Ephman.com: Big Surprise review from The Beacon Theater

http://www.ephman.com/

This show was being billed basically as an Old Crow Medicine Show show. But wow it was just so much more, way much more. And yah it lived up to the real title for the event. It was The Big Surprise. Actually the biggest surprise came from the newly renovated Beacon Theatre security. THEY WERE ALL OVER. This classic New York City concert venue used to be so chill... but no more. People were getting hasselled by the man all over. Even for dancing in the aisle during the encore. Beacon you now so totally suck!

Anyways Ephman was only able to scam one really good video. And actually it's with everybody pretty much from the show on stange. So enjoy it might just be a rare one.

If you don't know who Justin Townes Earle is, his lastname should be a hint. His dad is Steve. But Justin is in a world of his own. He came out and started singing songs off his new album Midnight At The Movies. He just sort of reminds Ephman of one of those 1930's Grand Ole Opry singers. He looks so awkward standing there with his body slanted to the audience, but that's the charm. You really must get a chance to see him live one day. Great stuff, and totally not living in his dad's shawdow.

Local NYC boys The Felice Brothers hit the stage next. Oh it should be mentioned that this concert was more like a review type of show. With bands all intermixing and everything. It was like a country orgy. In any event they cats came dressed in NY Yankee shirts and hats. And came ready to "rock out". They moved all over the place. The Felice Brothers in a weird way can be kind of summed up as the Beastie Boys, meet The Band, meet Bob Dylan, meet cajun. They really do jam well, and were super tight. Totally awesome to have the washboard pulled out and smashed against the cymbals. Nice.

Ephman's personal fav of the evening was Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch. That combo was just so angelic for the evening. He's never seen either play. And was so totally blown away by both Dave's guitar picking, his voice, and the selection of songs they played. Let's just say it was so special that Bob Dylan's Queen Jane Approximately not only stole the show, but could be one of the best covers Ephman has ever seen performed live. That's a big thing. Ephman's been to hundreds and hundreds of concerts. The crowd responded by simultaneously jumping up for a standing ovation. Oh can't forget the only women on the stage for the night. Gillian, you have the sweetest voice. Enough said on that, you just needed to be there.

Finally the bid draw of the evening Old Crow Medicine Show. They hit that stage already warmed up from playing with all the other acts during the evening and they were on fire. They have to one of the hottest bluegrass bands around today. Ephman has seen some really amazing bluegrass. Remember Del McCoury Band playing an all accoustic show at Carnegie Hall WITHOUT AMPLIFICATION!!! But Old Crow Medicine Show is a different beast. From the double banjo, to the crazy mouth organ playing, these guys must be totally exhausted now. This band runs all around the stage. Super energetic. The only downside to their set was the crowd. Shame on you crowd. They have a great sound to get up and dance to. The crowd was on their butts for most of the set (from where Ephman was sitting). If you're not familiar with this band, and Ephman expects the vast majority of you don't. See them. They are way better live then on disc.

Kitty's Report from Boston

Hey all - - Jumpin' Bean and I went up to the NH and and the Boston show. HUGE improvement between the two nights!! Close to a full four hours. 20 of the voodoo screenprint poster signed by everyone available at each show for $50. In Boston, they were also running a silent auction of a signed FB drumhead.... don't know much about that. And since Bean isn't around to spill the beans.... yes, there is a CD (she got 13/100). Called Mix Tape. Maybe up to 12 songs. Trying to recall from memory and since I am fairly new to FB, you will have to forgive I can't recall them all....White Limo was on there.... Marlboro Man, and she was super excited about Marie.

Over on the Old Crow forum, there are a lot of links to blogs and such, and in general the reception to the FB hasn't been great. That is too bad... they bring a lot of energy to the show and it was really great to see Ian and Farley learning from Dave and Ketch on stage in Boston. I mean - they are different from the other acts with their dissonant chords, the electric instruments, and drums - but they are a great addition to the line-up and all the folks around us in Boston were like WOW - Who was that again?!??!! Oh well, different strokes for different folks... I personally didn't enjoy the Dave Rawlings Machine until other folks joined in a livened it up a bit. Slight downer after FB set left the crowd so high. Also, everyone did switch up their sets from the previous night in NH.... except Dave and Gillian. They had a lot of fans in the crowd though - - -

The new drummer Dave played more in NH.... he played like one song with FB in Boston and then sorta disappeared for the rest of the evening. Here goes my attempt at the set list and side notes for the whole show (spoiler alert for anyone who really wants it to be a surprise!!) ....

Big Surprise (FB lead, everyone on stage)
JTE and Cory:
Ordinary Fool (w/ Ketch on fiddle, Morgan on Bass, and Gill on pedal steel.. oh so nice!)
Bye Bye Baby (new fave)
I think I missed a song here.....
Gospel Tune of some sort with OCMS and FB in the 'choir'

Felice Brothers:
Marlboro Man
White Limo (w/ new drummer Dave)
Frankie's Gun (Ketch joins on tambourine, Willie on electric ~ 1/2 through, back to Searcher on drums)
Whiskey (Willie on Guitar, Gill on tam and sang a verse of his own)
New song about a race car driver
Run Chicken Run (Willie on electric)
Farley's Song
Penn Station
Take This Bread (everyone)

SET BREAK

David Rawlings Machine: (Thanks to our new Winnipeg friends that helped me with these!!)
I Hear Them All -> This Land is Your Land (3 verses) -> I Hear Them All
Sweet Tooth
Thank You Friend (?)
Cortez the Killer
Ruby (Benmont, Willie, Ketch, Kevin & Morgan)
It's Too Easy (same as above, David switches to banjo)
Bells of Harlan (Benmont and Morgan)
Monkey and the Engineer (above with Willie and Ketch on harmonica and taking the low notes in harmony)
Queen Jane (big crowd hit)
---stage clears for maybe two minutes

OCMS:
Rubens Train (did Willie take lead vocals on this?)
Humdinger
Hard to Love
AHT (Benmont joins on keys, Searcher on drums)
Crazy Eyes (Ketch sings lead and Willie thanks him, Benmont stays on stage through the end)
Caroline (Ketch on banjo, James on accordion)
Minglewood (David joins on electric, Cory on mando... hotter and wilder than the night before!!)
Down Home Girl (same as above with James on keys)
Mary's Kitchen (everyone on stage till the end - - Willie breaks string, David on electric, Farley on washboard, Jame and Benmont on organ)
Helen Fry (FB song, Gill on pedal steel)
Miss Ohio (Gillian lead - on electric maybe?... Gill on pedal steel, searcher on drums.. another crowd fave)
Can't Hardly Wait (JTE lead, Cory mando, Gill still on pedal steel, David on harmonica)
Wagon Wheel (everyone still on stage, Gillian singing great harmonies, David on electric... ketch breaks string and hardly gets out the last bars of the song)

