No Borders

Having had a few days to let Sunday's show, (No Borders), sink in, it's really starting to grow on me. There were quite a few last minute changes (long story) so it didn't end up quite as planned but (speaking very personally!), I like the blend of material from relatively new artists and newer material from veterans.

The show starts with a straight-ahead rocker from Britain's Kasabian. Up next is an extended cut from The Stone Roses. This song takes a while to get going but be patient. It has a great blend of percussive groove with rock. The following songs feature the distinctive vocals of Chris Cornell (Audioslave) and Matthew Bellamy (Muse).

Our first "featured artist" is Colin Hay. Colin first came to prominence in the early eighties as singer/songwriter with Australia's "Men at Work" ("Who can it be now", "Down Under"). It was a listener who turned me on to his current solo material (which has been featured in the soundtracks to "Scrubs" and "Garden State"). I'm still catching up on his material but am really enjoying his gift for songwriting, especially the storytelling of his lyrics. (He also has a 'Barenaked Ladies' sense of humour when it comes to lyrics). Colin is on tour on the US east coast in April/May and then hops over to BC and Alberta in July/August. Very worth catching! Check his website for details: http://www.colinhay.com/

From Colin, we move to a true surprise (for me): Rik Emmett. Rik is probably best known as singer/guitar player for Canadian power trio Triumph. He has grown into a remarkably versatile artist. The cut we selected is an acoustic piece that is as far removed from 'power trio' as you could possibly imagine. Rik is also on tour. Check: http://www.rikemmett.com/.

We follow Rik with a cut that might suggest we're 'Living in the past': a brilliant, acoustic based cut from a classic band (you'll have to listen to find out who).

The show closes with an artist that never ceases to amaze me: Jeff Beck. The first cut has a great groove to it (and a very wide dynamic range - if you don't have a lot of bass on your speakers, you may think the song has stopped at a couple of points). His ability to pull sounds out of a guitar that I don't hear anyone else doing is quite remarkable. You will find yourself wondering when he's using a bottleneck and when he's doing wild string bends coupled with skilled use of the vibrato bar. The second cut is a live blues cut. Listen to the nuances he puts into each note. Amazing! On one note, he bends the string so much you wonder how the neck didn't snap, let alone the string. Still producing cutting edge material after all these years!

Cheers,

Michael