-- Hoss (aka Don Cudd), Reformed Corporate-Style DJ Hoss’s November 2009 Hossey Award Picks
These are all the songs I’ve chosen for this month’s contest. I know thousands of independent musicians who are deserving of having their songs in this dang deal. So narrowing my picks down to just a few is always the hardest part of my month. Oh well. Such is life.
Annabella – Peach Tree (Buy, Dang It)
Booted after Week 1
Annabella is a very cool little band from Georgetown, Texas featuring singer Terri Dittmar and her husband Tim, who happens to be one of my high school classmates. The band came to my attention because the infamous Travis Hopper, one of my other buddies from high school, recently moved to Georgetown and happened to discover that Terri and Tim are, more or less, his neighbors. And I’m very glad for the chance encounter. Annabella’s music does a soul some good: it’s calm and soothing, yet not afraid to dive into some tough, but perfectly human, emotions. They have done two, interestingly different version of “Peach Tree” on their latest CD “Say Goodnight,” and you’ll be hearing both version on my little ole’ show.  Tim, by the way, is the technical guru behind two other songs in this month’s contest, both of which, like Peach Tree are the product of his “las olas recording studio,” which he runs in his home when he’s not busy teaching college audio production classes in Austin. Check Annabella out at www.myspace.com/annabellatheband.
Clay Melton – Ike Shuffle (Buy, Dang It)
Clay from Cypress, Texas is one of the guys who will be playing the Texas Blues Fest coming to Corpus Christi on November 14. He’s friggin’ 15 years old! He’s got several songs available for free download at www.claymelton.com, and I didn’t have to listen past Ike Shuffle — listed first — to know that this kid is brilliant. Wow!
Hilda Lamas – Voodoo Woman (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped after Week 2
Hilda has one of the more amazing sets of lungs that you’ll hear coming out of the HossTheBoss.com hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. This cover of the classic song Voodoo Woman on her album Latina Soul that we made a big deal off earlier this year when it first came out, and I, for one, think she’s improved on the original. Some of the promotional material for the Texas Blues Fest (mentioned above) says Hilda will be part of the show, and that’s, more or less, why I included her in this contest this month. Unfortunately, though, Hilda won’t be appearing at the show after all. Oh well, such is life — especially in the music biz. I still think you’ll find that Hilda’s amazingly strong voice one of the most thrilling you’ve ever heard. (They usually give her a microphone when she sings the National Anthem at local stadiums, but she’d also sound just fine if they didn’t.) Check her out at www.hildalamas.com
Janet Beatrice – Root Beer Slush (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped After Week 2
Janet is a fun-spirited songwriter from Maynard, Massachusetts who came to HossTheBoss.com after one of her friends, Lenny Solomon, appeared on this show in August and had some success. Like many other songs I’ve played in previous editions of this contest, Root Beer Sluch has not yet been graced with the touch of a professional recording studio, but I think Janet did a terrific job of capturing this on her regular ole’ home computer. And, since the melody is a catchy one about a subject that’s bound to make you smile, there’s no way I could pass it up for this show. Janet, in fact, writes most of her songs with the hope of putting a smile on your face, and I think that’s about as nobel a goal for music as one can have. Janet says this song is an almost-true story about her discovery of the magical joining of Root Beer and slush at an old-fashioned candy store in Melrose, Massachusetts. And back when she wrote it (20 years ago!) you really could get one for half a buck (as the lyrics claim). She recently took her son to Candy Castle and reports that you must pay a whole buck now for the smallest size. Unfortunately, this new information doesn’t fit into the lyrics. However, the root beer slush is as luscious as ever! You can check out some of her other songs at www.youtube.com/janet444 and www.myspace.com/heartbeatmusic444.
John Cortez – Catfish (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped after Week 1
This is another guy who will be appearing at the Texas Blues Fest on November 14. He’s been playing gigs (and the open mic scene) around Corpus Christi for several years, and I’m not sure if we have a better guitar player in our little city — which has a surprisingly fun number of great guitar players. John recorded this song live at the Executive Surf Club here in Corpus Christi. You can check out a video of that recording at www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3O5vP5zQ4c.
