Soul, Rhythm, & Blues – The Doug Hart Band

The Doug Hart Band Rocks Oddbody’s Music Room

Over the past couple of weeks Music Connection Dayton has been proud to spotlight the Miami Valley Blues scene with highlights from The Dayton Blues Showcase held at Oddbody’s Music Room. So far we’ve shared pics and reviews from the great Ira Stanley & Blues Power, The Noah Wotherspoon Band, and The Scotty Bratcher Band. Now it’s time to put the spotlight on the man that helped organize the Dayton Blues Showcase, Doug Hart.

Ira Stanley & Blues Power Go Old School on Oddbody’s Music Room – Dayton Blues Showcase

On Friday, May 29, Oddbody’s Music Room was the home to the Dayton Blues Showcase featuring four of the area’s top guitar slingers, including event organizer Doug Hart. Hart assembled an All-Star cast of area Blues greats that include friends Noah Wotherspoon, Scotty Bratcher, and veteran Bluesman Ira Stanley.The line of excited fans outside when the doors opened was proof positive that Dayton Blues fans were anxious and ready for this one! The end result was one of the best shows of the year, so we thought it fitting that we showcase each band individually. We begin with Ira Stanley & Blues Power!

REVIEW: Jam With a Dirty Twist| The New Outdoors – Dayton, OH

With so many talented bands out there, carving out a space in the jam arena can be a challenge these days. Just over a week ago though, I had the opportunity to play a show at Hank’s Pub with a sweet, new band called The New Outdoors, and these guys appear to be challenging the standard definition of jam a bit by mixing it with blues and a little twist of dirty, indie rock.

This trio has only been playing together for about six months, and I was initially surprised to see them take the stage with no bass (just drums and two guitars). They ripped out an hour-long original set of tasty jams though like it was nobody’s business, and Sean O’Brien even switched it up to play bass late in the set!   Andrew Shough’s chill vocals were the cream and sugar to my coffee, especially while also playing guitar. His rich vocals are a standout and would lend themselves well to any number of acts. Ryan Magner is the centerpiece, holding them all together on the drums and driving each tune exactly where it needs to go. Together, the trio’s relaxed, smooth jams have a little funk and a little blues guitar making The New Outdoors easy to groove too!  The oh-so-smooth guitar leads and fills take it up a few notches, and there’s a killer dirty, grungy, and almost psychedelic sound to their tunes that take it to the interesting and intriguing and “I want more” level!   These cats are hitting the Dayton scene right now, and YOU should make it a point to catch an upcoming show, or two or three!

August 20 – One Eyed Jacks 10pm  FREE

September 13th – Jimmie’s Ladder 11 10pm wsg Love Alive

September 27th – Brothers Drake Meadery (Columbus) 10pm with Love Alive

2 Great Metal Shows !!!!

by Joel Naugle

Hanks Pub – Josh Deeter’s B-day Party  1.24.14

Close The Hatch – Really enjoying hearing these guys play! They are an experimental metal band blending a lot of different styles into their sound. They have a lot of progressive metal as well: forging new ways of playing, having new ideas on what Metal should be, and taking it to the next level.  At first it sounds soft, and then the voice comes at you like a battering ram, letting you know it’s DEFinitely NOT soft. It reminds me also of other melodic metal,  creating a picture or a work of art within the music. Their music sounds surreal when they slow down the tempo and it features the great bass lines. Guitar solos that light up the atmosphere, and the drums are dynamic.
Band Members: 2 Shauns, 1 Steve, a Rohr , and a Josh kill it when they hit the stage.

 

REVIEW: Acoustic Artist Showcase at Hank’s Pub

One of my musical projects, Far From Eden, had the pleasure last night of playing with and hearing some cool new music by local acts: ButterFly Sting, Rachel Litteral and Dakota Wright, and my good buds in Element Earth!  

This acoustic artist showcase took place at Hank’s Pub on Patterson off Woodman in the Dayton/Kettering area, where there’s never a cover charge to check out some cool local music!  Hank’s features all different types of bands, from blues to metal to acoustic showcases like this one.  Though I’m always left wishing they’d put in just a couple of extra lights for bands (it’s not designed at all for live music), the “vibe” is always great at Hank’s, and in the last few years, it has become a hot spot in the Dayton area to hear some good local music, with friendly staff and a fun cast of other characters!  Last night’s crowd for the showcase was awesome, and they showed up in force to support their favorite acts and stick around for something new!  

ButterFly Sting opened up the night with some rockin originals and really started the night off well!  I really dug the 12-string acoustic guitar work by Wallace and felt his overall tone and skills were a perfect match for this trio.  The smooth, almost jazzy drum set up and performance by Jobe provided a really nice full sound without overpowering the acoustic guitar and vocals, and the rich, baritone vocals by Campbell really complimented their cover song choices and their original music!

I was also thrilled to get to hear Rachel Litteral sing and play guitar again. Her tone and pitch are beautiful, and you can really feel her passion for music when she performs.  It was great to see her and be able to have a show together!  Dakota Wright helped out Rachel with some guitar work on a few songs and then blew everyone’s minds with his own original music that was really fresh and different and showcased the multiple areas of talent and creativity and individuality of this young musician!  Expect to see his name again!

Element Earth always rock it out every time I see them, and last night was no exception!  Their rock-inspired, acoustic indie-folk style is unabashed and unpretentious.  I love it when they play a cover or two, but my favorites are always their own original songs which are well-written and diversely influenced! Not to mention, they are always a great band to jam with!

My crew in Far From Eden had a great time of course, and I thoroughly enjoy getting to play with them! They provide a special place in my little musical world, and I’m grateful to them!  I can’t wait to do another cool show with these awesome local musicians!

Check out the Blazin Hot Talent of Dakota Wright!

So I’ve spent the morning and early part of this lovely day checking out music from our Featured Artist, Dakota Wright, and let me tell you, this young gentleman is a big part of why I decided to do this page!
Dakota is one of our young and uber-talented local musicians from Yellow Springs and totally deserves your support! He has a unique style all his own that he calls “symphonic folk”, and I can’t think of a more apt description of his personal style! Take a few minutes to check out his videos, and I’m pretty sure you’ll agree that this is one crazy talented cat!
Dakota plays guitar, violin, and bass, and he sings with a gentle smooth tone that is sure to please your ears! It would not surprise me one bit if I found out that he plays several other instruments as well, and it definitely didn’t surprise me to find that he has several different musical projects going on! Check out the links below for more info on Dakota, and check him out at an upcoming show!
VIDEOS:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=vb.414112348654257&type=2
EVENTS:
https://www.facebook.com/DakotaWrightMusic/events
* You can also get a chance to see Dakota at a free show on 5/10 at Hanks Pub – Dayton-Kettering, OH with Rachel Litteral, ButterFly Sting, ElementEarth, and my acoustic project, Far From Eden! I am STOKED to see Dakota live and in person! 😀