Burst Transmission EP available now!

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And though the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home, why can't a little Manchester rain soak up the sound every now and then? Drawing influence from a peacoat-clad generation across the pond, a uniqueness of their own has emerged. Beware The Images are TJ Hester, Shane St. Clair, Jon Moore, and Robbie James.

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“I Love You Means I’m Lucky” out NOW!!

John David & Jerks are a Minneapolis based, pond-hockey loving, indie rock/Americana band active since 2008. John David & the Jerks cultivate the great song writing process and are influenced by The Band, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones.

The Jerks have released two full length records, 2008 “Present & Voluntary” & 2010 “Letters from America” (recorded at The Pachyderm, Canon Falls, Minnesota). They have since released multiple singles and are releasing their 3rd full length album titled “I Love You Means I’m Lucky” on Friday, August 3rd, 2018. “I Love You Means I’m Lucky” will come out on sonaBLAST! Records (Louisville, Kentucky) and was recorded at the Pearl Recording Studio in NE Minneapolis along with drummer/producer Peter 
Anderson of the Honeydogs.

Recent single “I’ll Die of Grief“ was featured on the “City Pages – Local Frames: 5 Must-See Minnesota Music Videos”, as well as Minnesota Public Radio The Current’s “Friday Five” top Minnesota Music Videos. Single “Every Little Road” was also featured on The Current’s “Friday Five” as well as Minnesota Public Radio’s Local Show on 89.3 The Current KCMP. The Jerks have also received regular support from Minneapolis based Fresh Air Radio KFAI.

On January 31, 2018 John David & the Jerks signed a recording deal with sonaBLAST Records 
(Louisville, KY). This partnership will no doubt bring the Jerks’ songs to a wider audience for years to come. 

VIDEOS & LINKS

I’ll Die of Grief
Oh Savannah
Every Little Road
Swedish Dream

"I LOVE YOU MEANS I'M LUCKY"

SIDE A 
1   Blizzard Road (3:48)*
2   Snow on a Coal Mine (3:48)*
3   Yellow Moon (3:50)*
4   Swedish Dream (4:28)*
5   I’ll Die of Grief (3:46)
6   I Only Want Your Love (2:37)

SIDE B  
7   Every Little Road (4:09)*
8   Ever Hear (4:14)
9   Come on Home (2:17)
10  Oh Savannah (3:17)
11  Must We Break (3:39)
12  Friend Like You (4:14)*

Here are a couple of words from the lead singer John David :
Every single day I wake up in Minneapolis and go forward following the faint glimmer of a song levitating inside my mind; eager and all the time afraid it could vanish. I don’t know what happens to the spirit during the delicate design of sleep, but every day I wake up with desire; an ambition dictated by an affection brought on me when most defenseless. I go forward mirroring that vision against all of the life I know; the love, the longing, the beauty & awe, the separation from loved ones, the togetherness again, the death, and of course the gratitude and rebirth. It is the gratitude that lies underneath it all for me, the appreciation for all the experience life might have to hurl my humble direction. Rock n Roll is because of this, among the highest order; bringing the stories of our life to a resounding and transferable passage. For everything within, I say I love you, and for everything within, I say thank you. That is what “I Love You Means I’m Lucky” is to me.

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Crossover Thrash by a band of miscreants. Belushi Speed Ball was formed in August of 2013, and have been actively playing shows since 2014. Belushi Speed Ball is notorious for trashing venues with their shows that are a mix of theatrics and music. Every show is different from the one prior and is documented on the band's youtube show, "The Senor Diablo Show" The band is led by Vinny Crastellano and their manager Senor Diablo. The current line up also consists of Daniel Neel, Jazzy Romans and Kyle Phelps.

"So how much of this is real, and how much of this is fake?" is typically the question anyone at their first Belushi Speed Ball wonders aloud. The collection of musical misfits is equal parts theater and thrash, parody and punk; the band is often likened as "a pro wrestling event. There are costumes, outlandish characters and antics, raw energy and the key ingredient: an involved audience. Each show has a theme, which is never repeated, and sometimes it isn't until the next day that you realize what they pulled off." -Julie Gross, LEO Weekly.

Corrina Repp - “How a Fantasy Will Kill Us All”
Stream / Download HERE

Video- Need You Don’t Need You

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We are so proud to be doing a joint release of Corrina’s fifth LP with the amazing Jealous Butcher Records. Corrina and Danny recorded this record with much love and care right next door to our office here in Louisville. Go to Jealous Butcher’s website for vinyl!

1. Lightest Light  (4:07)
2. Nothing Is On  (4:20)
3. Need You / Don't Need You  (5:44)
4. Only A Beat  (4:16)
5. How A Fantasy Will Kill Us All  (5:46)
6. Fierce In The Headlights  (5:09)
7. A Silhouette As A Sound  (5:32)
8. Look For Paradise  (4:43)
9. I’ll Take The Storm  (2:56)

On her fifth full-length LP, How A Fantasy Will Kill Us All, songwriter Corrina Repp charts a path through the unknown. Fueled by a desire to start over and make a clean break with Portland, where she’d lived for 21 years, and where she released a string of albums on HUSH and Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde label, played with her band Tu Fawning (City Slang), and appeared semi-regularly on the parody comedy series Portlandia, Repp headed across the country. The promise of a new relationship was waiting for her, but it wasn’t to be. Turning away from the failed relationship after three weeks, Repp made survival a full-time occupation. Stowing her possessions in a storage unit in Woodland Hills, California, and leaving with no real plan, Repp embarked on a nomadic journey that would shade her music for years to come.

The songs on the new record came together over two fitful, unrooted years that found her working at the Sou’Wester motor lodge on the coast of Washington, staying at the Saint-Erme-Outre-et-Ramecourt convent in Northern France where she dedicated herself to playing music, writing songs in a sublet in Los Angeles, and finally, in Louisville, Kentucky, where she holed up with Danny Seim of Menomena to record How A Fantasy Will Kill Us All. Recording during the day and retiring to a small, cold room each night with Phil, a stray cat and bad TV box sets to keep her company, Repp found herself drawn to freedom in ways she’d never experienced it. She made friends with Richard Sullivan, an ex-ball player turned painter. She went to parties and art galleries. She spent large swaths of time by herself. 

These experiences blurred into her art. Built on foundational loops and drones, Repp’s songs mingle solid, folk-tinged melodies with distortion, kaleidoscopic pop, and disjointed, cobbled together beats. She buries her resonant anthems under hiss (“Nothing Is On,” “Look For Paradise”), navigates uncertainty with eerie confidence (“Need You / Don’t Need You,” “Lightest Light”) and makes her proclamations of independence sound like faithful hymns (“I’ll Take The Storm”). Sometimes she sounds like a gospel singer, sometimes she sounds like a slightly malfunctioning tape deck, but always, she sounds free.

 
“Maybe you found it/We’ll just see what happens/see what happens,” she sings over chorded guitar and piano on the album’s title song. The record lives in that sense of maybe, and takes comfort in what happens when illusions and fantasies are replaced with real confounding experiences. The record is a time capsule, Repp writes in her evocative, travelogue-inspired liner notes, “About how having expectations could lead to one bloody, yet delicious downfall.” But the record doesn’t represent what happens when it all falls apart: it’s about finding out who you are without anything unnecessary. Only the essential and elemental, the things needed when the unknown beckons.

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Quiet Hollers formed in Louisville around the songwriting of singer/guitarist Shadwick Wilde, who originally formed the group with the idea of playing only one show—the CD release of his solo effort, Unforgivable Things, in 2010. The group’s debut, I Am the Morning, followed in 2013. The alt-country styled album was a limited success, spawning a cult following in the US and some international critical praise, allowing the band to continue touring on the DIY circuit, where changes in personnel and taste saw the band exploring territory beyond the genre.

In 2015 the band’s self-titled sophomore album Quiet Hollers introduced them to a much broader audience, drawing praise both for the breadth of its influences and for Wilde’s lyricism. Consequence of Sound called it a “beautiful portrait… breaking the confines of roots music” with PopMatters aptly noting the band’s “strong post-hardcore influence.” The album brought the band to Europe for the first time, selling out shows there and back at home stateside. Breakout singles found their way onto TV shows, coffeehouse playlists, and a #9 debut on the FMQB college and indie charts.

