Trevor Nealon | Austin, TX based keyboardist

April 19th

April 20, 2012 by admin

“The power of music just kinda kills all those ills; it cures everything and you’ve got more energy just from the music. And, I’ve never seen it fail. It’s good for ya; real good for ya.” -Levon Helm

Very sad news this afternoon. The web is flooded with tributes and remembrances. He was absolutely one of the best rock n’ roll drummers of all time, the true leader of what George Harrison called “the greatest band in the history of the universe”. His renegade voice was one of the most distinctive and uniquely American there ever was–part juke joint, part gospel, completely down-home, honest and pure, soulful. It was so full of pride and resilience that it made everybody in the room rise up and believe…believe that we are in fact all in this thing together.

He was a natural. He leaves a legacy that bridges the old ways of our past with all that comes after. We are here in Little Rock for the second show of a two week run through the Midwest and in a small self-serving way I can say that I’m honored to be in his home state today. There will never be another like Levon Helm.

It was quite an honor this past weekend for TBOH to be featured on the nationally-syndicated radio program, The Grateful Dead hour, hosted by David Gans. On the second part of the program he played a great China Cat Sunflower->I Know You Rider from 1973 and then went right into Mr. Charlie and Brokedown Palace off our bonus EP from the Double Down shows in Denver last October. Pretty cool.

Here are some records that I’ve been enjoying immensely. Hope you can find the time to check them out for yourself.

Chuck Leavell, Back To The Woods. Chuck is THE MAN. This is his new record, which is a tribute to early blues pianists like LeRoy Carr and Little Brother Montgomery
Jack McDuff, Who Knows What Tomorrows Gonna Bring? Early 70′s release, a little more experimental sonically. Splendid piano contribution from the great Paul Griffin.
King Curtis, Instant Groove. One of the heaviest soul men of all time. This record features righteous guitar solos by Duane Allman on four tracks.
Blitzen Trapper, American Goldwing. Might be my favorite record of 2012 thus far.
Stephen Stills, Stephen Stills. Love The One You’re With…what an amazing tune. Side one ends with back to back tracks that feature lead guitar by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
The Sensational Nightengales, My Sisters And Brothers. 1974 Release from the wonderful gospel group. Ramshackle guitar, simple drum and bass parts, beautiful singing. The title track is the one that became the anthem of the JGB.

Be well and happy.

TN

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Week of March 19th

March 20, 2012 by admin

As I write this, we are winding through the hills outside of Raton, NM, heading back to Texas after another great weekend in Colorado. Less than 50 miles to the west, there is inclement weather on the way, which makes passing through here seem pretty cool in a wistful way. There must be some nostalgia or wanderlust, a little sense of bravado even, that this type of landscape conjures up. Perhaps it’s embedded in our DNA. I get the sense that this something longs for the time when we were all a little more connected to the land and were more aware of the delicate balance of nature and more grateful for the basic things needed for survival that are not guaranteed but mysteriously are provided. I guess you could say the wide open spaces in the Southwestern United States have the ability to bring that all to the surface. Sunday is always a good day to reflect.

A week off back in Austin before we head out again to the East Coast. The madness of SXSW is now behind us until next year. The ATX should have a nice mellow vibe, which suits me just fine right now.

I’ve really been enjoying a few new artists recently (new to me at least). Highly recommend you check these records out.

Bahamas, Pink Strat and Bar Chords. Apparently this dude plays guitar for Feist but I have to say I really dig these two solo records. Full of great grooves, killer spacious guitar playing, really great songwriting, the vocals have folk-blues sensibility along the lines of Dan Auerbach. The female background vocals are on the money too. Some of these tunes are really catchy.

Megafaun, Megafaun. These dudes were in a band with Justin Vernon (now Bon Iver). This is their latest and from what little I’ve heard, best record since they went there separate ways in 2006. Some really spacey, almost psychedelic jams. Multiple vocal layers on every tune. It has elements of Wilco, Dawes and Bon Iver. The first track almost sounds like it could have been in the Dead’s repertoire circa ’77-78.

