acoustic | Musicosity

acoustic

The Verses

Members:
Ella Hooper -Vocals
Jesse Hooper -Guitar
Brett Langsford -Guitar
Jorge Rodrigues -Upright and electric bass
Madeline Davey -Keys and piano
Matt Watson -Drums and percussion
Special Guest Vocals by - Dan Sultan & Nadia Rosen The Verses - Ella and Jesse Hoopers' new project - draws from their experience as seasoned performers, and represents a return to their roots of acoustic based contemporary music.

Artist Type: 

Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy is big in Australia and over in Europe, but guitar fans in America have just been learning about him the past few years. He appeared at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention a few years ago and brought the house down. People have been talking about him ever since, and his fame is spreading. "He’s about the only guitarist I’ve heard who can come close to what Lenny did with harmonics, and he’s got a style all his own.

Artist Type: 

Lightspeed Champion

What about the man behind the Lightspeed Champion moniker? Who is he? Where did he come from? How much free time does he have? Working backwards: very little. Devonté Hynes is a man who doesn’t like to sit around waiting for results; by the time the results are in, he’s on to bigger and better, or at the very least worse but different. A selected history of Dev rather breathlessly testifies to as much:

Artist Type: 

Jonah Matranga

Jonah Matranga is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under both his own name and Onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands Far, New End Original (an anagram of “onelinedrawing”) and Gratitude. Jonah Matranga grew up in and around Boston, Massachusetts. He left in 1987 to attend Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where he majored in English. After College, Jonah moved to Sacramento, where he lived for 8 years. Jonah married in April 1994, and his daughter was born that August.

Chris Murray

Chris Murray is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and guitarist working primarily in the genre of ska. In Canada, he was a member of the now-defunct ska band King Apparatus. He now lives in the Los Angeles, California area, where he performs regularly, both solo as well as with the Chris Murray Combo. Murray has performed throughout North America, Europe, Japan, and South America, and released several CDs on the Asian Man Records label.

Artist Type: 

My Friend the Chocolate Cake

Formed 1989 by David Bridie and Helen Mountfort (members of Not Drowning Waving) Like their former band, My Friend The Chocolate Cake's music can be seen to straddle the worlds of ambient and world music, with an emphasis on piano and violin-led acoustic music. Influences range from the obvious (such as Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Celtic folk music), to the less obvious (such as John Cale and Talk Talk).

Artist Type: 

Scott Kelly

Scott Kelly is one of three founding members of Oakland, California, United States experimental metal band Neurosis. Has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes Of Neurot, Blood and Time and his solo acoustic project. He has contributed guest vocals on three Mastodon recordings, Aqua Dementia from the album Leviathan (2004), Crystal Skull, from Blood Mountain (2006) and the title-track off Crack the Skye (2009).

Artist Type: 

Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter (born in Moscow, Idaho on October 21, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band (as Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band). Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine. Born to two neuroscientists, Ritter bought his first guitar from the local K-MART after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic Girl From the North Country.

Artist Type: 

Ben Harper

Ben Harper (born in Pomona, CA, on 28 October 1969) is an American Grammy-winning singer and songwriter. As well as solo albums, he has recorded as Ben Harper and Tom Freund, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Ben Harper And The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, and Ben & Ellen Harper.

Harper grew up listening to blues, folk, soul, RnB, and reggae. Harper's blend of groove-laden funky soul and folky handcrafted acoustics helped him to gain cult status during the course of the 1990s and widespread attention toward the end of the decade. Harper combines elements of classic folk singers, blues revivalists and jam bands and is embraced by critics and college kids alike. Harper's body of work sells consistently and he tours constantly, building a solid, dedicated fan base.

Harper began playing guitar as a child in his hometown of Claremont, California (in California's Inland Empire). He eventually specialized in the acoustic slide guitar (Weissenborn guitars). As a young man, he recorded an LP (Pleasure and Pain) with fellow folk guitarist Tom Freund. After this limited edition record, Harper got a record deal with Virgin Records, who released his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World (1994).

This was followed by the incendiary Fight For Your Mind (1995) which became a college radio favorite and generated an abundance of songs which still fill his set list to this day.
In 1999 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Harper met Jack Johnson, who was unknown at the time and had not recorded. Harper obtained a demo tape of 12 of Johnson's songs that he forwarded to his producer, J.P. Plunier, with whom Johnson recorded his first album.

From early on in his career, his music received more attention in Europe than it did in his home country. While he was a well-known and respected figure in the States, in countries like France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, and The Netherlands he was a star, receiving a great deal of airplay and critical acclaim. His popularity in Europe is such that he was French Rolling Stone Magazine's "Artist of the Year" (Artiste De L'Année) in 2003, and his tour that year for Diamonds on the Inside played to packed arenas across the continent.

In 2004, Harper recorded the album "There Will Be a Light" as the collaboration Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

In October 2004, Harper participated in the Vote for Change concert tour organised to benefit Moveon.org and encourage people in the swing states to vote during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

Over the summer of 2005, when the Zooma tour scheduled with Trey Anastasio and various side stage performers was cancelled, Harper took on a tour of more private clubs/venues such as the Avalon Ballroom in Boston, the Tabernacle in Atlanta, and a full-band acoustic performance at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. This series of concerts saw the debut of a number of new Harper songs, such as "Get It Like You Like It" and "Dressed In Black."

In 2006, Harper released the double album Both Sides of the Gun which debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts.
Next Harper did a worldwide tour, with support from Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley on the North American leg.
In 2007, Harper released the album Lifeline, recorded in Paris just after his tour.

In 2009, Harper recorded the album "White Lies for Dark Times", as the collaboration Ben Harper and Relentless7.

In 2014, Harper recorded the album "Childhood Home" as the collaboration Ben & Ellen Harper.

In 2018, Harper recorded the album "No Mercy in This Land" as the collaboration Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite. At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony, Harper's joint composition with Charlie Musselwhite, "No Mercy In This Land", was named as 'Song of the Year'. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.