ENCORE
Long Way to the Top (David on lead, Cory on drums, Morgan on electric bass, Gillian on electric, Ketch on tam and harmonica, Searcher on drums, both organs going, guitars everywhere!)
Tell It To Me (Willie breaks another string and switches to electric, Cory back on mando)

a Boisterous Hoedown: Boston Globe review

The big noise in Boston Wednesday night may have been coming from the confines of Fenway Park where Sir Paul McCartney was holding court, but across the street at the House of Blues, the musical friends who comprise the “Big Surprise Tour’’ were making some noise of their own.
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BIG SURPRISE TOUR

With Old Crow Medicine Show, the David Rawlings Machine, the Felice Brothers, Justin Townes Earle

At: House of Blues, Wednesday

They served notice that this was going to be no ordinary, self-contained “headliner and supporting acts’’ performance right from the get-go, when everyone involved - Old Crow Medicine Show (the putative top-billed act), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, the Felice Brothers, and Justin Townes Earle - assembled to open the show with a booming version of the Felice Brothers song that has given the tour its name.

What followed was a gigantic collaboration loosely organized into individual sets, all of the performers swapping in and out, lending vocal and instrumental colors, covering one another’s songs, and in general appearing to have a raucous good time along with a delirious capacity crowd.

Earle began with a trio of songs that, with the assistance of the straight steel of Old Crow’s Gill Landry, were eerie in their evocation of the great Hank Williams. He ended with a gospel number on which the Felice Brothers joined him to provide chorus and claps.

Then the Brothers, calling on spirits from the Band to Bruce Springsteen to the Pogues (and, later, in the evening’s closing stretch, even a hint of Pink Floyd), brought some rootsy, unkempt, careening rock that reached a fever pitch with the as-yet unrecorded “White Limousine.’’

Welch and Rawlings brought a surprise of their own: playing as the David Rawlings Machine, he’s stepping forward vocally for the first time. Along with their precise, substantial songs and notable covers, and Rawlings’s always-phenomenal picking, the results were as mesmerizing as usual. Midway through their performance, there was another big surprise: Benmont Tench, of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame, walked onstage and lent his talents for the rest of the evening. When he added his best Al Kooper-esque rolling organ licks to the pair’s extended version of Bob Dylan’s “Queen Jane Approximately,’’ it was the most incendiary moment of the night.

Old Crow followed with a mix of its new-old-time ballads (a beautiful “Caroline’’) and stompers (“Alabama High-Test’’), before being joined again by their compadres to roar through their hit “Wagon Wheel.’’ And after 3 1/2 hours, with an encore that featured AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll’’), this glorious, sprawling, ramshackle affair staggered to a close

Long Way to the Top (ACDC Cover) from Boston and setlist

* Big Surprise with everyone
* Marlboro Man
* White Limo
* Frankie's Gun (Ian totally got lost and ended up singing the second verse twice instead of the third verse)
* Whiskey
* slow down little john
* Run Chicken Run
* Farley song (the one for his grandfather)
* Penn Station
* Take this Bread
* Helen Fry

Encore:
Its a Long way To the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll)

taken from the blog
Divine Comedy of Errors
a blog about nothing
Concert Review: The Big Surprise Tour

Last night, I went to the House of Blues to check out The Big Surprise Tour, a bluegrass-themed show with four acts: Justin Townes Earle, The Felice Brothers, the Dave Rawlings Machine featuring Gillian Welch, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Each act played their own set and were eventually joined on stage by the rest of the performers, so a lot of the show was essentially Gillian Welch and Thirteen Dudes. I hadn't been to the House of Blues before, and basically, it's a roomier verison of Avalon. I was kind of surprised that they tour down the Avalon and Axis and spent a year to build something that looks... just live Avalon.

The show opened up with Justin Townes Earle (the son of Steve Earle), who played a fun, high energy bluegrass set. His act had a timeless quality- the tall, lanky Earle, dressed in a suit and performing traditional Americana music would seem just at home on a Kentucky stage in the 1950s as he was in Boston in 2009. He clearly relishes being on stage, in a good way- he chats with the crowd and brings other musicians into the fold with ease.

The Felice Brothers came on next, and although I like some of their songs, they didn't meld well into the lineup- their music was by far the most indie of the night, and the slower songs zapped the energy from the crowd. It didn't help that there was a long break after their set. They did have an cool accordian player and an entertaingly spazzy violist/washboardist.

Next up was Dave Rawlings with Gillian Welch, and they were great! The king and queen of modern bluegrass, Rawlings totally rips on guitar and his voice blends perfectly with Gillian's. I had never seen either one live before and was very impressed. They played a relatively short set, but did come back on stage at the end.

Old Crow Medicine Show were last to perform, although all of their members had appeared with the previous acts. Led by fiddler and vocalist Keith Sector (in absurdly tight jeans), they played a set filled with their trademark old-time string band music. And oh yes, the crowd went nuts for their final song, Wagon Wheel. I'll never get tired of that song. At the end of the night, all of the musicians returned to the stage for the encore, which included Gillian finally getting in the spotlight with "Look at Miss Ohio" and an fantastic group cover of ACDC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll)." Overall, it was a great night of bluegrass music and a chance to see a multitude of talented performers.

The Big Surprise : tour debut Hampton Beach

The Big Surprise (all bands)
Marlboro Man
White limo
Tenderly
Goddamn you jim
Greatest show
Ahab
Lawrence County ( with keith from ocms)
Farley Song
Run Chicken
Stephens End
Take this bread
With all bands:
Like a hurricane
Helen Fry
I'll fly away
Wagon wheel
Tell it to me

Searcher played on everyones songs and switched with dave on the felice set.

.
Great show. More later. All acts were great. Venue was average.

All out at first for Big Surprise

Then Townes Earle played. Friggin awesome. Highlights were Mamas Eyes and What do You Do When you're Lonesome. Played about thirty minutes, Searcher on drums.

Felice Brothers next. Dave on drums, searcher dancing and harmonies. Tenderly was great. Take This Bread with all Bands , left crowd buzzing. Ian has never been better. You can see the future of the band with Ian freed up to display great Showmanship.(fingers crossed horn section)

Crowd was predominately ocms fans.. Musta been couple thousand people there.

Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch next. Very good. Lots of fans up there. Searcher again playing some drums
Highlights were I Hear Them All and Novocaine.

Ocms were next. Played a great set, highlights were Poor man and Caroline. Then all came out on stage for next bunch of songs until Searcher joined Dave R and Gillian and Ocms for a replacements cover to close the show.

