As fall unfolds the pool cover from the shed, I thought I’d share one of my favorite tracks from this summer. It’s from PWNT (play what’s not there) which is the latest project from multi- instrumentalist and music producer Kosta Galanopoulos. Over the years he’s developed a solid reputation as the go to drummer for Adam Lambert and Paul Castelluzzo.

Days in the Summer is the debut album under his PWNT moniker, released on Acrophase Records, and it has been turning some heads in indie music circles.
​
“Composers” is my favorite song from the record. It’s a warm breeze pressed against the sails, and winks and nods at the lead gasoline convertibles of the past.

Throughout the 1940’s and 50’s, Jamaica was able to pick up New Orleans radio over the Gulf of Mexico and Louis Armstrong was a regularly featured musician. He visited Jamaica on several different occasions and his influence spread throughout the island. One unlikely woman who mimicked his singing style was former fish vendor Kendris Fagan.

“Come Back My Darling” was a rework of “All My Life” by John Holt. It was recorded in 1969 and released on the legendary Treasure Isle label. Tommy McCook and the Supersonics backed him and they perform brilliantly.
​
I adore this track and Fagan’s uncanny reimagining of Armstrong’s persona. It’s a lighthearted love song that puts a smile on my face, and if you listen closely between Fagan’s phrasing, you can hear John Holt’s previous vocal take bleeding over the musician’s microphones. 

Long before the term “indie rock” was used to describe groups like Pavement, The Strokes, or The Hives there was a little band from Dunedin, New Zealand called The Clean.  Formed in 1978 by Peter Gutteridge and brother’s David and Hamish Kilgour, they would help trademark the “Dunedin sound” and place legendary independent record label Flying Nun on the map.

“Anything Could Happen” is from their 1981 EP Boodle Boodle Boodle. It was the third release from Flying Nun, and is notable for its sixteen page comic book. It’s also a wonderfully jangly and untidy number, with earnest lyrics and a chorus that will stick in your head if you give it a chance.
​
We lost Peter Gutteridge in 2014 and The Clean never reached world-wide mainstream success, but they are a beloved group and one of the most influential bands from New Zealand.

In 1968, while guitarist Billy Gibbons was cutting his teeth with the Moving Sidewalks in Houston Texas, across the state in Dallas, drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill were making waves with their own group, American Blues. They of course would go on to form ZZ Top, and until last week, for over 52 years, have been the only members of that hall of fame band.

We lost Dusty Hill last week, and a lot has already been written and said about his brilliant musical career. I guess I just wanted to remind folks that he wasn’t just an underrated bassist with a long beard, he was also a crafty songwriter, vocalist, and makeshift keyboardist from time to time.
​
“Shady” is from American Blues’ second record released in 1968 on Universal City Records. It’s a rocket of a tune that not only features Beard’s ability as a drummer, but Hill’s modest vocal rage and how they really paved the way sonically and culturally in a part of the country that was as conservative as conservative gets.