SONG OF THE WEEK: 6-30-2024

SONG:  "High On 95"

ARTIST:  Tim Barry

ALBUM:  "Live 2018"

YEAR:  2020

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Richmond, Virginia

YEARS ACTIVE:  1990 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

Tim Barry says in the live version of the song that it's about leaving north Virginia and going to central Virginia. Like most Tim Barry songs, "High On 95" is filled with reflection and introspection. The studio version of the song can be found on Tim Barry's 2017 album "High On 95". 

TIM BARRY DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2006 - Rivanna Junction (Suburban Home Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2008 - Manchester (Suburban Home Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2010 - 28th & Stonewall (Suburban Home Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - 40 Miler (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2013 - Laurel St. Demo 2005 & Live At Munford Elementary (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2014 - Raising Hell & Living Cheap:  Live In Richmond (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2014 - Lost & Rootless (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2017 - High On 95 (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2019 - The Roads To Richmond (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2022 - Spring Hill (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON TIM BARRY:

Tim Barry began his musical journey as the lead singer of Richmond, VA punk band Avail back in 1990. Avail would continue to be a pillar in the hardcore punk scene up until 2007 when they broke up. From about 2004, Tim Barry began to focus on a solo career in an acoustic element. Barry's debut album would be "Rivanna Junction" in 2006. He followed that up with 2008's "Manchester". 2010's "28th & Stonewall" would be Barry's last album with Suburban Home Records. From this point on, he would put his music out through Chunksaah Records, a label owned by The Bouncing Souls. His first release through Chunksaah would be 2012's "40 Miler". 2014 saw Barry release "Lost & Rootless". Not one to rest, Tim Barry released "High On 95" in 2017, "The Roads To Richmond" in 2019 and his most recent release, "Spring Hill" in 2022. Tim Barry is a legend. A cult hero in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia for sure. I liked Avail but they weren't one of my favorite bands. I think Tim's solo material is utterly fantastic! Tim is a great storyteller and his lyrics are heartfelt and personal. He almost seems like he is a minimalist. He seems to treasure the things in life that are most important like family, friends and your environment. Very much like Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, Tim Barry seems like one of the early leaders in the "punk rock frontman going acoustic" phase that happened quite a bit in the early 2000's till the present day. Tim Barry is one of the best at that craft as well. Listening to his songs makes me want to crack open a few beers and just hang with friends and family. He has that vibe big time. Tim Barry is an awesome dude!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Chuck Ragan

Dave Hause

Sundowner

The Gaslight Anthem

Brian Fallon

TEN TIM BARRY SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Avoiding Catatonic Surrender

2. No News From The North

3. Thing Of The Past

4. Dog Bumped

5. Idle Idylist

6. High On 95

7. Driver Pull

8. Fussin' Over Fate

9. This November

10. Cab #13

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6-23-2024

SONG:  "Circle Vista Blues"

ARTIST:  Joey Briggs

ALBUM:  self-released Bandcamp single

YEAR:  2017

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  2001 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Circle Vista Blues" appears to be a song about fucking up so bad in a relationship that you know you have no shot at a second chance. The vocalist understands he screwed up and he fully takes the blame, but he also knows there's no chance to win her back.

JOEY BRIGGS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2011 - The Traveling Salesman, Pariah, Me (self-released)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2022 - Disconnected (This Is LA Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON JOEY BRIGGS:

Los Angeles' own Joey Briggs is most well known as the frontman for the punk band The Briggs. He got his start on the music scene back in 2001. With his band The Briggs, he has released four full length studio albums as well as three EP's. The most recent The Briggs release was a self-titled EP in 2015. The Briggs also released a live DVD in 2022 called "Gridlocked:  On Tour With The Briggs. Joey Briggs released his first solo material in 2010, an EP titled "Politics, Touring And Self-Loathing". He dropped his first solo full length album in 2011 called "The Traveling Salesman, Pariah, Me". The track on that album called "Suburban Kid" is one of my all time favorite songs to date! I love that tune! Joey Briggs released another solo EP in 2013 called "Joey Briggs" and his most recent release was a full length album called "Disconnected" which dropped in 2022. The Briggs had a hardcore punk/Celtic punk vibe about them while Joey's solo stuff is mostly acoustic in style. Joey Briggs has also been fronting a hardcore punk band called Vintage War since 2022. I'm not quite sure what Joey's main focus is at this point because, while The Briggs have played shows recently, they haven't dropped new material since 2015 so perhaps this new band Vintage War is what is on his front burner at the moment. Either way, I enjoy all of Joey Briggs' projects. Also check out his Bandcamp page cuz he's released a slew of stand alone singles on there. 