The Duke and the king at the Chapel in Philly

Two of the best shows I've seen in 2009 have been by The Duke & the King, the Huck Finn-inspired duo of Simone Felice (The Duke, walking down the aisle on the right) and Robert "Chicken" Burke (The King on the left). Back in June they played in Teenage Kicks blogger Trip McClatchy's back yard in Havertown, and last night the upstate New York tandem came back to town for a sold-out show at Frank Furness' tiny jewel box Chapel at the First Unitarian Church, of which Felice said "there couldn't be a more beautiful place in the country to play." The duo's Ramseur Records debut album, Nothing Good Can Stay - my review is here - comes out today, and it's full of fragile, beautiful, tough-minded songs, stripped of any excessive ornamentation. At the Chapel, Felice talked about how listening to Run-DMC in third grade taught him about Harriet Tubman, and said he was "sweating like a whore in Church," as he made his way through spiritual inquiries like "Union Street," which takes place "in the part of town Jesus forgot." With significant assistance from the Deacon - Nowell Haskins - they opened the show with a haunted version of "The Devil Is Real," which started in the kitchen before it made it to the altar.

-Philadelphia Inquirer Blog

The Duke and the King at Club Passim 8/2/09 "Special Night"

If you ever get famous
Scarecrow
Summer mornin rain
Simone talking about a 11 hour van ride last week
Morning I get to hell
Suzanne (after a bit of maneater by Hall and Oates)
Mercy
Devil is real
Waterspider
Union st
I've been bad
American song
Radio song

Great night, acoustic show with friend Simmie providing electric Violin. The Deacon wins MVP with a sterling performance under great duress. vocals were damaged in previous nights debauchery on stage at the Colony Cafe.

The Duke and the King Nominated for Uncut Award

Happy Friday night folks, very happy to report that “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by The Duke and The King has been included in the longlist for this year’s Uncut Music Award.

There are 25 albums chosen by Uncut journalists that appear on the longlist that will be put forward to an esteemed panel for judging, it will be announced in the November issue of Uncut on sale 30th September. The panelists are yet to be announced but many of the panelists from last year will be returning. The 2008 panel included; Peter Hook, Tony Wadsworth and Mark Radcliffe. Also last years winner Fleet Foxes will be invited to join the judging panel this year.

So congratulations Duke, King, Deacon and all involved.


-Loose Music

The Sun: Simone Felice interview

Feature: The Sun met The Duke & The King
29th July, 2009

in The Duke & The King

Simone Felice grew up with brothers Ian and James in the shadow of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. Their surroundings were rugged, uncompromising and beautiful. Music ran in the three boy’s veins. They formed a band called, not surprisingly, The Felice Brothers, a kind of hillbilly Kings Of Leon.

The music could be both fast and loose or slow and tender, their songs imbued with the spirit of The Band and Neil Young. Simone played the drums, guitar and occasionally sang lead vocals. They began busking in the subway stations of New York and success came along as sure as the D train. A string of albums, intoxicating mixes of rabble-rousing hoe-downs and heart-wrenching ballads, cemented their reputation as modern keepers of the Americana flame.

But sometimes life takes a terrible fateful turn. Last winter, Simone and his partner lost their first child and he decided it was time for a life-changing rethink. He left the band of brothers and threw all his energy into a new project, The Duke & The King, which took its name from characters in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. With musical soulmate Robert “Chicken” Burke, Simone has crafted Nothing Gold Can Stay, one of the year’s most heartfelt releases, with third member Nowell Haskins completing the mix. The sound is more polished than The Felice Brothers, like an eerily convincing throwback to the west Coast sounds of Joni Mitchell or James Taylor. The lyrics are poetic, confessional, autobiographical and sharply observed with wistful opener If You Ever Get Famous setting the tone.

Here, Simone Tells his story

Was it tough leaving The Felice Brothers to start this project?
Yes, but after my baby died a lot of things came clear to me, the course of my life and the poetry I needed to make.

Were the others upset by your move?
Me and the boys love each other very much, it’s the kind of live I imagine Navy men share in a U-Boat, and one of out codes is to support each other’s ideas and visions. It’s a lucky thing to have.

Do you imagine rejoining them sometime ?
I’m sure we’ll come together again one fine day, it’s a long road ahead.

How did you get to know Robert?
We met over ten years ago and became fast friends. He helped my brothers and I with our first recordings. Bob and I would sit around a fire and write songs nobody would ever hear and laugh and watch birds (a particular hawk) by the water and dream up one-act plays and all sorts of weird ideas. We made each other feel like kids.

How come a hip-hop guy got to mix and master the album?
Bassy Bob (Brockmann) is a genius, a man who went from making $20,000-a-song and living in the posh Manhattan music biz world in the Nineties with Puff Daddy and Biggie, to living in a basement in the roughest part of Brooklyn and barely being able to keep his electric on, all because he denounced the big-money major label illusion and got back to his roots. We spent a month with him in his basement mixing this album. He’s got very special ears. He grew up in New Orleans where his father was a pianist in bars.

Do you feel a lot more responsibility now you’re the main singer in a band?
I had a punk band I used to front when I was a kid. We’d skip school and get high and go and play a week nights at the CBGB club around the time Nirvana had just come out and Fugazi was god.

Then for eight or nine years before my brother sand I started our band, I was a traveling poet, a bit of a gipsy loser reading every night on a different microphone by myself, nervous and awkward at first. But time and trial and error helped me get rid of the shakes. So it’s been a pretty natural to make this change.

Why did you name yourselves after the characters from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Mark Twain is one of my heroes. He was a rebel. We love rebels, art that comes from a real and raw place, not afraid to tell the truth. This book was a revolution to America when it was printed, a young Southern white boy making best friends with a runaway slave. Who ever heard of such a thing?!

Who’s the Duke and who’s the King?
I’m the Duke and Bob’s the King and Nowell Haskins is Black Jim. Or the Deacon. That’s the nucleus of the band. (PS: All of these titles would not hold up under royal scrutiny. Off with out heads!)

Did recording in the wood in New Yorks’ Bearsville affect the songs?
It was deep Catskill winter so there was two feet of snow outside. It was cold and beautiful. It was very silent and I’ve found silence to be the finest environment for writing.

Could you cope with being really famous?
I was born at home in a creek in the mountains. I heat my home with a wood stove, grow a garden, hunt deer, read a lot of books. I grew up that way, simple, and that’s how I’d like it to stay, however the dice lands.

And how is your past like reflected in music?
The Album does a lot of looking back, trying to make sense of where all the time has gone, the dreams. So growing up in my poor little mountain town, north up the river from the city, features heavily in the themes. That’s where I first fell in love, first heard Led Zeppelin on the radio, first got high on music (and other things), first learned about violence and magic.

