Our Mission

Our mission at this site is to promote an artist, a group, a CD, a song that you might have passed by. Unless you have a major record company promoting your newest release it’s hard to get noticed. In today’s rapid on-the-go world it’s hard to find the time to discover that artist that falls between the cracks. There’s a lot of good music out there that deserves a wider audience and that’s the goal of this site. We want to help you find that music.

We’re not here to be hip and find the next “Big Thing.” We’re probably as far from hip as possible. While sometimes we might stumble across someone that will end up as the “new thing” that’s not what we’re looking for. We’d be thrilled for some of these deserving artists to become Big Names, but we also live in the real world and realize that’s probably not going to happen. So every person that we can turn on to these undiscovered gems will be one more person listening and hopefully buying their music.

We plan to be positive on this site. Our main goal is the weekly features that showcase a new artist. Inbetween these weekly features we’ll pass along news and tour information, maybe do some album reviews and even a concert review here and there. Our plan is to pass on the good and if we come across things we don’t like we’ll do what our Mom told us when we were kids, “if you can’t say something nice, than don’t say anything at all.”

An add-on in the Weekly Feature will be a sample of the artist's music. We hope to include one song for every artist that we talk about, so you can get an idea of what they sound like. It won't always be the newest track, but one we feel really showcases their sound.

We’re not a site that hates an artist just because they’re a Big Name and have a Big Record Company behind them. Indeed we love quite a few Big Name artists, but they don’t need our help in getting the word out. They have a lot of people behind them already doing that. We want to try and help those guys and girls that don’t have quite that many people behind them in their quest in delivering their music.

We hope to keep our sidebar fairly small but there are a few items on it that deserve mention. Click on the Unsigned button and you’ll go to a site that features unsigned artists of every genre with samples of their music and bios and other information about them.

Another is the Music in Your Future widget. This brings you to a site that lists just about everything that is coming out in the music business and the date of its release. I’ll be pulling some of these upcoming release dates and probably running a maybe monthly post highlighting albums I feel deserve special notice, but if you’re wondering when your favorite album is coming out this is the place to check.

And on a personal note we’ve included the link to TopBlogMag where this site got its start as a weekly column. The column no long appears on a weekly basis but this site is a good place to check out for some great writing.

We also have a few ads here and there on this site. The ads serve a twofold purpose. After each weekly feature we hope to have a few ads where you can purchase either downloads or albums from that featured artist if you’ve liked what you’ve read or heard so far. Plus we would be lying if we didn’t admit that each click and purchase from said click didn’t drop a few cents in our coffers.

There’s also a Voices to hear cafépress shop where you can help promote this site by wearing some cool apparel with the logo splashed across the shirt or hat. Wear some of these shirts with the names of these great artists and let people know what good taste you have in music.

Hopefully you’ll like this site and find some great new musical artists. We hope to update the weekly feature every Monday. We’ve got a backlog of old columns that we plan to drop in so not every week will be a new feature until we run out of the backlog. We’ve started off with a half dozen features already here to give everyone an idea of what we’re doing.

If you like us spread the word. Link to us. Tell others about us. But more important, give these artists a try, buy something from them and tell your friends how good they are.

Susan Cowsill

This week’s voice to hear has been singing for over thirty years, but only recently released a solo album. Susan Cowsill has been singing and playing guitar since she was in kindergarten. Her family The Cowsills were the real life inspiration behind the television show The Partridge Family. In the sixties they had hits with the songs "Hair," "The Rain, the Park and Other Things (Flower Girl)," and "We Can Fly." At the tender age of twelve Susan decided to retire from the music business.

Her retirement didn’t last long. Before almost any time she was back performing with acts such as Dwight Twilley, Hootie and the Blowfish and other musicians. She still was singing in the background, not taking the forefront yet. In the 90’s her musical family reunited for a new album and tour.

Living in L.A. she met Vicki Peterson, formerly of the Bangles and the two formed a power pop duo called the Psycho Sisters. The basis of this musical act became a life long friendship and years later they became sister-in-laws when Vicki married one of Susan’s brothers.

While performing in L.A. the two met some other musicians that were forming a new group called the Continental Drifters. One of the members of this group was Peter Holsapple, formerly from the critical acclaimed group the dBs. Peter and Susan ended up marrying and having a child together. The group slowly found its way to New Orleans until all the members were living in the Big Easy.

