Dope Lotus Records was founded by a musician and a multimedia artist as a way to digitally present their work. It grew from there into a proper artist collective and record label, with a roster of 20-some artists.

One of those artists, Beat Radio really caught my ear with their song, “Follow You Around.” I checked out their site – or his site, rather, as Brian Sendrowitz is the only constant member – and lo and behold, more free music! After giving it a spin, I would Safe Inside the Sound hits about a 7.5/10 for me.

Have a listen to “Follow You Around” below:

So check out the free sampler over at Dope Lotus. If you’re cool like me, check out Beat Radio’s album – also free. You can also purchase one of Beat Radio’s limited edition albums (only 250!) with handmade artwork.

Now get out of here and get some free tunes!
Download Tight Knit – Dope Lotus Records Winter Sampler.

Benjy Davis Project

It was a noticeably different lineup for BDP, which only included original members Benjy Davis (no brainer there) and Mic Capdevielle (drums). The new addition, Patrick Thorton (bass) and Brian Fechino (guitar), definitely brought a fresh sound to the group. Though, I’d venture to guess the liquored up college-crowd failed to notice the new lineup as they faithfully sang back all the lyrics while groping each other. Seriously, kids are talented these days and clearly have no shame.

But BDP managed to stay focused as they played the standard crowd favorites off their latest release Dust, including “I Love You,” “Same Damn Book,” “Sweet Southern Moon,” and “Still Sweet.” They also mixed in some older material in “Do It With The Lights On,” and “Louisiana Saturday Night.” Have to admit, though I enjoy BDP unplugged, witnessing them plugged in up made for a nice change of pace.

Prior to BDP taking the stage, Andrew Hoover played an energetic solo set, which included his lead single “Lie to Me,” off his debut album Chances, Stances & Romances. Over the course of twenty minutes, Hoover managed to warm-up an inattentive crowd with his mix of bluesy rock and had them drunkenly dancing along by the time he wrapped his performance. Pretty impressive for a young artist.

Hoover was followed up by the elder-statesman of the group, singer-songwriter Joe Firstman, who treated the crowd to a taste of Americana with “Marlene & Her Sisters,” a chorus-less song as an intro. He capped off his set with a medley of “Breaking All the Ground/I Can’t Stop Loving You” from The War of Women. NYC fans, you can catch Joe Firstman performing tomorrow at The Living Room at 8p.

Footage of BDP below:

“I Love You:”

“Sweet Southern Moon:”

credit: Ben Renschen - http://www.benrenschen.com

Calling all NYC music fans,  Joe Firstman will perform tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 13th) at The Living Room at 8p. After migrating west from his home in North Carolina, the talented singer-songwriter found his muse in LA — a city of excess, ego and beautiful ladies — which fueled his songs.

It didn’t take long for Joe to gain notoriety, first came the big Hollywood gigs, then the industry buzz, then the big deal with Atlantic Records and national tours with big rock stars like Sheryl Crow, Jewel, and Willie Nelson. Next he landed a regular gig as the bandleader on the “Last Call with Carson Daly” show.

Well, Joe is back to working on his music full-time. He’s been touring to test out some of his new songs off the upcoming album, El Porto, which hits January 2010. Grab a

free download of “Today,”

If you’re in the NYC area, check him out at the Living Room Friday at 8p. Folks ouside NYC, don’t fret, check out Joe’s full tour schedule here.

Click the image to check out the videos.

credit: Spin.com

credit: theedgitator.com

One of the many reasons why I love NYC is that even on a Monday you can walk into a bar and see kick-ass musicians. Last night was no exception. We started the evening as planned, checking out  Ashley Arrison perform at The Living Room.

From the moment Ashley stepped on stage, she owned the packed crowd with her rendition of Ryan Adams “New York, New York.” Honestly, if there’s ever a need to win over jaded New Yorkers, simply sing about their daily dysfunctional love of the city –  it works every time.

From there she moved into her own material, which included a nice mix of newer songs as well as older songs from her EP, Talking Circles. Ashley noted that she was currently working on a new album with her fiancee, Aben Eubanks, who was also part of her backing band for the evening. So it seemed fitting for her to perform “Right Behind You,” with Aben seated to her right as she sang “No matter where you are/I will never be too far away from you.”

