Tablature a good resource

Guitar is the most popular instrument to play or attempt to play in our lovely USA. What are the reasons for this? Simple, guitar players are sexy and who doesn't want to be sexy? You know, learn three chords and sing with a monotone/whinny voice. You'll be having lady luck in no time. Now, while many of us are content doing just that, there are others who feel an urge to take their playing to another level.

What do I mean by "another level"? I mean learning how to construct an original sound, and create a guitar solo over various changes and melody lines. This is no easy task for well, anyone. It requires a significant amount of effort and overall, practice. One way to help conquer the almighty guitar is to take what's already been given to you. Think of all the ridiculously talented guitarists out there and all the music they have produced. This tool is so valuable and you dont even need to know how to read music! Tablature, is provided free on thousands of websites and can help you learn your favorite song or, work on something very challenging.

The quality of the Tab is something you have to figure out, with so many options out there, some are bound to be shitty. Here are some of my personal favorites:

http://www.emilstabs.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page~~> Phish Tabs
http://www.wholenote.com/~~> Scales and other workouts plus Tabs
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/~~> Tons of Tablature from various artists

Goodluck, and have fun!!

A Blurb on The Archive and why it's so Great

The Archive. Seems simple enough right. A Website boasting free live music downlads from hundres of artist for free. The website (linked to at the right) is a vertible vault of current live music, bands from the most well know like the Grateful Dead to the ones even I have never heard of. All you have to do to encounter unlimited downloading fun is go to the website, click the audio link at the top of the page then browse the music archives. Whatever your prefered format the archives got it, FLAC, shn, MP3 they're all here. So what are you waiting for suckas!!!!! just a click away is more music that you could ever imagine, so get outta here and get downloading.

K-Theory
(hey while your at it try to discover something new, there are some awsome up and comers with music posted on this site)

NEW earS

Hola audiophiles,
This is the pilot post for NEW earS, a new blog segment where you can get the scoop on some up-and-coming bands, that can be seen ripping it up in the area. So go check them OUT!!


This week I want to get you up to speed about the rising Boston band SUCKA BROWN. Since the end of 2003, these boys have been shreddin' it up and down the east coast with their poppy, funkified grooves and energetic stage presence. Led by mastermind frontman Brendan Hall, the band has been on a rampage, doing over 100 club and college shows in their first 18 months and regularly touring in the greater Boston area. On a number of occasions they have ventured north to our lovely town and rocked the socks off crowds at both the Metronome and Nectar's nightclubs. Their killer rhythm section, comprised of Todd Denman (guitar), Scott Sowden (Bass), and my personal friend and high school alum Matt Slowik (Drums) create a cosmic and steady beat, with rhythmic changes that are tighter than a wedgie from the governor of California. Their style is a bouncy and spirited high you shouldn't dare miss. So don't be a sucka, check out their new full-length album entitled Extra Medium and catch them live at Club Metronome, Thursday October 13th, for the CD release party, right here in B-TOWN!!!
Peace


P.S.
Here is one of the first tunes I heard by them off the Orange EP entitled "Gravity My Enemy"
For more info and downloads check their site!

Heady Goodies

What's goin on? Good news. Not another show post, however, I do have a sick tab site with lots of great bands. Give it a look. http://www.rukind.com

Another cool site with strictly Grateful Dead tabs can be found here: http://www.tabalorium.com/browse/Grateful_Dead.html

Lookin' for upcoming festivals..check out this festival guide and choose the area of the country that you would like to visit and see great music, here:
http://www.jambase.com/festivals/

Into the Reggae scene? Like going to festivals? This site is for you:
http://www.reggaefestivalguide.com/festivals.html

and for those of you who are into the Burlington reggae scene... Every Sunday night at Reuben James, several wellknown DJ's spin reggae, and also at Red Square on Tuesday nights.

Peace & Enjoi.

Long Weekend Pt. 2

After a long an arduous day of classes on Friday my weekend continued. As soon as class was over it was into the car with my friends Zack and Mike and off to Northampton Mass for another night of BP. After the Burlington show i had the pleasure of meeting Tom Mckee keyboardist for BP, and my friends and i begged a couple requests out of him for the Northampton show. It was time to see if they would actually play any of our requests.
The venue was about half full when we arrived one song into BP's set and never got anyomore crowded. This in essence is a real BP show; small, dark, and down and dirty. After hear the end of a set opening Leave the Light on the band went straight into one of my personal favorites, A Wonderful Day. BP finished off the non stop first set with Celebrity(dirty jam)>Inside the Tinman>Too Late Too Call(My request)>Inside the Tinman. But man if BP didnt play the best second set i have seen maybe all year (baring the Biscuits at the Sonar Lounge in Baltimore 2005-05-27).
Right away you knew this set was special with the crowd favorite State Police to open the set. Highlights include, well hell the entire second set was HOT HOT HOT. The boys succesfuly tore up a cover of Radioheads National Anthem, played a down and dirty version of arguably one of their best songs, Lets Start a Gang, and ended the show, sans encore, with a face melting Dead Clowns>Boy. With two awsome shows under my belt for the weekend, the show in Northampton in my opion being a much hotter BP show, sunday brought the promise of Umphree's Mcgee and more good music. By the way as for a review goes id give the show a solid A-

More to come
K-Theory
(all photos from Mike Jones)
P.S. BISCUITS TONITE BIATCH!!!

