The Music Freelancer

New Blog Site

2008-03-11T20:58:00.001-05:00

Hi,

I've decided to transfer my blog to my own site. I found this nice little simple blog program and have set it up. So please update your bookmarks for my 'The Music Freelancers Blog' to this new web url:

http://www.thecdreviewer.com

Thanks,

Collin Herring- Past Life Crashing Review

2008-03-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

Artist: Collin Herring
Title: Past Life Crashing
Website: http://www.myspace.com/collinherring
Style: Roots/Alt. Rock/ Alt. Country
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Past Life Crashing is the third release from Collin. Since his last release, The Other Side of Kindness, in 2005 Collin's life has been like a whirlwind of turmoil. He had to go into rehab twice along with getting married and divorced.

In the songs found on this release Collin bares his soul for you to see. Even though the song lyrics deal with strife, trouble and painful times they also hold out the hope of pulling yourself out of your bad situations and being triumphant over them.

In his press material Collins says about the songs, " I was just doing what I love to do, having no other choice than to get what is inside of me out."

The songs are filled with Collin's signature roots alt. rock meets Texas country. The release does take a side trip on the last two tracks with more of an experimental side to those songs.

Past Life Crashing took over 2 and a half years and included many song rewrites and production changes. You'll also find multiple artist that helped out including, Ken Coomer (former drummer for Wilco), Kathleen Edwards, Audley Freed (Black Crowes, Cry of Love), and Andrew Duplantis (Meat Puppets). His father Ben Roi Herring who played pedal steel and keyboards along with contributing some vocals also joined Collin.

Collin made sure that the songs weren't overworked though. He said that, "I wanted them to sound frayed enough that people heard them and felt the way I did when I wrote them."

Collin Herring already has a growing reputation as both a singer songwriter and a leader in the alt. rock music world and Past Life Crashing will only help to continue that growth. This release is ripe with soul baring songs that work on so many different levels.

A Boy Named Earth- Seasons Review

2008-03-08T18:47:00.001-05:00

Artist: A Boy Named Earth
Title: Seasons
Website:http://www.myspace.com/aboynamedearthnj
Style: Rock Opera
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

I've been getting the chance recently to review a lot of rather eclectic Indie music and Seasons from A Boy Named Earth is no exception.

Described by the group as a rock-opera it revolves around the story of a boy leaving home in search of something better in his life.

The story is broken up into the four weather seasons. Track 1 is "Autumn." The song's running time is just under nine minutes and sets the stage for the story with it's moody, meandering pace.

Like also found in the other seasons there is almost several songs in each of them, as the tempo changes like the months of the season changing.

Track-2 "Winter," is over 6 minutes in length and portrays the season with heavy sounding instruments. Track-3 "Spring," lasting just under 10 minutes, is where hope starts again with lines like, I finally have reason to care. Track-4 "Summer" that last just over 10 minutes wraps up the journey with its melodic tones.

The songs are rich in guitar and drum parts but the violin is the instrument that really takes the lead and controls the flow of the songs. The vocals weave in and out of the songs letting the instruments freely flow.

The release ends up with the song, "Gavotte In G-Minor" a short instrumental track that last for just 3 minutes but gives the instruments time to take a bow in the musical spotlight of Seasons.

I got to mention the band members to give them their due credit. Evan Acuna (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dan Brown (violin, backing vocals), Tom "Goat" Healey (lead guitar), Steven Sandler (drums), and Kevin Rovner (bass). Job well done guys!

The version I reviewed had 5 tracks but in a correspondence with the band they have decided to divide the release into 12 individual tracks to make it an easier listen.

Either way Seasons is worth your time.

Technology Versus Horse- Four Against The Minotaur Review

2008-03-05T14:56:00.000-05:00

Artist: Technology Versus Horse
Title: Four Against The Minotaur
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/technologyvshorse
Style: Experimental
Label: Dozing Lady Records
Rating: 7 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This band hailing from Bowling Green, Kentucky started out in 2004 as an avant-garde noise rock band but since then have switched to a more experimental sound.

The band's current lineup includes, Matt Bitner (bass), Mike Farmer (lead vocals), Rafe Heltsley (guitar), Josh Hines (drums) and David Prater (keyboards).

The band members have a wide ranging list of musical influences that include artist like, The Beach Boys, The Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, Miles Davis, Red Hot Chili Peppers Jane's Addiction, and Concrete Blonde to name just a few.

If you're looking for an easy listen then Four Against The Minotaur isn't the CD for you. Listening to this release is much like stopping at a car wreck or watching a house on fire burning.

The music is crunchy and often harsh to the ears but somehow manages to work and excite your ears like a hot pepper that you can't help from eating, even though you know that the few seconds of pleasure are going to be quickly followed by pain.

From their web site and CD cover art I'm guessing that the band takes their music serious, but not themselves, and like to have some fun with what their doing.

Coming from that point of view Four Against The Minotaur offers up a nice off-the-beaten path style of interesting music and is worth a listen.

Tommy Strazza- Welcome to the Rest of Your Life Review

2008-03-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

Artist: Tommy Strazza
Title: Welcome to the Rest of Your Life
Website: http://www.tommystrazza.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/tommystrazza
Style: Power Pop/ Rock
Rating: 8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Tommy Straza has performed both solo and with his band named The Model Citizens (Jeff Fernandes- drums/ backing vocals, Matt Jovanis- bass, Mike Stein- keys, J.P. Doherty- guitar/ backing vocals). Tommy's first solo album named Crawl was released in 1999 followed by a self-titled release in 2002.

When asked about his music Tommy said that, "I want to be an inspiration, a risk taker, and an envelope pusher. I want to excite people about music; the way it grabbed me as a kid."

Tommy's latest release Welcome to the Rest of Your Life is filled with a power pop/rock mixture style of music that deals with adulthood and relationship type issues.

The mostly guitar lead songs are a mixture of upbeat rockers and melodic ballad type tracks. Tommy's vocals have a touch of gruffness to them that fits well with the song subjects found on this release.

The song lyrics deal a lot with being tired of the cheating and lies that are found in bad relationships. The song "Goin' Solo," an acoustic ballad, probably says it best with lyrics like, "...don't let the door hit your ass on your way out, I'm going solo..."

My two favorite tracks, "Detour" and "Good to See You" are both guitar filled, drum pounding, up-tempo rockers.

Welcome to the Rest of Your Life is a good solid release that I found entertaining.

Jared Anderson- Where Faith Comes From Review

2008-03-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

Artist: Jared Anderson
Title: Where Faith Comes From
Website: http://www.myspace.com/jaredandersonmusic
Style: Pop/ Worship
Label: Integrity Music
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This new release from Jared is the follow up to his 2006 debut Where To Begin. Jared has served full-time on the worship team at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado for several years. The mega church has been in the news recently for negative things like a church scandal and a tragic shooting at the church.

Set against that backdrop the songs found on Where Faith Comes From are written for those times in your faith life when your not sure why something is happening or what to do about it. Jared says that, "It's like your driving down the road in the fog, and you can't see the line. To have faith is to continue driving."

You'll find upbeat sing along songs like, "Promise" that deal with submitting totally to the Lord's will and seeking His truth everyday, and "All I Want" a song worshiping the Lord and trusting Him in a world that's gone crazy.

You'll also find more melodic songs like "Glorified" that's all about worshiping a God who deserves our best, and "Hiding Place" that deals with the comfort that comes from knowing the Lord and the safety that comes with it.

This release is well done, the music whether piano or guitar lead, is tight and the messages make you both think about and offer hope for those times when it might seem like all hope is lost.

Jared already has several songs like, "Rescue", "Amazed", and "Hear Us From Heaven." that can be heard being sung on Sunday in many churches. I'm sure that several new songs from Where Faith Comes From will be added to that list soon.

Kissinger (Chopper) Interview

2008-03-02T15:24:00.001-05:00

Kissinger Interview

By C.W. Ross

Artist: Kissinger

Website: http://www.kissingertheband.com

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kissinger

Below is a recent interview that I done with band frontman Chopper.

1.For anyone reading this that hasn't heard your music before how would you describe it?

We usually describe it as either Indie Pop or Indie Rock.

2. You're probably getting a little tired of talking about it but the stop motion video for your song "Sydney Stone" has been creating a real buzz on the Internet about how well it's done. It must have taken a lot of time and hard work making it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrtTf_qv7hY- (Link to Video)

Lots of time. Months of planning and preparation, two months of shooting and one month of editing. It's satisfying, though, to have it done. We love to hear from people who have seen it and passed it on to all their friends. We're excited that the video was accepted into the SxSW Film Festival. We're looking forward to learning a lot more about the craft of film-making during the conference, and use that education in future projects.

3. Who are some of the bands that have influenced your music?

Definitely the Kinks, Elvis Costello, The Beatles, Faces, Pavement and The Archers of Loaf. Matthew Sweet and The Police both would be influences as well.

4. Are you currently out on the road touring?

We are currently getting started on making more videos. We've done lots of touring in the past to promote CDs. This time around, we want to try something different. We're going to try to commune with our fans through the internet. Lots of things influenced this decision, but the biggest factor is $3/gallon gasoline. It makes touring less and less practical for independent bands.

5. From reading your band's bio. you have been through some sticky situations like being car-jacked at gunpoint. That must have been scary but also offer some good material for songwriting?

I did write a song about a car jacking... it's not about my own, but a fictional one. I figured I had the right to write it. It's on a CD that came out a few years back. The song is named after the exact words the car jacker spoke to me: "Get outta the car, man".

6. If you could open up for any band/artist who would it be?

We've opened for Spoon in the past, but a lot of things have changed since then. We'd love to open for them again now. We'd also love to play with Nada Surf, who I've been enjoying listening to a lot lately. If the sky's the limit, then I'd say U2.

7. Where do you hope to see the band at say in five years down the road?

I'd like to see us continuing to make records that we're proud of, playing for friends and fans that enjoy the songs, and making more videos, telling more stories, hearing more stories.

8. Anything we missed that you would like to tell the readers?

We just finished recording a new CD called "Underwater". It will come out in April, and we're very proud of it. We hope that folks will join our friends list on Myspace, Facebook, or our email list on our website and buy a copy of our new CD for themselves and all their friends as soon as it is available!

Avenue F- Tales From The Garage Review

2008-03-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

Artist: Avenue F
Title: Tales From The Garage
Website: http://www.avenuef.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/avenuef
Style: Hard Rock
Rating: 8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Formed in 2002, and hailing from Bayonne, New Jersey is the hard rocking band, Avenue F. The band's line up is, Jack Kemple (lead vocals), Vinnie Valdes (bass), Mike Betkowski (drums), and Mike Marino (guitars, keys, vocals).

On the band's MySpace page they list, Van Halen, U2, The Beatles, and Alice In Chains as their musical influences.

Tales From The Garage is the follow up to the band's self-titled CD that was well received by their fans. This release defines what the band is all about, straight ahead hard rocking music. The songs found on it are filled with wailing guitars and heavy pounding drum beats.

The lyrics from track-5, "Radio" probably say it best with lyrics like, "We're a garage band. We're never selling out. We'd rather go broke."

A track you might recognize is track-4; "I Got You," it's the band's cover of the 80's hit song from the group Split Enz.

Besides staying true to your music other subjects dealt with include stories of family and friends, along with addiction, and bad romances.

Tales From The Garage is the type of release that you need to play with your stereo cranked up to full volume as you rock out to it.

Lucien- Deal With It Review

2008-02-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

Artist: Lucien
Title: Deal With It
Website: http://www.luciennocelli.com
Style: Guitar Rock
Label: Infinite Trend Records
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Known simply as Lucien he's more then a musician, he's a showman. His energetic live shows have been referred to as, 'the perfect modern glam rock concert.' Lucien is also in the touring International Beatlemania Stage Production playing the part of John Lennon. He is also an author having penned a guitar book for the advanced player "Modes In Motion," which recently has been republished marking the book's 10th anniversary.

What you'll find on Deal With It is a collection of guitar rock songs that pay homage to the past while remaining fresh. Here's what Lucien had to say about it, "I wanted to fulfill the need of classic rock fans who desperately want to buy new recordings of the genre they grew up with. now they can." He continues on, "What I've created is modern classic rock, classic rock for those yearning for it with a modern twist that also tremendously appeals to younger audiences."

On this release besides handling lead vocals Lucien also plays all of the instruments including, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and strings. You'll find guest drummers on 4 of the tracks. Lucien is also joined by his wife Sheri who adds in some harmony and background vocals.

This artist picked up his first guitar, a red half sized acoustic that his parents bought him at the age of 5, from that point on he was hooked. Besides a long history playing rock music Lucien also studied jazz guitar those styles along with touches of funk and pop creates his style.

While Deal With It is filled with the virtuoso guitar playing of Lucien the song's lyrics refuse to take a back seat. The songs are well written and deal with life related issues in general, both in the present and past. Issues like dealing with things one day at a time, taking the time to slow down and enjoy life, loneliness, childhood memories and what good does war really accomplish to name a few.

If you're a fan of guitar music, 70's/80's rock, or just good music then you need to get Lucien's latest release, Deal With It.

Darryl Gregory- She Review

2008-02-27T15:06:00.000-05:00

Artist: Darryl Gregory
Title: She
Website: http://www.darrylgregory.com
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/gregorydarryl
Style: Singer Songwriter/ Swamp Rock
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Darryl's music has taken many turns over the years. Starting out as a classically trained trombonist he spent over a decade playing in symphonies and big band jazz bands. He learned to play guitar while in a basement rock band. He's also into world music and co-founder of The Sa-Reel Project with composer Sasha Bogdanowitsch.

He's also composed music for film as well as incidental music for several off and off-off Broadway theatrical and dance works

By day Darryl is a music teacher in Stamford, CT where he instructs middle school aged children. He's also owner of Blue Cave Studios, a home project studio that caters to Indie-musicians, singer-songwriters and other non-label recording projects.

As I'm sure you've gathered by now Darryl has many strong roots down in the music industry.

Darryl's latest release She is a concept album about the many facets, both good and bad, of women. Darryl says that, "each song is a chapter or a vignette that when put together tell an even greater story. There aren't too many concept albums coming out anymore, but I loved the challenge of doing it anyway."

Besides handling lead vocal duties on this release Darryl also plays the vast majority on instruments found on She including, guitars, bass, harmonica, organ piano, mandolin, and dobro to name just a few.

He's also added in some key components from other musicians like Rani Arbo whose lively fiddle playing fingerprints can be found through out the release.

Also Debbie Maloney's flute playing on track-6 "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" brings a nice, almost fanciful element, to the song.

You'll find Justin Hines on drum kit and congas. Last but not least are the helping vocals of Wendy Berry and Sasha Bogdanowitsch that worked as a nice accent to Darryl's deeper male vocals.

This release has many musical flavors found in it blending, singer/songwriter, alt. country, retro-rock, folk, and swamp rock sounds that alternate in tempo, from bar swigging hell-raisers, to melodic guitar and piano ballads.

Darryl's been around music for along time and his talent shines through brightly in this, his latest release, She.

Bayard Russell- Selftitled Review

2008-02-26T12:32:00.000-05:00

Artist: Bayard Russell
Title: Selftitled
Website: http://www.bayardrussell.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bayardrussell
CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bayardrussell
Style: Pop/Techno
Rating: 8.1 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Russell, who's from Indiana, grew up listening to The Beatles and Ice Cube. He started playing the piano at age 4 and picked up guitar playing during his high school years.

He attended Dartmouth with a major in philosophy and a minor in music. After graduation he moved to NYC to pursue his music.