Quiet Hollers signed with the indie label SonaBLAST! for their third album, Amen Breaks. The album draws parallels between the modern entertainment landscape and the cultural crossover of the 1970s– another decade marred by division, political corruption, and terrorist bombs. Their shape-shifting palate makes use of orchestral strings and brass, vintage drum-machines and samples (including the Amen Break, the most sampled piece of music in history). Amen Breaks explores themes of spirituality, sexuality, and mental illness.

AMEN BREAKS, the new full length from Louisville's QUIET HOLLERS, is available everywhere now. Download/stream the album here and check out their website for tour dates!

LMA 2017 winners:
"Rock Artist of the Year" & "Song of the Year" (Funny Ways)

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Cheyenne introduced herself internationally with the 10″ release Among the Gold (2009) with Bonnie Prince Billy – a collection of late 19th-century American parlor music.  After touring with the Bonnie Prince, Ben Sollee, and Daniel Martin Moore, Cheyenne released her first solo album, Before Lately (2010), followed by an EP, We Don’t Need (2012), and another full-length album, Among the Grey (2013), along with several national tours.  Cheyenne won Best Singer/Songwriter in the 1st Annual Louisville Music Awards in 2013.

Cheyenne also has a passion for traditional music and released three records with counterparts Joan Shelley and Julia Purcell as Maiden Radio - one self-titled Maiden Radio (2010), one called Lullabies (2011), and the latest Wolvering (2015). Maiden Radio has been nominated for best Americana artist for 2 years running at the Louisville Music Awards.

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NEW LP "CANYONS" AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE NOW

The Pass are an electro pop four-piece from Louisville, Kentucky. Weaving together psychedelic rock, mainstream pop, and '80s dance with unforgettable melodies and dance floor ready beats, The Pass have created a sound entirely of their own.

After four years of touring, writing, and releasing singles…The Pass are back with their brand new LP: CANYONS.  Excited to share this new collection of songs with their fans and the music world, the album features a wide variety influences ranging from 80s pop to uptempo rock and roll.  Utilizing layers and layers of synthesizers against a classic guitar, bass, and drums backing…the band explores the known rock sound set against an electronic landscape where sounds bubble to the surface and excite.  Recorded at the legendary La La Land Studios in Louisville, Kentucky, The Pass worked with engineer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Twin Limb) to help maximize sound, work flow, and ideas in the studio to create an album the band has long been trying to achieve.  It is now ready to see the life of day. 

With a raucous live show defined by high energy, lasers, fog, and an LED-synched backdrop, The Pass turn any venue into a foot sliding, head bobbing, hands in the air dance party. Since the release of their debut album BURST in 2011, they have been on a steady touring diet, playing at over 30 national festivals, thousand seat arenas, and venues from east to west coast sharing the stage with everyone from Cage the Elephant to Fall Out Boy to Walk The Moon, and more.

Over the past few years, The Pass have seen their music grow nationally and internationally through featured spots on HBO, FOX, ABC, The CW, MTV, and over 40 other TV and movie placements. Their collection of music videos have reached over 500,000 plays and over 200,000 Soundcloud/Bandcamp plays over the course of two full length LPs, a four 7" vinyl series, and two EPs.  

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American Songwriter has described Kyle James Hauser style and sound as, "neo-folk" on banjo, guitar and vocals.

Hauser began performing his original songs in 2011 and that year was a finalist at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's troubadour contest as well as The Rocky Mountain Folk Festival and made showcase performances at CMJ and The Toronto International Film Festival.

In January, 2012 he released his debut album "Oh Oh" on sonaBLAST! Records with a lineup including cellist Ben Sollee, guitarist Grant Gordy (David Grisman Quintet), producer Jayme Stone, and Grammy winning mastering engineer David Glasser. Songs from "Oh, Oh" have been featured on MTV's series 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom and in the feature films YERT, 2nd Serve, and A Strange Brand Of Happy . Hauser has since toured extensively, including a showcase at SXSW and opening performances for Brett Dennen, Mayer Hawthorne, The Head and The Heart and John Hiatt.

Discography:

2014 - You A Thousand Times

2012 - Oh Oh

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"Prayer," by Jenna Dean ft. Carly Johnson. Available everywhere NOW! 

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Check out this video of the band and Carly producing the track.

Jenna Dean's sonaBLAST! debut showcases their uniquely socially conscious SoCal hip hop style and features an incredible guest vocal by Louisville R&B goddess and friend Carly Johnson.

Stay tuned for news on Jenna Dean's upcoming sonaBLAST! EP and go to their website to find out when you can catch them live!!

www.lewisliveshere.com

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Justin Paul Lewis makes music with the purpose to reach people.  He tells his stories and performs with the intent to make them be heard.  Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Justin uses every bit of his heritage and influences to accentuate the importance of genuine music and bring that honesty to the forefront of what he does.  Known for his soul-driven Americana, Justin matured as an artist by making a name for himself within the Louisville music scene. At age 25, Justin has shared show bills with acclaimed artists such as Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, and Norah Jones, all while stocking up on gas station receipts around the country realizing his mission: reaching people through music. 

Rinse, Repeat, Rewind

“Rinse, Repeat, Rewind” is a collaboration between songwriter Justin Paul Lewis and cellist/producer Ben Sollee.  It is a small collection of true stories with their own individual lives.   

“I was enthralled with the relationship Jim James (My Morning Jacket) had with Ben and Daniel Martin Moore’s record “Dear Companion,” he revealed. “[James] worked as producer and oversaw the project, bringing entirely new ideas to the table.  That relationship really struck me."

While the songs on “Rinse, Repeat, Rewind” were developing their own respective voices, it became apparent that Sollee’s body of work was suited to match what Lewis was trying to convey.  While originally apprehensive to place his songs in the hands of an outsider, Sollee was the clear choice to handle the honesty and sensitivity of these four stories.  "Ben is a great friend and mind.  Being able to mold the songs on this EP with him truly brought new light to what we do."  “Rinse, Repeat, Rewind” is the result of an artistic collaboration between two roots-heavy musicians from varying backgrounds, and each song elicits its own identity for each and every listener.

-Chris Johnson-backseatsandbar.com

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Roy Ruiz Clayton’s debut album, “New Army of Ragged Angels,” produced by Grammy award-winner Chris Goldsmith, is full of poetic images not found since Dylan Thomas or Fredrico Garcia Lorca. These lyrics rank among the most powerful and captivating of modern-day poetry.

The well-crafted melodies are performed and sung with a raw attitude backed by a top-notch band. Roy’s vocals and guitar, along with Michael Jerome on drums, Tom Freund on bass, Marc Ford on electric guitar, Jason Yates on organ, Lily Haydn on violin, Victoria Williams backing vocals and Jimmy Hoyson as recording and mixing master, Julie Lohnes on cover design.

Raised in the steel mill town of Fontana, California, Roy moved on his own to San Diego at the age of 16 where he began writing songs.  Often he would muster the courage to play them on “hoot night” at the Heritage Coffee House where the legendary Tom Waits was the doorman.  One night in a back room of the Heritage, Tom played Roy a Ramblin’ Jack Elliott record on a turntable and its sound was one that would change forever the young Clayton’s life. Inspired, Roy invented his own songwriting category through years of not being afraid to work and experience the world he writes about.

T. Bone Burnette, has called Roy’s song, “Everyone’s a Detective”, “one amazingly beautiful song.”

http://www.phourist.com

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PHOURIST (for-rist) & THE PHOTONS began as Nick Hill's solo project (known then only as PHOURIST). After a few solo records- "Terrestrial Daydream" and "Breathe Deep" (highly textured, cinematic records), Hill became restless for a larger sound. He is quoted as saying, "Having only one guy to play all the parts is pretty limiting; especially if you can hear so much more in your head! I was also getting tired of being the guy who played pretty music... I love pretty music but I felt like I had more to give... kinda wanted to kick in some teeth." With an arsenal of songs that had no proper outlet, Hill eventually recruited Scott Boice (drums), Justin Perez (bass), Andrew Critchelow (guitar/texture). The group presents a highly dynamic, formidable and seemingly uninhibited rhythm section. 
  
