Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 56: Supercool December Holidays Music

Starting off this December Holidays article collection featuring numerous songs from varying genres and languages, is this one in honor of Chanukah, which starts this evening. 🙂 Celebrations often include dancing – especially dancing for joy, as is the case in most Jewish celebrations the world over. A song in your heart often puts a lightness in your step. 🙂 Thus I chose this supercool dance melody by a very talented band. The group performing this wonderful tune is Ot Azoj Klezmerband featuring Allan Merovitz. 😎 The song, “A Yiddishe Honga” (“A Jewish Dance”), from the 1999 album “Chanukah – Festival of Lights”, is three minutes and seventeen seconds of delightful, warm, upbeat music that satisfies both the soul and the ears. 🙂 😎 Right from the get-go I love this song! 🙂 It has such a great sound and is played so superbly by this klezmer band! 🙂 The deep notes are so inviting and the higher notes that join in springs with liveliness! The music lowers shortly after a minute into the song in preparation to Allan Merovitz’s excellent vocals. 😎 The musical instruments travel along with his melodious telling and a conversation of voices soon join in for a brief time then its back to Allan’s solo in great tempo. I love the many levels of the music; it tells a story so very well. Very cool music. Supercool. 😎

   One of my favorite Christmas songs – and from my favorite Christmas album, no less 🙂 – is “O Little Town of Bethlehem” by none other than Elvis Presley. 🙂 I like the heartfelt, genuine reverence that Elvis’s voice clearly conveys when he is singing gospel music. The Creator’s very important to Elvis; you can hear it. 😎 Gentle music begins to play then Elvis’s deep, warm voice begins to sing of Bethlehem (which means “House of Bread” – bread is a symbol of sustaining food, much as the Creator’s gift of salvation through Yeshua/Jesus is life-giving to our souls). He tells about the small town, how still and quiet it appears at night, yet in the darkness shines the Everlasting Light: Yeshua/Jesus (Yeshua is Jesus’s Hebrew name, what His mama called Him). All of mankind’s hopes for a Savior/Messiah, for peace and an end to our fears were answered that night in that small area known as Bethlehem in the form of the Creator’s only begotten Son, Yeshua/Jesus, born in the form of mankind, lowering Himself to live among us as one of us so that He could give His life in exchange for ours so that we could have peace with the Creator and live forever. 😎 That’s a miracle. 😎 Elvis continues to sing of how the angels kept watch that night Yeshua/Jesus was born and how the stars proclaimed His holy birth. Praises were sung to God the King; the angels proclaiming peace to Earth, because, through Him, we can have true peace. 😎 There is only peace when the Creator is included in the establishing of it; we humans cannot create nor maintain peace on our own. In our hearts, we know this. Trust and faith are key elements – it’s important to make sure our trust and faith is in the One Who can make true peace a real thing. 😎 Peace with the Creator is the beginning of the road to true peace on Earth.

   Whether it’s a Chanukah, Christmas or New Year’s celebration going on, the beautiful, dreamy strains of the “December Waltz” by Toot Sweet (from the 1999 “Celtic Christmas” album, song #9, 3:29) is just right for sweethearts. 🙂 ❤ ❤

   Now to the song that has always been extra special to me and in the language I love to hear – my native Cherokee/Tsalagi. 🙂 “What Child Is This?”, sung exceptionally well by Jana Mashonee, is a musical treasure filled with heart, soul and powerful meaning. 😎 This popular song points out the amazing Gift that the Creator gave to us – His Son – and brings home the reality of the situation, which never ceases to leave me in awe of the Creator’s great love and forgiveness for each one of us – every person ever born, past, present and future. Amazing. Even if you don’t know Tsalagi/Cherokee, this song is well known and the message can still be heard and its beauty appreciated. 😎 The instruments include a beautifully-played piano, the distinct beauty and poignance of the Tsalagi/Cherokee bells (often worn among the fringes of our ceremonial attire so that it plays as we dance the song from our soul to the Creator with respect and hope and deep joy), and the pleasant tones of Jana Mashonee’s beautiful voice blessed by the Creator. 🙂 😎 Each melodic lift and depth is exactly right, a beautiful thing to hear, because the heart is also there along with the perfection. 😎 This song – and especially this version – is a treasure. 🙂