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Brendan Kelly

Laura Jane Grace

Blacklist Royals

Crazy Arm

Chewing On Tinfoil

TEN JOEY BRIGGS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Suburban Kid

2. The Sun Will Shine

3. Concrete River

4. A Tiger's Stripes

5. The Blame

6. Left For Dead

7. Vegans And Anarchists

8. Walk Away

9. Classify

10. Talking With The Wind

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6-16-2024

SONG:  "What We Leave Behind"

ARTIST:  Chuck Ragan

ALBUM:  "The Flame In The Flood"

YEAR:  2016

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Gainesville, Florida

YEARS ACTIVE:  1993 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

Here's what Chuck Ragan himself had to say about "What We Leave Behind". "I wrote this when my son was still in a crib. Having children is both absolutely glorious and terrifying, all at the same time. There's a part of me that feels very lucky to have such a beautiful person in our life, but at the same time, I almost have some guilt that I've brought this child into a world that can be extremely ugly and brutal. The song is trying to explain to this young one that all we are is what we leave behind, and that we don't need to put too much importance on material things or on status or wealth - that what seems to give us fulfilmentis just love and togetherness with the people that we connect with."

 

CHUCK RAGAN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2007 - Feast Or Famine (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2007 - Los Feliz (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2008 - Bristle Ridge (w/ Ausin Lucas) (Ten Four Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2008 - Chuck Plays Frankfurt (Yuma River Conspiracy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2009 - Gold Country (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2009 - Live At Hafenkneipe Zurich (Leech Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Covering Ground (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Life At The Cafe Du Nord (Ten Four Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2013 - Live At Skaters Palace (Uncle M Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2014 - Till Midnight (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2016 - The Winter Haul Live (w/ The Camaraderie) (Ten Four Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2016 - The Flame In The Flood (Ten Four Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON CHUCK RAGAN:

Chuck Ragan, the pride of Gainesville, Florida, got his start in the music scene back in 1993. Of course, he is most known for being in the influential punk outfit Hot Water Music. With Hot Water Music, Ragan and the boys have released 9 studio albums, 4 compilations, a few live albums and a slew of splits and EP's. In 2005, Ragan stepped away from Hot Water Music and the remaining three members went on to form the short lived The Draft. Ragan really wanted to focus on a solo, acoustic project at that time. He released his debut solo album in 2007, called "Feast Or Famine". Shortly after that release, he dropped "Los Feliz" in the same year. In 2008, he released an album with folk artist Austin Lucas called "Bristle Ridge". It was around this time that Ragan had a vision of a folk/Americana type tour called "The Revival Tour". It would feature many punk rock singers from major groups performing stripped down sets and also had most of the artists jamming together throughout the show. The tours were pretty consistent from 2008 till 2012 and they featured Ragan, Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!), Dave Hause (The Loved Ones), Tim Barry (Avail), Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem) and Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio) to name a few. In 2009, Ragan released "Gold Country". 2011 saw him drop "Covering Ground" which features a duet with Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem on the song "Meet You In The Middle", which is a fantastic song! 2014 saw Ragan complete his fifth studio album for punk label SideOneDummy Records when he released "Till Midnight". This was his first solo album to feature a full band, which he named The Camaraderie. Ragan's most recent release was 2016's "The Flame In The Flood" which is actually the soundtrack for a video game. Though Chuck Ragan left Hot Water Music in 2005, he quickly reunited with them in 2007 and to this day they still are releasing new music and touring. I would say that Chuck Ragan was one of the first punk rock singers to start playing solo acoustic shows. It kinda has been a revolution of sorts. Tim Barry (Avail) has embarked on a long solo career. Dave Hause (The Loved Ones) has pretty much been focusing all his time on his solo stuff. You also had Tony Sly (No Use For A Name) and Joey Cape (Lagwagon) coming out with solo records. Mike Ness (Social Distortion), Russ Rankin (Good Riddance), Jim Lindberg (Pennywise), Greg Graffin (Bad Religion), Vinnie Caruana (The Movielife) and Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds) have also all come out with solo material and have done acoustic tours. I'm not sure if Ragan was the first to do it, but he's definitely a pioneer of it. His stuff with Hot Water Music is awesome and they are an extremely influential band but his solo stuff really shines a light on how f'n good he is as a songwriter and singer. I was really blown away by his talents. I love whatever he does. I get excited when new Hot Water comes out and I get equally excited when he puts out new solo material. I know Brian Fallon is from Jersey, but Chuck Ragan might be punk rock's Bruce Springsteen!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Dave Hause

