Ryan Adams.

http://werewolph.com/

Ryan Adams creates wildly interesting new death metal music. This newlywed shows no signs of slowing down. There are three videos that are at the bottom of werewolph.com, this is one of them:

Pink Is Not Your Color


I went to Ryan's YouTube page (http://www.youtube.com/user/dradamsfilms) and found this video that I posted below. Some of the other videos that Ryan makes are so thought provoking, and truly touching. It seems very intimate and it almost feels like I am viewing something that I shouldn't, like these are lines from his journal. They remind me of The dream listener project. It is a mobile intervention in the street that takes place from 25 November 2006 to 25 November 2007. For one year Karen Spencer has written her dreams on cardboard, gone out into the street, and held the cardboard dream in front of her. Made visible and displayed in this manner, the dream elicits a response. A dialogue begins with people in the street, opening the possibility of entering into the dream world of others. To learn more or to help the homeless that are featured in her recordings please visit: http://dreamlistener.wordpress.com/

I'm just grateful that he hasn't given up on music.

A wedding anniversary spent with Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

**Having some issues uploading the videos from this weekend. Will try to get them all up here asap**

This weekend James and I celebrated being married for one year!!

Saturday nite was bone cold and the wind was sharp as I made my way into the Brady.

The show started a little late, Ryan appeared from the right side of the stage juggling two containers of liquid. One filled with an orange liquid, it appeared to be gatorade, the other a tall silver can. He starts into the song without saying anything. They played the first half of the nite without really saying anything. His voice still sounded good, but you could tell that he didnt feel well at all. He mumbles thank you into the microphone every so often after a song. He announces that they will be back shortly after a five minute intermission-which was really longer than five minutes but who is counting....

This is a video of Ryan stopping what he is doing to announce that it wouldn't be a proper show without the Jon Graboff tells the "joke of the evening". I talked to Callie while we were waiting about the Cardinals duels with their socks, wondering if they would talk about their sock choices or anything while they were on stage-apparently I wasn't the only one because someone yells at Jon Graboff to show us his socks. I'm not sure if you can hear it on the video or not, but after that Jon plays some snippet of the muppets or something like that, then he proceeds to tell his joke from Rodney Dangerfield. Someone also screamed Mandy Moore, I wondered if she would be there. No sightings. The security staff-and by security I mean they have a small flashlight and a yellow shirt that could easily be turned into a tent were being real jerks, they were pulling people out for taking photos, so most of my videos are super shaky because i had to keep my camera flush against my chest/collarbone area and keep it hidden with my left hand slightly cupped over it, so sadly most are really shaky-but I was happy that I was able to get them. The video for "Games" is cut short because a security person was hassling the girl next to me for taking photos with her iPhone. Notice the downward swoop of the video. Hahaha....But the video that I am the happiest with is Easy Plateau. I love the way he sings "cats and rocking chairs" all choppy-but this video turns awesome at 4:23, where Ryan sings about Neal stealing his donuts and and now he's going to hit him in the head and then he starts saying he is a terradactyl and screeching with an echo that he has on his guitar pedals. It was great. I was so happy I captured it. Ryan also goes on to say that its going to be a loooooooong drive tonite while he looks at Neal.
Ryan went on to say during the show that vocally we were a great audience, and how much he liked us despite what Neal says about us. You can see some of the problems that Ryan was experiencing, around 8 minutes or so you can see Ryan fidgeting with his earpiece and he finally takes it out. I don't know if this was because of poor sound coming from it, he kept giving hand gestures throughout the show for his moniter to be adjusted. But I am wondering if it was the ear pains that he has been experiencing lately. At one point during a guitar switch he got tangled in his earpiece cord and had to be untangled by a stage hand. Almost every song turned into a jam band session-which I was disappointed in, but I'm sure this stemmed from him not feeling well. He played rescue blues on a keyboard, so that was different, not as good in my humble opinion, but I was still happy to hear it. They keyboard sounds brash and overwhelmed his vocals, I don't know why but the sound was really sloppy. Ryan strapped on his harmonica at one point and the crowd was yelling for him to play Come Pick Me Up, and after playing it Ryan said, "I don't think that song is very nice, but I'm glad you guys like it." I was afraid the rowdy crowd was going to turn Ryan off, after being to a few Ryan shows-I know that he doesn't like the crowd to shout things, especially during quiet parts in the songs, but luckily he didnt let the crowds shouting phase him. I wasn't feeling that great to begin with and had been sick all week and missed work Friday, so after awhile the long and winding versions of the songs were beginning to wear on me, I just wanted it to wrap up. Neal sang a couple of his songs. The show was good, just not the typical Ryan show that I am use to. I was happy that after the break Ryan came back and interacted with the crowd, during the introduction to the band Ryan kept saying, "Oooh snapp!!" almost after every word.
The merch table was very different than the normal Ryan show-No poster, no vinyl, NO WATCHES (SORRY MARK!!!!) But they did have some nice shirts, a thermal, one kind of sticker, no patches, they had a keychain with the new Cardinal logo, and totes that were signed by the band, I really wanted one, but decided to get a shirt instead. They also had some cds, and Infinity Blues in paperback. After the show I had contemplated getting the tote but Callie was really sick and the table was surrounded with a mob of people....So I decided it was probably best for us to get the hell out of there.

