Sometimes you have to give musicians the benefit of the doubt. As a follow musician, I often wonder if I've been given the same courtesy when I've asked a friend to come to one of my gigs or listen to one of my albums. Friendships can cloud judgements, or not. Other musicians can way too critical of fellow musicians, or not. So the other day I was in 30th Street Guitars, one of my favorite guitar shops (repairs, new and used gear) in the world looking to test-drive a new reverb pedal (Moog MF Analog Trem). I was ushered into their sound-proof room by my friend Jimmy Archey and introduced to fellow musician Talay who was playing her guitar through a new amp. Jimmy asked the young rocker to demo my pedal while I dialed in the various settings. As is often the case with fellow musicians we started to chat about our music and gear. A few mintues later, she invited me to her gig later that evening which I could not make as I had a prior commitment. But she did tell me that she had just released a new single called "Parents' House.
She left and I didn't give it much thought until I pulled out her card this AM and decided that I should check out her latest tune given that I liked her energy and attitude. I very much wanted to see how her music measured up to her personality. Well, I was blown away. Melodic, punchy, poppy and memorable rock 'n' roll, all ingredients that scream "keeper" in my ever-expanding world of music accumulation. If you dig Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, 0r Semisonic, you will def dig this earworm. Talay's music is deserving of a much wider audience and if you're smart you'll download it today. You owe it to yourself, your playlist, and to Talay.