Who Would Give Away A Free Album? John LeFebvre, That’s Who

OK, so the name may not mean much to most music fans when they hear it, but this guy has obviously earned the respect of some well-known names in the industry – people who have worked with the likes of Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, The Who, Cream and quite a few others.

I recently received a seven-song CD sampler along with a DVD that features the material from LeFebvre’s first album, entitled Psalngs (pronounced, appropriately enough, “songs”). As some readers may know, I don’t hold back when it comes to reviews. I tell it like it is. I’m certainly not being paid to do these reviews, although it certainly is not my intent to offend the people that are nice enough to send me this stuff from time-to-time. I just assume they can appreciate honesty above everything else.

Now, I bet you are ready to see me slam this album and tell you that it sucks. Not quite. The folks that worked on this album are professionals and they can play. Here’s the thing: I’m simply not a folk-rock guy. However, a lot of music fans are, and for those, this album is definitely worth checking out. Especially since you can download the entire thing for free!

I don’t often veer off course from my usual classic rock ramblings, but LeFebvre’s story is an interesting one, and he clearly has a message that he’d like people to hear. And did I mention you can download this album for free?

LeFebvre’s message may be one that resonates strongly during these times of economic turmoil, and what may be building resentment against a political system that never stops promising “change” and never seems able to deliver.

It seems to me there is little doubt that LeFebvre is allowing this album to be downloaded freely due to his motivation to get the message out about issues he feels strongly about. That says a lot for the man, since this 29-song collection probably had a good shot at being a commercial success.

I think John LeFebvre’s message is worth listening to. And if you like the music, that’s a nice bonus. You may not agree with everything he has to say, but it’s food for thought nonetheless – and pretty good folk-rock music, if you are into that sort of thing.

You can download Psalngs by visiting the official album website.

Tags: Album, Download, Free, John LeFebvre, Psalngs

Grace Potter And The Nocturnals Treat Fans To New Rock With Classic Sound

I was intrigued when I stumbled upon a recent New York Times story entitled "The Sound of the ’70s From a Singer in Her 20s" for reasons that should be obvious and perhaps a reason or two that is not.

Classic rock fans don’t get to hear a lot of new classic rock, since it is, well, classic. Some classic groups like Rush and Aerosmith are still working and coming out with new music these days and classic rock fans like myself appreciate that.

It is also kind of nice to discover a group of younger artists who have banded together to create new music that sounds like it may have been conceived of back on the 1970′s. When I learned that this group hails from the neighboring state of Vermont, I knew I had to give them a closer look and I really like what I saw, and more importantly, what I heard.

Grace Potter and Nocturnals is the name these four rockers have chosen for themselves and they appear to be making a very good impression on rock fans, including myself.

For me, this group is about getting back to basics. Nothing about their performances strike me as excessively flashy or over-produced — think opposite of Britney Spears. This group is all about good old-fashioned rock and roll and that’s exactly what they sound like.

The clip below was chosen from a number of them that were readily available, but being the well-known sound snob that I am, I chose it for its quality and the fact that I kind of like the "session" feel it has to it.

I’m also a sucker for a great snare drum sound and this is one of the better ones I have heard recently. (If someone happens to know the specifics of that snare, I’d like to know. Feel free to post a comment or drop me a line.)

Listening to lead singer Grace Potter reminds me a bit of Edie Brickell who enjoyed a hit or two back in the 1980′s when she was playing under the banner of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. The New York Times story compared her to a grittier Patty Griffin, but when I heard her for the first time I knew she reminded me of another singer I had not heard for a while. I was finally able to dredge up the memory of Brickell’s sound from my memory.

This contemporary group could easily be confused with one from the 1970′s and may even make one wonder whether they actually are from that era and somehow managed to transport themselves a few decades ahead in time.

Classic rock fans are strongly encouraged to check this group out.

Check out the full New York Times story here.

Tags: Grace Potter And The Nocturnals

All-Girl Led Zeppelin Tribute Band Riding Wave of Popularity

They call themselves “Lez Zeppelin,” but they fall somewhere short of forthcoming when questions are raised about the possible meaning behind the selection of such a name. I suppose that adds nicely to their mystique, which no doubt fuels more than a few fantasies in the minds of their male fans.

I don’t usually talk about tribute bands, but I have been seeing a lot of press coverage for this group lately and they must be pretty good since they earned themselves a European tour.

