Author: Ben

“I’m down to start March 1st, but I have an official South By Southwest show, and I’d like to go to it.”

“You have an official South By Southwest Show?”

“Yeah”

“Take the whole week, man.  That’s ridiculous.”

That was the exchange Ryan Davis, who performs as Kadesh Flow, had with his employer when they hired him for their startup in Kansas City.  Juggling a job while trying to book shows is a challenge a lot of artists face.  Ryan went to work for the company for several months, saving up money so he could eventually make the jump to being an artist full time.  Fortunately for him, that was something his employer encouraged.

We get into this story and play tracks from his new EP, Room Service, on the latest edition of the Magic City Music Cast.  Ryan’s in town for Secret Stages– he’s performing at The Hangar on Friday, August 3rd at 9PM.

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Links of Note:

https://www.kadeshflow.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kadeshflow/

https://www.twitter.com/KadeshFlow

The Room Service EP on Spotify

“I don’t know that we ever legitimately realized there was time for it.”

“There’s no time.”

“It’s like when you have an itch… do you ask yourself, ‘Hey when am I going to scratch this itch?’  No, you just scratch it.  I think that was the case with us.”

These are the responses I get when I asked the band MRYGLD how a band consisting of members that all have other musical projects going on knows when to dedicate time to a project.  They’ve put a lot of time into their latest EP, Wonder, out this month.  In this episode we talk about how the band formed as well as who influences them, a list ranging from The Killers and Rilo Kiley to… Susan Boyle?

Check out the latest episode of The Magic City Music Cast for my interview with MRYGLD.

“I think it’s irrefutable that I’ve definitely taken elements of older, past, bygone decades of music… I like to take a lot from multiple decades and try to see if it fits together.  I think a lot of people are doing that now, and that is the thing that makes it modern.”

That’s what Early James had to say when I asked him whether his band, Early James & the Latest, consider their music to be old or new.  In the same way their sound doesn’t fit into any one time or era, their music also doesn’t fit into one particular genre– the band draws on country, blues, jazz, and more.  We get into the elements of their sound and much more on the latest edition of the Magic City Music Cast.

Early James & the Latest will be playing two shows in Birmingham this month– April 5th at Iron City as part of the WBHM This Alabama Life benefit and April 14th at The Nick with Sweet Crude.

Links of Note:

Website: earlyjamesandthelatest.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlyjamesandthelatest/

Early James on Youtube

Listen to the Early James & the Latest self-titled EP on Spotify.

If you know me, you know I’m a big fan of the music scene in Birmingham.  But what you may not have known is that I’m also really passionate about the underground street magician scene going on in Nashville.  That’s why today I’m launching my newest podcast, the Music City Magic Cast.  I’ve realized that few things are better suited for a podcast than sleight of hand card tricks.

It’s the Music City Magic Cast– from the people who brought you the Magic City Music Cast.

“Recording music is really strange.  A lot of times, what you’re doing in a room just doesn’t translate to what’s happening in your ear, when you’re listening to it later… I think the coolest thing about this record is that when I hear it and I listen to it it sounds like us, which seems really simple, but that’s a very difficult thing to do… We didn’t want a lot of bells and whistles on it– we just wanted everything to be as excellent as it could.  And we wanted it to sound like it does if we’re in a room playing, and I feel like that’s what this record sounds like, and that’s why I’m most proud of it.”

That’s what Reed Watson has to say about his band Belle Adair’s album Tuscumbia, which came out in January.  Reed plays drums in the band, and he’s also the general manager of Single Lock Records, the band’s label based in Florence/Muscle Shoals.  I caught up with Reed to talk about the album as well as his experiences on the road with folks like John Paul White and Donnie Fritts.

Belle Adair will be playing at Saturn on Friday March 9th with Duquette Johnston and Rachael Roberts opening.  You can also catch Belle Adair for an acoustic set earlier in the day at Seasick Records.

Links of Note:

Belle Adair – https://www.belleadairmusic.com/

Belle Adair social media – https://www.instagram.com/belleadairmusic/ and https://twitter.com/belleadairmusic

Listen to Tuscumbia on Spotify –  https://open.spotify.com/album/2gU0jyUp9oeNdC6NhWKtUH?si=74nlD3z4To-Ch5HilIV77A

Saturn Show Info – https://www.saturnbirmingham.com/event/1646122-belle-adair-birmingham/

Seasick Show Info – http://www.seasickbham.com/events/2018/3/9/belle-adair-acoustic-in-store

Single Lock Records – http://www.singlelock.com/

“Especially with this folk-style record, you don’t want it to be over produced.  You want it to sound like people hanging out on a front porch, singing together.”  That’s the way B. Snipes describes his new record, My Mountain Home, out this month.  I sat down with the Birmingham singer-songwriter to talk about the significance of being away from home and the importance of playing folk music both with and for his family.  The album comes out February 16, and he will be playing a loft show at the Phoenix Lofts on February 23.

Three tracks from the album are already out on Spotify:

Listen to the title track My Mountain Home. https://open.spotify.com/album/18T4wInAWnHdACUtnCoPpR?si=D4Dwk-4iRhSIxWu5iZOEPQ

Listen to 40 Acres.  https://open.spotify.com/album/6yG04ZQRFO4CO6McruYKZX?si=XNc__5yZQx6UsZbAzfSmnw

Listen to I Don’t Know Your Eyes.  https://open.spotify.com/album/2Wn8s8nCGKZZzqEq426gJz?si=D-zlKo4YQnOc7Wc2N_Y5ZA

Follow B. Snipes –> @bsnipesmusic

Introducing the Magic City Music Cast, my new podcast where I interview artists playing shows in and around Birmingham.

When I was but a wee lad, I always dreamed of heading off to a city like New York and doing big city things.  What did people do in big cities?  They went to concerts, of course.  Cities were where the music was, and people would stay out to all hours just finding and enjoying live music…

I never figured I’d wind up in Birmingham, but here I am.  And the music I wanted that I thought was elsewhere turns out to be here too.  This city has so much music to offer, and its hard to keep up with it all.

Somewhere along the way I started sending out emails with tons of links to a few friends to tell them about all the shows that were happening.  Those emails have turned into a much larger production with many more readers.  And there are some other projects too.  It’s not that much to keep up with, but it could be one day.  So here’s thebenfoster.com to keep that stuff all in one place.  I hope you enjoy the things to come.

-Ben