“Overlooking is a manner of graciousness; it is looking and at the same time not looking. It is seeing and not taking notice of what is seen. It is being hurt or harmed or disturbed by something and yet not minding it. It is an attribute of nobleness of nature. It is the sign of souls who are tuned to a higher key. Whenever we see that goodness is lacking, we may add to it from our own heart and so complete the nobility of human nature. This is done by patience, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness. The lover of goodness loves every little sign of goodness. He overlooks the faults and fills up the gaps by pouring out love and supplying that which is lacking. This is real nobility of soul.” -Hazrat Inayat Khan

TN

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Week of Mardi Gras

February 21, 2012 by admin

Happy Mardi Gras! Greetings to everybody out here in cyberspace. I hope this year is off to a great start for you, full of health, prosperity, and happiness.

I’ve taken part in some pretty cool recording sessions the past few weeks. It was a great honor to do a track with the Beckham Brothers for a Lowell George tribute album that is being put together by his son, Luke George. Little Feat is on my short list of favorite bands of all time. Lowell was absolutely brilliant. A total musician’s musician: top-shelf in terms of singing, playing, composing, producing. Dixie Chicken, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, and Time Loves A Hero are all killer albums and are testaments to Lowell’s genius. I was asked to play piano on a cool arrangement of a b-side tune, “Dorisville”, that I wasn’t familiar with. I mainly stuck to doing my own thing but couldn’t resist the opportunity to sprinkle in some Billy Payne flavor crystals here and there. As far as keyboardists go, he is a giant.

On the topic of Little Feat, I know Waiting For Columbus is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time, and for good reason. But please do yourself a favor and listen to this show from 1974. This is a killer recording from an in-studio performance. The band is really on fire. Click here to listen. The groove on “Two Trains” will explode your brain.

Last week I played some keys on the new Leopold & His Fiction album. I’ve known Daniel James for a few years now and have come to really admire his talents. He is a great songwriter and is exceptionally gifted as a producer. Listening to him sing and play guitar, you get the idea that he is the captain of a burning ship. He has that kind of fire.

As I write this, I’m just a few minutes from landing at LAX. I’ll be here in Los Angeles for the next few days recording with Jazz Mills. Jazz is one of the most talented vocalists I know and has been a really close friend for a long time. A fella named Dave Way, who has worked with artists like Prince, Michael Jackson, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Sheryl Crow and Toni Braxton (ughh, to name a few!) is producing the album. Needless to say, I am excited to see how this unfolds…

Some records that I’ve been enjoying here recently:

Vetiver, To Find Me Gone
Ry Cooder, Paradise and Lunch
James Taylor, Mud Slide Slim and The Blue Horizon
Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton, Play The Blues
Oscar Peterson Trio, Night Train
Rob Ickes, Road Song
The Barr Brothers, The Barr Brothers

“One person comes into a country with a little cold or influenza and it spreads. If such a bad thing can spread, can not an elevated thought of love, kindness and goodwill towards all men spread? See then that there are finer germs, germs of goodwill, of love, kindness, and feeling, germs of brotherhood, of the desire for spiritual evolution, which can have greater results than the other ones. If we all have that optimistic view, if we all work in our little way, we can accomplish a great deal.” -Hazrat Inayat Khan

TN

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Week of January 16th

January 17, 2012 by admin

Happy 2012 everyone. I’m writing this update as we make our way from Montrose to Pagosa Springs, CO…what an incredible landscape. Winding through rugged mountain terrain surrounded by exquisite natural beauty and bluebird skies, this is Colorado at its finest. After a memorable run of shows in Texas over New Year’s, we have spent the first two weeks of the year in the Rockies. While there seems to be a lot of concern about the lack of schneefall so far this season, it has been a great hang for us as always.

