Blake Shelton, Thompson Square, Carrie Underwood and other Oklahomans competing for Grammys tonight
Blake Shelton (AP file)
Several music stars with Oklahoma ties will be part of “Music’s Biggest Night” when the 54th Annual Grammy Awards air live from Los Angeles from 7 to 10:30 tonight on CBS. Follow my live blog tonight right here on BAM’s Blog.
Here are the Oklahoma nominees and performers to root for tonight:
Ada native Blake Shelton is nominated for best country album for “Red River Blue” and best country solo performance for the album’s chart-topping first single “Honey Bee.” The Tishomingo resident’s No. 1 hit “God Gave Me You,” written by contemporary Christian singer Dave Barnes, also earned a nod for best country song, an award presented to songwriters.
In addition, Shelton and The Band Perry will give a special performance with country legend Glen Campbell during the show, and Shelton’s wife and fellow country star Miranda Lambert will be a presenter, along with Chockie native Reba McEntire.
In the best country solo performance category, Shelton will compete against Checotah native Carrie Underwood, who is nominated for her emotional ballad “Mama’s Song.” The Recording Academy this year consolidated many Grammy categories, so solo country artists are longer separated into male and female competitions.
Underwood also is featured on legendary crooner Tony Bennett’s “Duets II,” nominated for best traditional pop vocal album. Underwood, a five-time Grammy winner, and Bennett, who has 14 golden gramophones plus a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, are set to perform together on the awards show.
Country duo Thompson Square, which includes Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson, received its first Grammy nod for best country duo/group performance for its breakthrough hit “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not,” which earned songwriters Jim Collins and David Lee Murphy a best country song nomination, too.
Vince Gill earned his 41st Grammy nomination in the best country song category with “Threaten Me with Heaven,” which the Norman-born, Oklahoma City-bred star penned with his wife Amy Grant, Dillon O’Brian and the late Will Owsley. Gill already has earned the most Grammys of any male country artist with 20.
Four-time Grammy winners Kings of Leon, who have ties to Oklahoma City and Talihina, are nominated for best rock album for their fifth studio effort, “Come Around Sundown.” Plus, Stephen C. Mitchell’s rock documentary “Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon,” which opened 2011’s deadCenter Film Festival, will contend for best long-form music video.
Tulsa native Charlie Wilson, former frontman of the Gap Band, is nominated for best R&B performance for his hit “You Are,” from his 2010 solo album “Just Charlie.” In addition, Wilson, his wife Mahin Wilson and their fellow songwriters Dennis Bettis, Carl M. Days Jr. and Wirlie Morris share a nomination for best R&B song for “You Are.”
For the second straight year, Christian worship group Gungor, which is fronted by former Tulsan Michael Gungor, is celebrating a nomination for its new album. The group’s 2011 album “Ghosts Upon the Earth” earned a nod in the new best contemporary Christian music album category. Gungor’s 2010 release “Beautiful Things” was nominated last year in the now-eliminated best rock or rap gospel album division.
Best known as the frontman for pop band OneRepublic, Tulsa native Ryan Tedder is nominated for non-classical producer of the year for his work on several records, including Beyonce’s “I Was Here,” Jennifer Hudson’s “I Remember Me” and Adele’s “Rumour Has It.” Since he produced “Rumour Has It,” Tedder shares in the Adele’s nomination for album of the year for her smash “21,” too. (In addition, Tedder co-wrote “Rumour Has It” and another “21″ track, “Turning the Tables,” with Adele.)
Muskogee native Ester Dean also has a share of an album of the year nomination as one of several producers on Rihanna’s “Loud.”
The 40th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of Derek and the Dominos’ beloved 1970 album “Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs” earned a nomination in the best surround sound album category. The late Carl Radle, a Tulsa native, was the band’s bassist.
And, Oklahoma City kindie rock duo Sugar Free Allstars is among the various artists featured on “All About Bullies … Big and Small,” nominated for best children’s album. The Allstars collaborated with fellow kindie rocker Secret Agent 23 Skidoo on the compilation track “Cooperate.”
-BAM
CD review: Pat Green “Songs We Wish We’d Written II”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Pat Green “Songs We Wish We’d Written II” (Sugar Hill Records)
Back in 2001, Texas troubadours Pat Green and Cory Morrow paid tribute to “Songs We Wish We’d Written” with a well-received covers album featuring their take on the music of Waylon Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Winwood and others.
More than a decade later, Green is again paying homage to an array of talented songwriters with “Songs We Wish We’d Written II.” The sequel, which just had its release date moved from Feb. 28 to May 8, also will mark the San Antonio native’s debut on Sugar Hill Records.
