Tales from the Corners

He conjures up a young Jackson Browne in style, but Jake Thistle is an accomplished musician/singer-songwriter in his own right. Jake joins me here in The Corners to talk about his latest release, Down The Line , a collection of awesome songs penned straight from his native New Jersey. Indeed fellow New Jersey natives like Bruce Springsteen inspire Thistle, it is Tom Petty who has the biggest impact on him.  Some will claim that I'm "burying the headline here" by not first mentioning that Jake is a 16-year-old as I write this post. I beg to differ because Thistle wise beyond his years. In my honest opinion, the bigger headline here is that Jake is a top-notch musician who writes on a high level of quality.  Click the the box below to view our conversation where Jake talks about the new project along with some amazing performances:

jesselynnmadera.com Singer-Songwriter Jesse Lynn Madera stops by The Corners to discuss her latest single, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" as well as her groundbreaking album Fortunes. The critically-acclaimed release features deep, emotional tracks including "Dante," "Funny Man" and "The Door." The album also features a pair of duets including "You With The Sullen Eyes," with John Hawkes and "Sentimental" with Joel Taylor. Listen to the fun conversation available right here: Also, head over to Jesse Lynn's website and order her latest single, album and other releases. 

Twitter I didn't know about John Lennon's murder until the morning after the tragedy took place. That was a school night for me at the time. Indeed I knew John Lennon was a Beatle, but I wasn't familiar with his solo work. I knew about "Whatever Gets You Through The Night," "Imagine," and "Instant Karma." I recall hearing the  Double Fantasy  singles, but didn't really put two and two together at that time. Like many millions, I quickly became familiar with his solo years. Forty years later, I am even more disappointed that Lennon's life was cut short. He would have been a great advocate for many causes as well as continuing on a spectacular musical journey. So, on this December 8, remember peace, love and John Lennon. 

DodgertonSkillhause Recently I was fascinated with seeing the amount of bike lanes when visiting Cambridge, Massachusetts. It looks like an innovative program which encourages citizens to travel by bike rather than automobile. That very idea has been done on a smaller scale in Atlanta. Just like the streetcar in the downtown area, bike lanes' reception has been lukewarm to motorists, who seem to be in more of a hurry these days than every before in the city's history. So, there's no doubt the common complaint is that the lanes take away from sedans, SUVs, trucks and minivans.  Especially here in the car-loving U.S., there's no doubt that implemented bike lanes is a risk for any city leader. Just ask current Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, who was once chewed out on ABC-TV's The View  by co-host Whoopi Goldberg. It would be an understatement to say that Ms. Goldberg has been nonplussed by the bike lanes in New York City. I came across this awesome article on BBC

On my afternoon run, I noticed that one of my dear feline visitors was a number of houses down from my own. My first thought was, "That is one hussy. How dare she? I thought she was 'spoken for' at my house." OK, I admit to the dated language in my thought, but I was running after all, so the soreness has a lot to do with my thoughts. I'm speaking about Tabitha, that affectionate cat who poses for some nice photos for me. Apparently Tabitha goes from one family to the next. She has spent the night in my bed -- er, well, most of the night. Tabitha usually gets up by 6 a.m. wanting to get into the great outdoors. She is a bit of a nomad, but still has a lot of domestic qualities.  Without further adieu, I have some new photos: On occasion, Tabitha does not finish her meal so the possum who hangs out around the house, finishes things off on a semi-regular basis. I call this opossum "Gertrude." I'm hoping it's the same possum, but not quite sure.

Check out my conversation with Andrew Stern and Laura Arias of the power duo, 3 Pairs of Boots. In this episode, we discuss their latest album titled,  Long Rider  and what went into making this amazing new album available soon. For more information on this release, their previous album Gone South  and more,  visit their website. Their story is quite fascinating. Andrew, who has had a lifelong devotion to creating music, recently was able to walk away from his day job to fully concentrate on songwriting, performing and producing new music for 3 Pairs of Boots. His wife Laura provides the awesome vocals.  Watch my interview available on YouTube: