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Update: January-February 2024 Reads

Update: January-February 2024 Reads

Midnight Creed - Alex Kava
Midnight Creed (Ryder Creed #8) –

Midnight Creed  is the 8th book in Alex Kava’s Ryder Creed series  The series was a spin-off of Kava’s Maggie O’Dell series. Since Maggie and her FBI colleagues are an intricate part of the Ryder Creed series, I’m going to call this book book 19 in the Maggie O’Dell has targeted homeless people up and down the east coast. While Ryder  and his dogs are searching for a missing boy. Additionally, Ryder and his staff are awaiting a shipment of K9s that were left behind when our troops left Afghanistan. Read More Read More

Looking Back: Jimmie Spheeris – Isle of View

Isle of View - Ji,,ie Spheeris

Ok so today on the Record Collectors Facebook  Group a member asked people to dig into their collection and post an album that is  unknown and/or obscure. Well, I have many vinyl albums that fit that description! And many more CDs that do also! However the album I decided to listen to and write about is the debut album from singer-songwriter Jimmie Spheeris Isle  of View. (Say it three or more times fast). Anyway the album has been one of my favorite quiet night albums since I bought in in the early 70s! However, I think Jimmie’s music has largely been forgotten because his career was cut short by a tragic accident. From Wikipedia…

Spheeris died at the age of 34 in Santa Monica, California, when his motorcycle collided with a van at 2 a.m. on the morning of July 4, 1984. The driver of the van, Bruce Burnside, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and felony vehicular manslaughter. Read More

Spaceslug -Leftovers Discovered Thru Music Listening Expansion!

Spaceslug - Leftovers album coverp

So when I have looked over my recently played  on Spotify over the last couple of weeks I am confusedThe reason is that none of the music looks familiar. You ask – how come?

Let’s pretend you asked me.  My answer would never because I’ve been exploring. In some cases I have been listening to some different genres. While in other cases I’ve listened to different subgenres. The different genres include some EDM with a psychedelic bent. While the subgenres include Desert Rock and Space Rock.

EK Discovers Spaceslug Read More

Greg Trooper – Day 9 – 30-Day Folk Challenge on his Birthday!

Greg Trooper - Straight Down Rain Day 9 - Folk Music Challenge

Today January 13,2021 would have been singer-songwriter Greg Trooper’s 64th birthday. Unfortunately for the music world he died two days after his 61st birthday in 2017. The cause of the death was pancreatic cancer.

Greg Troop was a fellow New Jerseyian. He was born on January 13 in 1956 iin Neptune Township, New Jersey. He was raised in nearby Little Silver.

I  started today listening Straight Down Rain, which found it’s way into my music collection around 1999. I remember I found the album in the discount bin at Tunes,  which was our go to CD store at the time.

His prior release Popular Demons which had been released  in 1998, quickly was added to my music library. Popular Demons had been released on Koch Records and was produced by Buddy Miller.

All total Greg Trooper released thirteen albums. Three of those albums were live albums.

After I listened  to =&0=&for the first time in a long time, I listened to songs from several of Trooper’s other albums.  Of Trooper’s thirteen albums here are the five that are in my music library….

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Here’s a Baker’s Dozen Greg Trooper Playlist

Final Thoughts

So far this 30-day challenge has been  very rewarding. personally. It has given me an opportunity to listen to many albums that I haven’t heard for too long a time! In addition, I have a renewed interest in searching out new Americana, and Folk music.

Likewise, because I was looking for old vinyl albums I have organized those albums by genre, so now I know where all my folk albums can be located, as well as, my jazz and rock albums! so maybe there’s a 30-day classic rock and jazz challenge in the future. Stay Tuned!

Links for Future Explorations of the Music of Greg Trooper

Artist’s Website Read More

The Spin of My IPod Wheel Leads to the Music of Strunz & Farah

Strunz &Farah Heat of the Sun album cover

Tonight I decided rather than search out new music, I would instead pick something from my iPod. Yes I still have and use my iPod. So I set the iPod to Artist and spun that wheel forward and backward several times. When it stopped it had landed on the New Age/World music duo of Strunz & Farah. I only have one Strunz & Farah CD in my collection and it’s their 1995 release Heat of the Sun.And I really really like the album. I know I have read about the duo before, but have never written about them until tonight. So here goes…. Read More

Lawrence Blatt – Emergence

Originally posted January 26,2015

Lawrence Blatt blends science and music to create the soothing Emergence

For me, composing music is akin to magic. I neither know how it’s done, nor do I care. I just enjoy the ride and the end product! So it is safe to say  I am in awe of Emergence San Francisco acoustic guitarist Lawrence Blatt’s latest release.

Lawrence Blatt’s award-winning music has been called “heartwarming, soothing, and relaxing” and consists of layers of guitar work decorated with luscious melodies and percussive moods. Blatt says this about his work:

“My music ranges from soft contemporary compositions to mysterious pieces that could be set in the 18th century.”

My music creates a personal oasis and space of solitude in a busy life.

How He Does It

To create that oasis and those wonderfully soothing sounds,  Blatt plays two very special guitars on his recordings.  In his biography at his website Lawrence Blatt relates the following about his guitars…..

One is a custom steel-string guitar crafted by Edward Dick. “This guitar has a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. It’s slightly bell-shaped body produces a warm deep sound. I waited almost eighteen months for this guitar to be completed and I worked very closely with Edward during the construction to build the guitar to my exact specifications.” The other guitar is a small-bodied 12-fret parlor guitar made by Kathy Wingert. It was built with a German spruce top and Brazilian rosewood back and sides. “This tiny guitar packs a powerful punch and was the inspiration for the title track for my first solo CD “Out of the Woodwork.”

Emergence

But I digress, let’s get back to  Emergence.   Emergence was produced by Will Ackerman and the compositions that make up the album blend Blatt’s passion for science and music! Wikipedia defines “Emergence” as follows….

emergence is conceived as a process whereby larger entities, patterns, and regularities arise through interactions among smaller or simpler entities that themselves do not exhibit such properties.

Lawrence Blatt

The Concept Read More

Trader Joe’s Fiery Chicken Curry Leads to “Fire”

Trader Joe's Fiery Chicken Curry

Lunch Today Trader Joe’s Fiery Chicken  Curry  Leads to Fire

So over the last many months my go to lunches have been Indian cuisine from Trader Joe‘s. I particularly like to have them when I’m babysitting my grandson Logan all day.

So far this week I have had Palak Paneer and Korma Fish both are favorites. I particularly like the Palak Paneer. It’s spicy and has a lot of vitamin A (120% of DRV).

Well, anyway, today’s meal is in a whole different category when it comes to spicy! The meal was Trader Joe’s Fiery Chicken Curry. The subtitle is A Goan-inspired Recipe with Turmeric Rice. All I know it that it’s hot. I can tell because my bald head sweats, when I eat hot foods. ( spicy hot not hot hot) And today’s meal was particularly hot because my whole head was sweating not just the top!!

What is Goan Cuisine and Where is Goa?

When I started writing this post, I checked out the box. I had never looked at the subtitle “a Goan-Inspired Recipe” but when I did I thought “what the hell is Goan cuisine?”.

So I went to Google and here’s what I found out …..

Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India’s west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients in Goan cuisine. The area is located in a tropical climate, which means that spices and flavors are intense. Use of kokum is another distinct feature. Goan food is considered incomplete without fish. Read More Read More