The quartet's LP, "In Infinite Indigo," is a theatrical, melodic, stripped-down affair that continues to experiment with neo-classical themes in an album rock paradigm. "In Infinite Indigo" is available now on sonaBLAST! Records.

"In Infinite Indigo" available now on CD & mp3!

http://www.builderofthehouse.com

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ORNAMENTS
Builder of the House's full-length ORNAMENTS is available everywhere now. Download/stream this delightful piece of baroque folk/pop here!

HOURGLASS EP

Available now!
Digital aaaaaand CD!

Builder of the House is a Portland, Maine-based Indie Folk outfit comprised of Robert Cimitile and Elliot Heeschen.

The group’s eclectic sound, rooted in folk and Bluegrass, started its journey on the EP “I Am a Tidal Wave” and has continued to evolve. The “Hourglass” EP has an expanded full band sound born out of collaborations with other artists in the Portland music scene who appear on the record. Haunting ballads like “A Plot In Falmouth” feature alongside the seriously irresistible pop hooks of “There Is No Hourglass, Only Sand.”

Builder of the House has been featured on ReverbNation, SoundCloud, and the CD Baby DIY Musician blog. Their sound has been described as “a cross between Elliott Smith and Ray Davies.” The music consists of “great memorable tunes with super smart lyrics” sung with a “voice that is both instantly warm and appealing.”

Builder of the House can be seen performing in Portland and around the Northeast.   Check out their website for tour dates! 

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MICHAEL WHITIS

"I Might Be 17" out now!

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Shannon Brackett is a singer-songwriter currently based in Los Angeles. Born and raised in Oklahoma, she was part of Austin's music community for many years. For the past two years, she has called the road her home, finding tuneful amusement in mountains, open roads, skyscrapers, oceans and tall trees - her ukulele and guitar riding shotgun. Shannon's songs are seasoned with the highway, heartaches and the beautiful moments in between.

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Sam "Shake" Anderson, started recording and touring at age nine. A multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/producer. Shake has worked with artists as varied as Bruce Hornsby, Static Major, Steve Cropper, Aretha Franklin, The Indigo Girls, The Spice Girls, Days Of The New,Warren Haynes, Curtis Mayfield, Aliyah, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. He spent six years as musical director for soul music legends "The Impressions".

Shake has also worked with a great variety of Christian artists such as Avalon,Crystal Lewis, Annointed, Bryan Duncan,Russ Taff, Nicole Nordeman,Donny McClurkin, and formed the Grammy winning gospel group New Breed with Israel Houghton.

"Advice for the Kindhearted," from Texas / Louisville / Earth soul legend SHAKE ANDERSON available now! Choose your streaming/download service here and keep up with Shake at his website!

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"The Chives band is more like that empty highway. The escape is from your own fears and limitations. The goal is to last as long as you can. Push your edurance and come to terms with the aching and painstaking achievements you possess after such toil and torment is self-imposed. Have you seen the new Mad Max? I'm sure there's going to be a sequel and Chives would be a shoo-in for the score. Chives himself errily resembles dead man Jay Reatard and even unveils some of his unhinged agressive energy in the live show. But this isn't specifically a blast from the past. This is groove production created with rock'n'roll instrumentation. This is…Endless boogie." - The Spot Tavern

"From one man stomp - to three piece roll - to four or five piece psych trample, the talented and young chives does it all. He's been making quite a name for himself since he came onto the indy scene, as both a visual artist and as a fab rock n roll performer. This show finds the Chives band about a year into its evolution in the Indy scene - they're tighter and louder than ever, and that shriek is still on fleek." - Miss Mess


"Out of high school and into your head – Chives’ meteoric rise to the gates of garage royalty is soaked in as much fuzz as you’d rightly expect from this curly maned slasher. Whether he’s oozing blood at a Halloween house show or acing Buddy Holly covers for Record Store Day, the indefatigable rapscallion emerges from the haze with his characteristic rockabilly wail matched with catchy and distinctive scuzzed out sounds that separate him from the ever-large Midwestern garage pack." - Charles Fox

www.ettubruce.com

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Described as “West London meets West Coast”, Et Tu Brucé blend pop, rock, folk, and country, and tie them all together with their signature harmonic sound. Composed of Londoners Jamie White, Matthew O’Toole, and brothers Craig and Darryn Bruce, they are fast becoming theband to watch. Likened to a number of great bands, they inhabit a space on the spectrum where few others reside. They write, perform, and produce their own records, and in doing so have collected a number of accolades from established journalists and a host of new music champions. Their music echoes from the golden age of records, crunching through the barriers and fixing itself tothe future.

Formed in 2010, Et Tu Brucé have a rich reputation on the live circuit in London, headlining some of the most illustrious city venues, such as The Water Rats, Dublin Castle, The Half Moon, The Hope & Anchor, and countless more. Fixtures on national and commercial radio stations, Et Tu Brucé continue to aim for excellence.Their first UK single ‘This City' and 'Never Seen You Cry’ was championed by BBC 6 Music, BBC London & X-FM amongst many other tastemaker radio stations.

With comparisons to Byrds, Beach Boys, Foo Fighters, Wilco, The Kinks and the Beta Band, and a huge army of followers, ‘Suburban Sunshine’ brings Et Tu Brucé into the elite. In England, their triumphant debut album Suburban Sunshine, was bestowed the title of “the sound of summer” by Best of British Unsigned and remains one of the most critically lauded albums of 2012. Amongst the host of accolades for Et Tu Brucé were nominations for Best British Band by the Online Music Awards, and Album of the Year by the Indie Music Digest.

Et Tu Brucé made their US debut in March 2013 at SXSW, where they were invited to kick-off the Yahoo! Presents Austin Psych Fest Showcase. Their performance in Austin immediately led them to a record deal with SonaBLAST! Records, and an offer to join British Invasion icons, The Zombies, on two US tours.

‘Suburban Sunshine’ available NOW!!

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Jonathan is a West Virginia native who cultivated his following in Louisville’s rich music community. He has recently set roots in Chicago to share his unique style of down home melodies and lyrics.

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Available NOW at all digital retailers and HERE on CD! This is our musical tribute to the Belle of Louisville- the oldest operating steamboat in the United States and one our city's most beloved landmarks.

In October 2014 the Belle celebrated her 100th birthday! To commemorate this once in a lifetime occasion, Waterfront Park hosted over 200,000 friends from around the world for the Centennial Festival of Riverboats, and sonaBLAST! joined in on the fun!

sonaBLAST! Records has curated a “concept" compilation CD entitled “Belle 100: Steamboat Songs”  to help celebrate our esteemed riverboat’s landmark centennial anniversary. The CD, available physically and digitally, features 13 tracks that celebrate, in one way or another, riverboat culture, the unique heritage of the Ohio River, and the spirit of Louisville. We’re proud to have the diverse artist contributors listed below.

All profits from CD sales will benefit the Belle of Louisville ’s endowment fund. Taxpayers presently subsidize the Belle  yearly to the calliope tune of over $100,000 so any donations to the endowment are truly a gift to the community.

1. “Love You Like A River” Kyle James Hauser

2. “Steamboat Honey” Teneia

3. “I’ll Be On My Way” The Bibelhauser Brothers

4. “Around The Bend” The Pass

5. “Upstream Downstream” Steve Cooley

6. “Riverside” Leigh Ann Yost

7. “Holy Roller” The Instruction

8. “Life Is A River” Beady

9. “Dreamboat” The Ladybirds

10. “On The Avalon” Brigid Kaelin

11. “Last Ones In” Nerves Junior

12. “The Ghost of The Belle of Louisville” Roy Ruiz Clayton

13. “Paddle Wheel” Steve Cooley

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The Debauchees are seemingly old souls with a youthful sneer. At just 20, the three members of The Debauchees have crafted a full-length that feels vintage and modern, classic and new. Their debut, Big Machines and Peculiar Beings, evokes the minimalist yet intricate post-punk approach of Wire, Talking Heads, and Young Marble Giants with distinct vocals that evoke an emotive Nico. And like many of their punk predecessors, this thunderous trio comes from a fine lineage of artists who formed a band before learning their instruments - to prodigious results. Vocalist Sydney Chadwick says "we all learned how to play in an unconventional way so our playing styles became personal and rule-defying." 