Like its predecessor, “Songs We Wish We’d Written II” benefits from Green’s desire to showcase his eclectic musical tastes. As expected, he and his band turn in respectful and respectable covers of fellow Texas country songsmiths: Green opens the album with Joe Ely’s “All Just to Get to You,” gets toes tapping with Jon Randall’s “Austin” and makes earnest romance with Liz Rose and Walt Wilkins’ “If I Weren’t for You.” He and Morrow reteam on a faithful version of Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat.”
Even more intriguing are Green’s countrified versions of hit pop and rock songs. His smooth Texas twang coupled with layers of piano and strings totally transform Tom Petty’s “Even the Losers” while still showing off the song’s strong bones. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Monte Montgomery helps Green put a country-blues spin on Warren Haynes “Soulshine” that complements the blues-rock renditions by the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule.
Green and Collective Soul frontman Ed Roland turn the Georgia band’s smash “The World I Know” into a duet that features just a few subtle country flourishes, while he and fellow Texas country star Jack Ingram convert Todd Snider’s raucous rocker “I Am Too” into a rowdy boot-stomper.
For all the well-known songs featured on the covers CD, the highlight is the relatively obscure but finely crafted “Streets of Galilee” by up-and-comer Aaron Lee Tasjan, who more than holds his own swapping verses with Green.
— BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Pillar frontman Rob Beckley announces solo project
Pillar frontman Rob Beckley, who lives in Broken Arrow, has announced that he plans to release his first solo record in March. His album will be the first release on new record label idefi Music.
“I am incredibly excited that Idefi believes in me enough to be their initial launch artist. I believe in Idefi and what it stands for and am incredibly honored” he says in the announcement. “An unknown future is as exciting as it gets in business, especially the music industry.”
For years, Beckley served as lead vocalist for the Christian nu-metal band Pillar and is scheduled to release his debut solo album in March through idefi. During his time with Pillar the band sold more than 1 million records worldwide and won three Dove awards. Their 2008 effort “the Reckoning” received a Grammy nod for “Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album.”
“The solo record is an opportunity to just be myself and not worry about sounding like ‘what Pillar is supposed to sound like’” he says.“I love rock, I love worship, and I love anthemic songs. This will be a straightforward rock record with the same passionate lyrics people grew used to in Pillar.”
“I really cannot wait for people to hear the record Rob’s working on and see what an artist can do when they are not under the thumb of a traditional label,” says idefi CEO Brady Deaton.
idefi music is a new record label model that puts control into the hands of the artists, according to the announcement. It allows artists to set their own pricing and determine what, when and how their music is released. Payment to the artist is instant and does not revolve around recouping advances and exorbitant promotional fees as seen in the traditional model.
“We’ve scanned a million records but we really haven’t seen any royalties” Beckley says. “They loan you all this money to do a record and you have to pay it back plus all the marketing before you get to any kind of return.”
Music from Rob’s new album will be released shortly after the launch of idefi Music on March 14. To learn more about idefi Music. go to www.idefimusic.com.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Cady Groves releases new EP “This Little Girl”
Emerging pop singer-songwriter Cady Groves, who grew up in Marlow, Cache and Yukon, released her “This Little Girl” EP Tuesday.
Featuring tracks including her popular first single “This Little Girl,” the digital EP will be available at all digital service providers and will include fan favorite track “We’re The Sh*t” as well as Groves remarkable cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You.” The physical version will be available www.cadygroves.com and will include the same tracks as the digital version with the addition of Groves duet “Oh Darlin’” with Plug in Stereo.
Groves, who was just spotlighted in Seventeen Magazine’s “Ultimate Guide To Music” will be joining her labelmates and friends Hot Chelle Rae in select North American markets in February and March.
Late last year Groves, who PopCrush named one of their “Artist to Watch in 2012” teamed with BUZZMEDIA to premiere the music video for “This Little Girl,” which features a cameo from Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton and is embedded up top along with an interview with Groves about the cameo.
In an unprecedented partnership, a set of BUZZMEDIA’s taste-making music sites and pop-culture destinations such as Idolator, PureVolume, Buzznet and JustJared unveiled a stream of exclusive interviews, photos and video leading up the premiere.
Signed to RCA Records last year, 22 year-old Groves, has been in the studio writing and recording songs for her full-length debut album which is due out later in 2012.