Excited about the year ahead. In spite of the incessant reports to the contrary, I believe we are in the midst of some positive changes globally. The Mayans were definitely on to something in their prognastications…and while I can’t say I agree, I think it’s fine that some believe the world is going to end this year. (It’d be okay, though. Life would go on just fine without us!). I tend to agree more with the line of thinking that suggests that the Mayan calendar is pointing to 2012 not as the Apocalypse but rather as a shift in social consciousness. Really, it’s hard to say being in the midst of it all (and there is plenty of noise to distract us these days) but perhaps 20, 30, 40 years from now we will be able to look back at this time frame (2011-12-13, whatever) as a period in which some significant changes began to take place. I look at things like the endless braincraft in cellular/data technology realm, the Facebook/Twitter social networking phenomena, and even the Arab Spring as indicators that the world is shrinking and human beings are being brought together in ways that would have been considered science fiction less than 100 years ago. What can be called our shared reality is evolving at an alarming rate. It’s quite possible to me that the Mayans (and I’m sure many other primitive civilizations for that matter) with all their worship and study of nature and the cosmos foresaw something that was written plain as day for those who were/are tuned properly. Some will respond to these sorts of things with fear and hysteria. That’s only natural…and okay. Looking at the big picture–I mean the biggest possible picture here–it’s all just part of the saga, the story of humanity. Nothing to fear; more like observe and enjoy I guess…

I’ve been enjoying a lot of killer records recently…some are new to me, others old favorites. Here is a list of some that are in steady rotation at present.

Ahmad Jamal, Ahmad’s Blues
Radiohead, Kid A
The Caravans, Best Of
Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli, Souvenirs
Curtis Mayfield, Curtis/Live!
Ry Cooder, Into The Purple Valley
Amos Milburn, Rocks
Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection
Wilco, Kicking Television

“With good will and trust in God, self-confidence, and a hopeful attitude towards life, a man can always win his battle, however difficult.” -Hazrat Inayat Khan

TN

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Week of December 5th

December 5, 2011 by admin

Greetings and Happy Holidays to everybody out here in cyberspace. November was a good month for me personally as I spent a great deal of time with music-related activities. There were a lot of shows, mostly close to home here in Austin, and a lot of time my free time was spent “trying to get good” (as the great Jack Sheldon would say). A few recording sessions (most notably with my pal, Luke Benson; also Nick Jay and King Corduroy) here and there which were fun. I’ve updated the music player on this site with a few cuts from Bryon Friedman’s new record, which we recorded back in February. Hanging with Freedog and Marc Benning for a few days off the grid at the majestic Hideaway Studios outside of Woodland Park, CO was such a great, soul-nourishing experience. I hope the record captures that somehow!

My birthday was last week (Nov. 30th) and Gordy and Ed and their lovely wives took me to see Wilco do their ACL taping at the new Moody Theater. It was absolutely incredible as you might imagine. The 2-hour plus set spanned their entire 17-year career and demonstrated that they are truly ‘rock ‘n roll’s foremost impressionists’. (Sidenote: the room was lifted when they brought out Duane Allman’s 1957 Gold top Les Paul for Nels Cline to play on a few tunes. Jeff Tweedy was very genuine when he acknowledged how honored they all were).

Here is a cool little clip of the entire Ryan Montbleau Band sitting in with the BOH during our encore in Dallas. Pretty clear how much fun we were all having.

Per usual, here are some records that I’ve been listening to a lot recently:

Kiko, by Los Lobos. This album (from ’91 I believe) is a masterpiece. “When The Circus Comes”, “Two Janes”, “Reva’s House”, “Peace” are all amazing tunes. The singing is very moving. Production (Mitchell Froom and Los Lobos) is absolutely brilliant too.

Whatever It Takes, by Larry Goldings. Hammond, piano, wurly, clav…whatever he plays, Larry Goldings is one of the finest keyboardists in the world.

“However much sincerity a person may have, there is always a gap to fill, for we live in the midst of falsehood, and we are always apt to be carried away by this world of falsehood. Therefore we must never think we are sincere enough, and we must always be on our guard against influences which may carry us away from that sincerity which is the bridge between ourselves and our ideal.” -Hazrat Inayat Khan

TN

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Week of November 7th

November 7, 2011 by admin

The change of season is in full affect in Texas. It’s been quite nice around here the last few weeks.

This past weekend was a lot of fun. We did a few shows with the Ryan Montbleau Band from Boston. It had been several years since I’d last seen them in Park City, UT but I’ve been keeping track of them intermittently. During that timespan I’d say they have been on the road as much as any band I can think of. We were all excited about playing with them and they did not disappoint. They were just fantastic. I highly recommend checking them out live if you get the chance.

