It's been a long time since I did a Music Sunday post, so I figured it's about time! Right!?
Back in February I shared the amazing mash-up of Thinking Out Loud/I'm Not The Only One with Sam Tsui and Casey Breeves. I fell deeply in love with Casey's voice the first time I heard it, especially his lower range, and have been following him ever since and yesterday he posted a video with another collaboration that blows my mind and speaks to my music heart. This time it's with the 2014 winners of Britain's Got Talent, the music theater boyband Collabro. Collabro is 5 guys that have backgrounds in music theater. When they had their first addition for BGT they had only been singing together for about a month, but they blew the judges away, because boy can they sing and build a song up. You will most certainly hear more about these guys in the future. They are still young and I am sure they will evolve and grow over the years to come.
The song they are singing with Casey Breeves is a cover of Bob Dylan's Make You Feel My Love. There are 6 guys and a grand piano, and it will give you goosebumps. Collabro's second album, Act Two, was released in June and it is filled with goodies if you are into music theatre songs. I know I am!
Collabro have a lot in common with Home Free; first of all they won a televised talent show, they are five guys that can really sing, their songs are built up with their voices and harmonies (although Collabro also uses instrumental backgrounds), their fans are passionate and range from the young ones to the elderly, they share an obvious love and admiration for each other, they seem to be honestly impressed when one of the others sings, and they don't seem to mind sharing the spotlight with each other so there is no obvious front person - they take turns.
They are touring the UK next spring, and if I get the chance I might fly up there to catch them live.
I'll share three videos with you today. First out is the one already mentioned, the collaboration with Casey Breeves - Make You Feel My Love;
Here's their first audition for BGT, I swear I get tears in my eyes watching this;
This third video is a live video from Symphony Hall, Birmingham, this song is on their new album Act Two; Music Of The Night;
I just wanted to share my brand new Carina's Joys Of Life Facebook Page with all of my amazing readers! It would make me incredibly happy if you'd head over there and give it a like!
The other day I promised you an update on what's going on the Home Free world, so here it is.
First of all they have finished recording their upcoming album, which we still don't know the name for. They've said it will be released sometime in the fall, maybe September, maybe October. Around half of the songs on the album will be new, original songs and half will be covers. Among the originals we know there will be at least 2 Tim Foust originals and the first Austin Brown original. I CAN NOT WAIT!! They've also said we will see kind of a different side of them. I am very eager to find out all about it!
They also recorded the classic song Elvira together with the famous Oak Ridge Boys, which ORB say is amazing. The video is already shot. We don't know if this song will be on the album or if it's one of their videos outside of the albums. Either way, I am sure it will be absolutely epic! How can it not be?!
Speaking of epic, Home Free is currently filming a video for a Christmas song collaboration. And let me tell you, not just any collaboration. This song is part of no other than the legendary Kenny Rogers' upcoming Christmas Album, and of course I am sure it will be out of this world. I mean; it's Kenny Rogers, and Home Free, and a Christmas song. Can it get more epic than that? For real, doe!
Well, maybe it can; on the 17th of July Home Free had what was, according to Austin, a top 3 moment in their musical career. They had their debut at the Grand Ole Opry. And it was totally epic! From the moment they walked out on stage with the audience cheering wildly, to the low notes, the high notes, the beatboxing, and the sweet, sweet harmonies, Home Free rocked the socks off of everybody at the Opry. They got standing O's and I am sure they lifted the roof off the building! They were immediately invited back, on their debut night, which from what I understand is not all that common. It is said that the Opry tour guide was way in the back of the building and he was wondering what the Heck happened when he felt Tim's low notes. How cool is that!! Epic as can be for sure! I was listening to it live, of course, even though it was 3,30 am here. Fries all over the world, no matter what time it was, were listening with huge smiles on their faces and tears of pride and joy. I am extremely happy I got to be a small part of this moment that for sure is already historic in the history of the Grand Ole Opry. Epic history!
So, what else is going on? Oh, the Guys have joined Periscope (a live streaming app) and every once in a while they will appear live on there, sharing their daily lives with us Fries. Yesterday we got to hang with them twice, first before their rehearsal for the new tour, and then in the evening when they were sitting around a ring of fire (yes, literally) at their music retreat location. It is really cool to see the more relaxed sides of them, hear them joke and goof around and get a glimpse of their more personal sides.
I mentioned the new tour already, I believe it will kick off in September sometime. In the States of course. We still don't know anything about their European visit that is said to be worked on for next year. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it will all fall into place for them, and us European Fries!
The Guys are also busy filming more videos, most of them (maybe all of them) with the music video making geniuses that is FifGen Films, and attending fairs and doing other shows up until the time of the new tour starting. I am excited to see what they will come up with this time around. I am proud to be a Patron to help pay for the videos that is spreading the word about them around the world.
