Mike Doughty – I Can’t Believe I Found You In That Town

In 2004, on a little known beloved TV show called “Veronica Mars”, I heard my first Mike Doughty song. “I Hear The Bells” is a delicious taste of what was to come in Mike Doughty’s post-Soul Coughing solo career.

The really cool thing about Mike’s music is that distinctive voice and wit, on songs like “27 Jennifers” and “Looking at the World from the Bottom of the Well.”

By his ninth solo album, The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns, you’d figure he would have slipped into a comfortable pattern, but Mike Doughty is not that kind of artist. He is obsessively, constantly driven to sound new. The elegant, charming album swerves between lonesome country influences, and trap beats.

The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns was recorded during a transitional phase in Doughty’s life, in which he left New York, his home base since the late ‘80s, for the “fascinating, mysterious town” of Memphis, Tennessee. The low cost of living has given Doughty freedom to make experimental music in bars around the city, while completing the album with Queens, NY hip-hop producer Good Goose over the Internet.

The first single, “I Can’t Believe I Found You in That Town,” was inspired by a failed romantic connection in a grim city in the North of England. In a total of about 36 hours, Doughty became enchanted with a woman, came on too strong over Instagram, and then wrote a song about the botched encounter while stress-eating pastry in a pub, then racing back to his dressing room to work out the song on guitar.

For the new video Doughty taps into his NYC roots one more time to deliver a sweet tale of young love on the Coney Island boardwalk. All of the classic landmarks are there, like the Wonder Wheel and the Wild Mouse, not to mention a fair share of Mike Doughty t-shirts being worn by men, women, and children of all walks of life. What makes the seaside resort so unique is the people and the diverse collection of personalities that come together each summer to this bohemian paradise. Amongst the crowd is a young couple enjoying the sights and sounds of the night, but most importantly they’re enjoying each other’s company. It’s a little slice of unexpected young summer love and from the boardwalk to the beach it is a perfect sayonara to the summer.

Watch the video here.

Mike Doughty’s Official Website

Saint Adeline – Status Quo

NYC-based Saint Adeline is a close-knit indie band consisting of siblings Drew, Kasie and Chloe Gasparini. Though they’ve each pursued different outlets for artistic expression – Drew as a composer, Kasie as an actress, and Chloe as a solo artist – music has always brought them together, and Saint Adeline merges their eclectic passions into one beautiful sound.

A lifetime of practice became a reality October 2015, when the siblings finally joined forces to form Saint Adeline. The formation of the group happened almost by chance, when Drew asked Kasie and Chloe to join him on stage at Webster Hall. The chemistry between them was undeniable, and they knew right then that they had something special. To the trio, Saint Adeline is home. They write from the heart, they write from experience. The siblings’ bond solidify and strengthen their band and music. Given their varied backgrounds they each bring something different to the sound of the group.

“Status Quo” is a lively, harmony-filled folk-rock song off of Saint Adeline’s upcoming self-titled EP. Their sound is reminiscient of The Lumineers. Saint Adeline recently played at The Highline Ballroom and have an upcoming show at Rockwood Music Hall, one of my favorite venues, on December 15.

Connect with Saint Adeline:
Official Website
Facebook
SoundCloud
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#tbt Spin Doctors – Two Princes

Way back in the very late 80’s I used to go see the Spin Doctors at Wetlands playing with Blues Traveler. They were an awesome NYC band and I loved their music. They didn’t become famous for this song until a few years later when it was a massive hit.

Do you remember where you were when you hear “Two Princes?”