RECENT ARTICLES

For Alec Ounsworth, front man and principal songwriter for the indie rock band, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the past four years have been beset by turmoil. Some of the reasons for the recent struggles are ones that he shares with many people, including enduring the divisive contemporary American political system and the stifling COVID-19 pandemic. But others are more personal. Recently, Ounsworth went through a difficult divorce. And while many of the details obviously remain private, what the artist does say about the experience is that it mirrored, in some ways, what he’s noticed in the United States of late, namely that something you believed you knew well is not actually what you thought. The catalysts for this dual-pronged epiphany have become the foundation for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s forthcoming album, New Fragility, which is set for release January 29th.

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Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco got her first guitar at nine years old and it quickly became her “best friend.” At that time, DiFranco made the acquaintance of a local musician in Buffalo, New York, where she grew up. He worked in a guitar shop in town and decided to take the young, enthusiastic DiFranco under his wing. It was an important early mentorship for the eventual Grammy winner, helping to set her on her long, creative path. He introduced DiFranco to other working musicians, brought her around to sing with him at gigs, where she soon learned to forgo her feelings of shyness and lean into the scary proposition of singing in public. Today, some four decades later, DiFranco is one of the most recognizable names in songwriting. She’s released dozens of albums and worked at almost every stage of the industry along the way. On January 29th, the New York native will release her newest LP, Revolutionary Love.

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For legendary jazz musician, Wynton Marsalis, upholding democracy is a lot like playing music in a group. The key ingredient to both, he says, is the act of listening. Music is a unique art form in that it can allow any number of people to participate—another voice for the harmony, another violin for the string section—and it is available to people of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, too. Of course, music is often called the universal language, but it is also a form of communication that requires attention and practice to keep it alive. Like democracy, Marsalis says, the preservation of music is a precarious act. It can feel fragile or even futile at times. But with vigilance and persistence, progress is made and made again. The shape that progress takes as it unfolds, however, is sometimes hard to predict in a given moment. Today, though, for Marsalis, it’s taken the form of his latest release, The Democracy Suite. The album, which is available now to stream free or purchase, is further evidence of Marsalis’ long career and fight for equitable dialogue.

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For Jonathan Russell, front man for the oft-jangly rock band, The Head and the Heart, the conclusion of the band’s 2019 performance atop Seattle’s history Pike Place Market, in many ways, represented the beginning of a new era. In that moment, as he and the group, which formed in Seattle in 2009, looked out at the tens of thousands of audience members from atop the market in the setting summer sun, Russell knew that he and the band had done at least a few things right. But he also wondered about their next chapter. To receive a homecoming like that after significant past internal tumult meant that the music had held true throughout. Looking to his right, Russell saw longtime band member, Charity Thielen, weeping tears of appreciation and joy. But Russell, in some ways, felt confused emotionally. Since then, though, Russell’s perspective as it relates to both the music and the group, have only felt more secure, locked-in.

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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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