HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY INDEPENDISC ~ "Song of the Week"

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY INDEPENDISC! "Song of the Week" for 09-01-10 is: My Birthday by: The Cucumbers. Listen to it now: http://www.independisc.com/sotw/sotw007.m3u

On Sept. 1st 1998, IndepenDisc was born.
 
The Manifesto
"I tell ya Bob, I'm sick of what's on the radio, it's all the same. I love music so much, but I'm tired of what the radio has to offer. I just don't know what to do."

"The next time you're in the record store buy something you never heard before."

"But, what if I don't like it?"

"But, What if you do?"
It's hard to believe that conversation took place in 1977, yet it is still relevant today.

I regard music in the highest order, along side that of love. Without music there is no life. Everyone needs music in order to survive. Try to imagine a day with no music, that includes the singing of the birds, the idle of car engines, the whispering of the breeze, the murmur of far off conversations, the rhythm of your own breathing. All those sounds are in themselves music. Music is all-encompassing of sound. Sound equals music, music equals life.

What of those who can not hear sound? It is known that the deaf (I never claimed to be Politically Correct) can experience sound/music on higher sensual levels than most, thus at times sharing with us, sometimes exceeding, the pleasures we know and derive from it.

Music, like love (therefore the love of music/the music of love) can be the highest emotional level that we achieve. It presents itself in so many forms over the course of a lifetime, how can we not reach out and attempt to hold, feel, live and love it in as many of it's personifications as we can within the course of our own lifetime? There is no limit on how much music/love we can possess, but life tends to limit us to how much time we have to experience/enjoy it.

Since founding IndepenDisc in Sept. of '98 I have once again rediscovered the love of music by breaking away from the established criteria set forth upon us by preprogrammed (to sell advertising) radio. I did it in '77 when I blindly purchased "My Aim Is True" by Elvis Costello. I did it in '91 with "Gish" by Smashing Pumpkins (pre "The") and again in '97 with "Burner" a compilation disc by Home Office Records.

I walked into the record store and bought something I never heard before. It didn't always work, there were Artists/Albums that I didn't like (not to say there was anything wrong with them, if anything they helped to expand my knowledge just as much as the ones I did like), but the Artists/Albums I did like led me to others, that in turn led to changes in my life that still bring smiles to my face.

My passion and love of life through music, is sustained by the rediscovery and rebirth of ideals which are fed by the uncovering of obscure musical gems delivered to my ears by an Artist(s) who knows not of corporate dollars to produce, but only to produce through that of the love of music, the love of life.

These feelings, these emotions that can be brought forth through an Artists musical vision, I have always striven to share with those around me. With the birth of the internet I have been able to realize this calling all the more so, to share this music/love/life with anyone who is willing to listen, with anyone who is willing to walk into the record store and buy something they've never heard before. I created IndepenDisc for anyone/everyone for this reason.

IndepenDisc is the record store that stocks only the music you have never heard before.

"But, what if I don't like it?"

"But, What if you do?"

"Song of the Week" ~ Atrina (+ gig info!)

Is it a coincidence that as I was prepping this week's "Song of the Week" by Atrina, the band announces a huge gig? On September 26, 2010 Connecticut's own Manic Productions is presenting Bettie Serveert, from The Netherlands along with New London, CT's Fatal Film and Atrina at Daniel Street in Milford CT.
I've loved Atrina since their '02 release “searching for a better way…” and Bettie Serveert since I found their '97 release "Dust Bunnies" in a cutout bin of a long defunct big box electronics store. I have only read many positive reviews on Fatal Film, and must say I'm anxious to see them play. All in all, this is a great bill that shouldn't be missed. I'll post more on this as we get closer to the show, in the meantime...

"Song of the Week" for 08-25-10 is: Seven Ways* by: Atrina. off the CD: (beautiful evidence).
Featured Oct. '08 ~ here's what I (G.Gone) had to say about it then...

~snip~...“(beautiful evidence)”…is as amazing an accomplishment of sound, style and substance as you will find in any of today’s recordings. You will be aurally hypnotized before you have a chance to realize what is going on...~snip~ Read the entire review HERE.

*Link is a direct audio stream.

Saint Bernadette Video from MN

I've been sort of neglecting the Blog due to summer and vacation...
But our friends Saint Bernadette of Bridgeport have been doing some extensive touring throughout the country for about the past year or so now. Including stops at SXSW this year. This is from June 15, 2010 at the Fine Line in Minneapolis, MN.



"The Winding Road" from thier upcoming album.

Shelby Lynne @ Stage One Fairfield, CT 8-7-10

A month ago I received an email from a marketing representative for Universal Music in which they informed me that: Country singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne will be playing in Fairfield, CT on August 7 at Stage One at 7pm.

The email then asked if I would be interested in posting it to this here BLOG. Well, my memory was jarred a bit and I headed for the archive cellar, there I found the compilation CD I was looking for: It was from 2001, made for me by an internet friend whose name long escapes me (if I really wanted to, I could hunt it down, but that's for another time), It was a brief overview of "Musical Justice" his Live365.com Radio Station and it included the track "Killin' Kind" by Shelby Lynne.

The fact that I had remembered the song, and remembered liking it - this from someone whose only Country likes are basically Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and anything attempted by Elvis Costello - led me to this response: "Yes, I would like to post about this on the "Gone Local (& Beyond)" BLOG. Could I ask if there might be a pair of tickets that we could give away as a prize to one of our readers?"

To which Universal Music responded "YES" and asked if I could do an interview. I of course agreed, and like ships passing in the night, we never were able to finalize it. Of course leading up to what I thought would be my 1st interview with a major/national act, who I have little to no knowledge of - except for that one song from 2001 and all the music and information I could glean off her MySpace page - Her brand new CD, "Tears, Lies, And Alibis" which she's touring to support, has been released on her own "indie" label: Everso Records, etc. - I wondered what route I should take with the interview? Should I cram and prepare to show how "professional" I was and how much I was into her and what she had going on? Or should I come right out of the gate and profess to only knowing what little I did, but also admit to liking her vocal style and what she was doing now out there on her own? I could ask her to educate my readers/listeners (I had planned to tape the interview and play it on my Radio IndepenDisc show as well as post it here) and myself, as to who she was and why we should listen to and support her. But alas, the timing for the interview was not to be.

But, what about the FREE pair of tickets? As I write this, I'm not sure if they are still there or not, but I'll tell you what: If in the next 72 hours (that gives you until Midnight Thurs 8-5-10) you can post to this here BLOG what you know and appreciate about Shelby Lynne - If you can educate me (and everyone else who reads this BLOG) a bit more about Shelby Lynne, I'll pick the person who does it best, the one person who basically completes my interview for me, and give them that FREE pair of tickets to this Saturday's Shelby Lynne show at Stage One in Fairfield, CT. So C'mon Shelby Lynne fans, What say ye?

PS: Disclaimer: I’m not sure if Universal Music will honor their word about that FREE pair of tickets, But I’ll fight for you if I have to.