Every year the music industry heads to Texas for SXSW in the hope of discovering the next big thing. The festival can be a real springboard for bands, Bon Iver & Fleet Foxes were the big successes of the festival last year. Every year the organisers also put up a bunch of mp3s by some of the bands playing. There's probably around 2,000 musical acts, some brilliant, some rubbish and most I've never heard of. But I've put together a few of the ones I have heard of who have mp3s available and who I think are definitely worth a [...]
photo: John Grubbs Danny Schmidt is a Austin folk singer who has been churning out remarkable albums over the last ten years, but is still below the radar. wiht his new release Instead The Forest Rose To Sing on Red House Records changes are good that he will be reaching a wider audience. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2003 a possible career in the moveis was cut short and he relaesed an album witj home recording to meet his medical bills. After [...]
Instead The Forest Rose To Sing is the new record from Austin singer-songwriter and poet Danny Schmidt . I add that "poet" tag to separate Danny from the hundreds of singer songwriters and folk artists toiling away in near obscurity whose songs never rise above the mundane and ordinary. As I (and others) have said before Danny is one of the great songwriters working today. Add to that the fact that he plays guitar effortlessly and jawdroppingly well makes anything he does potentially great. The new record has several songs that will stand the [...]
Danny Schmidt: Accidentally Daisies [ purchase ] (first 100 pre-orders will receive an autographed copy!) By now, you are all aware of my inability to do anything in 25 words or less - I confess that I am also an easier-to-get-forgiveness-than -permission kinda woman. I am about to beg your indulgence in advance - to paraphrase my first post to this collaborative blog way back in late-October, what's a few seconds among friends?... I have written of Danny Schmidt (one of my favorite songwriters) [...]
Alright moving along then. Here's something from February of this year that even at the time I knew would end up on my year end roundup. --- For me, and with my particular tastes, I'm comfortable saying that the new record by Austin-based singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt is the best of the new year. By now Danny's got a recognizable and distinctive vocal delivery and I love it. His songs are as literate, and can be as funny and clever, as anyone else in the songwriting [...]
I have no intention of providing timely folk/alt-country/americana news. You'll very rarely hear about tour dates, Letterman appearances or anything of the sort. I'm sure there's some place better to get that kind of info. But I would like to share this news story about Danny Schmidt . At last night's house concert with Rachel Ries, Anais Mitchell and Hayward Williams (yes! it was awesome) Danny's name came up and immediately a complete stranger to me said she thought "Stained Glass" was a perfect song. I quickly agreed and have always thought so myself. In fact I [...]
Danny Schmidt: Dark-Eyed Prince [ purchase ] I won't regale you with a laundry list of songwriter competition wins/runners-up… or glowing reviews of his 5 (soon to be 6) CDs… plus a songbook (which, even though I am the furthest thing from a singer/performer, I bought because I love his writing style so much) – I will, however, tell you one of Danny Schmidt 's songs, Company of Friends, was quoted in Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology horoscopes (scroll down to Leo, which I am, by the [...]
If I had to stand under a genre umbrella, the one I like best would Americana. 2008 has heard some great Americana songs. Two that are new to me in 2008: Jenny Scheinman ∞ I Was Young When I Left Home Danny Schmidt ∞ Company Of Friends Two produced by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Rusty Truck ∞ Luck's Changing Lanes The Whispertown 2000 ∞ Done With Love Two former Guilty Pleasures: [...]
On Tour Together ! Yes. Have you really, really, really read the title of this post ? So what else to expect from me ? First, some excuses : I'm really late posting about two of the most talented songwriters (yes I really measure these words) who are touring for some months now ! Then, few more buckets of apologies - last time - for being so short writing about this performance : only couple dates left in december. Check the schedule below, and jump to the artists sites for further details. 12/7 Sun Philadelphia, [...]
Since we feature ladies last week, we might as well shine the light on the fellas. The Black Keys ∞ Strange Days Danny Schmidt ∞ Company of Friends The Felice Brothers ∞ Frankie's Gun Marah ∞ Wild West Love Song Coconut & The Duke ∞ Extra Pale Dorian Teitur ∞ Catherine The Waitress Old Man Luedecke ∞ Proof Of Love [...]
Danny Schmidt is from Austin, TX . But he sounds like he is from everywhere. Like he is everyone, everyman. His songs tell stories about people you know. In the song that I feel is on the short list of great songs to have come out in 2008 , Danny sings "I believe our book is written by our company of friends" (Company Of Friends). It is obvious that Danny loves his friends. Long time buddy and musical collaborator Paul Curreri produced the record (w/ Danny's help). [...]
Danny Schmidt is a craftsman who constructs his songs with the utmost care. His new album Little Grey Sheep is a collection that demands intense listening, preferably through headphones. He has stories to tell that are rooted in the folk tradition, tales of despair and screwed up love affairs. He is a loner that doesn't want to be alone. Schmidt went back to his collection of songs he wrote over the years. Some of them were left of his previous albums as much as seven years ago. He spend a lot of time putting [...]
For me, and with my particular tastes, I'm comfortable saying that the new record by Austin-based singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt is the best of the new year. By now Danny's got a recognizable and distinctive vocal delivery and I love it. His songs are as literate and can be as funny and clever as anyone else in the songwriting racket today. I've written about his upcoming record, Grey Sheep , here , but frankly I did so too early. His record has a Feb. 19 release date and at the time of my [...]
Photo by Daniel Fernández * MP3: "Manchasm" - Future of the Left from Curses [ Buy it ] * MP3: "This Too Shall Pass" - Danny Schmidt from Parables and Primes [ Buy it ] * MP3: "I'm On Fire" (Bruce Springsteen cover) - Bats for Lashes (via Sucka Pants ) [ Buy other Bats for Lashes ] Check out more photography by Daniel Fernández [...]
Cover art of new record by Efrain Guerrero In the old music model releases by independent artists and smaller labels came to a standstill sometime starting around the end of October as both big boxes and smaller retail outlets focused on the big holiday releases. With the new model already upon us, perhaps this year early winter will no longer be a wasteland devoid of interesting releases. Around this time of year I usually go into re-post mode throwing up some of my favorite posts from 2007 or revisiting some of my favorite artists, but [...]
Austin, TX via Charlottesvill, VA folkstar Danny Schmidt is bringing his stories and swagger to Montpelier on Wednesday when he opens for Montpelier's own Anais Mitchell : Anais Mitchell w/ Danny Schmidt - August 8th - Langdon Street Cafe, Montpelier Here's the press on Danny Schmidt: Danny is a writer's writer, with a lyrical depth drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Dave Carter, and Townes Van Zandt. Sing Out magazine called Danny the best new songwriter they'd heard in 15 years. Midnight Special's national syndicated [...]
When skies are low and heavy as a lid over the mind tormented by disgust, and hidden in the gloom the sun pours down on us a daylight dingier than the dark; when earth becomes a trickling dungeon where Trust like a bat keeps lunging through the air, beating tentative wings along the walls and bumping its head against the rotten beams; when rain falls straight from unrelenting clouds, forging the bars of some enormous jail, and silent hordes of obscene spiders spin their webs across the [...]
Anais Mitchell ( here ) gives us her poetic impressions of her time in Austin. Her new record, The Brightness , is out now on Righteous Babe, buy it here . Cosmic American Here's her wondefull summary of the week: "sunday morning comin down impressions from sxsw. thursday my official set at momo's and i was so excited about the rest of the bands on the bill that i spent the night there, a luxury really not to have to elbow around on sixth [...]
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