OK, for those of you who don't know LFDH, Daryl Hall (yes, that Daryl Hall, from Hall and Oates) does a live webcast that is later aired on tv. He invites musical guests, old friends or new acquaintances--wonder what elements go into the decision process on this--to play with him and his band at this house in upstate NY. Cool idea, right? Looks like lots of pre-activity for both sides selecting mutually agreed upon songs from both the guest's and Daryl's repertoires and practicing a lot before the broadcast. OR, these folks are all just phenomenally talented: they meet and over the span of a day, jam, come up with new arrangements, with, btw, egos checked at the door, and for the benefit of the viewing audience, come up with 4 to 6 songs in terrific shape. This is along with (usually) having a chef come by and cook an incredible meal which they enjoy in the middle of the show. Thinking about it, the meal probably comes at the end of the day, but small point. Again, great concept, which I applaud. If you're wondering, yes, John Hall has appeared on the show, looks like they still have a very good working relationship. And, yes, Daryl Hall has aged very well--I think he looks way better now than he did back in the day. His voice is still so impressive, smooth, a bit smokier than in the past, hitting the falsetto notes effortlessly, really, for me, relaxed, but loving it. He's a gracious host, giving the guests all the leeway they want with his songs and enjoying himself immensely when he sings their songs.
Every show I've seen has been really good, reminding me how great the well-known artists are (Smoky Robinson, Booker T, Todd Rundgren, Jose Feliciano, etc.) and showcasing people I've never heard of who are very good musicians/performers--Meyer Hawthorne, Neon Trees, Train, Ceelo Green, but the one with Butch Walker, just blew me away. His songs were instantly hits to me (Sweethearts, Bodegas and Blood, Mixtape, Closest Thing) and when Butch started in on Say It Isn't So, with Daryl just killing it as he and Butch traded verses, OMG! OMG is really not telling you the half of it. Butch's voice is fabulous, clear, so melodic, evocative and he can ROCK! I watch/listen to at least parts of this episode every day, have put all the videos on fb, recommended them to everyone. He and Daryl cooked singing together--to me it showed in their faces and in their sound together. Truly a great show and a new interest for me.
Butch is apparently an east coast darling, England and Germany love him, too. He's produced other performers--all popular today, just not my music--but for me, it's all about Butch's work as a solo artist. He's currently working with a band, The Black Widows; they released an album in 2011, singing one of the cuts on the Letterman show, Synthesizers. It's another side of Butch, not apparent on LFDH, sort of cool, hipster style here. (Check out the Synthesizers video with Matthew McConnaughey reprising his Dazed and Confused star turn, so beyond cool. That's Butch as the bartender. Cute, right?) You can see a lot of Butch on Youtube--interviews, so many of his songs, I highly recommend searching for him. For your convenience, I've compiled my current favorite Butch Walker songs, including Say It Isn't So, which is from LFDH:
Best Butch Walker Songs, September 2012
Here Comes the Heartache
Sweethearts
Bodegas and Blood
Hot Girls in Good Moods
Maybe It’s Just Me
Mixtape
Closest Thing
The best thing you never had
Cigarette Lighter Love Song
Synthesizers
Say It Isn’t So
When it comes to Bibi finding a new obsession (nothing really scary, stalking-level stuff), you know it includes learning all about the idee fixe. So, now reading Butch's book: Drinking with Strangers (Music Lessons from a Teenage Bullet Belt) and having a great time learning about his influences, past music lives, etc. AND, listening to more and more of his music, so the list above could change. I will let you know. The grand plan right now is to make my own mixtape of Butch's music and distribute copies to the unschooled. It won't be as heart searching as Butch's Mixtape, but it will be some choice material, for sure! And YOU may be one of the lucky recipients! I know you will be converted. Once there's a local tribe of us, we can form a club, then a Facebook page, and start a campaign to get Butch to Houston. Don't know what we could do about the prevailing, stultifying music and life-in-general malaise over the city, but we can work on that later.
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