The Debauchees are Sydney Chadwick (vocals/guitar), Ashley Bowen (bass), and Cameron Lowe (drums).

"Big Machines and Peculiar Beings" is out NOW on sonaBLAST! Records.

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Carousel Beach is a Los Angeles / San Jose band formed in the early 2000’s. Colin Studybaker and Joseph Hurt, childhood friends who grew up in the sweltering heat of Florida, started playing together in their school days. In between various ventures they collaborated, sometimes long-distance. Joseph ran experimental San Francisco label Highpoint Lowlife while Colin engineered in Chicago at Engine Music Studios with Brian Deck, working with bands like Iron & Wine, Ugly Casanova, The Fruit Bats, and Squirrel Nut Zippers.

After touring the world with The National Trust (Thrill Jockey), Colin relocated to Los Angeles to pursue more engineering and producing, and continued to collaborate with Hurt, culminating in this debut Carousel Beach release.

Principal songwriters Hurt and Studybaker are joined on this beautifully trippy album by Katrina Lenk (MoxyPhinx), Brian Deck (Red Red Meat), and Nyles Lannon (Film School). Chris Phillips (Squirrel Nut Zippers) and Neil Rosario (The National Trust) also contributed to the sessions.

The music on Carousel Beach’s debut album is a stunning mix of influences. The opening track, “Caustic Weather,” starts with a gentle mellotron lick and ends in distorted guitars in less than three minutes, while the bouncy standout track “Ayahuasca” weaves in between innocent sing-along and freakout territory all while remaining as accessible as can be. Throw in the folky “Do We Need More,” electronic experimentalism, nature, surfing, South American shamanism, and the art of Pablo Amaringo, and you have the blueprint for Carousel Beach’s cinematic debut.

www.beadyband.com

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Beady is a “new folk” band based out of Louisville, Kentucky.  Started in 2010, Beady has had an assortment of singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists all working together around the songs written by Jordan Trabue. Since its inception, Beady has played everywhere from street corners to radio stations to packed concert halls; anywhere there is an audience and a love of music.

With catchy hooks, lush strings, blasting trumpet, soaring harmonies and everything in between, Beady has been compared to artists such as Bright Eyes, Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, and Sufjan Stevens. They were signed to sonaBLAST! Records and have been promoting their first label-backed album, Youngest Days, to great success, with songs getting airplay and film placement. If you're curious, have a listen or come see them at an upcoming show!

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The music scene of Louisville is filled to the brim with talent and eccentricity, acting as the breeding ground of the post-rock movement via Slint and their many splinter groups. But the scene began feeling too content and needed a kick in the ass. The super fresh Nerves Junior are the men for the job and are poised to permeate the rest of the country soon enough. Formed in 2009, the group developed their sound under the influence of their love for fringe garage rock, crystalline pop songwriting, and racks of analog gear.

"As Bright As Your Night Light," their nine-song debut, is an expansive, eclectic collection of electronic-laden experimental rock with a hook-heavy edge and dense atmosphere, equally psychedelic and accessible. Dreamy, ambient meditations and waves of soft acoustic guitar on “Get Left in the Dark” and intimate down-the-rabbit-hole dirge of “Downtown Lament” represent one end of the group’s repertoire, while the dark analog stomp and driving mid-tempo of “Kale” and soaring, intricate chorus of the title track showcases the group at their most bombastic. The group’s flawless meshing of airborne, resplendent textures and infectious choruses hit a fever pitch on songs like “In Absentia” and “Champagne & Peaches,” sure to cause fans of Deerhunter, Women, and similar boundary decimating artists to perk their ears up.

Without compromise and immune to any and all trend-riding, Nerves Junior are paving their own path with a distinct spin on what’s happening in the buzz-band-a-minute indie culture. These guys are one to watch.

www.benarthur.com

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Ben Arthur’s new release, If You Look for My Heart, is an interrelated concept album and novel pairing.  Sharing title, themes, and characters, the album and the book are densely interrelated, yet independent works.  Guest appearances by Aesop Rock and Rachael Yamagata on the album are echoed in the narrative of the book.

Ben has released five previous albums and one novel, performed on national television and the internationally syndicated radio program Acoustic Café, and has shared the stage with artists including Dave Matthews, Tori Amos, Bruce Hornsby, Shawn Colvin, Toots and the Maytals, and Sophie B Hawkins.  Ben has licensed his songs to ABC, CBS, Showtime, and PBS, and has had three half hour specials devoted to his work on Sirius XM radio. 

Since 2011 Ben has hosted and co-produced the video series Dubway Days, in which he writes and records a song with a featured artist over the course of a day.  Guests so far have included John Wesley Harding, Ollabelle, Vienna Teng, Tracy Bonham, and Latin film star and two time Grammy-nominee Ximena.

Live performances, interviews, fan-made videos, and covers of Ben’s songs by other artists can be found online at YouTube, Facebook, iLike, LastFM, etc.  On Pandora Ben’s songs have logged half a million plays.

http://www.hootsandhellmouth.com/

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Hoots & Hellmouth are a busy bunch. Road warriors to the bitter end, they’ve somehow found time to enter the studio twice in the last year to produce two records showcasing their forward-thinking roots/soul music. Their latest offering, the full-length Salt, was recorded in their hometown of Philadelphia at Miner Street Studios with friend/engineer Jon Low (Dr. Dog, Sharon Van Etten, Twin Sister). The result speaks volumes to the evolution of a band committed to pushing their boundaries and exploring new sonic horizons.

Salt builds on the fresh ground broken on their previously released EP, Face First In The Dirt, continuing down a path of explosive creativity. “Why Would You Not Want To Go There?” kicks things off with a building intensity reflective of their passionate live performances, but tempered with well-placed flourishes of piano and electric guitar. H&H’s trademark soul vibe is thick on “Lay Low,” incorporating the stomp groove and call-and-response vocals familiar to established fans of the band. By the time the listener reaches the middle of the record, the dynamic and deep “Apple Like A Wrecking Ball” and “The Ache” drive home the point that these guys are not content to rest on their laurels. To round it all out, album closer “Being Borned Again” continues their tradition of massive group sing-alongs so vibrant the listener already feels the chills of the anticipated live rendition.

Lyrically, Sean Hoots has always endeavored to keep a keen eye on the craft of songwriting, and Salt showcases the artist on top of his game. These new songs reveal a greater depth of vulnerability and personalization unheard on previous H&H offerings. This is the sound of a writer digging deep, planting seeds and harvesting a bumper crop of thought-provoking, soul-scraping tunes.

With all the envelope-pushing found on Salt, one thing that won’t change any time soon is the band’s love of the road. Touring the old-fashioned way (relentlessly!), the band performs in all manner of venues on their own and with friends like Dr. Dog, O’Death, Heartless Bastards, Langhorne Slim, Grace Potter, etc. From rock clubs to folk festivals, they tour consistently and persistently, including triumphant stops at Wakarusa, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, SXSW, thousands of dive bars and more than a few farms in between.

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SonaBlast! Recording Artist Ted Stevens is all about connecting with his audience.

"I'm interested in making work that deals with the things that connect us,” Stevens says, “and the things that are between us. I want to share in the common human experience, because, to varying degrees, we all go through the same things in life. I want to share those things with an audience." 

This drive and dedication is inherent in every facet of Stevens’ work. Each step of the way, from writing the song, to recording, to releasing and promoting, is just as important as the other.  “Everything I do is about making sure the songs are presented in the best possible way, so that they have a chance to be heard and shared with an audience,” Stevens say. “To that end I try to keep an eye on that song's life beyond the writing and recording.”

However, splitting his time between two countries made this process slightly more complicated. "A lot of these songs were started in my home studio in Scotland. I'd record the basic tracks and ideas, then take it back to Kentucky to finish,” says Stevens. “It took a long time to do but in the end I think it was worth it because each country I was in, and their surroundings, affected the life of the songs as they developed.” 

After putting together a formidable live band, Stevens is gaining praise for his electrifying live performances and garnering heavy airplay throughout the Midwest. Despite the intelligence and urgency of the music, the live Ted Stevens experience has almost nothing to do with a tidy arrangement, and instead finds its roots in that bygone era when musicians didn't just hunch over their instruments for 55 minutes, but tried to give the audience a show. "I've never been a guy that just wears his jeans onstage, that's for sure," Stevens says.

