One of Northeastern’s Own Professors an Emmy Award-winning musician

BradHatfieldMusic.com

Please check out my article for this week’s issue of Northeastern’s Huntington News as a guest correspondent. The article is a profile piece on one of NU’s own part-time professors, Brad Hatfield. His career as a musician spans over 20 years and dozens of movies and television shows that have featured his work, including the Academy Award-winning Mystic River.

Hatfield has a passion for teaching music as well as creating and performing it. In addition to teaching several music-related courses here at NU- including film music- he has taught classes at the Berklee College of Music right here in Boston as well, providing a tremendous amount of skill and real world experience to aspiring musicians.

Hatfield has a lot of useful things to say about his profession, and it would apply to anyone entering the real world and not just musicians. Needless to say, the man is an unsung Boston hero. For those of you who weren’t aware of who he is, I’m glad to shed some light on his quietly remarkable career.

The Hold Steady’s “Heaven is Whenever” Cover Art: Simple But Beautiful

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feinsteinbandpics/ / CC BY 2.0

In today’s age of digital downloads and evaporating record sales, everything we know about the album is going by the wayside.

Track order used to be a daunting and precise task, CD booklets offered as much in the way of supplementary entertainment as the band desired to eager fans, and album covers were often the iconic image associated with classic collections of music. Case in point: who can’t think of Dark Side of the Moon without picturing that rainbow-crossed prism with the black background?

While Brooklyn-based rockers The Hold Steady may be known much more for their riff-heavy classic rock stylings and frontman Craig Finn’s massively dense lyrical tales, they know how to convey thoughts about their albums through the covers. Their last release, 2008′s highly acclaimed (they’ve actually been highly acclaimed since their debut) Stay Positive, presented a rough, brown, dirty image of a small, dumpy, and utterly soulless town that Finn sang about on tracks like “Constructive Summer” and “Sequestered in Memphis.”

The cover art for their latest album, Heaven is Whenever (due in stores May 4) is probably the simplest album cover they’ve released to date, and perhaps their most powerful. The titles are in text that is decorated only slightly, giving us a clear indication of who we’re getting into, and reaching for the text is the hand of a young boy or girl.

Lead guitarist Tad Kubler described the music of Heaven is Whenever in a press release announcing the album as “evocative,” adding that “There’s a lot more melody. It’s more sonically diverse and dynamically expansive than any of our previous records.”

Finn described his lyrics as being about “embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life.” He explained the significance of the album’s title as referencing “the way that love can help us rise above our modern struggles.” Man does that guy ever know how to express himself!

With dozens of tour dates already lined up, appearances scheduled at several summer festivals such as Lollapalooza and the Isle of Wight Festival, and an as-of-this-writing opening between May 30 and June 12, I am hoping as a Bonnaroo ticket holder that The Hold Steady will be added to the four-day Manchester, Tenn. festival as a second-tier headliner.

Street Musicians: Boston-based Singers, Guitarists and Bucket Drummers (VIDEO)

Boston certainly has no shortage of creative minds. Many of them can be found scattered across the city at street corners, subway stations and other locations to perform music for whoever cares to listen. And plenty of people do listen. I decided to venture around the city looking for such performers, and naturally I had no trouble finding several on a simple ride up and down the MBTA red line.

John Gerard was the first person I found, performing original material at Park St. Station. Gerard has his own website at JohnGerard.com, and plays shows at local bars and clubs in addition to performing his songs for the public. Next was Anthony Mayville, an acoustic guitarist originally from Haiti who performs covers and some original material at various MBTA locations, most often at the always-bustling South Station.

Finally, I met Joshua, a bucket drummer whom I had the pleasure of watching on previous occasions. Joshua feeds off the enthusiasm of crowds that gather around him when he performs, and based on his performance in the video it should come as no surprise that he has little trouble drawing attention. Enjoy the people and music!

The Hold Steady Announce New Album, “Heaven is Whenever,” Track Listing

Source: David Shankbone

The Hold Steady remain one of America’s most acclaimed and hard-working rock bands. They have yet to miss with the critics, with their 2008 album, “Stay Positive,” earning a composite score of 85 on Metacritic, constituting “universal acclaim,” and have steadily rose in popularity since their inception due to their dense, arena-ready rock aesthetic and frontman Craig Finn’s complex yet powerfully vivid lyrics. The Brooklyn-based group is now set to release their highly anticipated fifth album, “Heaven is Whenever,” on May 4 from Vagrant Records.

The album will be the band’s first without keyboardist Franz Nicolay, who suddenly left the band in January to get a fresh start and explore other career interests such as vaudeville acting and tap dancing.

Finn and lead guitarist Tad Kubler said in a press release interview that the album will be a departure from their previous two LPs, “Stay Positive” and “Boys and Girls in America.” Kubler described the music as “spacial” and “sonically more diverse” than their previous work, noting shifts and expansions of his guitar style that haven’t been heard before.

Finn said that the stories in his songs- a mandatory topic to cover when discussing a Hold Steady album- will be more about expressing a cohesive overall theme than spinning tales of the characters he’s created, particularly “Gideon,” “Charlemagne” and “Holly,” who have become very familiar to fans. Finn said in the interview of the album’s themes:

“The lyrics speak a lot about struggle and reward. It’s about embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. I think that some of the characters from old records are there, but I don’t name them by name. I think it continues to examine the highs and lows that we’ve looked at on previous records.”

The elements of the Hold Steady’s work that remain constant throughout their discography are the intense, verbose wordplay of Finn’s lyrics and the consistently exhilarating music accompanying them. From their descriptions, it sounds like fans will get more of the same plus an expansion and maturity of their musical palette. It seems almost impossible for them to disappoint us at this point.

