So life as a keyboard/piano player is tough, and only rivaled by a drummer…the amount of gear and shear weight of the necessary items is frustrating at best. The past year (and mostly the last few months) I’ve been working learning to play guitar and write along the way. It’s a rough transition but I like the mobility of walking into a venue and plugging in an acoustic guitar and playing. That’s just what I did last night for a private event (of about 150 people) and it went over really well…perhaps better than when I haul my 88-weighted key Kurzweil out to the floor. It was my first gig where I only played guitar, and I was a bit nervous, but the vibe from the room was awesome. It’s nice to know people are listening when you’re pouring your heart out in song.

I even booked a handful of gigs from those in attendance…my schedule is filling up and I was trying to take the holidays off! Of course, I love music and songwriting too much to say “no”…so bring on the shows!

Always learn, always grow…it’s a true mantra of an artist!

-Rod

Click Here To Listen To Kevin’s Current Playlist.

Now that I am off the road, I am pulling from the group of songs I’ve been listening too over and over again on iTunes. So here we go again with my music picks.

24. Elizabeth and the Catapult – “Everybody Knows” – I feel as if this song brings me back home. Down home stomps and intelligent lyrics makes me see everything is just a roll of the dice and we are all crossing our fingers. I know I’ve got my fingers crossed along with my toes and eyes if that helps win the fates over enough.

23. St. Vincent – “Jesus Saves, I Spend” – a clever turn of the phrase, this song just makes me laugh due to the smart writing style.

22. Editors – “No Sound But The Wind” – a haunting voice that comes to you at first eerily and by the end of the song wins you over, thats what happened to me. I was listening and thought cruelly that it might have been a joke, but by the end of the chorus I was hooked, feeling my soul move and shake with the build and fall of the melody. Great song and a new favorite band

21. Jaclyn Marie – “Second Glances”

20. Little Jackie – “The World Should Revolve Around Me”

19. Roxie Randle – “I Know What You’re Thinking”

18. JoAnna Lynne – “Bad Habits”

17. Laura Marling – “Alas I Cannot Swim”

16. Taylor Swift – “Love Song”

15. Joshua James – “Magazine”

14. Shane Cooley – “My Asbury Park”

13. Mika “We Are Golden”

12. Mumford&Sons “Hold on to what you believe”

11. Brett Dennen “Heaven”

10.Find Vienna “Chemistry”

9. Cliff Hillis “Ought to Know”

8. Cocoon ”On My Way”

7. Julie Lee “Hope’s The Thing With Feathers”

6. The Champion and His Burning Flame “The Expert”

5. David Bazan “Bless This Mess”

4. Bob Dylan “Beyond Here Lies Nothing”

3. Bobby Long “Two Years Old”

2. Tori Sparks “Penny On A Rail”

1. Switchfoot “Mess of Me”

Martain 1980 D-35

For anyone out there geek enough to be interested here is my Equipment or my “gear”.

Marshall AS 5O R

Simple Mic Stands

1965 Gibson ES-330TD

A look inside my "Magic" Suit Case off

My Song Book

Sorry if this is a boring post. This is for geeks.

When Rod and I are on the road we keep our eyes pealed for a Chipotle, there are none in Wilmington and up until now there hasn’t been one in Nashville. That has all changed, as of this past Friday. I waited in line with some of my good friends and I was number 4 in line for the First Chipotle in Tennessee (also I am the first person to order Tacos of any kind). Chipotle is a great company that orders fresh local materials and gives you one of the best products in fast food you are going to find. Check out http://www.chipotle.com/#/flash/fwi_story for the full story.

Early wait

4th in line

w/ love,

kmasch

ps. thanks #kidandy for the posts

I started writing a song about a week ago out of a bit of routine loneliness that comes from being both a bachelor and a hopeless romantic. This is usually how my songwriting begins, I get on piano (or in this case, guitar…still learning) and search for a melody that unties the knot in my chest. From there, I write the words that express everything I want to say. Sometimes, there are “holes” in the song and I come back to it later with fresh ears and try to figure out what I was trying to create. The Monday after I had written my latest song “Crowded Room”, a terribly tragic circumstance sideswiped me and gave me more perspective on the song I was currently “sitting” on. I finished it that night and have been playing it since. I hope to have a demo up soon so all of you can join me on this journey of maturing a song.

Tomorrow night, I play a private event near where I live and I am thinking about debuting it there. Open Mics and private events are great to workshop new material and get a good grip on how songs can be improved and what does or doesn’t work in various settings.

Stay tuned for a demo!

-Rod

Click Here To Listen To Rod’s Current Playlist.

When we’re not actively on the road, we’re still listening to music…so the playlist picks continue!