Songs they played, thanks to RyanAdamsArchive.com, I had trouble remembering them...

On 8:34PM
Let It Ride
Two
A Kiss Before I Go
Evergreen
Fix It
Peaceful Valley
Everybody Knows
Why Do They Leave?
Rescue Blues (Ryan on Piano Entire Song) **actually it was a keyboard.....
Cold Roses
Natural Ghost

--Set Break--

On 9:36PM

I See Monsters
Freeway to the Canyon
(Band Intros)
Goodnight Rose (Very Jammy)
Beautiful Sorta
Like Yesterday
Wonderwall
Born Into a Light
Come Pick Me Up
When the Stars Go Blue
(Evening Joke)
Grand Island
Games
Easy Plateau
Bartering Lines
Magick

Off @ 11:00PM

Click on the image of Ryan I did last week to see it full size. I am really happy with the way he turned out. I want to try to acutally stitch it sometime.

Best Music of 2008

Best Albums Of 2008*
*well the best of what I had during 2008


Ryan Adams & The Cardinals- Cardinology

(October 28, 2008)

I reviewed this album earlier, in more detail: http://owlmylove.blogspot.com/2008/10/cardionology.html and love it even more now. Cardinology is the first record I've bought in sometime. (And the first brand new record I have ever owned) This album is beautifully tragic. That is the most simplistic explanation for it. Ryan is vulnerable and gives us all a sneak peek into his world.
Stand out songs: Natural Ghost, Crossed Out Name, Magick



Conor Oberst-Conor Oberst

(August 5, 2008)

This album recorded in Mexico first unravels like a steady heart beat that leaks into a more mature and haunting voice from Conor, not the way he sounds but the writing voice that I believe will help to truly define him. In my opinion his self titled release from Merge is his most well thought collection of songs to date. Not to mention it is his first solo in over a decade Conor is beginning to earn the badge of 'Dylan of his generation'.
Stand out songs: Danny Callahan, Milk Thistle, Cape Canaveral, I Don't Want to Die (in a hospital)




Cat Power-Jukebox

(January 22, 2008)

Slow and winding songs bleed out on Jukebox, Chan Marshall creates yet another soul wrenching collection of songs. Her 80-proof whiskey vocals spin stories of lost love, wandering around searching for something unattainable, and at the end of it all you find that she has yet again laid it all out on the table for all to see her emotions, deepest fears and feelings.
I love this gorgeous collection of songs compiled into one fantastic album. I think it is her best to date.
Stand out song: Silver Stallion






The Walkmen-You & Me

(August 19, 2008)

A collection of fourteen really strong and compelling songs. Hamilton Leithuaser's unique voice echos of searching for something from the past. Paired with unexpected organs and whistling, the mood set is both with a eerie and beautiful gracefulness. I highly recommend everyone listen to You & Me.
Stand out songs: Dónde Está la Playa and On The Water




Kathleen Edwards-Asking For Flowers

(March 4, 2008)

