1) His tweets are some of the best on my twitter newsfeed.
2) The random run-ins with him at Boston area shows.
3) He's part of Who's That Pack?
4) He can teach me guitar on GarageBand.
5) This album.
6) His "Write me a song, Tim" campaign. (In the month leading up to the release of the album, he used suggestions from fans to write a song each day, my favorite being "Ninja Sex.")
You Can't Go Back is full of catchy singer-songwriter pop tunes which is just how I like 'em! "Magnetic" has been stuck in my head since I first heard it. It is such a great song that it is currently a finalist in the 2011 International Songwriting Competition. One of my favorite lines from the whole record comes from the song "Mischief" - "What good's the world if I can't have obsessions? Demons get bored when you hide them inside."
Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I have been caught up in a vortex filled with The Alternate Routes, Tony Lucca & Pat McGee after a fantastic weekend at Pat McGee's Down the Hatch OBX event. If you're not a Rock Boater, you don't often get to experience some of your favorite musicians in such a casual intimate setting. Many artists are trying to make this happen more often. Besides Sixthman, Pat McGee is the king of these events. We all set up shop at a hotel right on the beach in Nags Head in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is the perfect setting. The beach is right there & there's a huge deck with an outdoor bar. Inside, there's a restaurant and ballroom in case the weather doesn't cooperate. A great music venue for the Friday & Saturday night rock shows is less than a mile away. In the past it was Stephen Kellogg who got me there and I was a little upset he wouldn't be there this time. Let me tell you, the rest of the artists more than made up for it. In addition to some great friends, I was joined by Pat McGee & his band, The Alternate Routes, Tony Lucca, Keaton Simons, Michael Tolcher, Kill The Alarm, Benjy Davis, Pat McAloon, & Jen Lowe.
One of the most amazing musical moments happened for me on this trip. Brittany and I literally got chills and got weak in the knees. We were across the deck just taking it all in when Tony, Keaton & Tim Warren got up there to sing Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me." I have heard Tony do this song multiple times with different artists, but this was by far the best. Here's a pretty bad quality video to make you jealous.
The Alternate Routes also forced their new drummer to learn "Toe the Line" for us in exchange for a few vodka soaked gummy worms. He was upset because he had to listen to the song THREE whole times instead of doing other things. They played it out at Kelly's on Friday and it was awesome.
Saturday night at Kelly's, they played a cover set which while not as epic as last year's 80s set, it was still amazing. Tony Lucca's version of U2's "With or Without You" blew my mind. If anyone has video from this, I NEED IT!
Also, if you've been a fan of Michael Tolcher and haven't yet heard "Pave The World", do yourself a favor and look it up. It's hilarious and apparently making a huge comeback.
I wish every weekend could be a Down The Hatch weekend. I made so many friends & heard so much great music. It was perfect and I can't wait until next year!
I've been big into boy-girl harmonies lately (The Belle Brigade, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, The Civil Wars) so it's only natural that Eureka has gotten just as much play time. The Canadian indie rock quintet starts with high energy songs like "The Stand" and "Original Spin" and slowly brings you back down with the melancholy "Born In A Flash." The lyrics are a little abstract at times and I find it a little weird to be singing along to things like "some kind of tropical fish in a tropical storm." The album ends strong with the upbeat, synth heavy "Calm Me Down." If you're looking for something fun, different and more on the power-pop end of things, you'll love Eureka.
