SnC 156 – Wed 11 Feb 2009

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An all N. American selection this week. Honestly, I don’t plan it that way.Sadly I’m now flying the show solo, since my producer, companion and great friend Artois (right) was diagnosed with fairly advanced liver cancer on Saturday and immediately put down. I think a few of us have seen enough pain for one lifetime. I just hope someone will be able to do the same for me when the time comes. NO, not yet you fool!She got too big for her body – Neal Fox (FL, USA)Another outing for the magnificently cunning Fox by the name of Neal, this time with resonance of In the Midnight Hour I rather thought. What do you reckon?I really don’t need to say much about Neal. His work speaks for itself over at www.wireduck.comPutting on my Catsuit – Sez Guiljan (San Francisco, CA, USA) From the album On to the Next released just a couple of weeks ago.Sez began playing piano at the age of four but a few years later traded it in for the classical viola. She taught herself how to strum guitar at sixteen and since then has picked up the cello, bass, Autoharp and accordion.Sez Giulian moved to San Francisco in 1997 from Philadelphia. Since then she has gigged regularly throughout the city’s bars, cafes and theaters as well as recorded with top local musicians.On to the Next is a blues-and-jazz-infused indie collection of 14 intimate songs. Giulian also skillfully plays all of the instruments on the album. Her songwriting is sharp, catchy and unpredictable, and her lyrics are wry and clever poetry.The album is be available online and digitally through iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody and others. Visit her site for a list of sales locations.www.sezg.commyspace.com/sezaliciousSpivey have put a clip from Suffolk’n’Cool 155 onto their MySpace player – neat idea chaps and much appreciated. See what I mean at www.myspace.com/spiveymusic while you’re there you’ll be able to check on their live dates coming up in Dallas on Saturday then a couple of dates in Lubbock, Texas, where Buddy Holly was born. (Isn’t it the 50th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death this week?)Ruleta rusa – Cordero (Brooklyn, NY, USA)From their album De Donde Eres.Fronted by Ani Cordero and her nail-it-to-the-back-wall voice, Cordero can set the scene for a golden, reverby, south of the border sunset or an ill-conceived encounter with a stranger in the back booth of a dimly lit bar.This powerful, Brooklyn-based quintet (horns, re-verby guitars and a drummer that defies you to NOT get out of the chair and shake it) is equally at home amongst the New York art rock scene or the vibrant Rock en Espanol movement, pegging both with heaping amounts of sassy spontaneity and sexy Latin styling. Cordero’s sound and aesthetic has nothing less than an undeniable romantic flair.Before stepping to the front of the stage and settling down in Brooklyn with hubby Chris Verene (formerly of Rock*A*Teens), Ani played drums in the much acclaimed surf outfit, Man or Astroman?. Cordero has toured and recorded with a winding cast of notable characters, including Calexico (the fruit of a recorded, but never released collaborative album). They’ve also supported Neko Case on her 2004 Tiger Sessions Tour and have shared bills with everyone from Los Lobos to Rosie Thomas and Lucero.www.bloodshotrecords.com/artists/cordero/http://corderomusic.com/www.myspace.com/corderonycBig Log – Chrissy Coughlin (New York, NY)From her Look Ahead album.Chrissy’s seasoned voice coupled with her warm personality are an unstoppable combination.2008 was been a good year for this New York City based singer-songwriter. The winter was full of excitement moving to and ‘officially’ becoming a ‘New Yorker’, the spring delight of releasing her new CD, Look Ahead, and the summer and fall have been chock full of performances to support her new release.www.chrissymusic.comwww.myspace.com/chrissycoughlinDrip Dryin’ – The Two Man Gentleman Band (New York, NY, USA) America’s premier itinerant neo-vaudevillian swing duo. From the very eponymous album Drip Dryin’ with The Two Man Gentleman Band on Serious Business Records.The record release concert is being held this Friday, 13th at The Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn.Dear Friends,Our   record release spectacular promises to be no less than, well, spectacular.  It features us, Curtis Eller (our favorite acrobatic yodeling banjoist), and the Minsky Sisters (the loveliest and most talented tap dancing duo we could ever dream of).  Join us, won’t you?Friday, Feb 13th, 10pmThe Jalopy Theater315 Columbia St., Brooklyn, NYClick here for Directions$10 admissionWhat’s that you say, gentlemen?  Friday the 13th and Valentine’s Day Eve?  Indeed.  Frightening and Romantic, a perfect summary of The Two Man Gentlemen Band.You can download a couple of tracks quite free from their site.www.thetwogentlemen.comwww.myspace.com/twomangentlemenbandStrangest places – Astronauts of Antiquity (New York, NY, USA)Astronauts of Antiquity have bridged various musical worlds to create a realm all their own. And while their journey has taken them around the globe, on their new album, Rocket Science For Dummies, they have brought it all back home, delivering an album that is seamless and mesmerizing.Their music has been called everything from "urban-electro-organica," to a "jazzy, neo-soulful, electronic exploration," but more than any genre, what defines Astronauts of Antiquity is the musical and life partnership of India on vocals and B. Rhyan on guitars. The two first ran into each other – literally – at the airport, while India was rushing to make a flight. Three years later, the two once again encountered at one of India"s performances in Milwaukee. Backstage after her show, B. Rhyan was instantly captivated by India and sensed something more than simply a kindred spirit – he saw the possibility of a music and soul partner. (Only years later did the two recall their original chance encounter, which made their meeting feel even more like destiny.)Originally an alternative rock act, India, and B. Rhyan birthed what would become Astronauts of Antiquity at of all places, a festival they were playing in Poland. India recalls, "We were an alt/rock band, but the last song we did was a dub influenced song, and the people went crazy. I think we were all like, ‘Holy Shit, we’re on to something here!"www.astronautsofantiquity.com/www.myspace.com/astronautsofantiquityBartalk – Erik Scott (Chicago and California, USA)A session man through and through I suspect. Best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Sonia Dada, and Flo & Eddie, Erik has also recorded with dozens of other artists, including Carl Palmer, Kim Carnes, Pops and Mavis Staples, and Signal. In addition to providing soulful low notes, he is a composer/producer who has written and recorded for movies and TV.www.erikscottbass.comTwitter and real networkingAriel Publicity www.arielpublicity.netMy Baby – Kat Danser (Edmonton, Canada)From Kat’s 2007 album Somethin’ Familiar.Her ‘Swamp Blues’ style is steeped in early roots and blues traditions and delivered by her deep, resonant vocals and the soulful sound of her Weissenborn lap slide guitar.  Much like a long stretching railroad track, Danser draws a direct line from the Canadian prairie to the Mississippi Delta.  She is one part backwoods juke joint, one part plow puller and two parts dusty ol’ canvas tent revival.  Kat Danser delivers a refreshing approach to roots, blues, and gospel music for the 21st Century.A multi-instrumentalist, Danser plays the Weissenborn Hawaiian lap slide guitar, a vintage acoustic Gibson, National steel resophonic slide guitar, a tack head banjo and the Zydeco scrubboard.Danser is currently in production of her third full-length acoustic roots and blues album, is filming a documentary entitled Women in Blues: Turn the Page and is an Ethnomusicology graduate student at the University of Alberta.You can download that track and order the CDs from Kat’s site. www.katdanser.comwww.myspace.com/katdanser