Tal Naccarato is game to roll along the landscape and streetscapes of America to make musical and spiritual connections with others in all walks of life who appreciate and share his love of well-crafted original music, music that comes from life’s hard won experiences and from the souls of artists.
We caught up with Tom Guerra recently to talk about Sentimental Junk, the work involved and the creative juice needed to not only craft great songs, but to properly dress them with the right instrumentation, vocals that suit them and a collaboration between musicians, who are also friends, who help supercharge his songs into fun romps that hit on all cylinders, that offer up thoughtful meaningful lyrics, impressing them with his own personal stamp.
Classic GI interview: In 1963 an unknown but persistent bassist by the name of Chas Chandler took notice of Hilton Valentine’s aggressive guitar playing and onstage antics and asked him to join his group called The Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, soon to be rechristened The Animals by their manager, Mike Jeffery. The Animals were quickly rushed into the studio where they recorded their first single “Baby Let Me Take You Home”, which included Hilton’s cool, aggressive guitar intro. A year after forming, the band struck gold with a moody cover of “House of the Rising Sun”. From his haunting, arpeggiated guitar intro on “House”, which became a rite of passage for budding guitarists who came of age in the ‘60s, to his fuzz-through-a-tremolo power chords of ”Don’t Bring Me Down”, Hilton’s knack for musical hooks greatly contributed to The Animals’ string of hits until the breakup of the original band in late 1966…
In 2020, Fiely was honored when two of his songs were recognized by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington (SAW) with two songwriting awards, a Finalist (“Kaweloaloha”) and an honorable mention (“No Greater Love”). Quite a feat, given there were over one-thousand entries into SAW’s annual songwriting competition.
Singer-songwriter, Jeffrey Pine, hails from the Santa Barbara, California, environs, although he’s toured the country performing solo and with others. Pine also periodically finds himself recharging his creative spirit, by seeking refuge and maybe silence in the beauty and solitude of the desert.
Clearly, Sin Shake Sin’s new release, “The Masquerade” rages against exploitation and the charismatic manipulation of many, driven by political greed-driven news cycles and page juicing media outlets. It’s an anthemic statement, musically connected to the life rhythms of one of Nashville’s finest singer-songwriters, producers and recording artists, Stacy Hogan.
On the circuit, A.J. Croce has opened up for such musical icons as: Lyle Lovett, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Dave Matthews, Ray Charles and traded licks with Willie Nelson, Ry Cooder, Waylon Jennings, the Neville Brothers, and David Hidalgo. Fans could also find him on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Today Show, Good Morning America
A fine bluesman in his own right, Kenny Wayne Shepherd pumps his own style of blues into both savage mean licks, as well as in moving heartfelt emotional riffs that cut deep with the best of his contemporaries. Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Shepherd earned his blues stripes with an explosive amount of guitar flash, but also by sticking to the roots of the blues…
Black Stone Cherry grinds it out with muscled working man’s rock , with diesel fueled lead guitar riffs from Chris Robertson. Wind the clock back to the days when rock was unadorned, when it was ground in the dirt, unwashed and full of spit and vinegar and you get the idea of BSC musical roots.
What can be better than performing music you love with some of the top musicians in the world, who are also some of your best friends? That’s a place guitarist, singer-songwriter extraordinaire, Steve Postell, finds himself with the new super group, The Immediate Family. Steve’s on board with the likes of Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel and Russ Kunkel
