The Big Boss Groove

Things are going to get a little slow around this Cracked Facade over the next two weeks, as I do a bit of travelling with limited 'net connection and try to focus on a schload of work in between trips. But don't worry--I'll be back at it in full by the end of September. I'm very thankful for all the visits I've been getting lately from all over the globe, and I hope I'm helping to point folks to some interesting news and enviro stories out there.

I'm quite excited about my first excursion--I'm heading down to LA (home of the body bag, as Ice T once rapped) to see Paul Weller in concert for the first time. I was first introduced to him after he'd broken up The Jam, the most successful punk band in England at the time, and moved onto his oddly endearing and highly politicized jazz/pop/R&B experiment, The Style Council. I always had loads of respect for him and adored his music, but it was after the dismantling of the Council, when he produced his first solo album (very Mussel Shoals R&B-inflected) and the follow-up Wild Wood (more Traffic/Winwood-esque) that finally cemented him--with his combination of heady romanticism and passionate yearning for social justice--as my personal music muse.

If you want to check out the Modfather in action, head over to KCRW, where you can listen as well as watch an acoustic performance he did for Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic program. He's playing with longtime guitarist Steve Craddock (who also does duty in Ocean Colour Scene). Also, check out his official web site to see the video from the first single ("From the Floorboards Up") to his new album, As Is Now (coming in October).