I recently had the pleasure of recording with my friends, T-Bird And The Breaks. Here is a video from the session that they just released this week. This is fonky

I saw Rich Robinson and his band last Wednesday night in Austin at Stubb’s. Somewhat of a lackluster turnout but nonetheless they were killer. It was a fantastic show. Rich is a man of great emotional stature and everything he sang and played was heartfelt and epic. His new record Through A Crooked Sun is really worth checking out.

I’ve also been listening to Chuck Prophet’s record No Other Love a lot recently. The whole album from front top to bottom is great. Some really great vibes here…

“Man does not like to admit his wrong attitude to himself. He is afraid of his own faults. But the man who looks his own error in the eye, the man who criticizes himself has no time to criticize others. It is that man who will prove to be wise.” ~Hazrat Inayat Khan

TN

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Week of October 10th

October 10, 2011 by admin

Today’s update comes from southern Colorado, making the journey back to Austin from Denver. The last two weekends were quite memorable.

The 11th Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco was possibly the best music festival experience I’ve had. For those who are unfamiliar, HSB is the incredibly generous gift of one man, billionaire Warren Helman, to the city of San Francisco. It brings in some of the finest in American roots music and is completely free to the public. Devoid of corporate sponsorship (which upon careful analysis has a subtle but refreshingly positive effect on the subconscious). The setting is idyllic–the hallowed, musically-sacred grounds of Golden Gate Park. The weather all weekend was sunny and unseasonably warm. I heard that the attendance on Saturday was nearly 400,000 people…that’s right, 400,000! I sat stage right for Gillian Welch and Dave Rawling’s set Saturday afternoon. Just prior to their opening number (“Scarlet Town”, from the new record) the emcee announced to the crowd that there was an estimated 250,000 people in that meadow alone. Looking out at that mass of humanity was awe-inspiring, but what amazed me more than anything was the peaceful vibe that was radiating from the crowd. Words don’t suffice here…As for Gillian and Dave, their performance was just as soulful and sincere as can be. We were all very moved. Our set earlier that afternoon felt great, in large part due to the warm response we received. The highlight was easily finishing with “Brokedown Palace”–there were smiles all around and it was a very appropriate nod to the Dead. As for the other acts, I can honestly say there was nothing I didn’t enjoy immensely. Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain, & Edgar Meyer demonstrated masterful musical ESP; Del McCoury and The Preservation Hall Jazz band was again amazing–a huge ensemble playing at an incredibly high level and relatively low volume on stage; Earl Scruggs–87 years old and still throwing it down. The Jayhawks, The Mother Hips, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, Dr. John! It was all quite uplifting and inspiring.

This past weekend was spent in Denver as we had a two-night run at Cervantes’. I can’t say enough about how enjoyable it is there, and in Colorado in general. We recorded and filmed both shows and hope to release either a live album or video or both. There were a few hiccups/minor technical difficulties here and there, but we all seem to agree that both nights had some great moments. We’ll see.

I picked up a bunch of records recently and have a few I’d like to recommend checking out. Soulero by Kenny Burrell and Alligator Boogaloo by Lou Donaldson.

Both are great for ‘chillin with a funky feelin’…which is expertly demonstrated in the video below by Bill Withers and his band from 1972. Get a copy of Bill Withers Live At Carnegie Hall and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Peace,
TN

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Week of September 26th

September 30, 2011 by admin

“Religion is the school that has developed man, and the ideals that religion presents form a path that leads upward to perfection, that innate and yearning desire of every soul. … The wise of all ages have taught that it is the knowledge of the Divine Being that is life, and the only reality. Although a human activity may have a number of complicated motives, some of which are base and gross, it is the aspiration towards divinity, the desire towards beauty, which is its soul, its life, and its reality. And it is in proportion to the degree of strength or weakness of his aspiration towards beauty that man’s ideal is great or small, and his religion is great or small.” ~Hazrat Inayat Khan

It has been a beautiful day of driving in the Pacific Northwest. Left Tacoma early this morning, en route to one of my favorite cities on the planet, San Francisco. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park this weekend…my stoke level is high right now as you might imagine.

This past Sunday, played at the Lake Powellapalooza festival in Page, AZ and was able to catch up with more than a few old friends. After our afternoon set a few of us stuck around to see the Young Dubliners, Hot Buttered Rum, Stonefed, and The Motet (Joey Porter is absolutely incredible on the keys).

