Dylan Rice • The Lie & Break You

I just had a hankering to hear some Dylan Rice the other day, and it has stayed with me. I fell hard for the musical wiles of Dylan Rice shortly after first hearing the song, The Lie. I immediately HAD to have the album, and soon was the proud owner of Wandering Eyes. It is hard for me to believe it, but that album was released in 2004, so I've been a fan for a long time. For me, his music had qualities of two favorites of mine, Robert Gordon and Marshall Crenshaw. While both might have a distinct nod to a time gone by, both maintain a very current and fresh feel. I was also more that thrilled to discover I was supporting an out and proud musician, truly an added bonus. Wandering Eyes earned Dylan the 2005 Outmusic Award for Best Debut Recording – Male. Check out the video for The Lie, and discover why Dylan's had me hooked since.



You can purchase Wandering Eyes from iTunes and Amazon. The Chicago-based rocker worked with out Styx guitarist Chuck Panozzo, and in 2006 released the single, Faces Of Victory, a rock anthem written specifically for the Gay Games. You can find that single on iTunes and Amazon. In 2009, Dylan released Electric Grids & Concrete Towers, and once again, I had to scoop it up the first chance I got. On first listen, the music did reflect the title, with a feel that was more urban, a tad darker and industrial than the previous album. But Dylan's voice remained bold and strong, and the guitar work so sweet. Check out a track from the album, Break You.



You can purchase Electric Grids & Concrete Towers from iTunes and Amazon. You can find out more about Dylan Rice on his official website. There you can download from free music, but why not get a jump on this addiction, and just go download his two great albums now?

New Years Resolutions

Clockwise: Dylan Rice; Breathe; Tom Waits; and Shane Mack.

I decided that since we are coming up on the last week of January, it was time to discuss all those New Years Resolutions that were made in a fit of panic, or a somewhat altered state. No matter the case, for a majority of people, by this time all the Resolutions made have been broken in one way or another. They have been forgotten, actively abolished, or willpower has not held. But, no matter the reason, they hare a thing of the past, much like certain bets in bars with your best friend, or promises to call that one-night-stand the next day. So,whenever I hear resolutions or the aforementioned promises being made, I feel like shouting one thing: lies! Even on New Years Eve, as a friend is sipping on their cocktail, once they start the sentence with "my New Years Resolution will be..." I hear Dylan Rice singing in my head, to his amazing song off the 2004 album Wandering Eyes. Yes, my mind starts hearing The Lie.



I have always loved that song, and that whole album. You can find Dylan Rice on iTunes and on Amazon.

There are also times when my 1980s retrospective comes online, and the next thing I know, I am hearing the lovely voices of Breathe sing on of their big hits, Don't Tell Me Lies from the 1987 album All That Jazz. Man, this is so infectious, there are times I swear I can't get it out of my head!



See, now it might be stuck in your head! You can find Breathe on iTunes and on Amazon.

And there are many times she the gorgeous voice of the handsome Shane Mack comes into my head, singing to something I or a close friend has said. Well, that he sang, as part of the soundtrack to the Movie Shelter, released in 2007. I have been waiting for at least five years for Mack to put out an album, and have yet to be greeted with a definite answer. Until then, I will be content to listen to Lie To Me by Shane.



That song is all kinds of sexy and sultry, I think I would lose it if I saw him performing that in person. You can find Shane Mack on Music From The Here! Original Film Shelter on iTunes and on Amazon.

And, finally, we have a sweet little ditty by the same name by the outrageously talented Tom Waits. Here is Tom singing Lie To Me from his 2006's Orphans album. And check out this clever video for the song.



I just find Waits almost impossible to resist. You can find Tom Waits on iTunes and on Amazon. And that is what I think of New Years Resolutions!

Great Music - Dylan Rice

Now I love me a rocker, and Dylan Rice fits the bill for me. The Chicago-based musician released the excellent album Wandering Eyes in 2004, and I have been waiting for the follow-up since. He did have a new song in 2006 called Faces of Victory, a collaboration with former Styx guitarist Chuck Panozzo, which he also performed live at the closing of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. But still, I want some new music, cause he is that good. I bought Wandering Eyes on a whim, ordering a group of 5 or so CDs from CD Baby, and the group included Rice and Christopher Dallman, another musician I just adore.



Wandering Eyes offers up 12 tracks, ranging from rockers to fantastic pop songs, all but one written by Rice, who had completed his studies at Northwestern University with a degree in English with a minor in Poetry. The first song is Distant Planet, the only song not written by Rice, instead co-written by Rice and Matt Neuroth. It has a somewhat darker feel, accentuated by the driving guitar rhythms. The second song is The Lie, a song I have loved since listening to the opening bar of music. Starting out with the acoustic guitar and adding the drums and the electric guitar makes for a great start, and Rice's mellow voice team together to produce a single both rock and pop in nature. This is a video recently finished, and the only one off his debut album.



Rice has been out and proud since his days in college, and March of the Misunderstood is filled with enough material to wonder if the song is somewhat autobiographical. The layered and textured feel is more like the music of Big Country than Rolling Stones, but the big stadium feel of the song are hard to miss. Just Like You is up next, an uptempo rocker looking for the truth. Then comes Truer Days, a song that is stylistically closer to the stuff Chris Isaak than anyone else. The song is a meandering ballad in the best way. Then comes Drama Queen, a perfectly wonderful song both lyrically and musically, with a great sense of the ironic. Next up is Barely Knew You plays on the issues surrounding hook-ups that never seem to end as well as you'd like. This slow-tempo song is more of a lament than ballad. The eighth entry is I Do & I Don't. There is something about this song that makes me think of Dylan as a latter day Jacques Brel, a true troubadour. Not sure if it is phrasing or just a tonal quality, but there is something there. One Pure Thing is up next, and it is a bit confusing too me, with a musical tempo that at times battles the melody. Lucky To Need You is another confusing one, at least for me. Is he talking about coming out, coming to grips with being gay, or is it more about something else? It is deeply personal, and heartfelt. I like the song, just not sure if I get it. Someday Heartbreak is really beautiful, I like this song. Intangible takes on a life of it's own, and aural banquet, from the almost floating tone of his falsetto to the depth in tone of his natural chest voice. I think it could be said I really love this album, and truly look forward to more music from Dylan Rice.



To find out more about Dylan Rice, see his official website here.