It was July 18, 2010 that my wife Barbara was looking for something to do, and noticed this singer Rachel Allyn was performing at one of the pubs in Lake Hopatcong called Kabob's. I hadn't heard of either the place or the singer, but it was a hot, sleep day mid-summer, and there wasn't anything going on, so what the heck? As we got there, she was setting up, but all the tables in the shade were filled, while the empty tables were out in the open, exposed to the blazing sun. Still, we parked ourselves down at that table, and waited to order our drinks. A few moments later, a man approached us and offered to switch tables with the one he was sitting at. He told us that it was his daughter that was playing. We took his offer, with the stipulation that he would join us, to avoid being sitting out there in the hot sun.
We watched and listened to the performance, much of it, sung to backing CD's, but Rachel also played guitar on her own as she did mostly covers of recent country songs, but also some rock standards such as Elvis Costello, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Beatles. She was really good!
Rachel was between her junior and senior year at Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, which, of course is the Country Music capital of the world. Near the stage was a bucket for her "college fund" to pay expenses (her shows were free; no cover), and also she was selling CD's of her first EP, Late Nights and Early Mornings, which she released the year before. She played a few original numbers from that as well.
We got to meet her, her parents, John and Susan, as well as her younger sister Meg. I've seen many local bands play, and while all of them perform for the love of it, I had a feeling that Rachel really wanted to hit the big time. She had been paying her dues since her mid-teens; she had been playing at pubs around Lake Hopatcong for several years, including the Jefferson House, which booked her four times a summer. And we would see her three more times that summer, including her last appearance at the now-defunct Lockwood Tavern in Byram NJ, before she headed back to school in Nashville.
As she headed back to school, I wondered, if her exposure in Music City would help her become a superstar by the time she graduated the following spring. I had never seen a "superstar" in the making, and although the odds of hitting it big are very much stacked against anyone, especially in the information and social media age where thousands upon thousands are competing for just a few top spots on the charts, perhaps I'd get lucky! After all, this was a girl, who, back in 2003 was lucky enough to be pulled out on stage to sing with Shania Twain, at Madison Square Garden, at the age of 14, then again three years later with Gretchen Wilson at Waterloo Village.
It was, perhaps, tracking her progress, as well as some other good new music I was coming across, that I started my music blog on August 23, 2010. At the end of the blog (which back in those days was still a Facebook "Note"), I listed my current top 20 favorites (I actually kept a longer list, but for the first few months, I only published the top twenty from it). While The Black Keys, one of my faves during this period were at the top (and still appears on this weeks list), and Locksley (the only band to appear on the initial top 20 and this week's edition, by the way), Rachel's "Stand Still", from her EP was at the number five position, indicating that this music is just as good, in my opinion, as those by the superstars out there who are getting airplay. The song would eventually ascend to the top spot on October 1st of 2010.
So, we are well into the summer of 2015, and is this the songstress who is now among the ranks of Country's elite? Well, uh, sadly, no. But we haven't given up hope yet. And that doesn't mean she isn't making progress, in fact, just the opposite. She has made inroads, it's just taking a bit slower than anyone would have hoped, but she's still there, pounding the pavement, playing some more well-known clubs and venues, mostly in New Jersey, and more importantly, opening up locally for some big name country acts while they are on tour.
In 2011, after "Stand Still" ran its course on my blog, she released a remixed version of another Late Nights track, "Getting By", about her family. That, too reached the top of the SNS chart. It was followed that summer by her rendition of R&B singer Shontelle's "Stay Hello to Goodbye", which she made a video for. That song was her biggest SNS hit, reaching the top of the SNS charts in the summer of 2011 and staying there for four weeks. We saw her a few times again that summer, as well as her with her full piece band for the first time at a dinner theater in Dover NJ. A new Internet Country station featured her as "artist of the week", interjecting her music in along with the stars of the day. Then Jersey Shore station Thunder 106.3 held a "house band" contest, with the winner getting to play at local shore gigs, and, more importantly, getting to be the opening act for country superstars Thompson Square, at Six Flags Great Adventure. Rachel and her band won the contest, and this would be the first of many gigs where she opened locally for an established act. She played many of the station's sponsored happy hour events, most notably at Lake Como's famed Bar Anticipation.
Two more singles were released: "Lovely Lily" (#5) and "Ain't No Fun", her fourth and most recent SNS #1. 2012 started a new phase in her career: After her Dad managed her, she took things to the next level and had a professional booking agency, enabling her to get some better gigs; she'd play in places like Hoboken, Atlantic City, as well as casinos in Yonkers and Connecticut. We saw her and her band play at Maplewoodstock in July 2012, introducing new songs for her forthcoming album.
That album, 2013's Do It Yourself, was released earlier that year. She opened for superstars such as Kenny Rogers, Sara Evans, Lonestar and Travis Tritt among others. She also was featured opening up for American Idol singer Bo Bice at BB Kings' House of Blues last December. I pulled five songs from that album for SNS; all made the top 20, including a cool cover of The Beatles' 'Dear Prudence" (#4) as well as the title track (#3), October (#8), Trigger Man (#12) and "Restless Times (Call For Reckless Measures)" (#20). She was getting the gigs and the exposure. On her website, a picture is shown of her with Gretchen Wilson holding her CD; she's come a long way since she was plucked out of the audience at her concert almost ten years earlier. In 2014 she had a few gigs at Martell's Tiki Bar, along with the occasional opening for a name act.
