My Latest Music Discoveries

I love music that kindle within me the fire to write! For anyone looking to hear some fresh music before the artists become well known by the public, I’ll share a couple of recommendations here. Both artists fall along the lines of Phillip Phillips but contain their own unique sounds.

Gather Up by Peter Bradley Adams – www.peterbradleyadams.com
The artist has released music for a decade or so. This album is several years old and provides terrific ambience for writing or a road trip. My favorite track on the album is the gorgeous “One Foot Down.”

I hadn’t heard of Adams until watching a recent movie that featured one of his songs, “The Longer I Run” (not on this album). The vocals and production grabbed my heart. Filmmakers tend to use his music here and there because of its understated value. As it turns out, I’d heard another song of his in the Cameron Crowe film Elizabethtown and have enjoyed it on the soundtrack album for years! The song is called “Hard Times,” which Adams recorded it as part of the duo eastmountainsouth.

All For You by Christian Porter – www.christianportermusic.com
I’m addicted to the track “All About You.” Awesome vocals and a stirring chorus. In the first few lines, Porter sounds like a front man for The Fray. Porter anchors his album on solid love songs.

As for how I learned about this artist, you can’t make these things up. Back in March, I visited my brother in Los Angeles. Outside the Burbank airport, I wound up standing curbside between a guy named Christian Porter. We chatted for a couple of minutes while we waited for our rides. Porter was a contestant on NBC show The Voice, but nobody knew who he was since his audition episode wouldn’t air for two more days. We exchanged business cards, and I planned to check out his music eventually. On Sunday night, my brother, sister-in-law and I had the TV on The Voice and were about to turn on a movie when we saw the pre-commercial preview. I said, “Stop! That’s the guy I met at the airport!” We kept the show on to catch Porter’s performance, a re-envisioned R&B take on the rap song “Sexy and I Know It,” which climaxed in a Prince-like falsetto. An electric, badass performance. I bought his album a few days later and it’s remained on my playlist. He got eliminated during the battle round—a travesty, in my opinion. I expect this guy to hit it huge in the years to come.

Never give up!

John Herrick
johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com