D. Henry Fenton is Turnin'

D. Henry Fenton an Australian singer-songwriter from Sydney, who has been living in the United States for several years, chose an appropriate title for his current album Turnin’, because the listener will be continually turnin’ back the dial so to speak to listen to his songs over and over again. The affable New Zealander whose family moved to Australia when he was two years old possesses deliciously smooth vocals and his songs have melodies that remind one of a gently flowing stream, never hurried, never meandering, but always with a peaceful vibe.

New Zealand singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow who has been touring America regularly in recent years and now makes Austin, Texas her home says of D. Henry Fenton’s music, “D. Henry Fenton has hooky charismatic songs with beautiful melodies that soothe your soul. Henry is a real talent and his soulful voice speaks from the heart.”

Fenton’s original songs such as “Sweet Virgina,” which opens with strong, but not thundering guitar rifffs and his trademark vocals that never seem strained, never seem blemished invite the listener to sing along on the chorus “I miss you sweetheart mine / I’ll make it back this time / Just to tell you that I love you.” The musicians and vocalists, with Fenton leading the way on guitar, Luke Herbert on drums, Kristian Attard (bass), Jeff Young’s organ, Stuart Mathis (Lead guitar / pedal steel), Kelsey Collins (percussion and background vocals), Andy Clockwise (background vocals) and Jorgen Carlsson (percussion) are very, very good. These are solid players and singers.

The success of “Sweet Virginia,” has  Read More

Jaime Wyatt - "Believe"

You have only listened to a few bars from the song “Believe,” the new single by American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jaime Wyatt, when it becomes apparent that you are listening to a very gifted artist. From where we sit, we do not think you are going to hear anybody on your favorite radio station sing a song better than what Jaime Wyatt sings “Believe.”  While listening as Wyatt plays her guitar and sings the song that she wrote, you cannot help but think that you may just be listening to a very special artist, who before very much longer is going to be a star.

Noting that her fans sing the words to “Believe,” back to her at her concerts, Jaime Wyatt said, “It is a good chorus and a positive chorus. It is the best feeling (when I hear my fans singing my songs). That’s when it works. That’s always the goal for me. It is to write something that people can relate to, that they understand, and that they use the song as catharsis, to use it in a way that is emotionally satisfying. It is when people understand the feeling and they relate it to their own lives.

I fully realize that performing is such an honor and a pleasure. You have to earn it and for people to show up at your (concerts) you have to earn it and you have to appreciate that too. It is the best feeling in the world, for people to sit and listen to you get out your emotions and (for them) to get the feeling of it.”

As for her songwriting, Jaime Wyatt says, “I keep lots of journals and I write pretty much every day. I try to compile throughout the day when I get an idea I write it down immediately. I write everything down and then I go through the lyrics and I always keep that going. I will read it, work on it and I will try and work on oneRead More

Kirsten Proffit & CALICO

Kirsten Proffit’s vocals are hauntingly beautiful on the song she wrote, “Break Your Heart,” a song yet to be released, but it can be heard on her reverbnation website. Her friend, sometimes co-writer Steve Berns plays a Brian Setzer signature Gretsch guitar and Proffit accompanies herself with a Gretsch Electromatic guitar. Her voice is rich and emotive. The vibe is Americana and earthy. Throughout her career Proffit has demonstrated that she is a versatile artist whose songwriting palette and vocals have many colors. “Wanderlust,” from her My Devotion album released in 2012, features Kirsten Proffit playing a Guild acoustic guitar and the lyrics flow like a well written poem, as her vocals are subtle and pretty, matching the stripped down instrumentals.  “Wanderlust is introduced by Mark Christian’s electric guitar which emulates the sound of a theremin, although that was not by intent.

“Mark Christian does this really neat thing on his Telecaster where he does volume swells, while playing the slide and it sounds like a theremin. We also overlapped a couple of the tracks, so you can’t make out exactly what is going on,” says Kirsten Proffit.

The easy flowing “California,” also from the new album features the singer-songwriter playing her Guild guitar, while Mark Christian plays the dobro giving the song a Roots like vibe contrasted with a light Pop influenced vocal. The harmonica is used sparingly and to great effect for a song that is mellow and reflective.

