Wow, sometimes I realize I've had a great life, filled with amazing experiences and beautiful music. And sometimes I just feel good because the Packers win. Especially against the Seahawks. Life is good and music is my life, so music is good or something like that. Blah, blah, blah, bourbon is delicious...
One of the most amazing things about being a musician, especially when you've been doing it as long as I fucking have, is that you get to meet and play shows with so many amazing artists along the way. Now, don't get me wrong, most musicians/bands suck. It's true. It's just a fact. The bulk of the bands I've had to sit through before unleashing my genius upon the world are just not good at all. The amount of times I've thought "God, I hope they don't drive all the people out of the bar before I get a chance to play them songs they'll love so much they'll want to take those songs out behind the school and get them pregnant," is staggering. But, sometimes, every once in a great while, the other bands don't suck. In fact, sometimes they are good; really fucking good. And I've had the pleasure of playing with some great ones. I'd like to introduce you to a few right now. Like now, before I start rambling like I normally do. Because I really want to talk about the Packers win over the Seahawks which was unbelievably fucking awesome! Where the fuck did that come from? Seriously?! God, I hope Damarious Randall isn't hurt too bad. That guy is my new favorite. I've loved him since I first saw him last season. He just has a fucking way about him and a confidence in the way he plays that you just don't see from such a young player. Shit, I did it again. OK, here's the fucking music.
I love these three artists, which I'll present chronologically, and I'll give you a little insight into why they are so fucking good (which you'll find out anyways after you listen, but this is for those people who are like "I don't know, I think I'm so cool and I don't trust Bradley to recommend music even though I'm reading Bradley Wik's fucking blog." Yeah, those people).
1. Katie Davis - "Baby Your Eyes"
A long time ago, in a city far, far away... OK, in Seattle in 2006 or 2007, back when I was a folk singer who had aspirations of becoming the next Bob Dylan, I met and played a few shows with Katie. She probably doesn't remember me at all, which is fair because I was just an 18-19 year old kid who thought harmonica solos were cool. Yes, harmonica solos. I wish that was a fucking joke. Also, I couldn't sing a lick and thought wearing leather jackets and sunglasses onstage was cool. OK, so I got that one right, leather jackets are always cool. Just not so much for someone who sweats a lot, like me. But anyways, I was talking about Katie, not me. I love to make everything about me. It's kind of my thing. Or maybe it's an Asperger's thing. Or a delusional musician thing. Shit, I'm still not telling you why I love this song from Katie Davis...
To best express why this song, "Baby Your Eyes," is so fucking good, let me tell you a story. For the past 8-9 years I've had 2 songs stuck in my head. Well, not exactly songs. I've had 2 single-line melodies stuck in my head. All I could remember was a single melody from these songs and nothing else. No lyrics, not who it was, nothing "Google-able" so that I could figure out what songs were haunting my fucking waking dreams. I hummed the melodies to everyone I knew, but no one recognized them. So for years and years, I pried into this drug and alcohol-ridden brain trying to extract any bit of information that would help me solve this fucking Law and Order (SVU, the best one) case. Finally, a couple weeks ago, I was drinking and going through my iTunes (a normal Tuesday night), jamming some Kenna, when I saw Katie Davis' first EP "Terrible, Terrible" on the list right above it. I was listening to her amazing song "Los Angeles" when I wondered if she was still playing music. I looked her up and saw she had released a second EP with three new songs, appropriately entitled "Three Songs." I downloaded it (yes, I paid for it, assholes) and fired it up on the old Sennheiser headphones, as it was about 2am and though I wanted to blare it, I also had some sense of decorum despite my inebriated state. The first song was great, I hadn't heard it before. Then the second song came on and... HOLY SHIT! This was it! One of the two songs that had haunted me for years (the other was the Weepies "Citywide Rodeo," in case you were wondering). I must've heard her play it a show at some point back in the day. But, fuck, "Baby Your Eyes" is such a masterpiece. The thing I always loved about Katie's songwriting was that it was so advanced compared to what I was doing at the time. So mature. She wrote songs about real relationships and just laid those stories out for us to see/hear. She highlighted the inadequacies we try our best to hide when we're trying to be in love with another human. I was very jealous and very honored that she actually played a few shows with me. I was not deserving or on her level as a musician. But, man, I am so glad that I finally solved one mystery in my life. Seriously, just fucking listen to this song, and, for God's sake, pay for it if you like it.
