Patrick O'Heffernan | Music Junkie Press

Victoria Blythe’s Silver Flyer soars, glides and settles softly in your mind

December 8, 2014

By Patrick O’Heffernan – Host, Music Friday Live! I have known Victoria Blythe for a number of years, but mostly in the context of her band, Calaveras, which she and her husband Greg Beattie founded in 1992. A few years have passed since then – Calaveras has released three album, a number of singles and played many, many concerts. Vickie moved in and out of the biotech industry. Greg went to Harvard Law school and became a nonprofit lawyer. And they became parents. But they never stopped playing music and Victoria never stopped singing. Calaveras remained active and vital and kept getting better and better. And so did Vickie, so much so that, at long last, she has released a solo album and it is a stunning compilation of the experience of years since began singing as a child and writing songs as a teen. Vickie’s stratospherically-pitched, classically trained voice brings a lightness and urgency to blues, jazz and Americana music. Every song she touches in Silver Flyer, whether it is hers, Beattie’s, a [Read More]

Polaris Rose establishes itself as an indie rock power with Telescopes

December 8, 2014

By Patrick O’Heffernan, Host, Music Friday Live! I love to watch bands mature and solidify their unique style so they can stand apart in the very crowded music universe. Polaris Rose has done that with their debut album, Telescopes, following up the 2013 release of their impressive EP, The Moon and Its Secrets. Moon made the rock world notice that a unique new talent was emerging. With Telescopes, Polaris Rose has emerged. Telescopes establishes the partnership of Peter Anthony and Madelyn Elyse as a breakout indie rock creative force headed for the top. It is a masterwork of sophisticated songwriting, gracefully complex arrangements and stratospheric guitar playing woven seamlessly together with luminous vocals. There is nothing like it. Peter Anthony’s voice delivers an emotional charge that goes beyond the personal lyrics threaded throughout the album. In “Radio XYZ”, when he sings I’d turn my back and leave you for the California coast/ I’m better off alone, the high, almost disembodied timber of his voice makes the words larger than life – they become about a [Read More]

Interview with Shakerleg and Isaac Koren of The Kin by Patrick O’Heffernan

November 16, 2014

The best way to describe The Kin is wild men from Australia and the New York subway. There is nothing like them: two lead singers/guitarists who are brothers, a didgeridoo, a drummer who doesn’t use sticks, and a habit of invading restaurants and airports to steal ears, fill them with music, and then return them. And along the way, these three artists create high energy, high melody, high fun alt. rock that is completely unique. They have worked with legendary producers Nic Hard and Tony Visconti and toured down under with PINK playing to arenas full of thousands of people. They recently launched a grueling USA tour, kicking it off at the Bootleg Theater in los Angeles. Isaac “Hijack” Koren and Mark “Shakerleg” Nicosia stopped by Music FridayLive! for a chat before setting up for their gig. Patrick. Welcome guys. I love your band. Shakerleg. Let’s be sure we understand who this band is. There is a drummer who plays without sticks, that’s me, and the other two guys are hacks. Seriously, we have two [Read More]

Mallory Trunnell knows how to party and make people happy. By Patrick O’Heffernan

November 12, 2014

Mallory Trunnell knows how to party and she threw an heck of one at the Hotel Café Sunday night to release her new album, Words. Dramatic in a puffy pink prom dress with a blue silk sash marvelously clashing with her red hair, brilliant red lipstick and plastic flower necklace, Mallory was dressed for the part…part music, part fun, part party. She started the party with a parade of singing a Capella girls, who wound their way through the audience to stand in front of the stage adding a backup of ooh-ohh –oho and bong, bong, bong” to “Mallory’s opening number from the new album, “My Turn”. It was smiles from there. But despite the celebratory atmosphere, Mallory Trunnell is not a party girl; she is a busy girl, and has been from an early age. She grew up in Delta Utah and began an acting career at the age of 4 and started writing songs at 9, pretty sizeable accomplishments for a child in a desert town of about 3500 people. She is [Read More]

“Happy Kat” McDowell: songs, smiles, cheers and laughs at Witzend release party. By Patrick O’Heffernan

November 11, 2014

“Happy Kat” is not Kat McDowell’s nickname, but after seeing her live at the Witzend Saturday night, that is what I am going to call her because that is what she does – make people happy. And Saturday night she made a packed house, standing room only cheering crowd very, very happy. Not bad for his first major live performance in her adopted LA home. Born in Japan, raised mostly in New Zealand, with many parts of both cultures inside her, Kat McDowell makes music in both English and Japanese that make you sit up and take notice, or just let you happily tap your feet. She combines, pop, J-Pop, calypso, rock, Hawaiian and a positive musical attitude in a mixture that is like sunshine to listen to. She built a successful career in Japan as a gaijun – a non-Japanese, even though she is a native – and that’s a serious challenge . But after many albums, singles, gigs, shows, TV commercials and studio sessions, she was a success there so now she [Read More]

Maggie Szabo ups her game at the Hotel Cafe by Patrick O’Heffernan

November 9, 2014

With her brilliant smile, athletic body and mischievous eyes, the diminutive Maggie Szabo put on a show Friday night at LA’s premier showcase club this Friday that topped even her high-energy performance record. Nobody sat still as she rocked through 11 songs – mostly new material including the new, soon-to-be-a-hit “Paralyze”, along with favorites like “Sweetest Heartache” and the solid pop-anthem, “Slow Fire”. Having seen her live four times, I could tell that there has been both a creative burst and a lot of hard work in her career since I started following her about a year ago. New songs blended smoothly with her audience’s established favorites, making the evening seem like a party with old friends; there were no dissonant notes, no “where is Maggie going?”, questions. It just all worked. Even when she took to the old upright piano in far stage left and shifted mood for “Touch the Ground” and “Take Your Time”, she was on target both as a singer and as a performer. Plus she gave a preview of [Read More]

Salme Dahlstrom: your life’s soundtrack keeps movin’ and groovin’ with the release of PP2 by Patrick O’Heffernan

October 31, 2014

Salme Dahlstrom is a marvel She not only writes, performs and produces dance music that is irrepressible, but she licenses virtually everything she does to TV or movies, so you have probably heard her music even if you don’t know it. Which means that chances are, Salme Dahlstrom is a part of the soundtrack of your life. And that’s a good thing. Her music can hum in the background while you go about your day with a little extra energy and bounce, or it can shimmer in the foreground as you notice it’s 4 am and you are still dancing. Either way Salme’s tunes are is not only the best party music on the air today, they are also the creation of an experienced artist and as such they demand attention on that level as well as on the dance floor. Salme is a woman so confident in her talent that she long ago transcended pop’s angst to produce music that is intelligent as well as hooky, sophisticated as well as accessible, and always fun [Read More]