“I wrote the song “California,” when I moved away. You wake up every morning when you have moved from a placeRead More

Manda Mosher Interview

When Manda Mosher graduated to junior high school after spending several years in her elementary school choir, she was told that she could not be in the choir in her new school, because her voice was not strong enough. Her music aspirations could have ended tragically that day. Instead, she grew up and became a talented singer-songwriter.

Manda Mosher now reflects upon that experience, “It kind of broke my heart at that point. I couldn’t go into choir and I had already started writing and playing guitar, so I decided to take private guitar lessons,” she recalls.

Being denied participation in the junior high choir could have been devastating, but Manda Mosher, years later, would year after year be honored at the LA Music Awards for honors such as, Best Female Artist of the Year, Best National Touring Artist, Pop Single of the Year for her song “Wash It All Away,” and Rock Single of the Year with the song “Mister Madness.” Three years ago, Manda Mosher also appeared on Craig Ferguson’s popular late night show.

Manda Mosher, whose family has been in Los Angeles since the mid-1800s, had always been around music, during her childhood years. Her father Bob Mosher played a Flamenco guitar and her grandfather, also named Bob Mosher played the piano and ukulele. Her great-grandmother had played the piano and that piano sat in Manda Mosher’s parent’s home and so she began to tinker on the Steinway. She learned how to play her grandfather’s ukulele and when she was physically big enough she learned how to play her father’s Flamenco guitars.  Read More

Jesse and Noah

Driven Back is the name of the new album from Florida native sons Jesse and Noah, who now make their home in Nashville, Tennessee and the title song from the new record possesses superb guitar work by both of these fine musician – singer – songwriters.

“It is three chords and it is a Blues structure,” Jesse Bellamy says of a song that has more Blues overtones and rocks a bit more than the Country and Americana vibes that we have become accustomed to hearing from Jesse and Noah since their debut album The Key To The Highway (2001) under the band name Elston Gunnn several years ago, Drivin Nowhere (2005) their breakthrough album Nowhere Revisited (2007) and their last record Landfall (2010). Noah Bellamy’s keyboards introduce the song and then we get a delicious guitar appetizer that whets the listeners’ appetites preparing them for the blistering guitar work that will follow, in a song that has great crossover appeal for radio formats other than Country and Americana where Jesse and Noah have built a strong core of fans, particularly in Texas and in the northeast United States.

Jesse Bellamy says, “We cut the track (“Driven Back,”) before we wrote any lyrics on that one. We just really wanted to make a good record and that is how we wrote a lot of these tunes, as we recorded. That one was really more about making a record than it was about writing a song in a lot of ways. These songs don’t have to work outside the context of this record. That is the cool thing about a lot of them.  It was about feelsRead More

Ann Claire a Honkytonk Princess

Ann Claire is a terrific Country Music singer and songwriter whose songs such as “Better Girl,” which she wrote with Greg Crowe, are sung with an earthiness and straight from her heart.

“Greg Crowe is a great friend and he has had numerous hits including a # 1 with Montgomery Gentry, called “The House On the Corner of Lonely and Gone” (co-written with Dave Gibson and Bill McCorvey). Greg is from Mississippi and was one of my first friends in Nashville. He is someone who took me under his wing. He has been a tremendous friend and support to me for many years. I wrote “Better Girl,” also with another guy, Chris Caminiti, who won the NSAI songwriter of the year contest. Usually, I just write a song and it just comes from me then I take it to Macdonald (producer, songwriting collaborator and singer). It is usually half me and half him, but this song was different. I sat around and talked to both of them about what I was trying to say and we just talked around the subject for a long time, which is how the process sometimes goes, if you are lucky.

They asked me what I wanted to say, because I came up with “six o’clock in the morning.” It is all true. I was living in L.A. and I had a boyfriend who was from Dallas. I loved him a lot. He is a dear friend, but it didn’t work out. I loved him very much and he is a wonderful person, but it just did not work out for me. This is what happened. We were living together and he took me to the airport for an early flight to Nashville. It was six o’clock in the morning and I remember he gave the porter who took my luggage, ten dollars and I justRead More