Archive for the 'Sounds' Category

J&R: How would you describe the musical style of The Boxmasters?

Mike: The Boxmasters combine the music of the British Invasion (The Beatles, Stones, Animals) with Electric Hillbilly music from the early 60’s (Del Reeves, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, The Wilburn Brothers) to make our own sound. We use vintage instruments and guitars to help us capture that sound and Billy writes some amazing songs that are stories of people from the lower middle class lifestyle. Sometimes the man is the ass, and sometime’s it’s the women, but we’re equal opportunity offenders.

J&R: Tell us how The Boxmasters tour is going so far this year?

J.D.: The tour is going great! People are really responding to the music and are picking up a lot of copies of the CD after they hear the show. They really respond to songs like “Yesterday’s Gone” because they recognize the song, but aren’t exactly sure why. And songs like “I’ll Give You A Ring (When You Give Me Back My Balls)” are big hits as well. We have a really great band and are having a blast getting out and playing for everybody.

J&R: Billy, who is the most memorable movie character you’ve played and why?

Billy: Ed Crane in “The Man Who Wasn’t There” because he was a man who was trying to find his place in the world. The character is probably the closest to who I actually am.

J&R: Did you always envision yourself having an acting and singing career simultaneously?

Billy: Absolutely. I’ve found a really good balance and i could never give either one up.

J&R: Who are some of your musical influences?

Billy: Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, The Beatles, Del Reeves, Johnny Cash, Frank Zappa, Traffic, Michael Nesmith, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Louvin Brothers, Wilburn Brothers.

J.D.: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Stones, Creedence, Old 97’s, Steve Earle, Will Kimbrough, and Billy is an amazing musical historian and has turned me on to so many songs and groups that it’s hard to tell you exactly how much I’ve learned.

Mike: Willie Nelson, Johhny Cash, Buck Owens, Cream, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top.

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Be sure to join us at J&R on Monday, August 18th at 5:30pm, as we welcome The Boxmasters! They will be here to sign copies of their self-titled CD “The Boxmasters”.

J&R: You are well known for playing Lieutenant Commander Data on Star Trek, how did you get this role and were you a fan of Star Trek?

Brent Spiner: Not much mystery here. I auditioned. My agent sent me the script and I thought the character of Data could ultimately be fun and interesting to play. Also, I was convinced that the show (which was pre-sold for a year) couldn’t last very long and I wouldn’t be stuck on a t.v. series. I could pay my debts off and get on with my career. I clearly have no talent for determining what will succeed or fail. I think I had about six auditions for the part and finally, to my good fortune, they gave it to me.

J&R: Your latest CD ‘Dreamland’ has you teaming up with Maude Maggart. How did you two come together?

BS: I had put a script of sorts together and was looking for a female vocalist to sing with. While driving down Pacific Coast Highway listening to the Jonathan Schwartz show, I heard this miraculous singer doing a Cole Porter number called, “Looking at You”. I was completely overwhelmed. I knew at that moment I had to have her on my CD. I got in touch with her publicist and sent her the script and, thank God, she agreed to do it. She is such a great artist and a wonderful young woman as well. It was thrilling working with her.

J&R: How would you describe your musical style?

BS: Do I have a style? I guess you’d say, a little bit of Broadway, a little bit of crooning, a little bit of every singer of Standards I’ve ever loved.

J&R: Who are some of your musical influences?

BS: Well, obviously, the Chairman. I think anyone who sings from the Great American Songbook owes a debt to Sinatra for showing us how perfectly it can be done. I actually think Maude may be that great one day. But I love a lot of singers. Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Harry Nilsson, Doris Day, and of course Crosby who taught everyone how to sing.

J&R: Be honest, what’s your opinion about Trekkies?

BS: Well, if you mean the movie, “Trekkies”, I’ve never seen it. I hear it’s great, but I still haven’t seen “The African Queen”, so priorities…Now, if you mean the group of people who enjoy Star Trek on a grand scale, I’d say outside of Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa they are among the finest people on earth.

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Be sure to join us at J&R on Wednesday, August 27th at 12:30pm, as we welcome Brent Spiner! Brent will be here to sign copies of his new CD “Dreamland”. Along with purchase of the CD, fans will also be permitted ONE Star Trek item to get autographed by Mr. Spiner.

The New Jersey super rock band Bon Jovi will be in Central Park on July 12th to perform a free concert. According to the Associated Press, the concert is supposed to be the prelude to the July 15th All-Star baseball game, which will also highlight the final season at Yankee Stadium.

Bon Jovi performing for free at Central Park is sure to bring throngs of fans and onlookers alike. We’re sure this is going to be a popular show, so make sure you get there early to secure a good spot on the lawn.

