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ABOUT RAR: For those of
you new to this site, "RAR" is Rick Alan Rice, the publisher
of the RARWRITER Publishing Group websites.
Use this link to visit the
RAR music page, which features original music
compositions and other.
ATWOOD - "A Toiler's Weird Odyssey of Deliverance"-AVAILABLE
NOW FOR KINDLE (INCLUDING KINDLE COMPUTER APPS) FROM
AMAZON.COM.Use
this link.
CCJ Publisher Rick Alan Rice dissects
the building of America in a trilogy of novels
collectively called ATWOOD. Book One explores
the development of the American West through the
lens of public policy, land planning, municipal
development, and governance as it played out in one
of the new counties of Kansas in the latter half of
the 19th Century. The novel focuses on the religious
and cultural traditions that imbued the American
Midwest with a special character that continues to
have a profound effect on American politics to this
day. Book One creates an understanding about
America's cultural foundations that is further
explored in books two and three that further trace
the historical-cultural-spiritual development of one
isolated county on the Great Plains that stands as
an icon in the development of a certain brand of
American character. That's the serious stuff viewed
from high altitude. The story itself gets down and
dirty with the supernatural, which inATWOOD
- A Toiler's Weird Odyssey of Deliverance is the
outfall of misfires in human interactions, from the
monumental to the sublime.The
book features the epic poem"The
Toiler"as
well as artwork by New Mexico artist Richard
Padilla.
Elmore Leonard
Meets Larry McMurtry
Western Crime
Novel
I am offering another
novel through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service.
Cooksin is the story of a criminal syndicate that sets its
sights on a ranching/farming community in Weld County, Colorado,
1950. The perpetrators of the criminal enterprise steal farm
equipment, slaughter cattle, and rob the personal property of
individuals whose assets have been inventoried in advance and
distributed through a vast system of illegal commerce.
It is a ripping good yarn, filled
with suspense and intrigue. This was designed intentionally to
pay homage to the type of creative works being produced in 1950,
when the story is set. Richard Padilla
has done his usually brilliant work in capturing the look and feel of
a certain type of crime fiction being produced in that era. The
whole thing has the feel of those black & white films you see on
Turner Movie Classics, and the writing will remind you a little
of Elmore Leonard, whose earliest works were westerns.
Use this link.
EXPLORE THE KINDLE
BOOK LIBRARY
If you have not explored the books
available from Amazon.com's Kindle Publishing
division you would do yourself a favor to do so. You
will find classic literature there, as well as tons
of privately published books of every kind. A lot of
it is awful, like a lot of traditionally published
books are awful, but some are truly classics. You
can get the entire collection of Shakespeare's works
for two bucks.
Amazon is the largest,
but far from the only digital publisher. You can
find similar treasure troves at NOOK
Press(the
Barnes & Noble site),Lulu,
and others.
MUSIC
MINKA - Dance Party Manifesto Makers
MINKA is a Philadelphia dance band led by the
eccentric Dick Rubin, whose proclivity for nude
performing may not be totally right for the times. Still, the
band, which has played 100 shows over the last 18 months, has a
mission statement: Resist conforming to the routine society wants
you to follow. Forge a new path.
Tap into your primal nature. Return to the source of true human
satisfaction.
Embrace paranoia about the technological systems that regulate
modern existence.
Express yourself without reservation – verbally, artistically,
sexually. They have performed with acts
including Andrew WK, Protomen, West Philly Orchestra, Escort,
Chappo, and Superhuman Happiness. "Born in the Viper Room" was
recorded with producer Brian McTear of Miner Street Recordings.