Besides his solo work Russell is also the lead vocalist, bassist, and songwriter for the garage rock band Negative Ken.

Selftitled is Russell's debut solo release. On it you'll find a collection of music characterized in his press material as, 'Indie heartbroken pop.'
As that description indicates the songs found on this release deal with love and loss, with most of it centering on the heartbroken side of the love scale.

The music has an electro-pop style that runs throughout it ala bands like The Postal Service, which is one of the bands Russell list as his musical influences along with, Elliot Smith, John Mayer, Fountains of Wayne, Jack Johnson, and Belle and Sebastian.

The release has a lofi, not over worked, raw edge to it that creates a nice feel. With its wide variety of techno sounds and dance beats, intermixed with an alternative meets Indie pop sound, with a dash of playfulness and experimentation added in makes Bayard Russell's Selftitled a release worth buying.

After Edmund- Hello Review

2008-02-25T15:56:00.000-05:00

Artist: After Edmund
Title: Hello
Website: http://www.afteredmund.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/afteredmund
Style: Modern Pop/Rock
Label: Slanted Records
Rating: 8.1 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Hello is the debut release from this Georgia band made up of 5 guys, all in their mid-20's. The band's lineup is, Mitch Parks (lead vocals/guitars), Matt McFadden (bass guitar), Ben Hosey (guitars), Yates (keyboard instruments), and Adam Stanley (drums).

The band's name, After Edmund, comes from the Edmund character found in C.S. Lewis' best-selling book series The Chronicles of Narnia.

Several of the band's members have been classically trained along with being multi-instrumental. "When we talk about several of us being classically trained, it is not meant to sound like showing off," explains drummer Adam Stanley. "Hopefully people won't listen and say 'they sound like music majors,' but our goal through that kind of practice and study is the ability to make better music where we know what we're doing in the studio rather than just stabbing around in the dark. If our backgrounds are not facilitating better art, it's pretty worthless other than just for amusement's sake."

The songs found on Hello range from driving rock numbers that feature big guitar parts and pounding drums to more melodic in tone. The one constant that runs through all of the songs is the talent that each band member posses. The songs are, tight, well done and offer strong arrangements.

They deal with issues like surrendering your fears to God, God's desire for all of us to know Him, to not place value on earthly treasures that are only temporary, God's power in the stormy times to pull us through them, and even though we might drift away from God, He's always there with us waiting to welcome us back.

When asked about the ministry part of their music band drummer Adam Stanley said, "A lot of our ministry is off stage since we enjoy talking to people and hearing what's on their mind," Stanley sums up. "...we are happy to share how faithful God's been to us. Being a musician, life is really uncertain, but we've never missed a meal! We'll be happy to share that, plus a lot of people are looking for someone outside their families to help them feel validated. Just being a listening ear does wonders for their self-esteems, which is an important part in finding the Truth. Sure we're all sinners; but on the flipside, we're beautiful in God's eyes and people have to realize how much He loves them."

After Edmund is made up of a group of very talented guys on a record label that gives them the freedom to experiment and make their music shine. The result of that is the well-crafted release, Hello.

Jamie Jamgochian- Above The Noise Review

2008-02-25T15:55:00.000-05:00

Artist: Jamie Jamgochian
Title: Above The Noise
Style: Pop/ Worship
Website: http://www.jaimejam.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jaimejamgochian
Rating: 9 out of 10
Label: Centricity Records
By C.W. Ross

Jamie's new album Above the Noise is much different sounding then her last release, Reason to Live. This one has much more of a pop feel to it, while still keeping her worship song lyrics.

On this release Jamie wanted to put together a collection of songs that would help the listener to strip away and remove all of the unimportant distractions that a lot of us often let into our lives that interfere with worship. Jamie says, "I want people to sense the true passion for worship."

During the period of time that this release was being recorded Jamie was dealing with the loneliness that comes from being out touring plus she was also dealing with a virus that she had contracted while on a mission's trip outside of the U.S., some days she felt so drained that she wondered if she would even have the strength to record her vocals.

Dealing with all of that this release is filled with music that will at times have you dancing singing joyful praises while at other times have you on your knees crying.

Above the Noise has about 50% more pop sounding upbeat songs while the other 50% are more melodic and traditional. I liked both styles but I really noticed just what a great voice Jamie has on the more melodic songs like, "I Stand in Awe," and "The Life I Live," with their simple arrangements that really let Jamie's vocals soar.

The passion that comes through in her songs is undeniable. She's just not singing , these are emotions that are pouring out of her heart.

This is what I call a whole family type album. The more upbeat pop numbers will please the younger kid's ear while the more melodic songs will have a familiar sound that the more mature ear will appreciate.

Do yourself a favor and don't miss out on the worship experience that's found on Jamie Jamgochian's new release, Above The Noise.

Peech Review

2008-02-24T17:56:00.001-05:00

Artist: Peech
Title: Peech
Website: http://www.peechmusic.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/peech
Style: Acoustic Rock
Label: Unison Music
Rating: 8.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Peech is made up of Chelsea Dohemann (vocals, guitar, piano), and Megan Osborn (vocals, guitar). This is the self-titled debut release, on Unison Music, for the California duo that met in the Cal State Chico dorms during their freshman year in college.

With two very distinctive personalities the two didn't even think that they would like each other but that changed when they found their common love of music.

Lucky for us that they had the connection to music because Peech makes music that's worth hearing. Whether soft and on the folk side or more up-tempo with a rock beat it's all good.

The ladies pull their musical influences from a wide array of artist from Janis Joplin, Blondie, Police, and what they say is their favorite band of all time, The Beatles.

Their song lyrics deal with a wide range of emotions. The ladies like to not be pigeonholed into singing about just one subject.

"We take a lot of pride in being able to write about a lot of different subjects. All of our songs aren't about guys or love," says Dohemann. "Before we were writing from inside looking out, but now we're outside looking in, seeing things from a bigger perspective."

"If people respond to it, like cry or get really angry, just have an emotion, I feel like 'awesome, we touched someone,' " says Osborn.

The release gets started with the song, "Driving Blind" that features a really interesting arrangement to it, involving tempo changes. From there the release intermixes melodic folk and pop/rock tracks.

The release ends with track-12, "Thank You" a piano ballad that if you close your eyes and listen visions of Tori Amos will flash into your mind.

Peech's self-titled release offers up 46 minutes of entertaining music with song lyrics that will draw upon your emotions.

Jeff Johnson- Glorious Day Review

2008-02-21T17:39:00.000-05:00

Artist: Jeff Johnson
Title: Glorious Day
Website: http://www.jeffjohnsonband.org
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jeffjohnsonmusic
Style: Worship
Rating: 8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Jeff Johnson used to work at a corporate job until he decided that he wanted something different, so in 2003 he started Jeff Johnson Ministries. He also made an appearance on the hit show American Idol in 2005.

Glorious Day is Jeff's third release, (Enter In: EP 2005, Shaken 2003). On this release Jeff uses rousing worship music to drive home the point of God's love and grace. He also encourages the need for a deeper faith and walk with God.

Jeff says that, "My deepest desire is that these songs would resound the immaculate beauty of our God-- exalting Him, and Him alone."

The release starts off with the driving big guitar lead song, "God Over Us," a praise and worship song about God's glory. From there the CD continue on with several more up-tempo songs until track-6 the classic church hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross."

Jeff performs this song along with fellow artist Shane Barnard. Ironically when I looked over the release's song list this was probably the one that I was looking forward to hearing the most.

I like to hear how artist interpret classic hymns and what new twist they'll add to them. Unfortunately this is the only song on the CD that I really didn't like.

The song has a constant percussion almost pounding sound that resonates in the background for the entire song that gave it an industrial sound that for me just didn't work.

Other then that I really enjoyed the CD and the powerful lyrics that are found in the songs.

Glorious Day is a nice collection of 10 songs that feature a mixture of contemporary worship and light rock along with a few touches of a country flavor that are highlighted with some nice arrangements.

Nemesis3 Interview

2008-02-19T17:02:00.001-05:00

Nemesis3 Interview:
By C.W. Ross

Nemesis3- The band's press material describes their music as- "A unique, modern sound with diverse influences and real vocals unlike any rock band. The solid hooks and full sound are nothing like a typical 3 piece! The rhythms, melodies and lyrics will grab you instantly! With every tight and high energy performance, live shows are where N3 prove themselves."

Nemesis3- http://www.myspace.com/nemesis3

Lineup:

Marc Wasmund (lead vocals, guitar)
Dann Singer (drums, backing vocals)
Graig Lindgren (bass, backing vocals)

Nemesis3 Interview:

1. How did the band get started? And how did you come up with your name?

Marc Wasmund: Pretty typical scenario actually...I found a flyer in a music store saying 'new local rock band looking for lead singer'. I called the number and we got together to see what happens. Everything went well for a while but the common changes began; new guitar player, then a new bass player, then a new drummer. Soon I became the only guitar player, as well as lead singer, and we added another new bass player. Within a few years I was the only original member from the group whose flyer I answered in the first place. The members we had at that point are the current members today.

The way we came up with the name was very random. We wanted something powerful, catchy and one that makes you think a little. But no one had any ideas that stuck. We decided to look through the dictionary and pick out random words. About an hour later, we stopped on the words beginning with the letter 'N' (you can see where this is going). When we made it through to the word Nemesis...we all looked at each other and said: ?That's not bad, it could work?. We read through all of the definitions. The first, second and fourth definitions were kind of 'blah' and didn't really do anything for us. Then we read the 3rd definition; "An undefeatable enemy or foe; an indestructible opponent". Since we all agreed the 3rd definition of the word was the coolest and best sounding, Nemesis3 was born. Having started as a four-piece band, the number 3 has nothing to do with the amount of people in the band. It just happens to work out that way with our current lineup.

2. Your press material mentions that your band is not the typical 3 piece rock band. What makes you different?

MW: In the past, most 3 piece rock bands were known for playing straight punk music and/or just 3 chord 'burner' songs with no real musical depth. It always seems difficult to get a full sound out of a 'typical' 3 piece. Unless you liked the band Rush, who threw in some keyboards as well, nothing really stood out. What we've incorporated into our music (completely by accident) is more diverse song writing. We use stronger, more melodic vocals including backup vocals and the occasional 'guttural' tones for the more aggressive sections of songs. Lyrically we try to focus on topics that many people can relate to in their own way, while adding powerful guitar and vocal hooks to keep the music interesting. Our rhythm section is always tight and driving so you can feel the music as well as listen to it. Also, everyone carries their own weight when writing music in this band. It's not just one person doing all the work.

Graig Lindgren: We hear from people all the time after our shows that they can't believe we're a 3 piece. Our blend of great guitar work, melodic bass playing, and colorful drumming mixed with well-thought-out arrangements makes us stand out from the crowd.

Dann Singer: We don?t go out our way to be different or "non-typical", we just are what we are.

MW: True dat!

3. What do you want people to be saying while leaving after attending one of your band's shows?

MW: First I hope they say "wow", then I hope they say "Where can I get a CD?", and finally "When's you're next show?". On occasion we'll hear "What the heck are you still doing here?"

GL: I agree.

DS: We just want to get to the next level. We love the great feedback we get but we know this is a war not a battle. One show does not make or break a band.

4. What bands would you like to have the chance to open for?

MW: LIVE, Tool, 10 Years, Breaking Benjamin...

GL: Chevelle, Seether, Led Zeppelin (laughing)...

Dann: Tool, Sponge Bob (LOL)!

5.What music do you have out there for purchase? And where can people buy it at?

Our debut, 12 track, album "Scream as Needed" released on a very small indie label. You can buy it at Border's Books & Music, CD Warehouse, all the download and mp3 sites, our myspace and, of course, our live shows.

6.How are things going with the band's new release? And when will it be released?

MW: We have around 14 unrecorded and newly written songs ready to record. We hope to start recording them this spring. With the help of our new management company, we plan to shop our music to all the labels very soon.

7. Do you have any tours planned in support of it?

MW: We play shows all the time anyway.....but again, with the help of our management, we're starting to expand our gigs and fan base with better booking outside of our home area. Full touring would be amazing but if it can't pay for our regular bills at home, we really can't leave our 9-5's.

GL: We'd love to though. We talk about it constantly.

Short Fun Type Questions:

1. Favorite Food?

MW: Sea food

GL: Filet Mignon (medium rare)

DS: Anything Taco Bell.

2. Dog or Cat Person?

MW: Dog even though I have 2 cats (ugh)

GL: Dog (I have 4 - not mutts, they're hybrids...Jazz, Macy, Oreo and Onyx)!

DS: Neither.

3. Surfing or Skiing?

MW: Skiing (snowboarding, snowmobiles)

GL: Water skiing.

DS: Surfing.

4. Vinyl or CDs?

MW: Some of both, I don't buy too much music unless I reaaaaaaalllllly like the artist.

DS: CD's.

GL: Vinyl? Really? How about ipod?

5. Global Warming Yes or No?

MW: Yes...we're all going to die (LOL)

GL: Read "State of fear" by Michael Crichton, it may change your mind.

DS: Seems cold this winter, no?

6. Sport's Car or Motorcycle?

GL: Both!

DS: Sports car.

MW: Motorcycle for now.....both when our next album goes platinum (LOL again)

Nemesis3- Scream As Needed Review

2008-02-18T16:52:00.001-05:00

Artist: Nemesis3
Title: Scream As Needed
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/nemesis3
Style: Hard Rock/ Alternative
Label: Frog and Scorpion Records
Rating: 7.8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Nemesis3 is, Marc Wasmund (lead vocals, guitar), Dann Singer (drums, backing vocals), and Graig Lindgren (bass & backing vocals).

The guys pull on their diverse musical influences of both classic bands like Rush and Led Zeppelin to today's bands like My Chemical Romance, and Incubus.

Nemesis 3 has shared the stage with national acts like, P.O.D., Chevelle, Mushroomhead, and Drowning Pool.

Scream As Needed is the band's debut release and was released in 2004. The band is ready to enter the studio and start working on their next project. They said that, "We have 14 new songs to choose from and believe me, they are even better than the last CD."

Until then though Scream As Needed will be able to give you your needed fix of hard driving rock. It's filled with hard rock/metal guitar licks hot enough to dance with the devil along with bass lines that will smack the crap out of your stereo's speakers. Add on top vocals that are both pleading and wailing in the same song.

The band shows that they have more then one side to their music with a more melodic flow that can also be found on several of the songs.

The one thing that never changes on this release from track-to-track is the good music that it keeps pumping out of your speakers.

Michael Stollaire- Interview

2008-02-18T14:14:00.003-05:00

Below is a recent interview that I done with Michael Stollaire for on my Indie Music Stop site.

Michael Stollaire- http://www.michaelstollaire.com

Michael has been singing lead vocals, and playing lead guitar/keyboards in rock bands since the age of twelve. He recently took some time out of his busy schedule to do an interview with us.

Interview With Michael Stollaire

By C.W. Ross

1. You've played a wide variety of musical styles over the years, from 1950's rock to thrash metal. What style is your favorite?

Indeed, I think that one of the most important elements of success that is often overlooked is flexibility, along with being consistent and persistent, never letting anyone steal your dreams away. My favorite style of music is actually arena rock, like Nickelback, Creed, Good Charlotte, Evanescence, etc...

2. Who are some of your musical influences?

Great question, and my influences are eclectic, as shown on my most recent album, "Holy Avenger," which will be released on February 29th, at my gig at the infamous WHISKEY A GO GO on Sunset Strip. I've been influenced heavily by bands from ABBA to ZZ Top, and you can even hear elements of The Beach Boys in the layered vocals that I like to do, especially on tracks like "Liquid Gold."