Haunting vocals, heartfelt lyrics that really transcend all personal barriers. I have never been one that really clung to any female singer-songwriters on a deeper level where I was able to make an actual connection to the music but then again I hadn't had much contact with Kathleen Edwards. The opening track "Buffalo" is rattling and eerie with her voice wobbling over a painful memory. After reading that she taught herself to play piano for this album-it puts it into perspective of how impressive these songs really are. Not all songs are such soul shakers, the next track "The Cheapest Key" tells a tale of Edwards as a scorned lover: "A is for all the times I bit my tongue B is for the bullshit and you fed me some C is for charity and now you're mine..." "Alicia Ross" is a real story about a young woman kidnapped and murdered in Canada by her neighbor. Tom Petty's Heartbreakers lend themselves to Asking For Flowers to add another layer or richness without overwhelming Kathleen's voice.
Stand out songs: Buffalo and The Cheapest Key

Kings of Leon- Only By The Night

(September 23, 2008)

A more polished sound appears on Only By The Night. The KOL are still the same group of southern rockers with Caleb Followill's distinguishable howls and guttural raw vocals. OBTN has a more 'arena rock' persona to it. After reading one horrible review after another I wasn't sure what to expect. I really like it. Its the same ol' KOL when you strip it down to the core: horny rockers singing about their encounters with the opposite sex with catchy riffs and great hooks. I'm not sure what people expected...have they heard the other KOL albums? Its all within the same vein. I think this is another great addition to their already great catalogue.
Stand out songs: Use Somebody, Sex on Fire, Be Somebody




De Novo Dahl-Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound

(March 25, 2008)

The second album from De Novo Dahl is contagiously energetic. I bought MEM, MES blindly without knowing anything about them. The first song is electric in every way possible, an entourage of back up singers and wild instruments setting the tempo for the rest of the tracks sprinkled of disco but throughout is very strong.
Stand out songs: Shout and Heartbreaker






The Black Keys-Attack & Release

(April 1, 2008)

In my eyes I don't really believe that Dan and Patrick can put out a bad album. Attack & Release is a calmer and more tame version of The Black Keys. In one light, it seems like this might be a 'relief' album, and I only say that in the most respectful way possible. After seeing them numerous times and seeing the raw passion and heart that they unleash with every song they play, it would seem that they needed a reprieve from their heavy hitting songs for live performances. After all is said and done this is still a great bluesy delta album.
Stand out song: Strange Times


The Kooks-Konk

(April 15, 2008)

Brit rockers that spin fun and catchy hooks on their second release named after the studio where it was recorded. Konk offers up stripped down acoustic, power ballads, pop driven beats and references to Franz Ferdinand. And interesting fact, they named themselves after a David Bowie song. (Song 17-A song for his daughter-on disc one of the two disc Bowie At The Beeb collection-which is fantastic) Which was funny because when I heard of them the first thing I thought was, "Hey that's a David Bowie song..." So that there is enough for me to give them a thumbs up.
Stand out songs: Tick of Time and Sway


The Ting Tings- We Started Nothing

(June 3, 2008)

Callie turned me onto The Ting Tings. She had a couple of their songs on her iPod. After that I was hooked. I couldn't wait for WSN to come out. I was counting down the days. Every song on We Started Nothing is catchy as hell. I don't care who you are, you will like this collection of sugary songs. I find myself tapping my feet involuntarily every time I hear them. This duo has it down, they are fun and incredibly enjoyable to listen to. I just hope that they don't get overexposed with airplay.
Stand out songs: That's Not My Name, Keep Your Head, We Started Nothing


Kate Nash-Made of Bricks

(Jan 8 2008)

Made of Bricks is a rushed glossy version of what made Kate a web phenomenon, but still a fun and wildly enjoyable. Playful lyrics with sometimes bitter overtones laced with snappy piano tapping and clapping...Very fluffy but a guilty pleasure for sure. Her lyrics are reminiscent of a high school diary, here is a snippet of "Foundations":
"And every time we fight I know it's not right, every time that you're upset and I smile.
I know I should forget, but I can't. You said I must eat so many lemons 'cause i am so bitter. I said "I'd rather be with your friends mate 'cause they are much fitter." Yes, it was childish and you got aggressive, and I must admit that I was a bit scared, but it gives me thrills to wind you up."
Stand out songs: Skeleton Song, Mouthwash (the last bit is great...the first half is ehh....)

Joy Division-
Unknown Pleasures

[IMPORT] (January 13, 2008) Original Release Date: June 1979

I know I know, its not really a release of 2008-but I am counting it. I discovered them this year and with the re-release it barely makes it within my guidelines....

