November 1^st, 2006

Your turn!  What’s fun for you these days?  What the most fun thing you did in 2006?   Drop me a note, and get a free live CD for doing so!  It’s that simple.  Plus, I want to hear from you!

Drop your “Most Fun for 2006” first idea that pops in your to greeneagle@wi.rr.com

October 18, 2006
What am I listening to lately?
Well that’s a better question than “how are you?”, in my opinion – if you are a true music fan, then the question “how are you” is better put into “what are you listening to these days?” Hence, the relevance of this article from here on…

Foo Fighters – In Your Honor , Disc 2 (2005)
Disc two of this double album is the one I’m digging on right now, after it’s one year hibernation on my shelf. I was not pleased with the mix on the first disc, so I dismissed the whole album pretty quickly. (Disc one is fierce rock and Disc two is entirely acoustic.) There are some great and catchy songs here, some are pretty dark. But they are becoming my favorite batch of what the Foo Fighters have done, and they are not really what the Foo are famous for. They’re pretty much here to rock us till our hearts and the venue are pounding. But this is really “taking me there” lately.

Trey Anastasio – Bar 17 (2006)
This brand new album from Trey is thick with orchestral arrangements and great vocals. The title track brought me to tears today. I think it was about the 8th time I’d heard it, but today it really hit me. Then there is a song called “Shadow” which is one of those rare instances where you are immediately in love with a song from the first second you hear it…that you “get” right away, and it’s like candy every time you hear it after that.

Josh Rouse – Subtitulo (2005)
This is a top to bottom, 10 song, 30-minute masterpiece. He got away from everyone and went to Spain to make it. I am constantly whistling and singing these songs when the album is not on. Then I put it on again. I think it’s my favorite of his. I have “1972” and “Nashville” which are also highly recommended, and will soon be revisited by me again soon.

Sigur Ros – Takk (2005)
Most Americans will not have a clue what this singer is singing about, because it’s all Icelandic. But the album has grown in popularity, and brought the band to headlining status. Language barrier aside, the vocal delivery is very emotional, and they put me in a reflective state, and leave me with what I crave – the goosebumps. I prefer the last 4 songs, with the best being #10. This is a very fresh page for me, in that it’s so different stylistically, and still so effective as powerful music.

Ratatat – Classics (2006)
Any band that titles their first album “Classics” is already cool in my book. This has never, ever happened to me: They played one of their tracks in my local Best Buy, and I actually heard and paid attention to the last minute of it, and then went to where the album was, and bought the last and practically hidden copy. This is all instrumental, slide guitar, electronic – makes you wanna breakdance- music. Ok, and now is that time where you are rewarded for reading this part of my website………If you ever go to my shows, you’ll hear me play songs that aren’t mine, but also aren’t very well known. I’ve decided to put together a full CD entitled “Songs that Peter D’Amore Plays But No One Knows, Volume 1.” If you would like a copy, go to my “Contact” page link above and send me a quick note that you would like one! Nice work! It’s on the house. And I’m not kidding.

Wolfmother – debut (2006)
Well, who isn’t listening to them these days? What’s that – you don’t know about them yet? Well, it’s sounds like: Black Sabbath meets Cream and old Rush with a hint of Jack White. Great stuff.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium (2006)
Well, yes, a lot of new music this time around, and I had been avoiding this album for a bit because it is another double studio album, and I was a bit overwhelmed by that, I think. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. So I’ve been chewing on Disc one, and I really love it. I read all about how John Frusciante recorded his guitar parts in sharp left and right stereo, sorta like the Beatles did with producer George Martin. I am also digging Frusciante lately because he wrote a full page about how Yes inspired him, and this article of his is featured in their last box set of live material. Very nice, cause I’m in that boat as an avid Yes fan. Ok, so my favorite player in the band is none other than….Chad Smith! He is just the best rock drummer to my ears lately! I read an interview with Flea, where they can tell Chad to play another take of a track, and he can get it narrowed down by how many bps they tell him. Flea also takes a very close 2nd, as favorite player in the band. So, what about the album, then? Um, not a weak track, and they’ll probably win the Grammy for Rock Album of the Year. Mark my words. Mark my words again.