Personally, I’m hoping they play “It’s My Life”. What about you? What is your favorite Bon Jovi song?

I first saw Bo Diddley at the Safari Motel in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was Spring Break of 1965 or 1966. Bo and his band set up on the second floor balcony and all of us middle-class white kids danced around the pool. As well as I can remember, Bo just did two songs– “Hey Bo Diddley” and “Say Man” — but he did them for hours.

I often wondered what he thought of us. I know what we thought of him — he was the coolest thing any of us had ever heard. When I got back to college, I bought every album I could get my hands on. To my surprise, the albums had the same spontaneity and humor as his live performance. I must confess that I’ve never listened to Bo Diddley on CD because I’m afraid that the warmth of his sound would be compromised.

But if you have a turntable (or even if you don’t), grab a handful of Bo Diddley records and have a party. Bo’s music lends itself to a party like none other, and from what I have read about Bo the man, he’d be overjoyed that you were partying to his music.

An Ivy League education, preppy clothing and a penchant for hip-hop lyrics, that’s what the dynamic duo of Naledge and Double-0 (better known as Kidz in the Hall) bring to the table. Originally from Chicago, they met at a talent show in the University of Pennsylvania and have been rhyming ever since.

Well, the Kidz are all grown up and have just released their sophomore effort titled The In Crowd. They were here at J&R to promote the album, and MTV was here to capture it all on tape. (See it here)

With guest appearances from hip-hop heavyweights like Bun B, Pusha T, Buckshot, Masta Ace, and others, the album is sure to please even the most discriminating hip-hop fan. The lead single off the album, ‘Drivin’ Down The Block’ is sure to be a favorite jam for those hot summer rides. Be sure to grab the album, it’s a stunner.

Check out the rest of the photos from their appearance on our Flickr account.

The title of Death Cab for Cutie’s second release for Narrow Stairs, is actually quite deceptive for anyone postulating the musical direction this Washington state indie-pop quartet has pursued on their sixth album. Though it would seem to imply a tightness and confined, perhaps, claustrophobic feel to the music, Narrow Stairs is, in fact, a spacious, loose album that reflects a different approach to writing and recording it from its two predecessors. Though Transatlanticism and Plans launched the band’s national success, they also saw Death Cab for Cutie—guitarist/vocalist Ben Gibbard, guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Jason McGerr—somewhat inadvertently veer from their original trajectory.

Narrow Stairs became the foursome’s opportunity to reconnect as musicians and bandmates, with one of the biggest changes being simply the way that they recorded it—basically live in the studio, with minimal overdubs. “The core of the album is still very much Death Cab for Cutie,” assures Harmer, “but I think that this record has a more immediate quality and a different kind of energy captured in these performances than the previous two albums.”

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Frank Sinatra grew up in Hoboken, N.J., just across the river from J&R. Crooner, singer, actor, Rat Pack leader, American icon, Ol’ Blue Eyes is rightfully considered a national treasure.

On Tuesday, May 13, Frank Sinatra, Jr. will appear at our Macy’s store, J&R Express, to autograph the brand-new Frank Sinatra collection Nothing But The Best, which is specially priced at $9.99. This is a single-disc compilation of the best of Sinatra’s Reprise years, and features 22 remixed and remastered classics, including the previously-unissued “Body And Soul”. And, as a special bonus, each CD will include a limited-edition commemorative USPS first-day-issue stamp. The stamp is being issued one day before the 10th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s death.

So mark your calendar for May 13. Frank Sinatra Jr. will be autographing his father’s new album, “Nothing But The Best”, at J&R Express, in the basement of Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street in New York City starting at noon. If you can’t make it to Macy’s, stop in to J&R Music World, 23 Park Row, and purchase “Nothing But The Best” in our Pop Music outlet.

In the meantime, check out some of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ best live performances:

Come Fly with Me
Windows Media Player

Luck Be a Lady
Windows Media Player

Platinum debut albums are both a blessing and a curse. Panic at the Disco have already reaped the advantages of their million-selling first release, 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out: big tours, sold-out dates, adoring fans. While crafting their sophomore follow-up, Pretty. Odd., the Las Vegas quartet experienced the flip side of debut success, namely trying to make lightning strike twice.

“In the back of our minds we’ve all had this feeling of, ‘Wow, what’s going on?’” admits bassist Jon Walker. “We’d been going non-stop up until starting to write the next record. We spent pretty much all of ’07 writing the record and it was probably the first time we’d stepped back and actually realized what had happened.”