The Gaslight Anthem

Brian Fallon

Tim Barry

Sundowner

TEN CHUCK RAGAN SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Meet You In The Middle

2. Something May Catch Fire

3. Symmetry

4. For Broken Ears

5. Nomad By Fate

6. Non Typical

7. For Goodness Sake

8. The Boat

9. The Flame In The Flood

10. Bloody Shells (w/ Austin Lucas)

 

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6-9-2024

SONG:  "Don't Worry"

ARTIST:  Vinnie Caruana

ALBUM:  unreleased

YEAR:  ????

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Long, Island, New York

YEARS ACTIVE:  1997 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Don't Worry" almost feels like a lullaby to a child. It feels like the vocalist is trying to make the child feel warm and safe and that his unconditional love for the child almost serves as protection and warmth.

VINNIE CARUANA DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2016 - Survivor's Guilt (Equal Vision Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2020 - Live At The Black Heart (Big Scary Monsters Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON VINNIE CARUANA:

Vinnie Caruana has been in the music scene since 1997, hailing from Long Island, New York. Caruana is best known as the frontman for legendary New York band The Movielife and more recently, as lead vocalist for I Am The Avalanche. The Movielife formed in 1997 before breaking up in 2003. Soon after they disbanded, Caruana formed I Am The Avalanche in 2004 and they are still very active. I Am The Avalanche does tend to take at least 5 years between releases however, and this afforded Caruana some time to perform solo acoustic shows and eventually, released some solo material. His first solo release was an EP in 2013 called "City By The Sea". This was followed by his first solo full length album "Survivor's Guilt". In 2019, Caruana released another solo EP, "Aging Frontman" and in 2020, he released a live album, "Live At The Black Heart". As I said earlier, Vinnie Caruana has had his plate full, whether that's fronting The Movielife or I Am The Avalanche and doing his solo stuff. He also fronts a hardcore band called Constant Elevation. Though these days I Am The Avalanche appears to be his main focus, fans of The Movielife rejoiced when they got back together in 2015 for some reunion shows and an eventual new full length album. Whatever he does, Caruana has an incredible voice and is a tremendous songwriter. I'm quite partial to I Am The Avalanche but I also love his solo work and his music he created with The Movielife.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Anthony Raneri

Banquets

The Tower And The Fool

Russ Rankin

Chris Cresswell

TEN VINNIE CARUANA SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. We Have To Die Alone

2. Survivor's Guilt

3. Kingwood

4. I Don't Believe You

5. To Be Dead And In Love

6. Providence

7. Burn It Down

8. Better

9. Alone

10. Tex "The Rock" Johnson

SONG OF THE WEEK: 6-2-2024

SONG:  "Someone To Die For"

ARTIST:  Chris Cornell (feat. Eleven)

ALBUM:  Not on an album

YEAR:  1998

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Seattle, Washington

YEARS ACTIVE:  1983 - 2017

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Someone To Die For" appears to be a song about having someone come into you life that changes everything you thought was most important to you, because that person, all of a sudden, becomes the most important thing in your life. Your world now centers around this person. It's truly unconditional love for someone. The vocalist could be singing about his life partner or it could be about his child. You could see that either one could pertain to this song.

