Featuring Post Paradise at 7:30 pm

If you’re in the northern Colorado area, here’s a great chance to catch the new and upcoming band, Post Paradise - tonight!

Hosted by Scene Magazine

Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 3:30pm – 11:30pm

Venue: Hamilton’s at 214 Linden St, Fort Collins, CO

Only a $2 cover charge for this amazing line up of new artists – all proceeds go to Colorado Contemporary Music College (http://www.coloradomusiccollege.org) tuition reduction program.

Post Paradise playing the FoCoMA Experiment - Aggie Theatre (Courtesy http://hudetzphotography.com)

Schedule:

• 3:30 GG Herman – Rock
• 4:45 Matt Leeke – Acoustic singer/songwriter
• 5:30 Otem Rellik – Experimental Hip Hop
• 6:15 Uri Hoffman – Piano singer/songwriter (taken ill)
• 6:30 Livest Vibe – Hip Hop
• 7:30 Post Paradise – Alt Rock
• 9:00 Killing the Messenger- Deaf Metal
• 10:15 After the Shock – Alt Metalcore

Also featuring ceramic artist Sherise Palvott

If you’re planning to attend the Lincoln Center event, you can pre-order the CD here on SavvantMusic.com and pick it up via the “express” line at Mark and Colleen’s merchandise table. Fort Collins locals can also pick up the CD from Mark at Jay’s Bistro any Wednesday through Saturday evening (7-10 pm).

For more information about Mark Sloniker and Colleen Crosson, check out these sites:

Amy Morgan - Post Paradise at the Aggie

Sorry, but the free download period has expired.

But don’t despair! You can still download Post Paradise latest songs and album,  From Here to Anywhere on iTunes:  

Or you can purchase From Here to Anywhere at Amazon:

Either way, less than $7.00 — Great deal!

Post Paradise are Nick Duarte (guitar/vocals), Josh Freed (bass), Amy Morgan (cello) and Craig Babineau (drums)

As you may know, at Savvant Music we search for music that is polished, with great live shows, awesome original music, well performed musically and ready for discerning listeners, and yet still under the radar of the major labels and major indies.  As such, we don’t usually write up bands that are just forming, but we’re making an exception with Post Paradise, because we’re so impressed with their fantastic song writing, arrangements and musicality of their performance.

Starting off at Hodi’s with Better Off Post Paradise immediately caught us with their full sound and very energetic and professional stage show.  Working through failing microphones and lack of monitor support, front man and composer Nick Duarte handled the challenging situation without batting an eye, pushing through the problems and delivering a great show through it all.

Post Paradise live

Duarte’s compositions use chord progressions and voicings you might not be used to in many rock bands, yet even with a cello instead of a guitar on the instrumental leads, this is unabashed rock music.  The rock steady groove set down by bassist Josh Freed and drummer Craig Babineau provides a rock and roll canvas for the lyrical counterpoint of Duarte’s well sung vocal melodies and the rocking riffs ripping out from the lovely Amy Morgan on the cello.

Another favorite song of mine on Post Pardise’s playlist is the hard hitting irony in A Way With Words in which Duarte rocks back and forth between “A face that screams sincerity” and “The kind of fake that you adore” underlined with an intense and driving counter melody played by Morgan on the cello.

Post Paradise doesn’t yet have any formally released albums, but if you’re lucky you can pick up a free demo CD at one of their upcoming gigs. They’ll be playing on Saturday, April 11th at 6:00pm as part of the Fort Collins Music Experiment (FoCoMX) at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins, Colorado on the bill with The Heyday, The Piggies, Common Anomaly, Roe and more. FoCoMX will feature over 100 bands from northern Colorado and is being put on by the Fort Collins Musicians Association (FoCoMa.org).

Note: Post Paradise recordings, songs and lyrics are copyright Post Paradise and are streamed here with permission.