Coming to the end of another great West Coast tour…L.A. SLO, Santa Cruz, Eugene, Portland, Seattle…all great places to be this time of year.

This week’s music suggestion is one from the most underrated/greatest rock bands around today…the Mother Hips. Shootout from 1996 is a masterpiece. Every song on this record is killer and the performances are stone cold. Back in the winter of 2003, I spent 3 months backpacking in Europe with Gordy and Gannon and we took a total of 10 cds with us on the trip. This was one of them…doesn’t get old. I’ve seen them live a dozen times or so, always killer, but their set at Las Tortugas festival in Yosemite, Halloween 2008 was one of the best rock n’ roll shows I have ever witnessed. “The stuff dreams are made of.” They play this Sunday afternoon at HSB, can’t wait.

P.S. Warm congratulations to the new Joe and Trish Beckham, who were married 9/25/11 in Austin. What an amazing couple!

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Week of September 12

September 13, 2011 by admin

Just left Albuquerque en route to Sacramento where we start a two week tour of the West Coast. Looking forward to a lot of great shows and catching up with friends and family. I’ve been staying busy in Austin the last few weeks, playing shows with the Heathens, Zapata!, Deadeye, and King Corduroy. Also did some recording sessions with TBird & The Breaks and Noble Dog, both killer bands. Had a chance to sit in with Wisebird and The Beckham Brothers last Saturday at Momo’s. It was pretty fun.

This week’s recommendation is Warren Haynes’ new album, Man In Motion. This is the soulful side of Warren Haynes. The songs are all fantastic and I like how there are no fade-outs on the record, the band just kicks it into high gear and they let the tape roll! Ron Holloway on sax, Ruthie Foster on harmony vocals, Ray Weber on drums, and Ron Johnson on bass. Also prominently featured are two legendary keyboardists, Ivan Neville (clavinet, organ) and Ian McLagan (Wurlitzer, Piano). Warren, as always, is top-notch. His performances on this record remind me of Freddie King, both singing and playing. He is a living legend and a personal hero.

On a personal note, I was saddened to learn that Motorcyle Mike died yesterday. He was a real-life cosmic bandito. Always on the go, driving back and forth between Guatemala, Austin, and NorCal. He had a larger than life personality and a big heart. He was extremely generous and always had a twinkle in his eye. He’ll be missed by many.

“Pleasure blocks, but pain clears the way of inspiration. Tagore says: ‘When the string of the violin was being tuned it felt the pain of being stretched, but once it was tuned then it knew why it was stretched’. So it is with the human soul. While the soul goes through pain, torture and trouble it thinks that it would have been much better if it had gone through life without it. But once it reaches the culmination of it then, when it looks back, it begins to realize why all this was meant: it was only meant to tune the soul to a certain pitch.” -Hazrat Inayat Khan

TN

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Week of August 29th

August 30, 2011 by admin

Had a great (but rather exhausting) weekend in Kansas and Arkansas with the BOH. Friday we played a blues festival in Paola, KS which is about 40 minutes from Kansas City. Our set was well received, however the generator powering the stage was having some issues which led to some ‘Tales from the Crypt’-like sounds from my Hammond organ. Right after us was 20-year old blues guitar prodigy, Tyler Bryant. While some of his material was a little too ‘poppy’ for my taste, there is no denying that he can really play. It was mind-blowing! His band was made up of three other young men about the same age, all were serious players, very gracious and humble. Tyler has been opening for Jeff Beck frequently this year. Definitely check him out. Long, tall, Marcia Ball closed out the evening in her sweet, soulful, joyous fashion. She is a fantastic player and singer and just a wonderful person to be around. Altogether it was a really great evening of music.

Saturday we were at Sticky Fingerz in Little Rock. Wish we had a recording of the show. Some really heavy, soulful playing from Gordy.

This week’s picks:

Allen Toussaint, From A Whisper To A Scream. One of my favorite albums of all time. Beautiful songs, Funky Meters for a rhythm section. Many other, well known artists have covered songs from this record. They don’t call him the “High Priest of New Orleans” for nothing–this music is healing.

Otis Rush, Mourning In The Morning. Really cool mix of a Chicago Blues master and Muscle Shoals funk/soul. Duane Allman plays rhythm guitar on every track. Killer!

TN

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