   Jon Pardi singing “Blue Christmas” at one of his supercool concerts is, well, supercool! 🙂 😎 I was pretty pleased when I first heard Jon say that the Elvis Christmas Album is his favorite Christmas album; it is mine as well. 🙂 😎 He sings it very well, too. 😎 As he’s playing his 1970’s electric guitar, he’s pouring on the country as he sings to the girl in the song that no amount of beautiful decorations is going to make up for her not being there. It just won’t be the same for the fellow if the girl he holds dear isn’t near; he’s wishing they were still together. Jon’s voice and vocal style really makes the song poignant as he sings about blue memories and blue snowflakes falling. She’ll be doing alright with her Christmas of white, but he’ll have “a blue, blue-blue-blue Christmas.” Jon brings the audience into the “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s” along with his own vocals and that of the band’s. He finishes off with some supercool deep notes as he sings about that blue Christmas; his voice and delivery of a song’s story is impressively good. 😎

   For a beautiful, happy Christmastime love song, this one is a real good one. 🙂 Sung by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” was written by him for her. 🙂 And they sang it together during the holidays season several times that same year (2017). 😎 I saw two performances of it on television – the love beamed from him to her and likewise her love for him glowed upon her face. ❤ ❤ As is sung in the song: they’re going to be a classic for all time; the song has a great sound and their love has a lasting glow. 😎 The musicians play the instruments of this lively, upbeat tune in harmony with the great vocals that Blake (who’s also playing guitar), Gwen and the backup singers provide. It’s got a solid sound that is timeless and entirely enjoyable. 🙂 They sing about the many material things that are associated with the holidays scene and clarify that those aren’t what makes it feel like Christmas. It’s love. ❤ ❤ True love is a gift from the Creator and you can see that powerful love shining in Blake’s and Gwen’s eyes each time they sang that song – or looked at one another. 🙂 Love is a precious gift. 🙂

   The melody of the song “Silver Bells” has always sounded pleasant to my ears, yet it never sounded better than when I heard Clint Walker sing it. 😎 🙂 Having heard it online, I knew right away I wanted to buy a copy of it and was so happy it was available! 🙂 From the 1960’s Warner Brothers compilation album, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, where various stars from that studio sing favorite Christmas songs, I got to hear Clint Walker’s amazing singing of this nostalgic song. 🙂 😎 Bells begin to ring, a chorus of voices then Clint Walker’s deep, pleasant bass voice sings the lyrics of this scene-setting song. 🙂 Pretty female voices join in on the chorus. Clint sings with strength and gentleness, painting a picture of the bustling holiday city sidewalks along the decorated streets and stores. The feeling of Christmas is in the air as children are laughing, smiles are shared among the happy shoppers – window shoppers or in-store shoppers, and an overall fun and happy feeling. He sings of the shoppers’ happy return home and notes again, “Soon it will be Christmas day!” 🙂

   Big Time Rush brought lots of energy and fun as they sang the song “Jingle Bells” in 2010 along with numerous other television stars. 🙂 James, Kendall, Logan and Carlos gave us not only a great show to enjoy, but also lots of enjoyable music. 🙂 This was a bonus song. 😎 “Jingle Bells” is a fun and easy song to sing; I like its upbeat melody. 😎 The crisp, cool winter air breezing by as you ride in an open sleigh pulled by a beautiful horse, dashing through the snowflakes swirling down from a blanketed sky of clouds, zipping over the hills and down the pretty, tree-lined lanes – paints a nice picture, doesn’t it? 🙂 This song is popular all around the world and sung in many languages, too. It’s especially nice to see and hear it sung by some of your favorite television stars. “Big Time Rush” is one of my all-time favorite shows and knowing that James, Logan, Carlos and Kendall are thoughtful people in real life besides on their show adds to the enjoyment of watching the show (I bought them and received some as gifts; now I can re-watch them without commercials! 🙂 ) and listening to their music. 🙂 😎 Their song, “Beautiful Christmas” is forever one of my favorite December songs; I even listen to it during other months of the year! 🙂