Wild Mountain
"Trust In Fate" (A Celtic Americana Song)
Wild Mountain is a six-piece Americana folk rock band
out of Colorado, mixing Celtic-Irish melodies and rhythms with
American heartland Bluegrass music. The band had its beginnings
in January 2016, when after eighteen years Celtic rock band
The Indulgers came to an end and multi –
instrumentalist/composer Mike Nile and violinist Renee
Fine found themselves looking to start a new band combining
the Irish/Celtic music they had been playing with
Americana/Bluegrass music. The band very quickly built an
initial 28-song catalog of original material, including 14 on
their debut album “Greengrass”. That album was recorded at
Grapevine Studios in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and was produced
by Mike Nile and Neale Heywood (Fleetwood Mac). Prior to
his long ride as part of The Indulgers, Nile played with
Randy California in the rock band Spirit, so he has
been at the high end of the professional spectrum for decades.
The Indulgers was a great band, and Wild Mountain is of the same
DNA.
Yo
No Say’s new fie-song EP
Inner is a stunning journey. Three years after their fist
sprawling fulllength Get Lost, Yo No Say returns to
Mobtown studios in Baltimore with producer Sean Mercer. The
once purely indie-rock fie piece has stripped down to four band
members, and a more focused and
modern crossover aesthetic. The resulting sound is that of
intention but also an ability to roll with the
punches.
“There was a lot changing in our lives during the course of
making Inner and I think you can hear it in
the album,” says Feldman (lead vocals, songwriter, guitarist).
Recording the album was exhilarating,
but hard work, and a lot transpired during the sessions. Drums
were stolen directly out of drummer
Dan Toal’s car mid-recording right outside the studio, and the
very next morning he lost part of his
fingertip in a woodworking accident. One band member suffered
love lost, and the original keyboard
player left the band all together.
This chaos only helped to fuel the band’s fie. When you listen
to Inner you can hear the tension
of change, uncertainty, and personal growth, as the lyrics
transition from current to existential. The
album twists and turns through electro-pop, indie-rock, and
psychedelia, speaking to both the world
outside the window and the one inside your head. The EP is to be
the fist of a two part release. Inner and eventually
Outer will serve as a deep and yet glossy Yin and Yang.
Neosho Synth-Pop
"Time Traveler"
Neosho is the Austin, Texas-based project of
Jackson Bennet and Justin Bernard Williams, who have
an LP titled Borderline available on Soundcloud and
Spotify. Bennet writes the lyrics, sings, and plays bass.
Williams plays sax, while both play guitar, synth, and engineer
the sampling and sequencing. All together, they make a layered
synth pop that likes deeply delayed vocals and could veer toward
commercial appeal. We're listening.
The Galaxy Electric
"Tomorrow was Better
Yesterday"
This is a well conceived and executed project, that uses
vintage film and recording equipment, and deft art direction, to
recreate an era you might remember from home movies, and capture
a time of more innocent optimism. It is a hot concept executed
with cool aplomb, the work of Jen Meller. Meller shot the
video on Super 8 film, and recorded the song to 1/4" analog tape
to craft that retro feel, with the setting being the site of the
1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park. The onscreen and
musical talent is provided by The Galaxy Electric, of
Washington D.C., that is: Jacqueline Caruso - Korg Delta,
Mellotron M4000D Mini, Vocals - and Augustus Green -
Buchla Music Easel, Bass, Sound Design.
New York Electric Piano
"Party On"
This video here is from the Jazz project New York Electric
Piano (NYEP), who began in 2003 and whose 2004
release New York Electric Piano cracked the top 20 of the
CMJ Jazz Chart. They followed that record with the War Oracle,
adding vocals for the first time. In 2009 they expanded to a
sextet for King Mystery which received heavy radio
airplay, and then to an octet for 2011's Keys To the City,
which spent a month in Top Ten of the CMJ Jazz Chart. With
Black Hole in One they've returned to the original trio
format, Richard Hammond, electric bass, joining original
members Pat Daugherty, piano, and Aaron Comess,
drums, but they are working on another 8-piece release in 2018.
This is a seasoned outfit of talented musicians who explore
musical idioms with dexterity and challenge the listener to open
their minds to new sounds and ideas.