So, I had all intentions of going to see John Brown's Body at a Higher Ground on Saturday night. I have heard from friends that their scene is upbeat and true to their roots reggae heritage. But, unfortunately, you know how one thing leads to another and another... and well, I got side-tracked and headed out for drinks instead. As my friend and I wandered by the various watering holes along the way, I could not help but notice the grooves spilling out from the patio of the Red Square. Though, at the time, my perception may have been a bit foggy and my mind keen to distractions, the calling beats were fresh and, like the sirens, they pulled me in.
Aside from the band's tell-tale title, the Patio Kings ruled the square with their funk and willingness to explore bits of space. They played originals as well as a few surprising covers like the catchy Jay-Z tune "Big Pimpin'", which was also covered by Phish on the 2004 Summer Tour. Inspite of the chilly weather, people were rockin' out to the soulful sound of their lyrics acompanied with their creative twist, the saxophone.
Even though my initial plans to see John Brown's Body went up in smoke, I went home an even happier girl after a night spent with the jammin' Patio Kings. I highly reccomend that you check the Patio Kings out. You can sample a bit of what I just babbled on about at their website: http://www.patiokings.com. I will also try to post news about this heady band, as I am able. For now, there's "nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile."

There's nothing sexy about beaster.

What up. Not a bad weekend for burlington's music scene. I dropped by Higher Ground for a while and caught some of John Brown's Body, a talented reggae group, full of energy and fun. The following night, Umphree's McGee played in the Higher Ground ballroom, while Morgan Heritage played in its showcase lounge. Both said to have been an awesome time. This Thursday's lookin good with Particle featuring Gaby La La. For those who've got 14 bucks and are into eletronic or jam-rock music, this one won't do you wrong. Particle can cover such a wide assortment of genres, that they become hard to pinpoint, but are tirelessly pleasing. On Friday night, we are priveledged to have the Machine, (An evening of Pink Floyd in the spirit of the groundbreaking animals tour in '77). This show will feature the music of Animals, Wish You Were Here and Darkside of the Moon. On that following Friday, the Machine will play an all request show. More to come. Listen & enjoy.

Long Weekend

(WARNING!!!! This will be a lengthy post. Sorry.)

So this past weekend was amazing. Aside from the normal weekend being amazing stuff i got to see three awsome shows. My weekend began unofficially on thursday night when The New Deal and Brothers Past came to Higher Ground for a very special full club event featuring two sets from each band. The prospect of this show had me very excited but upon gwetting to the show i realized the only problem, both bands would be playing interlocking sets in both rooms. This meant that in essence you could not see both full sets for both bands. Whatever, I was to excited to care!! This show turned out to be one of the best shows overall that i have seen in a while. Being a very big brothers Past(BP) fan i decided to watch the whole of their two sets while only catching what bits of The New Deal(TND) that i could.
Now as for the show, DANCE PARTY THROW DOWN. I pitty anyone who likes to seriously get down and missed this show. Brothers Past first set was fairly standard, with some excellent energy twoards the end of the set. Moments that stick out are the set closing Big Blue Apples>Getaway Somehow>Big Blue Apples, and the debut of a new Tommy H. song Swimming at Night (it was pretty cool with a sort of Radiohead feel to it). During set break i caught a bit of TND's first set. and GOD DAMN if they werent tearing B-Town a new one. This was honestly some of the most high energy TND i've heard in a while. But then it was back to BP for the second set. BP came out with intent to destroy the mind of anyone in the room, opening the set with an amzing seuge of Bitch & Candy>Lines>Bitches & Candy>Astphadel>Bitches & Candy. This seuge featured one of my personal favorite BP songs, Astphadel, which had an amzing sort of dark jam into it featuring some strange vocal samples. The highlight of the show however was yet to come. BP follwed this huge set opening segment with their songs Everything Must Go>One Rabbit Race>Astphadel to close the set. The jam into One Rabbit Race was INSANE!! Drum and Bass faced paced and aggresive as hell, this is BP.
The end of TND's second set featured BP Guitarist Tom Hamilton ojn an excellent jam. TND finished the show with a body rockin' combonation of old and new, ending the set with the classic Back to the Middle and encoring with their recent albums title track Gone, Gone, Gone. All elements considered this show was very good B/B+.

well thsi post has gone VERY long so i will finish the story of my weekend at another time, probably tommorow morning.
till the Stay up and go see some damn music
K-Theory.
(all photos from Brotherspast.com)

Umphrey's Mcgee

Sunday night was one of the most powerful and awesome nights of music I've seen at Higher Ground in a long time. Umphreys was in town and boy did they make their presence felt. It was my first time seeing Umphreys and I have to say I was impressed. Like many others I had listened to their music on more than one occassion and it did nothing for me, but I like to see a band live before I make any final judgements.

