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In keeping
with the trend of featuring solo
artists, this month's Band
Of The Month is none other
than John Flor. His intricate
guitar work, beautiful voice,
and exquisite lyrics ensure a
great listen.
I first caught John playing at a
coffee house in St. James called
Cool Beanz. He was playing
a love song he had written to
Natalie Portman. (On a side
note, she did eventually hear
the song. Apparently, she
thought the melody was nice.) As
ridiculous a concept it is, the
song was beautiful. Had John not
bashfully noted that he had
written it for Natalie Portman,
one would assume he had written
it for a girlfriend.
For people who
like:
Dashboard Confessional
Death Cab For a Cutie
The
Postal Service
Jeff
Buckley
Elliot Smith
That's the great thing about
John Flor. Every song he writes
has a story attached to it.
Seeing him live isn't only to
listen to his heart felt music,
it's to hear stories about
ex-lovers, blackouts, and
stalking Natalie Portman (Not
really, but that's a story for
another time.)
John's
first album, The Music Of
Things finds itself in
permanent rotation on my iPod.
Every song has it's own
identity, but the album remains
cohesive. It's the kind of thing
that is hard to put into words.
The best thing to do is to just
listen to it.
In John's
more recent recordings, he drops
the band in favor of himself and
a guitar, and occasionally a
piano. While other artists who
do the same might wind up
lacking what eventually drew
people to listen to them, John
does the polar opposite. His
solo music shows just as much
heart, and brings the listener
to believe they are in some way
closer with him through
listening to his music.
John can usually be found
gigging around Brooklyn or in
New York City, but occasionally
you can catch him back out on
the island. His is definitely a
show worth going to. Oh, and
come ready to participate, he
might ask the audience to sing
along.
Check him out at:
www.myspace.com/JohnFlor
(Article by: J.Greco)
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