With roots in both LA and Nashville, Ashley proved she had some tricks up her sleeve. First, she brought up fellow Nashvillian (is that a word?!) and singer-songerwriter Kacey Musgraves to join her on “Somewhere With You.” A few songs later, she showed her childhood buddy, Justin Timberlake, some love by mixing the chorus from “Dead and Gone” into her newest track “Winter” — brilliant.

She closed out her set with quite possibly my favorite song “Last of My Goodbyes,” it was a perfect ending to a stellar performance. My one gripe with the show (come on, it can’t be a total love fest, right?) Ashley’s band levels were a bit too high, which drowned out her vocals in some points making it difficult to hear her.

After the show, we headed over to The National Underground to check out Ashley’s friend, Tom LoSchiavo perform. For about four hours, Tom and his band wailed their way through their own songs as well as a slew of covers including Travis’ “Why Does it Always Rain On Me,” Wallflowers “One Headlight,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” and Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

Surprisingly, it was LoSchiavo’s cover of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” that incited the loudest sing-a-long of the night. Guess, if you’re in a bar at 2am on a Monday, it’s nice to have some friends in low places by your side with a drink in hand. Rumor has it Tom LoSchiavo just moved to Nashville, but he’s hoping to perform at National Underground at least once a month, if you live in NYC, check him out.

Leaving on a Mayday, the third studio album (second in the U.S.) from Swedish songstress Anna Ternheim, a beautiful collection of songs with an ethereal feel. Produced by Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John), the overall album has a quiet, introspective theme present from the album opener “What Have I Done,” all the way through the closing song in “Black Sunday Afternoon.”

Ternheim’s lyrics are haunting by themselves, but when paired with Yttling’s production the songs have an epic feel such as on “My Heart Still Beats for You,” with delicate strings filled with longing and sorrow and a steady drum beat that backs Ternheim’s persistent declaration of “my heart still beats for you/afterall it’s always you/come back to you.”

Then there’s the mesmerizing “Summer Rain,” which features Ternheim’s acoustic guitar skills set against a backdrop of vocal harmonies. The song’s simplicity matched with spot on harmonies makes it standout among the other songs with a more dreamy vibe, though still sad lyrically. More uptempo is “Let it Rain,” a dizzying tale of love lost with a racing orchestra backdrop.

Throughout Leaving on a Mayday, Ternheim’s vocals are the highlight, while Yttling’s production plays a nice supporting role. The one concern is the album’s repetitiveness, at times there’s no distinction between songs, unless of course, you’re paying full attention to the songs as they queue up. Overall, if you’re looking for something soothing, yet not necessarily happy, Leaving on a Mayday is well worth the listen.

(LtoR) Jill Pickering, Kelly Clarkson, and Kate Rapier)

Looks like all the VH1 Divas lovin’ is continuing post show as Kelly Clarkson joins her back-up singers, Jill Pickering and Kate Rapier, to cover Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” While hardcore Clarkson fans are quite familiar with Jill and Kate’s own music, there’s quite a few of you out there who probably have no clue as to who the duo are, so we’ll do our best to school you.

The lovely Jill and Kate met while attending college in Massachusetts. The story goes, they were roommates who happened to be in the same music class. One day their teacher gave them an assignment to write a song – desperate to get the assignment over, the roomies opted to team up on the project. When they presented their song to their teacher he (or she) told them that their voiced sounded good paired up and that they should consider singing together more often. And so, Jill and Kate was born. Fast-forward a few years – the duo now support Kelly Clarkson, one of the biggest selling artists of the last ten years, on the road. Pretty sweet gig if you ask me! If you’re into songs about heartache and longing from girls armed with guitars who happen to provide beautiful harmonies, you should check out their latest EP, Finding My Own Way. (Review at the old Round Table hangout).