For ten years the Continental Drifters put out five albums of quite simply wonderful glorious music. The group has multiple singer/songwriters so every album is a mixture of songs from the different members. Unfortunately great music doesn’t always equal great sales and finally after a decade the group and marriage of Susan and Peter go their separate ways.

Finally Susan is ready to release a solo album. Just Believe It comes out and is proof that Susan is just a talented lead as she is part of a band. Susan’s songs are Pop music mixed with some of the Louisiana flavor and a sprinkle of country and rock. “I Know You Know” is one of those songs that just makes you want to sing along. Instead of the…I’ll be nice and not say what I think of a lot of the current “musical hits,” this song should have been a hit.

After Katrina every other artist from New Orleans had a “Katrina song.” Susan was no exception except I think she had one of the best, if not the best of the bunch. Her song was called “Crescent City Snow” and it incorporated so many elements from New Orleans in it.

I’ve seen Susan live multiple times. She always puts on a fun show. She loves to talk to the audience and have fun with them. I’ve seen her open for the Bangles, play Jazz Fest, open for Better Than Ezra, headline her own show. Every month at Carrolton Station in downtown New Orleans she does a Covered in Vinyl show, where she recreates a classic album in its entirety. She’s done songs from Fleetwood Mac, U2, Led Zepplin, Joni Mitchell, Mamas and Papas, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles and many others.

In addition to her solo album she has released an album of live outtakes from different Covered In Vinyl shows and has two live albums from her appearance at Jazz Fest available. Also check out her albums with the Continental Drifters and her family The Cowsills. For someone with just one album out officially she has a lot of music out there to sample.

"Just Believe It"

Alejandro Escovedo

Today’s column is going to spotlight an American treasure. This man should be much better known than he is. No Depression magazine (a great magazine about music) named him the artist of the decade for the previous decade. Who am I talking about? His name is Alejandro Escovedo and unfortunately most of you reading this have probably never heard of him. He’s not a new artist, he’s been singing and making great music for decades. His voice echoes the weariness of life, his music a combination of rock, folk and country.

He was born in San Antonio to a large family. His niece is the singer/drummer Shelia E. After moving to San Francisco for college he formed one of the seminal punk bands of the Bay area, the Nuns. After awhile he moved to New York where he joined forces with Chip and Tony Kinman (from the Dils) to form the country-punk band Rank and File. Their first album rates as one of the classic pieces in what is now called Americana. The band moved to Austin where he quit and formed a new group with two of his brothers called True Believers. After a rocking first album the group was dropped by their label just before the release of their second album.

Now a solo artist Alejandro began to make music that really fit in no neat little box. He played a combination of rock, folk, country, blues mixed in with the music of the Mexican-Americans from his home state. His voice is a rich deep sound of a life lived hard but still filled with small joys one can find. His songs tell the story of such a life and the lives of his parents and family.

In 2003 after years of living a rock and roll lifestyle and the hard drinking and drug use that goes with such a lifestyle Alejandro fell critically ill before a concert and was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. After a long bout of recovery he release a new album last year called The Boxing Mirror.

His discography is not large. His first solo release was Gravity followed by eight more albums. He has played with a rock band, acoustically and with a string quintet and a 13 piece Orchestra.

Live he is amazing. I saw him perform with just another guitarist, ,David Pulkingham. The two sat on the stage and played some of the most amazing music I have ever heard. In between songs Alejandro would tell stories of his youth and of his Father coming from Mexico. It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever had the privilege to see.

"Gravity/Falling Down Again"

Theresa Andersson

She put out one of the best albums of the year in 2006, but most people have never heard of her. Outside New Orleans she is hardly known, if at all, by most listeners. Her name is Theresa Andersson and she is another transplanted native to the crescent city. Originally from Sweden Theresa moved to New Orleans with her boyfriend at the time Anders Osborne. Anders is another local singer/songerwriter. After living together the two broke up and Theresa went her own way, first moving to Nashville than Austin until she finally found her way back home to New Orleans.

Theresa is a singer and multi-instrumentalist, playing everything from guitar to the banjo to her preferred choice the violin. But don’t expect sweet classical sounds to come from her violin. She makes her violin wail like a heavy metal guitarist does his guitar. Her singing style is reminiscent of Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. She can sing anything from a sweet ballad to a more rocking tune.

