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In the history of music, there are major venues like Madison Square Garden, The Gorge or Red Rocks that have long, well-told stories. But there are also smaller, more modest hubs that were, in their own little ways, integral to a thriving sonic movement. In Seattle, Washington during the mid-80s, one of those small hubs was a Kinko’s in the city’s University District. There, eventual Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog drummer, Matt Cameron, would print readers for the nearby University of Washington and, at night, give away hundreds of free leaflet copies to local bands that were making flyers, posters or any number of promotional materials. Cameron was a hero. Still is to many. Especially to those fans of the sludgy rock ‘n’ roll he helped make eternal.

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John Paul Pitts, front man for the West Palm Beach, Florida-based rock ‘n’ roll band, Surfer Blood, remembers boarding an important plane for London. That moment marked perhaps the first major step for the group, which began in 2009. As the band found their seats and put away their bags, Pitts couldn’t help but think about how far the group had come in a short time and how much further they still could go. Since then, the group has enjoyed and endured significant ups and downs, but, nevertheless, the group has subsisted, grown up and enjoyed its hard-earned successes. And today, Surfer Blood is poised to release its latest LP, Carefree Theatre, on September 25th.

“The first time we played in London was a marker of, you know, having actually made it,” Pitts says. “When our first record came out, we went to the U.K. for six-or-seven shows. But being at the airport and getting on that plane, that’s when I was the most excited.”

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In tumultuous modern times, it can be hard to put a sentiment properly into words. So, for Southern California-based songwriter, Zach Gill, he didn’t. During quarantine, the multi-instrumentalist, who also frequently plays with surf-songwriter, Jack Johnson (the two are very close friends), began writing and piecing together a new (mostly) instrumental album, Cocktail Yoga, which features little sonic ecosystems that bubble and bounce, fly and dive from note to note, creating a pleasant, thoughtful palate of music the listener can delve into closely or have in the background like “wall paper.” The nine-song record, which features song titles like “King Dancers Delight” and “Salty Down Dog,” is out today.

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Los Angeles rapper and fashion star, Saweetie (born Diamanté Quiava Valentin Harper), is a chameleon. In one moment, she’s in the viral video for her song, “My Type,” atop a basketball rim decked out in sport shorts, talking tough. In another video, she has 8-inch red fingernails clutching a just-as-red solo cup, licking her lips. She spits quick and can ease back on a beat. In other words, Saweetie is comfortable wherever she finds herself. And this knack to switch styles or aesthetics began at a young age, as the eventual world famous artist shuffled between singing Disney princess songs and putting on new outfits as a young person. Now, Saweetie, who recently released the remix for her popular track, “Tap In,” boasts millions of fans and a unique, uncanny ability to fit in wherever she wishes.

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Legendary New York City rapper, Big Daddy Kane, is one-of-one. In fact, sticking to originality is the thesis that has taken him through his creative, groundbreaking life, from winning a Grammy to establishing himself as a fashion icon to releasing his latest song, “Enough,” which vocally and viscerally tackles the frustration and anger Kane feels borne from systemic racism and recent examples of police brutality. The emcee, who was born in 1968, has seen a great deal of life, from the rough and tumble city streets to the ins and outs of the at times seedy music business. Nevertheless, despite the sometimes-drastic highs and lows, Kane keeps a positive demeanor and an uplifted outlook with each day.

“The more time I focus on the negative, the less time I have to get results,” Kane says.

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Legendary KISS guitarist, Ace Frehley, says he remembers the day he saw his future “distinctly.”

Growing up, not only was Frehley a passionate guitar player, but he was also a skilled graphic artist. So, before earning fame and fortune as the face-painted lead riffer of the over-the-top rock group, Frehley had designs on becoming a commercial artist full-time. His father, who was a musician and also taught Sunday School, got Frehley an interview with a friend that owned a deign firm. But, upon entering the company for the visit, Frehley might as well have witnessed a massacre. All he saw were cubicles – and he walked away fast. Ever since, Frehley has gone on to become one of the world’s most famous and successful shredders. That streak continues with his latest LP, Origins Vol. 2, out Sep. 18th.

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When singer-songwriter, Pete Muller, was young, he, like many before him, took piano lessons. He was 10-years-old when he began with classical piano but some five years later, he told his parents he wanted to quit. Classical music wasn’t for him; the strict regimen and memorization didn’t speak to Muller in any artistic way. But, as luck would have it, a friend pointed him in the direction of a jazz teacher in New Jersey who would change Muller’s life forever. Since, Muller has earned attention from The New York Times and People for his songwriting. And we are happy to premiere his latest single, “God and Democracy,” here in American Songwriter Magazine today.

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In 2005, when the Seattle-based, epic rock ‘n’ roll band, Acceptance, put out their debut studio LP, Phantoms, on Columbia Records, it seemed like the world was their collective, proverbial oyster. But, shortly thereafter, the group broke up. The band’s front man, Jason Vena, admits he was the “catalyst” for that breakup. In the ten years between, Vena says, he didn’t keep in contact with the members. There were rumors of arguments and rather unacceptable interpersonal behavior. But, in 2015, that changed.

