Chris Hassett in Concert. Looking forward to Summer 2011!

So far, I’ve got two major concerts coming up — both in July. The first one, though tentative, is very exciting: SD Pride in Balboa Park, San Diego. Probably Saturday, July 16.

The next one is just two weeks later — a follow up to the very successful “We Are the Village” concert we staged in 2010. This concert — Sat. July 30 at Normal Hts. Methodist Church — will also benefit the organization building a school in a Cambodian Village. My original song will be featured once again and we will keep raising money until the school is built!

Bring Love Home — taking orders now!

Bring Love Home, orders being taken now at chrishassett.com

OK, I’m excited. I admit it.

As my 60th birthday approaches (Dec. 8, for those who insist on sending a gift), I’m finally getting a CD out — with ten originals and a handful of favorite ballads and pop classics.

I hope you like it. For a preview, you can check out a few tracks using this tune widget:

Reverb Nation Player

Greek Pop Diva Delivers!

So we flew in for a concert — maybe my favorite pop diva from Greece, Despina Vandi. Her voice is amazingly strong and versatile, her presence on stage hypnotic, her beauty intoxicating. And I’m a big old ‘Mo. Can you imagine what the straight guys were feeling.

And I was thinking — how can such a small country produce so many top pop stars? Same with places like Montreal. One thing is clear — when people live proudly in their culture and support their artists, their musicians, their writers, great things happen. A dollar spent at a concert or purchasing a CD is never wasted.

Support the ones who help us see, help us hear, help us feel. Or someday we may all forget how.

Is it just me or . . .

So I’m listening to the “Meet Glen Campbell” CD (amazingly successful project, in my opinion) and wonder why the vocal track on the first song is so drowned out by the production — his vocal presence on other songs is right up front, which is the way I like it.

Enough quibbling . . . Here’s his cover of Tom Petty’s “Walls” — which I can’t stop listening to. It hits me hard, like “Wichita.”

So who else is annoyed (or delighted) by overbearing production levels on projects that feature great vocalists?

“E” is for “Everyone needs to support this site — NoiseTrade.com”

Kind of a cool logo, too.

Just a quick plug for an awesome site that always delivers the goods — to artists and fans alike. Here’s a paragraph from their “About Us” page:

Artists want to know, connect with, and be supported by music fans. Music fans want high-quality, free (or variably priced) music and to be rewarded, not punished, for sharing the music they love with their friends. We believe that if artists and fans work together, everyone can get what they want.

Couldn’t have said it better.

You’ll see live recordings, latest releases — and all of it at affordable prices and with very lenient downloading rules.

Enough of a pitch — I should be selling snake oil. Oh that’s right, I do! Best darn stuff available too.

What are your favorite music blogs and sites?

A Huron Carol

I had a great opportunity to collaborate on a Christmas tune a friend was using in a song/recording competition. Scott Lake is a terrific singer/songwriter from Michigan, and I’ve done a few other projects with him in the past. This year, for a competition at kvraudio, he recorded a version of the “Huron Carol,” a tune written by a French Canadian missionary in the 1600s. More details here. I played fretless bass on the tune (from the 3rd verse on).

You can hear Scott’s version of the Huron Carol here.

Jim Boggia reveals more of his craft, part 2

A few days ago, I posted part 1 of an interview with Philly-based Jim Boggia, one of the best singer/songwriter/producers I’ve uncovered in the last few years. I say “uncovered” not “discovered” — because a lot of his fans have been way ahead of me on that front. But playing catch up has been so much fun! And he’s a great guy to correspond with, too.

This all came about when I stumbled on his August 2008 release, Misadventures in Stereo. This album should be on everyone’s iPod. And if Jim had his preferences, he’d have us pick it up on vinyl (yes, it’s available!) and spin our way to musical happiness. So take your pick — but (as I’ve said before) — get this album!

And now — after you see our man in action on his YouTube site — you can read part 2 of my email-mediated interview. You’ll see that he’s got some exciting plans for the near future and, who knows, maybe a roadie position will open up for you.

Jim Boggia reveals some of his craft, part I

You may all remember a particularly unctuous post a month or two back when I reviewed Jim Boggia’s Misadventures in Stereo. In my defense, doesn’t the name of this blog at least hint that I might tend to gush a little from time to time?

Well, the spell hasn’t lifted. I still listen to Jim’s latest album all the time. At the risk of showing up on some stalker website, I badgered Jim with requests for an interview and, despite his better instincts, he has finally complied. Today, I give you part one of my Q&A with Jim. By the way — get this album!

Science Unravels “The Beatles Chord”

If you’re a guitarist, there’s at least one chord you know with a “given” name (like the “Hendrix” chord — the dom7#9 shape in the beginning of “Purple Haze”). For a long time, there’s been a mystery surrounding the opening jangle of the Lads’ “A Hard Day’s Night”… some people think it’s George’s Ricky 12-string and John’s Ricky 6… others think it’s multiple layers of 12-string guitar. But now a Canadian professor/researcher thinks he’s cracked the code.

Run away!

New “Fireman” (Macca) Due Out in November

Big thanks to Too Poppy for bringing this to my attention! Looks like Paul McCartney is dusting off his alternate persona The Fireman after a few mellow electronica albums in the 1990s.

But this time promises to be different. As heard on NPR’s Song of the Day, Macca’s new direction for his mythical extinguisher of flames is decidedly more rock/pop than downtempo — and still different from his two most recent solo releases. Think U2. Think Peter Gabriel. Think Arcade Fire.

Think I’m gonna get it when it comes out on November 17.