My memory is not as good with dates as it use to be. I want to say I met Brian about a year ago but it seems I have always known him. The Cincinnati Blues Society was having a contest for "Best Blues Solo Musician". They were doing it at the Blue Wisp and the contest became to big for the venue. Arnold's agree to have the overflow musicians and Brian was one of them. He not only blew all of Arnold's away but also the crowd. He won that year. I think he was 12 years old or maybe 18. Remember I have a poor memory. I am proud of Brian and it has been a delight to watch his journey. I present to you, Brian Keith Wallen, Professional Blues Musician.I'm Brian Keith Wallen, and I perform at Arnold's on the third Tuesday of every month for Bluesday Tuesday's. For this week's top ten list, I'm bringing you a top ten list of singer-songwriters that you may have never heard of. Of course, I may also be a singer-songwriter that you have never heard of, and if that's the case, please check out my website, http://www.briankeithwallen.com/. I hope that this list leads you to some enjoyable new music.
Thanks!
-Brian
Top 10 Singer/Songwriters You
May Have Never Heard Of
10. Griffin House
A Springfield, Ohio native,
Griffin House turned down a full ride athletic scholarship to Ohio State to
study music at Miami University in Oxford. It ended up working out pretty well.
He has toured with such acts as John Mellencamp and Mat Kearney, and now
resides in Nashville. He played at the 20th Century here in town not too long
ago. The album "Flying Upside Down" features Benmont Tench,
keyboardist for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
Recommended Album
"Flying Upside Down"
Recommended Song
"One Thing"
9. Pete Yorn
Pete Yorn is probably the most
commercially successful guy on this list, but he's still unknown to the vast
majority of people, especially once you get past his one radio hit, "Life
On A Chain". He has done some pretty interesting things over the years,
including releasing an album with Scarlett Johansson. He sounds sort of like a
folkier R.E.M.
Recommended Album
"Back and Fourth"
Recommended Song
"Last Summer"
8. Chris Knight
Slaughers, Kentucky is the
hometown of Chris Knight. And it's evidently a pretty rough place, judging by
the lyrics of Chris Knight's songs. His rootsy, extremely raw sound is a
fitting backdrop for lyrics filled with murder, injustice, and the ugly side of
life. A cross between Tom Waits and John Mellencamp. Which is definitely a good
thing.
Recommended Album
"A Pretty Good Guy"
Recommened Song
"Down The River"
7. Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien is the best
songwriter in bluegrass. His lyrical depth far exceeds the majority of
bluegrass songsmiths, and his music always conveys emotion. He is also a hugely
gifted instrumentalist, being equally adept at guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin,
mandocello, and bouzouki. I saw him playing with Bryan Sutton in Hamilton last
year, and it was a wonderful experience. Buy "Real Time", a duo album
he recorded with Darrell Scott, to hear two of the musicians on this list. The
Bob Dylan of bluegrass.
Recommended Album
"Real Time"
Recommended Song
"Brother Wind"
6. Rich Mullins
Rich Mullins was born in
Richmond, Indiana, so he's an area musican. He played piano, guitar, hammered
dulcimer, lap dulcimer, accordion, and Irish whistle, to name a few. He is
unknown to many because he was classified as a "Contemporary
Christian" musician, and he died in a tragic auto accident in 1997. The
reality is that his music is much bigger than one genre or faith, and if you
give his music a chance, I think you'll be impacted by it, as I have been.
Recommended Album
“A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a
Ragamuffin Band”
Recommended Song
“Calling Out Your Name”
5. Ray LaMontagne
Ray is getting more attention
these days, yes, but most people still know him as the guy that sings
"Trouble". There is so much more to Ray LaMontagne than that. His
voice is one of the most emotive and unique you'll ever hear, and the impact of
his lyrics is astounding. There aren't enough superlatives to describe this
guy.
Recommended Album
“God Willing & The Creek
Don't Rise”
Recommended Song
“Let It Be Me”
4. Ryan Bingham
I love Ryan Bingham. He is raw,
rootsy, and full of soul. I've been listening to this guy for several years,
since his first album came out in 2007. He has gotten more recognition lately because
of a song placement in the movie, "The Weary Kind", but he is still
largely an unknown. He has mastered the balance between great music and great
lyrics. Some of his songs absolutely rock, musically, while still having the
kind of artistry in the lyrics that takes you aback.
Recommended Album
“Junky Star”
Recommended Song
"The Poet"
3. Richard Thompson
RT is one of those guys who is
universally respected amongst musicians, but not that well known to anyone
else. He is one of the best guitar players in the world, and was actually
ranked in the top 20 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone. His songs have
been recorded by Robert Plant, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, and plenty
of others. He's been doing it since the 1960's, and he is only getting better.
I saw him at the 20th Century recently, and was so impressed that I went to see
him again in Louisville a couple of weeks later. Some of his music is solid,
straight ahead rock, and some of it is classic folk. Either way, you can't go
wrong.
Recommended Album
"Mock Tudor"
Recommended Song
"Shoot Out the
Lights"
2. Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott is my all time
favorite songwriter, and a criminally underappreciated musician. He plays well
over a dozen instruments, and recently toured the world with Robert Plant's
Band of Joy. His songs have been recorded by country music heavyweights like
the Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, and many
others, but oddly enough, he isn't a country artist. He is a fusion of blues,
folk, bluegrass, country, gospel, and rock, and his songs are truly moving. Buy
his stuff. You won't regret it.
Recommended Album
"A Crooked Road"
Recommended Song
"The Open Door"
1. Townes Van Zandt
For about a year now, I've been
conducting a social experiment. At almost every show, I will ask if anyone in
the audience knows who Townes Van Zandt is. 90% of the time, nobody does. 10%
of the time, maybe one person, or two at the most, will have heard of him. This
is almost a criminal shame. Townes is one of the best damn songwriters who has
ever walked this earth, and the list of people that agree with that statement
includes Neil Young, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Lyle
Lovett, Norah Jones, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Caleb Followill, Gillian
Welch...I could go on forever. He is the Vincent Van Gogh or the Ernest
Hemingway of songwriting. He lived his whole life in the depths of depression,
sacrificing his health, happiness, and personal well being for "The Sake
of the Song", as his first album was titled.
To be great, you have to be
willing to go to the dark places. Townes lived his whole life in the dark
places. He died on New Years Day in 1997 at 52 years of age, his body finally
succumbing to the years of substance abuse brought on by a man trying to escape
from the pain. Listen to Townes. It will change you.
Recommended Album
"Townes Van Zandt"
or "Live At The Old Quarter"
Recommended Song
"Rake"
