Powder Finger

“A versatile and gifted Pop eccentric.” –American Songwriter Magazine
“Every Single Track Is Brilliant”–***** Five Stars Music-News, UK

“West Cambridge Cowboys” is the 7th album from critically acclaimed singer-song writer and multi-instrumentalist, Arthur Nasson. Compelling from start to finish, “West Cambridge Cowboys” is a momentum-fueled listening experience that careens through varied and uniquely realized songs and ideas. Coming into his own after college and the radical shift of the recording industry caused by the digital revolution, Nasson has established himself as one of the premier independent artists in the US. “Not becoming a cog in the corporate music world, was something that seemed negative but turned out to be the greatest gift imaginable,” says Nasson, who soon began releasing his own music on his own terms as he saw fit. Before long, MTV contacted Arthur about using his music on the station. National Public Radio (NPR) did a feature interview with him. Major newspapers, magazines, and radio stations in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and throughout Europe all jumped in to sing the praises of Nasson. Arthur’s ability to cross musical styles, and conjure new musical ideas has spanned 7 albums; each recording is saturated with its own original and distinct character.

“West Cambridge Cowboys” could be described as “Beatles-esque” in its scope of influences, imaginative melodic and lyrical approach, as well as its richly arranged sound. Vocal harmonies fill these songs that hint at a wide variety of stylistic influences–rock, jazz, classical, neo-soul, surrealism, experimentation, and punk if it were hijacked and produced by Phil Spector. There is a cohesive identity and original voice that clearly ties these songs together throughout the album.

Widely recognized for home recording, Nasson went into Mad Oak Recording Studio in Allston, Massachusetts to record a full analog album (tracked and mixed), which was completed in a week with engineer Benny Grotto (Aerosmith, Ben Folds). “West Cambridge Cowboys” also marks the first time Arthur has not played drums on one of his albums. Arthur’s young sons pitch in with Graham handling all drum tracks and Colin performing slide and ring modulated guitars, synthesizer and percussion on tracks #7 and #9. All other instruments, vocals, sounds, and production are by Arthur Nasson.

You can learn more about Arthur Nasson and see his latest show dates on his website at http://www.arthurnasson.com

Finding Clyde releases “Sacrifice it All” and it’s jam-packed with power. “Let Me Be,” the lead single, has been selected as pick of the week by Nikki Sixx on his show, Sixx Sense.

“It doesn’t matter if you hear a song of theirs blasting at an arena event, pounding away on the radio, cranking on your stereo from their CD, or via your iPod it all sounds the same – great!” – Rick “The Screamer” Lindner, Alternative Revolt Magazine

“[Finding Clyde] packs a powerful rock sound” – Richie Frieman, Pens Eye View

“Sacrifice It All is a fantastic album worth every bit of your attention” – Bam Bam, Away Team

The strength that Bay City, Michigan-based hard rock quartet Finding Clyde’s “Sacrifice it All” delivers is an uncommon combination of simple, chord-driven rock melodies and innovative composition. Joe Rivard’s melodic vocals and overdrive-heavy rhythm guitar act as a solid foundation for the rhythm section of Marc Scott (drums) and Tony Rivard (bass). Jack Neymeiyer’s inventive use of effects and raw skill on lead guitar complement the rhythm section very well and help complete this formidable outfit of hard rockers. Having shared the stage with artists such as Buckcherry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slash, Alice Cooper, Pop Evil, Stone Temple Pilots, Egypt Central, and 3 Doors Down, the members of Finding Clyde have proved their ability to perform both on-stage and in-studio.

“Sacrifice it All” is jam-packed with power. “Let Me Be,” the lead single, has been climbing the Active Rock Radio charts from Idaho to Texas, Oklahoma, and throughout the group’s home state of Michigan, reaching #39 on the charts and selected as pick of the week by Nikki Sixx on his show, Sixx Sense. The title track, “Sacrifice It All,” exemplifies the band’s use of forceful, chord-heavy guitar style, loud drums, and cleaner-sounding bass lines that are juxtaposed flawlessly against the intense guitar harmonies. “Answer Me,” Finding Clyde’s power ballad, bound to draw comparisons to Stone Temple Pilots’ “Plush” commands the listener’s attention with passion and anger along with vocals reminiscent of Scott Weiland. “Get Higher,” the album’s opening track, is destined to be right on the heels of “Let Me Be” as the next big single from this album, with a driving bass line, killer guitar solo, and soulful rock vocals.