With the release of Waiting, Stevens is poised to take his career to the next level. “There’s more to being a musician than playing a show here or there and putting out an album every five years,” says Stevens. “Nothing great ever comes easily.”

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Yost's homegrown stories of love, loss and winding roads are captured in rhythm and song and projected on one’s soul. That is the difference between hearing music and witnessing an artist. Whether it's part of a nightclub set past midnight, a fundraiser at a park or a road trip with a soundtrack to go –her music has become a part of the emotional and social landscape of Louisville, Kentucky. 

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Love Jones is an American band, in Louisville, Kentucky in spring 1990 by Ben Daughtrey (drummer) and Barry Thomas (bassist), with Chris Hawpe (singer/guitarist), Stuart Johnson (drummer) and Jonathan Palmer (singer). According to Entertainment Weekly, Love Jones was the leader of the "cocktail nation" groups of the early 1990s. These groups, which included Combustible Edison, Nightcaps, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were a reaction to thegrunge/alternative wave that swept through America in 1992. Cocktail Nation members celebrated the aesthetics and music of the 1950s and early 1960s — lounge jazz, crooning pop, and martinis. Love Jones played any sort of pop music that could fit that label — pop, blues, R&B, bossa nova, doo wop.

Love Jones started in Louisville in 1990 along with bands like Slint and Palace Brothers, showing the diversity of the Louisville music scene. In 1992 Love Jones moved to Los Angeles and took up a Thursday night residency at the nightclub Largo for a weekly show that featured guest performers like Jon Brion and Mark Flanagan, who eventually performed on Love Jones recordings.

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Workers are a long stretch of highway on a hot summer night. They are a blanket of pitch-black sky pocked with thousands of points of light. They are your headlights searching the road ahead, a mystery unfolding as you roll forth into the darkness. They are a sense of calm as you roll off into the void, more curious than frightened.

The Louisville, Ky., trio makes lush, atmospheric music that washes over you, pounding your chest and overwhelming your senses with searing guitars, pulsing bass and crackling drums. The lyrics are dark and tangled, the melodies cresting and crashing. You draw comparisons to everything from Jesus and Mary Chain to The Secret Machines before determining that Workers’ music is an experience unto itself.

Workers were formed in 2001 under the name Your Black Star by singer/guitarist Jeremy Johnson and drummer Andrew Osborn, two kindred spirits bonded by their love of bombastic, fearless rock ’n’ roll. Like a lot of bands, the birthing process proved difficult; bassists came and went before a true fellow traveler was discovered in Brandon Duggins.

They have taken a decidedly unorthodox approach to building a fan base. Rather than fall into the trap that some bands fall into, Workers resisted the temptation of becoming a bunch of local heroes who only play before adoring friends and neighbors. Rather, they threw themselves on the crucible that is the never-ending tour, taking the show on the road to test themselves before unfamiliar audiences.

A friendship with the Japanese band Drum:Kan prompted Workers to venture to Japan, where they quickly developed an unlikely connection with rock-starved fans. Tours of Australia and New Zealand provoked a similar reaction, as well as positive international press, and numerous spins on the influential BBC. Overseas buzz led to deals with labels in Japan, England and Australia, as well as a UK tour with indie darlings the New Pornographers, but the band was still a bit of a mystery back home. Seeing this as less a problem than an opportunity, Johnson, Osborn and Duggins spent the better part of the past three years rampaging through the states, playing in the esteemed South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin and the CMJ Festival in New York as well as sharing the stage with Sleater-Kinney, The Hold Steady and Catfish Haven. “Sound from the Ground,” the band’s American debut, won critical acclaim stateside, tagging Workers with the weighty “next big thing” label. 

www.jamieblock.com

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To call Block a singer-songwriter is to underestimate the importance of storytelling in his songs. Influenced by the Beat poets, he tells stories of Village gentrification, fake punk rockers and the illusion of an easy marriage songs with lyrics that ring true because of Block’s own life experience.

He emerged from the anti-folk scene in New York’s East Village. His first album, 1996′s Lead Me Not Into Penn Station, met with acclaim at college radio and in the indie music community. Producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill) chose Block to be the first artist released on Java Records joint venture with Capitol Records in 1998. That album, 2000s Timing Is Everything, featured the tune Catch A Falling Star the opening credit song for Drew Barrymore’s film Never Been Kissed. When Blocks major label debut sold a paltry 100,000 copies he was unceremoniously dropped by Java, having successfully demonstrated that he would not be their next big thing.

The Last Single Guy shows that he never lost his touch. There’s the lament of Ave. A in which that famed East Village streets once-bohemian culture has turned into a punk theme park. There’s the young man in A Sweet Potato Pie with a wife and family at home who still craves the edge of a little drugs and sleaze that he finds in a strip joint. And then theres the invocation of A Color of Heaven, in which Block sings with a universality and compassion that makes this song his most moving to date: In the Chinese shadow / Of the wild America / In the staggering heat of the day / We will all be standing / In the power and the glory / At least I hope so someday.

This album demonstrates an attention to contemporary rhythms that is rare for an artist with folk music roots. The beats complement the lyrics, adding modern groove and syncopation to Block’s lurid tales. In Molly Malone the rhythm section is propulsive and fluid, setting a foundation for the guitar and other instruments to build upon, with each adding its own, distinct coloring. Flugelhorn, Jew’s harp, banjo, drum machines and an occasional full horn section complement layered guitars, piano, Blocks buzzsaw baritone vocals and his ever-incisive lyrics, making this comeback CD the best Block album ever.

He may have been gone for years, but Block is back, wiser and more insightful for what he’s lived and who hes become. He reflects, “It’s fun this time. I’m not trying to be a rock star and the songs on The Last Single Guy were written and recorded in that spirit.” WFUV deejay (and fan) Rita Houston concludes, “Block quit and went away. Perhaps because he went away, these songs turned out the way they did.”

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This album is raw. And when I say raw, I mean it sounds almost as if they plugged all their instruments directly into a tape deck, pressed record, and recorded it all in one take. But this is no discredit to album’s producer, Kevin Ratterman of Wax Fang, who seemingly captured the band’s true essence from the lack of overproduction.

You may just do a double-take on the opening track, Shackles Down, thinking you just came across a never-released Rolling Stones recording. That is as soon as you hear lead singer Adam Kramer’s Jaggerish vocal style. But as you venture through this album, you’ll soon understand that The Broken Spurs have created a truly original sound of their own, primarily defined by a barrage of guitar-fueled-cock-n-ball-straight-up rock-n-roll. No wonder they were asked to open for AC/DC in Freedom Hall with songs like these.

The peak of “Natural Disaster” comes right at the album’s midway point, with Jawbanger, a down-right raw and dirty rock-n-roll song that starts with a banging bass line and then whose vocals and guitars start rivaling one another for supremacy. At the song’s bridge, Kramer belts out an in-your-face riding of his Gretsch Firebird guitar’s “E” chord that may just make your own jaw drop, as you realize what Louisville rock-n-roll sounds like. Not one of the songs really seem to disappoint or stray away from the high-energy, guitar-laden spirit the album carries. Other impressive tracks is Shackles Down, Natural Disaster, Runnin, and Steal Your Thunder.

So, for those out there who try to proclaim that “rock-n-roll is dead,” well, here is recorded proof that maybe you should quit with that bullsh*t. And for all you real rock-n-roll junkies, here is your soundtrack for the whole “rock-n-roll ISN’T dead” campaign.

- Jason Ashcraft
LouisvilleScuttlebutt.com

mishafeigin.free-jazz.net

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Misha Feigin was born and raised in Moscow and is known as one of Russia’s premiere guitarists.  When he immigrated to the US in 1990, he left behind an established position in the Moscow arts scene highlighted by his four albums on the Melodia label, features on major radio and television shows, and national and international tours.  He began recording free improvised music in 1986 in Moscow with Auction’s Dimitry Matkovsky.  He also performed with the Russian pop-folk star Janna Bichevskaya.

