Shake Some Action "Touch the Sky" video

The band Shake Some Action started recording their third album and this time you can follow the bands progress on their blog. It’s a facinating process behind the music, and after it’s done the band will post a free download. Take a look at the band’s blog.

Tinted Windows are coming!

As with the supergroup The Major Labels last year, this new group is made up of some power pop favorites like Taylor Hanson (Hanson), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne), and Bun E. Carlos(Cheap Trick). This was defintely the brainchild of Hanson and Schlesinger as they both have a love of 80s styled rock — debut is March 20, 2009

Listen to “KInd of A Girl” on their website

Serious music from some funny men.

After you’ve made your mark in comedy, what do you do for an encore? Apparently make serious music. That’s the case with Christopher Guest who best known for his roles in This Is Spinal Tap, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind. NPR has a story about his serious musician chops as a member of The Beyman Bros, where he plays guitar and mandolin, mandolin cello, and even the clarinet. It’s kinda new age-y free form instrumentals that I would expect to hear at a spa or yoga class. But it’s first class stuff.

Not to be outdone is the serious musical expertise of Steve Martin. He is considered the foremost expert in bluegrass banjo playing. The NY Times article mentions “Mr. Martin is regarded as a master of a difficult five-fingered playing style known as clawhammer or frailing, in which the instrument’s strings are pushed down by fingernails, rather than pulled up with picks.” Amazon is selling his banjo music album “The Crow” and on Youtube there are plenty of examples of his skills, but I love this early example of his banjo playing.

Willie Wisely interviews Roger Joseph Manning Jr.


The highly anticipated Roger Joseph Manning Jr. album “Catnip Dynamite” is expected to release Feb. 3 from Oglio Records. Those critics who heard the Japanese version last year added it to their 2008 “best of” list. If it’s half as good as I think it is, it will make my 2009 list easily. Here Willie Wisely (no slouch in the music dept.) interviews fellow artist Roger Manning (Part 1 of a 14 part series on YouTube).