   Gene Autry’s singing and merry music is a warm and cheerful gift. 🙂 I recently got to hear the recording from a 45rpm record of the song, “Merry Texas Christmas, You All!” 🙂 It’s a bright and pleasant melody coupled with a friendly, Texas-style explanation on how things are different – and yet in some ways the same (but bigger 😉 ) – in Texas. Like the greeting. 🙂 They don’t tend to have much snow, especially not the sleigh ride kind of snow that they get in the Northern states, but they have green cactus trees and red flowers. 😎 The backing vocals are excellent and the musical instruments sound great in this song, too. 😎 The guitars, bass fiddle, steel guitar and fiddle are all prevalent; I think I heard drums and a little banjo music as well in there. 😎 Texans may not have the scenery many tend to associate with Christmas, but they sure mean it when they say, “Merry Texas Christmas, you all! May your days be sunny and bright. May your hearts be happy and light. Merry Texas Christmas, you all!” 😀 (That’s a big, Texas smile, there. 😉 )

   At only a little over one and a half minutes in length, Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Wear a Smile at Christmas” delivers an important message of encouragement. 😎 All but one song (“Jingle Bells”) on their album 1967 Christmas album, “A Christmas Present…And Past” was produced and co-written by Terry Melcher and Mark Lindsay. 🙂 An original album with a unique variety of songs. In this opening track for the album, Mark notes how many people are in such a hurry, focused on the trappings of the holidays scene, not taking the time to share a smile with another human being. A genuine, friendly smile can go a long way in brightening up someone’s day and lightening their load. 😎 A few seconds to smile and you’ve given another person – friend, acquaintance or stranger – a powerful gift. Even if you don’t see a smile in return, you shouldn’t be discouraged – keep on smilin’ anyway! 🙂 Everyone needs some sunshine in their soul and a smile will encourage that beam of light to grow. 🙂 😎

   Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and may 2019 be filled with joy and blessings for you all! 🙂 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 42: December Holidays Music Part 2

Welcome to part two of my December Holidays Music review collection! 🙂 There’s so much great music to listen to such as Paul Revere & the Raiders, Big Time Rush, Bruno Mars & the Hooligans, LUNAFALL, In Real Life and Why Don’t We. 🙂 I enjoyed listening to these songs, watching some performances and reviewing them to share with you all. 🙂 I hope you enjoy reading here and checking out any of this great music you haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing for yourself. 🙂

   An artistic instrumental written by the hands of two geniuses of music, Terry Melcher and Mark Lindsay, “Peace” is a mesmerizing composition that says so much – without one word. 😎 This song was recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay and released on their 1967 album, “A Christmas Present…And Past”. 😎 The first seventeen seconds subtly sets the scene of a rainstorm; at eighteen seconds the strings come in a few notes at a time to add to the story being told within the music. If you listen closely, you will hear it. 😎 More strings shimmer out music by the smooth gliding of the bows with a sudden dash of three higher notes depicting the flashes of lightning in the stormy, dark sky. Midst the storm, there is peace. The Creator made a way for peace with Him through His Son, Yeshua/Jesus. And it doesn’t matter which kind of storm nears you – be it the storm of weather, thoughts, actions (or inaction) of others, or anything else that might make us feel unsure and unsettled in spirit, soul or body – the Creator is more powerful than them all. 😎 He can give us peace in our hearts; all we have to do is ask Him, believing. Belief is important. Words merely spoken have no power; belief, faith and trust must be in your heart or else they are just empty words. When He said He loves us; He meant it 100%. 🙂 And He doesn’t change. 😎 He loves us still. In the song, you can hear the raindrops falling, the ominous storm. Yet, if you listen as the song goes along, the sun is breaking through the dark clouds, sending beams of light shining down on us. 🙂 😎 The storm is ending, moving off, as sound of thunder and flashes of lightning grow farther away. The rainstorm gentles until it is a calm, soothing rain that brings the feelings of coziness – and peace. 🙂 😎

