The Very Good Agency

Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry, Be Awesome!

You might remember Bobby McFerrin from his smash hit in 1988 ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’, or maybe from one of the TEN Grammy awards that he has received over his career, but like me you may not have given him much thought lately. From a musical family with his father Robert Sr Mcferrin being the first African American to be a regular in the New York Symphony Orchestra, it is no surprise that Bobby embarked on a musical pathway, the result of his exploration however cannot be understood by any influence or guidance he may have had, creating new realms of possibilty for artists to follow. On Saturday evening I was introduced to a video of a 2005 performance ‘Live in Montreal’ he held showing off his amazing talent for creating vocal pieces of art that defy logic and possibilty. His ability to fluctuate between four vocal ranges, combine accapella sounds with the beat he creates tapping on his chest, and the use of polyphonic sounds in which he creates 2 and 3 part harmonies from one vocal box are just extroadinary, and as for the musical pieces that he creates with these talents – they are just breathtaking…

Check it out:

Bobby McFerrin – Drive

As if his vocal talents aren’t enough, in 1994 Bobby Mcferrin was appointed creative chair of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has made regular tours as the conductor for symphony orchestra including those from San Fransisco, New York, Philladelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and London.

Not much needs to be said when you have seen his performances, so I will leave those of you who are as inspired as I am can check out more of Bobby at:

www.bobbymcferrin.com

…bs

Tags: Blues, hip hop, Old School, Poetry, Soul

Andy Bull – Small Town Girl National Tour

Nice…

That’s what I thought when I checked out the Soundlounge website to see if there was anything worth seeing while i’m working on Australia’s Gold Coast for two weeks. If you’ve spent any time on the Gold Coast of Australia before, you may be well aware that the place is starved of any identifiable culture (with the exception of surf culture), alternative entertainment, and unfortunately decent venues or clubs to enjoy a night out seeing a live artist or band in a comfortable environment. (it is worth noting that you have The Cooly Hotel in Coolangatta, an hour drive to Byron Bay NSW to The Great Northern Hotel, or an hour the other way to a few places in Brisbane).

Nice, because there was an Australian artist that I hadn’t yet heard, who I was immediately feeling, and yet unable to pigeon whole into a style, or compare to an artist gone by.

It turns out the fact that I hadn’t heard of Andy Bull is more indicative of my level of interest in mainstream media then his success as of late. Andy has been receiving plenty of attention from radio and television recently, mostly for his catchy, tidy, and even poppy (for once in a good way) little track that his current tour is named after “Small Town Girl”, and he is even signed to Universal, which just trips me out given their usual artist roster. Check it out:

Andy Bull – Small Town Girl

Andy began his musical life as a young child, playing on the parlour piano and pump organ his keyboard enthusiast father had collected through his travels in the 1970s. At just 24 today the singer, songwriter and piano player has gone from playing club shows to his hometown crowd in Sydney, to signing to ‘Island Records’ Australia, recording at New York’s legendary ‘Electric Lady Studios’ and Sydney’s ‘301 Studios’, as well as touring the country with Little Red and The Holidays. With such a variety of genres involved in the pieces I have heard thus far including folk, soul, jazz, pop, rock, blues, and even touches of hip hop, it’s going to be interesting to see the direction his career takes over the next few years as he further developes his already funky, definitive sound

If your in NSW, unfortunately this time you have already missed that leg of his tour, however for those of you who are not, the following dates are set to play over the next 2 weeks, which I will be fortunate enough to enjoy on the sunny Gold Coast Thursday at ‘Soundlounge’ (thanks guys), before returning to culture rich, beachless and rainforestless Melbourne (there’s always a trade off).

Thu Oct 23rd          Soundlounge, Gold Coast

Fri Oct 24th            Solbar, Sunshine Coast

Sat Oct 25th           The Troubador, Brisbane

Wed Oct 29th         Toff in town, Melbourne

Thu Oct 30th          Karova Lounge, Ballarat

Fri Oct 31st            Jive Bar, Adelaide

You can check out more of Andy Bull at:

www.andybull.com.au

www.myspace.com/andybull

…bs

Tags: Australian Artists, Blues, gigs, Jazz, Soul

Fink

If you’ve not already heard of Fink then it is about time you were reading this article. It would have come to you a lot sooner except the interview that we had scheduled with him three months ago is still yet to occur. Easily the best thing to come out of the UK music scene since Roots Manuva, Fink, originally from Brighton, now tours the furthest corners of the world playing his inventive mix of Folk, Blues and Dub. Words carry little weight in expressing an artist as unique as this, so check out his live performance below of Biscuits

Fink – Biscuits

Recently touring the US, Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, and most of Europe with some amazing artists like  Massive attack, and Zero 7, Fink told us he was “desperate to increase my love down under so i can get down there”… well we hope he can get here soon too and we encourage any fans in Australasia to show that love at www.myspace.com/finkmusic

Unsurprisingly the son of a folk musician and music manager, Fink worked as a club promoter in London throughout the time of his own musical exploration helping him to further understand the industry he would be so involved in. Playing such an eclectic mixture of styles, Fink unbelievably didn’t even feature his vocals on earlier releases he made which were based around acid jazz remixes, DJ sets, and electronic hip hop. Fink has also used his production skills for several major artists including Amy Winehouse.

Fink – This is The Thing

You can check out more of Fink at:

www.finkworld.co.uk

www.myspace.com/finkmusic

…bs

Tags: Blues, Roots