Jonathan Coulton
Event on 2012-06-07 20:00:00
In 2005 I left my day job writing software to pursue music full time. To keep myself busy I released a new song on this website every week for a year in a project called Thing a Week. A few of those songs became big internet hits (my folky cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back, a funny video called Flickr, a song called Code Monkey) and I am now fortunate enough to make my living as a musician.
I grew up in Colchester CT, a town whose motto is "Where tradition meets tomorrow." I played snare drum in the high school marching band, which was fun, but did not attract any girls (even when I played my tender snare drum arrangement of "You've Got a Friend"). I switched to guitar and wrote a series of sweet and sad songs about being a teenager and having a vague feeling of overwhelming sadness and sweetness. This worked only marginally better.
I studied music in college, and sang with an a cappella group called the Spizzwinks, and another one called the Whiffenpoofs. I spent a lot of time on stage in white tie and tails, showing my "jazz hands" only when absolutely necessary.
I write about a lot of geeky stuff because I am a geek. Some of it's funny, but a lot of it's not so funny, and even more of it is somewhere in between. I've been compared to They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Loudon Wainwright III, and other musicians you REALLY LOVE.
I am the musical director for Little Gray Books created and hosted by friend John Hodgman, and I am the Contributing Troubadour for Popular Science Magazine (for whom I do a weekly interview podcast). My most recent project was called Thing a Week, in which I produced a new song every week and released it for free as a podcast for an entire year. All of these songs are now available on four CDs in their original order (and state of completion), but you can also buy them from my online store, or from iTunes.
I give lots of music away because I believe it helps my cause, and I love it when people use my music to create other stuff " music videos, pictures, remixes, etc. At the moment I'm unsigned, and I'm proud to say I've created this whole thing mostly on my own (with plenty of help from an amazingly supportive bunch of fans). But it certainly is getting busy I will probably sell out and go Hollywood any day now…
at The Rex Theater
1602 E Carson St
Pittsburgh, United States
Los Lonely Boys
Event on 2012-10-03 20:00:00
Can anything even more magical happen in the already charmed career of Los Lonely Boys? You bet. It’s called Rockpango, their first selfproduced long player on their own LonelyTone/Playing In Traffic Records. And yeah, it’s magical indeed.
After proving themselves one of the most stunning and wonderful musical success stories of the last decade, Los Lonely Boys are now carving out their legend with their fourth studio album. Even though the band has already shown they can “up the ante with greater musicianship and confidence” (People) every time out, on Rockpango they heighten the trajectory, open up their sound, and show what flourishing maturity feels like from these veteran yet still young and burgeoning musical talents.
Rockpango is a spirit and sound coined by Los Lonely Boys that takes the next step from fandango (a beat of loving celebration) and then huapango (another infectious Latin rhythm that gets the fiesta cooking) to a full-scale Tex-Mex American roots rock party galore. Bursting out of the gate with the simmering and slinky “American Idle” that scans today’s tough economic times, and wrapping up 10 tracks later with the fierce and fiery assertion that love is the answer on “Believe,” Los Lonely Boys look at the big picture around us with the concerns and continuing faith that come with well-grounded adulthood.
Their ever-expanding musical vision fills the set with new facets that further reveal the group’s already notable artistic diversity. “16 Monkeys” is a delightfully funky slice of infectious neo-bohemian wit and wordplay, while orchestration by the Tosca String Quartet adds classic rock-pop sophistication on the achingly beautiful “Road To Nowhere” and the Beatle-esque gem “Smile.” And they fuse deep blues with a hip-hop twist on “Porn Star,” which includes a razor-sharp rap at the tail end by Kush, one of their Texas extended family relations.
They soar on “Fly Away,” rip it up to percolating Latin beats on “Love In My Veins” and “Baby Girl,” and reassert their mastery of the classic music that influences them as demonstrated on their recent 1969 EP. They deliver ‘60s style blues-rockers on the rousing title tune and powerfully loping “Change The World” — two more slices of their spot-on social commentary and consciousness.
at Infinity Hall
20 West Greenwoods Road
Norfolk, United States
Swiss | Stream™ | Rentennacom | Reads | 4×115 | Colt | Faery | How Can I Start Using Green Energy? | personal-injury-lawyer-ri | Has Google Penguin Rendered SEO Pointless? | prospects | Best Beaches for Your Vacation to California | Great Self Help Advice To Feel More Confident
