Photo Credit: www.ianjphoto.com
Live from Daryl’s House welcomes Northern California singer/songwriter Brett Dennen, who relates his own summer camp introduction to music in a visit to Daryl Hall‘s new Pawling, N.Y., location for the show’s 67th and latest installment. The episode premieres on Viacom’s high-definition music channel Palladia on Thursday, March 13 and on the VH1 app on March 22 before its online debut May 15 on Daryl’s dedicated LFDH.com website.
The 34-year-old Dennen joins Daryl for a six-song performance that includes four songs from his recently released F-Stop/Atlantic album, Smoke and Mirrors, his fifth.
The diverse set list features a pair of deep tracks from Hall’s 1986 solo album, Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, in “Right as Rain” and “What’s Gonna Happen to Us,” an anti-war number that also takes on the “battle of the sexes” and features some of Hall’s most soulful scat singing. Dennen and Daryl match harmonies on Brett‘s “Only Want You” (featuring a tasty Shane Theriot mandolin solo), the album’s single, “When We Were Young,” “Wild Child,” and “Don’t Mess With Karma.”
In the show’s regular cooking segment, Daryl introduces Seamus Mullen, chef at his wife’s favorite restaurant, West Village’s Tertulia along with the recently opened El Colmade in midtown Manhattan’s Gotham West Market, and author of the book Hero Food. Mullen helps the duo prepare and sample a jamon iberico, a cured ham produced only in parts of Spain and Portugal.
Said Dennen about meeting one of his musical heroes: “Daryl Hall is not just one of the most supportive and kind guys I’ve ever met, he’s hilarious and sharp. He’s musically savvy and a legend, of course, but he’s down right salt of the earth. Streetwise and soulful. It’s not every day you get to meet a legend and definitely not every day you get to meet one as kind and open-hearted. And it is most certainly not every day you get to jam with him and his all-star band while the cameras are rolling. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel surreal. It was completely real the whole time. A truly authentic experience. Nothing was faked. I had an absolute blast.”
Added Daryl, who talked to Brett about his own Philadelphia roots, working with Gamble and Huff as well as writing with Chubby Checker: “I really like his songs and words. He proved a terrific guest, and an impressive writer. It was a real fun show.”
Brett’s 2006 release, So Much More,officially launched him as a discovery artist and drew frequent comparisons to troubadours like Paul Simon and Tom Petty.
In 2008 his Hope for the Hopeless didn’t stray too far from the songwriter’s comfort zone, though a partnership with producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) led to a high level of production not yet heard on any of his albums. In 2011, Dennen’s Loverboy was his biggest departure to date: a danceable collection of songs influenced by the road and recorded by a studio filled with friends and imperfect takes.
Smoke and Mirrors, his fifth release, came out last October, and earned his first single, “Wild Child” a #5 spot at AAA Radio. Dennen took his record on the road for a sold out headline tour to wrap up 2013, and is currently on tour, recently selling out shows in Boston, DC, and Nashville, with upcoming dates in Aspen, Santa Barbara, Santa Ana and Park City. He’ll also perform as part of the Paul Simon Tribute at New York’s Carnegie Hall on March 31, before heading to Europe to tour with John Butler Trio. He’ll perform at select festivals across the US this summer.
The past seven years have marked a steady stream of superlatives and recognition for Live from Daryl’s House, with Hall receiving a Webby Award for Best Variety series from more than 10,000 entries at the 14th annual ceremony at N.Y.’s Cipriani Wall Street before garnering an O Music Award from MTV.
Live from Daryl’s House executive producers are Hall and manager Jonathan Wolfson.