the morning and scored a nice spot to put our blanket for the day. The day started with the Tom Larson band, a bluesy slide guitarist from the Eastern Shore. We stuck around for a bit, but then headed to the falaffal stand for some lunch so we wouldn't miss the next act. J. Roddy Walston and the Business, a Baltimore based band, cranked up the heat one more notch with their raucous rock and roll. Following was Kings Go Forth, a relatively new dirty soul group that we were really looking forward to. However, their live act was not incredibly spectacular and, we both agreed, a bit of a letdown. Looking back, they should have had J. Roddy follow Kings Go Forth.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band continued the show in the early evening, stepping up with the flavor of funk and grooves that Kings Go Forth lacked. This was our fourth time seeing Robert Randolph, and he and his band are absolutely amazing. We were lucky to most recently have seen them at Eric Clapton's Crossroad Guitar Festival last summer in Chicago. Robert plays amped up pedal steel and his family literally backs him up-- his sister is on backing vocals, his cousins on drums, bass, and guitar. There is no denying that they're family either-- they're all the spitting image of each other. The whole group is amazingly talented not only with their instruments, but with their vocals as well as each took on a lead at some point in the show. One thing that I love about watching them is that there is not a single moment that they aren't enjoying themselves on stage. Robert is smiling nearly the entire time and the rest are dancing and getting down just as much as the crowd.
The closers of the festival were the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Another group that we'd seen at Crossroads last summer, I highly anticipated seeing them again. It was complete luck to have seen them then. The Allman Brothers Band was to have played until Gregg Allman just happened to get a liver donor for his transplant the weekend of Crossroads. So instead, Eric Clapton brought the Tedeschi Trucks Band aboard. Personally, I couldn't have been happier. I was much more glad to see them than a washed up group that I wasn't entirely into.
Susan Tedeschi is by far one of my favorite musicians-- she has an amazing voice comparable to Bonnie Raitt and is an incredibly talented blues guitarist. She recently has paired up with her husband Derek Trucks, another amazing blue guitarist, and his band to round out the Tedeschi Trucks Band. They are probably the most humble musicians I have ever seen perform. They're extremely gracious and appreciative of the talented members of their band and give huge credit to each and every member. There's no gloating or crazy showmanship from either of them, especially Derek, as he has little to say, but flawlessly and effortlessly lets his guitar to do the talking. They closed out the night wonderfully and yet again blew me away with their musicianship. All in all a great day and a wonderful way to end my summer break.
Fall Morning Music on a Summer Day
Heidi Shenk "Australia" "music" "Sarah Blasko"
Today is one of those mornings where the sky is gray and it's deceivingly warm out. I woke up with the thought that it was a 60 degree fall day. Funny I might think that only to have the sun poke out from the clouds as I watch the thermometer outside climb closer to 90. I had even put on a fantastic fall album to enjoy with the my coffee this morning. Maybe it was the air conditioning inside that really tricked me-- I don't know.
I felt a need for fall music, which is funny because I usually don't want summer to end. I decided to put on Sarah Blasko, and Australian artist that just happens to share my fall birthday. I found her music while I was living in Australia for school. She is perfect morning music and fall music at that. Minor keys and slightly atonal melodies. A bit haunting and some even say depressing, but perfect for me when I'm trying to get those morning cobwebs out of my brain.
I felt a need for fall music, which is funny because I usually don't want summer to end. I decided to put on Sarah Blasko, and Australian artist that just happens to share my fall birthday. I found her music while I was living in Australia for school. She is perfect morning music and fall music at that. Minor keys and slightly atonal melodies. A bit haunting and some even say depressing, but perfect for me when I'm trying to get those morning cobwebs out of my brain.
First Thursday with The Dirty Guv'nahs and The Bridge
Heidi Shenk "Baltimore" "music" "The Bridge" "The Dirty Guv'nahs"
Every first Thursday of the month during the summer season, there is a free concert at the park in Mount Vernon hosted by quite frankly the best radio station ever, WTMD. This is one of the things I can add to my list of reasons as to why Baltimore is such a great city. People just getting out of work pop by the park, find a spot to sit with their blankets and lawn chairs, and enjoy their picnics, food truck delicacies, or brews from The Brewer's Art stand nearby. And it is inevitable that you always bump into other people you know, setting a wonderful social atmosphere-- almost like a big summer party.
This was an especially fantastic First Thursday this month because Baltimore's The Bridge was playing. Earlier, they had announced that they were calling it quits after ten years, so we wanted to be sure not to miss any chances to see them. The progressive bluegrass/jam band, as I like to categorize them (or sometimes I call them bluegrass on steroids), certainly didn't disappoint. They were greeted by a very appreciative crowd that sang and danced the whole way through the set, appropriately saving Bury My Bones in Baltimore for their encore.
In addition to The Bridge who closed out the night, we were pleasantly surprised by the band that played before-- The Dirty Guv'nahs. Based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, "The Guvs," certainly proved worthy, and I'll soon be making a trip to The Sound Garden in search of an album. Pure rock and roll and a bit of Americana mixed in is what The Dirty Guv'nahs had to offer, and I was more than happy to listen and enjoy.
This was an especially fantastic First Thursday this month because Baltimore's The Bridge was playing. Earlier, they had announced that they were calling it quits after ten years, so we wanted to be sure not to miss any chances to see them. The progressive bluegrass/jam band, as I like to categorize them (or sometimes I call them bluegrass on steroids), certainly didn't disappoint. They were greeted by a very appreciative crowd that sang and danced the whole way through the set, appropriately saving Bury My Bones in Baltimore for their encore.
In addition to The Bridge who closed out the night, we were pleasantly surprised by the band that played before-- The Dirty Guv'nahs. Based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, "The Guvs," certainly proved worthy, and I'll soon be making a trip to The Sound Garden in search of an album. Pure rock and roll and a bit of Americana mixed in is what The Dirty Guv'nahs had to offer, and I was more than happy to listen and enjoy.