Rock Torch

Risa Binder recommends Fleetwood Mac

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Risa Binder and Fleetwood Mac

Risa Binder (photo by Jeremy Cowart) and Fleetwood Mac

Risa Binder’s artist recommendation: “I love listening to different artists based on my mood or what I’m up to on a particular day, so it’s hard to pick just one band to recommend, but there was one band that I played a lot when I was a child and eventually helped shape my songwriting: Fleetwood Mac.

Fleetwood Mac’s lyrics are so universal and powerful. Recently, I was moved by the lyrics from Silver Spring and how they reflected how I was feeling about a recent break up: “Time casts its spell on you but you won’t forget me….You’ll never get away from the sound of a woman that loves you.” Those words gave me comfort knowing that even though we broke up, I would always be in his heart somewhere. I love how music is magical that way. I caught Fleetwood Mac’s live show at Madison Square Garden a couple years ago for the first time and I was blown away. In short, Fleetwood Mac’s sound transcends time.”

Not familiar with Fleetwood Mac? Risa suggests you start here: “Listening to Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits always makes me feel good. The track Everywhere is such a happy song. We cover this song in our set and from the moment the bass kicks in, you know the audience is gonna have a great time!”

Risa BinderAbout our guest author, Risa Binder: Risa grew up in Maryland, but her desire to make it big as a pop star drew her straight to the big lights, first to New York, then LA and then Nashville. Each stop helped her grow and write a feel good bio that you just can’t not wanna root for. After doing the East Coast college circuit, she settled into Nashville and connected with producer Marshall Altman (Ingrid Michaelson, Natasha Bedingfield and Matt Nathanson) on her first album, Paper Heart which featured All The While, a song that helped Risa take the Songwriters Hall of Fame New Writer Award. Following the award, Binder collected praise from the Wall Street Journal and M Magazine and showed her spunk by cold calling a festival director and won the opening spot for James Taylor. Recently she also performed a song from her upcoming EP on CBS This Morning (see below). You can continue to track Risa’s lovable chutzpah at http://www.risabinder.com.

Katrine Ottosen of CALLmeKAT recommends The Zombies

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Katrine Ottosen of CALLmeKAT and The Zombies

Katrine Ottosen of CALLmeKAT and The Zombies

Katrine Ottosen’s recommendation: “The combination of melodic sensibility, fresh youthfulness, musicianship, arrangements and substance in The Zombies’ music has floored me since the very first time I heard it. It is actually not so long ago! For my birthday last year my boyfriend was making a playlist a day or two before the party and when he played it back to me, I heard some of the songs off Odessey and Oracle (yup, the odd spelling of odyssey was a misspelling from the cover designers’ side on the artwork, so it stayed!). I just flipped out! I couldn’t believe I’d never known about this sensational 1960’s English band before who recorded in the Apple Studios – am I from another planet?!?”

Not familiar with The Zombies? Katrine suggests you start here: “For my first American tour in 2012, which took us cross-country, we listened to Odessey and Oracle almost every day. It was my brother and I in a small rental car just riding there on the highway from town to town and show to show listening to good music for hours and hours – and this was one of the recurring albums we played (along with Bob Dylan’s Desire album!). I can just listen to this album over and over and over. The keyboard solos always kill me!! Especially the doubled organ solo on Time Of The Season. I read in the liner notes of the album that these two separate solos ended up being laid on top of each other – originally because of a coincidence: they played both solos back simultaneously by mistake when it was played back and it sounded great, so they were layered into the final mix. Great!”

Katrine OttosenAbout our guest author, Katrine Ottosen: Katrine is the Daanish singer/songwriter that fronts CallMeKat, a lo-fi outfit that has collected tons of praise and is cementing a hard core global fan base. In 2008, she released an EP and the Fall Down long player on her own Pixiebooth label. NPR responded by calling her “…just mesmerizing” and Nylon and Interview Magazine were just as complimentary. Her newest effort, Where the River Turns Black shows her building on the minimalist sound of her first two records and enlisting the help from bigger names like bass player Sara Lee (Gang Of Four, B 52’s) and Helgi Jonsson (Sigur Ros). The result is undeniable (Sunny Day is playing non-stop at Rock Torch HQ during this dreary January cold stretch) and the media has continued to swoon as the album has collected Album of the Month nods from Elle magazine and other blogs across the Web. Her live shows have become stunning yet intimate ‘in-the-know’ gatherings, so be sure to scan her appearances listings page for the latest tour dates. Her shows are a lock and are not to be missed.

Shelby Earl recommends Jonsi

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Shelby Earl and Jonsi

Shelby Earl and Jonsi

Shelby Earl’s recommendation: “There are a number of artists who move me or whose music makes me feel deeply, but there is one at the top of the heap – one who regularly takes me somewhere special with his music: Icelandic artist, Jonsi. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Jonsi live multiple times, both with his band, Sigur Ros and solo (I even got to see him play IN Iceland!) and every show has been extraordinary. I don’t know what Jonsi’s spiritual beliefs or practices are, but to me he seems undeniably tapped into the divine. He lays himself bare when he plays music and he takes his listeners to church every time. It’s as though he is dedicated to beauty above all else in his art. Through his ethereal voice and his songwriting – both seemingly full of immense heartache AND hope – and through instrumentation so beautiful it’s almost painful (strings, winds, keys, heavy rhythm, layered voices, etc), Jonsi’s music is utterly transcendent. And not only is he a brilliant artist, but I had the opportunity to hang out with him after a Seattle show in 2010 and found that he’s also an incredibly kind and genuine person. How rare and exciting to learn that an artist’s heart is as beautiful as the music they make. He is an inspiration on all levels.”

