Music Tonight: Nick 13, the singer/songwriter/guitarist for successful Psychobilly group Tiger Army, performs in Newport at the Southgate House tonight at 9 p.m. Mr. 13's solo work is rootsier and closer to pure Country; expect to hear new material and unique renditions of Tiger Army tunes. (TA fans, fear not — Nick 13's solo work isn't indicative of a looming breakup. The band has two big shows in the Los Angeles area, where the band is from, over Halloween weekend.) Click the arrow above to hear Nick's solo tune, "Carry My Body Down," then click here if you'd like to download your own free MP3 of the track. Brett Detar, formerly of The Juliana Theory, opens the show. Click here to download Detar's solo effort, Bird In The Tangle, for free. And check below for video of Detar performing his song "Empty House on a Famous Hill." —- Tickets for tonight's show are $15 at the door.
• Folksy Indie Pop singer/songwriter Mason Jennings and Indie Folk/Blues duo The Pines play the 20th Century Theater in Oakley tonight at 8 p.m. Hawaiian-born, Pittsburgh-raised and now Minneapolis-based, Jennings' career has received assists from an unlikely trio of artists — Modest Mouse, Bob Dylan and Jack Johnson. After opening several shows for Modest Mouse in 2004, Jennings signed to Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace imprint through Sony. Then, Jennings moved to the Brushfire label, founded by fellow Hawaii native Johnson; Jennings subsequently toured often with the popular singer/songwriter. In between those label jumps, Jennings had two songs placed on the odd Bob Dylan movie, I'm Not There (Jennings offered up versions of "The Times They Are a-Changin' " and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"). Early this month, Jennings released his latest, an ode to "home" and "the transition into adulthood" titled Minnesota, on the Stats & Brackets label. Check out the first video from Minnesota, "Bitter Heart," below. Tickets for tonight's show are $22 at the door.
(Leave your suggestions/promote yourself or your favorites by telling everyone about your favorite music event recommendations for the day in the comments below.)
Momentous Happenings in Music History for Sept. 29
On this day in 1975, Soul star Jackie Wilson was performing on Dick Clark's "Good Ol' Rock ’N Roll Revue" show in New Jersey when he suffered a major heart attack while performing. It is alleged he was singing the song "Lonely Teardrops," and collapsed while belting out the famous "My heart is crying …" bit. Wilson lapsed into a coma and, though he momentarily came to in 1976, he "lived" for the next nine years as a vegetable before dying on Jan. 21, 1984.
Wilson released his first charting single in 1957, beginning an impressive string of hit songs that included "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," "Whisper's (Gettin' Louder)," "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" and "Baby Workout," co-written with The Midnighters' Alonzo Tucker and Wilson's second-to-last R&B chart-topper (it hit No. 5 on the pop charts). Below, give a listen to "Baby Workout" and one of Van Morrison's greatest hits, the tribute "Jackie Wilson Said," performed by Dexy's Midnight Runners (who, indeed, had some great early tracks outside of "Come On Eileen") on the Britcom, The Young Ones.
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers sharing a Sept. 29 birthday include: actor/singer/guitarist Gene Autry (1907); true Rock & Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis (1935); French Jazz Fusion violin pioneer Jean-Luc Ponty (1942); the Beethoven of TV show theme songs, Mike Post (1944); Grand Funk Railroad's Mark Farner (1948); and one of the world's greatest bassists, Primus' Les Claypool (1963).
Primus, the band that brought Claypool widespread attention, has been working its brand of sideways, punk-funkin' madness since 1984 and they're still going strong, playing weird music for their weird fans all over the world and unrestrained by the pressures of an overreaching major label (they're on the artist-friendly ATO imprint now). The band recently released its seventh studio album (and first in 12 years), Green Naugahyde, which sounds perfectly in line with Primus' trademark, Beefheartian quirk-’n-jerk. Get a taste of the new release in the trailer below.