Kristi Rae – Stories to Tell (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped After Week 2
Kristi is one of the Austin, Texas area musicians who have recorded in Tim Dittmar’s studio (mentioned above in the Annabella blurb). I’ll be honest to say that I don’t know much about her except what’s posted at www.raedar.com (cute name for a website), but I appreciate the intelligent beauty behind the songs on the CD “Time, be lit” she sent to me by way of Tim. I had a tough time picking just one song from the CD for the contest, so I imagine I’ll be playing more of her music on the show as “bonus” songs this month.
RC and The Pirates – That Brave (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped After Week 1
RC has been a HossTheBoss.com acquaintance for years, and I’ve found that mystique of his bio is as interesting as his music. RC stands for “Red Eye Carl,” and Carl says that he is a direct descendant of the legendarily infamous pirate Carl Laffitte. While I have yet to inspect RC’s genealogical records to verify this claim, I can definitely tell that he has at least the spirit of a pirate in him. RC plays all over Texas with his band, but, last I heard, the place he called home was down in the crazy little pirate-like coastal town of Freeport, Texas. I used to run a little newspaper in that wild place, and it’s definitely a welcoming spot for a 21st century pirate. RC and his guys have been regulars on the HossTheBoss.com rotation since 2006 (about as long as anybody), but this song is from a new set of stuff that RC has recently finished. This song has much more of a “country” sound than the previous stuff you’ve heard from him on the station (which was decidedly more bluesy), but I can feel the ghost of a pirate calling through as I listen to this song. Something tells me that Pirates would have gotten along much better with Indians than Cowboys did. Oh yeah, RC is yet another of the bands that will be playing at the Texas Blues Fest November 14.
Sam Watson – Judge Me (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped After Week 2
Sam Watson of Midland, Texas was one of our big winners from last year and earlier this year with her intelligently crafted songs that she turned into homemade accoustic recordings. She sent me a new batch of songs the’d finished recently, and said this one is the the favorite of all the she’s done so far. It features the same important theme as “Naked” which did very well in the November 2008 edition of this contest, so I figured we’d give Sam another shot this month.
Louis Quinn – Don’t Want To Beat It (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped after Week 1
Louis is another all star bluesman who will be jamming at the Texas Blues Fest. I think I’ll let this guy’s music just speak for itself. Wow! What a hell of a rockin’ song!
Steve Carlson – She Loves (Buy, Dang It)
Regular fans of this contest already know plenty about Steve Carlson who, in August, set the record for most votes ever in HossTheBoss.com history with his song “Stop.” Thanks are due to the support of Steve’s loyal fan Dee Reeves who went on to become a guest DJ in last month’s show and has brought HossTheBoss.com to the attention of a whole lot of other Steve Carlson fans over the last few months. I encourage everyone reading this to stop by www.SteveCarlsonfans.com to look Dee up and get to know more Steve Carlson fans, many of whom seem to have a healthy appreciate for independent music in general, not just their guy’s stuff. Steve’s music is as meticulously crafted as it can get, and, while this song is, like Stop, not off his absolutely latest CD, I chose it because it truly breathtaking — to the very last note. Get ready for goosebumps! I think I’ll just leave it at that.
The Bright Light Social Hour – A Guide To Empire (Buy, Dang It)
Dropped After Week 1
This is another song that comes to HossTheBoss.com by way of Austin, Texas area producer Tim Dittmar (see Annabella blurb above). As with Krista Rae above, I’ll admit ignorance about these guys — other than what’s listed at www.thebrightlightsocialhour.com – but I love the energy and intelligence I hear on the CD Tim sent along, and at least one friend who lives in the Austin area says the guys have a significantly exciting following on the local music scene up there.
See My Previous Picks
Lots of good tracks to choose from but try something different, Iain Forbes acoustic rendition of “Who Are You” is fantastic, give it a listen, then like me give it a vote.