CHRIS CORNELL DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1999 - Euphoria Mourning (Interscope Records)

* peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200

2007 - Carry On (Interscope/Suretone Records)

* peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200

2009 - Scream (Interscope/Suretone Records)

* peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200

2011 - Songbook (Universal Records)

* peaked at #69 on the Billboard 200

2015 - Higher Truth (Universal Music Enterprises)

* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200

2020 - No One Sings Like You Anymore (Universal Music Enterprises)

* peaked at #78 on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON CHRIS CORNELL:

Seattle, Washington's own, Chris Cornell jumped into the music scene back in 1983. He was a founder of the legendary band Soundgarden. At first he was the band's drummer, but soon jumped up to rhythm guitar so he could handle vocal duties much easier. Soundgarden, of course, is just enormous! One of the greatest hard rock bands of all time and for my money, Chris Cornell is the greatest rock vocalist of all time. Yeah, I said it! Soundgarden was a force from 1984 till 1997 when the band broke up due to internal conflicts. They did reunite in 2010 and continued on right up till Chris Cornell's untimely death. More on that later. Chris Cornell was also the frontman for the Seattle supergroup, Temple Of The Dog, which featured members of Soundgarden and, at the time, the newly formed Pearl Jam. This band was formed because Cornell had written some tribute songs for the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood. Cornell and Wood were great friends and roommates at the time of Wood's death. Cornell penned "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Reach Down" in honor of Wood. Cornell was also the frontman of another supergroup, Audioslave, from 2001 till 2007. Before Cornell passed, there was also talk of Audioslave reuniting as well. Audioslave was Rage Against The Machine but fronted by Chris Cornell, featuring blistering hard rock songs! What I'm here to talk about today, however, is Chris Cornell's solo career. When Soundgarden disbanded in 1997, Cornell began working on his first solo album, 1999's "Euphoria Mourning". This album showed a softer side of Cornell but proved that he could be just as dynamic a singer on any kind of music. After his stint with Audioslave, Cornell released his second solo album, 2007's "Carry On". In 2009, Cornell teamed up with R&B producer Timbaland and created the album "Scream". This was quite the departure for Cornell and I would say most fans of his weren't that into this album. Cornell did remake a few of the songs off of "Scream" in a more rock oriented format and there were rumors that he might do the whole album over that way but that never happened. In 2011, Cornell released the live acoustic album "Songbook". If ever you wanted a document to show how super talented Mr. Cornell was, you should listen to this masterpiece. It's just Cornell with his incredible voice and an acoustic guitar. The album spans his solo stuff, along with Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple Of The Dog songs. A true piece of art. 2015 saw Cornell release the very last full length studio album he was a part of while he was still alive, "Higher Truth". In 2020, the covers album "No One Sings Like You Anymore" was released posthumously. One of the biggest tragedies in the world of music happened on May 18, 2017 when Chris Cornell was found dead in his Detroit hotel room after performing with Soundgarden. The death was ruled suicide by hanging. Cornell had dealt with depression for most of his life but it seemed like he had things together at the time of his death. It was a shock to all and just put such a total dark cloud on the music world to lose such an iconic talent. I love everything Chris did, Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple, his solo stuff. He even fronted the Seattle band Mad Season, which featured the late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley, when the surviving members played a show in Seattle. Cornell's voice was so powerful and his range was so dynamic. He had such a gift. I can't even begin to tell how important the music of Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and yes, Soundgarden was to me growing up. When we lost Kurt, it hurt, but deep down we saw it happening. With Layne, it was more drawn out, but we all could see the ultimate writing on the wall even though we didn't want to. But with Chris, we never saw it happening. He just seemed like a beacon of light. So talented, so charming, so funny. As someone who has lost a few friends to suicide, there's so many questions that will forever go unanswered. All you can do is to tell everyone that means something to you that you love them and never take for granted the time you have with them.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Soundgarden

Temple Of The Dog

Audioslave

Pearl Jam

Stone Temple Pilots

TEN CHRIS CORNELL SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince cover)

2. Sunshower

3. The Keeper

4. Seasons

5. I Am The Highway (Audioslave cover) (acoustic)

6. When I'm Down

7. Scar On The Sky (acoustic)

8. Patience (Guns 'N Roses cover)

9. Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart

10. You Know My Name