Wow, I get tired just writing about all they have been doing in just the last two months. They sure keep busy, and we as fans absolutely love it.
Ok, I think that is it, except for their latest video. This video is epic too. It's a medley/mash-up of 16 (although they have named only 15 there is actually 16 songs) of the past few years most popular pop songs. The arrangement is made by Austin and he has been working on for a couple of years, putting together a list of around 100 songs before he narrowed it down and put it all together. And let me tell you; it is sweet! And the video, it is hilarious! There are no words to properly describe it, but one of my favourite things about it is that it shows off the Guys different personalities.
If you are interested in listening to/watching the original songs in this mash-up you can head over to my friend Rachel Cheng's Buzzfeed Blog where she has them all listed.
But first, have a listen and a look at Home Free's video. And let me know if you can find the Stealth Chicken (I will tell you the history of it in an upcoming post).
Here's COUNTRY FRIED POP MEDLEY! (Don't forget to listen with headphones with a good bass, it will make all the difference in the world when listening to Home Free).
It's been a few weeks since my last post. A lot of things have been going on, both in my life and in the Home Free world. To begin with I was going to put it all into this post, but then I decided to separate the two. So here is what's been going on in my life the last couple of weeks;
I had a week's vacation/holiday/vacaciones/semester the other week because I had visitors here from Sweden. They didn't stay with us, but I wanted to have the chance to hang out with them as well as do my own things around the house. We had a fabulous week filled with field trips, adventure golfing, nice (and sometimes not as nice) food, beach, bathing, sun and lots of laughter. I got to spend 7 days in a row with my little sister and I can't even remember the last time that happened, I think maybe when I was 17 and still lived at home. That was like 10 years ago, or maybe 28. Wow! It was also the first time I spent that many days in a row with any of the other people that came here with her; her husband, their 16-year old son, their best friends and their 16-year old son.
One thing I did around the house was to finish building that table for our roof terrace. I am very happy with the result, but I think I might stain it before the end of the summer. I'd like it a bit darker than it is.
We were nine people seated around it without it feeling tight with space. I am very proud of myself. Next thing I'll build is either a bench to sit on by the table, or a desk for me. One thing is sure, I will build something more.
One of the places we went to is a town called Ronda which is set up in the mountains; it is thousands of years old with a whole lot of history. Ronda is divided by the El Tajo gorge (canyon, ravine) which steeps 100 m from the town. The views are spectacular from up there, and from down the gorge as well, although we didn't go down this time as it was way too hot a day to do that. The walk down is not too bad, but the walk up is a killer even without the heat. I didn't get many pics from Ronda, but I got this one of some of the view;
This is a pic I took a few years ago from halfway down the ravine;
Gorgeous isn't it!
As a writer I find inspiration in the fact that both Ernest Hemingway and Orson Wells spent several of their summers in Ronda's Old Town writing. Maybe I should take my laptop with me and go stay there for a couple of weeks sometime.
My family and friends all left a week and a half ago, I went back to work for two days and last weekend I got the worst stomach flu I've ever had, luckily I didn't vomit but it was still the worst. I am still not completely recovered, it will take a few more days to build up the energy. My boyfriend and son were quite worried about me for a while there, apparently I looked awful. I lost 3 kg (6 lbs) in 3 days, but I'm up most of it again. Hopefully I can keep the last kg off to make it somewhat worth the while. Tomorrow it's back to work, and in a few weeks my eldest nephew are coming for a 10 day stay. I think the plan is to go to Ronda again then, and we will go to Gibraltar and Tarifa, but I will tell you all about it when it happens. Maybe we will go down the gorge if we go to Ronda.
So, how about my writing? Well, I am writing on my book, even if not as much as I would like to. I find it hard with just getting to it, but when I do sit down and write time flies and I love it so much. If you support me on Patreon for as little as 1 dollar per month you can find the first 2 chapters (rough drafts) of my book there. Maybe I will put some more up there. My plan is to have the book ready for release before the end of this year. Your support would surely help inspire me! Thank you!
Also, I am trying to get my fingers out of my butt (i.e. stop procrastinating) and do my next assignment for the writer's course I am doing. It's been almost a year since I did the first assignment and I've been mentally stuck with this second one. If any of my readers out there know of any publications; magazines, e-zines and such; that publishes short stories (I need to be able to find them online, though, and they need to be in English) would you please give me a shout. It is part of this assignment. Thanks!
By the way, there is not many things better than listening to Home Free while traveling on a bus on a road climbing around the mountain, like a snake, with green valleys below you. Soothing and comforting. So, shockingly, here's a Home Free video to get you ready for my next post about what is happening in the world of Home Free. You can expect it within the next couple of days.
