Acoustic Conversations with Tyler Stenson II
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
“Leave Oregon. It’s the first song I play when I hit the stage in Nashville … but it really is OH-re-gon,” Tyler Stenson tells us, noting with pride that even though he’s moved to Nashville, he remembers his roots. He’s in Portland for a CD release tour, giving us the honor of a drive-by catch-up session with five new songs and a raft of new experiences to share. Enjoy the show this week, and the live tracks we recorded with Tyler, all free to subscribers in iTunes or our newsletter. And of course, don’t forget to join our Fan Page on Facebook!
Acoustic Conversations with Matthew Price
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
“When I was a kid, I think it was when I was in high school … I made this decision that I wanted to start focusing on really doing things, instead of just watching,” says Matthew Price. So he learned to juggle. And play the guitar. And to write music. We caught up with Matt on the heels of the release of his first EP, “Stranded.” Enjoy the show this week, and the six live tracks we recorded with Matt, all free to subscribers in iTunes or our newsletter. And of course, don’t forget to join our Fan Page on Facebook!
Acoustic Conversations with Jake Oken-Berg
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If there’s a gimmick to Jake Oken-Berg, it’s the run for Mayor. That’s what gets you to ask, what’s up with this guy? But that’s where the gimmick ends. Because it turns out, he’s as stone serious about politics as he is about his music. And when you close your eyes and Jake starts to play, you hear clearly why any loss to politics is a big win for music. He is hard on the keys, but he’s not a Ben Folds-pounder. He’s deliberate in his playing and laser-focused in his songwriting, pressing against the boundaries of piano pop. Enjoy the show this week, and the six live tracks we recorded with Jake, all free to subscribers in iTunes or our newsletter.
James Jeffrey-West on Acoustic Conversations
Reposted from fifthandmain.com.
The great thing about the vast majority of musicians is that they are at the same time gracious and generous people, and hungry for attention. That means, if you point a microphone at them and turn on a little red light, by-in-large, they start singing.
So it was when Curt and I started Acoustic Conversations a few years back. The first show was a convoluted mix of stunning flamenco riffs lovingly gifted to us by our good friend John Carlson and poorly mic’d wannabe talk radio. Still, that conversation sparked something cool, and posted a stitch in time that leads to today, the last show of our second season, and our newest addition to the family, James Jeffrey-West.
James is a stunningly warm person. I say that as a point of contrast, I think. He’s a contrast to jokers who try to own a room with ego and pomp; he’s a contrast to yahoos who enter a room with jokester hippery; he’s a contrast to crooners who slide into a room with sticky smug insincerity. When James came into the AC lounge, well, we wanted to give him a hug.
In his bio, James says he plays “good, honest acoustic” music. Insofar as we couldn’t see the allusion when we kicked off the interview, we were wrapped up in it by the end. His songs are gracefully simple packages, easy on the ear and difficult to shake. His song-writing is at once worldly and approachable; he weaves his broad life experience into tales that are most often too short to be completely satisfying.
We talked a lot in this show. So much, in fact, that we didn’t actually get to all the music that we’d intended. It’s a shame, too, because for my money, the best tracks of the evening were those recorded after the show had ended. Take a special listen to Sacramento International, a haunting lullaby to congested air travel; and Half a World Away, an anthem to bifurcated love in ticklish harmonics. You’ll find the show, as well as all six of the tracks we recorded with James available free in iTunes. Please subscribe to support the show.
I deeply hope you enjoy the music of James Jeffrey-West. He’s a new favorite of ours and we’re thrilled to bring him to the show. As ever, comments welcome, but mostly, just go buy his CD. It’s in iTunes, CDBaby, and just about everywhere else music is served.
Acoustic Conversations with James Jeffrey-West
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
“For me, the musicians that I like are the ones that are somehow tapping into the universe,” says James Jeffrey-West. And he says it with total and complete authenticity. He says it, too, while talking about Buddy Guy and Jimmy Hendrix, among other musical influences. Enjoy the show, and the six live tracks we recorded with James, all free to subscribers in iTunes or our newsletter.
Homespun Concert Series
Portland folks mark your calendars: Molly Jenson and Cobalt Season playing the Homespun Concert Series this Saturday, June 18; doors open at 7:00 and close at 100 people! Should be a great show — ping me if you’re going to join me for a homebrew!
Acoustic Conversations with Lisa Forkish
“I’ve gotten really into Dollhouse,” says Lisa Forkish. “My whole family is obsessed with Joss Whedon.” And yet, somehow, her music stands in stark contrast any geek cred. Forkish exists deeply. Her songs are calculated and considerate, showing off her broad talent at the piano. Enjoy the show, and the six live tracks we recorded with Lisa, all free to subscribers in iTunes or our newsletter.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Acoustic Conversations with Justin Jude
“I think a lot of my earlier songs were all about relationships. Mostly that went wrong,” says Justin Jude of his early songwriting. Much is going right for Jude, whose tone and tenor has taken on a rich storytelling vibe that makes his music varied and entertaining across his catalog. Enjoy the show, and the six live tracks we recorded with Justin, all free to subscribers in iTunes, or our newsletter.
Read more
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Acoustic Conversations with Dustin Pattison
“I figured if I was going to write this kind of music, I was going to need a murder ballad,” says Dustin Pattison in a gentle tenor of his tune Peace With God. And it’s with that same soft-spoken demeanor that the singer-songwriter walks us through his life of musical — and practical — contradiction. We first caught Dustin at a local open mic night, and we knew the moment he opened his mouth that we had to find a way to share him with you. Enjoy the show, and the 7 live tracks we recorded with Dustin, all free to subscribers.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Kings & Queens Vid with Sam Wegman
Remember Sam? Remember the last tune he did for us? Here’s the video of him in the AcConvo living room actually playing the thing. Sweet, right?