Kris Allen: “Live Like We’re Dying”

Welcome back to Simple Man Music and another installment of our “Talented Tunes”, which features songs by artists both new and established. We choose these artists and their tunes because we believe that the song has a little something extra that propels it into the realm of a great song. Todays featured artist and tune is reining American Idol star Kris Allen and the tune is “Live Like We’re Dying”.

The first I had even heard of this guy or his song was when I saw him perform the single two weeks ago on the Wednesday night “So You Think You Can Dance” Top 6 results show. I was like “who in the hell is this guy”. However I will say that I was glad that I listened to Kris Allen sing his song, because I thought it was very good. It didn’t hurt him any either to have a very good rhythm section backing him up on stage, but anyway it is a great song.

Now I will be the first to tell you that I listen to a lot of different genres of music. I will also tell you that I am for the most part into Rock & Roll be it hard, metal, southern, or classic. As a result I am not really a pop music kind of guy, but I could listen to this guy and his song and be satisfied with the end result of how it makes me feel. For those of you who are not really into this style of music I hope you give this song a chance too.

That is all we have for you right now, but we will be back again soon with something else new and hopefully tantalizing enough for you to try out. I hope you all enjoy the song and the video I am including with this post, and that you let us know what you think about it. From all of us here at Simple Man Music have a marvelous day and an awesome holiday and we will see you all later CIAO4NOW!!!!!

“Live Like We’re Dying” by Kris Allen

Enjoy a Little Christmas Cheer with Straight No Chaser

Welcome to Simple Man Music. Recently I was listening to the radio to one of my favorite radio shows, Delilah, and on her Thanksgiving show, I heard a group of a cappella guys sing, and I just had to check them out. This group is called Straight No Chaser, and with the holidays coming soon, I thought I'd share a bit with you about this a cappella band and their incredible music.

Straight No Chaser has an interesting story. They started out about 10+ years ago in college. They started up a group for fun when they were at Indiana University back in 1996. Soon they headlined for concerts and toured on a national level. However, once they all graduated, they didn't sing together for more than a decade.

Then in April of 2006, the University did a reunion concert and clips from one of the concerts this group had done in 1998 were put up on YouTube. Soon their own version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" had millions of hits in one month and the CEO and Chairman of ATCO/Atlantic Records saw their video on YouTube. With all the hits they were getting, he decided to email the leader of the group. In 2008, they signed with the record label and the 10 member group recorded their first Christmas Album - Holiday Spirits. This year because their last release did so well, they released a new album called Christmas Cheers. Currently they are on a 56 city tour across the country and they're working on a pop album to be released sometime in 2010.

This is definitely a group worth checking out. All of the music is a cappella - they use their voices as instruments and have cut some great songs. Their Christmas albums are full of great hits that are sprinkled with humor, for example, their "Christmas Can Can," which was stuck in my head for hours after I first heard it.

Take a few minutes and check out the videos for a sample of their singing. You can go to their website and listen to all of their songs online as well. They've hit #1 on iTunes for their new Christmas album, and there's a reason they did that. The music is fun, full of harmony, and definitely full of Christmas cheer.