The band resolved and reunited in Asbury Park’s Skate & Surf venue, which was, serendipitously, the site of their last show a decade prior. Ever since that reunion, the band hasn’t stopped making music. Today, Acceptance is proud to debut the music video for their latest single, “Midnight.”

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When considering the great British singer-songwriter, Michael Kiwanuka, it’s easy to think of his phenomenal voice first. It’s oaken, textured. It’s probably one of the five best male singing voices on the planet today (along with Leon Bridges, Eric Burton, Orville Peck and one other). But Kiwanuka’s path to music didn’t start with his singing voice. Rather, it began with his guitar, an instrument the artist says he was “obsessed” with in secondary school (the equivalent to American high school). Kiwanuka was a musical sponge after he discovered the art form’s importance to his life. His is a deep affection and he brings that to each composition, from new song drafts to his early hits, “Love & Hate” and “Cold Little Heart,” and his 2019 release, Kiwanuka, which is a favorite to win a prestigious 2020 Mercury Prize.

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They say everything is one-part blessing and one-part curse. For Austin, Texas-based songwriter, Kelsey Wilson, who rose to prominence over the years with her band, Wild Child, that is assuredly the case for her relationship to the violin. Wilson, who is set to release her debut solo record, The Bitch EP, under the new moniker, Sir Woman, grew up playing the classical instrument. While she “hated” her lessons and their lack of direction toward self-expression, Wilson grew a proficiency on the violin that would lead her to a 10-year career as a professional artist. But here’s the rub. That time on the road playing an instrument that she never completely bonded with burnt her out. Sir Woman brought her back to life. For evidence of this revival, look no further than her debut single, “Can’t Stay Mad,” which we’re happy to premiere here today.

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While she was growing up in Kyoto, Japan, solo artist and co-founder of the popular American band, Blonde Redhead, Kazu Makino, would wake up every morning to Bach on her alarm clock. For her father, a strict disciplinarian, classical music was a religion. It was the song of the exact, of the specific. For Makino, though, it was stifling. So much so that, as a young woman, she escaped Japan for New York City, leaving her hometown with the artist and musician, John Lurie. But the ups and downs of life didn’t end there. In many ways, they only intensified. As a result, Makino’s life is saturated with subject matter, which she’s expressed over the course of handfuls of records, including her solo LP, Adult Baby, which she released exactly one year ago this week.

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For the whirling dervish, recent-Grammy-winning guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela, everything got going on Grafton Street. The Dublin, Ireland thoroughfare, which is famous for its street performers and shops and general creative energy, is where the duo first planted their sonic flag in earnest. The two musicians, who were born and raised in Mexico and were romantically involved for a number of years, first bonded at 15-years-old over guitar-based music. Metallica, Sepultura were among the many bands they loved, the riffs and speed. Wanting to make it as a metal band, they moved to Ireland to hone their chops. Along the way, they traded their electrics for acoustics, began busking on Grafton and quickly amassed a following that hasn’t since shrunk. To thank this fan base, Rodrigo y Gabriela will release a new album, Mettavolution Live, on October 2nd. To celebrate the release, we’re debuting a brand new track from the record, “Electric Soul,” here today.

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Brooklyn, New York-based rock ‘n’ roll singer, Bette Smith, grew up loving music. She sang her first song at five-years-old in church, a full choir behind her. But her parents, who were Trinidadian immigrants, forbid her from singing secular (read: nonreligious) music after that. So while she could listen to standouts like Mahalia Jackson, she couldn’t openly enjoy others like Gladys Knight & the Pips and Otis Redding. Adhering to her parents and their strict upbringing, Smith studied hard. She went to college, got a job as a receptionist, worked on Wall Street. But, years later, as her older brother, Louis, was dying of kidney failure, things changed. He told her to sing, to achieve her dreams. So, Smith went and did just that. Her latest installment is today’s premiere of the new single, “Everybody Needs Love.”

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Wayne Coyne, front man for the Oklahoma City-based rock band, The Flaming Lips, remembers being in the green room at a show with the once-infamous group, Creed. He remembers the anxiety Creed’s band members were experiencing. At the time, the band was one of the most well known in the world. Their songs were topping charts but, nevertheless, the members continued to fret. And Coyne, surprised, kept wondering what was eating them? How can you be so successful and yet so worried? But it’s that type of buoyant behavior that marks Coyne and the way he navigates the world. It’s not effortlessness. Rather, it’s lightness. Like the bubbles The Flaming Lips often shoot into the crowd during shows, there’s jauntiness to Coyne and that energy is ever-present on his band’s new record, American Head, set for release September 11th.

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Acclaimed songwriter and performer, Hamilton Leithauser, who rose to popularity in the early 2000s with his stirring rock ‘n’ roll band, The Walkmen, remembers before any of that standing in the Guggenheim Museum with his thoughts. One summer, as a young person, Leithauser worked as a security guard in the New York City museum and, as such, he stood there for countless three-hour shifts. The most effort he put forth then was to occasionally tell a person to stay back from a painting. But the time – before cell phones – forced upon Leithauser many hours to think. With these moments, he composed a handful of songs that would eventually lead him toward more creative successes. Leithauser will release his latest creative endeavor, Live at Café Carlyle, on September 4th.

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