Umphreys is a 6 piece band that features Brendan Bayliss (guitar, vocals), Jake Cinninger (guitar), Joel Cummins (keyboards), Andy Farag (percussion), Kris Myers (drums) and Ryan Stasik on bass. They are a progressive rock band that draws on many different influences to create a truly original sound. Rather than sticking to normal song stucture, they incorporate intense and very flashy compositional sections to just about every song. It becomes almost surreal while watching them switch from section to section with such ease and dead-on accuracy. Guitarists (Bayliss and Cinninger) are of virtuoso status, both getting ample time to show off their talents through the all-mighty guitar solo. Special guests were also all over this show, Burlington's own Dave "the truth" Grippo and trumpet/vocal virtuoso Jennifer Hartswick joined the boys on stage in the first set for a killer "Big Heart" - my personal favorite of the night. The Truth returned to stage in the second set for "Wife Soup." Jen also returned in the second set for a funky "Ain't No Sunshine" written by Bill Wilthers. Guitarist Seth Yacavone also sat in on a few numbers "Thin Air" and a blistering version of Eric Calpton's "Cocaine."

Sick show, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, for everyone who has yet to see Umphrey's..... GO SEE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exciting Music News

Thats right folks their back! For one night only, this coming Tuesday, September 13, The Fabulous Disco Biscuits will be playing a show in New York City. The proceeds of this concert will all go to the vicitims of Hurricane Katrina. As many of you know just a few weeks ago the Biscuits said goodbye to their drummer of ten years, Mr. Sam Altman, as he heads off to become a full time Med-School student. Playing the set at the Biscuits upcoming show will be longtime collaborator Mike Greenfield (The Alley) and longtime friend and drumming god Joe Russo. Russo will also be joining special guest Scott Metzger (Rana) in their band The Flying Circus, only their second show ever. To cap of what already is shaping up to be an amazing evening Chris Kuroda of Phish fame will be running the lights for the entire show!!!!! Thats all for now looking foward to seeing all of you next tuesday night in NYC.

For all the official information regarding this show go the Biscuits Website at: http://www.discobiscuits.com/

Be there or be bummed about it the next day!
K-Theory

P.S. Looking foward to seeing all of you guys at BP tonight.

Lost Weekend

Not much to write. I had a long and musicless weekend. Never fear i have an entire weekend of Brothers Past sitting gently on the horizon to tempt me. So heres to next week!!!

Stay up-Free Heady
K-Theory

(WATCH OUT FOR THE MONSTERS!)

Upcoming tunes that you should check out.

What's goin on? Good start to the year with the Benevento Russo Duo this weekend, featuring The Low Life, and Drums and Tuba. The Duo tore it up and I really loved Gordon's touch. Some shows worth checking out in the near future are as follows. The New Deal at Higher Ground featuring Brothers Past on 9/8, John Brown's Body on the tenth, Particle on 9/15, and the Pink Floyd cover band, The Machine, on the sixteenth & seventeenth. Next month, I know I'll be at Lotus, Sound Tribe and Capleton, hope I'll be seein' you there. If you feel like venturing outside of Burlington and have the gear to get there, you should check out Little Feat on October 6th, at the Paramount Theater in Rutland, VT. Peace & enjoy.

This Week at Higher Ground

Hey everyone. just wanted to inform ya'll about the great week of music we have coming up at Higher Ground. Just some of the announced acts for this week are as follows, New Deal and Brother's Past, John Browns Body and Umphrey's Mcgee. Check these out if possible they should be a great time. Also one of my all time favorite musicians B.B. King will be performing this week on Wednesday Sept. 7th on The Green at the Shelburne Museum, pricey but totally worth it, he is turning 80! Thats it for now, peace

BENEVENTO-RUSSO DUO @ Higher Ground 9/1/05

Greetings,
I just want to again welcome you all to the FreeHeady blog of music and mayhem. Lets get the ball rolling with some show reviews, just one of the many kinds of posts we hope to see here. Feel free to discuss any number or genre of shows you have attended, we want to hear about it!

NO BETTER WAY, to start the school year than seeing these guys right here in Burlington. Not only was the music intense, but Marco and Joe put on quite a stage show, joking back and forth and with the audience. Just when things couldn't have gotten better, out came Mike Gordon with some sick bass grooves. The two-set show closed with a killer encore of 'My Pet Goat'. Great time, great show. 10/10

Welcome to FreeHeady.com

Hey everyone we are creating this blog from UVM, we will be talking about music and other good stuff. Check back soon for updates.

Enjoy,
The Free Heady Crew