Mainly, my style is hard pop rock, so you can see how bands like Nickelback, Creed, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Evanescence, etc., showed themselves, like the Gothic piece, "Hell Comes Alive Here Tonight."

3. What projects are you working on now?

Well, I have to admit that I have started working a little on my next album, "Lightning Strikes Twice," recording some demos, and also, I've been approached by several companies, including Chevrolet, for tracks to use in commercials, film, and TV, which I am developing, for instance, "Cruisin' In My Chevrolet." One of my targets for the future, is placing as many of my songs as possible in soundtracks, in fact!

4. Do you have any touring planned?

I'm glad you asked! You can refer to my MySpace page for more information:

http://www.MySpace.com/theankhproject

as I have a booking agent, manager, and promoter, working feverishly on booking dates, to support the release of "Holy Avenger!" The first date is booked at THE WHISKY A GO GO, on L.A.'s infamous Sunset Strip:

http://eventful.com/events/west-hollywood/music-michael-stollaire-live-at-the-whiskey-a-go-go-la-friday-february-29-2008-/E0-001-009139117-6

I also have several dates in New York City, at The Pussycat Lounge and The Fortune Cookie Lounge. Currently, we are targeting festivals and colleges/universities, so that by the time Summer hits, we are really ramped up and rocking!

http://eventful.com/events/nyc/music-michael-stollaire-the-pussycat-lounge-new-york-city-/E0-001-009119786-2

http://eventful.com/events/new-york/music-michael-stollaire-live-at-the-fortune-cookie-lounge-nyc-march-30th-and-april-17th-2008-/E0-001-009136561-2

http://eventful.com/events/new-york/music-michael-stollaire-live-at-the-fortune-cookie-lounge-nyc-march-30th-and-april-17th-2008-/E0-001-009136567-6

HERE IS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT TICKETS AND GETTING A FREE ALBUM:

Cost:

$12 At the Door or Via PayPal:

http://www.PayPal.com

Using:

michael.stollaire@ehiinsm.com

If you mention that you heard about this offer through Indie Music Stop, I will give them a FREE DOWNLOAD of my entire album, with each ticket purchased, or vice-versa? if you buy the album, I will give you FREE VIP TICKETS to any of my concerts, world-wide!

5. Where do you draw your inspiration from for your songs?

A variety of different sources, to be totally honest. Some of them come from my real life, and the experiences that I am going through, or love and romance, of course. At other times, it's the places that I have travelled through, the people I've met, my history, how I envision my future, or the lives of the significant people in my life. For example, "This Country Boy Can Rock," is about my life as a boy, in a small village in upstate New York, called Scottsville, where I constantly dreamed of living in Los Angeles ~ now, that dream is my day-to-day reality, and the track tells the story of how that dream became true.

6. You've worked both as a solo artist and in a band which do your prefer and why?

Well, I do prefer being a solo artist, as I have total say over what material is produced, and how it is created, from start to finish. I consider these songs like my children, in a certain way, and so it's VERY important to me, how they are presented to the public? it's like a piece of me that is being shared with the world, if you know what I mean. I also like hand-picking the people I work with, like my GREAT producer, Dave Morse, and Suzahn Fiering, who is doing such a wonderful job promoting me, and giving me great advice, from her countless years in the music industry ~ I can't thank them enough! On the other hand there are big plusses being in a band, like the comradarie, team effort, and the familial bond that is created between the people involved. At times, I miss this, being a solo artist, and see myself gravitating again to join a band, as long as the time and opportunity are right.

7. Anything we missed that you would like to tell the readers?

Of course! The most important thing I want to say in this all-too-brief interview is THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BOUGHT MY ALBUM AND BOUGHT TICKETS TO SEE MY CONCERTS! Every day, I think of what's going on in my life, and how just a few months ago, I was walking around Waterford in Ireland, casually recording demos of some of my originals, just because I had "Write a rock album,"on my list of things to do before I die? Well? a few short weeks later, after posting some of my tracks on one of a billion or so music portal websites in Los Angeles, I was approached by a concert promoter, to open a stadium show in San Bernardino, as he loved "I Can't Let You Go," which then led my being approached by a record label in Hollywood, who asked the right question at the right time: "We would like to work with you, but need to know? What is the biggest show you ever played?!" Within hours, the contract was being faxed to me, after they listened to "Little Princess," "Just Like Yesterday," and later, "Watch Her Walk," which after receiving the magic touch from Mr. Morse, turned into the Top Three tracks on "Holy Avenger."

This is my roundabout way of telling everyone: DREAMS DO COME TRUE!

Woodpecker F-Hole Review

2008-02-17T15:05:00.000-05:00

Artist: Woodpecker
Title: F- Hole
Website: http://www.woodpeckermusic.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/woodpeckermusic
Style: Punk-Americana/ Bluegrass
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Where should I start with trying to describe the band Woodpecker? They started out in 2002 in Chicago redoing punk tunes to a bluegrass style of music. The group disbanded in 2003 and reformed again in 2005 in Brooklyn with the addition of Al Huang (mandolin, vocals), and Andy Xue (cello) with original members Jordan Anderson (banjo, vocals), and Josh Steinbauer (guitar, vocals).

If you removed the lyrics from the songs and just listened to the instruments you would find that their Americana/Bluegrass style of music would bring a smile to Ricky Skaggs, or Bill Monroe with all of its banjo, mandolin, and smooth vocal harmonies.

The band doesn't stop there though they layer on top of the music their punk attitude lyrics that take this release in an all-new direction. The lyrics for the first 7 songs have their fair-share of curse words so that you won't be hearing them on anything but college or underground radio stations.

The band takes on girlfriends, pompous people, people who don't pick up after their dogs, working at a corporate job, the ups and downs of life, religion and last but not least they give rapper Eminem a bitch slap that would make Mike Tyson proud.

As you probably figured out by now this is not your average release. This takes probably the most traditional American form of music and stretches it's boundaries like a devilish kid playing with Silly Puddy.

There's no middle ground with this band your either going to love their inventive style and wear out the CD from playing it so much or hate it as much as someone making an awful screeching chalkboard sound.

Either way one thing that can't be denied is that this group of musicians have talent.

Steve Richard Review

2008-02-15T18:01:00.000-05:00

Artist: Steve Richard
Title: Steve Richard
Website: http://www.steverichardmusic.com/
Style: Country/ Southern Rock
Rating: 7.95 out of10
By C.W. Ross

This is the self-titled debut album from Steve Richard. What you'll find on it is a country artist looking to push the genres boundaries with a significant southern rock musical flavor found on it.

When asked about the album's style Richard says, "The album is about that exciting place where country meets rock and roll, and it's a very 'LIVE' kind of record, with songs that come across very well onstage. The idea was to do songs that tell honest stories which reflect the way I feel whether I wrote the song or not."

"My style of music reflects the love I have for bands like Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers, along with classic sounds of George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Buck Owens, to the Cream, Who and The Stones...you've got the picture. It's very much a rocking record, but is completely steeped in country tradition."

Richard has also toured the Midwest and South as both a headliner and opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dickey Betts, .38 Special and Van Zant.

The releases first two tracks are all out driving southern rockers, "Faster, Faster" and "Stomp." It isn't until track-3"Everything Beautiful to Me" that the release lets the country side take the spotlight for a while.

Track-5 "Tried-and-True another rocker gets the blood pumping again. Quickly followed by the country bar-rock song, "We Ain't Saints."

Track-7 "Make it into Heaven" has a real Jimmy Buffet like tropical island music feel to it. Track-8, "I'll Never Leave You" is the releases only ballad.

From there it goes, track-9 pop country, track-10 southern rocker, track-11 country gospel and ends it with track-12 "Write This Song" with it's standard country sound.

This release hits most of the marks. The only thing that might turn some people off is the wide variety of different styles ( southern rock, traditional country, modern country, pop, gospel, and island music) found on it that does make it seem a bit schizophrenic at times.

Go ahead and get this release and enjoy the music, just be prepared to hit the next track button a time or two.

You can view a well done video for the first single, "Faster, Faster" from the album at:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=VQf_iSRiGBY

Sean Costello-We Can Get Together Review

2008-02-14T14:17:00.000-05:00

Artist: Sean Costello
Title: We Can Get Together
Website: http://www.seancostello.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/seancostello
Style: Blues/ Roots Rock
Label: Delta Groove Music
Rating: 9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Sean started out playing the guitar at the age of nine. Self-taught it didn't take long before his playing got noticed when at age 14 he won the Beal's Street Blues Society's, 'New Talent Award.'

Sean released his debut album, Call the Cops in 1996 when he was only 16. Since then he's both released several more of his own albums along with appearing on other artist releases.

Sean's latest release, We Can Get Together is jammed pack with the blues along with his signature soul and touches of rock ala classic artist such as, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Here's some of what Sean has to say about his music, "I'll never play the old blues better than the people who invented it...I'm 28 years old, and I need to make my own statement."

Sean tries to walk the fine line of being true to the past while still adding in some modern elements to keep the music fresh sounding.

This release takes you on a journey of musical tempos from upbeat hard driving tracks like, "Anytime You Want", "Same Old Game," and "How in the Devil," to the Gospel inspired "Going Home", along with the ballad, "Have You No Shame."

Those of you who read my reviews regularly know that I like it when a release has that little something different and We Can Get Together didn't disappoint me. On the song, "Told Me a Lie" they use a chicken coop to provide a percussion element. I also liked the not often heard outside of a full band instrument the sousaphone.

If you're a fan of the blues you need to checkout Sean Costello's music. For me the sign of a good blues guitarist is if they can make the guitar almost come to life and talk to me. On We Can Get Together Sean's guitar speaks loud and clear with a soulful heart.

Andy Juhl -A Simple Life on Land- Review

2008-02-13T15:14:00.000-05:00

Artist: Andy Juhl
Title: A Simple Life on Land
Website: http://www.andyjuhl.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/andyjuhl
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/andyjuhl
Style: Folk/Rock
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This is Andy's debut solo album. He's probably best known as the guitarist for the Minneapolis based experimental group the Trimmed Hedges.

Besides Andy -(vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica) you'll also find John Juhl - (drums, percussion, vocals), Brian David -(bass), and Cindy Juhl- (french horn) on the album.

From the very first song "And In The Morning" you can really hear the Neil Young influence to Andy's sound. On several of the songs if I would have received this CD in the mail and listened to it I would have swore I was listening to Neil Young. The folk/rock songs have that genuine story behind them along with an ever-present harmonica work that lights up the songs.

All of the songs aren't on the folk side though you also find a couple of them where the electric guitar is cranked up and let loose to play with glee. I also liked the 2 instrumental tracks found on A Simple Life on Land on which the instruments were let loose to showcase their musical talents.

The two instruments that get a mention for their fresh and intriguing additions to the CD are the banjo parts found on several of the songs along with the, rarely heard outside of orchestral music french horn, found on the song, "Let's Go Around One More Time." It added a unique element to the song that I enjoyed.

If you're a fan of Neil Young's music you'll love this release and even if your not I think that Andy brings enough fresh elements and quality song writing to make it worth getting.

Lanae' Hale- EP Review

2008-02-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

Artist: Lanae' Hale
Title: Lanae' Hale EP
Website: http://www.lanaehale.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lanaehale
Style: Singer Songwriter
Label: Centricity Records
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This is the self-titled debut for this 24-year old singer-songwriter from CoCo River Florida now based out of Nashville.

This EP features 6 tracks. It starts off with the popish sounding track "Spring Again," a song that deals with life as passing seasons. It then moves quickly into track-2 "Alive Again," that's all about God's grace.

On track-3 "Love is Worth the Fight," Lanae' takes a trip to the jazz influenced side of music. Track-4 "Stay" is about hope. Track-5 "Start Over," deals with trying to fit into what the world wants you to be so much that you lose your faith. It all ends with the melodic song "Quiet Place."

Lanae' has vocals like that of fine crystal with a wide vocal range. Her vocal's bring each word to life and drives home the song lyric's point.

Lanae' uses struggles that she's dealt with in her own life and overcome in her music.

Lanae' has overcome being a cutter. She says, " I tried desperately for three years to fix my broken heart by cutting, but only found myself with deeper scars. If not for the grace of God I may not have made it through." She adds that, "more than anything else, I would love to help young girls through my music and my own testimony, so they can see the hope and forgiveness for mistakes. There is a chance fir healing, and that is through the grace of Jesus Christ. I am a living testimony of that!"

Lanae' has talent, compassion and a message that need to be heard what more could you ask for from an artist? Do yourself a favor and get onboard the Lanae' Hale musical train.

Jacqueline Grace Interview

2008-02-11T12:47:00.000-05:00

Jacqueline Grace Interview

By C.W. Ross

Jacqueline Grace is in her early 20's and has been blessed with exotic model beauty from her Filipino/ Mexican heritage.

But there's much more to Jacqueline then her looks.

This singer/songwriter from San Diego started singing at age 5 and was performing onstage by age 11. She was a member of her school music clubs and was often asked to perform at school activities.

Throughout her high school years Jacqueline took lead roles in various musical productions at San Diego Junior Theater, where she discovered her true love for performing in front of live audiences. She continued to perform throughout college, and in her senior year was the featured singer at the San Diego Sharp Medical Annual Gala.

Jacqueline's debut release is out now and features a blend of singer/songwriter, hip- hop, dance, latin, and pop musical styles.

Website- http://www.jacqueline-grace.com

MySpace Site: http://www.myspace.com/jacqgrace

Below is a recent interview that we done with Jacqueline.

1-Your music blends many different styles. How would you describe it?

Realistically I'd call it mainstream fusion. My ambition is to take world music elements and make them work for what you hear on the radio. It's been done, don't get me wrong, but I find that usually those elements become a factor in production of the song as opposed to initial influence. If I hear an Indian drum beat, or a Mariachi horn that I like, I try to create a song that implicitly involves that element. The working title I use for what I'm trying to accomplish is "global soul," to create music that moves you that incorporates various cultures. It's a lofty aspiration, but I'd like to think it can be done.

2-What affect does your Filipino/Mexican heritage have on your music?

Absolutely, although the latter currently is more prevalent than the former. Growing up as a kid I was exposed to the traditional elements of both cultures. Each one is rich in traditional dances and music to go with it. I never took much heed growing up, but now I realize both are great outlets for inspiration. On my first album, I find there are many moments where Latin music becomes the main focus. I'd like to think that what's holding me back right now is I have yet to fully conquer Tagalog (the national language of the Philippines, I think). Once I get a better grasp, I think I can then figure out the true structure of Pinoy songs.

3-Where do you draw your inspiration from for your songs?

Various places is the short answer. You ask me about each song and you'll get a different response. On my album, for example, inspiration is anything from a movie to a person. I know there are a lot of artists out there who draw specifically from personal experiences. To be honest, if that were my way of approaching music, my album would probably be quite monotonous. Personally I don't feel I have an album's worth of experiences (yet!). So what helped fuel the creation of my songs was a creative story line. I'd find myself telling a story with each song, I'd figure out the protagonist, obstacles, etc. so when the song is done, it resembles some sort of vignette. But I write each song from my perspective, and so I do find each song to be personal.

4-What person has influenced your music most?

Michael Jackson. I have a list, but his are the cd's i pull up an listen to on iTunes when I'm stuck. I listen to every aspect, from the production and lyric to the delivery and structure. From what I've heard of the man, he is extremely meticulous. But look how it pays off! Each harmony he creates is flawless, the vibratos are in perfect unison..., I digress. But I find that if I'm having trouble with writing a song, or seeing what makes it rock hard, then I look through all my MJ songs, from Jackson 5 to invincible, pick a few that match what I'm trying to accomplish and dissect them.