I read quite a bit about Joy Division and Ian when I first stumbled onto them. A truly tragic story.
PITCHFORK MEDIA: Rock history is jammed with messy, stupid, and tragic ends to promising starts-- plane crashes, overdoses, gunshots-- but Ian Curtis' death is still striking. Sometime early on the morning of May 18, 1980, Ian Curtis, at the age of 23, watched Werner Herzog's Stroszek, played Iggy Pop's The Idiot, and hung himself in the kitchen.
My take on Joy Division is that Ian's reveals a powerful depiction of heavy hearted, gloom-filled despair and paranoia that is apparent throughout his body of work and Unknown Pleasures is no exception. It is just another example of Ian's fragility, and a look at the fact that everyone at one time or another shades of this running through all of us. It's somewhat unsettling to hear someones emotions and confusion sprawl out on the floor, knowing what became of him. But maybe that is one of the magnetic qualities about Joy Division. A window of time opened from their music that still seems relevant today.

Cardinology Christmas

Here is what Cardinology came with!
Red vinyl, bonus 7" vinyl, sticker (the blue rose) and a fantastically illustrated lyrical book by Leah Hayes.
I snapped quite a bit from it.
She did an amazing job. It was worth the wait to open it up.

I love this one below.

Below, that HAS to be Ryan. A chubby illustrated version.....Are you with me on this....?

Gorgeous red red red vinyl. I love it!

New Art! New Art!

All of the following canvases are 16" x 20".Smoking Frida isn't really new. I painted it a couple months ago-or longer. But I haven't photographed her yet.

I painted this Frida Saturday afternoon. Callies jokes around that I am going to wind up painting more portraits of Frida than Frida did. That's the goal. Just joking. Maybe.

Just finished this one last nite around 10 or so. The canvas was left over from Blue Dome and I had only completed the background spray painting. So after rummaging around in the closet for a canvas that already had a background done (to save time. I hate having to wait while the base coat dries...When you have an idea to paint it begins to lose its spark while waiting for the base paint to dry....), found this one and thought a chandelier would compliment it quite nicely.

I have really been inspired my Mike Giant lately thanks to Mark for introducing me to him. He creates art with a sharpie (he even has his own brand of Sharpie markers...!) So I decided to give Sharpie only art a try. This canvas was another left over canvas from blue dome. So I thought this cow really popped off the solid hot pink. And took no time at all. I think pre-priming canvases is the way to go from here on out...
Detail shot of the cow. I think I am going to go back on the "cut lines" and thicken them up. They almost disappear.

Mike Giant's gorgeous girl. I was really bummed when I stumbled upon this girl and she is not in print anywhere. I really wanted a poster or shirt...something. But there wasn't anything like that. So I decided to draw her in true Mike Giant style-with only a sharpie.
Good Lord. I don't know how he does it. After two hours of carefully drawing her out I was in a Sharpie coma almost. And had to put her down. But hopefully I will finish her soon. No gloves on mine. Wasn't crazy about them. But we shall see.Ryan isn't new either... But he had yet to be photographed. So I threw him in the pile while I was snapping away.

All and all a pretty good weekend. We went to Old Navy and scored on some sweet clearance clothes. I got an arm full of 2.99 shirts. I am thinking about going back to get some to screen on.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Reschedule

I have been so busy lately...
But I have been snapping photos the whole time.

So expect a ridiculous amount of photos soon.


I am pretty excited.
It will be like an anniversary present for James & I.


This morning Foggy brings good news to all those who follow the Cardinals....

To purchase tickets:
http://gettix.net/concert/?event_id=2684


Hot Damn!

And yesterday a little surprise finally arrived from Hollywood.
I havent opened it yet.... Pictures to follow shortly.

An Open Apology to Cardinals, CardinalFam & Fans

Did anyone else see this on The Cardinal Cave?
Oh Ryan.... No apologies needed.
This is probably going to happen a lot. I
love Ryan Adams and all that he encompasses.
So I will be talking about him quite a bit.

Yeah, Im reposting what Ryan posted.

To All,

This is Ryan. It is quite early on Friday and I need to say a few things.

