Gabe Dixon – “My Favorite” Video (PopMatters Premiere)

Piano pop maestro Gabe Dixon spent a decade fronting the Gabe Dixon Band, an ensemble that found enormous mainstream success, with the bulk of their 2008 release, The Gabe Dixon Band, getting various TV and film licensing deals. Of course, in the new economy of the music industry, that’s the real path to sustained profitability. Now Dixon is forging out on his own and his first solo album, One Spark, will be releasing via Concord Music this coming August 23rd (full tracklist and EPK video below). Marshall Altman (producer for Marc Broussard, Matt Nathanson and Kate Voegele) approached Dixon about working together and they trekked off to London (good idea) to work on new material with Iain Archer (ex-Snow Patrol), James Walsh (Starsailor) and Ricky Ross (ex-Deacon Blue).

Heading to Los Angeles, Dixon enlisted a new band of supporting players and aimed for a spontaneous spirit in the recording process. Dixon describes the process: “When we got down to recording, we’d listen to the last pass from rehearsals and then cut the song for the album. We didn’t have a chance to over-think anything. We recorded it as we felt it, and I think that gives the tracks an immediacy and a freshness I’ve never had on record before. It was great to step back and give a little rein to Marshall and the musicians, spread it around and just see what happens.”

That fresh approach has yielded sparkling results as the single “My Favorite” illustrates. The tune is infectious and expansive, with the chorus lodging in your head and refusing to depart. Contemporary piano pop is made up of a lot more than Ben Folds and Gabe Dixon has staked his claim to the top of that mountain. Let the guessing begin… which TV show is going to pick up this tune first?

Gabe Dixon

One Spark

(Concord)

Releasing: 23 August

SONG LIST

01 Strike

02 Even the Rain

03 My Favorite

04 On a Day Just Like Today

05 Burn for You

06 Release Me

07 Running on Fumes

08 Holiday

09 I Can See You Shine

10 Losing You

11 Perpetual Motion

12 Lucky to Be Lost