“Sacrifice It All” was recorded, mixed, and produced by Chuck Alkazian (Trust Company, Pop Evil, Teddy Porter, Saving Abel, Bobaflex) at Pearl Sound Studios in Detroit, MI and mastered by Scott Hull (Ani Difranco, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springstein, Elvis Costello, and Sting) at Masterdisk in New York City.

You can learn more about Finding Clyde and see their latest show dates on their website at http://www.findingclyde.com

“a heady mixture, and it really works…the work of a talented artist who is paying homage to his inspirations, and laying down a solid foundation from which to build his own thing. Hunter is going to be an artist to keep an eye on as he develops his talent, and this is a great place to start.” – Darius Rips

Malcolm Hunter & The Makeshift Dream Orchestra’s “Nostalgia in My Square Head” is a jazz and funk-lover’s delight with an avant-garde twist. Hunter’s lyrical genius is showcased against a background of fluid, sensual, reflective jazz-inspired tracks which evoke an enormous variety of memories, emotions, and recollections. Musically, all of the songs on Nostalgia in My Square Head are unified, yet stand alone equally well, each with its own spin. Hunter demonstrates his range of vocal abilities easily: he vacillates between singing and speaking, and often uses the latter to give spotlight to his splendid songwriting abilities.

Nostalgia in My Square Head begins with “No Kissin’,” (click to listen and download free!) a twanging blend of vocals and music transitioning into a funky smorgasbord of scatting, choirs, funk, and jazz. Hunter steers the song with a smooth voice, sounding like a Jason Mraz-meets-Harry Connick, Jr protégé. “Invisible Man” features a raspier lead vocal sing-speaking over a subtle background of smooth, Motown-inspired instrumental arrangements. Hunter is an exceptional lyricist, and “Invisible Man” allows him to showcase his eloquence: “The consequence of my circumstance puts me in the neighborhood of people with no chances left…jonesing on a philosophy that scrapes away the remains of my ambiguous identity…” His lyrics are articulate and the songs are well-crafted to allow full appreciation; the music itself, however, is also a force to be reckoned with. Consistent through the album, there is no doubt who Hunter is as a musician and who his influences are. “Hide n’ Sleep” features a two-minute musical interlude that is subtle, but also funky enough to keep the listener’s interest, despite the lack of intriguing lyrics. In the same vein as “Invisible Man,” “Cross: The Street” features Hunter’s raspy spoken-word storytelling; it takes a slightly divergent path from the rest of the album with its quiet, reflective, melancholy feel. “5:30 Bounce/Nostalgia In Times Square” continues the moody observations with a dramatic description of New York’s bustling intersection at the close of night, just before the beginning of a new day. The listener can’t help but feel as if he or she is looking out at Times Square early in the morning from an apartment’s fire escape balcony. The eclectic “Snow in Hades” features a piano-driven intro that grabs the listener’s ear and holds on as the song calls on mythology, lurking vampires, and cherubic angels and places them in a modern urban setting. It’s lyrically curious, and perhaps the most enigmatic song in which vampires, Hades, Angel Gabriel, and the old East Side neighborhood come together.

Nostalgia…, mixed, mastered, and produced by George Dugan, is a funky, jazz-gospel record about Hell’s Kitchen; a journey through the corners of alleys, crash pads and lost time, which features the Makeshift Dream Orchestra. The Makeshift Dream Orchestra is drummer John Digiulio (Little Anthony & the Imperials), Victor Wooten prodigy Michael “Tiny” Lindsey on bass, guitarist Jamie Fox (Jen Chapin), trumpeter Michael Leonhart (Steely Dan, Yoko Ono), and guitarist Jon Herington (Steely Dan). Rounding out the stellar band is all-reed working man Tom Smith, vocalist Melissa Hamilton (The Ritz), blues singer Adira Amram, reggae sensation Meshach, bassist Ivan “Funkboy” Bodley, and trumpeter Rob Henke.

You can catch Malcolm live on March 20th at Le Pescadeux in NYC. Learn more about Malcolm and see his latest show dates on his website at http://www.malcolmhunter.com

Nick Moss has followed his most critically and commercially successful album to date with the release of Here I Am, a record already drawing raves from peers and mentors, like renowned bluesman Jimmy Thackery, who has praised this new set for “pushing the evolution of his music” with tunes that are “genuine and intense.”

Here I Am is bursting with personal growth and the kind of honesty fans have come to expect from Moss, whose unique approach to traditional Chicago blues on five studio records and two live albums resulted in multiple Blues Music Award nominations from the Blues Foundation. The 10 new original songs on Here I Am combine to create the most diverse album of his career as he pushes his sound, songwriting, and lead guitar work further than ever before.

Catch Nick Moss and The Fliptops, this Friday night, March 9th at the Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, NY.

