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GospelbeacH – “It’s Too Late”
Good news for us all – my favorite band, GospelbeacH, releases a new song today, building anticipation for their upcoming full-length. Luther Russell’s driving guitar line and Jonny Neimann’s piano anchor the reflective piece, a bit wistful but GospelbeacH can never discard their sunshine-infused optimism. Like the spirit of Brent Rademaker, head of GospelbeacH and Curation Records, who have both faced immense loss recently with the passing of the effervescent Kellie Clonts Colby, he knows the light is there and proceeds to follow his predestined mission spread the good music to the world. It's Too Late by GospelbeacH Springtime and…
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Trevor Beld Jimenez – Get Ready to Fly
Petal Motel is pleased to premiere the brand new video for one of our very favorite songs from Trevor Beld Jimenez’s solo album I Like It Here, which came out last November on Curation Records. Back in the early pan days, Trevor did a lot of live streaming and this was one of the first songs we heard and it became an instant classic, in our eyes. The video is directed by Cyril Pooley Jean of Woom Studios in France. Trevor floats Buddha-like on a cloud, emitting rainbows with his pure and true voice. He awakens a sleeping (but friendly)…
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Farmer Dave and the Wizards of the West – FDWOW
Ten years after Farmer Dave’s surf opus Flash Forward to the Good Times, he’s back with Wizards of the West, a collective and constantly-evolving collections of musicians focused on a singular goal of spreading love via music. Where Flash Forward represented water, the eponymous debut of this project is all air and space. That isn’t to say Farmer Dave hasn’t been plenty busy in between, collaborating with Cass McCombs, Jenny Lewis, Kurt Vile, among others; releasing music as half of mysto-folk duo Californiosos; and of course his work with Beachwood Sparks and the Skiffle Players. He also released an EP,…
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Trevor Beld Jimenez – Everybody, It’s Christmas
It’s difficult for everyone this year to muster up the holiday spirit. Fortunately for us all, Trevor Beld Jimenez, who just released his solo debut last month, is back, releasing more Christmas magic to bring good cheer and tidings to all with this special Christmas song, “Everybody, It’s Christmas.” If you’re having a blue Christmas, bundle up, fix yourself some hot cocoa, and let Trevor’s latest lift your spirits. Trevor shares how he found some joy this season after all. I was having a bit of a Charlie Brown moment due to the year and the season and everything that’s…
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20 Years of Beachwood Sparks
Just over 20 years ago, the definitive, and one of the greatest modern Californiana records was released. Today, founding Spark Brent Rademaker’s Curation Records reissues a remastered, refreshed, revitalized sparkling, fully-loaded array of re-issue offerings. The double-LP features one record containing the original tracks mastered by John Golden re-imagined for vinyl by JJ Golden; while disc 2 features bonus tracks and unreleased versions of “This Is What It Feels Like,” “Canyon Ride,” and the original recording of “Morning Light,” later released on Painted Hills, Josh Schwartz’s project of the same name. The companion CD Beachwood Deluxe features the bonus tracks…
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Trevor Beld Jimenez – I Like It Here
A lot of folks are going to hear Trevor’s power pop, AM radio gold, sunshine-y Californiana record I Like It Here, out today on Curation Records, and draw some immediate parallels, due to his sun-drenched vocals, his lyrical references, and his history. I’m going to try to avoid leaning on that too heavily in favor of focusing on Trevor’s songwriting, the really amazing instrumentation instated by an impressive line-up of session players, and the heart of the album that shines through. We know that Trevor is a hell of a songwriter and musician. He’s the force that contributed to so…
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Trevor Beld Jimenez – Faces in the Crowd : Listen
The highly anticipated first single from Trevor Beld Jimenez upcoming solo debut I Like It Here is streaming on all platforms today. I wrote “Faces” on my mom’s piano in a flurry of songs that were coming out and it was the first one from that batch where [my wife] Tania said, “This one is special.”It was when I realized I could make a record. Trevor is a prolific songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has been a driving force of the southern California music scene for the better part of the last decade. He was the central member of the folk…
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Pacific Range : Tune In
Pacific Range is possibly the platonic ideal of a Californiana band – not in name alone, but their psychedelic combination of surf, country, and jammy sounds that peak and crest like the waves depicted in the imagery that reflects their origins (Chico State) and chosen home (the Santa Monica Mountains). The band released their excellent album High Upon the Mountain in March through our favorite label Curation Records. Their high energy shows, as well as their rigorous schedule, have helped Pacific Range cultivate quite a following. Unfortunately, the pandemic made the tour originally planned to promote their record an impossibility,…
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Pacific Range – Studio Walk : Video Premiere
Curation Records isn’t only purveying cool Californiana canciones, but curating a community. To repeat Pacific Range labelmate Farmer Dave’s statement from a past interview, “the emphasis [in music] going forward is on family… You want to be with your community.” In that spirit, I asked some friends and fans to help write this article. It’s hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago, Curation Records was putting on a hell of an end-of-the-world party. Pacific Range grooved for almost two hours, putting their all into the last concert before the day the earth stood still. Today, in the midst of…
