Words // Caroline McDonald In Greek mythology, the iconic head of Medusa was placed on Athena's shield to serve as a guardian. Dan Blakeslee's guitar, with its fiery, Medusa-esque pick guard and design, is just as fearsome and determined in his Kitchen Session video, "Wizard Nor a King." Before getting started, Dan explained that the song is about "doing what you love and never giving up." He lives his own words as both a musician and a talented visual artist. The energy he exudes in the Kitchen Session video catches his message and inspires the creative [...]

Words // Scott Pingeton When it comes to Boston bands, I often find myself caught between two extremes. On one hand, I want to root for the local guys. The idea of finding your new favorite band sweating it out in the local bars is a romantic dream, but visions of the Cavern Club can cloud one's judgement. On the other hand, I have no interest in pandering to the local scene. I seek out the best music period, regardless of geography - and that often means paying less attention to Boston [...]
New Music for X-Mas What's under your Blinged Bush? DAN BLAKESLEE Michael Winters photo There is little doubt in my mind that tonight's profile artist Dan Blakeslee, a singer-songwriter, graphic designer, original artist and performer ( Dr. Gasp [ listen ] is but one stage name) is probably one of the most gifted [...]

Ryan Alvanos is not a "singles" artist. You are not going to be able to wrap your head around his poetic prose by downloading a single song. Nor will you glean his modern take on folk music and his quest to bridge the gap between "Guthrie and Shakespeare" by downloading this one song. So don't even try. "7:303 is just one track of many on Ryan's new record From Here . Not only is this record a treat for those who take the actual lyrics of a song to heart but it's also a [...]
About five minutes after guitarist and singer Noel Kelly casually mentioned that The Hush Now wasn't really shoegaze, he was on stage with the band he founded laying out intense, wavering guitar atmospherics alongside lead guitarist Adam Quane. We certainly don't dispute that The Hush Now isn't a precise fit for the shoegaze tag, but as the band's music grows increasingly powerful and nuanced, it ain't just indie pop anymore, either. Indeed, the real story last night was the precision and control the band displayed conjuring illuminating intros and outros for the songs that conveyed impressive [...]

VIDEO HYPE : RSL Presents.... poster by Dan Blakeslee video by Barry Marino FULL PREVIEW bios / mp3s / more

the Live Tradition continues A hot show for you hipsters layout & design by Dan Blakeslee Monday Aug 2nd 18+ 9pm $8 YOU SHOW UP EARLY, YOU GET IN no advanced ticketing. [...]
feines label, nette aktion. peapod recordings , hier von uns in aller ausführlichkeit vorgestellt, gibt eine free compilation heraus, auf der sich neben einigen tracks, die dem labeleigenen rückblick gelten, auch weitere finden, die hinweise auf zukünftige releases geben sowie sogar unveröffentlichtes material. ein paar verlinke ich hier, den rest holt Euch doch selbst bei peapod ab. und wer sich gar keine große mühe machen will, der downloadet sich einfach das gesamte 11 tracks umfassende paket ( 68mb, .zip ). da das gerät denn auch noch mit "summer 2010" betitelt ist, kann kaum mehr etwas schief gehen, bei gerade [...]

Live Performance of the Week Someone You Should Know Dan Blakeslee Blakeslee at Toad in Cambridge on January 12th Sean Hafferty photo The David Wax Museum free residency at [...]

So I haven't made a label playlist in a while and I noticed the good folks over at IODA have a fair amount from one of my favourite Portland (East side: Maine, not west side: Oregon) labels - Peapod Recordings! With the new Brown Bird album coming out, it reminded me that this label needs some more attention, and that is where I come in. There are quite a few great albums on the label - Brown Bird, Chriss Sutherland, South China and more. While most bands on the label are considered "indie" and even "folk" they range [...]

Dan Blakeslee's a complete unknown to me but his violin stoked new song "Your Spanish Scarf" from his album Lincoln Street Roughs reminds me of Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright. It's a beautiful song that also has hints of Matt Pond PA and The Decemberists. His voice soars and the violins reel; if half the songs on the new record come anywhere close to this one on the goosebumps-down-your-back scale than this is an album to keep an eye out for. Or just buy it here now through Peapod Recordings . [...]