Check out some of Groves’ past videos here:
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: All-American Rejects release “Beekeeper’s Daughter” video, new album art
The All-American Rejects, who formed in 1999 in Stillwater, have released the music video to their new single “Beekeeper’s Daughter.”
“Beekeeper’s Daughter” is the first single from the band’s long-awaited new album “Kids in the Street,” due out March 27 on Interscope Records. The band also has revealed in a YouTube video the cover art for “Kids in the Street.”
“Kids in the Street” is the band’s first album since 2008′s “When the World Comes Down,” which spawned the smash “Gives You Hell.”
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Samantha Crain “It’s Simple”
Shawnee singer-songwriter Samantha Crain has released this video for her song “It’s Simple.” The video is part of the “Be Nice to Your Kids” series from Delo Creative. This installment was sponsored by Dwelling Spaces.
“A Simple Jungle,” Crain’s three-track EP that features “It’s Simple,” was recently listed among Amazon.com’s Editor Picks for top MP3 albums of 2012.
Crain will be featured at the Feb. 19 Winter Wind Concert in the Norman Depot, 200 S Jones Ave. Tickets are $15 for the 7:00 pm concert. Refreshments will be served.
Having been raised in rural Shawnee may have influenced Crain’s quirky, earthy interpretation of folk music as much as her father’s record collection, which included Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. But the young Crain was even more taken with the music of her home state, from the rootsy Americana of Woody Guthrie to the sonic experiments of the Flaming Lips.
After graduating from Dale High School, Crain enrolled at Oklahoma Baptist University, where she spent several semesters working toward a degree in English literature before registering for a semester-long songwriting retreat at Martha’s Vineyard.
That retreat allowed Crain to transform herself into a songwriter with a knack for narrative storytelling. When she returned home, she decided to pursue a career in music instead of returning to college.
Crain’s first pressed collection of songs, “The Confiscation,” is a concept album based around five short stories Crain had written involving the themes of redemption and betrayal. Ramseur Records took notice of this self-released EP, as well as a work schedule which saw Crain crisscrossing the country with guitar in tow, and ultimately offered her a spot on the label, reissuing “The Confiscation” in July 2007 as her Ramseur debut.
Crain’s first LP with the Midnight Shivers was the April 2009 release “Songs in the Night.” The album release was followed with an NPR Weekend Edition feature and favorable reviews from Paste magazine, the Washington Post, woxy.com, and emusic.com.
After the Midnight Shivers disbanded, Crain released her second full-length LP, “You (Understood),” in June 2010.
All three of her albums have made my top 10 albums list their respective years.
“Samantha Crain writes folk music, but she belts out notes like she’s singing R&B. Her rich alto seems to have no bottom, and the sound of it against her bare guitar is enough to raise gooseflesh” writes Rolling Stone.
Winter Wind Concerts are produced by The Performing Arts Studio and made possible in part by grants from the Norman Arts Council, the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information on Crain’s Winter Wind Concert, go to www.pasnorman.org or www.TicketStorm.com.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: Black Keys’ “Gold on the Ceiling”
The Black Keys have released the music video for “Gold on the Ceiling,” from their 2011 album “El Camino.”
The celebrated duo is coming to Tulsa for an April 28 show at the BOK Center. For more information, go to www.bokcenter.com.
“El Camino” was released Dec. 6 on Nonesuch Records, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200. The duo recently was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the first time.
The duo embarks on the first leg of its North American tour this March, featuring sold-out shows at Chicago’s United Center, DC’s Verizon Center, and two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden, followed by a second batch of April dates, including the shows at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center and Tulsa’s BOK Center.
Special guests Arctic Monkeys open on the tour.
In anticipation of the release of “El Camino,” the duo joined Steve Buscemi on the Dec. 2 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” This was the band’s second time in 2011 as musical guests on the show, a “rare distinction,” says Rolling Stone. Other recent television appearances include “The Colbert Report” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
Produced by Danger Mouse and The Black Keys, “El Camino” was recorded in the band’s new hometown of Nashville during the spring of 2011. In advance of the release, the album’s first single, “Lonely Boy,” was released in October, to acclaim from fans and press; the song climbed the radio charts rapidly and is currently No. 1 on the AAA chart and has spent weeks at No. 1 on the Alternative chart. It also has entered the top 10 at Rock radio. Additionally, the accompanying video has been viewed nearly 6 million times on YouTube.