Here is the track listing for “Heaven is Whenever”:

1.  The Sweet Part of the City
2.  Soft in the Center
3.  The Weekenders
4.  The Smidge
5.  Rock Problems
6.  We Can Get Together
7.  Hurricane J
8.  Barely Breathing
9.  Our Whole Lives
10.  A Slight Discomfort

Here’s a video from back in September of the band playing an early version of one of the new tracks- called “Heaven is Whenever” here, but likely actually track six, “We Can Get Together.”

Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon Among Biggest Additions to Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup

By 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jay-z was the biggest name announced to headline the 2010 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. this June. The festival added two more super-heavyweights, bringing back Kings of Leon (fresh off winning three Grammy awards) for the third time to the event. Just hours earlier, the long-rumored Dave Matthews band was officially confirmed as a headlining act.

Kings of Leon last performed at Bonnaroo in 2007, before their award-winning hit album Only by the Night. Here is a video of their performance from 2007:

Go to the Bonnaroo Myspace page to see the complete lineup and watch as it updates itself throughout the night.

Jay-Z, Weezer, Regina Spektor Among Confirmed for 2010 Bonnaroo Festival

The legend of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts festival, held annually in Manchester, Tenn. since 2002, has grown exponentially over the years. It has quickly become known for its heavyweight headliners, and so far the 2010 lineup is no exception.

For the first time in its history, Bonnaroo will announce the lineup for the 2010 festival, taking place June 10-13, one-by-one on their MySpace page as the artists themselves announce their involvement in the show. So far, the biggest confirmed act is Jay-Z, who will likely headline one of the final two days of the four-day festival.

One returning artist that has been announced is pianist-singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, who performed at the festival in 2007. Here’s a video of her set from that year:

Here’s the full confirmed lineup thus far:

• Jay-Z
• Weezer
• Phoenix
• OK Go
• The Flaming Lips
• Regina Spektor
• John Fogerty
• Norah Jones
• GWAR
• The Avett Brothers
• Thievery Corporation
• Punch Brothers
• She & Him
• Jimmy Cliff
• Medeski, Martin & Wood
• Cross Canadian Ragweed
• The xx
• Mayer Hawthorn and the County
• Ingrid Michaelson
• Wale
• Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers
• Monte Montgomery

Check back later for an updated lineup!

Local Aspiring Musicians, Blogs React to the Grammy Awards

I caught up with some local musicians I’ve met over the years to get their reactions to last Sunday’s Grammy Awards, which proved to be mostly a night for the ladies. Beyonce and Taylor Swift combined for ten total wins, and the most talked-about performances came from Lady Gaga and Pink, who stunned viewers with her stage performances.

Click the photo for more musicians and their reactions to the Grammys.

Guitarist Justin Spirko watched the ceremony from start to finish, and was most impressed by Lady Gaga’s duet with John that opened the show. Admittedly not a big fan of pop music, Spirko was pleasantly surprised by Gaga’s performance, which included piano and vocals. “I just figured she was some generic cookie-cutter pop star, but she definitely has more talent than I was giving her credit for,” said Spirko, 24.

Sarah Ventre of the Phoenix New Times praised the duet as well, but claimed that it got too over-the-top- even for those two, whose propensity for attention-grabbing looks and behaviors is seemingly boundless:

In case you missed it, the evening opened with the perfect pairing of talented but attention seeking, over-the top fashion enthusiasts, king and queen of theatrics – Elton John and Lady Gaga. Their duet was fun to watch, and well done, but when John changed the lyrics of Your Song to say, “How wonderful life is, with Gaga in the world,” it got to be a little too over-the-top, even for them.

Here is a video of the performance that everyone is talking about:

Another performance that generated significant post-show buzz was Pink’s, who supplemented her singing with an unusually acrobatic display that left viewers’ heads spinning. Our Kitchen Sink described the performance as “perhaps the greatest performance in the history of television of a song that was completely unmemorable,” clearly defining his polarized opinions about the performance itself and Pink’s music. Here’s the performance in question:

James Taylor’s Mass. Benefit Concerts Raise Nearly $1 million for Haiti

Credit: Paul Keleher on Flickr

Grammy Award-winning musician and Boston native James Taylor played two sold-out concerts over the weekend at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Mass. to provide relief for those in Haiti devastated by the earthquake and its aftershocks earlier this month. Taylor added the second show after hearing that the first sold out within hours.

According to the Berkshire Eagle, the two concerts raised over $480,000 in ticket sales, which Taylor matched. Viewers of the live broadcast of the concert on WMAC Northeast Public Radio reportedly donated an extra $78,521. Clarence Fanto, who covered the concert for the Eagle, praised Taylor’s presence:

“Appearing especially relaxed while regaling the audience with quips and anecdotes tracing his 40-year career, Taylor was vocally robust; the presentation, enhanced by the warm acoustics of the Mahaiwe, showcased him and his collaborators in top form.”

The Eagle’s own Alan Chartock also had considerable praise for Taylor and his wife Caroline for their commitment to helping the people of Haiti, describing them on his blog as “truly role models for the rest of us.” Chartock continued:

“Their generosity in matching the Friday night ticket sales is unsurpassed. James has the ability to make each person he is working with feel very special and he brings out the best in all of us. When James and Kim are running things, people want to do their best. It is extraordinary what was accomplished in the span of six short days. It shows you what can be done when people are committed to a common vision.”

Indeed, Taylor deserves every bit of praise as a visionary and philanthropist in his Haiti relief efforts. Many artists and groups are taking the initiative to play benefit concerts for Haiti, including music heavyweights like Radiohead, Wyclef Jean, Linkin Park, Lady Gaga and the Dave Matthews Band. But even they couldn’t say they added a second concert on their own volition. Taylor ought to be lauded in his hometown community in Boston as a hero for his efforts.