What’s YOUR American dream?
That someday we’ll learn to trade the handshake for the fist, the fiddle for the drum.

Duke and the king at the Colony Cafe (Mercy Review)

Colony Cafe
Woodstock NY
August 1, 2009

New band member Simmie played three songs before the band came out, first on electric violin, next two on acoustic guitar.

The Morning I Get to Hell
The Devil is Real
If You Ever Get Famous
Don't Wake the Scarecrow
Suzanne
I've Been Bad
Union Street
Your Belly in My Arms
Angels in Heaven
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) [cover of the Temptations song]
Mercy
Radio Song
----
Long May You Run (Simone said that it was written for a car, but he was singing it for his brothers, with Ian, James, and Claire Felice, Christmas, & Farley joining him on stage!, written by Neil Young)
Two Hands (with Ian on guitar, and Christmas on bass)
Radio Song (again) (with Pete on Sax, sung by Ian, James, the Deacon, and, last verse only, Simone)
Still Remember Love
One More American Song

Simmie played electric violin on Scarecrow, Suzanne (intense jam with Chicken at end), Mercy, Long May You Run, possibly others.

Simone was surprised to see the Felice Brothers band in the audience -- he was not expecting them.

thanks to Mercy again for on the spot account of a local show.

The Big Surprise

By Christopher Hislop
July 30, 2009 6:00 AM

Musicians talk about doing things all the time, but it's usually hard to make it happen," said Justin Townes Earle in a recent phone conversation about the upcoming "Big Surprise Tour," happening at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Aug. 4.

"You think, 'that would be great,' you voice, 'yeah, right...;' and then you move on to the next thing. But this time, it worked out. I got a phone call from my management and told 'em, 'I'll be there.'"
WHAT The Big Surprise Tour featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch, The Felice Brothers and Justin Townes Earle

WHEN Tuesday, Aug. 4, 8 p.m.

WHERE Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Ocean Boulevard, Hampton Beach

COST $30

CONTACT 929-4100, www.casinoballroom.com

All of the acts on "the Big Surprise tour" — Headliners Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine (featuring Gillian Welch), Earle, and the Felice Brothers are connected in some mutual way and are reveling in the fact that they'll be able to take the stage together in somewhat of an impromptu performance of artists and friends, where collaboration and the celebration of roots music will be the name of the game. Said artists will play a smattering of their own original material, as well as covers of each other's tunes, and beyond.

"We wanted to start a big rocking band with a bunch of good friends, and play all summer long," said Ketch Secor of Old Crow. "A lot of summer packages (concert bills) are way over the top and range widely and wildly stylistically, so we wanted to keep it somewhat simple, in that we could all climb on stage as one ...; all 15 (or whatever it is) of us, and in a fury of spontaneity, get the place rollicking! I can tell you one thing, we'll all be grinning. It's going to be a blast."

Secor and his bandmates are the "linchpin" behind all of the connections on the tour. They've played many a night at dive bars with Earle, traveling around with him a few years back on what they dubbed "the Dirt-bag tour." Which, according to Earle was "a long, long raucous tour that lasted nine straight weeks. Was a great time...;"

Old Crow have also spent some time with the Felice Brothers on tour, partying into the wee hours of the new day, throwing dice and gambling their money away in a game that the Brothers adopted called "3's."

"Heck, I think I'm doing it more for the dice throwing than anything," joked James Felice of the Felice Brothers. "It's gonna be a real fun time (musically), and I got to build on the $50 I pulled away from the guys in Old Crow the last time we got together."

Earle met Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch while on tour with his Dad (Steve Earle) in the Northeast years ago. While Secor (who has about a four-year window in his life where he was a part of our own Seacoast, N.H. community and played a gig or two at the Friendly Toast ...; Claims he learned how to play banjo here as well) states that he first met Rawlings and Welch when they played the "Town Hall" in Portsmouth.

"Heck I can't even remember who they were opening for, they were so good," Secor said. (He would later admit that they were opening for David Grisman).

Earle and the fellas in Old Crow became friends when the band moved "down to Nashville about 10 years ago," said Earle, who was residing in Nashville at the time.

The music that all of these bands are creating in their young careers is steeped in the American roots tradition.

"We all share a fascination with older music," said Earle. "And we're all the best practitioners out there right now."

Old Crow Medicine Show have been on the scene since 1998 and have released five full-length albums, as well as a handful of EPs and live recordings, achieving critical acclaim and mass appeal with their self-titled effort, released in 2004. "Wagon Wheel," is the big hit on that record, which most of us have heard covered countless times by bluegrass and folk acts throughout the land. Secor heard a 38-second clip of Bob Dylan singing the opening verse on an old bootleg he had picked up. He took it, and finished it (he owns co-authorship with Dylan on the tune) during his time in New Hampshire. When prompted Secor replies, "I've never met Bob Dylan, and the fortune teller told me I never would ...; so I've stopped trying." Old Crow are touring in support of their current album "Tennessee Pusher," and the upcoming DVD "Live at the Orange Peel and Tennessee Theatre," due out Aug. 18.

Dave Rawlings Machine has yet to release their debut album, but both Rawlings and Gillian Welch are very well revered in the scene, and have been around for quite some time. Welch earned a Grammy nomination for her debut album "Time (The Revelator)," which Rawlings produced, back in 2003.

The Felice Brothers have three brilliant full-length releases to their credit. Although they have not quite reached the mass appeal they deserve, it seems they'll achieve it very soon. Their current release "Yonder is the Clock," happens to be where the name of the tour comes from as the first track on the album is titled "The Big Surprise." "Yonder," was recorded in an "updated" chicken coop where the Brothers have built their studio from the money they made after the release of their self-titled album.

"The roof was rotting and the rain was dripping on our gear," said Felice. "There were tarps everywhere, so we took all our money, and renovated the place, complete with a new roof."

Earle has two records to his credit including the release he's currently touring behind "Midnight at the Movies." Earle's song writing cuts deep. The song-craft he's developed aids in helping his introspective lyrics stick with you long after you listen to them for the first time.

"This is not my music," Earle said when asked how he'd describe his work. "I'm a student of southern American roots music — anything south of the Mason Dixon, and east of the Mississippi."

All of these acts have poured their heart and souls into the music they create and all of them will undoubtedly leave you astonished and most likely winded from all the dancing you're bound to do when you catch the show at the Casino Ballroom.

For the bands, it's the tour of a lifetime. They can't wait to get together and "make the magic happen." The Hampton Beach gig is the first show of the tour, so they'll be fresh and anxious to get things cookin' quickly.