September 16, 2006
What albums are getting played a lot, this month?

Django Reinhardt – Jazz Masters 38 (1998)
This is a compilation of many of Django’s recordings from the 40’s, and it never stops growing on me.  It seems this is perfect “music for the home” really.  Some sweeping beauty here.  Sweeping, like in “notes”.  What a master guitarist and the violin is just as good. 

Joe Satriani – Super Colassal (2006)
More guitar!?  Heck yes, because this album rules!!  Joe really really brought the goods on this new studio effort.  This is another artist that I never miss an album from, and haven’t been this impressed since 2000’s “Engines of Creation”.

Pink Floyd – Is There Anybody Out There?  The Wall – Live 1980  (2000)
This has also been recently acquired this summer, and it’s just spectacular.  The Wall (studio album) is a masterpiece already, and like many tours, is just better in performance.  There are noticeable changes in David Gilmour’s vocal performances, and a lot of the music from the film (not on the studio version) is performed live here.  There are so many extra little jams, too.  The packaging is top notch, with photos and liner notes from all the members of Floyd, about this huge tour. 

Jethro Tull – Stormwatch (1979)
Well, yes, more Tull this month!  I recently learned much more about this one, and how their bass player died during the making of it due to heart complications, and Ian Anderson had to finish the bass on the album.  For such huge drama surrounding an exhausted band at the time, this album really shines, as one dark rocker!  Also, it is Barrie Barlow’s last album as Tull’s main drummer of the 70’s, and this could arguably be his best studio drumming performances of his 6 album run with them. 

Audioslave – Revelations (2006)
Believe it or not, but this is my first purchase of a record featuring Chris Cornell OR Tom Morello.  I had a good feeling that this album of theirs would be great.  And it is definitely meeting my rock “fix” quota for the month.  Crank it up!  Oh yeah, yesterday I got my new issue of Guitar World magazine with Tom Morello on the cover talking about this album and all the effects he uses to get those CRAZY lead solos happening.  I learned that he is a Harvard graduate in the interview, and a lot of Brendan O’Brien’s (AMAZING PRODUCER) surroundings in the studio.  Lastly, the cover of the magazine features a picture of Morello with a guitar he set on fire.  No, not cause of Jimi… He wanted to pick the ugliest, most random guitar in the studio, and chose one with a hideous neon logo on it.  I won’t tell you what logo it was, in case they want to sponsor me someday. 

Pearl Jam – Binaural (2000)
This is my second favorite Pearl Jam album, after “Ten”.  This is my September time capsule CD, and is brought out for the car on those first cooler Fall nights like we’ve been having.  That is ultimate Pearl Jam ‘weather’.  They start the album off with 3 quick fast rockers that are pretty short.  Then it gets deeper and better.  Tchad Blake and Brendan O’Brien are the producers/engineers on this one, and have PJ sounding a little different and “spacier”…and pictures from the Hubble telescope keep that imagery and theme going.  “Sleight of Hand” is my absolute favorite track here.  It is also probably why “Vs” and “No Code” didn’t make my second favorite PJ album.  I really hope they return to this style of recording again.  Give Vedder some more reverb PLEASE.  And give McCready the OK to use these exact guitar effects again, because they knock me out!

September 8, 2006

This is one of my favorite things on earth, and it has been for almost all of my life.  It is like my own personal time machine.  At the age of 5, I had already assembled many creative voices and “shows” as a result of being allowed to use one of these.  As time went on, I moved on to boom boxes, minidisk, and other digital recording.  But there was something about this type of recorder that sent me back to it.

I got a new one in 2003, and since then, it has been used for recording audio journals.  The audio journals have always included song ideas, in their barest forms.  Sometimes I’m just talking into it to give the “news” on what is going on in life.  As the years have gone on, I’ve realized the importance of the variety in all of these recordings.

In the future, I’ll be posting excerpts from the song demos.  For example, the song ‘Mystery’ was sketched out in one sitting, with some different words.  Also the end of Reclinal also came from one of these tapes.