ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Lake Street Dive
I've been a long time fan of this group. They've been around for a while, though, mostly independently. They're currently under contract with a record label called Nonesuch Records. Other popular artists under this label include the likes of Ben Folds, Black Keys, Randy Newman, Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and many many more.
Original photo taken at a live concert during their Side Pony Tour.
What I like about Lake Street Dive is that they took good songs like Rich Girl, I Want You Back, and Faith, and turned them into gold with Rachael Price's perfect pipes, Michael 'McDuck' Olsen's killer trumpet/guitar playing, Michael Calabrese on the drums, and of course, last but not least, Bridget Kearney on the upright bass. A unique combination of instruments brings this band to the top of my favorite artist list.
By the way, upright bass might not be the most popular of instruments, given Mumford and Sons' and other 'Americana' artists somewhat killing the acoustic ensemble with redundancy, but Bridget Kearney will MELT YOUR FACE OFF when she's slappin the upright.
If you want an example of just how successfully unique this band is, drummer Mike meowed a guitar solo while performing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Yup. That's right. Mike Calabrese MEOWED a guitar solo. And it ROCKED. If you haven't checked out Lake Street Dive, you're missing out. Here's a shortlist of my favorite LSD songs/covers:
- Seventeen
- Bad Self Portraits
- I Want You Back
- Hell Yeah
- Call Off Your Dogs
And don't even get me started on Rachael Price's solo jazz records. If you like smooth jazz, check out her rendition of Skylark. You're welcome.