"The first 20 years is just to see if you like it or not," Jerry Lopez, an iconic surfer, joked about the sport and lifestyle of surfing.   Joe Kaplow has always admired and glorified that type of Jedi-like dedication.  After 20 years, Kaplow is pretty sure he likes making music.

Up until now it was easy for California based songwriter Joe Kaplow to be pushed along. At eight he was getting screamed at by Uncle Jim for playing out of time. A few years later found him passing almost every single after school evening getting stoned and jamming with his band in Bondar's basement. Years later again he was studying music at college and having to sink or swim in the sea of talent crowding Boston streets and finally, for the past 5 years, plugging his amp into the outlet of American music heritage, driving around and playing shows in bars, clubs, and coffee shops while figuring out along the way that CDs are lame and that booking pitches should be concise.  It was almost like there wasn't time to stop and think.    

Recently, it seems like all he does is think.  When all the momentum, all the plans, all the validation, all the adventure, and all the money just stop; when the pushing stops, one may find themselves asking, "Why am I doing this?"  An underdog without an over-dog is just a dog.  

Kaplow describes music as his "currency for life. We all have something, or a few things that we do, we work at, we commit to and that's how we pay for our time here.  It's like life is a Ferris wheel at the county fair.  You can't just ride all night.  Every 4 times around you have to stop at the bottom and pay for another half hour or whatever."  

When faced with the question, "Why am I doing this?" Kaplow answered, "because this is how I feel best paying for my time."

The title of his second full length album, Sending Money and Stems, is not just a reference to life currency, but also a description of how the album came to be.  "Normally I would have flown up to Portland and sat in the room with Mike (Coykendall) as he mixed, but because of covid I had to email him stems (raw audio files) and we would go back and forth a few times until we got it right.  When one song was done, I'd text him and be like 'Ok man, next song coming up; sending money and stems!'"

The new album fills in the holes of Time Spent In Between.  It's more band oriented, more groove based, more uptempo, more hifi, and more happy go lucky than his previous work.  "Yeah, Time Spent In Between was a heavy record..."

There's always new challenges for a working musician.  For Joe and almost everyone else, the new challenge is promoting an album release without touring.  Thank God for the internet? But Joe Kaplow will figure it out, just like he figured out figure-8 mic placement or how to use index pages on Squarespace.  He'll keep figuring things out because that's how you keep going. He's pretty sure he likes making music.  He wants to ride the Ferris wheel all night.

Burr Oak is the Chicago-based songwriting project of vocalist/lyricist Savanna Dickhut, borne from the ashes of a tumultuous breakup. Her debut release “Late Bloomer” dives into Savanna's relationship with depression, trauma and acceptance with indie folk sounds. Now a four-piece band including Tony Mest (drums), Kevin Sheppard (guitar) and Meredith Nesbitt (bass), Burr Oak is always changing and evolving, just like a burr oak tree, transforming and adapting with the seasons.

 

The band has quietly been gearing up for their sophomore release— a 5 song EP titled "Annabelle,” slated for release via Audiosport Records near the end of summer 2024. Departing from their previous album, "Late Bloomer," which showcased a more personal approach to songwriting, Savanna Dickhut (vocals and guitar) and Tony Mest (drums) craft a conceptual piece centered around the character of Annabelle. Across five tracks, the EP unfolds Annabelle's journey, beginning with the toxic relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Adam, marked by emotional abuse and an unexpected pregnancy in "Rainclouds." As Annabelle grapples with single motherhood in the title track "Annabelle" and post-partum depression in "No Time to Dream," respectively, the EP delves into the depths of her despair and isolation. However, amidst the darkness, there is resilience and hope. "Fine, Fine" sees Annabelle reflecting on her hardships, finding strength within herself to persevere. Finally, in "Like a Dream," Annabelle discovers companionship and love, signaling a new chapter of healing and happiness in her life.

 

Through poignant storytelling and emotive melodies, "Annabelle" encapsulates themes of love, loss, resilience, and the transformative power of human connection. It is a narrative-driven EP that speaks to the universal experiences of overcoming adversity and finding hope amidst life's challenges.

Ray Flanagan is a Cleveland, OH based songwriter that writes and performs his songs with the no nonsense attitude of a skilled journeyman. Flanagan has performed with nearly everybody in the Northeast Ohio music scene, lending his keen musical sense and guitar artistry to artists of all genres. Even though he is one of the most sought after guitarists in Northeast Ohio, it’s his songwriting that is his true superpower. The shutdown forced Flanagan to mobilize a different outlet for his creativity, resulting in the quickened pace of releasing two self-produced songs on the first Friday of every month starting in January of 2021. These unfiltered songs offer the listener an authentic experience of a songwriter realizing their potential with every new song. Keeping a mind for music history and a creative target on the present moment, his songs and lyrics are signposts to his perception of the things that are happening right now.