RECENT ARTICLES

When generations in the future look back on the 21st century and earlier, there will likely be several things to cause heads to shake. One of those that will assuredly make some cringe will be the general treatment of children during early development. For many years, the prevailing thought was that children will get over whatever affects them or ails them in their primary years. Adulthood, the thought is, will rectify those wounds. But that’s not actually the case. The reality is that our earliest experiences set the trajectory for our lives in adulthood. And acclaimed songwriter and performer Raffi Cavoukian knows this perhaps better than any other artist.

Raffi has made a career writing music that both entertains and elucidates the notion that when we are about five or six years old, our understanding of what it means to be human is shaped forever, for better or worse. Today, Raffi continues to highlight this idea, through his many works, including his recent collaboration with fellow children’s songwriter Lindsay Munroe.

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When it comes to the holidays, Hayley Orrantia says that she’s a bit more Grinch than Chris Kringle. On the other hand, though, she loves winter. So, while maybe the pomp and circumstance traditionally associated with the season isn’t necessarily her cup of tea, the coziness that can come with December has its delights. Orrantia, who is an accomplished country songwriter and recent presenter at the Country Music Awards, is also known for her achievements as an actor, especially so on the ABC comedy The Goldbergs.

Fans can next see Orrantia in the upcoming festive film Christmas is Cancelled. The movie, which also stars Dermot Mulroney and Janel Parrish, is out Thursday (December 16). For the Amazon release, which she calls “a really funny, raunchy, oddball comedy,” Orrantia wrote a heartfelt track, “The Same Way,” which displays her writing touch and affinity for love songs.

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Journey is back in Las Vegas. While the Bay Area-born rock band, which is known for songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Faithfully,” has been playing Sin City since the Millenium, the group is back again after a pandemic-induced hiatus. (Now three shows in with two more to go in December.) And, says keyboardist Jon Cain, they’re already seeing people tear up. “I saw a couple of ladies in tears in the front row,” Cain says of the band’s recent shows in the desert.

For Cain, to be back is a real achievement. He and the band missed the stage, their time away was “devastating.” But in the meantime, the group wrote and recorded a new album, long-distance, which Journey is set to release in spring 2022 and will feature bassist Randy Jackson.

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Growing up in southeast Ohio, future award-winning songwriter, Jimmy Yeary, wasn’t allowed to listen to country music. In the early years, his was a life of school, family, and church. It was during the worship hours where Yeary would sing gospel. He was raised religiously. His upbringing was strict and hard. For instance, Yeary’s mother was a fan of singer Barbara Mandrell until she heard Mandrell’s 1980 song, “Crackers,” which went: You can eat crackers in my bed anytime, baby. That was it.

Yeary also says he endured some physical abuse, as a kid. But as he got a little older, he began sneaking music he loved into his house and listening to it surreptitiously. When his mom heard the song, “So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed,” in her house she blew her lid. Still, Yeary was undeterred. Once he heard you could move to Nashville to write, he had a plan. Ever since then, that plan to get where he belonged has worked out and Yeary has become one of the most popular songwriters in Music City.

His latest single, “Angeline,” released in October, showcases his love for his wife (famed singer, Sonya Isaacs,) his knack for storytelling and his natural ability to catch an ear hook, line and sinker.

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Legendary songwriter Aimee Mann remembers putting in the extra work for her acting role in the 1998 comedy, The Big Lebowski. She’d been cast in the film after a successful, though light-hearted audition, and she was set to play a German nihilist. Mann says that because the character was a nihilist, she didn’t expect much acting or dialogue. Yet, she pulled one of her scene stars aside and put forth the idea of practicing a little something. So, they got together and worked up a short conversation about the whereabouts of a hotel key, in German. It was a good thing, too. For when it came time to shoot, the director said, “We’re going to zoom in and you guys just talk in German.”

They say the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. In this case, that’s especially true. Mann is always detail-minded; she loves intricacies. It’s the superpower she brings to her songwriting and the music she makes, which is especially so on Mann’s latest LP, Queens of The Summer Hotel, which is out officially on November 5 via Mann’s label, SuperEgo Records.

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At first, Colin Blunstone just wanted to play the guitar. The young burgeoning British-born musician just liked the instrument. He kept it by his side ever since he got his first one around 12 years old. Blunstone, who would later front the rock band, The Zombies, whose hit, “Time of the Season,” is probably being used in a new movie or commercial right this moment, was born into a musical home. He had five brothers who were multi-instrumentalists and a sister who sang and played guitar. Blunstone listened to Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and loved rock ‘n’ roll.

Today, the vocalist is experiencing his own recognition. The Zombies have a big tour and new album set. Blunstone himself is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his debut solo record, One Year, and the discovery of a lost album, That Same Year, which is set to drop on vinyl on Friday (December 10).

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Legendary hip-hop producer, Pete Rock (born Peter Phillips), met the legendary songwriter and performer James Brown when he was 7 years old in Mount Vernon, New York. That moment, coupled with a childhood immersed in music, helped to open Rock’s eyes to the very real idea that he too could be a professional musician. That he too could live a creative life.

When Rock was just 3 years old, he’d realized music was always around. His father was a record collector and DJ and Rock used to listen to his jazz and soul albums (Brown included). At 7, Rock’s mother took him to a show in his hometown of Mount Vernon where Brown was performing. His mother even had the confidence to introduce herself and her son to Brown that night. To this day, Rock, who has since worked with Nas, Kanye, Jay Z and is considered one of the most influential producers ever, says that was one of the greatest days of his life. Now, as the latest judge for the Tracklib Beat Battle Competition (winner announced this Sunday), Rock is taking on the role of mentor to a number of aspiring artists. For Rock, it’s part of paying back what he’d received earlier from people like Brown and others in his more immediate family.

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Growing up, Jenna Raine played centerfield, the position that sees everything. Despite regularly being the shortest, smallest, and youngest kid on the team, she often shined on the diamond. Raine played softball from about four years old to about 13 and despite being more accomplished at that than anything else, she gave it up to pursue her passion for songwriting.

While no one in Raine’s immediate family had any particular talent for music, she says, it’s something she always knew she wanted to dive into. When she was eight years old, for example, something innately told Raine to enter a talent show. It was then when her mother asked, “What’s your talent?”

But by playing piano and singing in the competition, Raine showcased the beginning of her future. She began taking vocal lessons at nine—this on top of the YouTube karaoke videos she’d sing along to at home, developing her chops. Now, nearly 10 years later, Raine has worked with some of the world’s biggest names and earned millions of song streams on the very platform she used to obsess over. And her latest release, “See You Later (Ten Years),” continues to portend a bright future for her after it recently hit No. 1 on the Spotify Global and U.S. Viral charts.

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