Perry Serpa, one part veteran singer/songwriter, one part
music PR guy, has immersed himself in a new project. As if dropping a four album series with his two decade, multi-member symphonic band, The Sharp Things
wasn’t enough, he went out and recorded a new album.
Recently I was invited to the most amazing album listening party. The heart and soul of Baltimore's music scene, Caleb Stine, held a unique event at Stages Music Arts. Stine created a coloring book as part of the packaging for his new album. Each song is represented by drawings from different artists in the coloring book and allows you to experience music in way you may have not before. Upon entering, everyone was given a copy of the coloring book along with coloring pencils and then we all adjourned to the studio to listen to the album and color as we listen. It was a truly moving experience. It begged to ask the question. When is the last time you sat and just listened to music and did nothing but that? Not listening to it as background music in the house, or while you are driving, or as you workout, but where listening is the main focus. The coloring book provided an outlet to truly focus on the music and dive deep into the album, to crawl around in each song, to dig through the lyrics and find every meaning and nuance. And Stine’s music has lots of corners in which to explore.
A few years back, well a decade ago, I was lucky enough to get to chat with Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Solomon Burke. Burke was riding a wave of resurgence with a string of albums that harkened back to his glory days as one of the pioneers of soul music.
Our conversation touched on all realms of his legendary career. His early days, never quite finding the same fame as some of his peers Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Al Green, his lasting influence and how bands like the Rolling Stones looked to him, his latest album Like a Fire, and a possible collaboration with longtime friend Van Morrison that unfortunately never came to be.It was one the most inspiring interviews I have ever been a part of. Check out the full piece at the link below.
I recently profiled Pittsburgh's Blues Orphans for Honest Tune Magazine. The Blues Orphans are a long running band, formed in 1974, whose eclectic style incorporates everything from rock, to blues, to punk, to polka, to whatever the always moving mind of lead singer Bob Gabing can come up with.
Baltimore has a long history of bluegrass music in the city and that tradition continues with a new generation of bands who are pushing forward that hard drivin' bluegrass sound that is home in Baltimore. One of the leaders of this new generation of bands is The Dirty Grass Players, an innovative, forward thinking band who plays with bluegrass tradition, but delivers it with a rock 'n' roll swagger.
To find out more about The Dirty Grass Players check out a profile I wrote on them recently.