James Felice claims he doesn't know what's going to happen for sure —"hopefully the music we present will lean more towards 'harmonious,' than 'a cacophony,' he jokes.

For him, it's all about the dice, and he invites anyone who's willing to come and throw down after all is said and done.

"You gotta have a lot of one dollar bills to hang with the Felice Brothers, man," warns Secor with a laugh.

At the end of our conversation, Secor exclaims, "Hey, whatever happened to Fly Spinach Fly?" So he has been here before ...; And he'll be back with friends in tow on Aug. 4. Seriously, don't miss it. It's the event of the summer.

BBC Review: Great again

Lou Thomas 2009-07-23

Simone Felice and Robert 'Chicken' Burke adopted the names of two mischievous characters from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for this album. Based on this alone, fans of the Mark Twain novel may surmise Nothing Gold Can Stay has a certain peripatetic charm and wistful longing; and they'd be right.

This tremendous collection of dusty Americana kicks off with If You Ever Get Famous. Felice's stunning, shimmering country folk vocal is as sad as waving goodbye to a loved one. When he sings, ''If you ever get famous, don’t forget about me'', it's impossible not to reflect on bridges burned.

The quality remains high. Still Remember Love takes a turn into Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young territory, albeit slightly adulterated with hints of Arthur Lee psychedelia, while Lose My Self crashes around epically like Pink Floyd soundtracking a western.

In Suzanne, meanwhile, there are jazzy trumpets, unhurried country guitars and a bluesy subject matter. Certainly this tale of an amorous man's determination to get the woman he wants references the classic JJ Cale Tulsa sound in consummate style.

One More American Song's affecting story of an army veteran reduced to pushing a shopping trolley in the street rounds off the album. Nick Cave and My Morning Jacket are the most obvious touchstones, but Dylan and Leonard Cohen are also brought to mind, such is the depth of emotion wrought by Felice and Burke's careful approach.

Many great songwriters write about aging, sadness, lost love and thwarted dreams. The Duke & The King are worthy of attention because they manage to tackle these big ideas with clarity, honesty and a total lack of pomposity and have created an understated gem.

You can listen to their BBC session which Simone told me they were told it was the best session they had ever had on the BBC. (that is high praise)

LONDON BBC SESSION

Sunday Times (London) 4/5 stars and Record of the Week

Nothing Gold Can Stay could hardly have had a sadder origin. Simone Felice, the drummer with the Felice Brothers, had been wondering for a while if it wasn’t time for a change when his girlfriend lost the baby they’d been expecting. With the impermanence of life thus shockingly revealed to him, he realised that he had to follow his heart, and that meant leaving the band he had formed with his brothers and finding a new musical direction. Felice hooked up with an old friend, Robert Burke, and the pair headed off into a cabin in the woods with a copy of Huckleberry Finn. From the book came their name, and from the cabin emerged — as is the way these days — a wondrous album. Yes, a sense of loss does hang heavily over these songs — mainly a sense of lost innocence and the desire to return to simpler times (“If we can only get to Union Street/Then everything will be all right”). But you may be surprised to discover that the music is sweet, soft and, for the most part, hopeful.

The ramshackle, Basement Tapes attitude of Felice’s old band has been replaced by a smoother sound that, at times, calls to mind James Taylor or Stephen Stills, although the mixer, Bassy Bob Brockmann, chooses to turn up the drums and turn down the chiming guitars, so things never get too syrupy. The sheer quality of the writing is epitomised by the seductive blue-eyed soul of Suzanne and by Lose My Self, a hook so perfect, it doesn’t need a song around it.

- Mark Edwards

* * * * *

RECORD OF THE WEEK

Farley goes down at the Master's Musician Festival last week

Floydfest: kinda Setlist

murder by mistletoe
take this bread
lou the welter weight
wonderful
whiskey
Goddamn you jim
greatest show on earth
love me tenderly
Penn Station
(YAITW)

More Duke and the King UK dates

# ri 25/09 – The Duke & The King – Open House Festival – Belfast
# Wed 23/09 – The Duke & The King – Bam Festival – Barcelona
# Tue 22/09 – The Duke & The King – Bedford Civic Center
# Sun 20/09 – The Duke & The King – The Glee Club – Birmingham
# Sat 19/09 – The Duke & The King – The Maze – Nottingham
# Thu 17/09 – The Duke & The King – The Cluny – Newcastle Upon Tyne
# Wed 16/09 – The Duke & The King – The Brudenell – Leeds
# Tue 15/09 – The Duke & The King – The Musician – Leicester
# Sun 13/09 – The Duke & The King – King Tuts – Glasgow
# Sat 12/09 – The Duke & The King – The Chattery – Swansea

The Duke and the King: Live @ Diggers

Wow. It was so special to those guys here.




Band arrived at 300pm and checked out the gear and the headed out to walk about the streets. Simone did a little writing on the beach. They came back and did soundcheck and the people arrived.

Opening the little party was Maryse Smith. Incredible songwriter and singer who really amazed the audience.
The set lasted about a half hour and she left. Look her up on myspace, she has a cd coming out soon, she is from Burlington vt. Her song "Loose thread" is amazing and features a very memorable vocal performance.

The band came on almost immediately after a beautiful introduction by Safe Haven Director Tony Lombardi. They then Simone came out and said I was a "Waterspider" , which is about as big a compliment one can give.
They did a slew of great songs. I was expecting an acoustic show, but it was far from it.

Setlist:

Waterspider
Mercy
Man in the Mirror/
If You Ever Get Famous
Devil is Real
Angels in Heaven
Union St
Summer Morning Rain
Scarecrow
I've Been Bad
The Morning i Get to Hell
Lend Me an Ear
Helpless
American Song
Radio Song

Talked with Simone for a long time about what Take This Bread comes from and it was really special hearing how that song came out. We talked about how crazy the reviews are for the new record. The London Telegraph just gave it Five out of five stars and compared Simone to Lenoard Cohen.
They are kinda of cautious and happy with all the amazing attention and accolades they are getting. We Talked about the Felice Brothers, and why he moved on, and how he missed Ian. He talked about how great Ian's gift is. Family and marriage was discussed and he told me he is getting married this summer, and how his mom hooked him up with a great honeymoon package. We talked about the Big Empty and how Your Old Volvo was a tribute to his mom, and he sung a few bars for me.

Robert was real cool, talked about scoring films, recording The Big Empty and how they came up with now being just a trio, with the Deacon being the third vocal.

The Deacon won everyone over with his charm, and lovability. He feels like family to everyone.

The hook for these guys is the harmonies and the poetry. they are all great singers

Super show the food was great, everyone ate Lobsters, clams, burgers, salads of every kind, chicken wings, watermelon and cupcakes.