It's been a while since I've written anything about Home Free. They haven't released a new video since the beginning of June, and the Fries are eagerly, and patiently, waiting for a new one. We have been spoiled with a couple of videos a month, and this is the longest without a new one since I discovered them almost a year ago. But we all know it we'll get there eventually. Sooner rather than later, I hope!
Meanwhile I thought I'd say something about the song writing skills of their Bass Man, Mr Tim Foust, because it is worth mentioning. Tim writes beautiful songs, and funny songs, and really, really good songs, and sometimes he mixes it all into one. His songs makes me dream myself away to beautiful places, and they make me laugh out loud. They make me feel alive, sad, happy and normal.
This first song is called I've Seen and Tim co-wrote it with Henry O'Neill and Joe Bilotta (all three on lyrics, Tim and Joe on music) and it's about being away on the road, traveling and missing the one you love back home. It is one of my favourite songs from the Crazy Life album, because of it's smooth harmonies (buy Crazy Life here, here or here). The video is footage from Home Free touring, and it's beautiful, filmed by Kristine Slipson who also made this video.
The next song is funny and sing-along-friendly, and it has some of Rob's awesome whistling on it. This is written by Tim alone. Have a look at the video, it's pretty nice and features some of my fellow Home Fries, and has a cameo by Avi Kaplan from Pentatonix. And Austin is shirtless in it. Need I say more? Champagne Taste (On a Beer Budget) is a song about that wife that spends more money than the husband makes. According to Austin every guy has that experience.
The last song is an unofficial, unintended sequel to Champagne Taste (On a Beer Budget), and it is a beautiful Christmas song, from their Christmas album Full of Cheer, that also features some of Rob's whistling, and the first 40 times I saw this video I laughed out loud several times. Listen to the lyrics, and look at the video. It will probably take a few times to catch it all. This is beauty in so many ways and it also shows the Guys goofiness. This is also written by Tim alone.
So what to you think? Don't you just love it?
There are other songs on the Crazy Life album that Tim wrote, and we are hoping that some of the original songs on the next album will be by Tim, and we're hoping to hear some of the other Guys song writing skills as well. We're keeping our fingers crossed!
You can also check out Tim's solo album The Best That I Could Do, it's full of Tim's awesomeness!
- Maybe, I said, we can go there some day? I looked thoroughly at Sam, trying to catch even the slightest glimpse of life, but there was nothing. He was just laying there, not responding to anything I said or did. Not that I could blame him. He was, after all, hooked onto life support machines of all sorts, shapes and sizes. He had been for a few months now. There were wires and tubes everywhere, and beeps and all different kinds of other sounds. I usually had some soft music playing in the background in an attempt to drown it all out. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The doctors didn't give him any chance of waking up, but I just couldn't make the decision to turn the machines off. I wasn't ready. Not yet. "Maybe some day I will be", I thought to myself, "but not yet." Part of me knew I was being selfish, but the other part of me thought it would be selfish to turn it off. It wouldn't make his life easier, it would just make him dead. It would, however, make my life a lot easier. It would actually give me a life again. I wanted to say give me back my life, but nothing could ever do that, so it didn't feel right to say it. It would give me a life again. A different life from before, but a life compared to now. I looked at the sweet man that was the love of my life, trying to see him as he used to be, but it was hard. The memories were there, of course, but they were just memories, this was the reality now. Sam would never be what he used to be. He would never smile or laugh again, never cry or get angry either. I would never see the twinkle in his eyes when he thought of something funny, or have his hands softly touch my skin. I would never again hear him say my name, or feel the warmth inside my chest when he told me he loved me. Was he in pain? Obviously nobody knew, but I didn't think he was, it would have been an easy decision to make if I had thought so. I didn't want him to be in pain, I just wanted him alive. I sighed; "Alive, that's a joke, he's hardly alive. Neither am I although I'm a lot more alive than he is." - I'm sorry, Mrs Kent, it's time to change his sheets., a soft voice said behind me. One of the nurses looked at me with guilt in her eyes. - Thank you, nurse Colleen, you have no idea how much that means to us., I told her reassuringly. There was no point in having Sam's carers feel like they were in the way. Without them I would be even less alive than I already was, and Sam would most likely be sleeping in a lot dirtier sheets. The nurse's big, blue eyes lit up and she smiled. - Thank you, it's nice to hear that, you are always so kind to us., she answered back with a touch of relief and appreciation in her voice. I smiled at her; - I'll get out of your way, it's time for dinner anyway. As I was driving home I thought of all the times I had driven that particular way in the last few months, between the hospital and home. Our home that was becoming my home more and more. One small thing at a time it was changing. Once the doctors had told me there was no hope I had completely re-done the guest en-suite and made it my bedroom, my domain, my haven at home. It was a room that Sam had never spent any time in. It was out of that room