Thanks for checking out Sam’s Sunday School!

Here is the track listing for February 8, 2009. The songs are listed in order of how I played them on the air. Enjoy and feel free to comment if there is anything additional you would like.

1. OAR- This Town
This is O.A.R.’s latest single release from All Sides.
Click HERE for O.A.R.’s official website.

2. The Veronicas- Untouched
The Veronicas are Australian twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. They are all ready huge stars in their native country and have been on the road with the likes of Natasha Bedingfield and the Jonas Brothers.  Their new album is called Hook Me Up. Check out the Veronica’s official website HERE. 

3. The Script- The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
My new favorite Irish export and their music is described (by them) as a new sort of Celtic Soul. This song is all ready number 1 on the music charts in 5 different countries (will we be next?) Click HERE to learn more and I highly recommend watching the video for The Man Who Can’t Be Moved! It’s very sweet. Also worth noting.. fans of the Script include Bono of U2… who has given the band his seal of approval.  Wow!

Their name came from a phrase that they coined themselves. “What’s the script?” It’s their version of “What’s up?” or “What’s Happening?”
Click HERE for The Script’s official website.

4. Great Big Sea- Love Me Tonight
They may sound new to you, but Great Big Sea is a pretty much a household name in Canada. Their songs are greatly inspired by the sea and other natural beauties that they have enjoyed being from Newfoundland.  Love Me Tonight can be found on Great Big Sea’s album, Fortune’s Favour.
Click HERE for GBS’s official website.

5. Saving Jane- Butterflies
Long before Marti and Pat from Saving Jane joined us for AuNaturAlice 2 at the Soiled Dove Underground I had affection for this Columbus, OH group. They are one of the hardest working bands I know and some of the nicest I’ve ever met. This song is on the band’s latest release… an EP entitled Butterflies.

Below is a picture that was taken of Pat, me and Marti when they stopped by the studio before performing at AuNaturAlice. We have an exclusive live Alice recording HERE of Saving Jane’s “What I Didn’t Say.” It’ll break your heart!
Click HERE for Saving Jane’s official website.

6. Carolina Liar- Show Me What I’m Looking For (AuNaturAlice)
The original version of this song is on the band’s latest release, Coming To Terms. This version is our exclusive AuNaturAlice recording that the band played for us last Wednesday, February 04th! Our newest live gem
Click HERE for their official website.

7. Kevin Rudolph- Let It Rock
This song features Lil’ Wayne and is from Rudolph’s debut album, The City. He wrote and produced the whole thing himself!
Click HERE for Kevin’s offical website.

8. Foo Fighters- Big Me **History Song**
This was this Sunday’s history lesson song because on this day in 1999, Dave Grohl and his record label (Roswell Records) filed suit again Miramax for unauthorized use of the song in trailers for the movie “Rounders.”

Note: The following bands are all bands that will be performing this Friday at Herman’s Hideaway for Alice’s Almost Famous Battle of the Bands. Come down and cheer for your favorites this Friday! Click HERE to be directed to the Almost Famous Myspace page and you’ll find out all you need to know. This is Week 5’s lineup:

9. Jason Vigil- Breaking Over You
Click HERE for Jason’s webpage. 

10. The Epilogues- King Arthur
Click HERE for The Epilogues’ myspace page.

11. Elision-  Patiently Dying
Click HERE for Elision’s myspace page.

12. Sofo- Passing Signs
Click HERE for Sofo’s myspace page.
Thanks for checking out Sam’s Sunday School! I’ll be back next week with more new and local music for you.

From one music lover to another…

Sam

Here are some of the releases for today: February 3, 2009.

The Fray- The Fray **Sam’s Pick**
We’ve been waiting and waiting and finally today we’ve got our new album from The Fray! They’ve done some big things to prepare us for this release, including but not limited to collaborating with the LOST with a series of t.v. promos featuring clips from You Found Me. If you haven’t seen our video of The Fray performing that song in our studio it’s waiting for you right now if you click HERE.

Leona Lewis- Spirit (Deluxe CD/DVD)
This deluxe version includes 4 new tracks and a selection of music videos and an expanded 16-page booklet.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus- Lonely Road
This is the follow up to the band’s platinum-selling debut album. The band’s all ready shows the capability to grow in their presentation. What you’re going to find here is a diverse yet flowing rock album. My favorites so far are Step Right Up and Senioritis.