Thanks to all and we raised a good bit of money for charity.

See you all next year I hope as this event will grow

The Auctions went very well as a late bid on the Big Empty grabbed over $100, which i had signed by Simone. not too shabby as the last weeks efforts garnered almost $1500 for a couple of local charities.

London Telegraph: Nothing Gold can Stay (5 Stars) and compare Simone to Len Cohen

Like some lost classic from the Seventies, Simone Felice and songwriting partner Robert “Chicken” Burke blend Americana, soul and psychedelia with classic singer-songwriting.

Drummer with the extraordinary Felice Brothers and two-time novelist, Simone has the poetic gifts and fearless aesthetic to rank among the all-time greats, from Cohen to Cave.

Telegraph rating: * * * * *

Final Auction Item! The Big Empty (Very Early Felice Brothers Rare CD)

Includes the classic "Your Old Volvo" as well as a smoother sounding Ian on "the Grace"

very rare!! get this while it lasts. This is my personal copy i am giving up (and final copy) for this charity.

THE LISTING!!!!

Proceeds from the auction to benefit Camp Safe Haven( http://www.safehavenproject.org/ )

One of the main missions of the Safe Haven Project is to find the ways and means to reach out to young people living with HIV or AIDS. One way of acheiving this is through the "Camp Safe Haven" and "Vineyard Project" camp programs. These camp style retreats have occurred annually since Safe Haven^s inception.

Camps are hosted on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard each April, and now in North Carolina in August.


Campers attend at no cost to their families due to the kind donations we receive from businesses, foundations, and individuals.

A goal of camp is to connect the campers with a greater community comprised of their peers, our volunteers, and the community around them. Camp is a stigma-free environment that encourages fun, camaraderie, and mutual support.

Those who volunteer at a Camp Safe Haven event quite often describe the experience as "life-changing"; one that has powerful impact on their view of the world, and service.

Its for a good cause. Ebaying some of my good stuff for charity.

The Felice Brothers Steal the Show at Master Musicians Festival

The Felice Brothers
Moonage Webdream Blog
Lately it seems I’ve been complaining a lot about modern performers. I’m not even going to use the term musicians. Too many bands don’t make any effort to be original. They stick with the same instruments, some not at all. They have degrading lyrics, a bad message if any, and make no attempt whatsoever to make their music, product, unique. Every so often I stumble on exceptions I wish would be the front page of Rolling Stone. But, never are. Along with Cowboy Crush and Bonepony, The Felice Brothers are a show to see.

The Felice Brothers performing at Master Musician Festival

Now, that doesn’t look like much I know. Just a bunch of guys playing a small stage in rural Kentucky. But, they were a hoot. Sort of a cross of Bluegrass with a touch of rock and a dash of rap. I guarantee you this is the only act today rapping to a washboard. And that’s the start of their creativity. These guys are just fun all the way around. You feel it, you see it, you hear it, you just know it. I immediately noticed two things that made me know these guys are the real thing:

1. For reasons unknown to me, people started throwing cigarettes on stage. My friend I was standing with thought they were joints and immediately started rummaging through his stuff to find his. I finally convinced him they were cigarettes. Only bands that are convincing will get a grown ( sorta ) adult to do stupid things enthusiastically.
2. Although using a modern keyboard, it was propped in what looked like an old keyboard wooden box. Like the cheap little five octave pianos people used to tour with. The washboard in a dizzying jig fell backwards and knocked the whole thing over. Without missing a beat, the keyboard player picked up his accordian and took it from there while they ( band members ), repaired the keyboard stand, sorta. Only good bands can keep going during disaster.
3. The drummer only had a tom and a snare besides the usual bass and cymbals. He only used the tom during those very special moments when they stressed something important. Great bands don’t need a lot of flashy drum parts. It needs noting as well the washboard player destroyed the entire set at the end. I’m sure that was his tribute to The Who. Great bands also recognize those that set the stage for them.
4. The people sang along with them. These weren’t great lyrics. They were neither inspiring or exciting. They were for the most part just kinda silly. People who I’m sure had never seen these guys before were singing along with them. That to me is a sign that people relate to what the band is doing.
5. My six year old boy loved them. He’s seen a lot of performances. He’s not easily swayed. He enjoyed these guys a lot.
6. More importantly, I am glad my six year old enjoyed them. Too many lyrics today are just embarassing. You didn’t hear anything degrading, demeaning, or any profanity. As goofy and fun as they were, they kept it clean. The whole family enjoyed it. Their lyrics were clever. They were funny. I wouldn’t mind my boy singing their stuff any time he wanted, anywhere he was. That’s a rarity these days.
7. Too many performers today go to great lengths to be as ugly as they can possibly be. People pierce their lips, their nose, they wear only one color ( black ), and get nasty looking tattoos to prove they’re the baddest, meanest, musician that ever graced planet Earth. These guys don’t need any of that crap, and they know it. They just truly are ugly. However, when you wear ugly well, it’s a lot more impressive than being a pretty boy who can’t wear that well. Mick Jagger was incredibly ugly with his scraggly face marked with aging lines by the time he was a teenager. These guys are ugly in that kind of way. You got Mick Jagger ugly, you got John Belushi ugly, you got it all. They wear it well, sorta.

You get the idea by now. I like these guys. Do me, them, and yourself a favor and check out their stuff. This ain’t grunge, it ain’t metal, it ain’t rap, it ain’t country, it ain’t what I would call anything traditional. Coming from me, that’s the best compliment you can get. Keep it real guys. Please.

Update: Bidding now at $51. Big bonus if Bidding goes over $80

Updating: if we can get the bidding over $80 i will add in a very nice surpise bonus to this package , and if it goes over $100 i will add two nice bonus' to this package. I will have a letter furnished for your tax deduction as well. Why give it to the government? Give to the kids and get a nice something for yourself I also added an Autographed Bruce Springsteen Album "Born in the USA" in a seperate auction


LIsting on EBAY


This item was signed by the band specifically for this auction.

To benefit the Safe Haven Project

One of the main missions of the Safe Haven Project is to find the ways and means to reach out to young people living with HIV or AIDS. One way of acheiving this is through the "Camp Safe Haven" and "Vineyard Project" camp programs. These camp style retreats have occurred annually since Safe Haven^s inception.

Camps are hosted on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard each April, and now in North Carolina in August.


Campers attend at no cost to their families due to the kind donations we receive from businesses, foundations, and individuals.

A goal of camp is to connect the campers with a greater community comprised of their peers, our volunteers, and the community around them. Camp is a stigma-free environment that encourages fun, camaraderie, and mutual support.