Misha perfromed free improvised music at the Vancouver Jazz Festival, at the Birmingham Improv. Festival, and in New York at the Knitting Factory and Tonic, where he also played with Elliot Sharp, Eugene Chadbourne and Ami Denio.  Other performances have included John Russell, LaDonna Smith, Davey Williams, Craig Hultgren, Toshi Makihara, Peter Kowalt, Leonid Soybelman, Sergei Letov.

Misha has played concerts in 47 US States, Canada, Israel, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Russian and English are heard throughout Misha’s dynamic performances, which incorporate original poetry and spontaneous storytelling.  He plays classical and acoustic guitars, balalaika, keyboards, harmonica.  Misha’s music is a blend of various ethnic idioms and musical styles.  His five US releases are “Only One Road”, “Only Once”, and “Dreams” with original folk music in Russian and English on Dreaming People Records, and “Spontaneous Folks’ Music” and “June in Moscow” with free improvised music on Spontaneous Folks’ Records.

Misha’s German release is “Improv Songbook” (together with Robert W. Gerlach). Misha’s latest CD on Leo Records, “Both Kinds of Music”, features duos with Elliott Sharp, Davey Williams, LaDonna Smith, Craig Hultgren, and Eugene Chadbourne.

In 2003, Misha’s reputation as a multifaceted entertainer has been “officially” confirmed by the release of Searching for Irina, a powerful story of the era when the political trials showed signs of Stalin’s horrors, while sex, drugs, and rock’n'roll penetrating the Iron Curtain clashed with the seemingly impervious system.

Now, following Irina’s sold-out success, Fleur Publishing is preparing for the December release of  “The Last Word in Astronomy”, Mr. Feigin’s collection of poems with material spanning the last two decades of creativity of this impressive author, winner of the Thomas Merton Prize for Poetry in 2000.

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Louisville, KY singer-songwriter Jamie Barnes grew up listening to his father’s tales of opening for the Doors and The Beach Boys, playing drums with Tom Dooley and the Lovelights: “tales of Jim Morrison that I probably should not have heard at that young age!?” Add together Appalachian roots, weekend family jam sessions with father and big brother playing Pink Floyd and classic rock covers (plus a sheepish admission that he loved prog-rock bands like the Moody Blues and Jethro Tull at the time), plus stints singing in the church choir, by age 20 Barnes already had his first record deal. That same year, he dropped out of college, met a girl, got married, and kicked a nasty prescription drug habit for depression and anxiety.

Lauded for his introspective songwriting, on The Recalibrated Heart, Barnes unloads ten personal works about persecution, deprivation and redemption. Recorded in his home studio over two years and playing every instrument, Barnes uses a varied palette of instruments including guitar, banjo, flute, keyboards, sarod, tabla and other various devices of percussion. Only one song has a guest mandolin and accordion player. Jamie is a frequent guest performer on Louisville’s NPR station WFPK’s ‘Live Lunch’, and this record was on over thirty triple AAA top 40 lists. His song “Harp of the Fool” will be featured in Marlene Rhein’s  (music video director for Amy Winehouse, Tupac Shakur) new film entitled “The Big Caller” as the end credits roll.

Divine C.U.T.S. “I Like My Bourbon” Available Now!

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As an "Unbridled Genius" (given to him by the Late Seth Firkins), it’s hard to harness this type of genius that harbors itself within J. Alexander often known as Divine, who is now know as a hip hop artist name Divine C.U.T.S.

Divine has been a fixture in Louisville urban music scene since inception (mid 80's to present).

Divine started rapping for fun at the age of 12 years old. After meeting fellow group members Fred Thomas aka GSharp & Arian Jewell they formed a trio hip hop group name Y.G.B (Young Gifted & Black) in 1991.

Once the group was assembled under the production, management,& guidance of the Late Great Hezzy "DJ Izzy" Jewell we began to take our rapping seriously. In 1993 the group put out a single titled "We Got The Bounce" featuring Herlon Robinson, that exceed over 500 sales in its first release on cassette tape (1st rap group to do such). Impressive.

With  a buzz around town we began doing shows locally with A Touch of Class that would later become national recording group Playa, Sir Friendly C, KP, Ragtop, Shank and a host of others. After that we would get booked to open up for national recording artist like Underground Mafia, Leaders of the New School, Too $hort, Ron C, Bushwick Bill, Nice & Smooth ,Fu-Schnickens, Sam da Beast, Spice-1 to name a few.

As the group began to gain notoriety around the city and region while in a signing deal negotiation with Sam da Beast, tragedy unexpectedly struck when DJ Izzy suddenly passed away due to health complications January 14,1994, and as a group we never really recovered.

Although, I keep my ear to the street in 2003 I began to manage a 5 man rap group named Kommittee, and under my management they began to grow with touring opening up and was the 1st local group to have 2 songs aired back to back on B96.5 FM and gained the interest of Jive records & Bad Boy Records.

So recently, with having a history as a rapper and an itch to record again I began to do so as a solo artist.   So here we are. 

Ron Whitehead’s THE DANCE available for download now!

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Poet, writer, editor, publisher, scholar, professor, activist Ron Whitehead grew up on a farm in Kentucky. He attended The University of Louisville and Oxford University. As poet and writer he is the recipient of numerous state, national, and international awards and prizes including The All Kentucky Poetry Prize, The Yeats Club of Oxford’s Prize for Poetry, and many others. In 2006 Dr. John Rocco (NYC) nominated Ron for The Nobel Prize in Literature.

Ron has edited and published the works of such luminaries as His Holiness The Dalai Lama, President Jimmy Carter, Hunter S. Thompson, Thomas Merton, Jack Kerouac, Seamus Heaney, Wendell Berry, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, BONO, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Herbert Huncke, Diane di Prima, Douglas Brinkley, Robert Hunter, Amiri Baraka, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and hundreds more.

Ron Whitehead has produced over 2,000 historic Arts Events, Festivals, and 24-48-72 & 90-hour non-stop music & poetry Insomniacathons, across the USA and in Europe, from New York City to New Orleans to The Netherlands and beyond.

Ron has performed thousands of shows around the world with some of the best musicians and bands on the planet. He recently returned from a Scandinavia Tour with Paris, France rock band Blaak Heat and from three New York City trips where his new book "blistered asphalt on dixie highway: Kentucky Basketball is Poetry in Motion" was released by Finishing Line Press at the historic Poets House.

Ron's work has been translated into nearly 20 languages. He is the author of 30 books and 40 albums. Songs and Poems from The KENTUCKY BOUND Concert (sonaBLAST! Records), companion to Ron’s new KENTUCKY BOUND: poems, stories, and songs book, were released November 17th at the opening of the Louisville Free Library’s big POETS, ROCK STARS, & HOLY MEN: A LITERARY RENAISSANCE Posters & Correspondence Exhibit. At the event, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer presented Ron with a City of Louisville Proclamation thanking Ron for his Lifetime Achievement of Supporting The Arts.

“I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons, and his poetry is a dazzling mix of folk wisdom and pure mathematics.” - Hunter S. Thompson

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Peter Searcy describes his career as looking like a cardiograph read out, “it goes up, comes down, it flattens out, it goes back up. As long as it keeps going I’m good”. No doubt it has kept going. From his early years in the seminal punk band Squirrel Bait to the indie rock of Big Wheel and Starbilly to his prolific solo career, Peter Searcy has never stopped singing. Music scenes and formats might change but Searcy’s passion has remained a constant.

Trained as cellist and nurtured at a creative high school with other like-minded, independent artists (Louisville’s Brown School with classmates, Will Oldham, members of Slint and Freakwater) Peter’s path as a musician was set early on. Says Searcy of his influences, “my initial exposure to music was mostly the singer/songwriter, 70′s am radio stuff I’d hear riding in a car. That stuff still has a huge impact on me”. He adds, “when I started making my own musical choices as a teenager I gravitated towards the more melodic, aggressive music at the time. Stuff like Husker Du and The Replacements.  I like to think that my solo stuff combines the best of what I grew up loving.”

