Tiny bit of back-story, skip to the next paragraph to get the interesting part of this post. As some of you might know, I have another web site/blog. That one, makes money. Almost enough to live on. This one (RMD) makes about enough to buy a cup of coffee once a week. I do it purely for fun, and to spread what I think is good music. With all that said, there really is a huge non-financial benefit to running a rock music blog - musicians, promoters, managers and PR folks contact you all the time. They offer free CD’s, concert tickets, bribes of all sorts. My attitude has always been that if I like the music, I’ll write about it - regardless of the bribe. If I don’t like the music, I say thanks but no thanks. Kind of a “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” deal. So when Jon Regen sent me an email, and I went to his page and read “jazz-inspired pop” I immediately thought ‘yeah I’m not going to like this’. Damn I was wrong.

Before you go to much farther, head over to Jon Regens music page and give him a listen (I’m not 100% sure but it looks like his entire latest album is available to stream/download for free). After you listen to some of the music, you’ll understand exactly why Andy Summers of The Police, Martha Wainwright, Kamilla Thompson, Jimmy Vivino, and Julia Kent (Norah Jones, Antony & The Johnsons) all worked with him on Let It Go (his latest album). In fact I’m digging his music so much that if you review my Last.FM history, you’ll notice that I have the title track, Let It Go, on repeat.

Read more about Jon in this New York Times article, or visit his MySpace page.

Jon Regen Tour Dates

19 Apr 2008 UNDERGROUND CONCERTS ,Maplewood, New Jersey
5 May 2008 VOCALIA FESTIVAL, Udine, Pordenone
13 May 2008 INGOLSTADT BLUES FESTIVAL, Ingolstadt
14 May 2008 NU SPIRIT, Bratislava
15 May 2008 BIRDLAND, Vienna
22 May 2008 ABBABULA FESTIVAL, Sassari
31 May 2008 LA NOTTE BIANCA UNIVERSITARIA, Cesena

This is an up and coming artist that I’m quite pleased to introduce you to - my little brother, Josh McKillop.

Josh started his musical career playing drums in our basement. Our parents have always been supportive of our projects/interests, and by paying for lessons and allowing a teenager to bang away on a drum kit for hours at a time only proves it. Because trust me, there was nowhere in the house you could go to hide from that sound. At some point Josh decided he wanted to switch from drums to guitar, and our mum was all too happy to buy him his first guitar - and Josh hasn’t looked back since. Now where he gets this musical talent is still an open question - I can’t hold a note, keep a beat, or play a single note - on any instrument. Yet Josh managed to record the following songs (see below) by playing every instrument, recording the vocals, and tracking it all together.

Josh McKillop - Twin Sisters
Josh McKillop - Giftcard

Head over to Josh’s MySpace for more tracks, including the song he wrote for his girlfriends birthday - “Dana’s Birthday Song”.

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Conrad Oberg, 12 yr-old visually impaired, self taught piano and guitar player, performs the Jimi Hendrix classic, Little Wing (click that f’ing link). Conrad Oberg was born three and a half months prematurely in the Summer of 1994. Weighing only one and a half pounds at birth, Conrad was left with no eyesight in his left eye and only 15% of the vision in his right.

And at 12 he has more talent than most of us will in 5 lifetimes.

Corkscrew may be new to the scene, but they are turning heads where ever they go. Already having supported legendary performers such as Dickie Betts, modern rock bands such as Live and Rose Hill Drive, future legends such as Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Corkscrew has honed their live act for the bigger stages to a fine tuned performance. Frank (lead and slide guitar) has even had the honor of performing with Robert Randolph and the Family Band!

Breaking out of the common Jam band formulas, they are part of the sub genre moving towards progressive musical jams with emphasis on songwriting and arrangements. Their covers are re-interpretations of the originals, rearranged for Corkscrew’s groove and used as platforms for their innovative improvisational expeditions. What is Corkscrew’s style, who do they sound like? Each member brings a distinct musical style to the amalgam that is Corkscrew. Their influences include: The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Allman Brothers, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Phil Lesh and Friends, Dream Theater, Frank Zappa, Gov’t Mule and many others.

Corkscrew - Imagine Me

For more Corkcrew music, be sure to check out their MySpace page

Upcoming Corkscrew Tour Dates:

6/30 2007 Corner Pocket - Orange, CT
7/04 2007 Larry’s in Lakeside - Lakeside, CT
7/14 2007 Calf Pasture Beach - Rock The Kazbah Fest - Norwalk, CT
7/27 2007 The Corner Pocket Cafe - Orange, CT
7/28 2007 Ordinary Joe’s - Oakville, CT
8/09 2007 Seaside Park - Gathering of the Vibes - Bridgeport, CT
9/01 2007 Dittos Litchfield Tavern - Litchfield, CT
9/08 2007 Beckers Powder House Bike Night - Waterbury, CT

Something I’m going to try and do more of here @ RMD is cover artists who are unsigned and relatively unheard of. The first is Jack Babineau, a 16 year old from Rhode Island. To date, Jack has been playing a lot of Dave Matthews covers, but has recently broadened his musical taste to include The Allman Brothers. Aside from an obvious natural talent, he has an outstanding stage presence, even though he admits (in the video) to being quite nervous. Jack does have a MySpace profile with more music, but has suggested that I not link to it quite yet, as he’s not entirely happy with the stuff up there. When Jack becomes a star, remember you read about him here first.