Cover Boy • Gareth Asher

I was introduced to the music of Gareth Asher by Aiden James, and I will be forever grateful to Aiden for this. In fact, I have my fingers crossed that I will be seeing Gareth performing live tonight for the very first time. Excited! Like most touring musicians, he has a collection of cover songs, and can pull out one or two during a performance. As I have scanned YouTube for his videos, I was particularly fond of his cover of Jacksom Browne's Somebody's Baby. Browne had written it in 1982 for the soundtrack to Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and it because a hit, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.



While I love this cover, it is really Gareth's original work I truly fell for. Whe I think about that first time listening, at first I was blown away by Gareth's voice, with it's hearty warmth and beautiful tone. And then I got to the music, and I knew Asher was stuck with having me as a fan for life. He combines the haunting beauty of the singer/songwriter with the aching soul of southern artists with the joyous spirit of an artist truly loving what they are doing. All this makes for great music. Here is a video made by Asher of his song On My Own from the beautiful album, Between the Smiles and Tears.



So I am hoping at 8PM Wednesday night, I was sitting in a seat in Easton, Maryland, at the NightCat. For more about Gareth Asher, check out his official website here. You can also find his YouTube account here and his Twitter account here. You can find his latest album, Between the Smiles and Tears, on iTunes here, on Amazon here and on CD Baby here.

Cover Boys • Jackson Browne

I am not sure who didn't have a crush on Jackson Browne back in the late 70s. I mean, he was cute as hell, had those sad songs to sing, and was just adorable. In the summer of 1978, my high school friends and I went to see Jackson Browne playing live in Philadelphia, and heard this song played live. He was touring in support of the Running On Empty album, and had to close the show with The Load Out, and Stay. While he had co-written The Load Out, his own peak into life on the road, Stay was written by Maurice Williams in 1960, and sung by Maurice and his doo-wop group, The Zodiacs. But in 1978, it was Browne's version that was on the radio, and made it to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Get Better, Clarence Clemons!

Sad news hit Twitter last night, and was confirmed this morning. Clarence Clemons, musician and actor, was hit by a stroke, and has been hospitalized. While I haven't heard the extent of the issue, I am sure I join with many out there who wish him well and hope The Big Man is back on stage soon.



Clarence Clemons might be most-well-known for his celebrated work with Bruce Springsteen, but he certainly did far more than be a support player for one man. In 1985 he had a solo album that included A Friend Of Mine, which was a duet with Jackson Browne. It made it into the Top 20 in both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Mainstream Rock charts, some might say qualifying him to be a One-Hit Wonder.



But with Clarence's history of appearing on some of the great music of the last 40 years. Clemons was famous for his saxophone playing, which became known as a part of the E-Street Band. But he also did other work, including the stellar work in Aretha Franklin's iconic Freeway of Love song and video in 1985.



In the song Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out from 1975's Born To Run album, the lyrics actually speak about Clarence joining the E-Street Band. He is 'The Big Man' referred to, and it went on to be the affectionate nickname Clemons was known as throughout his career.





Perhaps nowhere is his image more implanted in my consciousness than from the son and live performance shots of Springsteen's Born To Run. It was first released in 1975, which makes it 36 years old. This song, this album, and Bruce Springsteen were such a big part of my growing up, and during my college years I had a roommate, Stever McMahon, a boy from Vineland, New Jersey, who was a Bruce fanatic. But it does feel like Bruce, Clarence, Nils Lofgren, Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg, and all the others, have been friends forever. Catch them all playing in Born To Run.



You can find out more about The Big Man on his official website here. Get well, Clarence!

Mood Music - A Musical Bender

OK, I am just really distracted this week, my mind is drifting. For starters, my allergies are going nuts. It is insane, but as I get older, they seem to be getting worse. Isn't that the opposite way it is supposed to happen? My sinuses are like some crazed, phlegm-making machine, causing me to wake up with crusty eyes every morning. It is putting me on quite an odd [non]sleep pattern. This needs to stop. So I am identifying with Jackson Browne, singing Doctor My Eyes.



