John Haydon:
Pongid Radio is playing "I Wanna Go Away With You" - and we're looking forward to his new releases.
John Haydon's 5th and most recent release "Phantom
Heart" is an achingly beautiful and haunting exploration of the dark,
hidden realms of the heart and the happiness found in love. The
listener can't help but feel that Haydon has transformed a very
personal dark night of the soul into a bitter-sweet collection of songs
that shine with ageless beauty. Fans will be interested to know that
two thirds of the songs were written as "hidden-message love letters"
during the formation of a band with another songwriter that he fell in
love with (a short documentary about the album

called "Song Stories"
will be available at www.johnhaydon.com). The songs resonate with
poetic sensibility and naked honesty conjuring up the ghosts of Leonard
Cohen, Neil young and John Lennon.
For the past 13 years, Haydon
has been developing an honest and direct, yet refined songwriting
voice. Each song is a balancing see-saw with loneliness and despair on
one end and hope and determination on the other end. His previous
record "She's Gone" (on iTunes) was released in 2002 and received rave
reviews in major music publications in the Northeast.
His
musical styles have gone from Pop Rock to Alt-County to
Singer/Songwriter to Minimalist Folk reflecting influences that include
Badly Drawn Boy, Neil Young, Galaxy 500
, Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash.
However, the essential constant thread in his music is what one fan
calls "courageous vulnerability". John adds, "Artists like Leonard
Cohen, Gram Parsons and Neil Young have always been mentors to me in
how they put honesty before anything else in their music. If I can get
one thing right, it would be being honest and naked in my music".
No
effort was spared making this record. John hand-picked Boston's best
including Russell Chudnofsy (Lori McKenna), Mike Piehl (Chris Smither),
Steve Chaggaris (Ke
n Clark Organ Trio /The Soul Band) and Margaret
Garrett (Mr. Airplane Man). All the songs were recorded at Moontower
Studio, Woolly Mammoth Studio and his home studio in Massachusetts. The
masterful Pete Weiss (Bow Thayer, Ramona Silver, Lucky 57) mixed
everything at Verdant Studio. Finally, Jeff Lipton (Magnetic Fields,
Big Star, Jess Klein, Sebadoh) at Peerless mastered the disc.
Note:
On 4/23/2008, The Watertown Tab published the following article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/watertown/archive/x914614997
Instrumentation
John Haydon - acoustic guitar / vocals.
Discography
Five Dollar Milkshake - Apartinthemiddle - 1998
John Haydon - Resolve - 1999
John Haydon - This Time - 2001
Timbre Project - 2001
John haydon - She's Gone - 2003
Hayseed Prophets - Future Looks Bright - 2003
John Haydon - Phantom Heart - 2008
Links
http://johnhaydon.com
New 4 Song EP due 05-03-09!
Check out his MySpace page here.
Follow
Stumble
Face
"Exudes the brave, naked honesty of Daniel Johnston
with a delivery somewhere between Neil Young and Dean Wareham." -
Platitude Review
"From the hypnotic and soulful 'Blue Van' to the
pensive, close-to-the-bone 'Peel Away', Haydon does offer up a little
slab of his soul with each song." - Provincetown Banne
"Impressive and soulful, it immediately catches attention and sets out its stall as redemptive music." - Three Monkeys eZine
"...more than a collection of raw and honest songs
about lost love and navigating life. It’s also proof that music has the
power to pull someone out of the depths of depression and pain." -
Brookline TAB
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Don Russian
Jon and Jim Drake are two brothers raised on the
likes of Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, The Boss, The Beatles, and The
Waterboys (courtesy of father/manager Chuck Drake). The brothers have
been learning and writing together since childhood beginning with a
single Yamaha Eterna and a Tascam four track tape recorder.
Years
later and armed with beautifully crafted guitars and crunchy distorted
tube amps, the Drake brothers became a
ttached to other soun
ds like
early punk rock, garage rock, and art rock/glam rock.. the likes of the
Buzzcock
s, The Clash, Trail
of Blood, Modest Mouse, The Stooges, Kings
of Leon, The Teeth, and of course a little Wilco and Neutral Milk Hotel.
With
all of these influences the brothers crafted their own sound with a
classic guitar, guitar, bass and drums presentation. Combined with
strong song writing and vocal abilities gained through studies both
collegiate and independent, the boys have become a force to reckon
with. On top of that, they are backed up by one of the tightest,
punchiest rhythm sections around via Jared Olson and Paul Chivari.
DON
RUSSIAN has been hitting the pavement and perfecting their product for
years. As of today.. there is a steady buzz in the air as the show
success continues to grow. DON RUSSIAN is up and coming and definitely
a band to watch.
DON RUSSIAN RESUME:
The Note, The Double
Door, Martyr's, Ronnies, Reggies, Mutiny,
Elbo Room, Liquid Blues,
Clearwater Theater, and more... Currently working with Empty Bottle.
Played With:
Lucid Ground, The GoStation, TEAM BAND, Elephant Gun, Cycle Something, and more...
Instrumentation
Jon Drake- guitar, vocals.
Jim Drake- guitar, vocals.
Paul Chivari- bass.
Jared Olson- drums, vocals.
Info: rock.
original. intense. creative. garage pop rock with a punk flare. See a
show; you will want to tell everyone about it.
This is THE
quintessential Chicago rock band: high energy, wonderfully crafted
songs, innovative guitar work.. all of this with a professional
presence on and off the stage.
Check out their music on our station - visit their Myspace page here.