During Panic’s nearly two solid years of touring (Walker, a roadie for The Academy Is…, replaced original bassist Brent Wilson in mid-2006), the band talked about their sophomore album having the structure of a short story and the possibility of a conceptual thread running through the songs. After a six-week break at the end of ’06, Panic spent the next three months working out song sketches along those lines.

“We didn’t get any songs done, but we got like 8-10 ideas for songs that never got finished,” says Walker. “It took us some time to get used to writing songs and actually having the time to search and discover what we wanted to be doing.”

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We asked a few hardcore Asia fans to submit questions for the band, in preparation for today’s instore appearance. You can check out the bands’ responses below.

You can also check out photos from today’s performance on our Flickr account.

Enjoy!

How does it feel to see a classic-era Asia fan bring his or her child to a concert, to know that your music is spanning generations?

Geoff Downes: That’s one of the really rewarding sides of touring and taking our music to the people. Last night in New York State where we played, a young kid (and his dad) on the front row, had a huge grin on his face and was smiling at me the whole time during the show. I guess I made him laugh with my antics, or just amused him because he thought I looked like some kind of a clown!

How do you feel while viewing a 1983-era Asia music video, 25 years later?

Geoff Downes: It’s kind of nice that period of your life has been captured in vision - an extension and memories of the music made at the time, no less. So I reckon that’s a good thing. I think it also helps remind people of what was - like flicking through an old family photo album. But the real downside is that some of the ludicrous outfits and embarrassing hair-styles can come back to haunt you in a big way! “Did I really think I looked cool in that”?! No way!

Although prog rock fans are stereotypically male, Asia had more than its share of female fans in the 80s. Did you get ladies’ underwear thrown at you on stage, and does that still happen today?

Geoff Downes: Fortunately this doesn’t happen these days. The sizes would be undoubtedly larger than 25 years ago, and the offending items considerably more baggy! Ouch! Did I really say that? But seriously, most ladies at our shows are dragged along by their partners - thankfully, for the most part they seem to enjoy the experience. Some of the female fans look too young to have been around in the 80’s though…(flattery will get you everywhere, so I’m told!)

What prompted the reunion of the 4 original members of Asia?

Carl Palmer: 25th Anniversary started the idea.

Once the reunion was announced, it seemed that the band would be content to feature the classic Asia material on tour. What led to the decision to record a new full-length album?

Carl Palmer: We were all on the same page for the first time in 23 years. It was a natural move for us.

How have the advances in recording technology affected the crafting of Asia songs in the studio?

Carl Palmer: Makes it all that much quicker to record albums.

Many 40-ish year old progressive rock fans discovered their love for the style upon hearing Asia. Please comment on Asia’s place in the history of this much maligned genre.

John Wetton: We’re not really a progressive band. We came from progressive bands but we were making the transition into the 80s, with more of an emphasis on the song. What we did when we first came out was to offer the musicality of progressive music, without all the fat. We trimmed it down and made it more accessible.

Will you be playing classic songs from Yes, ELP, King Crimson, UK etc. while on tour?

John Wetton: We do a few. Steve offers up “Roundabout;” Carl does “Fanfare For The Common Man,” Geoff does “Video Killed The Radio Star” and I contribute “Court Of The Crimson King”. It feels natural to do some of the stuff from the other bands this time around, and the fans seem to love it.

Over the past 10 or so years there has been an underground resurgence of prog rock, through various websites and fan-promoted festivals. Are there any “unknown” prog bands you’ve heard recently that our readers should check out?

John Wetton: Goldfrapp from the UK, they’re incredible.

How has your recent heart surgery and recuperation affected the lyrical tone of the new album?

John Wetton: It has to a certain degree. It is very much about living within the moment and living within the day, and not relying too much on tomorrow, as exemplified in the song “Extraordinary Life,” which we will be doing on this tour. Among one of the most prominent themes of the record is that of “gratitude and re-birth.”

The Flight of the Conchords are a brilliant musical comedy duo from New Zealand. And I know, musical comedy brings up bad thoughts of Weird Al and other assorted unfunny “comedy” music groups, but these guys are different. The stars of both a critically acclaimed series on the BBC radio and then on HBO, these guys are the real deal. They write songs that stand on their own musically while also being laugh out loud funny. It’s something you can keep enjoying again and again, not having to worry about the jokes getting old.

And now you can enjoy all the songs from their hit series on a CD, allowing you to listen in the car or on the subway without having to tote a portable DVD player around with you. Just grab their new self-titled release and you’ll be set. It’s got all their hits, from Business Time to Robots to Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous. Trust me on this one: comedy albums don’t get much better than this.