Best New Artist?

February 10, 2012 By David McTiernan Leave a Comment

With the GRAMMYs coming up this weekend, all of us here at Shore Fire have eyes on Bon Iver up for Best New Artist – but that nomination is actually coming five years after Bon Iver’s first album. Sure, this isn’t totally uncommon — the category is really more about reaching a mainstream consciousness. Accordingly, there have been quite a few well-known names in years past to grab the nomination a few years, up to almost a decade after their first release.

Here’s a few highlights along with videos from long before the noms (hopefully, Bon Iver fares better than most of the below – all four lost the award).

Cream – first release: 1966, nominated for Best New Artist: 1969 (lost to Jose Feliciano)

Andrea Boccelli – first release: 1992, nominated for Best New Artist: 1999 (lost to Lauryn Hill)

David Gray – first release: 1993, nominated for Best New Artist: 2002 (lost to Alicia Keys)

Fountains of Wayne – first release: 1996; nominated for Best New Artist: 2004 (lost to Evanescence)

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Andrea Boccelli, Best New Artists, bon iver, Cream, David Gray, Fountains of Wayne, Grammy Awards, Release Date

Indulgence in the Lowcountry: Exclusive Photots from the Southern Ground Music and Food Festival

October 31, 2011 By David McTiernan Leave a Comment

Last weekend, Charleston, South Carolina became, if only for three days, the ultimate live music locale. The inaugural Southern Ground Music & Food Festival, curated by Zac Brown Band, descended on the Lowcountry for a weekend of sensory overload, from the southern six-piece’s own buttery harmonies to the melt-in-your-mouth pork tenderloin being sold from their mobile kitchen on-site.

ZBB reached a new level of super-serving here, over-delivering for the thousands lucky enough to be on-site.  Here are some shots I captured of ZBB, My Morning Jacket, and Sonia Leigh from the raucous scene at Blackbaud Stadium. Plans are already in place for next year’s festival – I think I’ll start fasting now.


Filed Under: Blog, Featured Tagged With: Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, Exclusive, Food Fest, My Morning Jacket, sonia leigh, South Carolina, Southern Ground, Southern Ground Music and Food Festival, zac Brown band, ZBB

Sweaters. Cider. Wolfmother.

October 14, 2011 By David McTiernan Leave a Comment

Even though it’s still in the 70s here in New York, it’s definitely Fall. For some reason, it seems that Fall flashes by more quickly than any other season; in a few mere weeks, it’ll be cold enough to call it Winter, and it’s all downhill from there.

So, in honor of the fleeting season of sweaters and cider, here’s a video playlist of 7 great Fall songs (or, songs with Fall titles, to be more accurate).

Enjoy.

Apple Tree – Wolfmother

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground – Chris Thile

October – Broken Bells

Rake – Sufjan Stevens

Autumn Leaves – Bill Evans Trio

Out in the Cold – Carole King

Seasons Change – Corinne Bailey Rae

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Bill Evans Trio, Broken Bells, Carole King, Chris Thile, Corinne Bailey Rae, fall season, fall songs, Sufjan Stevens, Wolfmother

The Unfortunate Umbrella Situation

September 11, 2011 By David McTiernan Leave a Comment

Every time we’re doused with some really good rain, I find myself questioning New Yorkers’ usage of the umbrella. And this week is no different.

Now, as we approach 48 hours of straight rain, the streets, sidewalks, subways, and parks are becoming increasingly littered by broken, castaway umbrellas. And not just broken, but horribly mangled in most cases.

Sure, some of those umbrellas probably cost $2 on the corner (or maybe $5 at the convenience store) and aren’t built to withstand wind gusts of more than 2 mph, but still – why is it that people just leave their broken umbrellas right where they are when the tragedy occurs?

We don’t do this with anything else when it breaks: backpacks, cars, headphones, ballpoint pens, folding chairs… I could go on.

Maybe in that moment – when you’re suddenly getting drenched because this infernal contraption is no longer equipped to keep you dry – throwing it down on the ground in anger is just the most satisfying. (It’s still littering.)

Whatever the reason, here’s a collection of some of the best Umbrellas in Distress I’ve come across.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: broken umbrellas, new york city, new york sidewalk, new yorkers, NYC, umbrellas

Zac Brown Band Fills Stomachs, Stadiums

August 17, 2011 By David McTiernan Leave a Comment

It was only a matter of time before it was time for my first Eat & Greet as a member of the ZBB team – it’s a rite of passage.

Cookie, the band’s enormous, glistening trailer/mobile kitchen was parked last Saturday outside the Meadowlands, back doors flayed open, with the aromas of Chef Rusty’s beef tenderloin, fresh baked bread, and chocolate peanut butter biscuit pudding wafting outwards.

Cookie

What struck me most, though, was not the smorgasbord of southern grub, but the casual interaction between the band and the select group of lucky fans. Had I not known what they looked like, I could never have picked the band out of the crowd chowing down at one of the long tables.

Zac, Clay, Chris, Coy, John, and Jimmy completely blended in with their fans, carrying on conversations over savory mouthfuls as if they were just a group of mostly-bearded guys who like country music.

ZBB thinks about touring differently. It’s not just important to them that they put on a killer show (though, indeed, they do), but that every fan feels like they’re getting the ultimate experience… because they are. From taking the time to shake every single fan’s hand to the belt-busting array of home cooking, to the hardest-hitting set this side of arena rock, ZBB created a space where nothing was as important as their fans.

And it was delicious.

The Menu:

Heirloom tomato salad with smoked corn, edamame, pickled cucumbers and moonshine vinaigrette
Fresh bread with agave fig butter
Braised Brussels sprouts with country ham and red-eye gravy
Wild mushroom and snap pea spoon polenta with smoked gouda
Grilled cauliflower, broccoli and okra with a saffron chardonnay butter
Beef tenderloin with Zac’s Georgia clay rub
Pork tenderloin with “Zac’s Love Sauce”
Chocolate peanut butter biscuit pudding
Zac’s famous cole slaw

ZBB rocking the Meadowlands

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Chef Rusty, Cookie, Cooking, food, home-cooking, Kenny Chesney, Meadowlands, Menu, recipe, zac Brown band, ZBB

Henry Wolfe Lights Up Joe’s Pub

May 23, 2011 By David McTiernan Leave a Comment

Thursday night, Henry Wolfe put on quite a show at Joe’s Pub. Henry, backed by an incredibly tight seven-piece band, played his new album ‘Linda Vista’ from start to finish, and he pulled out all the stops.

A grinning Henry swaggered through some of the standout tracks from the album (“Someone Else”, “Open the Door”), but it was his cover of Neil Young’s “For the Turnstiles” that nearly tore the roof off the place. His moody vocals, impressive solos from Henry’s bandmate Tyler Cash on piano, and some live horns took an already great version of the track from the album to a whole new level.

I found the sense of drama that Henry only hints at on the album to be the most exciting part of the show – the band’s dynamics, his vocal pacing, and the layers of sound they created were spot on all night.

It was a great week for Henry in New York, coming after his appearance on WNYC’s Soundcheck on Monday, and the creepy/cool video premiere for “Open the Door” on Mashable. He’ll be making his way back to LA soon for a June residency at the Bootleg Theater, and I can only imagine what tricks he’ll put out of his hat.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Henry Wolfe