music matters Archives

This leads into the Sol purpose Artist Spotlight. Not only do I want our readers to know more about her and TreeHouse Nash, Mar Lamar is Crowd Funding her next Album. A solo project that is near and dear to her heart. Listening to her passion, and witnessing her vulnerability within her content humbled me to say the least. I have found a new awareness within how much of my own passion and vulnerability I have kept buried beneath my surface. A fear that continues to lurk within my young/naive phase of life. A commonality for Aquarian folks. Often priding myself at how open I can be, not realizing that there could be so much more of myself I could offer to the world. Not for myself. Not solely for humanity. But for the Circle of Life. The give and take that is required for evolution, progression and harmony within society, civilization, and more intimate communities. Mar Lamar has granted me a gift of evolution spiritually, astrologically and creatively.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

April 17, 2026 Jason Shrum

Why You Should Be Listening to Mr. Dinkles

The group features Mac Rettig on vocals and guitar and Rocco Ramos on drums and doesn’t need much more of anything. In fact, I told my 13-year-old nephew, who is an aspiring drummer, to listen to Rocco and learn his technique which controls the tempo with simplistic approach. Sometimes less is more and that is absolutely a good thing when it comes down to a band of two. Mr. Dinkles has that feel of The White Stripes or Twenty One Pilots, but it’s a lot of their words that are making the underground headlines. For such a young band they have their finger on the pulse of what going on and are not afraid to speak out about the atrocities that are framing our current society. That’s what punk is. And this old punk feels good.

FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

November 3, 2025 Jason Shrum

WNXP Gives So Much. You Should Give Back.

To say that WXNP saved my life may be the most honest thing I have ever written, because I was truly starting to feel lost until I discovered these wonderful curators of musicality. I came to the state’s capital just over two years ago after losing my small brewery in Seattle to the hardships of COVID shutdowns. There I was privy to KEXP and listener powered radio. That station and those DJs eased my soul everyday with affirmations of “You are not alone” surrounded by gorgeously manicured playlists. I was scanning the dial one morning in Middle Tennessee during an episode of deep thought, and I was wondering if my decision making was correct. Should I have stayed in the Pacific Northwest? Why did I choose to live in Nashville? What am I going to do for work? Will I ever be happy again? You know, normal life thoughts. Then I bumped into the station that quite literally based their model after my old hometown heroes, and I began to feel at ease.