The six musicians of Truth & Salvage Co. delivered a tantalizing performance of genuine American rock ‘n’ roll.  If you’re unfamiliar with the group, their music is characterized by a timeless sound and interwoven storytelling.

During 2005, in Los Angeles, Hollywood’s Hotel Café was the place to be.  That couldn’t be truer for the members of Truth & Salvage Co.  Vocalist/guitarist Tim Jones had been serving as the venue’s talent booker at the time.  And after performing together during casual late night jam sessions, the guys quickly discovered their chemistry was undeniable.  It was on that very stage that Truth & Salvage Co. was born.  It was on the Studio M stage that their beautiful four-part harmonies and precise instrumentals won the hearts of our Triple M listeners.   Go to the Live From Studio M link to take it all in.  And watch one of their official videos here:

Truth & Salvage Co. – “Call Back”

Long — whose stripped-down, acoustic style recalls many of the artists he professes to love, including Elliott Smith, Ryan Adams, and the Felice Brothers, as well as more classic acts like Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan and the Beatles — would prefer to be known strictly for his music.  Which is why he avoids playing his single from the Twilight soundtrack whenever he plays for an audience (if we had known, we wouldn’t have asked – oops!).

The British singer-song writer responded tastefully to our request despite his reluctance to humor us.  Instead, he opted to play one of his beautifully written songs.  Watch the following video to see/hear for yourself.

Fitz & the Tantrums were founded by Michael Fitzpatrick, who had begun writing soul music for a solo project on an old church organ he had purchased. It’s been said that that the band members craft “soulful, nostalgia pop that’s not only infectious, but just fresh enough to make it stand apart from its predecessors.” He added friend James King to the group as an arranger and soon after expanded the band to a seven-piece, including several horns. Fitzpatrick shares the vocal duties with Noelle Scaggs. Other members include Joseph Karnes, Jeremy Ruzumna, and John Wicks.

Check out part of our interview + performance videos from their Live From Studio M set below.

Interview

Moneygrabber

Breaking the Chains of Love

Live from Studio M: Dawes “a little bit of everything” from ryan heraly on Vimeo.

Studio M visited by the band Guster Friday October 15 – you can check out the videos from the session below.

Intern Emily attended their show later that night at Overture – you can read her great review + let us know what you thought of the show!

Satellite

Amsterdam

Do You Love Me

Stay With Me Jesus

Thanks to Ryan Heraly + True Endeavors for the awesome videography

The joy of Michael Franti continues with this exclusive cut from his Live From Studio M performance Saturday October 9.

The story behind the creation of this song is pretty interesting. Towards the end of the Studio M Session, Jonathan asked him what he was going to play next – he responded by saying nonchalantly that he was going to play a song he wrote in Woody Harrelson’s bathroom and proceeded to play the song before Jonathan interrupted him and asked him to explain. Woody + Michael have been friends for a long time – Woody was in San Francisco while making Zombieland and told Michael he could come and stay at his house for awhile to write some music + be alone.

Franti had recorded some chords on his iPod and was playing them while taking a shower – inspiration hit at that moment and words “started flowing” – he wrote the lyrics on the window with the condensation and took a picture of the lyrics on his phone. The best part of the interview was a phone exchange later that day between Michael + Woody:

Listen to the full interview here + check out “Say Hey (I Love You)” below!

Thanks to Ryan Heraly + True Endeavors for the awesome videography

If watching this video doesn’t put a smile on your face, I don’t know what will.

Studio M was lucky to be graced by Michael’s positive energy this past Saturday. It was impossible to not be happy you were alive after leaving the session – I know it’s sounds crazy, but it’s true. Michael, Jay + Jolene had a smile on their face for the whole performance. The entire audience was clapping, stomping their feet and dancing in their seats! Afterwards the band signed a bunch of posters and didn’t hesitate to give everyone a hug. Check out all the photos with fans on our Facebook page.

Some of the most interesting things that we learned: Michael was adopted by 2 Finnish-American parents, one being from Baron, WI and the other from the UP of Michigan! He hasn’t worn shoes for a little over 10 years; after visiting poor countries + spending time with people who couldn’t afford shoes, he decided to take his off for a few days. He hasn’t put them on since and is still bringing awareness to this cause – check out Soles4Souls.com to learn more.

Michael and Soles4Souls, will partner to raise money through the charity’s “$1 equals 1 pair” program. For every dollar that is raised, Soles4Souls will donate a pair of shoes to someone in need.

1) Fans can donate shoes, funds and learn more about the programs at BOTH www.michaelfranti.com and Soles4Souls.org
2) Fans can also donate via text message by texting keyword “FRANTI” to 20222

You can see the entire interview below. We’ll be posting the performances – check out this blog for more very soon.