Those who volunteer at a Camp Safe Haven event quite often describe the experience as "life-changing"; one that has powerful impact on their view of the world, and service.

If you are interested in this item, please bid on it. and bid twice as much. Its for a good cause. Help out this organization. thank you.

here is the link to the Bruce Springsteen auction

The Duke and the King -Maverick

The Felice Brothers have seen a period of rapid ascendancy and virtual universal praise heaped upon them by those in the know, in the music press. Currently on a sell out US tour, the band will play to packed houses wherever they appear, such is the fever they imbue. It comes as some surprise therefore, to find that one of their key song writers and band members should pick this time to pursue a personal project and take a hiatus from touring with the band. Americana UK’s Alan Taylor spoke to Simone Felice – poet, author, drummer, wild-eyed guitarist and now front man for the newly formed The Duke & The King. Quietly sipping tea in true rock n’ roll style, with band members Rob ‘Chicken’ Burke and Nowell Haskins in a café in Shepherds Bush, Felice elaborated on his sabbatical from the Brothers and his plans for the near future.

Leaving his Brothers was clearly an emotional wrench, but after a winter of personal tragedy, detailed on his Myspace ‘open letter’ which culminated in the loss of his unborn child, it seemed that Simone (pronounced without the ‘e’) needed to break free and find his own personal artistic outlet. So, with long time friend and collaborator Rob, who had suffered his own personal upheavals, they took to the tranquil creeks in the woods (literally – as is the method these days – witness Bon Iver et al) and spent time in a little wooden cabin, in their beloved Catskill Mountains. With little more than a copy of ‘Huckleberry Finn’ and a small wood stove to scratch the lyrics and the harmonies onto (or so the legend goes . . .) they produced, NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY (due for release in July on Loose Records) which simply has to be the must have album of the year so far – simple, guitar and drum based country-soul, imperfect, yet incredibly catchy and with a beat that just stays in your head forever. The songs are timeless yet have so much to say. Brothers Felice and Ian in particular with his scratchy voice, have already been compared to Dylan by many writers – to the point where the ‘D’ word is banned from interviews these days, but the writing is so real, so basic, yet so poetic that the songs fascinate and resonate at every level.

Levon’s Midnight Rambles
Growing up in the Catskills with their Mother after their Dad “split”, Felice recalled that Blue by Joni Mitchell, was perhaps the song he learnt by osmosis, his mother played it so much. So with musical influences therefore, ranging from Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills Nash and Young through to Prince, Jackson Five, Sly and The Family Stone and the Beatles, this is an altogether more relaxed, soulful and personal affair than the Felice Brothers’ output. An author of some repute himself, with one collection of poetry and two books – ‘Goodbye Amelia’ and ‘Hail Mary Full of Holes’ – to his name. He cites various influences, from Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner and Walt Whitman, but massively instrumental it seems, was the book that Simone just reads and reads, Mark Twain’s – Huckleberry Finn – which contains the characters, from whom the band took their name. Simone generously crowning ‘Chicken’ with the lofty position of King, but qualifying that decision by explaining that the King was the “older and crazier of the two in the book, whilst the Duke was the young, handsome one”. It is clear that these two from the land of Rip Van Winkle, consider themselves poetic, adventuring renegade troubadours, who like to experience life to the full and “feel the magic and the magnetic fields that guide us”, putting all that energy into the songs. The area they hail from – Palenville – is an area of legend for many reasons and the proximity of Woodstock and the likes of Levon Helm (of ‘Band’ fame) who recently invited the boys to his ‘midnight ramble’ music event, illustrates the level of recognition they have received. Finding himself in demand outside of his Duke & The King/Felice Brothers work, Simone has recently worked with the award winning Avett Brothers, playing a little of his trademark “nasty drum” on a couple of tracks from their new album, following a random phone call from Rick Rubin. He has also had the pleasure of working with AA Bondy a close family friend who “made his record in Grandfather’s garage”, he elaborates – “yes, we are special friends and when he comes over I always ask him to play the song American Hearts so that I can sing along, it’s just so much fun.”

A swing at Reagan
A previous foray into fronting a band with the ‘Big Empty’, who famously used John Lennon’s old piano, revealed a political side to Simone’s thinking and writing which comes out in both the book and the new material on the album. He leaves no stone unturned in his broadside against the lost idealism of the Great American State – on the beautifully sad, One More American Song – which details the downward spiral of American mores in a most picaresque and tragic style. On Union Street a story of stoned teenagers growing up in a cruel city, the lines “meet me there in the parking lot // In that part of town that Jesus forgot // and bring those pills y’ stole from y’ma // We’ll be here, we’ll be here, and we’ll be gone, we’ll be long gone,” paint a picture that lives on in the mind long after the melody has faded away. Simone himself makes no secret of his political rambling, which is clearly apparent in the book Hail Mary Full Of Holes, which portrays with incredible imagery, a particularly harsh and sordid side of American society during the Ronald Reagan era. However, the musical output is not protest singing in the Dylan style, rather just a painting of pastel images for the listener to muse on – poetry set to music. “We were all (the Felice Brothers) pretty much just poets in the first instance” explained Simone. “Then we had to learn to play our instruments and sing and harmonise together in the subways in New York, then gradually we got a gig or two and things moved on from there”.

The kids aren’t alright
So just why do these timeless, almost old-fashioned, cracked, painful songs seem to be resonating with the youth of today? At this point the fairly relaxed, people watching George Clinton collaborator ‘Chicken’ Burke, was galvanised into action, “Well we want to make this musical poetry, we want to roll down the river, we want to work outside the boxes, we may get ostracised, we may get tarred and feathered (like the characters in the book) but we’re gonna work outside the system, we’re gonna dream, take a chance, take a beautiful chance” In producer mode now and animated, Burke was on a roll, “the kids today they’re starting to realise they’ve been conned, we started building this material together in the post 9/11 era, when Imagine by John Lennon was banned in the US. We decided we would rather be poor and sing songs by the river, than enter into a life of conformity.” Elaborating further and animated at last, “this work has hardly been cleaned up at all, no pitch corrections and most of it recorded on 2 inch tape (you can almost hear the tape rolling on I’ve Been Bad – which features Burke on lead vocal), perhaps that is why the kids are beginning to realise that this is real – not some sort of perfect world MTV garbage and I really think that is beginning to happen. The identity crisis amongst the youth in the US has reached epidemic proportions, it’s heart breaking, they need something real, they’ve spent so much time on ‘Twitter’ and watching cable, surfing the internet – but they’ve never jumped in a creek, floated on a raft, felt the wind; they’re lost – living in a disinfected world with a condom on – and we’ve come to save them.” Smiling, with a sense of satisfaction he sat back, sipped his tea and returned to his compulsive people-watching mode. Burke and Felice are both great lovers of spring time; the smells the sounds, the sights. Burke was literally drinking in the spring time in London, like he needed it as oxygen, he claimed that “this spring time is just so amazing, man” we debated whether he was really just seeing a little more during a period of intense creativity . . . he closed his eyes under the shadow of his baseball cap for a moment, mused and just simply smiled.

