News
May/June 2023
Hosting and performing a songwriter showcase at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, monthly Cinema Bar residency continues with Rick Shea & The Losin' End and stories on the state of the concert business, Iggy Pop at Hollywood Palladium, on Mavis Staples and more at Beachlife Festival in Redondo Beach - scroll on down! Iggy @ Hollywood Palladium, MC5 @ Roxy, Mavis Staples, John Fogerty, Black Crowes @ Beachlife, https://easyreadernews.com/saint-rock-to-host-music-showcase/Songwriter Showcase @ Saint Rocke
April 2023
I don’t remember how this connection began but at this moment I am so compelled to write on it. Thomas Hilton of the Aldora Britain Records operation is a dedicated and beyond enthusiastic purveyor, collector, advocate and promoter of independent artists and their music. Along with promoting individual artists/bands and their recorded releases, he goes to the trouble of periodically cherry-picking songs from these vast and numerous releases and compiles collections (as albums) and posts them on the artist/fan favorite downloading/streaming site Bandcamp, furthermore, posting these finds and collections on social media.
Before I agreed to be a part of his massive collections of artists and compilations I poked through and listened to random songs and artists to ensure that there was a modicum of quality there, as one never knows these days, and everything I clicked on was of legit of high quality and interest. Thomas was kind enough, yet again to include one of my songs on his latest compilation and this time I took the well-worth it time to listen to it, from beginning to end. As advertised, this collection, as they all are, are from artists from all over the world and all over the map in terms of style. The one constant is the level of quality and original creativity, the whole damn thing is inspiring to the point of me wondering why he included me. As with any wide-ranging compilation such as this, I don’t relate deeply with each and every song but none of them turned me off, as so many do today listening to most all of indie claiming and commercial broadcasts no matter how eclectic and authentic they advertise as being.
To put it into perspective, a dear, nearly life-long friend, a non-musician/artist but a very tasteful music enthusiast who resides in a midwestern USA city, put me in touch with a corporate co-worker friend of his who curates, produces and promotes an annual “Americana” music festival. Through the course of communication with this individual, a later-age “millennial,” verything was kind and cordial within the communications, but I kept noticing gaps in general knowledge in the historical genre, especially prior to the “Americana” tag being assigned to what simply used to be rootsy rock and roll, folk, country, jazz, blues and funky punk. My friend and I joked and riffed on this disconnect for a while until we finally figured out where the disconnect was, when this curator of the local “Americana” fest admitted he had never heard of Los Lobos, Dave Alvin, the Long Ryders, to name only a few, and was asked specifically where his “Americana” affection, “acumen” and tastes come from, he responded, “Oh, I subscribe to “Americana” playlists on spotify.”
That’s it folks! The “influencers” of streaming sites are too often the only authority that too many of today’s music fans base their taste and “expertise” on for fuck’s sake! This only makes me appreciate true blue music fans like Thomas Hilton, a legitimate enthusiast, who takes the time, out of pure passion rather than profit-motivated to both curate his Aldora Britain Records roster as well as releasing these wonderful compilations of songs from so many deserving and under-appreciated artists. In a righteous world Thomas would be rewarded financially so much more so than all the brainwashing brain trusts of what kids subscribe to these days. Take a listen and help him out if you can.
Dear Nicola... (Aldora Britain Records various artists compilation)
Thursday, April 13
Real special evening this Thursday at The Cinema Bar (Culver City, CA), along with our usual once a month residency, we will be joined by the great Stephen McCarthy (Long Ryders, Jayhawks etc.) and Carla Olson (Gene Clark, Textones, Violators, etc.) who will perform a set celebrating their recently released duets album.
Here’s a really good article on them in Goldmine: Stephen McCarthy & Carla Olson Goldmine magazine story
Rick Shea & The Losin’ End 8pm
Stephen McCarthy & Carla Olson 9:30 PM
Garrick Rawlings 11pm - 1am