5- What is your favorite song that you've written and what makes it your favorite?

Oh, Man. Jeez, one song? I honestly don't have a favorite, but one that constantly sticks out in my mind is "Pandora's Box." Why it is really comes from the fact that it was a song of mine where everything just fell into place. Everything came very quickly and stuck. And at least for me it was a personal conquest because I had been writing all this wordy, intense music, and this was the first mellowed track I produced that I really was proud of.

6- Where do you hope to be with your music say 5 years down the road?

Still writing for myself and other artists. Constantly collaborating. Touring. And also finding other outlets to showcase my whole "global soul," idea. I've been watching the National Geographic channel and I think should I gain notoriety, I would love to film a series showcasing traditional music from different parts of the world. I've been told Paul Simon did something similar, but I'd make it look good. ;)

7- What artist do you enjoy listening to?

Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Joel, Michael and Janet, KT Tunstall, Foo Fighters, Frank Sinatra, Dave Matthews Band, Spice Girls (and proud of it!), Fiona Apple, the Beatles, Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, Beyonce, Gloria Estefan,... I think I'll stop now. Recently I've been on a Bjork fix. I love the dynamism.

8- If you could sing with any other music artist who would it be?

Michael Jackson. That was hard.

9- Where can people buy your music?

the itunes store, cdbaby.com, and any venue where I'm performing.

10- This is the catch-all question, anything we missed that you want to tell the readers?

I like long walks on the beach..., just to check out my website, check out my myspace and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me comments if you'd like. I do read them! Come see me perform and yes; I am going to see the next Indiana Jones installment. I hope to see you there.

Fun Questions:

What's your favorite food?

Chocolate Chip cookies. Sadly it's more of an addiction.

What's the most unusual food that you've ever eaten?

Pigs blood and rice. I'm not kidding.

What's your favorite TV show?

THE X-FILES. I' m the biggest nerd. Surprise!

For a vacation would you rather go to the beach or skiing?

Beach for sure. I have poor circulation, so it would only be a matter of minutes before I'd be a popsicle.

If you were going to be taken to a desert island and you could have only one material thing (not counting any humans or animals) what would it be?

Wonder Woman's Invisible jet, fully fueled. You know it exists. ;)

Robert "BoBBY" Moore Interview

2008-02-11T12:43:00.000-05:00

Robert "BoBBY" Moore Interview

By C.W. Ross

Bobby is one of the good guys. Robert "BoBBY" Moore is one of those amazing people who believe that its not how you fall, its how you get up that defines you! Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) in 1998 it hasn't stopped him.

Although he has to deal with the effects that come with having MS (Multiple Sclerosis) he's kept a positive outlook.

He says, "My shell is a little tattered but my heart is still gold!" You can see that in the charity giving he gives donating a portion of his proceeds to Feed The Children along with giving his music for free to people in public service realted jobs.

I would really encourage you to give Bobby's music a listen and if you like it help him out with a purchase of his music.

Website- http://www.bbbbobby.com

Before we get to the interview that I recently done with Bobby here's something that I got from his epk (electronic press kit)-

Born in St. Louis & raised near Wentzville MO, Robert "BoBBY" Moore gained the reputation as the 2nd best guitarist in town. After being dubed a "Stunning Lead Guitarist" by Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amps, BoBBY founded the LACE ENTERAGE band. Shifting from Guitar to Bass & producing the "LACE" album, his inspiration & leadership propelled their regional success! BoBBYs duties on the "LACE 2" album included Drums, Bass, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Engineering & Producing, in addition to growing into the primary songwriter! "LACE 2" was near completion when BoBBY was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.). In his darkest hours, unable to fret a guitar for more than two minutes at a time, he never gave up hope, he never stopped believing! His love for music & need to express himself served as fuel to drive his recovery from being confined to an electric wheelchair! After nearly a decade of raging against the disease, the music on "CraZzy/ Honestly" is an amazing celebration of life & a testament to his ability to endure & overcome! While he'll probably never get to be the best guitarist in Wentzville MO, as that spot still belongs to Chuck Berry, you can occasionally find him walking down the sidewalks of Hollywood, with a smile on his face, he refers to it as home.

Our Interview:

1. It must have been devastating when you got diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) ?

BoBBY: When I got "the phone call" I remember how shook up my Dr. was at my MRI/Brain scan results. At the time, I had no idea how to spell Multiple Sclerosis much less what it is. So I consoled my Dr., as best as I could, reassuring him that I would be ok. Of course, he knew what was going to happen to my life and I didn't. When you see other peoples brain scans on T.V. it's really no big deal, but when it's your own brain in the picture-it gets kinda scary. Especially the part of the conversation that goes "no-known-cure".

2. How does your music help you dealing with your MS?

BoBBY: Music is my love! My passion! It's what brings balance to my life! I'm very fortunate to be able to devote as much time to it as I do, because one of the down sides of making music by myself is the extra time it takes to come up with all the other instruments parts. It takes me about a month to write and record each song by myself.

3. To someone reading this that hasn't heard your music before how would you describe it?

BoBBY: Asking an artist to describe his art is kinda like asking the rain to describe the mud (lol). I'm probably not really the best person to ask. CRAZzy/HONESTLY is actually two projects merged. First I made HONESTLY. It is 3 Acoustic guitar songs that I recorded to see if anybody cared. People were encouraging me to continue so I made CRAZzy, 3 Electric guitar songs. I put them together so that they make the 6 song EP CRAZzy/HONESTLY. For only 6 songs I cover a rather large musical spectrum. I was listening to Kelly Clarkson a lot when I started-not so much when I finished (lol). I just call it rock music.

4. With your earlier releases you recorded with an band but on your latest release, CraZzy/Honestly you did everything yourself from the all of the vocals to playing the drums, and electric, acoustic and bass guitars parts. As well as arranging, engineering, mixing & producing it. Was this a planned or did it just happen? If it was planned what made you decide to go the solo route?

BoBBY: I actually program the drums on Reason, but no it wasn't planned so much. I was hoping that once I moved to Hollywood someone/anyone (OZZY!) would wanna give me a lot of money to play lead guitar for them (lol), or at the very least I would be able to join a decent band. When that didn't happen, I just started doing my own thing again. I've been producing music for myself, as well as with the band, for a couple of decades now. This is the first time I treated my solo material like it mattered. Usually I save my best music for the band, but they have lives and careers in Missouri and I live 2000 miles away in California. I have produced and performed on several projects for other acts here in Hollywood recently including Ryan Wooton-a country artist, Rich Harter (Harter Attack)-a metal act and Ryan Riddle (BuckFast)- alt rock. .

5. Where can people buy your music?

BoBBY: I put links on my music page at:http://www.bobby.com/music.htm that go directly to my iTunes and Amazon pages.

6. You have a big heart and are going to be donating 10 cents from every CRAZzy/HONESTLY song purchased in 2008 via iTunes & Amazon to Feed The Children. Your also donating your music for free to Military (past & present), Police & Fire Personnel, Doctors, Nurses (their respective staffs) Paramedics, EMT's and their families. Will you tell us about your thoughts behind doing such a generous act?

BoBBY: Personally, if it wasn't for Doctors and Nurses I would still be living in an electric wheelchair. So many people have looked out for me, I guess it's about respect. I took a lot of things for granted, before I was diagnosed, that I don't now. So while I'm here and feeling fine I wanna thank them! I had a pretty tough childhood, but it was a walk in the park compared to the kids that Feed The Children helps.

7. Anything that we missed that you would like to get out to the readers?

BoBBY: Yes, I send about 2000 emails a month to radio station program directors, in North America, urging them to play my music, with little-to-no results. Please contact your favorite local stations and tell them to play my songs! I need all the help that I can get.., Thank You!
BoBBY

Orange in the Light Interview

2008-02-11T12:41:00.000-05:00

Band Orange in the Light Interview

By C.W. Ross

Short Band Bio:

Orange in the Light formed when groupleader Daniel Moir left the band he was with at the time to go solo. He decided he would need some sort of band to play his songs, so he invited drummer Corin Roddick to join. Corin accepted and with him he brought guitarist Matt McKeen. An add was placed for a bassist and Frank Pirker was quickly chosen to join. They were called the Daniel Moir Band.

As time went on the four musicians gained more experience with playing with eachother and became a solid four-piece. All members of the band were contributing to the songs and it was decided that the Daniel Moir Band was no longer an fitting name, so after a long period of brainstorming and name natural selection they decided to call themselves "Orange in the Light".

MySpace- http://www.myspace.com/danielmoir

Orange in the Light Interview:

1. With your band's members ranging in age from 16-18 years old how does that affect the band either positively or negatively?

Well, we've never had any trouble with playing bars so I can't really think of anything it's stopped us from doing. We've always have somebody to buy the booze cause' Frank is 18 and it's easier to impress a crowd with the younger members, so I guess we kind of get best of both worlds.

2. How do you describe your band's music style?

On our five song EP the style is generally heavily folk influenced indie-rock. I think it's pretty comparable to Wilco, Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens and bands along those lines. Our newer music however has alot more electric-guitar driven dream-pop but still has influences recognizable with our older music.

3. What music do you have out now and where can people buy it?

Right now our only release is our five song EP which you can buy on itunes, cd baby or scattered around various other online distributors (Verison, Napster etc.). You can find the links on our myspace (http://www.myspace.com/danielmoir). If you live in Edmonton, Alberta though you can buy at most Whyte ave music stores.

4. Has the band had any memorable experiences while playing a show?

Every one is a craazy adventure!

5. What are some of the goals for the band over the next couple of years?

Get a new EP released and go on a Canadian tour hopefully. Acquire more fans, all the usual band goals.

6. Anything we missed that you would like to tell our readers?

Just thanks for reading!

Time Life Songs 4 Ever Collection - Review

2008-02-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

Artist: Time Life Songs 4 Ever Collection
Title: Love
Website: http://www.timelife.com
Telephone Orders: 1-800-488-4669
Style: Pop/Rock
Rating: 9.4 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

For those of you new to the site I've been reviewing the Time Life's Songs 4 Ever 10 CD set. Although the collection is a boxed set of 10 that covers Christian music from the last two decades I've decided to review each CD found in the set individually.

There's just too much good music to lump all into one review.

So far I've reviewed the Shout and Worship CD's from the set. Since it's February and this month includes Valentines Day what a perfect time to review the Love CD from the set.

Before I put this CD in my player or even looked at the list of songs on it I thought that it would be filled with sappy love songs nothing could be further from the truth. Instead it's filled with powerful often-upbeat songs that deal with both human and God's love.

Each song is a hit that I'm sure you've heard playing from your radio speakers.

The list of artist that have songs on this CD is, Toby Mac, MercyMe, Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, The Afters, Newsboys, Third Day, Joy Williams, Jars of Clay, Israel and New Breed, Bebo Norman, Passion Worship Band, Stacie Orrico, Brian Littrell, and Mark Harris.

As I listened to each song I kept waiting to hear that one song that was just added to fill up space but it never happened. This release is filled with 15 songs that all hit the mark.

This CD will have you singing along with it while bringing a smile to your face. I keep saying it, but it's true, you need to add this 10-CD set to your music library. Time Life's Songs 4 Ever series is a must buy!

Running Still Review

2008-02-07T18:23:00.000-05:00

Artist: Running Still
Title: Running Still
Website: http://www.runningstillmusic.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/runningstillmusic
Style: Alternative/ Rock
Rating: 8.4 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Running Still is the self-titled debut release from this Brooklyn, NY based alt. rock quartet, Asi Meskin (vocals, acoustic guitar, keys), Ben Zwerin (bass, back vocals), Chris Higginbottom (drums, back vocals) and Raed Khazen (guitars).

The band lists their musical influences as, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Radiohead, The Beatles, U2, Tears for Fears, Damien Rice, Kings of Leon, David Bowie, and Paul Simon.

Running Still is filled with songs that have a heart. Asi Meskin's vocals reach out and either pull at your heart strings tenderly or crushes them with each new song. The lyrics are filled with anger, frustration and cynicism at the same time holding a hope out for the future.

If his hypnotic vocals don't grab your attention then the riveting guitar work will take control of you. The guitar work ranges from melodic acoustic to electric rockers.

The drum parts are like the rear driver on a ladder fire truck keeping everything going smoothly, but often going unnoticed. If there wasn't one their though like the truck that would sway wildly from side-to-side so would the music.

The band spent much of 2007 in the recording studio and is looking forward to playing live again. Over their short time the band has already built up a reputation as a must see live band.

Running Still offers up loads of good music that has a familiar sound yet with new elements added in that move their sound forward making it both fresh and unique.

Jon Augustine- Carry Me Home Review

2008-02-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

Artist: Jon Augustine
Title: Carry Me Home
Website: http://www.jonaugustine.com
Style: Gospel Blues
Label: Confession Records
Rating: 8.8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Some older readers might remember Jon from his 1991 5-episode run on the TV talent show Star Search. Jon made it to the semi-finals and received accolades like, "one of the best discoveries of the year."

Then in 2004 he Won Ryan Seacrest's "Be A Star" Contest on L.A. Radio Station STAR 98.7 winning prizes like $10,000 in cash, a Volkswagen Beetle, and a demo produced by Hollywood Records.

Fast-forward to June 2007, Jon won the grand prize at the Ignition Showcase in Northern California. The competition featured singers, songwriters, bands, hip-hop artists and various independent Christian artists from Central and Northern California. As a result of winning Jon will be featured on a compilation style release along with several other grand prizewinners.

Jon is working on a new album due to come out sometime in late 2008 until then you can enjoy Jon's solo debut release Carry Me Home which was released in 2006. What you'll find on it is a blend of more traditional gospel songs along with some blues-pop rockers.

Jon collaborates with Northern California Christian blues veteran Will Derryberry who recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered the CD at his studio located in California.

Carry Me Home kicks-off with the piano rich traditional song, "What Is Fellowship" with Jon's soulful vocals taking full reign over the song.

My favorite songs found on this release tended to be the more upbeat ones that had my toes tapping and had the feel of an upbeat church service.

I also really enjoyed title track, "Carry Me Home." I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure that I've heard this song playing on my radio tuned to a Christian station several times. This soulful number talks about finding strength in sorrow and joy in the pain and concludes with a nice vocal harmony.

I really liked what I heard on Carry Me Home and look forward to hearing what musical golden nuggets his next release will offer up.

Garry Segal- Taking Notes Review

2008-02-05T15:17:00.000-05:00

Artist: Garry Segal
Title: Taking Notes
Website: http://www.todyeforband.com
Style: Roots Rock / Americana
Rating: 8.25 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

After 20 years of musical success recording and touring with his rock/blues band Garry and the Moodswingers, Garry has decided to embark on a solo career.

Taking Notes offers up a very interesting collection of musical styles on its 7-tracks of music.

The release starts-off with "Two Broken People" a root's rocker with acoustic guitar, piano and organ driving its steady beats.

Track-2 "Wrong Dogs"- is a dobro filled swamp music song that has campy-humor lyrics.

Track-3 "Without Rain" breaks out the soul of country music the pedal steel. This melodic song also features nice sweet harmony vocals from Joan Schroeder that work well against Garry's vocals with their slightly grizzled edge.

Track-4 "I Keep Drinkin', " takes a trip down the jazzy-blues road with its smoky sax and jazzy guitar solo. The song also features both an interesting intro and outro of whistling.

Track-5 "Wind Will Blow," breaks out the mandolin and banjo for a visit to bluegrass music land.

