Peter Frampton: Live Video from Performance on Oprah, 11/4/10

I'm not quite sure what to think of Peter Frampton at this point in my life.

My older sister was heavily into Peter Frampton's shirtless pretty-boy era (Frampton Comes Alive, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" [movie]) and I saw punk as the perfect response to this bloated excess. When living in Baltimore in the 80's, I saw Frampton play a radio station concert and this was the first time that I could see that he had some pretty solid guitar chops. This observation was later reinforced when (former grade-school classmate) David Bowie took Frampton out on lead guitar for his Never Let Me Down / Glass Spider tour.



I lost track of Frampton after this until he released his Grammy Award winning instrumental disc Fingerprints (2006), which included guest appearances from Matt Cameron, Mike McCready, Charlie Watt and Bill Wyman along with a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun".



Frampton released his fourteenth disc, Thank You Mr. Churchill, earlier this year and toured arenas this past summer on a co-headlining bill with Yes. I haven't personally heard the new disc but it has been getting favorably reviews:

"Frampton has wound up with a heavy progressive rock record, roiling with dense riffs, segmented songs, and winding blues jams. Happily, he hasn't ignored his previous life as either a Tamla/Motown devotee or pop star, cutting the introspection and ambition with a handful of lighter moments that give the album levity while broadening its palette, helping to push Thank You Mr. Churchill to one of Frampton’s richest records and unexpectedly one of his best." -- allmusic

Links:
Peter Frampton

Grace Weber Presents The Campfire at the Bowery Poetry Club on Sunday, Jan. 31st (Indie Soul)

Indie soul singer Grace Weber is presenting 'The Campfire' next Sunday at Bowery Poetry which features acoustic sets from The Relatives, Grace Weber Band, and Isaac Gillespie.

The show starts at 7PM and the evening features "some good ol' acoustic music around the campfire, complete with free cookies and a special campfire menu including s'mores, chili, chorn bread, and hot chocolate provided by the celebrate cafe".

Grace Weber, 21 years old, is a veteran to the stage who participated as a finalist on Oprah’s Nationwide Singing Contest. Among Grace's accomplishments include singing on the famed "Showtime at the Apollo" in Harlem, NY, at the Kennedy Center, the Ella Awards, and appearing on the Today Show. Grace's ear for soul music was present at a young age and continued to grow after joining the Inner City Youth Gospel Choir in Milwaukee, WI, where she performed at churches and revivals around the city.

After moving to New York in 2006 for music school, Grace met her band mate, Julian Pollack, and formed, "Grace and Julian," along with Jayme Silverstein and Adam Jackson. After two years of performing at NYC clubs, such as The Bitter End, The Groove, and The Bowery Poetry Club, Grace and the guys decided to change the name to the "Grace Weber Band" and they have been gaining momentum since. The band did two summer tours, performing at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI and at the Mendocino Music Festival in CA. They have also performed at colleges around the country and are continuing to gain recognition in the indie circuit as well as from major players in the music industry. "Grace and Julian" released two all-original albums and the "Grace Weber Band" is currently working on new material for the next album.

The Relatives is a band comprised of three members --siblings Katie Vogel, Ian McLellan Davis, and Gabriel Gall –who created their band in November of 2007. Their music has influences from Folk, Chinese Traditional, and Tango.

Isaac Gillespie is an accomplished musician who has self-released a record “1971.” His music is a blend of Folk, Country, and Soul.

Links:
Grace Weber Band