5 Artists & Albums You Need To Hear:

1. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - "Medicine"
2. Jordan Reyne - "Children of a Factory Nation"
3. Willis Earl Beal - "Nobody Knows"
4. Matt Anderson - "Honest Man"
5. Lady Rio - "Violet"

Because quite honestly, the shit we're force-fed in the mainstream media is a shame, for the most part...

Great music is out there, friends, and it is our responsibility to discover and enjoy it and spread the word to all who will listen.

A quick thought on Music Therapy

A number of years ago, I began studying the subject of Music Therapy, and the associated benefits that are derived from it.  Here is some of what I wrote in my personal notes - circa 1999 - and still wholeheartedly believe today:

"Music Therapy has been shown to help sufferers of Parkinson's Disease in organizing their thoughts (if only temporarily).  It has also been shown to assist stroke victims in re-learning how to speak and comprehend that which we take for granted by incorporating the pulse and rhythm of music.  Another beneficial aspect of Music Therapy is that it has been proven to assist in reconnecting damaged neurological paths in the brain.

This means that as the research and studies of Music Therapy progress, it becomes more and more obvious that it offers far more benefits and therapeutic applications than initially realized.  Music has rapidly come to be recognized as a legitimate form of therapy for all types of brain disorders.  The possibilities are endless."

So here we are in 2012, and the practice of Music Therapy has made much more progress since I wrote those notes (to myself) back in 1999, and I can't help but think that there is far more progress to be made, and the current pace toward that progress is much too slow and encumbered by the weight of lack of funding, and perhaps even lack of interest in general.  There will be much more to come on this subject (which is very near and dear to my heart) in the days, weeks and months ahead within this blog, as I am a true advocate of Music Therapy and all the potential it holds in advancing our understanding and therapeutic treatment of brain disorders and mental illnesses.

It is currently well within our grasp to make significant use of this under utilized, readily available therapeutic benefit...we simply must make a concerted effort to lead the way in making sure that those with brain disorders and mental illness receive the expert care and opportunity to experience what the world of composed and recorded music has to offer.

Soaring Songs From an Orchestra You'll Never Forget

 The timing of the airing of this story http://www.cbsnews.com/8334-504803_162-57410254-10391709/soaring-songs-from-an-orchestra-youll-never-forget/?tag=contentMain;contentAux on CBS's 60 Minutes simply COULD NOT have come at a better time!  I was profoundly moved by it; almost to the point of becoming a man crying like a baby in his own living room, and it reaffirmed my belief that music IS the good in all of us - no matter what our status in life.  

  If you watch the segment and still don't understand what it is I'm trying to convey here in this blog, then I don't know what...  This should be MUST-SEE T.V. for all those who are stuck in a rut, and feel like life is just too complicated and cumbersome.

THIS is the purest of joy, and it will make your heart soar!  Smiling is optional, but after seeing this, I do not know how you couldn't.

Don't laugh...you'll see what I mean in the end...

  Although it dates me just a bit, I've wanted for some time to discuss a very crucial influence in my life that ultimately lead to my deep love and appreciation for music.  Now to some, this may seem absolutely silly, but I implore you all to think long and hard about the basic premise of what I'm about to say, and how very true it really is.

  Looney Tunes!  We all love Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, etc., but I love those cartoons for a far more profound reason.  The MUSIC in each episode was simply AMAZING!  I cannot think of a cartoon series that put more thought into the music, and what it ultimately conveyed to us; the young, impressionable viewer.

  I am, to this day, a huge fan of classical music in large part due to the Looney Tunes cartoon series!  Who can forget the Opera episode starring Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny!  I recently saw that episode again with my daughter, and it is still just as powerful and memorable as it was when I was 9.  I watched my daughter as she watched the episode, and I could see that it made an impact on her, but perhaps not as much as it had on me in my youth.

  I am not saddened or upset by this fact, I simply wanted to see how that particular episode would affect today's youth, and I had very high hopes that her reaction to it would be one of pure joy and wonderment, but it was much more subdued.  She watched the entire episode right along with me, yet I could tell that it simply did not have the same effect on her in this first (for her) viewing, but my hope is that the next time we see it together it will make that lasting impression on her as it did for me many moons ago.

   I now enjoy a morning routine of watching 1/2 hr of Looney Tunes episodes with my daughter before I take her to school, and I hope each time that what she is HEARING has a meaning she can't yet comprehend, but somehow knows she has experienced something...just...something...  On our  drive to her school, I go 'round and 'round in my head wondering if she subconsciously is processing what she had seen, and more importantly, what she had heard!  I cannot verbally prompt her with questions about the music she had heard, as it is vitally important that she come to this realization on her own so that is has a lifelong impression and impact on her as it did for me.

  In conclusion, we are all bombarded with millions of different sounds in our world, but we must all come to realize that music is the most beautiful "sound" of all...and the rest is just noise.  So thank you, Looney Tunes cartoons, for helping me filter out all the noise at a very early age, and focus on what's really important - the music. 

 

R.I.P. Dr. Jim Marshall

In honor of one of our greatest contributors to the world of amplified music!

It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.

Jim’s ascent into the history books as ‘the Father of Loud’ and the man responsible for ‘the Sound of Rock’ is a true rags-to-riches tale. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers responsible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born. The ground breaking quartet also includes the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover – together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock.

In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.

While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim’s passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!

Rest in Peace & thank you Jim.

Your memory; the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades; and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.