New Music

The Adam Ezra Group

Editor’s Note: The folks at Go-DIY Records were kind enough to post a note that TDMB welcomed new music. Several bands have sent me links and samples. My plan is to post the music in the order in which it came in and to present what the band (or its management) wrote — or as much of it as makes sense.

First up is The Adam Ezra Group. Directly below is Miss Hallelujah and at the bottom is Takin’ Off.

The Adam Ezra Group (AEG) is not just a band; they are a force to be reckoned with musically, personally and socially. Selling records and tickets is important to AEG, but they are committed to changing the world with their songs and their actions along the way. Ezra and his band are activists and community leaders as much as they are musicians and songwriters. Ezra has spent time living out of a van, farming in Canada, volunteering for the relief effort in Kosovo, and practicing environmental geography in South Africa. Whether as a kitchen hand or carpenter, teacher, athlete, or traveler, Ezra crams it all into the music, always challenging our perspective and often teetering somewhere between the ballsy rocker and sensitive poet. Through their non profit organization, RallySound, AEG currently contributes 25% of their touring to benefit causes in communities across the country and worldwide.

The group’s live performances, sweaty, passionate affairs that have been compared to those of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, attracted the attention of Royal Avenue Records in 2010.  Ezra immediately signed with Royal Avenue and began working on the album that eventually became Ragtop Angel.  Royal Avenue paired the group with multiplatinum producer Aaron Johnson (best known for his work with The Fray) who has helped hone Adam’s ramblings into finely tuned songs that still retain the power and conviction developed from Ezra’s years of “do it yourself,” grassroots work ethic.

In 2011, The Adam Ezra Group released “Ragtop Angel,” the group’s debut recording on Royal Avenue Records. Upon it’s release, “Ragtop Angel” shot to the top of the Amazon charts (peaking at #4 behind John Mayer and Sarah Bareilles) and was featured on iTunes “New and Noteworthy Rock Albums” in December of 2011. Soon after, Ragtop Angel won “Album of the Year” and “Takin’ Off” won “Song of the Year” at the New England Music Awards.

Over the course of the last few years the group found themselves with a handful of acoustic songs that we loved but didn’t seem to fit in the context of other albums or live shows…. What to do? They decided to put them on all on one acoustic album. The group locked themselves in a cabin in the Catskills, set up instruments and hit record.  The result is the newly released “Daniel The Brave.”

Having toured with Rusted Root, The Avett Brothers, Jason Mraz, Corey Smith, Deer Tick, The Goo Goo Dolls, Blues Traveler, Los Lobos, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Dwight Yoakam, Gin Blossoms, and many more, the Adam Ezra Group has graduated from the local Boston scene to the national level with a momentum that is catapulting them towards being one of the country’s most talked about bands.

 

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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