To date she’s released four albums, from the debut titled Vibe to the now out of print No Regrets to Shine and her latest the self titled ep. Her most recent was supposed to be a full length but a little something called Katrina interrupted the recording process. Afterwards she decided to release what she had finished as a five song ep. This small album was one of the best pieces of music that was put out in the year 2006. Every song on it was a gem, from the Lucinda Williams cover of “Jackson” to the surprise cover of the Madonna song “Boderline”. If you’re not a fan of Madonna, don’t worry, this song does not sound anything like the Material Girl. I listened to it twice before I realized where I had heard the original song.

Theresa is not a writer of her own material, but she has a great ear for picking wonderful tunes to record. I think this is important. Too many singers want to write their own material, even if they’re not capable of it. I think it shows great wisdom for a singer nowdays to chose other writer’s material and not think they have to write all their own material.

In concert Theresa shows a lot harder rocking side than she has so far on disc. She makes her violin wail like a banashee in concert. Her version of Gillian Welch’s “I Want to Sing Rock and Roll” is a classic that deserves to be recorded.

She is currently working on a new record that should be out by the end of summer. This is a release you should mark down and make a point of getting when it comes out. If it’s half as good as her last one it will be great.

"Borderline"

Shannon McNally

Classic Rock. Rap. Alternative Rock. Hip Hop. Emo. Punk. Gothic. Heavy Metal. Rock and Roll. Americana. There are as many different names for the music as there are listeners. For an artist today trying to figure out where they fit into the musical scene has to be a daunting task. Should they try to be more punk. Or perhaps throw some emo into their sound, that seems to be the hot new thing.

Or perhaps they could not worry about where they fit into the scheme of things and just try to put out some great music. Which is what Shannon McNally has decided to do. Put out some great music and let the fans decide what they want to call her music. She calls it North American Ghost Music. Which is as good a description as anything I can think of.

Shannon is from my home town of New Orleans by way of New York. Her influences are such groups like the Band, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and the writer John Steinbeck. She graduated college with a degree in Social Anthropology. Supporting herself as a model she decided to turn what was a hobby of making music into her passion. Her debut album Jukebox Sparrows came out in 2002.

Her music is a wonderful gumbo of soul, Americana, New Orleans Funk and whatever else she can throw into the mix with a voice that gives goose bumps to listeners. Her songs tells stories of rebels and visionaries, such as Geronimo on the song from the album with the same title.

Her live shows are as good if not better than the source material. She puts on an amazing show, telling stories of her life intermixed with the songs that she brings to life on the stage.

Since her first album she’s released Geronimo, South Side Sessions and a live album called North American Ghost Music. Each album just gets better than the previous. Her newest should be out anytime, on it she teamed with legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson.

"Now That I Know"

Will Hoge

I've seen a lot of great musicians. I've listened to a lot of great albums. One of my favorites at the moment is Will Hoge. Will is a singer/songerwriter/band leader from Nashville Tennessee. He's had one album on a major label, Blackbird On A Lonely Wire, that came out on Atlantic Records. Due to creative differences he left the label to put his music out on his own. Since than he's put out more than a few albums. His first album was Carousel, followed by his Atlantic debut and than his more recent offering is The Man Who Killed Love. Two recent live albums are During the Before and After and Again Somewhere Tomorrow.

Will brings a passion and honesty to his music that is missing in many of today's biggest name stars. He writes his songs from the working man's perspective. He writes about love and life in a way that matters. He's not afraid to write political songs either. His Bible vs. Gun is one of the best anti-Iraq songs I have heard. After Katrina he wrote a song called Washed by the Water that to me is one of the best songs about the destruction caused by the hurricane. The first night I heard him play this song live I have to admit to having tears in my eyes, like most of the people at his concert that night.

As good as his live albums are Will shines live. He is one of the best performers I have ever seen live. His concert at Bonnaroo is one of the best shows I have ever seen. The passion he brings to his recorded music he more than doubles when he performs them live. On stage Will is a presence to behold. He sings his music with a love for music that it lacking in so many other singers. Will's knowledge of music is deep, he isn't interested in just who the newest pop star is or what they are performing. Not long after Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry's pianist died, I saw Will live. On stage Will dedicated a song to the man and told of his brilliant contributions to rock and roll. How many bigger stars would even know who Johnnie Johnson was?

So if you have a chance to see Will Hoge live don't miss it. Try his cds. I've turned quite a few people on to Will Hoge and no one has complained yet. He's that good.