It’s hard to believe “new bands week” is almost over! It’s been a lot of fun — hopefully we’ll do it again soon before we run out of new bands!
My song for today, “No One Else,” is from my second favorite Weezer album, their self-titled debut known among fans as “The Blue Album.” For some reason, I had a hard time getting into the album when I first heard it. When I listened again about a year later, I really fell in love with its sound and energy. It’s about as close to garage rock as my preferences go… I felt this song translated easily into an acoustic version, and it was fun to learn a song from a band I have never covered before!
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the seventh day of “new bands week” — Jeff’s up again. And, of course, don’t forget to check back here on Sunday when he releases his new album Greenlight!
And with the curveball out of left field, it’s Jim Fusco premiering a Fats Domino song! I have a list of about 20 songs that I’m ready to record, but my raging cold didn’t allow for that. You know, the best laid plans… But, I was listening to my new Genius Playlists in iTunes and this song came up. It was the Beach Boys version from 15 Big Ones that I’ve known for so many years. I mean, I heard the Fats Domino version on the local oldies station back when they actually played 50s music, but I knew all of the words because of the Beach Boys version.
I stayed true to the Fats Domino version for two reasons: 1, the Beach Boys version isn’t that great, and 2, it’s new bands weeks here on the best video blog on the internet and it only seemed fitting.
My current illness, which I’ve noticed is similar to most, allows me to feel much better as the day goes on. When I first wake up, I can barely talk and before I go to bed, you wouldn’t think I was sick at all. So, that’s why I recorded this video so late at night. My voice still won’t hold up for any higher-register songs (no comments from the peanut gallery as to my NORMAL ability to sing those parts), so this tune, even though I remembered it the day before, moved 20 slots up my list and onto New Bands Week.
Honestly, this video may rank as one of my favorites in the future. There’s a few Jim Fusco personal touches, including that C to Cmaj7 to C7 that I added during the middle 8. There’s also that crazy strum pattern I’m doing. Try to replicate it. I’m playing over a full six inch span over the sound hole. You’ll see the lower notes being played first, followed by the mids and highs. The video doesn’t rush, either. I did two full takes that were literally about a second apart from each other in length. The video seems to capture that orignal Fats Domino feel to it, and I’m proud of how the song came out. I think my voice, even though it wasn’t at its best, fit the song well.
It stinks that New Bands Week is over for me. I always look forward to doing new artists. You’ll be seeing PLENTY from me in the coming weeks, especially as my voice gets back to normal again and I don’t have coughing fits after a take. Enjoy today’s video and join me on the edge of my seat as we wait to view Chris and Jeff’s final entries into New Bands Week 2.0. Oh, and two last things: wasn’t Jeff’s original tune great yesterday? And second, I love Jeff’s new trademarked “Thumpin’ Thursday”, but today’s mellow number doesn’t really fit that bill. But then again, I won’t say what went on over on Blueberry Hill…
So, I’ll admit it- that messup in the beginning of the video wasn’t left in there on purpose. Why didn’t I catch that? Must’ve been in a rush to render the video…
Anyway, this is my first entry into “New Bands Week”. Jeff set the bar pretty high yesterday with a great cover of a David Bowie song. I bring you a song from a MUCH lesser-known artist in The Thorns. This band, which consists of 90s pop artists Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet, and Pete Droge, made only one album and this is the opening track.
I’m not going to lie and say that this is the best album ever, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. My brother Mike had heard one of their songs and got me into the group. I listened to this album about 100 times, and even though it has some “eh” songs on it (which is consistent with just about ANY debut album), there’s a lot of great songs, too. The band was clearly influenced by Brian Wilson with their harmonies and usage of great instruments like the bass harmonica.
But, the band also has Traveling Wilburys ties. All three members played acoustic guitar, just like the Wilburys members did, they used famous session drummer Jim Keltner (known as the sixth Wilbury), and this song, “Runaway Feeling”, sounds like it’s taken from the Tom Petty songbook. I tried to keep the Petty impersonation to a minimum, but with this song, you don’t really have that much of a choice.
That’s my fiancee Becky in the background clapping for me at the end. This is the last of my “outdoor” videos. I have so many songs I’m ready to record from literally TEN new artists, but I can’t right now because I’m in that “no voice” phase of my cold. I hope it subsides enough by Thursday so I can have a good showing for my next new video. Thankfully, I already have next week’s Original Wednesday original song video recorded from one of my last sessions.
I’m so excited to see what songs Chris and Jeff are going to do from new artists this week. Remember last time we did a New Bands Week? It extended out almost a whole week afterwards. That’s why I like doing this- it makes us think. And once a new artist or song pops in, others seem to come very quickly.
Enjoy today’s video and come back tomorrow to see what Chris will premeire for us here on the best music video blog of all time: The Laptop Sessions! (Oh, and by the way, over the past three days, I’ve gotten TEN more YouTube subscribers!)
