FREE EP: Phox by Jenny Herritz,posted May 30 2012 2:33PM
Today's free download is from a local band on the rise: Phox. Hop on the bandwagon early, my friends - this talented group is quickly gaining fans, and you should be one of them. Fronted by the fantastic female vocalist Monica Martin, Phox features brothers Matt & Davey Roberts, as well as Matt Holmen, Cheston Van Huss, and Jason Krunnfusz. All six members have Baraboo roots and have been previously involved with other bands. Last fall, these hometown friends came together to form Phox, and you can download their trio of demos for free here.
If you're thinking that these will be shoddy garage demos, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The phoxes are a talented group of musicians, each yielding multiple instruments to craft a creative, folky sound. It's enough pop to have you singing along on the first listen, and it's enough rock to keep your ears interested. "Evil" is a catchy gem that you'll want to immediately play again. Go ahead, take a listen.
You're addicted to that irresitable intro already, aren't you? Guess what the best part is - they sound this good live. See for yourself this Friday, when Phox opens for Company of Thieves at the Majestic Theatre.
I just discovered Gary Clark Jr., and I already feel like I've been missing out. Don't sit on this one, music lovers! If you currently dig The Black Keys or Alabama Shakes, pay attention -- and even if you don't, you'll still want to listen to this genre-hopping 28-year-old from Austin. Gary Clark Jr. takes his guitar on trips through blues, soul, rock, and even R&B. Expand your horizons with this music lovechild.
Today's free download lands somewhere in the crunchy rock 'n blues category, and brings Jimi Hendrix to mind, too. Head over to GCJ's website to snag his song "Bright Lights" in exchange for your email address. Don't stop there - you've heard this song, but you haven't heard it all. Keep listening to Gary Clark Jr.!
Texan artist Rhett Miller has had quite a career. He began performing solo in the late 80's and soon became a part of the Old 97's. In the early 2000's, while still performing with the band, he again branched off to do solo work, and has achieved popularity in both forms. His sixth solo album entitled The Dreamer is set to come out June 5, and a track of the album is available for download now. But the song, "Lost Without You", was a struggle for Miller to write due to its strong emotional connections. So he teamed up with Ben Kweller who was able to help miller finish it. Check out "Lost Without You" from Rhett Millerhere.
Although he's from Sweden, Kristian Matsson, who also goes by The Tallest Man On Earth, has a serious American folk side to him. Drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan in both songwriting style and sound, Matsson draws inspiration from American artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. His new album, There's No Leaving Now, is set to be release sometime this year, but you can hear a great track off the album already. Click here to download The Tallest Man On Earth's "1904". You can also check him out at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee on Sunday, August 5!
Ben Folds will become Ben Folds Five once again. The trio that spawned the 90s classic "Brick" is working on a reunion album, and today's free download is a taste of what to expect. It's called "Do It Anyway," and you can snag it for free here. What do you think of it? The new album will be out in August. I consider BFF's 1997 album Whatever And Ever Amen to be a 90s staple, so it'll be interesting to see how the comeback compares. You can catch them live during their headlining tour in September and October, or when they perform at Bonnaroo in June.
It's been almost two full years since Fitz and The Tantrums released their debut album, Pickin' Up The Pieces. With catchy retro hits like "MoneyGrabber" and "Don't Gotta Work It Out," I'm sure you're anxious to hear fresh tunes from Michael Fitzpatrick & company. Over on their website, FATT just announced that they're headed to the studio to start recording their follow-up album, and they've given us a free EP to tide us over. The EP features live songs (recorded at House of Blues in Boston), as well as a remix (from their drummer!). Scoop it up for free below in exchange for your email address.
Following the loss of Adam Yauch this past Friday, many artists are taking time to pay their respects to the late Beastie Boy. Over at Paste, you can peruse over 100 tweets from celebrities remembering the artist sometimes known as Nathanial Hörnblowér.
Over the weekend, Coldplay also honored Yauch with a cover of "Fight For Your Right" at their Hollywood Bowl show. It's a nice gesture, though it's a bit odd to hear a Beastie Boys song in that context; it became a somber tune, for better or worse. You can download it for free here.
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
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Texan artist Rhett Miller has had quite a career. He began performing solo in the late 80's and soon became a part of the Old 97's. In the early 2000's, while still performing with the band, he again branched off to do solo work, and has achieved popularity in both forms. His sixth solo album entitled The Dreamer is set to come out June 5, and a track of the album is available for download now. But the song, "Lost Without You", was a struggle for Miller to write due to its strong emotional connections. So he teamed up with Ben Kweller who was able to help miller finish it. Check out "Lost Without You" from Rhett Miller 
Although he's from Sweden, Kristian Matsson, who also goes by The Tallest Man On Earth, has a serious American folk side to him. Drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan in both songwriting style and sound, Matsson draws inspiration from American artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. His new album, There's No Leaving Now, is set to be release sometime this year, but you can hear a great track off the album already. Click 