New to Jonsi? Shelby suggests you start here: “I would recommend every Sigur Ros album – especially Takk (2005) and Með suð í eyrum… (2008) – but above all I would recommend Jonsi’s debut solo album Go (2010).”

Shelby EarlAbout our guest author, Shelby Earl: Shelby’s story is the sort of underdog tale that both inspires and restores faith for artist-wannabe office workers who think about trashing their steady gig and risking it all to pursue their dreams. Shelby spent her days at several arts related jobs in the Pacific Northwest, including stints at The Experience Music Project and as a music liaison at Amazon, but her true calling was song craft and performing. “To be totally honest, I was pretty unhappy those last couple years doing the 9-5,” Earl told Spinner, so she quit, threw herself into writing and caught the attention of two heavyweights on the indie music scene: John Roderick, lead singer of The Long Winters, who went on to produce Shelby’s collection of tunes, and Rachel Flotard, the can-do powerhouse behind Visqueen who also runs Local 638 Records. Her debut, Burn the Boats quickly gained support from Earl’s long time acquaintance, Ann Powers (NPR/LA Times) who passionately wrote “… I don’t want this record to get lost in the avalanche of releases that confronts every critic and music fan…Burn the Boats is an album beyond trends, a classic work of singer-songwriterly craft and beautifully framed confession.” Praise for Earl poured in from other outlets as NPR made At the Start the song of the day and Seattle Weekly dubbed the same track as “…an early frontrunner for best song put out by any artist in 2011.” To cap off this feel good story, Burn the Boats snagged the number one spot on her former employers’ (Amazon) “Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed” list. Be sure to visit Shelby’s site for tour dates, to join her Facebook page and more.

MP3: Under Evergreen by Shelby Earl from Burn the Boats

Alyssa Graham recommends Serge Gainsbourg and Francoise Hardy

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Alyssa Graham and Serge Gainsbourg

Alyssa Graham and Serge Gainsbourg

Alyssa Graham’s recommendation: “Two of the greatest influences on my music, my life and my worldview are Neil Young and Nick Drake. I have spent numerous hours and days listening, loving and disappearing to these two profound and magical artists. However, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about two of my more recent obsessions, namely Francoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg is one of the most interesting, creative and diverse artists I have ever explored. Gainsbourg has experimented in jazz, funk, pop and rock. He often explored morbid sexuality and suffering and recorded concept albums with themes like Lolita and Nazis. He is “limitless.” His music is always progressive and always deep and it challenges me to go deeper into my own music and expression. When talking about Serge Gainsbourg and how he influenced French pop music it is impossible not to point out the sensual, lush and dreamlike voice and music of Francoise Hardy whom Gainsbourg often worked with. Hardy’s beautiful and spare sound can always lull me into a deep peaceful meditation. The subtle arrangements and the whisper and hum of Francoise’ vocals allow me to imagine and create in a continuous world of beauty and euphoria. She is a constant source of inspiration for me and was a big influence on my current project, The Lock, Stock & Soul EP.”

New To Serge Gainsbourg and Francoise Hardy? Alyssa suggests you start here: “Gainsbourg’s 1971 concept album Histoire de Melody Nelson is a great place to start. Often referred to as his “Lolita-esque” pseudo-autobiographical album, Histoire De Melody Nelson is a combination of funky guitar styling, dark string arrangements and spoken word like vocals. A quintessential Gainsbourg creation. A new super deluxe version coming out this month. Also, 1971, Francoise Hardy’s LA Question is truly a masterpiece. Subtle and spare, seductive and romantic, La Question is brilliantly produced and offers everything you could ever want from this dreamy and stunning artist.”

Suzanne SantoAbout our guest author, Alyssa Graham: Alyssa co-led a band called Blindman’s Holiday in college, and the group was quickly recognized by Entertainment Magazine as one of the best college bands in the country. The hype helped the band nab touring gigs with The Band, Lisa Loeb, and The Wailers. Alyssa then enrolled at The New England Conservatory and released her debut album, What Love Is, in 2005. The album was chosen by All About Jazz as one of its “Best New Recordings of 2005” and set the stage for her 2008 release, Echo, a collection that was named one of the “Top 10 Vocal Albums of the Year” by iTunes. Alyssa most recently released Lock, Stock & Soul, an album that features contributions from Meshell Ndegeocello (bass) and David Garza (vocals) and is described by Team Graham as “a full-circle return to Graham’s longtime musical loves: Neil Young, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan.” You might hear a bit of Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell in there, too, as well as echoes of Norah Jones, and for good reason: For this record, Alyssa was able to snag Grammy-winning producer Craig Street, who produced Jones’ breakthrough Come Away With Me, and Jesse Harris, who penned Norah’s smash Don’t Know Why. Alyssa has friends in high places and utilizes them perfectly on this collection.

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