Kramies
"I Wish I Missed You"
Dutch-American songwriter Kramies, who lives in Colorado but
is signed to an Australian label, travelled to Shankill Castle, Ireland
to write new songs for his upcoming album. Along with his critically
acclaimed EP “The Wooden Heart”, produced by Jason Lytle (Grandaddy)
& Todd Tobias (Guided by Voices), Kramies has worked and
performed with known artists such as Grandaddy, Clexico, and
Spiritualized. His style has been described as haunting and romantic,
with an aura of dreams and fairy tales, striking a balance between
whimsy and melancholia, which sound like Colorado circa 1971. In
Ireland, dream-folklore artist Kramies, resided in an old castle and
immersed himself in the beautiful landscapes of his surroundings. While
writing, he created a selection of B-side songs alongside songs for a
new album. A few of these B-sides were demoed in this historic castle
while using simple equipment to capture the ancient environment. Kramies'
new single "I Wish I Missed You" is one of these songs.
Beto Hale
"Closer to You"
Beto Hale is a Mexico City native, a Bruno Mars type of story
who started playing drums as a child, was recruited to tour as a
keyboardist with the popular teen-pop singing group Timbiriche.
(as a replacement for Aureo Baqueiro, who had turned producer of Latin
Pop albums), and was later educated at the Berklee College of Music,
from which he now holds an M.A. It seems somewhat odd that with
that background Beto Hale should come across as so remarkably American.
He sounds more like Tom Petty than Julio Iglesias.
Louise Goffin
"Revenge (featuring Skylar Gudasz)"
Louise Goffin is a New York
City songwriter with a strong provenance, the daughter of pop
songwriting legends Garry Goffin and Carole King, who decades ago were
married and cranking out Brill Building hits, apparently including the
now 57-year old Louise. She was participating in a March 2017
tribute concert, held in Los Angeles to raise funds for the non-profit
Wild Honey Foundation, where she met North Carolina-based
singer/songwriter Skylar Gudasz. The two hit if off in a collaborative
way and the above is part of their output. In a mere day, they wrote and
recorded “Revenge,” a glam-swirled pop gem that is wrapped with dark
intrigue. Goffin’s keyboard and bass lines nicely enrich Gudasz’s
original guitar riff that inspired the song. The two trade off on
singing the verses and blend their voices in lovely harmonies that mask
the ominous tale lurking within the lyrics. “Revenge” is set for release
October 20 on Goffin’s own Majority of One Records.
Oak House
"Cut that Out"
Georgia-based Oak House does a variation on the lost footage
theme, except that in this story what is found is their spacey cassette
tape. The trio of frontman and guitarist Gresham Cash, drummer
Wes Gregory and bassist Connor Sabula formed in Athens in the
winter of 2014. From their websiter - "Since, they've grown a reputation
for their violent, high energy shows and strikingly inventive sound. Oak
House plays a heavy synthesis of melodic indie rock, psychedelic,
experimental and grunge, though Cash finds most of his inspiration for
songwriting in classical, jazz, Eastern melody and contemporary, minimal
instrumental music. Their sound is cinematic, sweeping and immensely
moving with droning, frenetic guitars, decaying synth, fragmented, dark
piano and pulsing, immersive rhythms."
Tyler Stafford
"Turn Around"
Tyler Stafford is a Reno, Nevada-based
singer-songwriter who Jeff Pilliod, our eyes in Reno, brought to the attention of this
site, and glad he did. Stafford is a natural in the folk-rock mold,
highly emotive, sensitive, and authentic. He has a wonderful guitar
technique that is mirrored by his flowing melodic structures, and it is
really effective. I like this guy. He gets compared to acoustic John
Mayer and to James Taylor, but he really reminds me more of Ben Gibbard
with his straight-forward, honest approach and lyrical phrasing. Stafford has been around for awhile,
and his first studio album, “On a String,” released in the Fall of 2011,
won him a spot on the list of the Reno Gazette Journal’s Top Albums of
2011, and an invitation to play at the annual Americana Music Festival
in Virginia City in the Summer of 2012.
The CCJ at RARWRITER provides a steady stream of news
feeds from a variety of sources. Use this link to visit the
Music News page.
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