Describing the sound of the album, drummer Patrick Carney tells Rolling Stone, “Every record, we figure out the mood and stick with that. With ‘Brothers,’ we were listening to a lot of hip-hop and old R&B and drawing from that. This is the first record we’ve made where it’s all rock & roll.” And in an interview with Spin Magazine vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach says, “I’ve never been into guitar solos. I really like when every instrument in the band is a rhythm instrument. This record has a lot of that going on—guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards all working together as a rhythm instrument. But unlike Brothers, which has more of these slower songs with an open feeling, [the new LP] is definitely fast.”
“El Camino” follows the most successful two years in The Black Keys’ career. In May 2010, they released their breakthrough album, “Brothers.” It won three Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award, and topped numerous year-end lists. “Brothers,” which included the hit singles “Tighten Up” and “Howlin’ for You,” has been certified gold in the U.S. and U.K., and platinum in Canada. U.S. sales are nearly 1 million and counting.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Feb. 8, 2012: Celebrate Roger Creager’s new CD at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa
Roger Creager
Today’s featured event:
TULSA – Celebrate the release of Texas country artist Roger Creager’s new album, “Surrender,” at 8 tonight at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main. Doors open at 7 p.m.
For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
New releases for Feb. 7, 2012: David Cook, Cady Groves, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Dierks Bentley, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″, “Phantom of the Opera”
Season 7 “American Idol” winner David Cook, who has Tulsa ties, has released today an EP titled “This Quiet Night” exclusively through Walmart. The CD includes acoustic performances of five songs from his 2011 album “This Loud Morning.”
Emerging pop singer-songwriter Cady Groves, who grew up in Marlow, Cache and Yukon, also is released today her “This Little Girl” EP.
Featuring tracks including her popular first single “This Little Girl” the digital EP will be available at all digital service providers and will include fan-favorite track “We’re The Sh*t” as well as Groves cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”. The physical version will be available www.cadygroves.com and will include the same tracks as the digital version with the addition of Groves duet “Oh Darlin’” with Plug in Stereo.
Groves, who was just spotlighted in Seventeen Magazine’s “Ultimate Guide To Music” will be joining her labelmates and friends Hot Chelle Rae in select North American markets in February and March. (See the full list of tour dates after the break; it looks Dallas will be the closest she comes to Oklahoma.).
Among LPs, this week boasts new releases from Van Halen, Paul McCartney and Dierks Bentley. To read my review of Dierks’ latest, click here.
This week’s new DVDs include the 25th anniversary performance of “The Phantom of the Opera,” which I’ll be reviewing in the coming days; the excellent documentary “Project Nim,” which made my top 10 movies of 2011 list; and oh yeah, a little blockbuster called “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” which will be released in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
CDs
David Cook, “This Quiet Night” EP (Walmart exclusive)
Van Halen, “A Different Kind of Truth.”
Paul McCartney, “Kisses on the Bottom.”
Dierks Bentley, “Home.”
The Fray, “Scars & Stories.”
Various artists, “Waylon: The Music Inside, Volume II.”
Tony Bennett, “Isn’t It Romantic.”
Steve Tyrell, “I’ll Take Romance.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, “Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall: In Celebration of 25 Years.”
Air, “Le Voyage Dans La Lune” (CD/DVD).
Edith Piaf, “Edith Piaf” (3-CD special edition).
DVD
Anonymous
Downton Abbey: Season 2
Father Dowling Mysteries: The First Season
Fireflies in the Garden
Project Nim
The Rebound
The Sunset Limited
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (midnight Saturday)
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
A Warrior’s Heart
Books
Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden
Kill Shot (Mitch Rapp)by Vince Flynn
Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Ali Wentworth
Hilarity Ensues by Tucker Max
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity by Katherine Boo
-BAM
New releases for Feb. 7, 2012: David Cook, Cady Groves, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Dierks Bentley, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″, “Phantom of the Opera”
Video: St. Vincent releases music video for “Cheerleader,” models police uniforms on “Portlandia”
Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist St. Vincent is huge in the new music video for “Cheerleader,” one of the tracks from her 2011 album “Strange Mercy.”
As previously reported, St. Vincent (who was born Annie Clark) made a guest appearance on Friday’s episode of the IFC sketch series “Portlandia,” and you can check out that rather funny clip of her modeling a totally impractical police uniform here as well. Her appearance on the show reunited her with “Portlandia” masterminds Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, who starred in St. Vincent’s 2010 video for “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood.”
By the way, I’m no mayor or Kyle MacLachlan, but if someone wanted to make me a super-journalist cape, I would proudly wear it at least once.
BTW again, St. Vincent is playing a show in the city of her birth May 15 at Cain’s Ballroom, and if you want more information, you can go to www.cainsballroom.com.
-BAM
