Well, it’s been a while but I’m back into the swing of things. I have relocated to Boston and I am working at WMFO, 91.5 FM in Medford, which is just outside of Boston proper. I leave behind a lot of great relationships with the wonderful folks at WTMD. From Steve Yasko, to Mike Matthews, Erik, Melissa, John Matthews and all the support staff, it was a great ride.

Now on to the new music…the new show is called The Music You Might Otherwise Miss, not that you weren’t familiar with the name, but this is a two-hour show and it had to be more than just a “New Release Show.” So for the first hour it’s new releases and the following hour is an eclectic mix of indie, alternative and roots music. Just listen…you’ll get it.

I started the show with The Donots. (Pronounced Do-Nots) They consider themselves a punk/rock band. The name punk band seems out of time to me now but these guys originally formed back in 1993 in Germany, so when they entered their music style on their myspace page, it probably seems the right reference. Anyway, The name of the band came into being by chance: The bassist of the band, Jan-Dirk Poggemann wanted to name the band like the pastries donuts, but he wrote the name the wrong way by mistake. The other band members liked the name, because they found their philosophy in the name (donots = do nothing, like slackers), so they retained the name. They just released an EP, STOP THE CLOCKS, and I played the title track.

I also played the latest from the Five O’clock Heroes. This band came together when British citizen Anthony Ellis met Elliot Thompson in a bar in New York back in 2003. They picked up the bass player Nader, another Yank, and went through several drummers until they decided that they needed another Brit to balance and vary the band. So they went to England and picked up Sam Embery. To me, the music sounds like reggae infused rock but the boys in the band prefer a post-punk sound description with flares of early 80’s New-Wave, like the type you would get from Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello. The tune I played was just released as a single and if you never heard this band before, you wouldn’t know that the female lead was guest vocalist Agyness Deyn. I also recommend you check out their album BEND TO THE BREAKS. It made my top-ten CD’s of 2007. Oh, I almost forgot the name of the song. It’s “Who.”

Moving the music in a different direction with the new material from KaiserCartel, which are Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel. Now I’ve been a fan of Courtney Kaiser since the release of her debut solo effort, IN THE GARDEN, back in 2004. Her earlier work had a simpler feel to it but in her partnership with Cartel and the production of Matt Hales, makes this a much richer product. The disc is MARCH FORTH and I had a couple of choices of what to play. Tracks of note are “Favorite Song,” “Okay” and the one I did choose, “Oh No.”

Check out the new music from Martha Wainwright. I played “You Cheated Me” and it’s from her new album I KNOW YOU’RE MARRIED BUT I’VE GOT FEELINGS TOO. Boy, that’s a mouthful. This is her second full-length album and it seems Martha has gotten in touch with her inner ‘Cheesecake.” The promotional shots and album cover shows off her lovely and curvaceous figure.

And speaking of attractive, talented women; Priscilla Ahn, she released her full-length debut, A GOOD DAY. I really fancied “Red Cape.” I actually found her at the tail end of 2006 when she released and independent, self-titled EP. It had “Are We Different?” and “I Don’t Think So,” which the latter gets another chance to be heard on the new one.

If you get the chance, check out the new one from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. It’s called PERSHING. I played “Heers.” Also worth mentioning is “Modern Mystery.” It’s just good, intelligent pop music and a good listen all the way through.

Lastly is the band Carolina Liar, which is essentially Chad Wolf. His strange and serendipitous tale led him from Charleston, South Carolina to Los Angeles where he was an extra in a Celine Dion video, a songwriting intern to Diane Warren, and landing a house-sitting gig with famed Swedish record producer Max Martin. That last stop, at Martin’s house, led to a trip to Sweden, hooking up with back-up players and the recording of this new album; COMING TO TERMS. I’m summarizing, due to time limitations, but it’s a great story. I played the leadoff track and “should be” single, “I’m Not Over.”

I’m off next week but I will be doing a show on Friday, July 4th. I mean, come on…it’s our country’s birthday. It needs good music. The show is available on line. Some folks were having trouble getting the show via i-Tunes or the Media Player. It was working when we checked on it later. Please try again. I’ll start broadcasting a little earlier to get the signal going. I find the i-Tunes route a bit easier. So, I will see you in two weeks.

Please check out my new CD Compilation, The Uptown Blues Party, Vol. 1. It’s available for sampling and purchase on my website and at CD Baby.com.