Thursday, October 25, 2007

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

Oi! Oi! Oi!

G-Chat message sequence from earlier today...
Brandon: plee you need to post to strictly bangers. howie needs some non-rap music
me: alright maybe during my lunch break.
Brandon: atta boy

So here's the post. Seven months late, but better than never.

This is a music blog. Musicianship turns me on... which is why I've chosen to share the latest release (March 2007) from a group of musicians with three successful albums under their belt- 2 platinum, 1 gold - in AUSTRALIA.

In 2003, mindlessly watching an episode of "Pimp My Ride" while grinding out a pointless business school homework assignment, South Korea's princess of pop music journalism, SuChin Pak, showed up on screen for her usual MTV News segment. To my surprise, rather than ANOTHER lame story about 50-Cent's latest quibble with Ja Rule, it was a showcase about a folk/roots/jam band tearin' up the scene in the land of kangaroos. After scouring the web for download after download, I was hooked.

The John Butler Trio has been right under everyone's nose (or not, if you've discovered them) for a good four years now, appearing on US National TV multiple times - Live Earth, Leno, etc. - and Bonnaroo in both '05 and '07. He's actually already slated for the '08 Bonnaroo show.

But, check out the MySpace stats:
John Butler Trio - Total Profile Views: 909,607
Soulja Boy (aka US Hip-Hop's lamest new sensation) - Total Profile Views: 18,570,327

So, despite 5+ years of great work in Australia, John Butler is still relatively little-known in the mainstream US public. Blame it on his genre. Blame it on the record labels. Or, the best option, save the blame game and just LISTEN.

This is world-class musicianship... and FUN music with a good display of lyrical prowess. John Butler is a master of his art, and whether you are a fan of his particular genre or not, you can't deny that he makes "good music," as Kanye says.

I've attached a share for the March 2007 full album release, Grand National:
http://www.zshare.net/download/4449670cb53525/

In the CD, the frontman, John Butler, is credited with contributing:
Vocals, Acoustic/amplified open back banjo, 11-string, 6-string, resonator lapsteel, and Weissonborn lapsteel guitars, Baritone tricone resonator guitar, Nylon string acoustic guitar, Banjo, Mouth harp, Harmonica, Ukelele, Yidaki (Didgeridoo), and of course, Electric guitar.

He's joined by his upright (and electric) bass player and percussionist.

I'm also going to post a link to YouTube video of a guitar solo piece called "Ocean":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0


Hate to sound like a classical musician on a non-classical music blog, but please take a moment to appreciate the dynamics and the building of a musical theme in that short instrumental, which he plays on a simple 12-string acoustic. It really takes you for a ride. The timing of the video to sound is half a second off, but it really doesn't detract from the effect (also check out his 1-inch long curly fingernails). Also, note that the version of "Ocean" played in this video is different from the recorded version, just in case you ever were to venture that deeply into his library of work.

Also, here are some random tracks from other albums:
Hello
- http://www.zshare.net/audio/4450189f050b3a/
Betterman -
http://www.zshare.net/audio/4451201088c072/
Zebra -
http://www.zshare.net/audio/4451223ab42e90/

Enjoy all.
L'Chaim, Mr. Leventhal.

P.S. For you New Yorkers, you can check out his live show at the new venue, Terminal 5, on November 10th. I believe tickets are $25-ish and part of the proceeds go to saving the environment (typical Australian hippie stunt).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to re-post the grand national from John Butler Trio? I'm listening to the cd 'sunrise over see'and i'm impressed.

thx