Maria Taylor"There are a couple special guests [on the new album]. I co-wrote and sang one song with Michael Stipe. I'm really excited about that one. Then a bunch of my regulars are on there, like Andy LeMaster, who produced five songs and sings as well. And my friend Nate Wolcott arranged strings for lots of the songs--I had 10 string players come in for it!"
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Band of HorsesFAME studios (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary. FAME is the original home of Muscle Schoals Sound, a tributary of the studio which has recently hosted Betty LaVette and the Drive-By Truckers. And now, Band of Horses are celebrating the Alabama institution's birthday by recording an album there.
Not only did last night's Amos Lee concert at WorkPlay sell out, but it sold out the Soundstage, which has a larger capacity than the venue's regular Theatre. Still there were people itching for tickets, so for those who missed the show, here's a small taste.
| Amos Lee - "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight" |
Sloss Furnaces sits just east of the Birmingham, Alabama skyline.Sloss is probably the most famous of Alabama's haunted attractions, and of course every Halloween it's converted into a haunted house as Sloss Fright Furnace.
There have been more than 100 reports of suspected paranormal activity at Sloss Furnaces recorded in Birmingham Police records. From minor incidents such as steam whistles apparently blowing by themselves, to major sightings and the rare physical assault. It is interesting to note that the majority of these reports happen in the months of September and October at night, during the old "graveyard shift."Some merely dismiss the occurrences as Halloween hoaxes; others believe it is the restless of spirit of the sadistic foreman, Slag.
I'm so glad that I work within walking distance of such a creepy place.
Jason Isbell at City Stages 2008Jason Isbell talks to the Santa Barbara Independent about the music scene in his hometown of Muscle Shoals.
"It's not the kind of place where there's gonna be a good live music scene now because there aren't really that many places to play, but they've always had a knack for recording down there, and a lot of out-of-town artists and a lot of big-name artists have recorded there. That has a lot to do with the people who work there, and the pace is not very demanding on artists.
This holiday season will mark the Alabama Ballet's seventh annual production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker.Here are a few video clips from the event...
Full performances of The Nutcracker will be at Samford University's Wright Center Dec. 12-14 and Dec. 20-21. There will also be a special presentation of the spoof Nutty Nutcracker! on Dec. 19. Ticket prices range from $30-$55.
"A Christmas Carol: The Musical" at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival| A Christmas Carol: The Musical Rehearsal |
Performances of the Dickens classic set to music will begin this Wednesday, Nov. 12 and run through Dec. 24. Tickets range in price from $25 to $50.
My family and I went to last night's performance of Disney on Ice: Disneyland Adventure at the BJCC. Both my daughters (ages 4½ and 19 months) enjoyed the show, clapping and waving at the characters. My wife and I, on the other hand, were unimpressed.
Here's a collection of video clips from the show.
| Disney on Ice: Disneyland Adventure - live at BJCC |
This was my fourth Disney on Ice show in as many years, and it was the most lackluster. From the sets to the costumes to the dancing, everything seemed kind of plain.
In the spirit of Halloween, here's the entire Haunted Mansion scene from Disney on Ice: Disneyland Adventure, which is running through Nov. 2 at the BJCC.
| Disney on Ice - The Haunted Mansion |
Chris Welch of The Huntsville Times has a review of the show.
Hotel Cafe Tour 2008 posterAmong the evening's highlights, Priscilla Ahn, Erin McCarley, Meiko, and Katie Herzig joined Ingrid Michaelson on stage to sing rounds on "The Chain."
| Ingrid Michaelson and friends - 'The Chain' - Hotel Cafe Tour |
I also found it interesting that Michaelson referred to her new album as an EP, just as I did in my review.
This month's Q&A in the Fingertips blog features Brad Armstrong of the Birmingham-based band 13ghosts talking about the digital music age.
Armstrong:
If we're eventually reduced to a digital-only release, it'll bum me out and I'll still get the damn thing pressed, because when I die, I want to be able to point to a shelf in my room and say, "That. That's what I did." And the digital revolution has killed that. Now, there are some who would say that's a good thing. Maybe it is on some levels. I mean, the tools are now available to the masses. Maybe that's good. It's certainly Socialist. What I'm saying is that maybe everybody shouldn't be able to make a record.
Ingrid Michaelson - Be OKOver the past couple weeks I've had the pleasure of listening to Michaelson's new CD, Be OK, which comes out today. But while I thoroughly enjoy the songs, I can't help but be disappointed by the album as a whole.
My family and I enjoyed an afternoon picnic at Aldridge Botanical Gardens in Hoover this Saturday, and while we were there we walked the paths to see this year's crop of scarecrows.
"Transylvania Trio," created by Sandra McGaugh, is one of the diverse variety of scarecrow displays at Aldrige Botanical Gardens.The last time I saw Okkervil River was when they opened for Rilo Kiley in 2005. It was obvious that most of the audience hadn't heard of the band before, and few paid much attention. It was a shame because I thought they delivered a great set then.
The tone last night was completely changed though, as Okkervil River owned the room at WorkPlay.
| Okkervil River - 'A Girl in Port,' live at WorkPlay |
This time the audience, which filled the theater, hung on every note, dancing and singing along. What a pleasant surprise in a city where the only radio play this band gets is the occasional spin on Reg's Coffee House.
More videos from their set after the jump...
Unfortunately, I arrived at WorkPlay last night too late to catch more than a minute of opening act Black Joe Louis, but I was enthralled by the performance by Crooked Fingers.
| Crooked Fingers - 'What Never Comes,' live at WorkPlay |
The band played an Archers of Loaf cover and at first I thought it was just a cool bit of obscurity. What I didn't realize is that Crooked Fingers is Eric Bachmann's project following the demise of Archers of Loaf (a band one of my roommates listened to relentlessly back in my college days). However, it pleases me that I have found a new band (to me, at least) for which I feel compelled to seek out all their old material.
More videos from their set after the jump...