Track-6 "Cartwheels" is where Garry starts to let his stellar harmonica work come out in this melodic blues song.

Garry's harmonica playing has earned him an endorsement deal with the world renowned Hohner Harmonica.

The CD finishes up with track-7 "Everything's Jake" an instrumental track where each instrument takes its turn in the song's musical spotlight.

I liked all 7 songs found on Taking Notes with the wide variety of styles that worked together thanks to Garry's lyrics that are filled with talk of failed dreams, humor, and hope.

Rob Saffi and the Odd Breed- Review

2008-02-04T18:12:00.000-05:00

Artist: Rob Saffi and the Odd Breed
Title: Rob Saffi and the Odd Breed
Website: http://www.robsaffi.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/robsaffi
Style: Rock/ Blues
Rating: 9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Rob Saffi and the Odd Breed is, Rob Saffi (vocals, guitars), Stu Weinberg (bass), and Darrell Long (drums). Saffi began taking the stage in Providence, RI in 2003 garnering regional success before deciding in 2005 to move to New York City.

Once there he started playing on street corners and subway platforms before becoming a regular on the West Village's music scene headlining at local haunts like, The Bitter End, Kenny's Castaways, and The Lions Den.

Rob Saffi and the Odd Breed play a blend of rock n' roll with a blues side. The 9 songs found on this the self-titled debut release from the band feature really interesting guitar parts and song arrangements.

The lyrics are real life and deal with hope and false hopes that some people have dreamed up in their minds. Saffi's vocals are gritty and have a earned street cred to them.

When asked about the album, "Starting out," Saffi says, "I knew I wanted out of my hometown, and there was more to life than I saw there, but that was about as far as I thought it out. So I moved (to New York), picked up odd jobs, played where I could, and wrote under streetlamps, trying to find my voice and where I fit. This album is what I wrote under those streetlamps. This album is that voice."

This isn't fancy music this is dirt under your fingernails style of music that's real and hits a home run. Do yourself a big favor and get this release soon.

Firebred Interview

2008-02-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

Christian Hard Rock Band Firebred Interview

By C.W. Ross

1-Stylistically how do you describe your music?

This a question we get asked a lot. And it is hard to really nail it down without it being heard. It's like taking the older style of Metallica, mixing them with bands some bands of today like Saliva, and all of them getting saved and worshiping God with there entire being.

2-What bands have influenced your music?

We grew up listening to the metal of the 80s like Metallica, Megadeth, Deliverance, Stryper, Barren Cross and so on, so you can hear a lot of that style in some of our songs.

3-Will you tell us about the ministry part of your band?

This is an easy one for me (Garrett) to answer. Think for a min of a field ripe for the harvest. There's a huge combine rolling across the field gathering much of the harvest. The field being the lost souls, and the combine being the church. And while the combine gathers most of the harvest, because of it's size and maneuverability it leaves the four corners of the field un touched. This is where the ministry of FIREBRED comes in. We are reaching the people the church can't get to. In bars, clubs, the guys who would never come to a church.

4-Where do you see the band 5 years down the road?

Wherever God chooses. Doing the same thing we are doing now but on a much larger level. We have a few things we will be adding to the Firebred list this coming year including a video, and theatrical stage show. Which will truly enhance the ministry. And we are now in talks with a new label, management team, and a&r. So who knows.

5-What effect has the Internet had on your music?

It has had a major effect. We have been doing this ministry for 8 years. And only been online for the past 3. Our ministry opportunities have more than quadrupled since. As for cd and music is concerned we sold about 530 of our first cd. After going online we have had over 25000 single song downloads, and around 18000 cd downloads. Not to mention the unknown amount of ringtones that can be downloaded for free on our website.

6-You have some big shows upcoming can you tell us about them?

Oh yeah. April 26th we will be playing the the second anual IMPACT event in Westminister SC with Ayiesha Woods, and others. Tony Nolan will be the guest speaker at this all ages free event. June 14th on the Boardwalk in Caroline beach NC we will have the awesome oppertunity of sharing the stage with one of the bands I grew up listening to. Barren Cross. This Event Battle On The Atlantic will feature 10 bands including Disciple, 7 Method, Crucial, Broken and several others. You don't want to miss this one. We will be shooting live video at both of these for our new dvd, so be there.

7-What CD's do you have for sale? Where can people buy them?

We'll like I said we are working on a new cd. It should be ready mid April. But in the mean time you can order a copy of our first cd CHAPTER 3, or Set The World On Fire by shooting us a line through either our website
http://www.firebred.com
or
http://www.myspace.com/firebredrocks

8- Anything we missed that you would like to share with the readers?

We would like to give a shout out to all the bands out there that are keeping it real. Bands that don't back down on preaching the Gospel just to get the radio plays and cd sells. Keep rocking for the ROCK.

Officer Roseland- Blast-Off for Kicksville Review

2008-02-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

Artist: Officer Roseland
Title: Blast-Off for Kicksville
Website: http://officerroseland.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/officerroseland
Style: Rock/ Pop Punk
Rating: 7.95 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Officer Roseland is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania band that plays a blend of rock that has many influences including, funk, punk, jazz, soul and country.

The band's lineup is, Dan Daidone (vocals, bass), Brian Jones (guitar, keyboards), Harry Grannis (bass, guitar), and John Ilisco Jr. (drums, percussion).

The 10-tracks found on Blast-Off for Kicksville are for the most part upbeat and filled with little nuances and arrangements that are fresh and keep you guessing in which direction their going.

The band pulls on a wide variety of musical styles blending them together to create a familiar yet with something a little bit different end sound.

The band has an offbeat sense of humor that run like a thread throughout the song's lyrics.

Stylistically several of the songs like "Juggler's Despair" have a definite Talking Heads feel to them. The release ends with the two songs, "Farmer Brown (No2)" and "Cookie Puss," that have a touch of a rockabilly flavor to them.

The band's music has been played on the TV channel's- Comedy Central, The Weather Channel, and PBS.

Blast-Off for Kicksville, was released in January 2007 and the band already has plans to enter the studio in March to start work on their next release.

If you're in Puerto Rico the band will be playing several live shows there in February.

I found Officer Roseland's music to be entertaining and look forward to hearing the musical treasures that will be found in their next release.

Renee Zawawi- Legends Review

2008-01-30T16:30:00.000-05:00

Artist: Renee Zawawi
Title: Legends
Website: http://www.reneezawawi.com
Style: Pop Dance
Label: Sapines Record
Rating: 7.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Renee Zawawi's life is fascinating and much of it can be found in this, her debut release, Legends. While still a young child, Zawawi was abducted from her home in Philadelphia and taken overseas. "I sang to release my soul and relieve the heartache of what I was going through," Zawawi explains. "Through perseverance and determination, I was eventually reunited with my family here in the USA." Unfortunately she didn't get the chance to see her mother before she passed away.

Renee has girl-next-door beauty with big puppy dog eyes and a smile that can light up a room. She competed in and won several beauty pageants including, 'Miss PA 2004.'

Renee's true passion though has always been her music. "I can't imagine living without music in my life," Zawawi explains. "There is no better feeling than sharing touching moments with my audience. I think there are songs on my record for everyone, and I can't wait for people to hear it!"

Legends offer up many different offshoots to its main theme of pop dance music. Several of the songs have a Middle Eastern flair to them along with the very Spanish sounding, "Never Knew" with its castanets.

The songs alternate from heavy bass pumping dance tracks like "American Girrrl" and "Flirt With Me" to more melodic ones including the final track, "On the Road." That song deals with not letting people pull you down, to live your dreams.

Another track worth mentioning is, "Children of the World." This song was written to raise funds to help children suffering from war, violence, and disaster. The chorus of the song was translated into 7 different languages so children listening to the song could enjoy it in their native language.

When asked about where the inspiration comes from for her songs Renee says, "...the songs (are) from my heart and soul, about the best and the worst experiences that I have been through-through out my life trip in general and through out traveling to various countries. Each song speaks of dances, cultures, and encounters..."

With its club world beats and strong lyrics you should be hearing the songs from Renee Zawawi's Legends pumping from both your local club and favorite radio station.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir- I'll Say Yes Review

2008-01-29T12:51:00.000-05:00

Artist: The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Title: I'll Say Yes
Website: http://www.brooklyntabernacle.org
Purchase Online: http://www.integritydirect.com
Style: Gospel Choir
Label: Provident-Integrity Distribution
Rating: 9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

I'll Say Yes is the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir's 26th album in a recording history that stretches back to 1981, with the choir itself being formed in the early 1970's. Over that time they've won 6-Grammy Awards, 7-Dove Awards, and sold over 4-million albums, not to mention gaining the reputation as one of the best choirs in the world.

They've also performed at noted venues like, Carnegie Hall, Radio Center Music Hall and a sold out Madison Square Garden.

What even makes all of those accomplishments even more spectacular is the fact that many of the choir's 300 members have never had any type of formal vocal training and choir founder and director Carol Cymbala cannot read or write music.

I'll Say Yes features 13-tracks of stellar music and last for just over 71 minutes. It all starts off with a rousing rendition of the song, "Holy is the Lord."

Besides the traditional gospel choir sound you'll also find the soulful song, "I Never Lost My Praise," along with a Latin flavored number entitled,
"We Fill the Sanctuary."

It's all about the vocals on this release. Nothing sounds better then a choir with all of its different vocal ranges all working together in perfect harmony.

Almost as big of a story as the choir's music is the members that make up the choir. Pulling on different ethnic and economic backgrounds the choir is made up of everyone from lawyers, and nurses to street people and former crack addicts.

When ask about their music choir founder and director Carol Cymbala said, "I just want to see people drawn to Jesus Christ." she continued, "I want the music to be the arrow that points them to Him."

Senior Church Pastor and husband of Carol adds, "The choir represents all different walks of life and every kind of sin. You name it and we have someone who has been saved out of it, standing right next to another one who has grown up in the church." he continues, "None of us would have met if it weren't for the Christ." he then added, "Our backgrounds are just too diverse. But all of us have one thing on common: we all have been lifted up and saved. So the choir sings-not about a theological position- but about what has happened to them. It's not a theory; it's a reality."

Whether you just enjoy hearing good choir music or your looking to experience it for the first time you can't go wrong with The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir's music.

Number One Gun- The North Pole Project Review

2008-01-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

Artist: Number One Gun
Title: The North Pole Project
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/numberonegun
Style: Christian Rock/ EMO
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Rating: 7.8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The title for this release, The North Pole Project, fits well. Gone are the other members of the band and left is frontman/vocalist Jeff Schneeweis. Last Spring Jeff spent three months in his hometown of Chico, CA. working on this release. Jeff said that, "I just wrote and recorded as I went, playing every instrument."

This was to be the third full-length release from the band. Although this release will fly under the Number One Gun band flag it's more of a solo effort from Jeff.

The ten songs found on The North Pole Project for the most part are rock/emo in style with guitar hooks driving the songs along with a few melodic ballads added into the mix.

The lyrics aren't overtly Christian and tend to deal more with the themes of hope and overcoming life's problems. Jeff says, "I want to write songs that can give people hope..."

Jeff has already put together a touring band that includes, Justin Richards, and Jonathan Russo.

You can tell that Jeff has spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort into the making of this release. Just know going in that this isn't the usual Number One Gun lineup.

Midnight Falling- Beautiful Pearl Review

2008-01-25T19:31:00.000-05:00

Artist: Midnight Falling
Title: Beautiful Pearl
Website: http://www.midnightfalling.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/midnightmusiconline
Style: Progressive/ Hard Rock
Label: Midnight Music Online Publishing
Rating: 8.3 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The band hails for Manchester, New Hampshire. At the time of recording Beautiful Pearl the band was made up of only two members, Stacey Scerbo (lead vocals) and Silvio Giarratana (all instruments and some vocals). Since then the band has added two new members, Sebastian Schmidt (drums, percussion) and Billy Mitchell (bass).

The new band members were added so that the sound found on Beautiful Pearl could be recreated live.

The first thing that struck me when I listened to Beautiful Pearl was its rich full sound. Stacey Scerbo handles all of the lead vocal duties except for on two songs, "Hard, Inflexible" a rock/blues number with a funky bass, and "I'm Dyin' Inside" where Silvio Giarratana handles them.

Stacey Scerbo's vocals are gritty and work well with the rock-based songs. They have a Pat Benatar meets Ann Wilson (Heart) tone to them.

Silvio Giarratana knows how to handle a guitar, from wailing hard rock to Texas blues riffs he makes it sing with joy with each new chord he hits.

The band's songs deal with life, both the good and bad parts of it. The band shows their more mellow side with the title cut rock ballad, "Beautiful Pearl".

For a debut release this band really has all of their cards in order and comes out of the starting gate at full speed. I'm sure that we'll be hearing a lot more from them now and well into the future.

Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden Interview

2008-01-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden Interview

By C.W. Ross

Band Name: Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden
Style: Indie / Pop / Rock
Location: Ballard, Washington
Website: http://www.katetuckerandthesonsofsweden.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/katetuckermusic
Record Label: Red Valise
Influences: Mazzy Star, Portishead, Blonde Redhead, Radiohead, Starflyer 59, Morella's Forest, Velour 100, Beth Orton, Bob Dylan, Wilco, Neko Case, Cat Power, Robert Deeble, Damien Jurado, Josh Ryan, Innocence Mission, The Police, Crosstide, Bloc Party, Low

Below is a recent interview the band done with me.

1. The first thing I need to ask you about is the band's name and how you chose it?

We live in Ballard, a Scandinavian fishing village on the Puget Sound. There is a Sons of Norway Hall down the street from our house. We always wanted to play a show there, even though we are Swedish. So we are called the Sons of Sweden. Someday we will storm the Sons of Norway Hall.

2. Who are some of your musical influences?

We grew up in nineties Seattle (except Kate who listened from across the country). The underground scene here was dominated by Tooth and Nail bands. We still listen to Starflyer 59 obsessively. Morella's Forest is Kate's guilty pleasure. Others that are often referenced during songwriting sessions include Mazzy Star, Stars, Pedro the Lion, Shout Out Louds, Wilco, Neko Case, Bob Dylan, R.E.M. The Smiths, The Cure...

3. What do you hope people take away with them after hearing your music?

Whatever they're looking for.

4. Besides your own music what was the last music CD that you listened to?

Boxer- The National

5. Where can people buy your music?

Amazon.com, Itunes.com, Sonicboomrecords.com (our favorite record store!)

6. Has anything strange or funny ever happened to you while performing on stage?

Only the unmentionable.

7. What's the one dream place that you would like to perform a show at?

The now defunct Crocodile in Seattle, WA (it was our favorite place to play)

8.Anything we missed that you would like to tell the readers?

We feel privileged to have occupied a bit of your time. Thanks for the love.

Steve Thaemert - Indiedrive Inc. Interview

2008-01-24T19:06:00.000-05:00

Steve Thaemert Interview

By C.W. Ross

Steve Thaemert is the President/Artist Rep. for Indiedrive Inc. a company that offers a unique way for independent artist to sell their music using a USB flash-drive.

Indiedrive Inc. is not a record label but a music store. Artist sell their music through the site and control what they put on the flash-drives and set their own prices.

Customers can then browse through the music selections and buy the USB flash-drives that they want.

The drives are guaranteed to work and are double checked to make sure that they are virus free.

Below is an interview that I recently done with Steve.

Indiedrive Website- http://www.Indiedrive.com

1- Will you tell us a little bit about your company, how long has it been around, its start, what your drives are etc...?