Yesterday afternoon, heard some rather big news from a friend. He came out of the closet, and announced he recently learned he was HIV Positive. Now, when a man of my age hears that news, it just ain't pretty for a bit. I moved to NYC in the Spring of 1983, when coverage of the condition was garnering attention. I had several friends during my time in the city who were diagnosed, and in those days, it was, in many ways, a death sentence. Thankfully, that is no longer the case, but my mind instantly flashes back to the far too many funerals I attended for a man in his 20s. I think of Kevin, Derry, Terry, Roseanne, Patrick, and really, far too many to start listing. The first reaction, almost involuntary, is to panic. It reminds me of putting on The Communards album and playing For A Friend far too often, crying way too much. It just really touched me so much. It is still my 'go-to' song, at least in this situation.



Another friend is having trouble in her relationship, and while I am glad to be a shoulder to cry on, there are just so many times I just want to tell her that Linda Ronstadt said it best when she sang to that man, You're No Good.



How all these things seem to be hitting for me at the moment, I can't say. To be fair, two of the three events aren't about me, save for the emotional baggage I bring to the process of listening. No man is being an jerk, and my health, save the allergies, is good. But just as the above brought out my emotions and made me express them through songs, the culmination of all this brought me to another place, the one where I go all hippie-commune on my own ass, and start channeling Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, hearing Mrs. Paul Simon singing What I Am, with that Boho-chic style that was prevalent in 1988.



So, if you made it all the way to here, I hope you figured out I am good, happy with my life, and hoping to be able to be there for my friends. And it reminds me that indeed, the iPod in my head keeps feeding songs into my ears. You see, what I post on hear is really the Soundtrack to my Day.

Worth Another Listen - Jackson Browne

The first concert I went to see with friends was to see a show in 1978. A group of us Smyrna High School recent graduates and friends decided to go to a show together before we went on our merry way off to college - the last hurrah, so to speak. So we decided on a show at the Valley Forge Music Center, with Jackson Browne the headliner.



I gotta be honest, I remember Jackson Browne, but don't remember any other act. I say that because Jackson was so freakin' memorable. We were all fans, and loved the album The Pretender, and enjoyed Running On Empty very much. See, I loved singer/songwriters even then. We were ready, and psyched because we were driving to Philadelphia [OK, just outside of Philly] ourselves and taking in the concert. We had lawn seats, and packed blankets and baskets to make sure we were comfy. Indeed, we might have had an illegal beverage or two, but we were giddy 18-year-olds. I am not sure what it was, it might have been Mad Dog 20/20, cause we were kids from a rural town in Delaware.



So, we set up and got ready, chatting away excitedly before the show. When Browne took the stage, he was in quite the state. Thankfully, he pretty much didn't move much, because he was toasted. We all eagerly awaited Here Come Those Tears Again, we all understood the backstory of his wife taking her own life and leaving him with an infant, but that was 2 years previously, so we thought perhaps he would be over it, if only for the child... We were mistaken. After several failed starts and some giggling, he remembered the lyrics. And it wasn't the only song he struggled with, I think he blew The Pretender, too. But, to his credit, when he did get the lyrics, he sounded good. And I was willing to forgive him, because he was awfully nice to look at. And the musicians he traveled with covered well, and played so very well. The show ended with The Load Out/Stay, always a good time.



I'll be honest, Browne lost me with the song and album called Lawyers In Love. He was also busy with a relationship with Daryl Hannah, which was rumored to end badly involving physical abuse. So I was surprised to discover he is still at it - I didn't have a clue. And good Lord, he looks old now. And damn, he is only 12 years older than me. But no matter what, I will always have the amazing memory of my first concert with Candace, Jay, Ed, and Verne, all ready to be adults on our own. That was, of course, over 31 years ago.


To catch up with what is going on with Browne, check out his official website here.