Reno's music scene boasts some ambitious players.
Some of them spend a lot of their time on the road, playing for international names like Jack Johnson, Eddie Vedder, and Nahko and Medicine For the People. And when they’re not on tour, they’re busy making their own music -- sometimes with renowned artists from outside Nevada.
It’s just another facet of an increasingly dynamic music scene, and David Hadel -- the afternoon host at NV89, Nevada Public Radio’s music station in Reno -- is helping expose it.
Adam Topol – “Reno” “Hollow”
“In the past, he’s played drums with acts like Eddie Vedder, Joey Santiago and Ziggy Marley, and he’s currently the touring drummer for Jack Johnson. But he’s played with legends like Jimmy Cliff and David Gilmour, from Pink Floyd, as well.
After having played alongside so many musicians in the past, it [was] hard for him to come up with his own material. This latest record he released a couple of years ago, Regardless of the Dark, took him about three years to write it. But the final result was 10 songs that go from 'Brazil' to 'Reno.'”
Tim Snider – “Hurricane”
“He’s more exclusively a violinist. When he’s playing on stage himself, he likes to use a loop pedal where he loops violin, guitar, cajón, even looping his own vocals and harmonizing with them to create this huge wall of sound. He kind of reminds me a little bit of Andrew Bird, if you’re familiar with his violinist style. He doesn’t do a lot of picking like Andrew Bird does. But he has more of a folky, sort of a Dispatch vibe to him.
Right now, he’s the touring violinist for Nahko and Medicine for the People.”
Moondog Matinee - “Ghost Dime”
“When you see Moondog Matinee perform on stage -- and they’ve [played everywhere] from here in Reno down to Vegas for the Life is Beautiful festival -- they put on a heck of a live show. The lead singer, Pete Barnato, [has] got this big fedora looking hat with a feather in it. And they’ve got this James Brown kind of flare and they just tear up the entire stage. Even if it’s a small or a big stage, they use all of it when they perform.
They have this Joe Cocker, '70s rock feel, with a little new-vibe twist as well.”
Dead Winter Carpenters - “Roller Coaster”
“So Dead Winter Carpenters is a five-piece Americana bluegrass band from North Tahoe and just last year they collaborated with Jackie Greene on their song “Rollercoaster” -- and he’s not predominately playing lead guitar like he had with The Black Crowes a few years ago. He’s actually playing a Hammond B-3 organ on this particular track.”
David Hadel, host, NV89