   Last Christmas season, the three members of the band LUNAFALL, (Joel Darkes, Craig Wright and Dave Bright) released a charity single entitled “Christmas Day”. All profits from sales of this cool single goes to Donkey Sanctuary, UK, where these noble creatures are cared for, many having been rescued from dire situations. It said a lot to me about the band members – it takes a lot of heart for your band’s very first single to be dedicated to a charity, instead of focusing on promoting your own band. Great guys. 🙂 😎 I saw the music video first, which led to me gladly buying the single. 🙂 The video starts with Craig opening double doors and inviting us in to a cheerily-decorated collection of rooms where the video was filmed. The rockin’ trio begin their song, guitars in hand. 😎 A pleasant tune is soon joined by lyrics sung by Dave then Joel, respectively, telling of some of the happy things often associated with the Christmas season, such as children having fun playing in the snow. They sing about it being almost Christmas and how we can sing merrily, joining together to sing this song. 😎 The chorus features some very cool guitar work by Craig. 😎 The words paint a very cozy picture. 🙂 The drums are real cool as are the other musical instruments in this great tune. 😎 Partway into the second verse, backing Dave’s vocals, quiet “ooo’s” add a very important touch to the overall sound. 🙂 😎 Singing about faces all aglow leads to the supercool chorus again. 🙂 2:16 to 2:45 features an awesome Craig guitar solo. 🙂 😎 One of the best parts of the song has arrived. As the notes carry from the guitar, Joel sings the chorus softly – some of my favorite of his vocals! 🙂 Meanwhile, those supercool “ooo’s” and adding of the other voices at just the right points makes this such a completely good collection of sound! 🙂 The chorus kicks back up into high, rockin’ gear and ends with some very cool notes. 😎 At the close of the music video, Craig closes the doors with a friendly smile after our visit and the screen changes to a familiar blessing: Merry Christmas. 🙂 Christmas, when many celebrate Yeshua/Jesus having come to Earth, bringing everlasting light, life and forgiveness for all.

   Bruno Mars & the Hooligans (Peter Gene Hernandez, Philip Lawrence, Kameron Whalum, James King, Jamareo Artis, Phred Brown, Eric Hernandez, John Fossit and Dwayne Dugger) are amazingly talented and entertaining fellows. 🙂 😎 In 2012 they did a performance of “White Christmas” on television. 🙂 Classic. Cool. Original. Fun. Superb. Entertaining. Supercool. Those are just a few of the words that describe this rendition. 🙂 😎 All of the fellows are dressed their finest for this occasion. Bruno starts the count then they all begin the vocal intro with the drums, keys and bass blending in just right. When it’s time for the first verse, Bruno steps forward as if to sing, but a Hooligan with chutzpah (okay, so that probably applies to each of them 😉 ) quickly steps in front of him, an arm stretched out to block any attempt to regain the forefront, and starts singing – very, very well. 🙂 Bruno smiles and steps back; he’s cool, he knows he will be centerstage at the right moment. Mr. Chutzpah (of the moment) sings in his exceptional, deep voice that he’s dreaming of a white Christmas, just like he used to know – “you remember the ones!” he adds in personably. 🙂 Bruno slides up after verse one, stepping alongside said Hooligan, clamping a firm hand on his shoulder then smoothly shoving him out of centerstage as Bruno himself claims it verbally (starting at the top 😉 ) as well as physically. 😎 His smooth, husky tones sing of treetops glistening and children listening for sleigh bells in the snow. 🙂 Going onward to the next part, where the blessing is given for days to be merry and bright, the harmonious vocals of Bruno Mars & the Hooligans rings out beautifully. “And may all your Christmases be-” right here everyone stop, Bruno says, “Dramatic pause” 🙂 😎 strikes a dramatic pose then he finishes the blessing for a snowy Christmas. As he holds the note, the Hooligans sing a little bit of “Jingle Bells” in the background and the instruments flourish, the cymbals shimmering to perfection. 😎 🙂 But are they done performing? No, after all, they take entertaining the audience of listeners very seriously. 😉 🙂 😎 They always give more, adding good surprises along the way. Bruno says, “Merry Christmas, America”, they do an end-of-song-pose, drumsticks count to the next part then the seven in front exit the stage with witty style as they vocalize the tune. 😎 🙂 😎

