Roots rocker and Gear Daddies leader Martin Zeller is offering a self-titled CD, with 2,500 numbered and signed, as a limited edition release. No further copies will be printed, and it will not be made available digitally. The money raised will be used to finish Martin’s full-length studio release which will hit stores on May 3rd.
Track list: Scattered (acoustic) ��� Took the Poison (acoustic) ��� Sonic Boom (acoustic) ��� Summer Song (acoustic) ��� So Far Away (acoustic) ��� Let Go (acoustic) ��� Stupid Boy (live bootleg) ��� All I Need (live bootleg) ��� Old Shoes (and Picture Postcards) (live bootleg) ��� You’re In Love (unreleased alternate studio version)
Rob Nichols
Indiana Music: Grover Parido
Cellist Grover Parido was an essential part of the magic that made Cara Jean Wahlers’s 2010 album “Goodnight Charlotte” a quiet masterpiece. Parido has become more prominent in the Indianapolis music scene lately, picking up new projects and live shows. He has a lovely orchestral sound with hints of a Nashville coffeehouse and the majesty of U2. How’s that description for you?
ROB: I saw you sit in with Chad Mills as you guys opened the Truth & Salvage Co. show at Radio Radio, and you were terrific. Blown away by the sound. Do you have any more shows coming this spring with them?
Grover Parido: The band (our first show with that cast) you saw at Radio Radio, Chad Mills, Bill Rood, Bob Stewart and me, will be playing at the Britton Tavern in Fishers April 14. Chad, Bill and I will be doing a acoustic battle of the bands April 21 at the Ugly Monkey. I have a blast playing with those guys. (They have) good humor and energy.
Indiana Music: John Byrne
When I enter a club, and look at the stage, if I see guitarist John Byrne is part of the band, I know it’s gonna be a pretty good night of musical revelry. The longtime guitarist, raised in Indianapolis after moving as a toddler from Long Island, wrings a sound from his guitar equal parts gritty and eloquent. I’ve seen John play dozens of times, with the ’90s regional cover band Mere Mortals, and with Louisville’s Danny Flanigan and the Rain Chorus. I caught a show with Soul Bus, and even some shows when he was with Madison roots/rocker Rusty Bladen.
Here’s what I’m saying: Indianapolis’ John Byrne – never flashy, always finding his musical pocket on stage – has earned a reputation as a guy who can make a band better.
He has added pedal steel playing to his guitar repertoire, and seems to lend a hand, whether for many years (Flanigan) or fleeting (Chevy Downs) to groups that are really good – because he is in them, right? Now he’s started a new band, in addition to other projects. So I wanted to get with John, and find out out what the scoop was.
ROB: What music and bands are keeping you busy?
JOHN BYRNE: I’m playing in a variety of projects these days. Last weekend’s gig was with a pretty nails 6-piece outfit featuring Jes and Vicky Richmond. Our set list is a semi-eclectic mix of great 70s and 80s singer/songwriter rock like Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, and John Hiatt with a fair amount of blues, hippie rock (like) Traffic and Allman Brothers, and smarter-than-the-average-bear tuneage like Steely Dan. We also do a handful of Jes and Vic’s originals.
Indiana Music: Max Allen and the Hard Rock band battle
With six albums to his credit, blues guitarist and singer Max Allen might be in a position where he doesn’t have a need to enter events like the recent Hard Rock “Battle of the Bands” contest. Or maybe his winning the Indianapolis section of that event was due to his willingness to play for his next break. Can’t hurt, right? Four bands will earn spots on the stage at the Hard Rock Calling festival in London’s Hyde Park this summer. We caught up with Allen after his band won the local throwdown, before he moves on to regional, and possibly national, competition, and more of his regular gigs. He also says they have a new album almost ready to go.
Indiana Music: Bobbie Lancaster readies new album, more shows
While Bobbie Lancaster may not tell you herself, her self-titled, debut album from last year contained some of the prettiest, gospel-tinged and heartfelt pieces of Americana music released in 2010. Instead, she’s more likely to look forward than back. Though you might catch her pride of performance on that first album when it whispers into her conversation, she’s a woman who lives in the moment as best any of us can, and takes the now and applies it, with a spiritual flair, to her future.
Todd Snider doesn't meet Dylan, BoDeans change, and Wilber interviews Pete Best
→ Singer/songwriter and Indianapolis favorite Todd Snider recently wrote a piece about what he would say to Bob Dylan if he met him. Hilarious (and heartfelt) stream of thought. Thought you might like to read… Snider is next scheduled to be in Indiana on September, 17, at the Ferdinand Folk Festival, near Jasper.