Welcome to The Groovacious News and Music Blog by Lisa Cretsinger owner of independent record store Groovacious Records in Cedar City, Utah celebrating 26 years in business.

March 3, 2018

Best Sellers at Groovacious Records for Feb 27-Mar 3, 2018

Tech N9ne “Planet”

Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa “Black Coffee”

Willie Nelson "God's Problem Child"

The Greatest Showman - soundtrack

Calexico “Thread That Keeps Us”

David Bowie “Blackstar”

Steel Woods “Straw in the Wind”

U2 “Songs of Experience”

Willie Nelson and the Boys: Willie's Stash, Vol. 2

Yelawolf “Trial By Fire”

New Releases Coming to Groovacious Records March 9, 2018

Between the Buried & Me

Albert Hammond jr.

David Byrne

Jimi Hendirx

Brad Mehldau

Matthews Southern Comfort

Ministry

Nightwish – collection

Of Montreal

6 String Drag

Suicidal Tendencies

3 Days Grace

Nathaniel Rateliff

New Items In Stock:

Karaoke Machines along with the many Turntables in stock. I can order special items.

Lisa is Enjoying the New:

Loma on SubPop

Sue Foley “Ice Queen” on Stony Plain Music when it comes back in stock! Sue Foley is a multi-award-winning musician and one of the finest blues and roots artists working today. She is a veritable triple-threat of musical talent as a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. The Ice Queen features a trio of legendary Texas guitarslingers, Jimmie Vaughan, Z. Z. Top's Billy F Gibbons and Charlie Sexton, as well as a host of other Lone Star State all-stars. Foley holds the record for the most Maple Blues Awards in Canada and has earned three Trophees de Blues de France. She has also garnered several nominations at the Blues Music Awards from The Blues Foundation.

Samantha Fish “Belle of the West” on Ruf Records. Recorded in the relaxed, rural creative atmosphere of the legendary Zebra Ranch Studios in the North Hills of Mississippi with producer Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars fame), with whom she worked previously on her 2015 album Wild Heart. The studio team included some of the region's most iconoclastic musicians, including Dickinson, solo artist and Jack White associate Lillie Mae, much-traveled juke-joint blues artist Lightnin' Malcolm, Squirrel Nut Zippers founder Jimbo Mathus, upright bassist and beloved solo artist Amy LaVere, Tikyra Jackson, Trina Raimey and Shardé Thomas, granddaughter of the legendary Southern bluesman Otha Turner. produced by Luther Dickinson

There many things do and see here in Cedar City & beyond between the resorts, area schools and museums, theater & private clubs and bars, I recommend checking the calendars on social media and through the visitor center at: www.visitcedarcity.com

A few events I'm planning to attend this week are:

Monday March 5: Cedar City Arts Council Arts Social at Festival Hall second floor of Heritage Center Theater 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Wednesday March 7: Southern Utah Museum of Art – SUMA, 24^th Art Auction at Rusty's Ranch House in Cedar Canyon 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Friday March 9: Iron County Acoustic Music Associate – ICAMA presents Marty Warburton's Bluegrass Jam at Community Presbyterian Church 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

My Life as a Music Peddler:

It is my experience that music comes to us when we are ready to receive it.

I might hear of a band or artist for weeks and months years even and never listen to their music until one day, there it is, the timing is right and it all falls into place.

For me music does not reside in the background.  It's all around me all the time and I’m always listening, aware of what is playing everywhere, at the restaurant, the grocery store, doctor’s office, a friend’s house or car, waiting in line. I listen closely. I think about it, let it draw me in emotionally. I invest.

When I discover an artist and they have a large catalog to explore I want to hear all of it from the beginning right up to the present and back again. I want to read the liner notes, who the players are, the producers and who wrote the songs and where they were recorded. I make connections to other albums and musicians. It’s fun. It adds depth. Tim and I talked about these connections all day everyday, we spent hours and hours exploring music. There is always more to know about creative people and the art that they make.

I have a friend who is learning to play guitar. He’s done some research and discovered musicians to admire, he’s listening closely and watching. He is also moving from the house he’s lived in for over twenty-seven years. He is packing up dishes saying goodbye to people and places. He stumbled upon a song that made a connection lyrically and musically too, “L.A Freeway” by Guy Clark, it talks about getting away from the rat race for a simpler lifestyle, trading concrete for a dirt back road. I've sold and moved around Guy Clark's records for years but for some reason I never took the time to really listen to him seriously. My friend and I listened to “L.A. Freeway” together and through this shared interaction I heard Guy Clark with fresh ears.

Groovacious has always carried books to sell, beat poetry, literature, music books and biographies. With Guy Clark on the brain I was interested to see that my distributor stocked the new biography “Without Getting Killed Or Caught – The Life and Music of Guy Clark” by Tamara Saviano published through Texas A&M University Press. I ordered a some for stock and one for myself too.  I finished reading it this morning. Guy Clark led an interesting life deeply immersed in music and art. He was a massive influence on just about every single songwriter including many many many of my favorites. My paths and that of Guy Clark have crossed several times through the people we have met and known in our lives yet I never met him, didn't ever even see him play. Maybe Tim did. Tim didn't tell me about all of the musicians he ever met or saw.

Interesting how music comes to us. Guy Clark is my latest obsession. He’s got a nice full sized catalog to explore and I am ready.