Tag: Singer

He’s playing the long game

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“Justin Timberlake, 32, is playing the long game. He’s the Kasparov of showbiz. He has survived far longer than most artists, tracing an arc from pop-culture absurd — first appearing on the Mickey Mouse Club at age 11 — to pop-culture sublime, a solo career that has triumphed at a time when entertainment, and celebrity, have become more disposable than ever…

Timberlake, it has been said, has gone far on likability, which is also a way of mildly patronizing him…But what has let him bridge over multiple iterations and now three generations of fans has been a certain kind of generationally specific decorum: gracious, polite, patient, deferential. He may have you naked by the end of this song, but he will do so using Antioch rules.”

(Timberlake) ‘Y’know, life doesn’t happen in black and white.’ The gray area is where you become an adult . . . the medium temperature, the gray area, the place between black and white. That’s the place where life happens.”

~ The New York Times Style Magazine: The Enduring, Multigenerational Appeal of Justin Timberlake

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Foy Vance

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“Foy Vance, 39, was born in the North Ireland town of Bangor, but his passion for traditional music was born in the southern states of America. As a child, Foy relocated with his father, a preacher, to the American Midwest settling in Oklahoma. With his father, Foy travelled the American South, widening his horizons and absorbing the rich musical traditions he was exposed to. Returning to Ireland some years later, Foy began writing his own music, deeply shaped by the sounds of his youth. Since those days, he has spent a considerable amount of time on the road, touring with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Michael Kiwanuka, Marcus Foster, Snow Patrol, and Ed Sheeran. Foy also scored Oscar-winning short-film The Shore with David Holmes, who collaborated with Vance on his 2012 Melrose EP. Foy’s newest album, Joy Of Nothing, will be released this year.  Vance is moved by the fractions of love and sentiment, giving himself over to the quiet deluge. His is a voice that rattles you and forces you to let it in so that you may all enjoy a dark room, a modest fire and something to toast with.”  (Source: FoyVance.com)

  • If you liked this tune, check out Foy Vance on the guitar with You and I.  Great tune.
  • His new album will be released next week on iTunes: Joy of Nothing.

Charles Bradley

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Charles Bradley, 65, was born in Gainesville, Florida.  He was raised by his grandmother until the age of eight when, while meeting his mother for the first time, she told him that she wanted him to come live with her in Brooklyn, NY.  In 1962, his sister took him to the Apollo Theater to see James Brown perform. Bradley was so inspired by the performance that he began to practice mimicking Brown’s style of singing and stage mannerisms at home.  When he was a young teen, Bradley ran away from home and lived on the streets and in subway cars for two years. Later, he enlisted in Job Corps which eventually led him to Maine to work as a chef. One time while working, someone told him he looked like James Brown. Yet when asked if he could sing, he was too afraid to admit it. Eventually he did, however, overcome this fear and performed five or six times with a band. But after his band mates were drafted into the Vietnam War, the act never re-formed.  Bradley worked in Maine as a cook for ten years until deciding to head west, hitchhiking across the country. He lived in upstate New York, Seattle, Canada and Alaska before settling in California.  There, Bradley worked odd jobs and played small shows for 20 years before he was discovered by Daptone’s Gabe Roth…and then, as they say, the rest was history.

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Friday Night: Passenger

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Mike Rosenberg, 29, was born in Brighton, England.  He is better known by his stage name Passenger, is an English folk-rock singer-songwriter. His nickname comes from the folk-rock band of which he was the founder, main vocalist and songwriter, and which released just one album. When the members of the band chose to go their own separate ways in 2009, Rosenberg opted to keep the band’s name for his solo work. His most successful single “Let Her Go” has topped the charts in 16 countries so far.

Rosenberg learned classical guitar when he was young: ” My parents were really encouraging about music so that sort of started the path. When I was about 14-15, I started to write songs, which were absolutely dreadful. But as I kept going the songs became better and better – it was just so bloody obvious that this was what I wanted to do. I never really applied myself in school and music was the only thing I wanted to spend my time doing…I’m heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Neil Young although I’m nowhere near as good as those guys!”

Song on All the Little Lights Album on iTunes

(Source: Wiki & Vancouver Weekly: Who is Mike Rosenberg?)

Friday Night: Ry Cuming

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Ry Cuming, 23, is a singer-songwriter born in the small coastal Australian town of Angourie.  Growing up on a beach in Australia, he spent most of his days surfing and listening to his father’s vinyl collection.  He quickly developed a love for a number of different styles of music from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. His career took shape as an 18 year-old traveler in Costa Rica. One fateful afternoon while playing in the hallway of a hotel, Ry met a young film producer who would later become his manager. Cuming won two of Australia’s Dolphin Awards in 2004 for Best Pop Song and Best New Artist. (Sources: Wiki & JamBase.com)