Interim

To my readers:

I've decided to take a little break from attempting to regularly post here on Electric Medicine in order to focus on finishing my first book. Hopefully, it won't take too long (I'm right around 80% done with my first draft), but I feel as though I need the time to really bare down and finish the final few parts. I'll be back. Sooner, hopefully, rather than later.

Adventures in iTunes: The Nashville Roadtrip Playlist

As I wrote about last time, Sean Waldron and I drove out to Nashville last week to begin tracking his upcoming single. It was an overall fantastic experience, but yes, we drove there. It's about a 16-hour trip straight through, which means that the two guys driving the entire way themselves had to deal with closer to 20 hours of actual travel time (accounting for meals and restroom breaks and throwing a football around in a few parking lots).

The upside of all of this included great conversation, getting to really see the country we call home, and, of course, lots of music. So, I post today to share with you what albums we listened to (most of them all the way through) over the course of our four travel days to and from Nashville. Feel free to check it all out for yourself if you don't already know these records. I promise that you won't be disappointed.

• John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up!
• Charles Bradley - Victim Of Love
• Toto - 35th Anniversary: Live in Poland
• Matt Wertz - Heatwave
• Huey Lewis & The News - Greatest Hits
• Dave Barnes - What We Want, What We Get
• Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Chasing Someday
• Bruce Hornsby - Spirit Trail, Here Come The Noisemakers
• Ben Rector - Something Like This
• Needtobreathe - The Outsiders, The Heat
• St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Half the City
• John Mayer Trio - Try!
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits

Adventures in Nashtown

Nashtown.

Because it's not much of a "ville" anymore.

Well, fine. I think it's funny.

Nevertheless, I've been down here for the last handful of days recording "Float Away", the upcoming single by my good friend & musical compadre, Sean Waldron. And, with the singular exception of Sean's voice running far, far away from him on the day we were hoping to record vocals, it's been an  incredible trip.

Featuring a stop along the way in Kansas City (during which I was able for the first time to visit the adjoining fields of the Royals' Kauffman Stadium and the Chiefs' Arrowhead), the chance to partake like kings at several of Nashville's best local eateries, and, most importantly, the opportunity to work with a couple of astounding musicians in the persons of Dwan Hill (our producer) and Garrett Miller (our engineer), this adventure has definitely been one for the books.

In addition to all of that, we got to track at the Sound Emporium, a studio which boasts the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss' Raising Sand, REM's Document and projects from the likes of Kenny Chesney, Little Big Town, & Taylor Swift amongst its recorded credits. There's something really invigorating and inspiring about working in such a reputable room, and being directed by cats like Dwan and Garrett only bolsters the experience.

I have often said that, for me, performing for an audience full of family & friends is always more nerve racking then those shows with a more anonymous crowd. Similarly, when I get to work with talented people like I have this week, I always feel a particular marriage of nervous excitement and special blessing. There are few people I long to impress quite like the other musicians with whom I get to work, and the camaraderie the four of us were able to conjure up in just a couple days transformed the process into more fun than work. 

Buy This Album - 'Grand Ukulele' by Jake Shimabukuro

I first discovered Jake Shimabukuro when I heard his cover of 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police in the midst of a ridiculous Adam Sandler comedy. The film was set in Hawaii, so Shimabukuro's ukulele-driven renditions of pop songs added a distinct regional feel to the familiarity of the melodies. The thing I couldn't help but notice was that while the movie was silly, the music was not. It was really, really, really good.

My next encounter with Jake came during my visit to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix last month. They had a portion of their artist section devoted to him and took advantage of his recent recordings to help showcase his instrument of choice. Again, I found myself irresistibly drawn to his music - to his ukulele music.

I know what you're thinking: Niche. Gimmick. Contrived.

I'm here to tell you: Jake Shimabukuro is none of those things.

The simple truth is that Shimabukuro manages to transcend musical boundaries with an instrument generally considered to be one-dimensional & narrow. And he does so in a way that refuses to feel forced, fake, or phony. This is not schtick. This is genuine musical mastery. This is real art.

His record comes complete with a myriad of different styles, all convincingly voiced by his uke. Shades of melodic rock, bluegrass, pop, easy listening, and even classical can be found on this album. There are some tracks where Jake fronts a rhythm section of bass & drums, there is some symphonic accompaniment, and there are solo tracks. There is real soul here. There is groove & feel. There is melody you can't help but want to sing. There is romance. There is joy. And all of it coming from a tiny wooden body and four little strings. It really is something that needs to be heard to be believed.

Jake Shimabukuro might be a genius. He is certainly not something you've ever heard before (unless, of course, you've actually heard him before). His music is sublime, pleasant, magnificent. It is music, after all is said and done, that makes you feel glad to be alive.

Music & 'American Sniper'

FIRST THINGS FIRST:
If you haven't seen American Sniper and don't want to know anything about it, don't read this post.
If you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years and don't know anything at all about Chris Kyle and don't want to until you see the movie, don't read this post.
I have no interest in spoiling anything, but if you don't know by now about the life of Chief Petty Officer Kyle, then it's not my fault if you read something on this blog that ruins something for you.

~

American Sniper is a terribly beautiful movie. It is harsh and brutal, touching and heartrending, conveying its message and subject matter through some masterful performances, intense battle sequences, and the reality of its source material. But one thing it is noticeably devoid of is music.

Warner Bros.Pictures

Well, alright. Perhaps "devoid" is too strong a term. Nevertheless, there is precious little music scattered throughout the film. There are a few moments of light piano theme: soft, single notes played to subtly enhance the mood of a scene here or there. There is a Van Morrison song playing during a wedding reception. But, by and large, the movie delivers the lion's share of its emotion without any musical accompaniment.

And it does so brilliantly. Which, when you think about it, is a pretty remarkable accomplishment all on its own. Background music is such a ubiquitous part of modern society - we hear music when we eat, when we shop, when we're waiting on the phone, when we're doing anything, really - that to deliberately remove it from a place where people are so used to hearing a lot of it (like in a movie) certainly stands as a gutsy call.

But.