   Now to the music group featuring Michael Conor, Drew Ramos, Chance Perez, Sergio Calderon and Brady Tutton: In Real Life. Their version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” opens with an original lead-in sung by vocals in harmony accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Melodic background “ooo’s” brings us to the start of the well-familiar lyrics of the song. Sleigh bells and finger snaps join in as the tempo picks up to a cheerful reassurance that she can count on him to be home for Christmas. A collection of percussion is soon added to the instrument backing the group. I really like the way they sing the part, “Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas”, Drew sings out, “I’ll be home!”, they sing again “Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas” then Drew sings “Yeah!”; it sounds so supercool! 🙂 😎 Next up is a highlight of the In Real Life music: Michael Conor’s rapping! 🙂 😎 I love Michael’s music: his singing is great, he’s a gifted expert on the violin and the supercool rapping and free-stylin’ is way cool. 😎 😎 😎 😎 In this song, he’s rapping words of promise that he’s coming home for Christmas. 😎 He repeats this promise alternately throughout the closing chorus section in this cool arrangement along with Drew’s singing out a heartfelt “I’ll be there!” 🙂 😎

   How’s this next one for a supercool gift? 🙂 On December 25, 2016, the five-member band Why Don’t We posted an acoustic Christmas Gift – a song called “You and Me at Christmas”. 😎 Daniel Seavey, Zach Herron, Corbyn Besson, Jonah Marais and Jack Avery sang with Daniel’s guitar being the only other instrument heard. 😎 Here’s how I came to know about this group, this song and their YouTube channel that began in 2016. A friend came across one of their performances back on October 14th of this year, saw their nice message on this song’s page and told me about it. And I was already liking them because of that cheerful and thoughtful message. 🙂 We watched the performance – loved it immediately! 🙂 The tune’s great 🙂 – I love upbeat stuff! 🙂 😎 The lyrics are excellent, flowing with natural musical beauty. All five of the guys have really good voices and sing superbly. Great style – honest, real and musically satisfying. They and their music are genuine, unique. If anyone should ask me, “So, who does Why Don’t We sound like?” My answer would be, “They sound exactly like Why Don’t We!” 😀 😎 That’s important in the music business; you want to be immediately recognized by your (good 😉 ) sound (it isn’t all that great for a group to be recognized because they sound musically bad). “You and Me at Christmas” is two minutes and thirty-eight seconds of great melody and singing. 😎 The song tells about how he’s been missing her since she went to California and wanting to see her again. The chorus is the song title sung in a very cool, melodic way; they’ve got great vocals and style! 🙂 😎 He sings that now, with her near, even though it’s cold outside, his heart is warm because he’s kissing her. 🙂 ❤ Bells and sleigh bells are ringing along with the heartfelt beauty of this song. 🙂 The chorus is sung gently with a cheerful, upbeat vibe. 😎 This song is supercool! 🙂

   So how about another song by Why Don’t We? 🙂 They gave us a whole Christmas EP this year! 🙂 This one, “Kiss You This Christmas”, is the first song on their EP “A Why Don’t We Christmas” – and it’s supercool, too! 🙂 😎 This music group has such great harmonies and sings each solo part with excellent, melodic vocals. 😎 “Kiss You This Christmas” opens with twenty-four seconds of beautiful bells and strings, its melody already established as unique, warm and cozy. 😎 A perfect setting. 😎 The singing begins as he tells how joyful he is when she’s near and that she shines like a star. 🙂 These fellows sure know how to write a song – and sing it with heart. 🙂 ❤ ❤ It’s refreshing, good and supercool. 😎 The beautiful lyrics just keep coming, sharing his heart with her through poetry-set-to-music. 😎 He wants to kiss her this Christmas. ❤ He’s waiting for her to let him know. 😎 She’s all he needs to bring him cheer; there’s nothing sweeter than for her to be near. ❤ ❤ This is one of the most beautifully romantic love songs ever. 🙂 ❤ And I don’t say that lightly; I mean it thoroughly. Why Don’t We has a real gem here; it’s extraordinarily beautiful in word, in melody, in heart. ❤ 😎 I heartily recommend you check out their EP; it would be a great gift to give – and to receive! 🙂 😎

