Portfolio

THE AVETT BROTHERS

www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers

“If you put your ear to the street, you can hear the rumble of the world in motion; people going to and from work, to school, to the grocery store. You may even hear the whisper of their living rooms, their conversation, their complaints, and if you’re lucky, their laughter. If you’re almost anywhere in America, you’ll hear something different, something special, something you recognize but haven’t heard in a long time. It is the sound of a real celebration It is not New Year’s, and it is not a political convention. It is neither a prime time game-show, nor a music video countdown, bloated with fame and sponsorship. What you are hearing is the love for a music. It is the unbridled outcry of support for a song that sings to the heart, that dances with the soul. The jubilation is in the theaters, the bars, the music clubs, the festivals. The love is for a band. The songs are honest: just chords with real voices singing real melodies. But, the heart and the energy with which they are sung, is really why people are talking, and why so many sing along. They are a reality in a world of entertainment built with smoke and mirrors, and when they play, the common man can break the mirrors and blow the smoke away, so that all that’s left behind is the unwavering beauty of the songs. That’s the commotion, that’s the celebration, and wherever The Avett Brothers are tonight, that’s what you’ll find.”

The Avett Brothers have got to be one of the most innovative and talented bands on the music scene today.  They’re raw talent, unbridled energy, and subtly affecting lyrics combine to create a musical force to be reckoned with.  As children of Carolina country, The Avett Brothers are recklessly brilliant and hopelessly wild.  Their bluegrass rock is taking the music world by storm, and I think most are inclined to just sit back and let it happen.  - EJR

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REGINA SPEKTOR

www.myspace.com/reginaspektor

http://emilyjramey.com/2009/06/30/regina-spektors-far-review/

“Regina Spektor  (born February 18, 1980) is a Soviet-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City’s East Village.

Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs, but that she rarely writes any of them down. She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her. Spektor’s songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination. Her songs show influences from folk, punk, rock, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz, and classical music. Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.

Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She also explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair. Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization, most notably the glottal stop, which is prominent in the single “Fidelity.”  She also uses a strong New York accent on some words, which she has said is due to her love of New York and its culture.”

I am madly in love with Regina Spektor.  She is my all-time favorite artist.  I started listening to her in high school, and she never gets old.  Her piano and adorably unconventional stylings are enchanting.  I hear something new in her songs every time I listen, and her old albums are just as brilliant as the new ones.  I recommend her a million times over, but the most important thing to remember is that her radio hits are great, but the real lyrical treasures are buried.  – EJR

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JASON MRAZ

www.myspace.com/jasonmraz

http://emilyjramey.com/2008/06/20/jason-mrazs-we-sing-we-dance-we-steal-things-review/

“Jason Mraz (born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Mraz’s stylistic influences include reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz, and hip hop.

Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come in 2002 but it was not until the release of his second album, Mr. A-Z that Mraz achieved commercial success. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 200 and sold over one hundred thousand copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.

Mraz’s international breakthrough came with the release of lead single from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. titled “I’m Yours.” The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was a huge commercial success in the US with it receiving a triple-Platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over three million. The song was successful internationally and topped the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.”

I’ve been a fan of Jason Mraz for a long time.  Other than “Remedy,” the first of his work I heard was straight off his live album.  I was enthralled.  He combines so many different influences into one cohesive, flowing, unique style, and his performances embody a freedom and spontaneity that is so impressive. Mraz is an innovative and outrageously talented songwriter and musician, and I can’t overlook his music’s influence in my life.  – EJR

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NICKEL CREEK

www.myspace.com/nickelcreek

“The three members of Nickel Creek — Chris Thile (born Feb. 20, 1981) and siblings Sean (born Feb. 18, 1977) and Sara Watkins (born June 8, 1981) — have been playing together for more than a decade after performing as children in a San Diego pizza parlor. They continued to play as a unit throughout the decade with Thile (pronounced Thee’-lee) also releasing two solo albums in his early teens.

As they formed Nickel Creek, the three musicians were already starting to win bushels full of championship trophies. Most notably, Sara took the Arizona State Fiddle Championship when she was 15. Sean, at 16, was a finalist on mandolin as well as guitar in the National Flatpicking Guitar Championship. As a teen, Thile was a finalist for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s mandolin player of the year honor numerous times. The band itself won the Southwest regional division of the Pizza Hut International Bluegrass Band Championship in 1994 and built an enthusiastic following through appearances at major festivals and on television, radio and the Internet.”

I love bluegrass music, and Nickel Creek is better every time I listen to it.  I was fortunate enough to see Nickel Creek play once or twice before their ‘Farewell for Now’ tour.  I am hoping, as all of us are,  that ‘Farewell for Now’ was a promise to return.  I mean, I love the three albums they’ve released previously, but there’s nothing like new music.  And speaking of new, I think it’s important to say something about all their side projects.  Sean Watkins is doing Fiction Family with Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman.  It’s a really cool acoustic folk pop album – a perfect combination of Watkins’ and Foreman’s styles. Chris Thile is ever impressive in his bluegrass band Punch Brothers.  Seeing them play is worth whatever it costs.  Punch Brothers fire up bluegrass until you’re begging for more.  And Sara Watkins recently released her mellowed-out, melodic folk album that’s almost all instumental and stunningly beautiful.  However, as well as all of their individual successes are going, I’d still like to see a reunion album and tour, and I bet I’m not the only one.  [P.S. Look up side projects on www.nickelcreek.com.]  – EJR

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INGRID MICHAELSON

www.myspace.com/ingridmichaelson

http://emilyjramey.com/2009/08/26/ingrid-michaelsons-everybody-review/

http://emilyjramey.com/2008/10/17/ingrid-michaelsons-be-ok-review/

“Ingrid Michaelson (born 8 December 1979) is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter best known for her single “The Way I Am.” Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill.

Michaelson was born to artistic parents. Her father is composer Carl Michaelson and her mother Elizabeth Egbert is a sculptor and the Executive Director and President of the Staten Island Museum. Michaelson took up piano at age five, and trained until seven at Manhattan’s Third Street Music School, continuing for many more years at the Jewish Community Center of S.I.’s Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute. While there she met vocal coach Elizabeth McCullough, who worked with her through high school. She is a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School and Binghamton University, where she received a degree in theater. Her time at Binghamton is both mentioned in and the backdrop for the song, “The Hat.” She grew up doing a musical theater group called “Kids On Stage.” Later in life, she became a director until she decided to pursue her career in music.

In the fall of 2008, she opened for Jason Mraz on his Europe tour, touring in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and France among others.”

Ingrid Michaelson is such a smart and artistic girl.  She’s goofy, funny, and sharp as a tack. I love her phrasing and the timbre of her voice.  Her music is unaffected and honest. I saw her play in New York in 2006, when she was just getting her feet under her, and twice since then, and each time, she has been poised and effortless.  She’s beautiful and plays about 17 instruments.  She has two albums out currently, both of which she produced on her self-made record label, and another on the way.  – EJR