Steve: The Indiedrive concept originated a couple years ago when I was at a show with my band and one of the other bands there was selling their music on flash drives. We thought, "Hey! What a great idea." It has taken two years to launch Indiedrive... but we finally got it going - making Indiedrive.com the first dedicated USB flash-drive album storefront in the world. With CD sales dropping steadily, we believe flash-drive albums will serve as a way to suppliment a bands income, and ultimately will replace CD's altogether. Besides, flash drives are a convenient way to transfer MP3's and other fun stuff. Bands get their music out there in a new and exciting way, and the consumer gets exclusive material on a high-quality reuseable drive. Everybody wins!

2- Since your drives are USB I'm guessing that they're compatible with both MAC and Windows based computers?

Steve: The flash drives we use are compatible with almost everything that has a USB port, and work in both MAC and PC systems. Our drives are among the smallest you can get, and are very high quality with fast transfer speeds. We decided to use the cooler, higher-quality drives as opposed to the cheapies, and offer something unique that we can guarantee will last. We also welcome bands who have their own flash drives to sell those at indiedrive.com too, but we can't guarantee anything that is not a genuine indiedrive.

3- Your site list the genres of Rock, Country, Blues, R&B and Hip-Hop. Are you open to other styles of music?

Steve: This is something that was very intentional. I've always hated going to music websites and having to browse through 300 genres, half of which I've never heard of... I mean, cmon. There are so many genres and sub-genres out there, I wanted to take a different approach. We put those general categories out there, but we also allow the bands to choose their own "keywords" to really describe themselves. I think it empowers the bands, and lets them decide exactly how they want to be labeled. If you want to label yourself as an experimental-funk-gospel-punk band, than go for it.

4- If a band/artist is interested in selling their music through your site what do they have to do to get things started?

Steve: The first step in selling your music through Indiedrive is to put together your album. A flash-drive album can be made up of MP3's, videos, lyric sheets, pictures, photos, artwork, buddy icons, ringtones - I mean, you name it. We only use 1gig drives, so there is plenty of room to be creative. A band can register right at indiedrive.com and set up their artist page and add their album(s). Once registered, one of our artist reps will contact them and arrange a file transfer. We have several options available to get the files into our database. When someone orders a drive, we fill the order and ship it out, and mail out checks to the bands every month. The cool thing about Indiedrive is the fact that we are in personal contact with every band on our site... we're here to help in any way we can.

5- What do see looking ahead for your company? Are their any specific new ideas that your working on now?

Steve: Well, we are in phase one right now - so we have a lot of new ideas on the table for phase two. We are trying to offer laser etching on our drives, as well as more choices in drive shapes and sizes. We are currently populating the site, which we expect to take a few months... in that time we would like to see a few hundred bands selling drives at indiedrive.com. We are also always networking and finding new ways to promote the bands selling drives through our site.

6- Anything I missed that you would like to share with our readers?

Steve: The main thing that I would like to express to anyone interested in trying the whole flash-drive album idea is that it is absolutely free. The idea behind Indiedrive is to create a marketplace where people can browse through flash-drive albums just like they would at any other music store website. We are creating this by empowering the indies, not taking their money. This company was started by independent musicians, and that's really where the heart of Indiedrive is.

Girls Don't Cry- 3 Song Promo Review

2008-01-23T14:45:00.001-05:00

Artist: Girls Don't Cry
Title: 3 Song Promo
Website: http://www.girlsdontcry.com/
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/officialgirlsdontcry
Style: Rock/Pop/Electronica
Label: Flatiron Rock
Rating: 8.1 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Girls Don't Cry, as you might expect from the name, is made up of five female members, Liz Kelly (drums, vocals), Rachael Cornick (keys, vocals), Hannah Fairlight (guitars, vocals), Caitlin Gray (bass, vocals), and Sora-An (guitars, vocals) .

The band has been playing in clubs and venues located throughout the New York City nightlife honing their skills. This three-song promo gives a good snack sized bit of their music. The band says that the three songs found on it are, "Our favorites from over a year and a half of hard work."

The band pulls on several musical styles to create their sound. Track-1 "American Boy," starts out with a Jimi Hendrick's-esque acid rock guitar riff before quickly breaking into a dance pop groove. Track-2 "That's The Sound" is a keyboard rich new wave feeling track with several tempo changes in it. The last track, "Cobain," is an all out rocker with its guitar lead driving beats.

If you're into a Violent Femmes meets the The Go Go's sound then Girls Don't Cry is the band for you.

Late Model Humans- War of the Worlds Review

2008-01-21T16:20:00.000-05:00

Artist: Late Model Humans
Title: War of the Worlds
Website: http://www.latemodelhumans.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/latemodelhuman
CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/lmhumans3
Style: Alternative / Indie / Rock
Rating: 8.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Late Model Humans is a band that's not afraid to walk down their own musical path. On their latest release War of the Worlds the band's songs range from talking about being in Paris on the Eiffel Tower making love to sitting on a bed in a seedy hotel room with a shotgun lying across your body.

The songs are set against everything from all out rockers like, "That Texas Girl, "Real, Real Man" and "Sweet Agony" to the country folk ballads, "Tennessee Boy (It's All Over)", and "Honey Belle." You'll also find some retro-sounding moments in several of the songs along with an island rock number, "Invisible Prison."

It's the guitar parts that drive the songs along with drumbeats that both mark time and control the tempo of each song. The vocals are solid and hold their own against the strong instrumentation found in the songs.

This band has a lot to say and does it well in the songs found on, War of the Worlds. If you like your rock mixed with some Americana and retro ala bands like, The Kinks, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Clash then you need to add this CD to your music collection.

Oneway-Up- On Our Way Review

2008-01-18T15:19:00.000-05:00

Artist: Oneway-Up
Title: On Our Way
Website: http://www.myspace.com/chitownonewayup
CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/onewayup
Style: Blues/Rock
Rating: 8.4 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This band got its start in 2005 when two different bands came together to form Oneway-Up. Their big lineup includes, Mike Kackos (bass), Gilbert Keller (guitar), Jim Johansen (vocals, keys, guitar), Mike Mackey (harp, vocals, guitar), Lee Medina (lead guitar, vocals), Charlie Watson (drums) and Doug Frazier (guitar).

The band's music is a smorgasbord of styles including rock and blues from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's to present day. They pull on a wide variety of musical influences that includes, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Santana, The Doors , Allman Bros., Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pearl Jam, James Cotton, and Blues Traveler.

The songs found on this CD are guitar driven with deep steady drumbeats, spicy harp parts along with booming vocals. The song's subjects are built upon dealing with real life situations and experiences.

The songs also vary in tempo with most of them being more upbeat in the blues-rock vain. You'll also find a few melodic ballad tracks.

The one song that seemed a little bit out of place is, "In Our Love." I liked the song but it had a 50's slow dance love song feel to it.

My favorite song off of the release is track-6, "Oneway-Up." This song is a southern rocker with deep drumbeats, wailing guitars and great harp action.

Overall if your a fan of The Blues (Chicago style) and Rock n' Roll then Oneway-Up's On Our Way will have you dancing with joy.

Kuwahara- Roam Arrow Review

2008-01-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

Artist: Kuwahara
Title: Roam Arrow
Website: http://www.myspace.com/kuwaharasongs
Style: Alternative/ Pop/Rock
Rating: 7.95 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Kuwahara is, Mike McCarthy (vocals, guitar), Sylvan Maloney (guitar, vocals), Dave Miller (bass, vocals), and Cory Flanigan (drums).

Roam Arrow is the band's debut release. On it you'll find a sound that brings to mind bands from the past like The Kinks, Cheap Trick, and The Byrds.

The band blends moments of psychedelia like in the song, "Black Light Fashion" along with power pop tracks, "Monterey," and "Romero." The band's music also has an underlying early punk rock swagger that runs throughout the release.

One unique thing I found on this release that really caught my attention was the way the band ended the songs. While most bands are content with just a simple stop dead type-ending Kuwahara really put in some extra effort to make sure that the songs end with a bang.

Roam Arrow is a really solid effort from the band that should help to get their music out to the masses.

Synthar- Evenings and Weekends Review

2008-01-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

Artist: Synthar
Title: Evenings and Weekends
Website: http://www.synthar.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/synthar
Style: Electronic Pop/Rock
Rating: 8.7 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Synthar is longtime friends Johnny Bertram (vocals, laptops, keyboards, guitars) and Matt Basinger (laptops, keyboards, guitars) along with Andrew Best (vocals, laptops, keyboards, bass) and since he moved to China honorary band member Joel Hartse (drums, inspiration).

Several of the group's members also have a connection via previous bands that they played in together, Biltus and The Dandelion Method.

Evenings and Weekends is the band's debut release. On it you'll find a glorious fusion of synths, keyboards, and electronic drumbeats mixed with gritty rock guitar licks.

Unlike a lot of electronic music though this release is filled with vocals that defy you to not listen with their powerful style. On songs like "Hurricane" who's lyrics were written by band member Johnny Bertram after having witnessed both hurricane Rita and Katrina firsthand.

Another interesting element is the way tracks 4 and 5 work together. The two songs have a futuristic space flow. Track-4 "047" is a 27 second radio like transmission from control central while track-5, "The Robots are Among Us" acts as the answer to track-4.

"The Robots are Among Us" is rich with the way it intermixes the rock guitar parts, deep bass beats and synth elements all together.

I've listened to this release now 3 times the whole way through and I still keep hearing new nuances and elements. Evenings and Weekends is an impressive debut from Synthar that should be able to launch their musical rocket to the next level.

Dean Strickland- Hitchhiking Guitarman Review

2008-01-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

Artist: Dean Strickland
Title: Hitchhiking Guitarman
Website: http://www.deanstrickland.com
Style: Country
Label: Never Die Records
Rating: 8.75 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Dean Strickland's first full length CD, Hitchhiking Guitarman is a collection of thirteen original songs that Dean has written from his experiences while hitchhiking from show to show in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and California for over the past two years.

Over these 13 songs you'll get to know Dean pretty well. He sings about his life in the songs, of which, a big part of revolves around his faith.

Songs like, "I Believe the Lord Has Put Me Here to Sing to You" with lyrics that talk about an angel coming down from heaven to Dean's mom to let her know that she'd be having a boy and to name him Dean. Along with that he was given the gift from God to sing to the people.

You'll also find cowboys sitting around the open fire resting from a long day playing the guitar and singing feel on several of the songs. I think that Dean is a man who would have fit right in if he'd been born and lived in an earlier time period when the west was still wild.

On the song, "Why Did Classic Country Music Have to Die?" Dean laments for the older times before Country music got intertwined with Pop and Rock music styles to make it more acceptable for mainstream radio stations to play.

Dean's music is clean, honest, crisp, heartfelt and pure country. Nothing fancy or over worked just a man and his guitar making music for the world to hear.

I really enjoyed my time spent listening to Dean's original style of Country music that's found on Hitchhiking Guitarman.

Ethanz Ride- Ethanz Ride EP Review

2008-01-12T15:19:00.000-05:00

Artist: Ethanz Ride
Title: Ethanz Ride EP
Website: http://www.ethanzride.com
Style: Punk Rock
Rating: 8.4 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This Orange County, California band got its start in early 2005, since then they have been building a loyal fan base. The band recently had the opportunity to perform at the 2007 Vans Warped Tour.

The band's lineup is, Justin (lead vocals), Dustin (bass, bkg vocals), Drew (guitar, bkg vocals), and Rob (drums).

Ethanz Ride combines Pop Punk, Rock and Alternative styles of music to form what they call, 'Punk Fusion.'

On this seven song self-titled EP you'll find songs that start-off a lot of the time with an almost heavy rock guitar lead in quickly followed by very active punk flavored fast drum beats and expressive vocals.

You'll also find some killer bass lines that help drive the songs. One of the best examples of this is found right at the start of the EP on track -1 "That Guy."

This EP offers up a nice bite-size taste of the band's music and should continue to get them noticed in music circles.

Dave Patten- Fly Away Review

2008-01-11T16:54:00.000-05:00

Artist: Dave Patten
Title: Fly Away
Website: http://www.davepatten.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/davepatten
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/davepatten2
Style: Acoustic Rock
Label: Clark Records
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Fly Away is the follow up to Dave Patten's debut release, Too Close, Too Far. On this release Patten has surrounded himself with longtime friends and musicians, Josh Druhan (electric guitar), Chris Baglivo (bass), Brian Boyle (piano) and session drummer John Whitely.

The Havertown, Pennsylvania based group list John Legend, Ben Folds Five, Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin Neil Young, and Coldplay as a few of their musical influences.

For the most part the 12 songs found on this release have a soft rock sound with the guitar and piano parts getting their fair share of time at the song's forefront. It's Patten's vocals though that drives the songs home.

When I first heard the vocals found on Fly Away I thought that Dave Patten was a little bit older maybe in his late 30's-early 40's because of the little bit of grizzle that his voice has that often comes with a few years on the road. I was surprised to find out that Patten is only in his 20's.

Lyrically the songs deal a lot with relationships and dealing with beak ups. Track10, "Taken" a piano ballad is a touching song that deals with death and seeing someone again in Heaven. Patten's vocals are dripping with pure emotion in the song.

When asked about where he gets his inspiration for his songs Patten said, "My emotions drive my song writing. When I'm really enveloped in a particular mood or feeling, I like to sit down at the piano and just bang out chords. I literally slam my hands down on the keys. After awhile something always comes together and I almost always have some idea how to get started on the lyrics..."

If you're looking for a nice mid-tempo rock release then Dave Patten's Fly Away will more-then-met your needs. I really liked what I heard on Fly Away and expect to be hearing a lot more from Dave Patten and friends in the future.

Red Carpet Rats Interview

2008-01-09T13:46:00.000-05:00

Below is a recent interview that we done with Red Carpet Rats' singer Uni:

1. For anyone that hasn't heard your band's music before how would you describe it?

Red Carpet Rats is driving against traffic down a one-way street and yelling, "But we ARE going one way!" kind of music. It's songs to tailgate by. Makes you feel like you're hanging, I believe the criminal term here is loitering, in the parking lot, with one arm around that special someone and the other around your beverage of choice. Mine is Jack Daniels by the way. Yes sir. No deep, introspective, stroke-your-beard-like-you're-listening-to-Radiohead, intended message here. At least not yet. We consider it our moral and civic duty to use any means necessary to help you forget about any harmful toxins that may be in your life. And we're glad to be of service.

2. Who are some of your musical influences?

As a band, our musical influences cover a range wider than the state of Oklahoma. All swinging I might add. And when I say swinging, I mean in a Miles Davis at the supper club in a 3 A.M. jam kind of way. You want our back-story, I'm talking the ups and downs and ins and outs and in betweens of the 20th and 21st century's most slammin' popular music. Singing the praises of heaven movers and ground shakers from Van Morrison to Van Halen. Black Sabbath to The Black Crowes. Not just one, but both Elvises. Or is that Elvi? I'm not sure.

3. What do you hope that peopple take away from listening to your music?

Red Carpet Rats offers good-old fashioned, school's out, big blockbuster, summer fun. It's Will Smith versus the aliens. Russell Crowe against the Romans. The underdog of all underdogs fighting for truth, justice and your entertainment dollar. I like to think that listening to RCR is like riding the Cyclone at Coney Island, where you might feel a little light-headed afterwards, but man it was fun while it lasted.

4.What is the most interesting live show you ever played?