I would like to apologize to my friends in the Cardinals, who are like family to me, to our management and our Wise Elders who have taken great care of us and myself for so many years , to Steve at Nasty who is rational and protective and understanding and knows more about comics than anyone I know (which is a lot) to CardinalCrew who build the dream in real time for all of us, day in and out

and to you, Cardinal Fans,

I owe you an apology an explanation and wish to end the cycle of madness my sickness turned craziness created.

I am deeply sorry for how I reacted to my illness, and the defeat I felt on the last tour and the outrageous way I reacted and blame i placed unnecessarily on others.

I was wrong.

I could not be more filled with regret and humbled at my own inability to be mindful during my time of crisis.

The truth is, I know better and am not naturally inclined to this behavior. It is something I felt like was long past me, but I am obviously still learning how to deal and how to cope with my own misfortunes and the sometimes trying world of trying to please many and maintain my own sense of worth and dignity.

I made an awful mistake.

It is no fun to be away from home and to get sick, and even worse to be a singer and lose the very thing which holds me to the Cardinals as ONE part of a much larger, far more precious dream which has been the integration of myself and my abilities towards the band, and a greater musical and creative endeavor which is sharing my work and my heart and my soul and my mind and also my weakness with those I love and trust and also SO MANY OF YOU who carefully came along to explore this idea with us.

I am sorry I let you down. I let myself down too.

CARDINOLOGY and our band The CARDINALS has been the work of so many years traveling, a dream Brad and I had all the way back to before I even recorded my second ever solo album Gold, a mutual dream Neal Casal and I shared so so many years ago, in fact, before I made Heartbreaker, and the trust established between Chris and Brad which led him from the furthest recesses of space to join our noise machine and Jon Graboff who is, in my opinion, the authority on not only the advancement of Steel Guitar playing into future realms but also now an obvious fashion icon (loud autumn colors- Jon’s socks and sneakers- coincidence??? i think not)….. I apologize to you from the bottom of my heavy metal heart.

I do not deal with defeat well, nor sickness, and in my brief tenure as someone who had a rather upsetting and rough time of it for so long plugging back into the Matrix of Reality has not been as easy or as painless as I imagined. I make a lot of mistakes and my margin for error is widened by senseless pride when I know I am faced with things I so want to change but cannot.

It is obvious to me it is ME to has to learn to adapt. I see the constraints I put on myself and I also see how hard I work and how often I over-work to try and correct my past. It is the good work and it is also humbling in that I am lucky enough that I maintained any sense of purpose as I have let myself down so so many times since I began my journey musically. And I have let others down so often that I am constantly embarrassed of my actions.

I am struggling more often than not to forgive myself for behavior I adopted long ago to “quick fix” whatever is before me in order to just get to a next step where I might improve things, myself, or my relationships not only in the musical world but otherwise and it can be more than exhausting as I sometimes only see the negative- this is not healthy thinking and NOT setting a good example.

I must continue to fight against this notion of ego and pride and feeling attached more to the negative voices from the crowd and not the positive.

Sometimes that voice seems to me simply an echo of my own self-opinion and this will always be “MY” struggle and I must continue to learn from my mistakes and call myself out when I confuse that with my friends or the fans or our team, because I always know at heart we are working together now, and this was something I dreamed of, and something that has nurtured me back to spiritual and musical health as well as mental.

Having said all this, long-winded as I am known to be, I simply dislike letting anyone down ever, and this is inevitable as it is simply impossible to please everyone.

When I lost my voice at the end of the last tour, when I least expected to having felt like I was through the thick of the horrid flu that more or less knocked nearly each of us out on the band bus, I was terrified. I was not prepared for how to handle the situation. I struggled to continue but I also knew that the more I was attempting to overcome the situation by continuing to sing the more in jeopardy I was putting myself and the band as singing with a broken voice can cause irreparable damage to a singing voice- and we had already reluctantly cancelled two shows in the mid-west which we were dying to play.

Long story short-

I have some learning to do, some forgiveness to allow myself and to ask for, and I write this in hope that everyone who has cared for and followed our band knows that I fully was in the wrong,

but that i must continue forward and hope for frogiveness as that is the essence of our work.

In times like these, we all need as much hope as possible and one thing I do know how to do, is offer that-

because if the shared Cardinal dream is anything- it has been shared hope.

With respect to all

and my sincerest apologies,

Ryan Adams.