Looking forward to tonight's CD release show for Johnny Miles' Sign Of The Times, which started life as a five-song demo back in 2005, one of the first really cool projects we finished after our 2004 renovations. Two years later, he (and we) had finished expanding that demo into a fully produced 12-song beauty, true to the songwriter's deep folk roots but also full of thumping rock beats and thoughtful composition. And always, always, the lyrics, never a throwaway line, always a real song, complete. Johnny's a great young talent, and now that he's stepping out with a great full-length record, people are bound to find out.

But don't take my word for it, Doug Wallen at the PW loved it, too.

UPDATE: Here's another rave review, by the Musicologist, just posted yesterday. And here's one from these music review blogger guys up in Canada. It's great that not only do they like the record, but that they love all the same things about it that we do. [Okay, end-of-update.]

The big show is tonight at the Tin Angel, Johnny Miles & the Knocked Out Colds, plus Hezekiah Jones opening up.

While I'm at it ... some other recognition coming at the artists we're working with ...

Philadelphia Slick picked up the CP Choice award for Best Local Band, just weeks after they won the Philly Sound Clash competition and a few weeks before they dropped Culture Industry, most fun I've had on a hip-hop record in a long time.

Laura Shay picked up not one, but two awards from Out & About Magazine, snagging not just Best Female Songwriter but also Best Vocalist. (We're about mid-way through a new full-length with Laura and her band.)

In other news, King Britt picked up a Pew Grant -- a freakin' Pew Grant, that is ridiculous, electronic musicians don't even get Pew Grants -- and about 40 people have told me recently that Chris Kasper is "really fucking good," or words to that effect, which is, in a way, just as good as any award if not better. And that's to say nothing of the dozen or so artists we're working with who we think are incredible but may not have gained recognition yet. Just like our man Johnny Miles, mostly unknown a year ago, but maybe not a year from now.

Our only goal, our only purpose in this not-entirely-humble endeavor, is just to be able to make some great records, working with great musicians. This time of year, it's easy to daydream about big deals and sales figures and Grammys. We try to stick close to the ground, enjoy the records we're making, remember that we're lucky to be doing this, lucky to be working with good people -- not just the recording artists but the session players and techs, too. Awards and raves are great, but in this line of work, you learn eventually that you have to trust your own ears. And those other things, they'll have to just take care of themselves, while we keep pushing to make more records, and maybe, hopefully, even better ones.

Aw, hell ... sometimes blogging just turns me into a sentimental dumbass.

JSL