my strength grew, step by step; my strength to move forward, to move on. Next thing I had done was to paint the kitchen; I had always wanted a warm colour on the walls and cabinet doors, but Sam had preferred white and steel grey. He wasn't there to argue with me about it right now, so I had made the decision to go for it. I had to admit it was a lot out of anger, to make him just as mad as he had made me when he drove that car so recklessly against the red light. If he ever woke up he couldn't blame anybody but himself for the accident. Well, that wouldn't be a problem because he wasn't waking up anyway. After I had re-done the kitchen I just kept going, I needed something to occupy my mind with, so I had changed the whole house except for our bedroom and Sam's office. They were in a time capsule, a reminder of what was and of my pain. The pain he had caused me. I had started to forgive him though, he wouldn't have wanted to be the way he was now, I figured. He had been careless, and he had paid the price. Soon it would be the ultimate price. At that moment I knew I had to let him go. It was time. "Take a left here." I voice in my head said, all of a sudden. Without having the time to think about it I did. - Well, it's nice with the change., I said to myself out loud. "Maybe this is the next step, changing my route home?" I had learnt to just go with it when these thoughts of change hit me. In the beginning I just didn't have the strength to fight them, and after some time I started enjoying it. As time had gone by I had understood that it was something I had to do, that it helped me move forward, step by step. I started to feel excitement rise within; I was wondering where this change would lead me. Literally, as I had no idea where I was geographically. "Oh, this is fun!", I thought to myself as I turned the music on for the first time since Sam's accident. I listened to music at home, and played music to Sam, but this was the first time I had turned it on in the car since Sam's crash. The Police thought he had been doing something with his old car stereo when he had been hit, it had been the old type where you use a cassette tape. Sam had loved it. It had made me loath the combination of music and driving, but this time it felt good. It felt right. Driving on an unknown road, with my favourite song playing made me wish I had a convertible so I could have felt the wind in my hair. I actually felt alive. "I feel alive!", I said to myself with surprise. "I AM ALIVE!", I shouted when the feeling had sunk in. I laughed, and sang along with the music, and I looked around at the landscape. Yes, I was alive. Far behind me, at the hospital that I had just left, Sam opened up his eyes. "I am alive!", he said quietly to himself. He started to move his fingers and legs, before he sat up. He could feel his wife's spirit, her energy, hit him. "That's what woke me up.", he thought. Sam smiled and pressed the little buzzer next to his bed. Nurse Colleen opened the door and stopped mid sentence while saying she thought Mrs Kent had left. Her jaw dropped and her already big eyes turned even bigger. She stared at Sam. She couldn't speak, she couldn't find any words to say, so she just continued to stare. Sam smiled at her and said; "Nurse, could you please call my wife and tell her I'm alive." Love// Carina
Is there a new star rising on the Country Music sky?
Steven Tyler, 67, singer in the legendary, bestselling rock & roll band Aerosmith already is a star on the Rock Music sky, but he just released a music video for the first single off his up-coming album.
The song is called Love Is Your Name and it is different from everything we have ever heard from Steven before. This song is country, but it is kind of a Steven Tyler rock-y type of country, and it is really good. This is not pure, old-fashioned country music; this is tougher, rawer and rockier than traditional country, but it is still country, but it's sung Steven Tyler style.
As a fan of both Aerosmith and Country Music - this is fun.
Love Is Your Name has beautiful lyrics; it's got violins and other fun instruments; and some nice harmonies in it and of course that makes it all country - and it has one of the worlds greatest rock singers, and it works really well together. Fun, fun, fun!
Steven Tyler didn't write this song, Eric Paslay and Lindsey Lee did, but he has co-written the majority of the songs on the album which is due to be released sometime during the winter, and it will be all Country Music. This song makes me look forward to it, especially after Steven said in a press release about the video that "This song and video both resemble what the album will sound like." Yay!
Tyler says he has always loved country music, and this is in some ways him going back to his roots, and that is featured in this video, which is said to have many personal elements in it.
One of Steven Tyler's signature looks is the accessory of a bunch of long, thin scarves and in the video we get to follow those scarves. It begins with them being tied onto a mic stand in a big, empty arena followed by a beautiful girl, who is representing Steven's muse, dragging them through some beautiful scenery and scenes representing various stages of Steven's life. There's the cabin where he grew up, Steven as a child, and the pet raccoon he had as a boy living in the cabin,; there is love, family and friends and a lot of gypsy-chicness representing coming from a family that was a touring band. There is also a bonfire which burnt his eyebrows off while shooting the scene.
In an interview for People.com Steven Tyler revealed that he cried when he saw the video for the first time, and that tells me this is right for him. It certainly sounds right to me.
Also, I would love to hear Home Free cover this song. I think it would be amazing.