Hail the King
Felice Brothers’ live shows would see Simone standing on the drum kit and clambering over the monitors, as if trying to get closer to, or perhaps become part of the audience and picking up a guitar to deliver a wild eyed demonic rendition of The Devil Is Real, so scary and so close to the edge (literally), that you could feel the tension. It comes as no surprise to find this natural showman becoming the front man of his own ensemble. Did he feel the need for more artistic control and expression? The answer was a clear and unequivocal “yes . . . all of those life changing events left me with so much to say” he explained, “ I just needed to get it all out and that’s where Rob and the time by the creeks and the cabin came in”. With just four shows in total so far and only two in Europe, one at the Bush Hall (after a night on their tour manager’s floor) and the other in Madrid, the boys go back to rehearsals prior to a bigger tour in the UK later in the year incorporating the ‘End Of The Road Festival’. “We wanted to get ourselves over here to get a little pre-tour publicity and then hit the ground running with a full on Tour in the fall”. If the Bush Hall event is anything to go by, this will be a must see event for those of that particular persuasion, and by that I mean real music lovers with passion in their souls, who like to see the cracks and imperfections in a song delivered with full on emotion. The rendition of Your Belly In My Arms for obvious reasons left barely a dry eye in the audience of hardened media hacks. His entry into the audience during a frenzied Lose Myself – was simply a matter of time, this is a man who needs to connect with the people and for him drumming and writing just isn’t enough. This will be simply, a ‘don’t miss’ tour! Hail The King, and may the poetry continue to rise forth “magnetically” from the Duke. As Neil McCormick music writer for the Telegraph so rightly said, “these songs are good enough to be sung by the whole world – spread the word.” Take a listen for yourself, this is brave, this is real, these boys shine like a light!

Thinking Outside the Box: Musicians Explore Other Art Forms (Simone Felice mention)

Thinking Outside the Box: Musicians Explore Other Art Forms
Posted by Alex Shoaf on July 7th, 2009


Given Jack White’s notoriously frenetic and easily distracted music career, few were surprised to hear about the Dead Weather, his rock-band-du-jour. Perhaps more unpredictable is the recent announcement of White’s cameo in the upcoming Mutant Swinger From Mars, a sci-fi spin-off to be aired at San Diego’s Comic-Con Film Festival (July 23-26). Though the film rapped over a decade ago, it has taken time for this non-musical incarnation of White to reach the masses.

Musicians do occasionally enjoy applying their creative genius to media other than music. You have probably heard about Bob Dylan’s poetry and artwork selling for thousands at Christie’s. You might have heard about David Byrne designing New York City’s new bike racks or converting an old ferry terminal into a giant instrument. However, you may not have known that David Berman (formerly of Silver Jews) recently produced a book of cartoons called The Portable February, or that Simone Felice (Felice Brothers, The Duke & the King) is an acclaimed novelist, who wrote Goodbye Amelia: Fictions. When musicians are not performing, writing, or recording, they explore their world by other means.

While performing affords songwriters the opportunity to revisit old tunes, the songs themselves are limited by long-standing conventions and impatient audiences. For Felice, fiction is an outlet that is at once personal and permanent, with no restrictions on space or time. In taking a break from his brothers’ band, he told fans, “I’ve been writing a lot this past year, and seeing as my role in the band was always more of a supportive one, I’ve been compelled to find a vehicle that would help me be able to share all these new songs and stories.” Musicians rely on these “vehicles” to remain in motion as artists and as people.

Speaking of vehicles, Neil Young is notorious for his car fetish. When he is off the road, he is likely working on one of his vintage rides. In addition to being a motorhead, Young is an outspoken environmentalist. His most recent record, Fork In The Road, is a concept album about a cross-country road trip in his homemade electric car. It is perhaps most remarkable when artists are able to integrate several media or interests in order to locate a unifying theme.

As constant touring and recording can become almost dehumanizing, taking time to explore from another angle is crucial to any artist’s imaginative growth. An act as simple as checking out the parking lot after a gig can make any music career more meaningful. In Ashes of American Flags, Wilco enthusiasts can catch a glimpse of multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone snapping Polaroids in a deserted lot. Sansone is as enamored with Polaroid as he is with the blue-collar backdrop of his tour. He explains, “It’s been interesting going around the country and going into small towns because a lot of what I like to shoot is little details of old downtowns…capturing these little pieces of a fading America with a fading technology.”

Just as a Polaroid exposure begins to fade soon after it magically appears, so too can an artist’s interest or ability atrophy into disappointment and mediocrity. Flexing other expressive muscles gives a musician a chance to expand or redefine a body of work. While our favorite musicians continue to tinker, some may grow anxious that the glorious music will never return. We can be reassured by a caption under one of David Berman’s new cartoons, “Don’t worry, it’s just a phase.”

The Guardian (UK) gives Nothing Gold Can Stay 4 Stars

For his first release since leaving the Felice Brothers, Simone Felice - partnered by Robert Burke - has taken his new band's name from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. That might lead one to conclude that this is a back-to-the-porch record, unencumebered by acquaintance with modernity. Not so: if anything, this is the musical equivalent of one of those converted barns you see in Country Living magazine, in which the lovingly restored original beams are complemented by the latest designer kitchen. In fact, this might be the single most tasteful record of the year - former Notorious BIG producer Bassy Bob Brockman's mixing being the new kitchen to Felice and Burke's weathered beams. That's not to damn with faint praise, for on the likes of One More American Song, the harsh writing about an embittered veteran provides the tart twist necessary to undercut the gentle melancholy of the music. It can go wrong, though - Waterspider, with its amiable nods to "freedom fighters" and its assertion that "Jesus waked on water/ But so did Marvin Gaye" is Laurel Canyon smugness writ large for a new generation.

Michael Hahn

Esquire votes The Felice Brothers as one of the Top 9 Live Bands

This is what they had to say

The Band-era Bob Dylan and Tom Waits are the obvious musical templates for these Catskills-based misfits. That they embody them live is the impressive part. Both their tender ballads and Appalachian stomps devolve into feverish jams that threaten to collapse onto themselves (taking the accordion with them). But they always get reeled back in.

the Felice Brothers joined the list with such acts as Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, White Rabbits, Bon Iver and the Roots.

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/music/best-concerts-0809?src=digg#ixzz0LRgoMpQr