Chuck Marten

Chuck Marten, an Avenue Listener

“Chuck” as she is affectionately known in local music circles, is an Avenue listener and serious consumer of live music - she saw, and has cataloged notes on, over 500 live sets in 2017! And lucky for us, she has plenty of opinions and insights to share. Here’s what’s on her current playlist it includes local, independent, new gems and classic masters. You’ll want to check it out!

 “As a music fan who attends an inordinate amount of shows in the Fox Valley area, I continue to be blown away by the caliber of talent both residing in town and coming through the area!

“Appleton’s Stone Arch Sessions have brought in two artists already this year that I had zero prior knowledge of and became an instant fan of. The first of these was Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish. This band is a guitar and drums two-piece out of Grand Rapids, MI and are everything great about the music of 1957 rockabilly with a modern twist. They manage to sound both vintage and fresh at the same time. Jesse has a sly, Little Richard-like performance style that is  completely engaging and a total barnburner. Try “Gasoline” off their album Angry. https://youtu.be/j2Q1WzntFxE

“The second Stone Arch Sessions artist is Zane Carney. Zane is among the most skilled guitar players around today. His gorgeous guitar playing takes you on an unexpected journey and he has a great expressive voice to go with it. His impressive credits include work with John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Keith Urban as well as opening for U2, Fergie and The Black Crowes. He is on tour with Johnny Lang currently, which is what brought him to Wisconsin for his first ever visit. Zane is a singer and songwriter in his own right. His sound combines jazz, blues and pop.  The gorgeousness of his guitar tone is mesmerizing. He played the best “Cry Me a River” cover I have ever heard. You can hear “Cry Me a River” on Confluence. https://youtu.be/CiSjYeOcwNw
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Kudos to Taylor Greenwood for continuing to knock it out of the park with bringing quality artists to the Stone Arch Tap Room!

“I attended the inaugural Water City Racket Fest in Oshkosh’s historic Algoma Room. This festival featured four Oshkosh bands: Spy V Spy, Haunted Heads, Auralai, and Redshift  Headlights; two Appleton bands: Dusk and RedHawks; a Green Bay band: Snowbirds; and Asumaya out of Madison. It was two evenings of great music in a beautiful venue.  Standouts for me were Dusk and Redshift Headlights. 

“Dusk plays a melodic country-tinged soul roots style. Their use of pedal steel and Wurlitzer contribute to their unique sound. Try “(Do The) Bored Recluse b/w Too Sweet” on Bandcamp or “Leaf” from their NPR session on YouTube. https://youtu.be/9xuR1QiaxGE

“Redshift Headlights is an Oshkosh collective led by Steve McCabe. Their sound is densely textured with keyboards, guitars, vibraphone, marimba, and trumpet. Their debut album, Inner Voices is a song cycle of songs from the point of view of many different ages. They did a live performance of Inner Voices  at Rock Garden Studio featuring 20 musicians. That will give you an idea of the complexity of the texture of their sound. Try “Under This Carpeting” (https://youtu.be/uVxHw9yFgLk) or “Will You Wait” from Inner Voices.​

“I never stray far from the songwriting masters in my music listening. Lately I have been on a Randy Newman and Leon Russell streak. Newman is the epitome of cutting through the crusty exterior to the warm gooey middle. His songs are angry and sarcastic, but also stunningly beautiful. Masterful writing. “Louisiana, 1927” https://youtu.be/rhro79MS2Co and “I Think it’s Going to Rain Today” are forever favorites. I was lucky enough to find a first issue copy of Leon Russell’s first, self-titled album at record store a few weeks back. I can’t stop listening to this gem. The enormity of this man’s talent was evident from the first record. Heavy hitters such as “A Song for You” (which nearly everyone knows, but not all know Russell wrote) https://youtu.be/37dw2r45Xzg and “Delta Lady” are included.”

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What are YOU listening to? We’d love to hear! Send your current playlist and a few words about it to annk@avenueradio.com - you could be featured in The Listening Room!