Searcy’s music is filled with hooks and an honest, emotional resonance that speaks directly to listeners. It’s no wonder his songs have found their way in to numerous movies and television shows. His song “I Believe” was featured on Oprah and used for a campaign to launch the TV show “Lipstick Jungle”.  Searcy has toured extensively in the states and abroad. He has shared the stage with wide array of diverse artists (Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Bob Mould, Dido and many more). He also stays busy backing other artists on cello and electric bass and producing artists in his studio, Never Nervous Sounds. Searcy shares his 111 year old Victorian home in Louisville with his wife Layla and a menagerie of dogs and cats.

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Natalie Felker looks the listener straight in the eye, via her piano and supple voice, and talks you into accepting the dagger — because you know full well that it’s two-sided, and that she’ll accept the other blade. As husband Ben’s guitars start up a sharp squall, you hear why it’s worth the cost: One listen to the bright voices coming in all around to surround you in a reassuring embrace and you’re ready to pick up the dare, the challenge. The Fervor formed around this pair — her voice and keys, his guitar and harmony. Right from the start, Natalie was capable of facing up to piano-based alternative divas, but with the skill and resolve to wrest the inspiration from the affectation. She could be the flirt who always said upfront something more honest than your carefully crafted thoughts. Or she could drop her voice low and quiet, be your confidant and your gospel-chord-pounding witness to raw self-confrontation.

In sharpening its focus, the group added drummer Mat Herron and set out on a slew of live shows to support of its first album, “Bleeder.” Michael Campbell was found to play bass, and they again criss-crossed the eastern United States. As they developed their live show, the group began to realize their power as a collective. Meanwhile Natalie continued to craft strong new songs for a band moving toward bringing light to mysteries of personality and intimacy, but without any pretense of a definitive answer and far removed from any calming platitudes.

San Francisco sessions confirmed their rebirth. Under producer Charles Gonzalez, the band holed up at Mission Bells (Jackie Greene, Mother Hips) and Radical Sound (Rogue Wave). Between these two facilities, The Fervor found classic gear and physical ambiance to realize the album they had been hearing, one focused on performance, and not perfection. The West coast style had infiltrated the camp and greeted them like a long lost friend. They returned home to Louisville, where friend and engineer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, California Guitar Trio, Wax Fang) mixed and maintained the focus: on the power of what The Fervor can do together in a room. From these sessions emerged “Arise, Great Warrior”. It’s a record that is gut-punching in impact, but life-affirming in its lasting spark and hopeful mysteries.

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With often dark and introspective lyrics draped over power chords, The Instruction (Blake Sakal, Stephen Wolf, Jeremy Stein, Andrew Cheyne and Landon Tompkins) have made their mark through relentless and energetic live shows, sharing the stage with everyone from These United States to Thao with the Get Down Stay Down and MC Chris.  With their SonaBLAST! Records debut, Failure by Design, the group is ready to move forward into the rest of the world.

Hailing from Louisville, KY, home to such enigmatic and diverse musical icons as Slint, Will Oldham, My Morning Jacket, Rachels and a wide array of 70s punk bands, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising to find The Instruction’s sound as something fresh in the face of an oversaturated indie rock market focused on gimmicks.  This is perhaps never more true than with songs like Mayday, Hello Darlin’ & Into the Tomorrow, which display the kind of raw emotion that would be right at home in both the indie charts and commercial radio.  While you can sometimes feel vague nods to their influences, Failure by Design is at all times their own, with songs dripping with power chords, pumping bass, and infectious choruses.  The Instruction is founded on Stein and Terrell’s hermetic rhythm section with guitars that are abrasive in all the right ways, and at the very core of their sound is Sakal’s vocals, which bring to mind the grit and masculine sexuality of Jim Morrison.  Tight production and years of playing together brings the package together, and with a new release, a new record deal, a solid fan base and a series of music festivals on the bill, The Instruction are going to surprise and enrapture you. Listen, Learn, Love.

With their SonaBLAST! Records debut, “and their songs STRAY and YOU’RE MINE being featured on MTV’s hit show “16 and Pregnant”,” Failure by Design, the group is ready to move forward into the rest of the world.

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The Seedy Seeds don’t know you, but they already like you. With a completely original sound and presentation, including banjo, accordion and toy keyboard beats, The Seedy Seeds create upbeat, melodic, danceable indie music that is equally at home alongside pop-punk, alt-country, and lo-fi.

The concept for the band was born of a casual conversation in late 2005, in which Mike and Margaret hypothesized performing as a group with the instruments they owned but hadn’t yet learned to play. The Seedy Seeds began writing, performing, and recording music shortly thereafter. Brian joined in 2008 following the release of Count The Days, on which he contributed supplemental percussion. In 2010, The Seedy Seeds signed with sonaBLAST! Records, and re-released Count The Days.

www.timkrekel.com

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Tim Krekel (1950-2009) was a genuine American original. As a unique singer, songwriter, and guitarist, he dedicated himself to creating music that was -and remains- a real testament to life, love, and rock & roll. Over his four-decade career, Tim’s gifts to the music world have been frequent and plentiful, and he enjoyed success on many different levels.

It is hard to overestimate how many different bands, tours, and songs Tim Krekel saw in his years in the music business. Second to becoming his native Louisville’s ultimate guitar rock hero, Krekel is best know for his years in Jimmy Buffett’s band and, of course, of his songwriting. Krekel provided hits for Rick Nelson, Lonnie Mack, Jerry Reed, Dr. Feelgood, Canned Heat, Delbert McClinton, Martina McBride, and dozens more. In 1984, Crystal Gayle hit #1 with Tim’s “Turning Away,” and Patty Loveless did the same in 1995 with “You Can Feel Bad.”

In March of 2009 Tim Krekel was diagnosed with cancer. By mid June of that year, he was at the final stages of what he described as “a most wonderful life.” Tim was able to pass away under the loving care of his family and hospice on June 24, 2009.

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Lucky Pineapple was comprised of an unlikely combination of classically trained musicians, veterans of the Louisville punk scene, theatre performers, improvisational noise artists and all around unique individuals. From their earliest days, since inception in 2004, they have tried to play out of the ordinary shows including art gallery parking lots, Zombie Proms, film festivals, house parties, a student lounge at Transylvania University, as a musical interlude during a teen talent show at the Louisville Free Public Library, frequent appearances on WFPK’s Live Lunch series, cross-dressing events, Louisville Slugger Field (home of the Louisville Bats AAA baseball team), warehouse music festivals, and world renown theaters (such as Actors Theater Louisville). Their live shows have included light shows, video projection collaborations, matching tuxedos, inflatable palm trees, magicians, costumed superheroes, a go-go dancer, their own dance troupe, eye balls, a bubble truck, and a semi-regular group of back-up singers.

The band self-released their debut album The New Rainbow in 2006 and were featured on a Noise Pollution split seven inch with fellow Louisvillians VRKTM that same year. In 2005, recording engineer and Lucky Pineapple friend Mike Bridavsky was at a Tape-Op convention and found himself winning a poker game for which the prize was a free day of recording at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in Chicago. After donating this prize to Lucky Pineapple, the band chipped in for a second day of recording. The five songs that came from this session provided the foundation for The Bubble Has Burst in Sky City (2009), and was later filled out with additional material recorded at their home studio. Shortly after a 2008 Noise Pollution release, that album caught the ears of sonaBLAST! Records, who agreed to back it for a national rerelease in August of 2009. Concurrent with the rerelease, the band partnered with local filmmaker Andrew Vititoe to produce their first music video for “Moment in an Empty Street.” The video premiered at the Louisville Film Society’s 2nd Annual Kentucky Showcase of Short Film and Video, to rave reviews in September of 2009. Recently, Lucky Pineapple made their debut performance at a sold out showcase at South By Southwest Music Festival in March, 2010. In February, 2011 the band announced that they had officially ended.

www.theoldceremony.com

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The Old Ceremony draws plays lush, literate rock.

With eight years of touring the US, Canada, and Europe and five albums under their belt, the Durham/Chapel Hill, NC band occupies its own darkly lit corner of the musical world. It is a corner filled with ominous rumblings and world-weary but hopeful characters.

TOC has performed with CAKE, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Chuck Berry, Polyphonic Spree, Mountain Goats, and Avett Brothers, and their sophomore album, Our One Mistake, was included in PASTE Magazine’s “Top 100 Albums of 2006.”

