Cato Falls

I came across a mention of this band in the local newspaper a few years back and it somehow caught my attention. I had heard of the lead singer, Bethany, knew she was a friend of my niece, knew my nephew had played some percussion for some of her acoustic performances. But there was something I read in the article—what exactly, I no longer remember—that put this band on my radar. So I asked my nephew if he knew anything about Cato Falls, and was surprised to find he was part of the band. That was fortunate for me, because it helped me to find out about a lot of their gigs.

The first time I saw them was at a local sandwich wrap shop. They did an acoustic set, but the essential style of the band was evident. There’s something about hearing something you really like for the first time. You get a sense that what you are hearing is both something new and at the same time something that has deep roots.

I saw them many times since then, but not often enough. I’d love to see them again, but they are sadly defunct. If you want to hear them, you’ll have to find their CD or check out whatever they have that is floating around the internet.

There was something pure and honest I heard in their music. I’m pretty confident that a decent percentage of you will hear it too. I’ve been thinking about posting about them, but I’ve had a hard time deciding what I could find on YouTube that would best epitomize Cato Falls. Yesterday I came across this video, which I found worthy of sharing. I wouldn’t call it their best song, because they’re one of those bands whose songs are almost all equally strong. But this is the first really well recorded and mixed song I’ve found on YouTube. There are a lot of other videos out there, but various imperfections in sound make them, in my opinion, nothing more than a pleasant memory of seeing them live. I really hope you give them a listen as they are very near and dear to my heart. The fact that my nephew plays drums on this video is merely a happy accident.

Here is a link to their album available on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Cato-Falls/dp/B00H6A340K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412646927&sr=8-1&keywords=cato+falls

And On iTunes: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cato-falls/id774274031?uo=4" target="itunes_store">Cato Falls - Cato Falls</a>

While my nephew is not on it, I can still say it has been on steady rotation on my CD player. I just really like this band. Hope you do too.

Dan Groat

If you're going to do someone else's song, make it your own. Dan Groat does that quite well in this video, investing his personality into it in order make it something new, making it very much a vessel for his unique talents. Unfortunately, Mr. Groat has no nothing for sale, as far as I can tell. But please help me to get this video to at least a 1,000 views. There is definite craftsmanship evident here, we're not talking about a cute puppy video (nothing against cute puppies, my point is that they don't have to work hard at what they do). What's it take to get people to throw a few pennies to a talented performer, anyway?

Isto

YouTube is a wonderful opportunity to come across unheard of talent. I chanced upon this singer/guitarist today that I'm absolutely thrilled by while looking for the best version of (It's Only A) Paper Moon. On a performance by Nat King Cole, someone left the comment that "Isto" does a fine version. I typed it in and this is what I saw.

Good, good stuff. He's got a ton of videos out there, including my favorites, covers of "Stardust" and The Kinks' "She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina."

Please, if you have a singer/performer/artist/writer/etc. you really like, send me some info and if I like it I'll be sure to feature it here. I want this place to be somewhere where people can gather to discover what lies beneath the ocean of mediocrity that is mass media.

Update: I've been going through videos of this guy and love just about everything he does. Thought I'd share his other YouTube account, which has him doing all original stuff and is perhaps better than his covers: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUmumOYO4ZlwR6Doa594Oo9g

Netherland Dwarf

Your Unheard of Talent for today is a group called Netherland Dwarf, who released the album Moi Moi in 2011. I must confess I know little about them other than what is contained on this album. I will, however, share with you the information I think I know. The name comes from a breed of rabbit, the Netherland Dwarf rabbit. While I was certainly fooled, the music is not made by a group of musicians but by one person using technology to good effect. I believe the person who created the music is from Japan, but I know nothing for certain.

A while ago, I had a YouTube channel and used the name of one of my favorite bands for that channel. Some people mistook the channel as having some connection to the band itself rather than just belonging to a fan of theirs. Thus some pretty interesting bands shared links to their music with me. Such is the case with Netherland Dwarf. Sometimes it pays to knock on people’s doors and introduce yourself. I hope I can help spread the word about this very fine album. Please enjoy.

Various Indie Writers

The idea behind this blog is to introduce artists of many kinds to people interested in what is happening beyond the mass-entertainment industry. I in no way suggest that those artists I mention are the next big thing, merely that I think the work they do is worthy of mention and probably superior to “the next big thing”. While I will usually focus each blog on an individual writer/painter/musician/band/etc., I thought that today’s blog fits into the broader concept of “Unheard Of Talent”. All right, a few of the writers in this anthology either are or will shortly be known to a very large audience—Colleen Hoover, for example, has been featured on ABC News and elsewhere—but the majority of the names here will most likely be new to you.

The anthology in question is called The Kiss, and the stories loosely revolve around a life-changing kiss of some sort. Now, while this might send some of you (read: men) running, there are a whole lot of genres represented in this book. Brandon Hale, for example, traffics in vampires of the decidedly non-sparkly sort, while other authors present stories that involve noir-detectives, humor, action, historical fiction, and yes, romance. I always try to give a sample of the artists I’m featuring, and today I’m able to present you with the entire book for free: http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Anthology-Other-Close-Encounters-ebook/dp/B00HVIW1AQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1390934962&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Kiss+anthology

The above link is for the Amazon version, but the anthology is available for any kind of e-reader you may have.

I hope you enjoy today’s offerings, and remember, to make this blog really work I need input from others; please be sure to give me your suggestions. I reserve the right to make the final decisions, but your input is appreciated.

Mission Statement

I can search my television and radio from end to end and never discover anything new and interesting in the way of music, art, literature, film, etc. But there are tons of talented people out there making interesting and meaningful works of art, there truly are. It is my intention through this blog to introduce the world to such people, to sidestep the mass media in an attempt to bring the best of what comes my way to those who are looking for the new, the interesting, the relevant, and the overlooked. If it can be considered art, it can be featured here. I think the only limitation is that whoever is featured will be of amateur ranking. I have nothing against people earning a living at their craft, but people who do so do not need my introduction. I shall try very hard not to be biased, but I guarantee you I will be from time to time. I fear that if I try too hard for impartiality, I shall achieve sterility instead. I welcome suggestions from anyone; indeed, this experiment shall not work very well without YOUR input. Thanks, and I hope to make this a place where people are introduced to very fine talent that may have otherwise flown beneath the radar.

My debut introduction is this little video I happened to stumble upon on YouTube some years back. There's just something perfect about it, a group of friends at someone's cabin playing acoustic instruments. I so would have loved to have been there as they were playing. The song is Cat Steven's The Wind, a great song, done well.