One Republic – All This Time: The album this song is a part of isn’t even released yet, but this is already my favorite song. I love the haunting production and the heartbreaking songwriting. My soul hurts a little bit every time I hear this tune.

The Civil Wars – Poison & Wine: This is just an incredible song from a promising new duo. Listen and have your heart ache…

Previous Picks:

1. Find Vienna – Both Need Saving: These guys are simply brilliant. Their live shows are epic and every performance is just an action packed ride through skilled songwriting and fresh rock and roll. This is one of my favorite songs and just speaks a message so true.

2. Ian Walsh – Golden Days: Ian and I share a common producer, but he has his own brand of melodic rock. Seriously, I had this hook stuck in my head for days.

3. The Fray – Never Say Never: This song won me over in the middle of Transformers 2. The movie may have been ridiculous, but this song wasn’t!

4. IKE – We Like Sugar: Philly music lovers are no stranger to John Faye & Company’s melodilicious rock songs. This song will ring in your head for days.

5. Cliff Hillis – Elevator: I’ve purchased this song 3 times I liked it so much. Great story and ridiculously catchy hook.

6. City & Colour – Sleeping Sickness: This guy can do no wrong. Every song is a work of art. This tune is an innovative tune for the alternative rock masses.

7. Tori Sparks – Tall Towers: Tori’s warning to all unfaithful men is clear in the jangly folk tune…don’t let your scorned lover know where your gun is kept!

8. Annie Lennox – Walking On Broken Glass (Acoustic): This was a great song before by one of the best female voices of all time, but this acoustic rendition adds a new level of relevance to current times. [DEAD LINK]

9. Take That – Rule The World: The hopeless romantic in me sings this to the soulmate I haven’t found yet…lovely little tune.

10. Marc Broussard – Home: Seriously, who doesn’t like this song? If you like some down home bayou soul, listen to this now!

11. Ben Folds – The Luckiest: I didn’t really listen to Ben Folds until I started getting compared to him at my live shows. This tune makes me tear up a little inside every time.

12. JoAnna Lynne – Bad Habits: My favorite tunes from Ms. Lynne aren’t even released yet, but her talent is undeniable. Keep an eye out on this one.

13. Steven Cooley – Lost My Faith: Steven is possibly my favorite voice in indie music now. His honest songwriting is heart-tugging. I love this song so much, I cover it during my shows while I’m tour…I NEVER do covers, this song is just awesome.

14. Joss Stone – Free Me: Listening to Joss bear her soul to a great beat is unmatchable. We’ve waited a long time for this “new” project that’s been done for a while now, but it was well worth the wait.

15. Chris Trapper – This Time: If you’ve seen the film “August Rush” you’ll recognize this song. Chris wrote this main theme for the film and Jonathon Rhys Meyers does an excellent job, but there’s something Chris puts into his take that is classic.

16. Jaclyn Marie – Girl By The Sea: Recorded material is tough to find right now for this hidden gem, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show mad love to this incredible talent.

The tradition of our tours so far have ended on a viewing of Almost Famous. The first East Coast tour I introduced Rod to both Spinal Tap and Almost Famous, both movies that are great music movies. The dark and seedy underbelly of the business in a truthful and beautiful representation of one facet of the music life. A world we all want to be a part of, we all want to understand and some are born from and some die from. People living with fake names and living to create “the buzz” or that thing that gets inside of you and transforms. So, a great fit for the end of the road… sooooo “Get on my back for a piggy back ride!”

Thanks for joining us so far, we hope you will continue on with us.

-km

Another tour comes to a close and it’s hard to believe that 31 days of gigging, recording, crashing couches and 5,000 miles in a Toyota Yaris has passed by. Now, we take the next couple months to write, record, regroup and prepare for the next tour. We have big things planned for the next go around and hope to catch you all out on the road. Until then, keep this blog bookmarked as we continue to make playlist picks, update on songs we’re writing and progress on our upcoming projects.

Our next joint project is set to release in January 2010…so keep checking back!

As tour tradition, we finish another leg with a viewing of “Almost Famous”…so on to escape in the “Industry of Cool”.

G’night friends,

-Rod

Heya friends! Masch and I are happy to announce our very first Christmas EP is now available! We’re so happy, we’re GIVING away the digital version for FREE to all you kind folks as our Christmas gift to you! If you’d like a physical CD, we’ve got a limited edition print available for $5 (to cover cost of materials) with FREE shipping! Thanks friends!

Happy Holidays,

-Rod

Tracklist:

1. Deck The Harrs (And All That Crap)
2. A Cherry Tree Carol
3. Yuletide Nights
4. OMG (It’s X-mas)
5. I Heard The Bells
6. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Download For Free Here.

Order A Physical CD Here.