RECENT ARTICLES

Even from the beginning, says the classic rapper, Pharoahe Monch, he was inundated with music. For the emcee, who has worked with Eminem, Mos Def, Nate Dogg and many other world-renowned artists, songs of all kinds were everywhere in his house. His older brother listened to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. His other brother listened to funk. His sister listened to the Jacksons. His mom listened to gospel and his father listened to Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Sonic diversity, therefore, is nothing new to the accomplished musician. And that same eclectic sense is displayed artfully on the forthcoming LP, A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism, from Pharoahe Monch’s new all-star group, th1rt3en, which is set for release January 22nd.

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When prolific composer and broadcaster, John Tesh, put the camera on the audience, instead of himself, his whole perspective changed. Tesh, while working as a correspondent and host for the popular television show, Entertainment Tonight, would go on assignment to interview artists like Sting, Phil Collins and Elton John. Given access to their private sound checks, Tesh noticed that the musicians would often have handheld cameras pointed at them to record their performances to later critique themselves. But Tesh switched it up. He put the lenses on the crowds and he quickly saw what worked about his live shows and what needed improvement. Today, Tesh says, playing live and engaging with the crowd is what he both loves and misses most about being a professional musician. It’s his relationship with his fans that brings him the brightest light as an artist.

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Atlanta rapper and performer, Big Homie Ty.Ni, says she grew up in a family that celebrated both music and the game of basketball. The two endeavors, which have a long relationship going back to hip-hop music in the 90s and before, also often share a general requirement for rhythm and pizzazz in the participant. One glance at Ty.Ni’s knack for both and it’s clear why she’s been so successful of late in garnering a fan following and building a burgeoning musical career.

In December, Ty.Ni released her debut single, “Jelly.” The song and video for which put her shapely body front and center. But, if you examine the track closer, past the jiggling posterior, Ty.Ni’s natural artistry obviously pops out, too. Her voice is a laser; sharp and focused, piercing and bright. Her cadence is both clear and provocative. She’s got game, so to speak, even though she hasn’t always felt confident in displaying those talents in public over the years.

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Before he wrote the chilling entrance song for Ebenezer Scrooge in the beloved 1992 movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol, acclaimed songwriter, Paul Williams, quit drinking. Like many before and after, Williams struggled with alcohol and drug abuse. During his career, Williams had earned any number of accolades and praise for his songwriting, but in time, it all stagnated.“I’d spent the 80s slowly disappearing into a career-ending addiction,” he tells American Songwriter. Grateful to be alive, Williams began his recovery. It was a time of healing. And music, for the moment, was in the past. Later, though, with a love for songwriting still in his heart, Williams sought an opportunity and the first place that opened its door was Jim Henson’s Muppets, now at Disney. Williams had worked closely with the Muppets over the years, but there was a new project: the Muppet version of the classic Charles Dickens story. Williams took the job and it helped to reinvigorate his career.

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In the early days, when the famed English punk rock band, Buzzcocks, wrote new music, they wanted to be finished by 5:30 PM that afternoon. Because, says early member, Steve Diggle, that’s when the local pubs opened. For the band, which helped usher in the speedy, electrified rock ‘n’ roll movement, which would soon take over the late 70s and early 80s, the daily deadline proved important, almost like a pressure cooker with its timer set to ding. The band members got in the studio, ran through the emotions of the day, and got out to line up at the bar and get their clutches on a pint of Porter or Pilsner. It was their routine and it contributed considerably to the hits the group wrote from 1977-80, including “What Do I Get” and “Why Can’t I Touch It.” These songs and others from that era will be rereleased Jan. 15th via a new boxset on Domino.

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The first great song that Taylor Fagins wrote was called “Watch Me.” At the time, he was in college and in the middle of a severe bout of depression. He was struggling with suicidal ideation; he says now that’s something he no longer struggles with but admits it’s a constant battle to keep it at bay. Through that depression, Fagins knew he didn’t want to end his life, though the impulse to do so felt as strong as it ever had. Instead, he just started crying and singing as loudly as he could. The words for “Watch Me” tumbled from his lips.

Singing about his own death kept Fagins from going through with it and, in essence, saved his life. Today, Fagins draws from that same emotive well when he writes new work. It’s what he did on his latest single, “We Need More.” The song, which in many ways epitomizes the contemporary American social divide, brought Fagins to the attention of American Songwriter. We’re pleased to announce that Fagins is our 2020 lyric contest winner.

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Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter, Stephanie Anne Johnson, says, these days, they’re learning to pivot. In fact, the artist, who prefers the pronouns “they” and “them,” has written a whole song about it: “Naturally,” which we’re happy to premiere here today.

Johnson, who was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, which is about an hour south of Seattle, has learned over the years that even the best-laid plans can shift, crumble or change. So, instead, they’ve practiced the ancient art of acceptance, the ability to roll with whatever might come next. In other words, Johnson, who rose to prominence, in part, from their stint on NBC’s The Voiceand who opened for Bernie Sanders in 2020 at a Tacoma political rally, is getting more adept at things happening simply, organically. In this way, the worry of control can subside and Johnson is left to create, which they do prolifically.

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For French hip-hop producer and musician Wax Tailor (born Jean-Christophe Le Saoût), a completed album is an important thing—maybe the most important. When hunkering down to make a new album, Tailor says he’s often not the most enjoyable person to be around. His focus is generally one hundred percent on fleshing out the work, bringing it to life in a full and personally representative manner. There is a considerable difference between simply making music and making an album, and perhaps an even larger gap between making an album and making your album. For Tailor, the latter is paramount. It’s a reason to live, a mode of honest, humbling excitement. And this attitude is ever-present on Tailor’s forthcoming LP, The Shadow Of Their Suns, which he will release Jan 8th.