So now it's 2015, and what is next for Rachel.? When I saw that she was playing a date at the Jefferson House (July 6) I was a bit concerned, but she is still moving ahead. Another opening date for a national act, Logan Mize at Jenks in Point Pleasant Beach, is set for August 26. And we just got word that she is beginning recording her third record, another EP called Next Year's Girl. More on that in a little bit.
Rachel has the talent and deserves her break-through. She once tried out for The Voice but didn't get past the audition (that's probably a blessing these days as it seems to be poison for any "winners" on these reality shows these days). What she does need to do is to tour nationally as a supporting act for a well known contemporary act, not just the ones that pass through New Jersey. For, as much as I love this state, except for East Orange's Eddie Rabbitt, the Garden State isn't well known as a country hotbed.
Similar to another local act that I want to see succeed, Staten Island's Leila Hegazy, when she recorded her most recent album, Rachel is asking, via Kickstarter, for your help in helping to fund her new project. For details, check out this video:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1147838654/next-years-girl-a-new-ep-by-rachel-allyn?ref=discovery
So it does sound like Rachel is indeed moving forward. If you live here in Northern New Jersey, check out her dates which include a performance at the summer concert series in Parsippany (July 16) and West Caldwell (July 23), Krogh's in Sparta (July 11) and Pavinci's in Hopatcong (July 25 and August 21). Good luck on your new project, Rachel. As usual, I am looking forward to the results.
TOP 20: There is little movement in this week's top 20, with Ed Sheeran spending a third week on top, with The Decemberists and Florence + the Machine still a good distance behind. Actually, the top ten songs are well ahead of the pack; it will be hard for a good song to crack that upper echelon for awhile. "Run" by Coin seems to have the best chance to do so, the song is getting national airplay and is growing on me as well.
OTHERWISE: With all the hype earlier this year regarding the smash "Uptown Funk", by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars and its 14-week atop Billboard's Hot 100 (and a #2 peak here at SNS), "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth is quietly closing in on that achievement. The song nets its eleventh week at the top of Billboard's chart. The hybrid song advances to #25 here on SNS in its third week.
COURNEY FOX?: The Top Debut this week belongs to "Dead Fox" by Courtney Barnett, at #72. This is the Australian singer's follow-up to "Pedestrian At Best" which jumps up to an unbulleted #22 this week (its points are in a holding position, but moves up as several other songs drop down behind it). As good as that song was, this one is even better. Also from her full-length debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, released in March, this has an uptempo, rather eclectic sound. If you were a new-wave fan from the late 70's and eighties, perhaps you will appreciate this soul-driven performance. I could have envisioned this on alternative radio around 1990 or so. The guitar riff on this reminds me a bit of "Hannah Jane" by Hootie & the Blowfish as well. Gotta love her Aussie accent prevail on this one. Great song, and given the lack of activity on the lower part of the chart, this will move up quickly.
Also entering this week is the second single by Django Django from their second album Born Under Saturn, following the (slightly) disappointment of their prior single "First Light", which peaked at #33 a few weeks ago. "Reflections" is slightly reminiscent of their tongue-twisting SNS chart topper from 2012, "Default", at least the texture is similar, if not the vocals. Some good harmonies on this; this has a good chance of returning them to my top 20. BORNS (featuring Garrett Borns) is next with "Electric Love"; he will be playing at this year's Lollapalooza on July 31; The Arcs, a new project from The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, is next with "Outta My Mind", an album is expected to be released this summer as it to be more eclectic than his work with the Keys; Yukon Blonde, a band from British Columbia, Canada, with "Saturday Night" from their just-released third album, On Blonde, and finally, Kaleo, a quartet from Iceland, with "All the Pretty Girls".
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
June 28,
2015
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Thinking Out
Loud"
Album: x
(3 weeks at #1)
|
17 |
| 2 | 2 | The Decemberists - Calvary Captain | 12 |
| 3 | 3 | Florence + the Machine - Ship to Wreck | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Calvin Harris f. Ellie Goulding - Outside | 9 |
| 5 | 7 | Grace Potter - Alive Tonight | 6 |
| 6 | 6 | St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Like a Mighty River | 9 |
| 7 | 8 | Mumford & Sons - Believe | 11 |
| 8 | 9 | Elle King - Ex's and Oh's | 7 |
| 9 | 5 | Alabama Shakes - Gimme All Your Love | 10 |
| 10 | 10 | MS MR - Painted | 7 |
| 11 | 11 | Omnia Hegazy - Dust | 15 |
| 12 | 16 | Tame Impala - Let It Happen | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | George Ezra - Budapest | 19 |
| 14 | 15 | Meg Myers - Sorry | 10 |
| 15 | 17 | Walk the Moon - Shut Up & Dance | 14 |
| 16 | 13 | Awolnation - Hollow Moon | 12 |
| 17 | 38 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Run"
Album: Coin
|
5 |
| 18 | 22 | The Vaccines - Dream Lover | 6 |
| 19 | 12 | My Morning Jacket - Big Decisions | 11 |
| 20 | 21 | Locksley - Let It Ride | 14 |
Tremors:
| 101 | ---- | Ratatat - Cream of Chrome |
| 102 | ---- | Torres - Sprinter |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod.
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