Hide and​/​or Seek

by Queen Cabbage

Hide and​/​or Seek by Queen Cabbage
My second album is somewhat of a time capsule. These are the songs I wrote between realizing I needed to get better and doing something about it.

My alcoholism and dependence on other addictive behaviors (weed, sex, etc.) had progressed to a point where they had begun destroying every semblance of a good life I’d managed to build despite them. To preserve any chance I had at living well, I needed to change the way I spent each and every moment of my time. In order to honestly document these in musical form, I stripped away every instrument other than my voice, guitar, laptop, and tape recorder.

If there is anything for you in these songs, you will most likely find it outside of what I have to say about them. All I really have to say is thank you so, so much for listening. So much.
That said, in case it might inform your listening, here’s what I have to say:

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I Went To The Desert And Held Out My Thirst

by Noah Evan Wilson

I Went To The Desert And Held Out My Thirst by Noah Evan Wilson
The different settings for my latest album, Desert Cities – Part One, span from Denver to Seoul. Track three, Brooklyn, is a love song for the gritty and enigmatic Bushwick neighborhood and track four, Coming Home, rides the metro north to Midtown where home is not a place but a person (and a lovely oasis at that). Track two, Lost in Seoul, reflects on the foreign shores of South Korea, “the crowded streets, the angry East Sea, don’t mind if I belong here for a while.”

Only track one, Hold out Thirst, mentions a dry, barren, lifeless, sandy desert. Its brief and stark first refrain, “I went to the desert and held out my thirst,” captured something much bigger in me when I first listened back to the completed album. The desert, in this case, is where one goes to reflect deeply, to test themselves against the elements, physically and emotionally and to experience thirst as a fundamental sensation of life, to feel acutely alive. The remainder of the album (part two included, TBR Fall 2019) is born of this same desire.

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The Roller-Coaster of Naomi Ruth

by Ruth McKenna

The Roller-Coaster of Naomi Ruth by Ruth McKenna
I first found Naomi Ruth when I was 14. I’d built up the courage to take what my grandmother had taught me about guitar chords and fuse it with the inspiration of pop-divas and bluesy women, blended together with the help of my teenage brain to produce an emotive mess. Out of it all emerged a sound that was bluesy but somehow country, angsty but emotional, and despite the lo-fi quality and cringey lyrics, I somehow liked it a lot.

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Fly My Freak Flag

by Jesse Whetsell

Fly My Freak Flag by Jesse Whetsell (TheTaxies)
I’m Jesse, an independent singer/songwriter/producer. I’ve been recording music in different projects since 2009. Juliet’s Funeral, The Freddy Velcroman Expedition, and International Spies just to name a few. I’ve always been inspired by the DIY concept of garage rock and punk bands. I’m a huge fan of the ’60s and ’70s psychedelia and pop music.

I would describe my music as Alternative Pop Rock with explorations into Folk/Blues, Reggae and Jazz. I’m trying to find that someplace out there for my music, those ears to hear it and hearts to feel it. It’s been hard with such a wide range of influences. That’s when I realized I’d have to carve out my own corner here on this earth to fly my freak flag.

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A Momentary Cocoon Of Memory

by Hifumi Sasaki

A Momentary Cocoon Of Memory by Hifumi Sasaki (Loving Love)
We are Loving Love, an art project that was started in Kyoto in 2018 by Kotoku Tsurutani and me, Hifumi Sasaki, the lead songwriter, and guitarist. We have grown to five members now, and we have released our 1st EP, “A Momentary Cocoon Of Memory.” Please check it out!

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The 21st Century Cult and Magical Shows

by Eli Stevick

The 21st Century Cult and Magical Shows by Soft Milk
After we started Soft Milk in 2015, there was a little buzz going because of our music but also some of wacky on-stage antics. It was just two of us then. We played with some cheap 10-watt amps and wore nothing but ghastly bed sheet costumes.

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It’s all about the lyrics

by Patricia Dunphy

It’s all about the lyrics by Patricia Dunphy
What to write about? I am a singer-songwriter. I play solo, with an acoustic trio or a five-piece electric band called The Key Collective. My compositions cover everything from political, thought-provoking folk (the Bob Dylan’s of the 2000s) to what has been coined “LA Grunge,” an electric alternative sound. In the last few years, I have been working at getting “back to the garden,” to creativity. I am a writer, an artist, and musician; my Expressive Therapy side.

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Rise Up! The Power of One

by Gary Blanchard

Rise Up! The Power of One by Gary Blanchard
I talk to so many people who feel that they are powerless; that their actions do not impact society. While I can understand their feelings, I know that this is not true. I have seen so many instances of how small actions can have a major impact. As I pondered this, a series of songs emerged that offer a sense of hope and power. These songs became the CD Light One Candle.

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