AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Wand

Artist:Wand

Song:Rio Grande

Album:Laughing Matter

Wand is s Los Angeles based neo psychedelic band that have had success as an album and touring band. They've been around since 2013 so that makes me wonder if the natives are getting restless. Before forming Wand, lead singer and guitarist Cory Hanson recorded as W.H.I.T.E. and played guitar with singer songwriter Mikal Cronin and in the bands Together Panagea and Meatbodies. He decoded to form a new band with former art school classmates Evan Burrows and Lee Landey. Landey didn't stay but Burrows is still the drummer. Hanson decided to call the band Wand which I think is too generic. Hanson says that was deliberate. They toured with Ty Segall and released the 2014 album Ganglion Reef on Segall's label God? with distribution from the Chicago based indie label Drag City. Wand is still on Drag City. For the 2015 album 1000 Days, guitarist Daniel Martens and bassist Lee Landey left. Meanwhile, Hanson considered self producing and that's what Wand has done ever since. Hanson and Burrows write and produce everything. Rio Grande is from the 2019 album Laughing Matter. Lee Landey was still playing bass on the album. He just wasn't touring because he has a family. They went on hiatus and Hanson recorded a couple of solo albums. They finally replaced Landey with Evan Becker for a 2022 tour. The album Vertigo was released in 2024. They toured earlier this year but they are off the road right now. There has been talk that Hanson may go solo or have Wand record more mainstream music to get on a major label to get a hit single. I don't know what he will do but the constant touring must be a grind. Here's the video for Rio Grande by Wand. And yes, the video was deliberately produced like this.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fitz and the Tantrums

Artist:Fitz and the Tantrums

Song:HandClap

Album:Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums have had success as an album and touring band. The 2016 single HandClap did well on the Alternative Rock chart. They were formed in Los Angeles in 2008 by lead singer James "Fitz" Fitzpatrick. The other original members were co-lead singer Noelle Scaggs, James King on sax, Jeremy Ruzumna on keyboards, Joseph Karnes on bass and John Wicks on drums. Most are still in the band. The purchase of an old electric organ inspired Fitzpatrick to write a song. After he played it for his college buddy King, he brought in the others. They released an EP in 2009. Their big break came when Maroon 5 leader Adam Levine heard it and Fitz and the Tantrums opened for them on a college tour. Then they signed with Dangerbird Records with Atlantic distribution. HandClap is from the 2016 album Fitz and the Tantrums. The album did well. It was certified Gold. HandClap reached #2 on the Alternative Rock chart. It's their biggest hit to date. Most of the album was produced by Jesse Shatkin who has produced Sia and Kelly Clarkson. But HandClap was written and produced by Grammy winning producer Ricky Reed, his partner Sam Hollander and Fitz and the Tantrums. The band members are not credited individually. It looks like the royalties are split evenly. The album is available as a digital download. John Wicks left in 2022 to teach at the University of Montana. Blair Sirita was brought in to play drums on the 2025 album Man on the Moon. But a permanent replacement has not been named. Here's the video for HandClap by Fitz and the Tantrums.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lee Ritenour

Artist:Lee Ritenour f/John Scofield

Song:Lay It Down

Album:6 String Theory

Normally I like to give an overview of an artist. But I haven't done that yet for jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour. This 2010 album 6 String Theory was released to celebrate Ritenour's 50th anniversary in jazz. He actually released his first album as a leader in 1976. 6 String Theory has a different guitarist on each song. He also launched a 6 String Theory competition for aspiring jazz guitarists. Shon Boubil won the first contest and he won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston and he got to play on the album. Boubil is working on his Ph.D. in theoretical physics and education at the University of Western Australia. So it remains to be seen if Boubil becomes a musician. I have my doubts. Ritenour holds the competition every two years and it has expanded to include piano, bass and drums. All the winners got Berklee scholarships. I guess Ritenour's thinking is no one did this for him when he was coming up. He just wants to pay it forward. The idea for the album came first. It inspired Ritenour to start the competition. Lay It Down was the first song on the album featuring guitarist John Schofield. I could be wrong but I don't think they had ever recorded together. It's an original song written, produced and arranged by Ritenour. The other musicians are Larry Goldings on organ, Melvin Lee Davis on bass and Harvey Mason Sr. on drums. Other guests include Keb' Mo, Taj Mahal, Pat Martino, Joey DeFrancesco, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Cray, Steve Lukather, Neal Schon, Slash, George Benson, Vince Gill, Jonny Lang, Joe Robinson, Andy McKee, Mike Stern, Tomoyasu Hotei, Guthrie Gowan, Tai Wilkenfeld and Shon Boubil. This album is available on CD. This album is on Concord. Ritenour's latest album Brasil was released on Candid last year. Ritenour is usually on tour. He's on a break right now but he'll be back on the road in January. Here's Lee Ritenour with Otmaro Ruiz on keyboards, Hadrien Feraud on bass and Wesley Ritenour on drums performing Lay It Down at the Blue Note in Hawaii 2018. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Grass Roots

Artist:The Grass Roots

Song:Midnight Confessions

Album:Playlist: The Very Best of the Grass Roots

The 1968 top five hit Midnight Confessions was the biggest hit for the band The Grass Roots. They had a pretty good run from 1967-72. The most interesting thing about The Grass Roots was they weren't a band at first. They were created in 1965 by Dunhill Records owner Lou Adler and the songwriting and producing team of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. Adler wanted to cash in on the folk rock movement. The 1965 top thirty hit Where Were You When I Needed You  was recorded by studio musicians. Sloan sang lead and played guitar. The other musicians were Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass and Bones Howe on drums. None of those guys including Sloan wanted to tour. So Sloan and Barri found a group called The Bedouins in San Francisco and they became The Grass Roots. The problem was they wanted to record their own music. So Dunhill started over. When The Bedouins tried to continue as The Grass Roots, Dunhill threatened legal action. So Sloan and Barri went searching for a new band. A band called The 13th Floor had sent a demo to Dunhill. This band was led by guitarist Creed Bratton and keyboardist Warren Entner. The only problem was the lead singer had been drafted into the army. He was replaced by Rob Grill. The music continued to be written and produced by Sloan and Barri and performed by studio musicians. But at least they now had a touring band. Their first top ten hit was the 1967 single Let's Live for Today which was based on an Italian song. And that was the beginning of five years of success. Some of the band still wanted to write their own songs. But the success tempered that. The 1968 single Midnight Confessions  reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Lou T. Josie of the band Ever-Green Blues. They had sent a demo to Dunhill and Barri thought it would be perfect for The Grass Roots. The demo had horns so Barri got Jimmie Haskell to write the arrangement. Grill and Entner shared lead vocals. Members of The Wrecking Crew played on the record including Mike Deasy on guitar, Carol Kaye on bass, Don Randi on piano, Larry Knechtel on organ, Hal Blaine on drums and Emil Richards on percussion. Saxophonist Plas Johnson led the horn section. Midnight Confessions was only released as a single. When it became a hit, Dunhill put it on a hastily assembled LP called Golden Grass. That is out of print but you can get all The Grass Roots hits on this budget comp. The Grass Roots' final top ten hit was Sooner or Later in 1971. By that time, there had been several personnel changes and they left Dunhill in 1974. I thought they did well for an ad hoc band. A version of The Grass Roots still plays oldies cruises. But none are original members. Here's The Grass Roots performing Midnight Confessions. This looks like the original band lineup.