Personally, I would love to hear this band play. Having been a fan of Zeppelin for more years than I’d care to admit to, it would be great to see a live group play some of the legendary band’s music, and perform it well, as they seem to be doing.

I poked around on their web site, hoping to find some sound clips or video or something, but was not able to locate any. And then I realized that if I was going to find anything like that anywhere, it would be were else but YouTube.

Sure enough, there were a number of videos on YouTube of the band’s live performance (one you see linked here), and despite the lousy sound quality that you would expect from someone in a rock concert audience with a handycam, I could hear enough to determine that these gals can play.

I don’t feel qualified to comment on much other than the drummer, since that was my instrument of choice, although the guitar and bass work sounded respectable to me.

I would have to say I was impressed with the drummer’s performance and she seemed quite true to Bonham’s original performances, which is what I expect from a tribute band. I mean if you are going to do Zeppelin, do Zeppelin, and they do.

Overall, I’d say this band is worth checking out if you are a Led Zeppelin fan. It’s probably some of the best live Zeppelin music you are likely to see these days.

The bands official web site can be found here (gotta love those sexy graphic images!).

Another Young Band on The Right Track

Reading about a band of young guys down Virginia way who love classic rock reminds me of MindWalk, who I wrote a little bit about a while ago.

Tazer is the name of the band, which might bring to mind some scenes from the TV show Cops, when they zap some uncooperative suspect with the device of the same name.

It’s kind of surprising to hear about how loyal these guys are to music that their parents may have listened to some 30 years or so ago.

The drummer even goes as far as saying that he gets a bit ticked off about the kind of  kid that throws on a Led Zeppelin t-shirt without really knowing anything about the band. Just got to love that kind of dedication to the classics!

To read more about Tazer, check this article from the local newspaper in that area.

You Wanna Hear The Next Rush? Take A Little Mindwalk

So I’m cleaning up a little bit around my kitchen this morning and I have the TV going in the other room tuned to the local Fox channel since I want to hear when the weather report comes on.

They are talking about a band that will be performing as part of the morning news show that is on and they mention that the members of this particular band are 13, 14 and 11 years old.

“Oh great, this ought to be really great stuff,” I’m thinking sarcastically to myself and figuring they are rappers or something.

I then hear the host ask them what kind of music they play. I cannot hear the response in the other room since the kid they are talking to sounds a bit soft-spoken. I then hear the host say something like, “Straight-up rock and roll” and then asks what artists have influenced them.

This time I just make out what the kid says, and although I don’t know who the first band was that he mentioned and can no longer remember the name, the second and third influences I hear the kid mention are Kansas and Rush. Now they’ve got my attention.

I go in and see these young dudes getting ready to play. There’s the 11-year-old drummer with his double-bass drum Neil Peart kit, the bass player with some keyboards at his disposal (how Geddy Lee!) and the guitarist with what I thought was a Fender of some type but turned out to be a Carvin.

They start playing one of their originals that sounds to me like it has a lot of Rush influence, but the problem is that is sounds like crap. I don’t mean the kids’ performance, which actually sounds pretty damn good – really great considering how old these guys are!

The problem is the sound set-up in the TV studio, which obviously was not designed to provide quality sound for visiting rock and roll bands. Even so, I can tell these young guys have some serious talent in their possession.

The band is called “Mindwalk” and they are based somewhere in Massachusetts. The show’s host comes back after the performance and mentions that these guys have done some recording in a studio in Groton, Mass., which is right next to the town I lived in before moving here to New Hampshire.

The host also mentions that their website is www.mindwalkband.com and of course, I have to take a peek and download some of the MP3 files they have.

Listening to the downloaded MP3’s really tells the story since they’re nice, clean studio recordings. Of the five song snippets available for download, I was most impressed with their rendition of Rush’s YYZ and U.K.’s Presto, simply due to the fact that those are two songs I am familiar with, and these kids pull them off fabulously.

These kids are amazing. I don’t know how they found each other, but it’s a good thing that they did. They have a bright future ahead of them and a damn fine supply of accomplishment already behind them.

I’ve seen some bold claims from other bands about their being the “next Rush,” or whatever, but amazingly enough, these young guys called “Mindwalk” already may be the next Rush. It’s a little scary to think about just how good they will be in 10 years. These kids are the future of “real” rock music.