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Event
Wild Honey: Iain Matthews & Steve Postell and Rob Laufer-Autism Benefit
This is the final Wild Honey Backyard show of 2019 Season! Rob Laufer and Iain Matthews & Steve Postell will each perform full sets of new and old favorites. Vibrant acts in their musicial prime who should absolutely not be missed! Come early and enjoy the music, friendship, and good vibes of Wild Honey's Eagle Rock pop culture sanctuary. We will be starting at 2pm due to the end of Daylight Savings Time.
IAIN MATTHEWS, founding member of British Folk Rock bands Fairport Convention and Matthews Southern Comfort, has recorded with the likes of Nanci Griffith, Richard Thompson & Elliott Murphy. STEVE POSTELL, guitarist/producer for the Immediate Family, Danny Kootch Kortchmar, and has worked with David Crosby, John Oates, Robben Ford, Jennifer Warnes, and more. The pair, with more than 60 albums between them, join forces each year for a West Coast concert tour that typically includes Northern & Southern California to Utah. They are currently writing songs for their first duo album.
Here's a review of Rob Laufer's new record that will be available at the show: Rob Laufer, L.A.-based sideman, producer and songwriter-for-hire, as well as being the musical director of the renowned Wild Honey Orchestra is stepping forth with his first album, The Floating World, in nine years. Laufer could just as easily point to his busy schedule but also claims the hiatus is also due to a mental block of sorts, being unable to finish songs. Two events began to steer him back in the right direction. One was the serendipity of Bon Ivers debut album popping up on his iPod shuffle at a quiet time when he could just take in the beauty of the music. The other was the death of Tom Petty as Laufer dug in and began to appreciate the tidiness and economy of Pettys songs. He was rejuvenated.
The result is highly melodic, lush music that ranges from pop to power folk and soft, bouncy rock n roll, much of it Beatlesque (more on that later). Many songs touch on romance and relationships but they are not narratives, just well strung together thoughts, some in a tongue-in-cheek style. Laufer eases gently into the album with the opening Avalanche. He continues to easily float in with the singalong exercise in clever wordplay on Highway Machine, about which a man rides into an uncertain future with the radio to sing with and perhaps a riding companion via the line All weve got is each other and the radio. Bolt of Blue, the third song in, ignites a driving tempo, fueled by swirling organ.
Originally Laufer planned to record with other musicians but was so pleased with the demos in his home studio that he kept going alone. He eventually enlisted minimal support from a few contributors whom he cites in the liners. He also cites the percussion sound of mid-period Cat Stevens, the unique folk approach of Donovan, and the blend of country and rock on George Harrisons All Things Must Pass, which clearly echoes through the sounds and structure of the title track, as factoring into the albums warm sound.
One of Laufers favorites is Space and Time, a song thats not about physics but according to Laufer, good old space-and-time, like the night sky and the hands-on my clock, providing us the means to connect with one another. He uses water imagery and abstract lyrics in both This River and The Holding Sea, both of which fall into the lush pop category. The punch As Long As You Belong matches defiant lyrics with infectious hooks and power chords. He ends with the darkly comic, in the mode of Wilburys-folk-rock Hippie Love, in which he satirically views teen lovers while retaining a level of empathy too.
So, heres that Beatlesque reference we promised to expound upon. Laufer is tied to them in many ways. His first major gig was portraying George Harrison in the stage musical Beatlemania! In 1999. Sir George Martin asked him to sing A Day in the Life at a Hollywood Bowl Beatles tribute. He also played a key part in Cheap Tricks 2007 Sgt. Pepper at 40 concert at the Hollywood Bowl and in Las Vegas. Laufer returned to the Bowl in 2010 to sing Something and Across the Universe in a Beatles Celebration. A couple of years later came the three Wild Honey Beatles tributes, which have only added to Laufers Beatles creds.
Yes, Laufer brings the best of that endearing Beatles pop sound to this album, The Floating World, in a dreamy, memorable way.
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LocationWild Honey Backyard Amphitheater (View)
1167 Kipling Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90041
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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Contact
| Owner: Wild Honey |
| On BPT Since: Mar 11, 2013 |
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| Paul Rock |
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