   In 2016 I reviewed Big Time Rush’s “Beautiful Christmas”; this year, I’ll review the other track from their 2010 Christmas EP, “Holiday Bundle: All I Want for Christmas/Beautiful Christmas”. I’ll also be referring to their music video for it as well as my favorite acoustic performance. 🙂 The music video was the first time I saw Big Time Rush; I was immediately pleased with their great sound as well as their fun, upbeat personalities. 😎 I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched that video. 😛 A whole lotta times, to be sure! 🙂 My favorite acoustic performance of this song (although they are all great) is their performance from “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” on 11/30/11. 😎 Sitting amongst the festive decorations on a wintry New York City night, Dustin Belt played guitar, Kendall Schmidt (who learned from Dustin) also played guitar and Carlos PenaVega played tambourine. James Maslow and Logan Henderson, along with Kendall and Carlos, sang vocals. All five of them – for surely Dustin Belt is an essential part of Big Time Rush’s success both on scene and behind the scenes – brought good cheer, good music and warmth midst the cold with their excellent performance. 😎 The EP featured a full set of instruments including cool drums, music box chimes and sleigh bells; both versions sound very good. 🙂 😎 My favorite part of the EP version is found in the last half minute of the song. 🙂 They’re all singing the chorus in a round, Logan sings, “All I want for Christmas…” then James perfectly sings out, “…is you-oo-oo, Baby!” Then Logan takes over at twenty-three seconds remaining and it just sounds so cool! 🙂 😎 I love the arrangement, the change-up, the melody, the style – if you haven’t gotten to hear it yet, I believe you really should give it a listen and hear for yourself what I’m talking about! 🙂 😎 🙂 “All I Want for Christmas” tells about the desire of the heart in love, not needing or wanting lots of presents or other material things that many think are inseparable from the holiday. This song sings out that all that’s really necessary for happiness on that day is love. 🙂 Love is a precious gift from the Creator, as is His Gift to us: forgiveness, freedom and life through faith in His Son, Yeshua/Jesus. 🙂 😎 The Scriptures make it clear that He loves us, like in John, chapter three, verse sixteen: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That’s a lot of love! ❤

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 28: “Amazing”

🌊~~~~~~SPECIAL EDITION~~~~~~🌊

Multi-talented James Maslow wrote the song “Amazing” and it was featured on Big Time Rush’s 2013 album “24/Seven”. 😎 As soon as I heard it, I thought it sounded great! 🙂 After hearing it on there, I could hardly wait for them to sing it in concert! 🙂 I knew without a doubt that it would sound even more amazing with the live band! 🙂 😎 Nothing could beat DBelt’s rockin’ guitar!!!!! 🙂 😎 However, the tour that came up featured a DJ piping in the sounds of the instruments instead of the full band actually being there and playing it full-out. 😦 There were a couple of acoustic numbers – and thankfully DBelt was there for that! 🙂 – but “Amazing” only featured the piped-in music. 😦 As on the album, James, Kendall, Carlos and Logan all sounded excellent in their vocals, so that was still supercool! 🙂 In his solo performances, James is currently including a medley of Big Time Rush songs and you know which one is part of that compilation. 😉 It’s done as a solo-with-acoustic-guitarist and the words flow excellently from the lips of the song’s original author, James Maslow. 🙂 😎 And that’s what I’m going to focus on for this review. 🙂

   During his live performances, James sings the first two verses of “Amazing”. 🙂 Verse one begins with the opening strums of the acoustic guitar then James begins to sing how his girl looks good in a dress and how he especially likes seeing her wearing his sweatshirt. (I think it’s so nice – and cozy wonderful! – when a fellow shares his sweatshirt or jacket with his girl to keep her warm while out walking in the chilly weather. Extra nice: when he puts his arm around her, too, holding her close to his side. 🙂 ) He sings about how very understanding and gracious she is. 🙂

   James picks up the volume with his excellent vocals as he nears the chorus with the words, “She knows that I’m falling fast. Oh-oh! Oh-oh! I know that I’ll never let her go!” 🙂

   The chorus continues his melody of happiness as he sings out how he’s loving her character and how she makes him feel – he likes her feminine appeal. 🙂 He’s extremely attracted to her for her heart as well as her appearance. “Girl, you’re just amazing!”