Quincy Jones keynote at SXSW 09

He probably doesn’t know it, because there were always 200-2000 other people there as well , but WE knew it and it was AWESOME. It was like spending the day in the presence of giants and their ghosts and their shadows as Mr. Jones walked us through the amazing history of music in his lifetime, so much of which bears his unmistakeably great music mark.

After the extended keynote, Bob and I went to a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue album. And guess who showed up and was asked to join the panel… Mr. Quincy Jones.  And so continued our wonderful day with Mr. Jones. If time allows, I’ll post more at a later time detailing more of the amazing conversations with Quincy Jones and the Kind of Blue panel, but for now…

As wonderful and amazing as Mr. Jones conversations were, what he brought to us musically was even more amazing and fantastic.

Get ready for it, because Quincy Jones has a new protégé, Alfredo Rodriguez – a pianist so intense, so beautiful and so emotive you never, ever want the music to stop. Just two months ago Rodriguez, a tender 23 years old, defected from Cuba where he was not allowed to tour internationally.

Alfredo Rodriguez at the Elephant Room in Austin

Rodriguez played after Mr. Jones’ keynote address Thursday afternoon, and again later that night at a SXSW showcase in the Elephant Room, displaying his amazing improvisational skills and beautiful artistic soul. Part of Rodriguez’ genius is his ability to be so playful and simple interspersed with moments of exquisite emotional intensity.  He takes a melody and weaves it in and out of harmony and discord while maintaining the pure integrity of the melody and the feel of the song.

Part and parcel with the music are the expressive faces and body language that Rodriguez deploys to communicate even further the emotion of the music without need for spoken word.  Much of this you can hear in the music and see in the videos, but to really feel the full impact of Rodriguez’ music you must see him perform live.  If you ever get the chance to see him live, do not miss it! It’s an experience of a lifetime.  If you don’t believe me, just ask Quincy Jones.

Alfredo Rodriguez and "patron" Quincy Jones

After Rodriguez’ performance at the Elephant Room, Mr. Jones gave us a a few more words from his heart, saying about Rodriguez “this young man makes me even happier than I already am to be alive” and finally adding “This is what music is about.”

Like Mr. Jones, Rodriguez projects a sense of humility and gratitude for his talent, which makes him feel all the more genuine and authentic – truly deserving of his wonderful musical gift.

I’ll post links to purchase Rodriguez’ music as it becomes available.  Meanwhile, here are a few links where you might find new information on this newly emergent artist:

• Alfredo Rodriguez’ official (I think) web site:   
  www.alfredomusic.com
• Alfredo Rodriguez’ facebook page:
  www.facebook.com/pages/Alfredo-Rodriguez/71659295609
• Alfredo Rodriguez on MySpace:
  www.myspace.com/alfredorodriguezmusic
• Follow Alfredo Rodriguez on Twitter:
  twitter.com/alfredomusic
• Alfredo Rodriguez on YouTube (QuincyJonesProd channel) :
  http://www.youtube.com/user/QuincyJonesProds

While Alfredo Rodriguez obviously will soon be very well known (that is to say, he’s not exactly “under the radar”), I was so touched by his music and his talent that I wanted to share him with you right away, now, so you don’t miss any opportunity to hear him play.   I’ve included some of the best videos I found on YouTube below.  Enjoy! But don’t miss a chance to see him live!

My Favorite:

But this one was awesome too:

Last, but not least, here is a video of Alfredo Rodriguez playing the Elephant Room at SXSW – Bob and I were sitting about 7 feet behind Mr. Jones, next to the loud but well meaning drunk you’ll hear hollering in the video. I’m afraid the video doesn’t really do it justice.  This encore had me in tears.

See the Quincy Jones Production Channel (QuincyJonesProd) on YouTube.com for more.

Other photos:

Quincy Jones Keynote at SXSW 09

A standing ovation from The Elephant Room

Alfredo Rodriguez at the Elephant Room

Someday this photo will be the coolest thing on the block! Oh, wait! Already IS!