2A. Jon Fickes/To The Sea - "A View of Earth from the Moon"
2B. Jon Fickes/The Fraidies - "Never Love Again"
Jon Fickes has always been my favorite musician that I've ever met, hands down. He's the most talented singer/songwriter/guitar player/fucking awesome dude that I know. That's why he gets a two-fer, 30 Rock style. For those hardcore Bradley Wik blog followers, you'll know I met Jon in Seattle around 2006-2007. Jon also thought harmonica solos were fucking cool (imagine that!) and also wanted to be the next Bob Dylan. I met him and immediately loved everything he was doing (mostly the harmonica solos) but was also instantly fucking jealous since he was better than me in every conceivable way. He was a better singer, a better songwriter, a better guitar player and a better dresser (he looked the folk singer part, no sunglasses and leather jackets like some other idiots I knew). Jon and I became fast friends. After all, there weren't many who knew the Carter Family songs necessary to hang with Mr. Bradley Wik. We drank beers, played songs older than our grandparents and threw bricks at John Lithgow's head. Then, completely randomly, we both moved to New York City. We ended up living two blocks from each other in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, before it was nice/expensive there. When we both relocated to the West Coast, our bands (To The Sea and Bradley Wik and the Charlatans) started playing shows together. BWC always loved playing with those guys, it was always a fucking blast and it always ended with way too much drinking, smoking way too many cigarettes and the occasional trip to the strip club in celebration of our self-declared brilliance. Good times... To The Sea was great but it was always obvious that Jon was the star of that band. So, when he finally struck out on his own and put out his first batch of Rock songs, I was expecting greatness, but I was still somehow shocked at how good he was. You can read all about his first record with the Fraidies HERE.
I was lucky enough to play with the Fraidies at their first show, and I'm even more lucky to call Jon a good friend of mine. Listen to these fucking songs and, again, if you like them, buy them. Us musicians are broke as fuck.
3. Brianne Kathleen - "Paper Bag Dreams"
I met Brianne at a show BWC played at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland. I found out later that she was a fellow musician. Her vocal prowess was highly regarded in our circle so I invited her to sing on the first Bradley Wik and the Charlatans record. She sang on "This Old House" and "I am not Afraid." Her vocals practically made the fucking record and definitely were one of the main reasons why "This Old House" became the most popular track on that album. Shortly thereafter, I had the pleasure of singing on her first album as well, on "If I Told You." I also had the pleasure of mixing that album for her. When it came time for her second record, she asked if I would record and mix it with her. I was honored. Of course, I fucking would. I was so excited to see what we could do with her brilliant songs. She wanted to bring more of a Rock N' Roll edge to the recordings versus her first album which was more folk inspired. We did, but the song that always stops me in my fucking tracks was this one, "Paper Bag Dreams." Brianne is such a phenomenal storyteller and I'm a sucker for a great/sad story. I could fucking listen to this and cry for days on end. It's so honest and beautiful and naive and hopeful and crushing as you know where this tale of young love/lust is headed. I've played a lot of shows with Brianne and this was the song that always made people shut the fuck up and pay attention. That's a hard thing to do as a performer. But I would watch people forget they were drinking a beer and just fall into this story and her voice, oh, her fucking voice is magnificent; and it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes. But still, this is one of those songs that we as songwriters strive for, to capture a moment the way Brianne has here and present it to the world in all its glory. I'm proud to say I was a part of this record and I got to share in the beauty of songs like this. Thank you Brianne... Buy this shit, like now. Seriously. You won't regret it.
OK, so seriously, where the fuck has this Green Bay Packers team been? The defense, my god. Aaron Rodgers, you are a god. I love it. I, and all the Packers fans I know, thought the same thing: Yes, we can beat Seattle but we need a good showing from our defense, a good pass rush/win the turnover battle, and also a good showing from Aaron. Man, did we get both in spades. I just hope to fucking God that Aaron's new injury isn't too bad (though he fucking rocked it and should've won the Super Bowl in 2014 with a bum calf) and neither is Damarious Randall's. That guy. Oh, I love that guy. My favorite young Packer. I knew our defense could be magnificent if only they could stop being fucking hurt all at the same time. But we need Damarious and by the playoffs Clay should be feeling at least a little better, which'll help a fuckload. This is the best defense we've had since 2010, just saying...
Anyways, I love you all and enjoy the music above. It's all on iTunes or you can buy via the Bandcamp links above. But please support good music and support the end of Grouplove, especially as they ruin the credits of every BoJack episode... Fuck, Grouplove sucks. Still the holders of the worst song/most racist music video belt. Seriously, watch THIS and you'll want to fucking kill yourself. And the video shows that the whole fucking world hates these fuckers. FUCK. Now, I'm mad. Why did I make this joke and listen to this song again? Now I'm gonna have to listen to Neil Young's "Weld" start to finish to wash this shit out of my brain. Either that or just drink til I don't remember listening to this song... Either way, we'll see how the night goes. Goodnight y'all...
No comments:
Post a Comment