Phil Putnam Celebrates With Fans

To kick off his birthday week, singer/songwriter Phil Putnam is offering his music at terrific savings now until his birthday, Friday, July 29th. Phil invites you to the party to help celebrate the festivities. According to Phil, the details are simple: $5 album downloads from his official website here. To help with the party, Phil plans to give back to his fans - at least one very special fan. He told me, "Everyone who buys album(s) during the sale will be up to win a Free Giveaway of my Casualties Deluxe Package ($70 value). It includes all my albums plus exclusive unreleased remixes, acoustic mixes, and exclusive behind the scenes videos that are only available in the Deluxe Package, which can be seen here."



Phil is an award-winning out and proud performer whose songs are highly personal, and at times share the same delicious sense of humor as Putnam. Take, for example, I'm No Prize from his album Casualty. His humor and musicality meld beautifully, making for a great song and video, which topped the LOGO TV chart in 2009.



Before that, Phil released his first music video in 2008 with the song More Than This. It also topped LOGO TV's video chart, and between the two songs, they stayed in the LOGO top ten for almost a full year. In his video debut, Phil's more serious side was in the spotlight, a bit more introspective as well as showing Phil comfortably behind the piano.



Just a month ago, I posted about Phil winning an OUTMusic Award for his love song, Paris. You can listen to the song on his website, or in the prior post. To offer Phil your salutations for the day, feel free to visit his official website sometime this week, or tweet him at twitter here. Or you could stop by his page on FaceBook here. While you are visiting his website, check out his music, and the Casualty package here, which will be won by a very lucky individual.

Friday Night with Shane Mack

In the past, I have made it quite clear how much I love the music of Shane Mack. To the best of my knowledge, you can purchase his songs as part of the soundtrack for the amazing movie Shelter, but no album of his own. For me, this is damn near criminal, as I find myself listening to his music all the time, on YouTube, his MySpace page, and some downloads I purchased from SnowCap on his MySpace, and still cannot get enough. The songs are beautifully written, and his voice can go from a honey-whisper to bold statement, making his recordings very special. Take, for example, one of my favorites, Clean. Lyrically, it is amazing, and he is so connected to the emotions, I love listening.



The song More Than This was also part of the Shelter soundtrack. While not very long, it is rich and beautiful.



I am also fond of his Remember To Forget. The song is a bittersweet nod to the end of a relationship. There is that period of time you remember all the good times, whether you want to or not.



Another song I love is Wreckage. If you want more proof of his talent, here is a cover by Kelly Clarkson, and before she starts the song, she talks about this 'amazing' talent.



So, I stand strong in wanting my Shane Mack album! For more, you can check him out on the MySpace link above, or on FaceBook here. And if you haven't seen Shelter, you really should. That is a great movie. You can find the Shelter soundtrack on Amazon here or on iTunes here.

Worth Another Listen - Roxy Music

They were in the forefront of the 'art rock' movement in the 70s, and made up of Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter. The other members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe) and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion). A few others drifted through the band, including the amazing Brian Eno for a couple of years. The sound was almost ahead of the times, almost bridging the worlds of David Bowie's Glam and the New Wave music to come of The Talking Heads and Duran Duran. Take, for instance, the 1975 release, Love Is The Drug. The song has sass and spunk, sounding nothing like what was topping the charts in the US, with the likes of Captain & Tennille, Neil Sedaka and Elton John. Still, it managed to be the highest charting single by the band, hitting #30 on the Billboard chart. The following clip is from the late 80s from a Bryan Ferry solo tour.



In 1981, Roxy Music offered up a recording of Jealous Guy, written and originally recorded by John Lennon. Roxy Music started performing it as a tribute after he was murdered in December of 1980, and later released it as a single. Here is footage of the band performing it weeks after Lennon's passing.



The final album released by the band was Avalon, a lush and incredible offering. While the album only made it to #53 on the US album chart, it did secure platinum sales in the States. Rolling Stone named it the #31 album of the 80s, and I might think it should be even higher. The quality of songwriting and musicianship was high, as can be heard in More Than This, released in 1982.



Released on the heals of More Than This, Avalon proved to be a haunting and gorgeous track. While it didn't make the Pop charts, it got a lot of play on college radio and some progressive rock stations.



In 1983, following the support tour for the album, Roxy Music announced they were calling it a day. Bryan Ferry et al went on to solo careers, continuing to make interesting music. In 2001, they got back together to do a short tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the formation of the band. Although they have not stepped back into the studio, they have occasionally played together.

Sunday Night with Phil Putnam

Talented and handsome, California born Phil Putnam is a singer/songwriter based out of New York City. Out and proud, Putnam have been putting out quality music since 2001, when he put out his first album. But it was in 2008 when he released his breakout video for More Than This, which became a big hit on LOGO, topping the video chart.



Last summer, Putnam released I'm No Prize, and in the second week it took the top spot on the Logo video chart, and spent the next 21 weeks in the top 4, setting a new record, once held by his video for More Than This.



According to his biography, Putnam was a prolific writer of poetry and prose since a young age. In both his lyrics and his vocals, Putnam infuses his own slightly quirky style into each song. The best way to get to know Phil is through his own words, in the video he put together himself.



I really like the song Longest Night of the Year, and he performs it live in the clip below.



For more on Phil Putnam, you can check out his official website here. You can also follow him on Twitter here. You can check out his latest album, Casualties, on iTunes here.