Funny how the mind works. You say interesting, I think excruciating. Ya' see, at one time we were gonna be cool and flirt with some alternate tuned guitars. RCR rocking classically like the Stones. Get our collective Keith on, so to speak. Had a few songs worked up. It was gonna be brilliant. Well... cut to the opening of our show when our fearless lead guitar player McCabe hits the first few chords and gets a "what the hell was that?" look, not only from the rest of the band, but also everyone in attendance. Ok. Gotta roll with the punches to get to what's real, right? And hey, it's not that bad, he can just switch to the guitar that's in the appropriate tuning, can't he? Of course not! Cause our rent-a-roadie-for-the-night got his wires crossed and thought we played all of our songs in that tuning. So here we are mid-song, as McCabe disappears to give someone side stage a piece of his mind and a few other things, while yours truly is left soldiering on with, oh yeah, of course my guitar was also tuned incorrectly! To make a worst-experience-of-my-life story short, we were a three piece for about 4 of the longest minutes in recorded history, sounding like a bad version of a band playing a bad version of a bad Sex Pistols song. I'm nevertheless proud to say that eventually we came out the other side and, after much therapy, have fully recovered, and are now ready to lead relatively happy, semi-productive lives.

5.What music do you avaliable now and where can people buy it?

Right now, we are threatening to release our first full-length RCR CD. It's our maiden voyage into parts unknown. Songs of faith, hope and jealousy. No, that's not the title, but it should be. We're calling it 'The Big Picture'. Just so we don't lose sight, ya' know? And when we are finally ready to unleash the beast onto John and Joan Q. Public, it will be available in all the usual locations. And some of the unusual ones. From iTunes to IHOP, that's our marketing strategy, and also where we get our sense of style.

6.What was the last two band's music that you listened to besides your own?

I've been up to my ears in RCR stuff for the past I don't know how long that unfortunately I haven't really had the chance to give a good listen to much else. And honestly, throughout the recording process specifically, I tried to implement a little something I picked up from producer extraordinaire Michael Wagner, who doesn't listen to anything except what he's working on at the time. Buuuuut, there's always a but, isn't there, now that the record is finished, I've accepted my mission and entered phase one of Operation: Full Media Assault. Sounds all military-like, huh? Nothing to be too afraid of, or maybe it is, it's my own radio show, 'Club Uni', on the U.K. based station Error FM, streaming on www.errorfm.com and airing every Monday at 6 P.M. EST. That's 6 A.M. the next day, for those of you in Bangkok! I'm spinning a lot of pop rock stuff from the way-back and not-so-way-back machine, and looking forward to becoming a hyperactive listener again. Feel free to stop by. I'll leave you + 1 at the door.

7.You mentioned in our earlier e-mails about a Red Carpet Rats comic book that's in development will you tell us alittle bit about that?

A while back, an engineer we were working with once told us that given our vibe, he wouldn't be surprised if one of us could fly. Now normally I'd chalk this kind of talk up to an over abundance of pot smoked in the 90's. However this time I thought, well that's it right there. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! What better way to get the Red Carpet Rats message to the people than that age old purveyor of the superhero credo, the comic book. So after brainstorming a premise, I beat the streets to get a first class company interested in the project. Just dotting the i's and crossing our fingers at this point. With any luck, we'll have a booth at the next Comic Con, sandwiched tightly between Supergirl and the ladies from Sin City!

8.Anything we missed that you want to touch on before we end the interview?

That all depends on what you're wearing! Actually, thanks to you and Indie Music Stop, we're flashing the Batsignal as we speak requesting everyone to be in attendance as we make our way across the map. It's a block party, covering about 65,000 blocks. Dress appropriately. Or as inappropriately as you like. Oh don't worry, the band will be cooking. Look for me, I'll be the one wearing cowboy boots and the 'Kiss Me, I'm The Singer' apron.

Website Links:

http://www.redcarpetrats.com

http://www.myspace.com/redcarpetrats

Tiffany Apan Interview

2008-01-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

Below is an interview that I recently done with Tiffany Apan:

Interview:

1. How would you describe your music stylistically?

The style of my music is ambience mixed in with rock and classical vocals. We draw from many different genres and styles of music, but that is the basic gist of the music's style.

2. Will you tell us about your debut release, Poet?

Absolutely! It is an album that came together by my drawing for journal entries and poems that I had written throughout the years hence the name, Poet. This is a very personal album and I believe it is a good introduction to who I am as a person and certain aspects of my life. It is also unique in the sense that the music is such that people have found difficult to place into one particular genre. As a result, the released songs from the album are being played on a wide variety of radio stations ranging from goth to metal to pop to folk/americana and other genres. I love it because it is resulting in me reaching out to a broad range of audiences; people of all ages and all walks of life.

3. Where can people purchase Poet?

It will be available online and in some stores. A few places that I can think of off the top of my head include Amazon, CDBaby, some Borders stores, Dave's Music Mine, and FYE online. A complete list of locations on where to pick up the album will soon be up on my website and myspace.

4. Where does the inspiration come from for your songs?

Life, Love, the world, relationships, breakups, events that have occured in my life, history, the present, the future, EVERYTHING. I'm constantly getting ideas in my mind for new song. Anything can trigger it be it a glance back into an old journal, a news broadcast or current event, or a chat with a friend. I've been writing poems since I was a child and it is the best therapy (for me at least).

5. What is your favorite song that you've written and why?

That's a tough one as all the songs on the album are special to me. But if I had to choose one, I would pick Ashes to Dust. It's what best suits my state of mind at this time:)

6. Do you do many live show?

Well, we are just wrapping up a warm up mini tour for which we played six shows in five cities. We peformed in art galleries, churches, and clubs. Now in 2008, we are kicking off the first half of "A Poet's Labyrinth" Tour which is set to run for January through June and that consists of 12 confirmed shows and 10 cities. For one of those shows, we will be playing a show with the internationally acclaimed prog rock band, Persephone's Dream. We possibly may add one or two more shows on to the January-June tour schedule. The second half set to run from July through November will be announced in April or May.

7. What artist do you enjoy listening to?

There are many- I enjoy many different artists from almost all genres of music. But a few I can pick out include Sarah Brightman, Nightwish, Tarja Turunen, Loreena McKennit, Dead Can Dance, Lacuna Coil, Black Eyed Peas, The Cure, Judy Garland, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Celtic Woman, Mandy Moore, Opeth, Frank Sinatra, Bjork, Sade to only name a few.

8. Your bio. includes some acting credits especially in the genre of horror films. I'm curious how did you get involved with that and is acting something that you hope to pursue more in the future?

I've been acting since a very young age. I was involved with local and regional theatre from middle school up until mid college doing shakespeare, musical theatre, and cabaret styled shows. I have also always loved horror movies and I had the opportunity to be in a couple throughout the years. For me, the horror films are a chance to relax, have fun, and hang out with some people I wouldn't have otherwise met. Music is my primary career, but I plan to do some more with film and theatre in the future. I will also be contributing some songs of mine to a couple films, so watch for that;)

9. What's the one non-living thing that you couldn't make it through the day without?

Well on an everyday basis, I would have to say lip balm because even though I'm a big water drinker, my lips get really dry pretty easily. As far as being a singeis concerned, Rowen Poole of the band Persephone's Dream introduced me to a wonderful tea called Throat Coat. Now I'm never without it for a show or recording session along with Vicks and my mini vaporizer:)

10. Anything I missed that you want to tell our readers?

Check out my websites at:
http://www.tiffany-apan.com
http://www.myspace.com/tiffanyapanmusic
http://www.iacmusic.com/tiffanyapan

Contact Information

2008-01-09T13:26:00.001-05:00

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Karmic Whiplash- The Nervous System Review

2008-01-08T18:37:00.000-05:00

Artist: Karmic Whiplash
Title: The Nervous System
Website: http://www.karmicwhiplash.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/karmicwhiplash
Style: Folk/Rock
Label: City Duck Records
Rating: 8.3 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Karmic Whiplash got started when Brendan Themes (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass), who had decided to go solo after tiring of playing his bass in punk and metal bands and having to deal with other band members decided to give the band thing another try.

He hooked up with multi-instrumentalist Travis Lund (drums, harmonica, electric guitar, banjo) and the two of them got started recording The Nervous System, which the guys say was recorded over a one-year period in various apartments and basements in Minnesota.

This release features 10- tracks with a running time of 24 minutes.

Their MySpace page list their musical influences as, Violent Femmes, Ani DiFranco, and Billy Bragg.

Even though Brendan may have left his punk roots for a softer sound you can still hear a punk meets folk rock music in several of the songs with their fast beats and robust acoustic guitar strumming.

For the most parts the songs are lively and focus on the vocals, which at times deal with quirky issues. The songs also feature very controlled drum parts that are often soft and melted into the background of the songs. I also liked the little punches of extras that come from the harmonica.

Karmic Whiplash's The Nervous System offered enough to keep my attention and is a pretty-well-done project from the duo.

Alien Father- Paste Review

2008-01-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

Artist: Alien Father
Title: Paste
Website: http://www.myspace.com/alienfather
Style: Avant Punk Rock
Label: Brother and Brother Records
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The lineup for Alien Father is, Dave Hallinger (vocals,guitar,synth,bass), Curtis Regian (bass, synth,guitar), and Mike Topley(drums). The band is currently based out of Boston, Massachusetts.

The music found on their release, Paste is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's so distinctive in style that your either going to love or hate it.

Paste features 23 tracks of music that the band says is "...the culmination of their first year and a half of existence". Even with all of those tracks though the total running time for this release is only 40 minutes, with several of the songs lasting for only a minute or two.

The music is built on a base of punk with a lot of experimental elements added in to create the unique mix. This stuff is definitely on the experimental side with its twist and turns.

I kept hearing this squealing noise that sounded like a pig getting stuck and couldn't figure out what it was untill I visited the band's website and followed a link found there to a short video that the band made. On it they describes how they uses a bow to play the guitar to get this unusual sound.

The songs and their lyrics have that punk attitude and brought words like, total chaos, anarchy, revolution, pissed-off, and insane to mind while listening to them.

If you're looking for something in the punk vein with a lot of extra on the edge elements then Alien Father's Paste is for you.

Vary Lumar- Waiting Room Review

2008-01-06T19:33:00.000-05:00

Artist: Vary Lumar
Title: Waiting Room
Website: http://www.varylumar.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/varylumar

Style: Rock
Rating: 8.4 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Vary Lumar was formed in 2004 by Paul De Pasquale (vocals, guitar), and Rob Fusco (drums, fx). Later Ben Case (guitar, effects), and Rob Laff (bass) joined to round out the quartet.

Waiting Room is the band's debut release and the follow up to their EP The Cold Heart Bru Hah Hah released in 2006.

Vary Lumar's music seems to be following a growing trend of taking rock music and stretching its boundaries to create unique new styles of the genre.

On Waiting Room they take a base of rock and add in progressive and modern rock elements along with psychedelic and experimental to achieve their band's style of rock music.

The band refers to their music style as being 'Pre- Apocalyptic Psychedelic Rock.' When asked about their material band member Paul De Pasquale described it as being, "Watercolor Chaos."

The band's music is driven by wailing guitars and drum beats that like to run free in the songs, along with the occasional sound effect added in to give the songs that little extra punch.

The band likes to use repetitive chords along with repeated vocals that add an almost echoing effect to the songs. While most of the songs have driving tempos the band also mixes in the occasional more melodic track for a change of pace along with several instrumental tracks.

The band has a lot to say and gets a lot of it off of their chest in the 13 tracks found on Waiting Room.

Overall Waiting Room is a solid release that offers a lot for the listener to take in while still rocking your socks off.

intodown- Brave New World Review

2008-01-05T13:56:00.000-05:00

Artist: intodown
Title: Brave New World
Website: http://www.intodown.com/
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/intodown
Style: Progressive Rock/ Psychedelic
Rating: 8.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Michael Clark leads the musical cast that also includes a rotation of several musicians playing bass and drum parts found on Brave New World.

Clark wears many hats on this release that include, guitarist, composer, and producer.

As an old car ad use to say, 'This isn't your dad's Oldsmobile' intodown isn't your normal music. Clark's music is a built upon a base of progressive rock along with big heapings of psychedelic, stoner, 60's guitar rock, blues, and experimental mixed in to create a very unique sound.

They want their music to be more then a singular sound intodown wants to, 'create a world of sound, a musical journey'.

The music found on Brave New World has a dark almost industrial sound that always is there lurking in the background while Clark's guitar playing keeps you mesmerized. The music has the feeling of always being on the edge of total chaos but manages to never crossover the line into musical madness.

For the most part Brave New World is instrumental minus the occasional low-tone vocals or haunting background words.

This release lets you hear what music can sound like when not under the, keep it short for radio play rule. 7 and 8-minute songs are the norm with both the 12 minutes ( "Nostradamous") and 20 minutes medley ( "Fire", "V", "Revolution","Message Understood", "The Mission, "Revolution 2" "Voice of the Past")

If you're looking for epic music where the psychedelic past of the 60's meets up with a dark futuristic industrial sound, that is dripping with great guitar work, then you need to get intodown's Brave New World.

Brave New World isn't an easy listen but if you're willing to spend the time and take this musical thrill ride you will be justly rewarded.

Patrick Coman- An Audience of One EP Review

2008-01-03T18:46:00.000-05:00

Artist: Patrick Coman
Title: An Audience of One EP
Website: http://www.myspace.com/patrickcoman
Style: Folk/Rock/Country
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Patrick Coman is a singer/songwriter from Tulsa Oklahoma. His new EP An Audience Of One, features 5 original songs. Patrick has been involved in music and bands since the age of 17 and lists his musical influences as, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Josh Rouse, The Black Crowes, Gram Parsons, Drive-By Truckers, Rolling Stones, and Noel Gallagher.

This release takes more of a hard edge then his previous acoustic work. The first four songs found on, An Audience of One, are filled with lively guitar parts and steady drumbeats. The vocals are gritty and emotional dealing with the down and dirty side of life while still keeping a slight glimpse of optimism in them.

Patrick (guitar, vocals) is also joined by Erin Nelson (drums, vocals) and Nashville veteran Steve Goodie (upright bass) on track-5 "Maria."

While the first four tracks are more rock-flavored track-5 "Maria" goes more of folk/rock ballad ala Bob Dylan for its sound.

This release has that little extra musical swagger to it that starts right from the release's cover that is a picture of an outdoor show with only one fan in the audience whipping the bird.

I like my music with a little side order of grit and gumption ala Steve Earle so Patrick Coman's An Audience of One EP hit the right spot for me.

Time Life's Songs 4 Ever Collection - Worship Review

2008-01-03T12:19:00.000-05:00

Artist: Time Life's Songs 4 Ever Collection
Title: Worship
Website: http://www.timelife.com
Style: Praise & Worship
Rating: 8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Time Life's Songs 4 Ever is a 10 CD set but I've decided to review each CD found in the set individually. Last time we reviewed the CD Shout from the boxed set.

While Shout was more about loud and rocking music for the young or young at heart Worship is more for reflective type worship.

The fifteen songs that are found on Worship are ones that you 'd hear being sung during a Sunday morning or evening church service.

The songs fall more into the melodic and rich range with strings, organs and flutes found in them. The songs also feature rich vocal harmonies and choir like parts.

Worship features artist, Chris Tomlin, New Life Worship, Passion Worship Band, Hillsong, Delirious?, Robin Mark, Marty Nystorm, Don Moen, Twila Paris, Integrity Worship, Newsong, Graham Kendrick, and Kathryn Scott .

This release is one that you put in your stereo, get down on your knees, and spend time in worship.

