John was recently interviewed by Ryan Quinn and Mike Kelley of After Hours Radio from Rice Lake, Wisconsin. They talked about the economics of touring, tips for bands just starting out touring and the new album Don’t Let Me Stay.
I’m honored to be nominated for a Pitch Music Award in the Singer-Songwriter Category. There are a lot of great folks nominated in the category including Jenny Carr, Kirstin Paluden and Patrick Deveny. You can see the ballot and vote by going here:
http://polls.pitch.com/polls/kcp/musicshowcase/vote/
There are great artists nominated in each category and my nomination would never had been possible if it weren’t for the work of the Prodigal Sons: Chris Wagner, Mike Alexander, Dan Dumit, Michael Walker, Sam Hughes and (newest Prodigal Son) Go Go Ray (on the drum kit).
Every nominee affirms that the term “local act” is about as far from a pejorative as it gets when you live in Kansas City. I’ve been lucky enough to tour and play with a lot of local acts in other cities; KC is nurturing more talent than most other places. I’m really excited about what this city is putting on the stage night after night.
Download John Velghe and His Prodigal Sons’ new Live EP Live from the Midwestern Musical Company directly from our BandCamp page.
The Live EP contains four songs from our debut show at the Midwestern Music Co. We’ll also have this as part of our Drop Card release along with the six-song EP from fall 2010. When you come to a show you can buy the Drop Card for $5 and get all ten songs.
The tracklist includes:
Owe My Soul
Big Tent Revival
New Madrid (Uncle Tupelo)
I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges)
CoverMe Songs.com named our version of “I Wanna Be Your Dog” one of their ten best covers of 2010. If you follow the site, you know they hear a LOT of covers. They did a list of the 50 Best Covers of 2010. Given all the material they listen to (hundreds of songs this past year) I was surprised and honored to be named one of the Ten Best.
Besides being named, the real honor was in the fact that Ray Padgett and Company truly took the time to listen and embraced the place I tried to come from in recording this version of Iggy’s song. Iggy Pop is, for me, more than a legendary rock performer, more than the swagger and brashness he’s known for. You can’t write songs like Iggy did without a tremendous amount of sensitivity and honesty.
So to the folks at Cover Me, not only do I say thanks for the acknowledgement, but thank you so much for appreciating where Iggy was coming from.
What they said:
10. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
John Velghe
Download MP3
There are few phrases in the English language less romantic than “I wanna be your dog.” John Velghe and duet partner Abigail Henderson turn Iggy’s grimey assault on its head, though, discovering unlikely beauty in lines like “So messed up, I want you here / In my room, I want you here.” If Velghe sang this to you, you’d let him be any animal he wanted.
November 2, 2010
KC music veteran takes solo excursion
New music from John Velghe
John Velghe
‘EP’
Nope Records
Observers of music in Kansas City over the last decade or so likely have heard John Velghe’s work. Stints with the Daybirds, famous fm and most recently the Mendoza Lie have kept Velghe visible to local fans. He’s also worked as a recording engineer and film score composer. With this eponymous EP, Velghe adds solo artist to an impressive body of work.
From the jangle and crunch of the opening track, “Little Teamsters,” through what may be the most impressive Iggy Pop cover yet, the six songs here are a finely honed mix of well-crafted hooks, earnest delivery and skillful musicianship. While Velghe gets a hand from some talented friends, he does a remarkable job handling multiple instruments himself. It’s no small feat to perform guitar, drums, piano and more all by oneself, but to make the mix feel like an inspired ensemble and not just overdubbed parts is even trickier. On tracks such as the lovely, somber “Wrecking,” Velghe does just that.
Some of the more memorable performances appear in songs that feature guest artists. “Did You Fall Down?” and “Time on Their Side” would be a great pop songs, but Michael Walker’s trombone and Sam Hughes’ sax push the hook factor over the top, resulting in tracks that will stick in the listener’s consciousness. Dan Dumit’s restrained drumming adds much to the atmosphere of “Long Face” and the almost archetypal American pop/rock of “Little Teamsters.”
Most impressive, though, is Velghe’s cover of Iggy Pop’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” featuring backing vocals from Atlantic Fadeout’s Abigail Henderson and upright bass from Chris Wagner. Velghe’s reworking of the Iggy classic is spare, stark, and frankly, pretty damned amazing. Those who thought Jim Campilongo’s tortured take on “No Fun” earlier this year was the end-all of emotive Iggy covers may want to reconsider.
Velghe’s song is so haunting and beautiful that even if the record weren’t already filled with five other tracks that have an extraordinary amount of heart, it’d be worth picking up just for this one.
— j howell { special to ink }
Read more: http://www.inkkc.com/content/kc-music-veteran-takes-solo-excursion-0#ixzz14EzZSjj
Mr. Pete Dulin at Present Magazine has posted a review of the John Velghe : ep. Pete’s words speak for themselves. What’s best is that Pete credits the amazing people who made the EP possible: Dan Dumit, Chris Wagner, Abigail Henderson, Mike Walker, and Sam Hughes.
Among the graciousness is:
Velghe sings with an emotional wallop that sneaks up softly and deserves to be experienced without disruption.
The format of an EP can work for or against an artist. Within the space of a few songs, an ambitious musician can inadvertently draw attention to weaknesses in a song that is not quite ready. Or, a talented songwriter and musician such as John Velghe can display an impressive depth and range.
John Velghe’s self-titled EP steps beyond a familiar yet effective guitar-driven songwriting style. “Time on Their Side” and “Wrecking” best exemplify Velghe’s penchant for composing songs with an intimate sound and lyrical sketches that veer down uncharted avenues worth exploring for artist and listener.
The new EP is available at BandCamp now. You can download it straight from the site and name your own price.
Enjoy.
http://johnvelghe.bandcamp.com/
The EP has “dropped.” That’s music biz parlance for “been released.”
You can download the EP from iTunes or from Amazon.com.
Pretty soon our friends who subscribe to eMusic, Rhapsody and any of the other online music download sites will be able to get the record from their favorite site.
John’s playing with his Prodigal Sons on November 5th at Midwestern Music Company in Kanas City.
Upcoming show and tour dates will be forthcoming.
Thanks.
This instrumental composition, Clyfford Still, was used in the documentary film “The Next American Dream” and a few other places. I started writing this song on my birthday. It was built around the piano line that sort of mimicked the sound of my dog, walking across the wooden floor above my head. He was 14 years old at the time. I lost him not too long after this track was done, so it stands as not only a memory of him, but a work of some emotional importance for me.
[wpaudio url="http://augusthour.com/music/clyf_0606.mp3" text="John Velghe - Clyfford Still"]
Please enjoy it. Please don’t steal it.
Copyright 2009, John Velghe, BMI. All rights reserved.
Songs are society’s mirror. Throughout our history, songs have reflected the tones, the attitudes, and the events of every decade. They have prepared us for war, and marched us through it; saluted our heroes and ridiculed our fools and villains; marked every kind of national and personal disaster; noted every trend and passing fad; and expressed the feelings of rage and resentment that we, as a worried world, repress.
Songwriters don’t make history; they sing it. And if the song isn’t pretty — if it’s too loud, its message is mixed, its tempo is feverish, and its tone is threatening and ominous — look at the life around you. History is singing. Don’t try to stop the song. Right or wrong, the song is inevitable. It’s a photograph. And all of us are posing for it.
Arthur Hamilton
