Art Linton: he more than gets by with a little help from his friends
By Mikel K (Poet)
I met the nicest guy, last night; in the weirdest place of all for me to meet a nice guy: a bar. He looked like a school teacher, or maybe a journalist, but I knew that he was at that bar to sing in a rock n roll band. I didn't know what to expect, other than that his drummer, and his guitar player were top notch players, and that his bass player came highly recommended to me by his drummer.
His pre-song banter was interesting:
"This sure is a small stage," he said, with a smile, looking around at the men, and musical equipment, crammed on the small, small stage with him.
"Do you like my Jimi Hendrix t-shirt?" he asked the audience. I bought it at Target, he said, rolling the store name over his lips, making the discount department store sound like a posh French boutique. We've all made that joke about Target, before, but coming from this guy, on that stage, it seemed funnier to me than it ever had to joke about shopping cheap, and calling it high class at that department store.
I wonder if Hendrix had lived would he have found humor in his image being sold in Target's men's department. Maybe not, but, once the man on the stage started to play, Hendrix would have had a smile on his face in appreciation for what was going down in front of him.
"I've got two new records out," said Linton, "and this first song is off of one of them, it's called. "Little Red Telephone."
Sometimes a band, and, sometimes the man singing in that band, take a few songs to warm up, to show you what they have got, what they are capable of, but Art Linton and Friends, hit a groove right from the first note of this first song; in fact the band hit such a groove that I put my pen down, took no more notes, and just listened to an amazing night of music.
Art Linton is an incredible story teller, and he tells a different story in each song that he writes and sings. His voice goes from raspy in one song to choir boy in the next; one minute he and his friends are
doing something that sounds like Lou Reed, and the next they are doing something influenced by The Beatles.
I don't know what flavor of the month that the record labels are looking for now, but if they want a flavor that will last and last, they really ought to look at and sign Art Linton and Friends, and if you are looking for a band that rocks, and a singer who rolls, and roll, I really suggest that you seek out Art Linton and Friends when they next play live, and check out the Art Linton c.d.s, "Enemy Lines," "Time Heals All," and, "Fool For You." The cds are as much fun, and are as exciting as a live Art Linton gig.
Go see Art Linton live, and then take him home with you!
You can check out some Art Linton videos by entering his name on You Tube.
and Mr. Linton can be found at www.myspace.com/artlinton
Check I Tunes to purchase Art Linton cds.
Peace, and love, baby!
PS Time Heals All is Mikel K's favorite Art Linton song. What's yours?
By Mikel K (Poet)
I met the nicest guy, last night; in the weirdest place of all for me to meet a nice guy: a bar. He looked like a school teacher, or maybe a journalist, but I knew that he was at that bar to sing in a rock n roll band. I didn't know what to expect, other than that his drummer, and his guitar player were top notch players, and that his bass player came highly recommended to me by his drummer.
His pre-song banter was interesting:
"This sure is a small stage," he said, with a smile, looking around at the men, and musical equipment, crammed on the small, small stage with him.
"Do you like my Jimi Hendrix t-shirt?" he asked the audience. I bought it at Target, he said, rolling the store name over his lips, making the discount department store sound like a posh French boutique. We've all made that joke about Target, before, but coming from this guy, on that stage, it seemed funnier to me than it ever had to joke about shopping cheap, and calling it high class at that department store.
I wonder if Hendrix had lived would he have found humor in his image being sold in Target's men's department. Maybe not, but, once the man on the stage started to play, Hendrix would have had a smile on his face in appreciation for what was going down in front of him.
"I've got two new records out," said Linton, "and this first song is off of one of them, it's called. "Little Red Telephone."
Sometimes a band, and, sometimes the man singing in that band, take a few songs to warm up, to show you what they have got, what they are capable of, but Art Linton and Friends, hit a groove right from the first note of this first song; in fact the band hit such a groove that I put my pen down, took no more notes, and just listened to an amazing night of music.
Art Linton is an incredible story teller, and he tells a different story in each song that he writes and sings. His voice goes from raspy in one song to choir boy in the next; one minute he and his friends are
doing something that sounds like Lou Reed, and the next they are doing something influenced by The Beatles.
I don't know what flavor of the month that the record labels are looking for now, but if they want a flavor that will last and last, they really ought to look at and sign Art Linton and Friends, and if you are looking for a band that rocks, and a singer who rolls, and roll, I really suggest that you seek out Art Linton and Friends when they next play live, and check out the Art Linton c.d.s, "Enemy Lines," "Time Heals All," and, "Fool For You." The cds are as much fun, and are as exciting as a live Art Linton gig.
Go see Art Linton live, and then take him home with you!
You can check out some Art Linton videos by entering his name on You Tube.
and Mr. Linton can be found at www.myspace.com/artlinton
Check I Tunes to purchase Art Linton cds.
Peace, and love, baby!
PS Time Heals All is Mikel K's favorite Art Linton song. What's yours?
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Comments
Great article. I can understand why you wrote for that rag back then. Great style.