More information, including tour dates, can be found at http://www.nickmoss.com.

Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy winning featured musician, and co-founder of the original Parliament-Funkadelic (P-Funk) puts a unique funked up spin on his new album featuring The Bernie Worrell Orchestra! Including songs from Bernie Worrell: Standards as well as classics from Bernie’s past collaborations.

5 upcoming performances featuring special guests including: Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club and Steve Scales of the Talking Heads (Sunday April 1st performance):

Friday, March 17, 2012 – 8:30 PM
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleeker Street
New York, NY 10012
18+/Tickets: $15
http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/3033

Friday, March 23, 2012 – 8:00 PM
The Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
21+/Tickets: $8
http://www.brooklynbowl.com

Friday, March 30, 2012 – 8 PM
The Spot Underground
15 Elbow St
Providence, RI 02903
18+/Tickets: $10
http://thespotprovidence.com

Sunday, April 1, 2012 – 7:30 PM
Stage One
70 Stanford Street
Fairfield, CT 06824
Tickets: $26
http://fairfieldtheatre.org/

Friday, April 13, 2012 – 8PM – (originally scheduled for 3/10)
The Historic Blairstown Theatre
30 Main St.
Blairstown, NJ 07825
Tickets: $20
http://thehbt.com/

How many artists can say they were in on the ground floor of an honest-to-Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame supergroup, while inventing a completely original and uncanny sound and, in the ensuing years, building a legendary reputation as one of the most versatile hired guns in the music business? True funkateers know the history. From the fat Minimoog bass lines of “Flash Light” and “One Nation Under A Groove” to the percussive piano runs of “Chocolate City” and “Give Up the Funk,” Bernie Worrell is synonymous with the legacy of Parliament-Funkadelic; in fact, he’s one of the originators of the psychedelic funk sound, having written and co-produced the lion’s share of the music going back to Funkadelic’s formative years, with an eclectic ear for everything from Chopin to the Chi-Lites.

These days the terms “living legend” or “funk icon” really don’t come close to doing him justice. “Funk iconoclast” is probably more apt, considering the breadth of Worrell’s contributions to seminal albums outside the P-Funk canon—including Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense and Public Image Ltd’s Album, to name two of the more monolithic examples. Keith Richards, Yoko Ono, Bootsy Collins, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Mos Def, Sly & Robbie, Deee-Lite, Bill Laswell and many more have recruited Bernie in the studio and on tour—all for his versatility, vision and feverish creativity whenever he gets his hands on a keyboard.

June, 2011 saw the release of Bernie Worrell: Standards — Bernie’s take on jazz standards — precipitating the decision by Worrell and co-producer, Evan Taylor to “take the show on the road”. The Bernie Worrell Orchestra performs with a nine piece band consisting of two guitarists, two drummers, bass, percussion and a three piece horn section that performs songs from this album along with songs from Bernie’s vast repertoire. The enthusiastic response from fellow musicians means that you just don’t know who will show up to join the BWO on stage.

More information, including tour dates, can be found at http://www.bernieworrell.com

Allan Harris‘s new CD, Open Up Your Mind, is his most compelling release to date. It marks the beginning of a new era for the man known as the singer’s singer and gives him a chance to show off his deep songwriting talent and enormous guitar skills.

Open Up Your Mind features nine original songs like “Hold You” (recently reaching #3 on Billboard smooth jazz chart) which pays tribute to the  great R&B songs of Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass, “Can’t Live My Life Without You” which is an upbeat jazzy tune in the vein of George Benson, “The Color of a Woman is Blue and “Inner Fear” which shows off his unique slide guitar styling. The title track “Open Up Your Mind” and “There She Goes” have a crossover edge that melds roots rhythms with contemporary jazz improvisation. “Autumn” is an original ballad about love changing like the seasons and Allan’s upbeat and highly original rendition of the classic “Fly Me to the Moon” will surprise and delight all listeners. “Shores of Istanbul,” and “I Do Believe,” round out the highly anticipated release.  Open Up Your Mind combines unique vocals with a contemporary jazz twist and accomplishes the ability to tell a story all at the same time.

she’s back with 10 gems wrapped in her exquisite voice – Performing Songwriter

Read what else Performing Songwriter had to say about Powderfinger client, Barbara Kessler in a feature story about her latest release What You Keep.

Forgive us for tooting our own horn for a moment, but we promoted 11 artists onRoots Music Report’s Most Played Blues Albums of 2011! #9 was Booker T. Jones with The Roots, and we also have #s 12, 15, 16, 21, 28, 34, 47, 73, 79, and 89. Five of those were DIY releases, btw–no label whatsoever.