TOC is led by songwriter Django Haskins, and includes drummer Dan Hall, vibes/organist Mark Simonsen, bassist Jeff Crawford, and violinist/keyboardist Gabriel Pelli.

www.johngroverband.com

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Eleven new songs from Hawaii based singer-songwriter John Grover! Featuring "Be The Change," "Feed The Fiend," and "We All Come From Love."

Buy here

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Collider was an electroclash/punk/rock band formed in New York City in 1997 by singer/keyboardist Jed Davis and guitarist Sean Gould. The duo's combination of electronic beats and synthesizers with rock guitars and pop song structure made Collider an early entrant to the Electroclash movement. In fact, as the genre had not yet been named, Davis and Gould referred to their style as "electropunk".[1]

Between 1997 and 1999, Collider performed regularly across New York state but concentrated mainly on Manhattan's Lower East Side. In addition to frequent gigs at CBGB, the Mercury Lounge and the Spiral, the duo also played monthly at Coney Island High.

Collider's first two albums, Blowing Shit Up (1998) and Physics (1999), were released by New York label Eschatonality, the latter in conjunction with MP3.com.

In 2000, Davis and Gould added a rhythm section of Chris DeRosa on Drums and Tom Kaz on Bass and toned down the electronic elements as the band moved towards straightforward punk rock. In this form, the band came to the attention of Joey Ramone, who invited Collider to open for him at what would be his finalCBGB appearance, on October 18, 2000. This version of Collider was also the support act when Living Colour reunited at CBGB on December 21, 2000.[2]

In 2002, with a new rhythm section of Mike Keaney (bass) and Joe Abba (drums), Collider signed with SonaBLAST! Records and recorded a 6-song EP, WCYF, with original Ramones drummer and producer Tommy Ramone producing. WCYF would be the first album produced by Tommy Ramone since The Replacements'Tim in 1985.[3]

This version of Collider served as the live backing band for Maverick Records singing duo The Deuce Project in 2003, and as a session group for a number of singers and duos in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. Davis and Gould disbanded Collider in 2004 in order to pursue other projects.

Debut full-length "Morning Edition" is out NOW!
 

Available on CD and mp3 from sonaBLAST! Records

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Louisville Lullabies

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Track List:

1. In My Balloon- Lucky Pineapple
2. Benjamin- Danny Flanigan
3. Lullabye (by Albert Goldbarth)- Alistair Shell
4. My Baby- Leigh Ann Yost
5. Dream a Little Dream- Justin Lewis with Emily Caudill
6. Shelter for the Night- Arnett Hollow
7. Dream- Carter Wood
8. For My Children: A Lullaby- Ron Whitehead, Harry Pickens
9. Made in Korea (Song for Stinky Pete)- Heidi Howe
10. Down Below- Yardsale
11. All the Pretty Little Horses- Harry Pickens
12. Grey Lady- Sandpaper Dolls
13. Dark and Lovely- Love Jone

Hipster parents looking for music that they can enjoy with their children will be thrilled to hear Louisville Lullabies: Cradle Rockin’ Sleeper Hits. The compilation features 13 musical acts from Louisville performing original and traditional lullabies. Artists include: Carter Wood (a Louisville native who had George Strait record some of her songs while living in Nashville), Love Jones (regrouped for this benefit), Arnett Hollow (Forecastle and WFPK‘s Live Lunch performers), Lucky Pineapple, Harry Pickens (pianist, composer, teacher and organizational consultant), Sandpaper Dolls (amazing a cappella trio), Ron Whitehead (author of 19 books with appearances on more than 20 CD’s), Yardsale (Louisville’s self-proclaimed ‘Second Most Rootin-est, Tootin-est Band‘), Danny Flanigan (performing a song he wrote for his son), Leigh Ann Yost, Justin Lewis, Alistair Shell (Stephen George performing his first released recording), and Heidi Howe (Louisville performer, author and co-producer of the CD). All of the proceeds from the CD benefit the Home of the Innocents.

The CD is the brainchild of Gill Holland, the founder of sonaBLAST! Records, who wanted to do something for his neighbor, The Home of the Innocents, located in the East Market district. Gill produced the CD with Louisville musician Heidi Howe, the founder and director of Louisville Preschool for the Arts

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Independent Music For Independent Coffee Drinkers: Volume 1

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Track List:

1. Never Be – Kelly McRae
2. I Get Stupid – Charlotte Kendrick
3. Violet Morning – Jamie Barnes
4. Obi’s Chair – Mark Geary
5. It Rained All Night – BLOCK
6. Poison Pen – The Old Ceremony
7. Wake Up Eleanor – Gabriel Judet-Weinshel
8. Papers In Order – The Old Ceremony
9. Far Away – BLOCK
10. Keep You – Kelley McRae
11. Don’t Turn My Love Down – Jamie Barnes
12. Here’s To You – Mark Geary

Loggerheads

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“Loggerheads” interweaves three separate but related stories that take place in different parts of North Carolina. On Mother’s Day 1999, Mark, a young drifter with an interest in endangered loggerhead turtles, begins a relationship with motel handyman George. On Mother’s Day 2000, Mark’s adoptive mother Elizabeth wonders what has become of her estranged son. On Mother’s Day 2001, Mark’s birth mother Grace quits her job to begin a search for the child she gave up years before-a search that ultimately brings the stories together. Film produced by Gill Holland. Soundtrack features original music by Mark Geary. Kelley McRae, and Andrew Hunt. Singer-songwriter and folk feel.

Track Listing
1. Cold As It Gets- Patty Griffin
2. Cocktails- Robbie Fulks
3. The Silver Cord- Kim Carnes
4. All For Nothing- Mark Geary
5. Home Wrecker- Grey DeLisle
6. Forgiveness- John Crooke
7. Time- Kelley McRae
8. Momma’s Crazy- Andrew T.Hunt
9. Rowing Song- Patty Griffin
10. Facing The Fall (Grace’s Theme)- Mark Geary with Ann Scott
11. Turtles- Mark Geary
12. I Quit- Mark Geary
13. Flowers- Mark Geary
14. Decision- Mark Geary
15. Ruth Calls- Mark Geary
16. Mark’s Theme- Mark Geary

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Mentor

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A thought-provoking drama about the power that a famous university professor holds over his students and assistants. The film was produced by Gill Holland. The score was written and performed by Ceiri Torjussen. The score features piano and electronics, mostly with an ambient sound. Other tracks feature Mark Geary, Andrew Hunt, and Kelley McRae.

Track Listing
1. Opening -Ceiri Torjussen
2. Marilyn -Ceiri Torjussen
3. Sandy Died -Ceiri Torjussen
4. Jogging -Ceiri Torjussen
5. South -Mark Geary
6. Bruised Basil -Ceiri Torjussen
7. Julia’s Tips -Ceiri Torjussen
8. Funeral Arrivals -Ceiri Torjussen
9. The Sweetest Thing -Andrew T. Hunt
10. Coke is it -Ceiri Torjussen
11. Seducer -Ceiri Torjussen
12. Body Watcher -Ceiri Torjussen
13. River -Ceiri Torjussen
14. Crabbing -Ceiri Torjussen
15. Never Be -Kelly McRae
16. Emergency -Ceiri Torjussen
17. Carter Leaves -Ceiri Torjussen
18. I’m Back! -Ceiri Torjussen
19. Hold Tight -Mark Geary
20. Burial -Ceiri Torjussen
21. Opening Letter -Ceiri Torjussen
22. Ride With Me -Ceiri Torjussen

"Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, and the Clarinet"

ClassicalBLAST!

World famous clarinetist Daniel McKelway teams up with some of his world famous friends to tear into the oft-overlooked classical and romantic clarinet repertoire!

Daniel McKelway is an admitted fan of the great masterworks for his instrument. He is joined by soprano Amelia Baisley, pianist Hyunsoon Whang, and TCO violist Lembi Veskimets in performances of Mozart’s Trio in E-flat, K. 498, “Kegelstatt,” and Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (“Shepherd on the Rock”).

“These are my favorite pieces,” the Cleveland Orchestra assistant principal clarinet said during a recent conversation. “They have been my whole life and I haven’t outgrown them.”

P.S. cover art by our good friend Danny Seim of Menomena!