Soulive | Rhapsody Celebrity Mixtape
I wanted to share this interview with you, I sat down with Soulive in the Rhapsody studios to celebrate their release of No Place Like Soul. This was hands down the best, most captivating, most dynamic interview that I have ever done. Since forming in 1999, the trio, now a quartet with singer Toussaint, has developed a reputation as one of the most sought after soul-funk units on the scene. Listen to the band members sing some of their selections and
talk about their musical history, it's a great listen. These fellas eat, drink, sleep, breathe and LIVE their music. Checkout the recommendations from out the mouths of Eric, Neal, Alan and Toussaint. Click + listen to the words and the music. - Ted K

Labels: interview, rhapsody, soulive, soulmusic

Two Gallants | Two Gallants
[Two Gallants album is out next Tues, but Rhapsody has it NOW :-)]
When a band puts out a self-titled LP three albums into their career, is that a statement that this is the career-defining record? The one you want people to listen to first? Every one of Two Gallants albums has multiple songs that I could listen to over and over again from "Drive My Car" and "Train That Stole My Man" to "Steady Rollin" to "Age of Assassins", so I was wondering could that authentic 150 year-old poetroubadour sound be duplicated yet again?
So far, I've been listening to the album for three weeks and I've had four different favorite songs, I'll link 'em all below. Tyson's distinctive drum fills are as creative as ever, and all over the album, mixing well with the lyrical gems. Such as on "The Deader,": "The girl I love is oh so far away, I wonder can she hear me as I go through my day." The longing for the lost girl is still there, and the biting sting of Adam's tongue is still there, they're the perfect mix of adoration and scorn. The raw lust is still there, diving right in to the 'steel trap of your thighs' in "Despite What You've Been Told." So is the loss is still there, check out "My Baby's Gone." And I love this caustic one liner from "Reflections of the Marionette": "I don't want to see you fall, I wanna see you fail." Not only will Two Gallants not fail, they'll bring our fair city of SF with them as they climb to the top of the rock and roll pile on. This is one of the best records of 2007, listen now. - TK

The Society of Rockets | Our Paths Related
I definitely played the Society of Rockets them for you last year, yamember? Man, I could not stop listening to "Out In The Evening" from their first album, Where the Grass Grows Black, all year, it was Best of '06! Well, they are back with another psychedelically bluesy, greasy, Stones-y rock record called Our Paths Related. They describe themselves as utilizing dirt burst guitar, harmonies, rattletraps, sub-stone rumble, sunnnnn organ, theremin, and hallucelluloids, among other things. These are local SF cats who ooze into the record with "Come Ahead Then," a chugging Pink Floyd-esque intro before slamming it into another gear, "Teenage Gears" - just "diggin in the dirt, leavin this world of hurt." It's a white R&B chill down during "Mountain Magic." The horns pop in and out of harmonic dissonance during interludes like "Loose Change". But the best song on the record might just be the burning bluesrock riff meeting the Beach Boys harmonies in "California's Burning." Solid record, Mustard Man. - TK