Blogging in B Minor

I was saddened to learn that Dan Fogelberg, one of my favorite, if not most favorite and inspirational songwriters had passed away this morning at 6:00am. He fought a brave 3-year battle with prostate cancer. Dan Fogelberg, in my opinion, was one of the best “storytellers” of our time. His songs, such as Same Auld Lang Syne, Longer, Heart Hotels and many others were written in a way that songwriters can only hope to write one day – and he did it in a way that seemed so effortless.

I remember when I heard the news back in 2004 that he had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and I was taken aback. Prostate cancer is a preventable disease (at least early detection is possible and thus, a strong chance of treating and beating it is possible) and he wasted no time in writing a very strongly worded “sermon” as he indicated on his home page at Dan Fogelberg.com that urged every man to stay on top of this and get a DRE and PSA test every year. On his birthday in 2005 I believe it was, he wrote a letter to his fans that was posted on his web site but after that there was no word from him or on his condition. I knew that he had moved back to Maine where he owned a home.

His primary residence to that point had been a sprawling ranch in Colorado called Mountain Bird Ranch. He named the ranch Mountain Bird after his last name – Fogel meaning Mountain and Berg meaning Bird. I noticed the estate went up for sale in 2005. Here are some pictures – the studio picture is beautiful – he recorded a lot here apparently – it’s sad to me to look at this.

I was able to see Dan live in 1991 and unfortunately that was the only time. He was to tour in 2004 and canceled the tour due to his diagnosis. He will be missed but his music lives on.

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I was watching Later…with Jools Holland. It’s a great show on Rave (Dish) and caught this band Duke Special. I had never heard them before (or the lead singer/songwriter Peter) but they are truly unique and quite brilliant.

Duke Special is one of a kind, a unique and talented young Belfast man whose bruised romanticism and soft Northern tinged vocals are at sharp juxtaposition with his wild dreadlocks, smudged eyeliner and unfeasibly wide trousers.

On stage, Duke Special explodes into musical mayhem the battered old trademark gramophone wheezes, huge cymbals clash, egg whisks and cheese graters break free from the kitchen, a stumpf fiddle screeches and the crushed velvet covered piano thumps and tinks in unison but its the very core of the songs, his heartfelt, passionate poems, that will remain in your head long after the lights have gone down.

On a more personal note, Peter (Duke Special) is a legend in many circles (Ireland, UK, and other areas of the EU). A talented musician playing for the love of it. He has relentlessly toured the UK and Ireland for the past 3+ years, playing in some terrible and some fantastic venues in order to get himself heard. Anyone who has seen him live will have instantly fallen in love with his incredible music, that ranges from the beautiful “Wake Up Scarlett” and “Love is a Series of Scars” to the up beat “Freewheel”.

The song below is called No Cover Up – a good piece of writing.

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Amy Winehouse has just started breaking in the US but has already had great success in the UK with a Brit Award and topping the UK charts with her album, Back in Black, back in December. The Back in Black album went straight to the Top 10 of the Billboard charts (#7) and sold more than 60,000 units in its first week of release here in the US.

She has a unique style with jazz influences – think Sarah Vaughan with some great, uniquely-styled soul added into the mix quite heavily. I’m a huge jazz/soul fan although I don’t write or play in this genre at all. Nonetheless, she takes it in a different direction. She’s a bit troubled at this point in her life unfortunately – it’s a well publicized fact but you have to appreciate the artistry and songwriting – she’s an incredible talent and if you haven’t heard of her you will.

Here is the video release for Back and Black, the key single from the album:

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This video montage to MercyMe’s amazing song “Hold Fast” is something that totally worth taking in. Writing about it here cannot even do it justice. The song itself moved me so much which I first heard it that I played it 5 times over. Even the lead singer of MercyMe said that when he started putting the chorus together he knew this was something special. Below the video, take a look at the interview with MercyMe about the writing of the song. Enough said – take a look…

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May as well put the other great cut by The Fray up. This is the video for Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray. Another great song. Isaac Slade, the lead singer, pianist and songwriter is a talented guy and for a band that just formed in 2002 they are tight.

The song “Over My Head (Cable Car)” was written about Isaac’s brother Caleb (whose nickname is “Cable Car”) who had been the first bassist for the band. Feeling Caleb was not helping them reach success, the band asked him to leave. In the music video for the song, Isaac’s youngest brother Micah was cast as a childhood version of Isaac. Isaac Slade went to Faith Christian Academy with Joe King

Another interesting note – this video was made on their own before they were signed by a record label.

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