When not on stage with Kelly Clarkson, Jill and Kate find time to work on their own music. They like to give fans a little glimpse into the writing process by something they refer to as “New Song on the 17th.” On the 17th of ever month (or lately whenever they get around to it), Jill an Kate perform a new song they’ve been working on, play one of their older songs, or even cover a song they adore (Sheryl Crow’s “Strong Enough” cover). This 17th (actually 18th!) they opted for some Miley Cyrus love alongside the boss-lady, Ms. Clarkson. Check the performance after the cut – as well as a J&K original – let us know your thoughts.

Jill and Kate: “Guess I Better Move On”

So, who is Matt Duke? Well, he’s a pint-sized (in comparison to the towering Jay Nash), singer-songwriter who has an affinity for a four letter word that rhymes with “duck.” His songs were poignant and emotional, his delivery was intense and focused. He commanded the stage he even though a rather noisy audience didn’t give him the respect he deserved on stage, which seemed to be an issue for all of the performers. Tony Lucca and Curtis Peoples confided with us post show that “the audience thinks you can’t hear or see them when you’re on stage. You can and you do. Trick is finding a way to politely say ’shut the f-ck up.”

Next up was Tony Lucca. What else can I say about this man that I haven’t already waxed poetically on? Not much, but by far he’s, one of the most compelling performers that I’ve seen over the years. He never disappoints, each show is fresh, meaningful, and entertaining. Tuesday’s performance was no different as he busted out crowd favorites including “So Long,” “All Up in Your Place (Stalker Song),” “Close Enough,” and even a newer song “Undertow.” But it was the aptly titled “New York City,” which Tony penned while having a rough time residing here in NYC that hit home for many folks in the crowd. A friend turned to me mid-song and said “is he serious with this song? It’s like he just wrote it about my day.”

Finally, Jay Nash took to the stage. Again, I’ve never heard any of Jay Nash’s music, so I was pretty stoked to see him. His voice is beautiful with a certain roughness that set him apart from his tour-mates, however I was a bit turned off by his persona on stage. Now, I’ve never met Jay, but the vibe he was giving was quite the cocky one. Don’t get me wrong, a performer should always have confidence and believe in themselves on stage, but Jay came off as a bit of an egomaniac as not twice, but three times he unplugged his guitar, stepped to the ledge of the stage and went full out acoustic. Maybe he has a thing against speakers, I don’t know, but the first time he did it, it was cool – a different way to reach a rather noisy audience – but the second and third time left a bitter taste in my mouth. Thankfully, he invited the sweet Sara Bareilles on stage to join to sing “Barcelona” so all was forgotten for a brief moment. After Jay’s set all the boys rocked out in a min-jam session, which included Curtis Peoples joining in on “Pretty Things.” Seriously, so much talent in one place, it was truly a great show to witness.

So, don’t miss this talented group of singer-songwriters if they’re headed to your town. Check out the remaining stops on the tour at Tony Lucca’s official site. You can also catch Tony Lucca and Jay Nash’s video blog series for behind-the-scenes action from the road.

I’ve seen Tony Lucca perform several solo gigs over the years, so it’ll be interesting to see him share the spotlight with his tour-mates. Meanwhile, in support of their 25-city US Tour, Lucca and Nash are releasing a series of video blogs from the road. The latest installment, vlog #6, finds an unshaven Lucca in Wyoming at Snowy Range Music Festival, checking out the local talent including 14 yr old guitarist, Michaela Rae, and clips from his set with Jay Nash. Always the crowd-pleaser, Lucca received quite a few compliments from his audience.

Check out the video below — also, if you haven’t seen him live in concert, it’s damn near time you did. Remaining dates for the tour can be found at Lucca’s official site. For NYC fans, catch a bonus performance and signing tonight, before the Canal Room gig, at Barnes & Noble located in Columbus Circle (1972 Broadway @ 66th Street), 5pm sharp.

The lead single “Blue Skies” is now available for purchase via iTunes. Thanks to our friends at Sneak Attack Media, you can download a remix to “Blue Skies” (Death to the Throne) for free. Be sure to grab it while you can, you won’t be disappointed by the beautifully underlying somber tones that are intensified by the tracks stuttered beat.

Also, be sure to heck out the trailer for The First Days of Spring after the cut.

The First Days of Spring Official Trailer from charlie fink on Vimeo.