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In many ways, the band, The String Cheese Incident, is synonymous with the idea of playing live. If you’ve ever been a part of their crowds, you know the wide, sweeping, jamming celebration that is a String Cheese show. Playing live is likely the one thing the band misses most during this upended era of COVID-19. But to continue to engage with its community, the group has been hosting regular “Friday Night Cheese” events online, during which the members broadcast past live shows, recent and old, for fans to relive or enjoy for the first time.

This New Year’s Eve, The String Cheese Incident will conclude the series with an exclamation point. It will stream the 20th anniversary of the Evolution concert filmed in 2000 in Portland and the band’s three-set NYE show in Broomfield, Colorado, from 2016. While 2020 has been a time of rest and reinvention for the group – including keys player, Kyle Hollingsworth – the band hopes, like many do, that the new year will bring the renewed opportunity to play again in front of audiences.

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When speaking with the accomplished musician, Chief Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, it can often feel like you’ve opened an encyclopedia filled with history, culture and artistry. Adjuah, who was born and raised in a region where music was part of its DNA, understands songs almost like recipes. They are passed down for sustenance and from these deeply rooted compositions spring nations. As a musician, Adjuah, who comes from a line of artists and prominent indigenous New Orleans people, carries a nuanced burden. In one respect, he aims to tell the stories that have kept him and his family alive through centuries of hardship and discovery. In another, he pays them homage by reevaluating their nature to potentially re-form or broaden their scope so as to incorporate modern, though equally hard-earned ideas of care and community. Adjuah, whose latest live improvised record, AXIOM, was recently nominated for a Grammy, brings this in-depth understanding of musical reconstruction to each trumpeted phrase he plays.

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When Aloe Blacc is poised to release a promising new song or album, he says it can feel like playing an invisible game with a hidden opponent.

Blacc — who boasts hits like “I Need A Dollar” and “Wake Me Up” that combined have accrued more than 100 million YouTube views to date — says that trying to figure or plan the right moves can be tricky, even for him. You line up your pieces, you know strengths and limitations, but you don’t know what might be shaping up on the other side of that proverbial board.

Thankfully, though, for the Grammy-nominated, golden-voiced artist, Blacc won’t have to worry much about a wrong move in the aftermath of his latest LP, All Love Everything, which he released in October.

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When the accomplished guitarist, Billy Strings (born William Apostol), thinks about music, he’s often transported to the past. He remembers growing up with songs all around his childhood house and getting his first guitar at four-years-old. He remembers learning chords and playing music with his father at seven-years-old and he remembers seeing his dad liven up a party by fingerpicking local favorites. These are the fondest moments of Strings’ life, he says. But just because Strings can recall such joyous occasions doesn’t mean there haven’t been many rough ones between them. He remembers these, too, often writing about the heft of life in his music. Strings, whose latest record, Home, was recently nominated for a Grammy, carries his past to every gig he plays. Fans can continue to bear witness to his emotive, powerful performances now through Christmas as the Nashville-based musician broadcasts his original sets via his YouTube page to benefit Tennessee food banks and shelters.

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Providence, Rhode Island musician, Jake Blount, can talk to ghosts. He communes with them in song. He’s part exorcist, part séance leader. He resurrects their spirit in the music he makes and, over the course of a rocky 2020, Blount has earned great levels of praise for his often-spirited work. That he’s received positive responses for the old time and traditional music he plays has, in many ways, been the catalyst to new creative evolutions (more on this later). But it’s also offered real-time validation for Blount’s efforts, which first began with a desire to connect with his roots. To cap off a year in which he released a popular LP and earned high praise from outlets like NPR music, Blount recently unveiled his latest music video for the track, “The Angels Done Bowed Down.” In true form, the song is about murder’s revenge but is sung and couched in such a way that one could play it on a porch to toe-tapping neighbors.

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Alex Edkins, front man for the Toronto-based punk rock band, METZ, says he needs to start each day with music. If it’s true, as some suggest, that human beings respond to songs, melody and rhythm on a cellular level, then this compulsion makes perfect sense. If Edkins’ is a world of music, then there must be a renewed source for it each day. So, he puts on an album or a swath of singles and lets them unravel and begin to chart the course of his morning. This practice has helped buoy over a decade of the songwriters’ life as a professional musician and likely much longer than that as a fan. The most recent output from this artful lifestyle is METZ’ latest LP, Atlas Vending, which the band released in October. To support the album, METZ more recently released its latest video for the track, “Framed by the Comet’s Tail.” The new work is emblematic of the propulsive force a song can provide.

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For sought after Los Angeles producer, Karriem Riggins, it all began with the drums. Riggins’ father, a skilled keys player, performed with, among others, the great jazz guitarist, Grant Green, and Riggins would watch intently, starting at three-years-old. Tagging along to shows inspired the aspiring young musician and when he began to understand and follow along with the drums, Riggins fell head over heals for them. The instrument’s ability to change the mood and tone in a room just by altering the rhythm or feel wowed him. Later, after he got his first drum set, Riggins began to take music seriously. He also played trumpet and he got some rudimentary recording equipment. By 1994, Riggins moved from his hometown of Detroit to New York City, where he began to flourish. This year, Riggins released unique projects with the famed rappers, Common and Madlib, and he is poised to unveil even more new work in 2021.

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