   James Maslow sounds so good in concert; I’m enjoying watching some of the footage from March, 2017, as I write this review. 🙂 He has a very nice tone and carries the notes so well. The rise and fall of the notes are the musical pleasure that they are meant to be. 😎 His voice audibly shows the gentle, strong and awestruck feelings of the lyrics with ease. 🙂 😎

   The second verse sounds just as great. 🙂 (No surprise there. 😉 ) James sings in acting lingo that the girl is the “star of the show” – not that she demands accolades, but that she knows in her heart that she’s already “got the part”. He goes on to explain: she’s the star of his heart. 🙂

   Up to this point, James has been sitting on a stool as he sings, but now he gets up and sings, “So girl take a bow…” – he does an elaborate manly bow toward the audience, “…you’ve won my heart.” Here he holds up his hands to form a heart-shape. 😎

   As he leads into the chorus again, he’s moving to the music, singing with much heart. 😎 I especially like the extra emphasis he puts on the word “just” in “Girl, you’re just amazing” – that added umph gets across how he feels so clearly. 😎 He sings that part again then on the third time he carries the notes longer and softer as he brings the song to a gentle close. Very romantic. 🙂 James always sings with depth of feeling. 😎

Jean247

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Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 4: Meet Heffron Drive

I’ll begin by individually introducing the founding members of Heffron Drive, Dustin Belt and Kendall Schmidt.

   Dustin Belt. He can calmly coax beautiful melodies from his guitar. He can rock his glasses right off his own face. He can move in rhythmic motion to the music he plays or dance across the stage, guitar in hand – never missing a beat, with the unbounded, barely-contained energy and liveliness of a wild stallion running free in his own territory. A witty tongue. An easy smile. A man whose vocals are mesmerizingly good and a great pleasure to hear. D. Belt writes. 🙂 And rocks. 🙂 Another really cool thing about Dustin that I love is that he wears his glasses – which always look great on him (he has good taste) – instead of irritating his eyes by using contacts. He’s smart and cool. 🙂

   Kendall Schmidt. Man of music. He can sing a tender melody. He can sing soulful, deep and gutty. He can hit high notes that soar up to the heavens with pure clarity. An easy-going familiarity that can make each person in the audience feel like they are his personal friend whom he is glad to see. 🙂 His humor is rich. He can play very cool guitar. He feels the music in his soul and it shows. 🙂

   As a team, these two gentlemen are Heffron Drive. Proficient. Articulate. Their music is original, unique. The sound that is Heffron Drive.

   Dustin and Kendall, who met and became friends in a California neighborhood whose street name you might recognize 😉 – Heffron Drive – are both proud of being from Kansas. I think it is really cool that strong friendship is such an integral part of their music that it is signified in the very name of their group. Already into the music scene, when Kendall signed up for the “Big Time Rush” TV show and recording group of the same name, Dustin was there, too, as the lead guitarist on tour as well as being a key part of Big Time Rush. He is readily recognized as the honorary fifth member of the group and has as strong a fan following as the rest of the guys (the other three members being Logan Henderson, James Maslow, and Carlos Pena, Jr./PenaVega). 🙂 Dustin and Kendall continued to write and perform as Heffron Drive even during the busy schedule of Big Time Rush. There are many fun, entertaining and witty Vines that they have recorded and posted for everyone to enjoy, too. 🙂

   Yet another cool thing about these two talented friends is that the love of music inspires them to achieve other challenges using their skillful ingenuity. They have their own recording label – TOLbooth Records – and spend hours upon hours on the work of recording, producing, editing, et cetera. Dustin even works on editing while they are inflight during a tour; Kendall turned his hotel room into a mini-studio before. These guys are very serious about their music – but not so serious that they lose sight of the purpose and the fun. Speaking of fun 😉 – they put their skillful ingenuity to much good use by building their own isolation booth for their California recording studio. From the ground up. By themselves. And these two manly men did an excellent job! 🙂 I love it that they made the decision to build it themselves and followed through with strong determination. It isn’t as easy as one might think; it must be done just right. I’m proud of them for this. 🙂

   My words are my own, but I hereby recognize the respected ownership of their own names, the titles to their songs, etc., as belonging to Dustin Belt and Kendall Schmidt, respectively.

   The Creator gives us many blessings; music is one of them. Whether a day goes well or not, good music can make it that much better or help make it feel so.

   To all who read this: please feel free to post any good comments of your own at the bottom of each part of the Living Article©, while keeping in mind consideration for others and their intellectual property. Thanks for reading! 🙂

Jean247

If you are reading this article on the homepage and you would like to read others’ comments on it or perhaps leave some comments of your own, just tap on the word “comments” above this article’s title. 🙂

Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 1: What’s This?
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 2: Interlude x 2
Supercool Music: A Living Article© Part 3: “Rain Don’t Come” Single and Music Video

 

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