Caitlin Crosby Shares Her Flawz: Free Download

I discovered Caitlin Crosby through some other artists I follow and took an instant liking to her music...her voice....and her looks. Caitlin's debut album Flawz was released digitally early in 2009 and has been slowly making noise online and in cities across America ever since. Caitlin acted quite a bit from 1997-2006, which helped her get her name out and was a great springboard for her music career. She is currently on tour with Matt Hires and Jason Castro (American Idol). Her songwriting is excellent. She is truly a unique artist. Her voice is sexy and soulful and Caitlin really stands out from the boring artists that have no natural talent and try too hard. She has soul. She has heart. She has true talent. As I write this, Caitlin has nearly 200 review on iTunes and her album is ranked at 5 stars overall, which is very impressive. You can buy her album there for $9.99. Also, her album was just recently re-released by Barnes & Noble with new artwork and a bonus acoustic version of the song Generation. To get a taste of Caitlin's voice, you can download the song Imperfect Is The New Perfect here for FREE. I think we will be hearing a lot more from Caitlin Crosby in 2010. Later~

Matt Hires Take(s) Us To The Start

A while back, Sara Bareilles made mention of a new artist to check out named Matt Hires. She actually co-wrote a song for him on his new album Take Us To The Start, which was released in July of last year. Banking on her word, I sampled the album and within a few days, purchased it on iTunes. Hires has been compared to artists such as Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Matt Costa, Mat Kearney, and Bright Eyes, but has his own style and flair. I would agree to a point with these comparisons and definitely recommend listening to what he has to offer. He has a uniqueness to his voice, which is key and his music and lyrics are very good. He is pulling great reviews so far on the album and I think his popularity will grow immensely in 2010. His first single Honey Let Me Sing You A Song is fantastic and the rest of the album has some great potential as well. Matt is currently on tour with Jason Castro (American Idol) and Caitlin Crosby (love her..to be featured in an upcoming blog) and I plan to attend the show here in Minneapolis. The album is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon for $7.99, which is a great deal. I think Matt Hires is most certainly an artist to watch this year. Later~

Eddie K of LIVE Flys Solo: Free Acoustic Album For All

Eddie Kowalczyk, former front-man for the band LIVE is on is own. After over 20 years, it sounds like the band LIVE is calling it quits due to some" inappropriate actions" by the lead singer, Eddie K. Originally the band had announced this as a 2 year hiatus, but it is seeming more and more that the band has dissolved. I doubt they will get back together, which is sad to see, but such is life. Recently, Eddie has started his own website and has been touring and playing acoustic sets. Most of these are available to purchase online as digital album as MP3's and some as videos. Last week, Eddie announced that hes was giving away FREE 1 year memberships to his new fan club and that includes a full FREE download of his newest "bootleg album." This includes 16 songs as MP3 files and 10 as video files. Many favorite and familiar songs he wrote with LIVE are included. This included I Alone, Lightning Crashes, The Dolphins Cry and tons more. You can't beat this great deal for free, so take advantage of it. Here are the details:

::LIMITED TIME OFFER::

FREE 1 YEAR EKL MEMBERSHIP ($30 Value)

Join the EKL Fan Club now for FREE!

This Exclusive One Time Offer Includes:

• Digital Download ($20 Value) - EddieKLIVE Bootleg 8 (Bootleg consists of 16 MP3's and 10 music vids from London, England show July 2009)

• Access to EKL Fan Club Site

• Exclusive ticket pre-sales for my concerts

• Unique gifts, (ever wanna know what inspired a certain lyric? how about the chance to talk to me on the phone about it? YES, we will be doing that! )

• SNEAK PEAK of a song from my new album to be released in 2010

NOTE: Offer expires 1/31/2010.

Take care and sorry for the lack of updates this month...things have been hectic with the holidays. More frequent updates to come starting January...I promise. Later~

Blakroc Hits the Mark

As a huge fan of The Black Keys, I was extremely excited about their new collaboration album Blakroc, which was released recently. The album had a ton of hype built around it and now that it is out, I am not sure if fans of the band or the Hip-Hop artists on this release were ready for this? This collaboration takes the bluesy, thick and heavy music of the Black Keys and blends it with Hip-Hop artists like RZA, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Ludacris, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Jim Jones, Nicole Wray and many more. There have been many rock/rap collaborations in the past, but this one is much different that anything I have ever heard. It is raw, real and relevant. I think this is a sign of things to come in 2010 and beyond. You can hear samples here and I recommend trying to find the CD instead of downloading it from online sites. The online sites (iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody) do not include the song Coochie featuring Ludacris and ODB. You can get the CD direct from the music store on the site here or I would check your local independent music store. It is also available on vinyl. Later~

Discover Serena Ryder With a FREE Download!

After receiving a free song from Serena Ryder a few weeks ago, I was instantly hooked. She has actually been around for about 10 years and has made quite a name for herself in Canada and Australia. Now, she is spreading her amazing music into the US. You can download the song All For Love, from her new album Is It O.K. for FREE on Amazon. This is the song that hooked me and may sound familiar to you since it has been getting some radio airplay. Serena has an amazing three-octave voice and she will blow you away. Her music is a blend of Rock, Country, Folk and Pop with very well written songs/lyrics. Beside the free song, you should check out Little Bit of Red and Weak In the Knees. Enjoy!

John Mayer Fails With Battle Studies

I was a fan of John Mayer back when he was all pop. I loved his bluesy phase and was very surprised to see an artist evolve into something musically different than what made him famous. John's new album Battle Studies had a lot of hype and I was very excited when I picked it up on Tuesday. My initial reaction was it is too slow and laid back. After spending a few more days with the album, I still feel like Mr. Mayer got a little lazy on this one. There are a couple songs I love and a couple that are okay...the rest...bore me. If this was a new artist on the scene, would people become fans because of this album? I really do not think so. However, since he is famous and already has a fan base, people eat it up. Well, I am still a fan and will be...unless he pulls this off again in his next release. Hopefully John Mayer will release another Trio album next year and somewhat redeem his manhood. Oh, and that lame-ass cover reminds me of a gay guy in an Abercrombie ad. If you at all are still interested in hearing samples of the album, go to iTunes. They have a deluxe version with an exclusive track (I'm On Fire). The two songs I feel worth listening too are Crossroads and Who Says. Later~

Orianthi: Do You Believe?

A few weeks ago, I downloaded a free song on iTunes from an artist named Orianthi. I had no clue who she was, but after listening to the song, she definitely intrigued me to investigate further. After a little research and some time on YouTube, I realized that this girl can really play the guitar! Not just play, but master that thing! She is absolutely incredible and one of the best guitar players I have ever heard...definitely the best female!!! She is from Australia and has been playing since she was 6. Most recently, she was to be the guitar player for Michael Jackson's tour and is featured in the new movie about him. She has jammed with Carlos Santana, opened shows for Steve Vai and has played with Prince. Those are some seriously big names, but she is so talented, that it does not surprise me at all. Here music is pop/rock and her voice reminds me a little of Hayley Williams (Paramore) and Avril Lavigne. She writes solid songs and her voice is very good & she is beautiful. Her guitar playing, however... is out of this world...definitely a prodigy. Check her out on iTunes and you can get her new album Believe for $7.99. Also, check out the video below to see her shred!

She has lots of other videos on YouTube as well if your not convinced. Enjoy~