Additional Releases:
The Bad Plus-For All I Care
Dierks Bentley- Feel That Fire
Marc Bonilla and Keith Emerson-Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla
Cannibal Corpse- Evisceration Plague
A Day to Remember- Homesick
Diplo- Decent Work for Decent Wages
Melinda Doolittle- Coming Back To You **Sam’s Pick**
Doro- Fear No Evil (Import)
Ruthie Foster- The Truth According to Ruthie Foster
Ann Hampton Callaway- At Last
Lisa Hannigan- Sea Sew
Heartless Bastards- The Mountain
Joe Jackson- Live at the BBC (2 disc)
Boney James- Send One Your Love
Wynonna Judd- Sing- Chapter 1
Kidz Bop Kids- Kidz Bop, Vol 15
Ben Kweller- Changing Horses **Sam’s Pick**
Donald Lawrence- The Law of Confession Part 1
Roger Manning- Catnip Dynamite
Liza Minnelli- Liza’s at the Palace
Willie Nelson- Willie and Wheel **Sam’s Pick**
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Phosphorescent- To Willie
P.O.S.- Never Better
Telephon Tel Aviv- Immolate Yourself
The Von Bondies- Love Hate and Then There’s You (also available on LP)

Soundtrack:
He’s Just Not That Into You (OMPS)

DVD/Blu-ray/LP:
The Cure- Trilogy (Blu-ray)
k.d. Lang- Live with BBC Orchestra (DVD or Blu-ray)
My Chemical Romance- I Brought You My Bullets You Brought My Your Love

Boxed Set:
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young- Reflections

Reissue/Remastered:
Michael Schenker- M.S.G. (Remastered)
UFO- No Place to Run (Remastered)
UFO- The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent (Remastered)
UFO- Mechanix (Remastered)

Thanks for reading!!

Sam

I’m here to tell you about The Music Machine. It’s not modern recording apparatus or high-tech editing equipment. The Music Machine is a fictitious contraption that creates music inspired by whatever items are fed into it. Still not following me? Allow me to explain.

When I was kid my parents bought me a huge amount of children’s music, all in the form of records and sometimes cassettes if I was lucky. Since my dad was a minister at the time a lot of these albums were religious. I did have my share of Smurf music albums and the like, but this story isn’t about those. This is about The Music Machine. Yes, it had a very religious theme but in a good way.

Ok- About the actual gadget itself (I’ll refer to it as the MM for brevity’s sake). There was this machine in a make-believe land and what an incredible contraption it was! If you can see in the picture- there were two children that traveled to this land and met up with “the conductor” who seemed to be in charge of the machine and guided them during their adventures. What happened during these excursions? The children (or the conductor) would place an item into the slot on the side of the MM and the machine would then make an incredible racket (beeps, snorts and boings galore!) and eventually would play a song inspired by the item it had just processed.

When I was a kid I would get excited thinking about what I could find in my room that would make the weirdest song. I secretly wondered what would happen if I were to put my hamster into it. Good think I never found my way to the magical land- the conductor would’ve had to plunge the machine to unclog all of my odds-n-ends!

While laying in bed last night waiting to drop off to sleep I was thinking of The Music Machine in a reverse sense.  I was thinking of different popular Alice songs and wondering what on earth could’ve been placed inside a MM to create such a song… assuming of course that the artist’s that wrote them weren’t here. Allow me to make my guess on some of them:

Pink-So What: A pint of hard liquor and some sour grapes.

Matt Nathanson- Come On Get Higher: A satin pillowcase and a jasmine-scented candle.

Jason Mraz- I’m Yours: Coconut Pancakes (ok.. that doesn’t make sense- but those sound delicous right now!)

Katy Perry- I Kissed a Girl: A tube of cherry chapstick and a pair of high-waist hotpants.

Plain White T’s- Hey There Delilah: An ignored restraining order.

Ahhh- Imagine for a moment a machine where you could toss in object and out would pop a song? Then you would have my beloved Music Machine! What fun we could have tossing stuff in and watching it inspire a tune. Flights of fancy aside, I think I’m going to have to dig that album out and treat myself to a little nostalgia. Or maybe I’ll just pop on my Smurfs album and sing along to “Catch me catch me… if you can… Come on now come on now.. smurf me!” I fear I may be getting a bit loopy.

Ahhh.. loopy is ok once in a while is it not?  

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment on what you think what object might have created your favorite song!

xo,

Sam