Cougar Magnum- Green EP Review

2008-01-02T15:53:00.000-05:00

Artist: Cougar Magnum
Title: Green EP
Website: http://www.cougarmagnum.com
Style: Jam/Rock
Rating: 8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Cougar Magnum started out in September 2006 hailing from the city of Raleigh, North Carolina and is comprised of, Shane Smith (guitar, vocals, harmonica), Brandon McLean (guitar, vocals, kazoo), Alex Shepherd drums, vocals), John Federal (bass, vocals) and Tim Lee (keys, vocals).

The band combines many elements to achieve their sound found on their first release the Green EP. The 5 tracks (1.Emily's Song, 2.The Outer Banks, 3.The Trail, 4. Jump In, 5. Felix Chesapeake) do have some things in common including a light and fun feeling that runs throughout.

You'll also find an ever-present drum beat that is built upon with free flowing dual guitar parts, and smooth keyboard work along with layered vocal harmonies. Several of the songs also feature nice little extras like whistling and harmonica.

On their website the band says that their name comes from, the cougar-cat and magnum-condom.

The Green EP offers the listener a nice big bite sized morsel of the band's music.

The band also has an interesting court case about to happen. In the spring of 2007 they competed in a Battle of the Bands and won. They were suppose to win $400 cash, 20 hours of studio time, a promotional deal, and a guaranteed gig at a large event however all they ended up getting was the cash.

So they turned to TV justice and will be appearing before TV Judge Greg Mathis on January 23rd. That episode of the show is scheduled to then air in February or March.

Reality Serum- Hop In Review

2007-12-30T15:56:00.000-05:00

Artist: Reality Serum
Title: Hop In
Website: http://www.myspace.com/realityserum

CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/realityserum2 Style: Hip-Hop/Alternative/Ambient
Label: Supple Records
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

When I first hear about Reality Serum and their music I was going to pass on reviewing it but thanks to Rob from Supple Records I decided to give it a good listen. I want to thank Rob because after giving Hop In a listen I was sold on the inventive style of music found on it.

The band describes their sound as 'Trans-urban', which blends, Alternative Hip Hop and guitar driven Ambient music styles of music together.

Reality Serum is Camanche (words & mic.) along with Twizle (instruments & backing vocals). The list of different instruments that Twizle plays on Hop In is a long one that includes, guitar, bas, drum machine, Roland baseline, wood flute, harmonica, tambourine, and whistle.

Before getting together in 2004 both Camanche and Twizle had been involved in music and developed their own styles before coming together to form Reality Serum and this wonderful mixture of musical styles.

That mixture can be found on Hop In with tracks like, "Inside Out" and "Bring It On" featuring more of a Hip-Hop style while the tracks, "Breathless" and "My Life" have more of an Ambient lead to them. The rest of the tracks found on Hop In have more of a mixed groove to them.

Once my ears got adjusted to the mixture of Hip- Hop vocals and Ambient sounds I really appreciated the uniqueness of Reality Serum's sound.

This release has been out since March of 2007 and the band is already back in the studio working on their next release. So now is the perfect time to pick up this release. If you visit the band's MySpace site you can buy Reality Serum's, Hop In at a set your own price + $2.99 for shipping deal.

Do yourself a favor and open up your mind like I did to the new musical experience that can be found on Hop In.

Laurel- Sweet Insanity Review

2007-12-28T19:57:00.000-05:00

Artist: Laurel
Title: Sweet Insanity
Website: http://www.laurelbuzz.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace,com/laurelmusic
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/laurelpop
Label: Harbar Records
Style: Rock
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Sweet Insanity is the latest release from Laurel Barineau, a sultry singer, with slightly raspy vocals that you'll be amazed by when you hear them.

Laurel belts out songs that range from, pop, rock, and dance to the blues with soulful vocals. I like the way she's described on her MySpace page, "Sounds Like: If Etta James, Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, and Rod Stewart had a foursome, Laurel would be their illegitimate child."

The entire band lineup is, Laurel (lead vocals), Jason Barbee (lead guitar), Nick Nolden (bass guitar/vocals), Mike Cash (drums/vocals), Bull Durham (keys/vocals).

It all starts off with the rocking track, "Rain Down" that besides Laurel's great smoking vocals also offers some nice guitar parts including a solo at the 3:40 point in the song. This song and many of the others also have a really nice bass line running through them.

Track-6 "It's Not Over (When You Go)" is another nice track that features the sultry side of Laurel's vocals along with some nice saxophone all set to against an R&B lounge feel.

Track-9 "Back to Innocence" goes down the club sound route with its pumped up bass beats that made my stereo speakers rattle.

Sweet Insanity ends with "Right Outside Your Door," a melodic type ballad that features some real nice vocal harmonies.

Sweet Insanity features high-energy songs filled with Laurel's vocals that have a sensual playfulness to them. This is one very talented singer who can do it all from soulful blues to ripping rock lyrics.

Do yourself a favor and get Laurel Barineau's Sweet Insanity release.

Stealing Jane- Say Something Review

2007-12-28T13:19:00.000-05:00

Artist: Stealing Jane
Title: Say Something EP
Website: http://www.stealingjane.com
Style: Pop/Rock/R&B
Label: BTO Records
Rating: 8.6 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The band got started in 2000 under the name HyJinX but later reformed under their current name Stealing Jane.

Since then they've been building a loyal fan base playing with such artist as, Spin Doctors, Tower of Power, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and The Wailers.

Stealing Jane is a rare breed these days a full band complete with a horn section. The band's lineup is, Bryce Larsen (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Will Tully (drums), Matt Giordano (lead guitar), Brian Bunce (bass), Pat Iannelli (saxophone), Dave Calzone (trombone), Jesse Sears (keyboards), and Andrew Mericle (trumpet).

All of this instrumentation allows the band's music to have a rich and full sound.

The band jokes about how many different ways their music has been defined. Let me tell you it's a reviewer's nightmare trying to pigeon hole a band with so many different influences into a specific genre. So I'll let them label their own original sound, and they classify it as, 'groove rock.'

On this EP's 6-tracks you'll find songs that deal mostly with relationships and love set against a backdrop of guitar and horn infused music. The band's sound flourishes in its variety with R&B tracks like, "Better Things", to the Latin flavored, "More." It all ends with the final track, "This is Goodbye", a pop/rock number that lets the horn and guitar parts run free and have some fun.

One thing that I felt the whole way through this release that the band members are having fun and enjoy what they're doing. If you haven't been fortunate to hear Stealing Jane's music yet then their Say Something EP will give you a nice bite of their music.

Blood Red Sun- A Nation of Saviors Review

2007-12-28T13:18:00.000-05:00

Artist: Blood Red Sun
Title: A Nation of Saviors
Website: http://www.myspace.com/bloodredsun
Style: Alternative/Rock
Lineup: Jason Nadeau (vocals, guitar), Justin La Vallee (guitar, vocals), Matthew La Fontaine (bass), Jessica Corchia (drums)
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Are you old enough to remember the days before American Idol and teen pop queens started to appear on the scene and ruin the musical landscape? Then you'll appreciate the band Blood Red Sun and their debut release A Nation of Saviors.

The band's music takes the social conscious of bands like The Clash an U2 and mixes it with guitar driven songs, with the goal of taking socially relevant music to the masses.

As band lead singer Jason Nadeau says, "Our culture says 'if you're unhappy, numb it out'. The role of the artist in society is to go to the places that most people are not willing to go and return with a map of the human experience that people can use to find a way out."

This band is all about standing up, learning for your self and moving the world forward in a positive direction. To that effect the songs found on A Nation of Saviors take on the dishonest media, lemmings like actions of some people believing everything they hear instead of checking it out themselves to make sure that it's true.

As the title suggest it's up to all of us to do our part. One of the band's tenants is, "You need to have an army to support a single word. If you don't scream, people don't hear you."

The band puts those messages against songs that run for the most part in the alternative rock vein although songs like, "All at Once", and "Easier" have a bit of a The Clash punk edge to them.

If you're tired of the normal musical pabulum then get Blood Red Sun's A Nation of Saviors and start your revolution.

Shadows Lie- Echoes Review

2007-12-28T13:16:00.000-05:00

Artist: Shadows Lie
Title: Echoes
Website: http://www.shadowslie.com
MySpace: http://myspace.com/wheretheshadowslie

Style: Alternative/Rock/Electronica
Label: Tech-9 Music
Rating: 9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The main part of Shadows Lie is made up of Kira Leigh (vocals) and Cary Tamura (guitar, bass, programming). Cary Tamura (CT) also produced, engineered, and mixed Echoes.

At their live shows Shadows Lie is also joined with the additions of Frank Grullon (guitar), and Marco Britti (drums).

Echoes is the band's 2007 debut LP. On it you'll find a mixture of both melodic, acoustic ballad like songs along with more dark heavy gothic filling tracks. This wide range of styles can also be found in their eclectic list of musical influences that include, Tori Amos, Incubus, Portishead, Bjork, Alice in Chains, Massive Attack, Morcheeba, Ani Difranco, Tool, Korn, and Sevendust.

Two things run throughout the entire15-tracks, just under one hour of music, found on Echoes.

First is the near flawless vocals provided by the band vocalist Kira Leigh. Her vocals are always on pitch along with a very impressive vocal range. Whether soft and sweet enough to send a diabetic patient into a comma or hard and raw enough to wake the dead the sultry piercing blue-eyed Kira Leigh's vocals grab your attention and don't let go.

Second is the guitar and electronic elements found in the songs provided by Cary Tamura. With such prominent vocal parts Cary is still able to bring the guitar and electronic elements to the forefront holding their own in the songs adding fresh spice-like elements.

With Echoes Shadows Lie shows that they have what it takes to rise above the musical pack in the hard nosed music savvy New York City music scene.

Songs 4 Ever Collection- Shout Review

2007-12-22T15:34:00.000-05:00

Artist: Time Life Songs 4 Ever Collection
Title: Shout
Website: http://www.timelife.com
Telephone: 1-800-488-4669
Style Pop/Rock/Praise& Worship
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

While the Time Life Songs 4 Ever series comes as a 10-CD boxed set to review it all as one I don't think would be fair so I'm going to review each CD individually.

Songs 4 Ever covers Christian music from the last two decades and besides the10 CDs, also includes a lyric's booklet, and comes in its own collector's box.

Shout is the first CD in the Time Life series Songs 4 Ever collection that we'll be reviewing.

Here are the 15 tracks that you'll find on Shout, the rocking "Big House"- Audio Adrenaline, the pop romance song "Baby Baby- Amy Grant, pop praise song "Testify to Love"- Avalon, a live version of the praise and worship song "Come Now Is the Time to Worship"- Brian Doerksen, the hit "Who Am I"-Casting Crowns, the piano ballad "Word of God Speak- MercyMe, the 1992 classic "Friends"- Michael W. Smith, a nice sing along version of "Here I Am to Worship" - Sonicflood, the hit praise and worship song "Shout to the Lord" - Darlene Zschech, the poignant song of a father dealing with his daughter growing up "Butterfly Kisses"- Bob Carlisle, the choir song "Why We Sing"- Kirk Franklin and the Family, a nice version of the 1994 Twila Paris classic "God in Control, the take a strong stand for your faith song "For Future Generations" - 4Him, the song about pure honest worship "The Heart of Worship"- Matt Redman and last but certainly not least is the 1988 classic "Awesome God"- Rich Mullins. (For those of you not old enough to remember Rich Mullins do yourself a favor and learn more about him. His life was tragically cut short when he died in an automobile accident in September of 1997. Many of today's Christian artist give credit to Rich for influencing their music and more important their spirit for serving others. Here's a site to visit to learn more about Rich- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Mullins ).

Time Life has really put together an unbelievable set of songs on Shout. The 15 tracks feature both Christian artist of the past along with current ones to offer up 68 minutes of really good music.

Besides Shout here is the list of other CD's found in this collection that will be reviewing in the upcoming weeks, Worship, Love, Alive,Forever, Imagine, Heaven, Believe, Power Ballads, and Hope.

Look for our review for the Worship CD from the Time Life Songs 4 Ever series coming soon.

Whether your a long time listener of Christian Music, who wants to build on their collection, or a new listener who wants to have an instant library of Christian Music the Time Life Songs 4 Ever series is a must buy!

Boca Chica- Transform into Beast Review

2007-12-21T16:35:00.000-05:00

Artist: Boca Chica
Title: Transform into Beast
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bocachica
CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bocachica2
Style: American/ Roots/ Alt Country/Folk
Label: Carrot Top, Ltd
Rating: 8.1 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

At the heart of Boca Chica is singer/songwriter Hallie Pritts. Her vocals have a very distinctive sound that can be easily recognized after the first time of hearing them. Think of Lisa Lobe meets Patsy Cline. Her sounds also been compared to early Neil Young.

Hallie isn't doing it alone though she's also surrounded herself with a fine cast of musicians. They provide the rhythm and rich string parts found in the songs along with the often misaligned accordion that works well, like that one extra spice added in a cooking recipe, to take it up a level.

This is the second release from them that I've had the pleasure of hearing. The first one, an EP, had more of an alt. country feel to it while on this one they've seemed to move more in a roots/folk style direction.

You'll still find some country sounds though in songs like track-8 "Your Name in Lights (Oh my, Oh hell)." The band even gets a little bit rocking in track- 6 "My Favorite Rockstars," where they let the electric guitar parts come to the forefront and play with the rest of the other stringed instruments.

It all ends up with a short one-minute instrumental, "Happy Ending." The band does a solid job on Transform into Beast and that should help to allow the band to continue making their part of the musical spotlight grow larger.

Mister Vague- Allergic to Everything Review

2007-12-19T17:01:00.000-05:00

Artist: Mister Vague
Title: Allergic to Everything
Website: http://www.mistervaguemusic.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mistervague
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/mistervague3
Style: Modern Minimalist Rock
Label: Slothtrop Records
Rating: 7.8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Mister Vague is a band with a quirky side from Reno, Nevada that plays a minimalist indie pop style of music. The band's latest release Allergic to Everything is their third.

Their previous two releases are, Square One (2004) and File Under Trial (March 2006 and re-released October 2006). They also are part of the Slothtrop/Redeye-distributed release More Barn: A Tribute to Neil Young, a benefit for the Bridge School of San Francisco. More Barn: A Tribute to Neil Young is a compilation style release that also features artist like Waco Brothers, The Silos, Steve Wynn and many more.

The lineup for Mister Vague is, Mark Earnest (guitar, vocals), Neal Kramer (guitar, vocals), Jason Thomas (drums) and Marcus Mayhall (bass).

Although from what the band's press material says for their live shows you never know what you're going to get line up wise from the guys, Shows range from intense solo or duo sets to full-blown trio/quartet shows.

The band list, The Beatles White Album, Guided by Voices, Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, Low, American Music Club, Mountain Goats, and Death Cab For Cutie as some of their musical influences.

The album was produced by Alan Sparhawk, from the indie-pop band Low, along with Eric Swanson at Sacred Heart Studios in Duluth, Minn.

On Allergic to Everything you'll find moody dark melodic sounding tracks along with some that are more rock it out ones. The vocals drench the songs with the sweat of emotion while the guitars and drums drive the song's tempos from soft dark and gritty to fast, loud and rocking.

The band's sound is a mixture of Pink Floyd meets the Violent Femmes with a side order of Elvis Costello and Coldplay.

The band has been playing dive bars and off-the-beaten-path coffeehouses up and down the west coast to build a loyal following in major cities like, San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles.

Mister Vague's Allergic to Everything should help to move that hard earned musical notice to the Midwest, East Coast and beyond.

Eat Sugar- S/T EP Review

2007-12-19T15:10:00.000-05:00

Artist: Eat Sugar
Title: S/T EP
Website: http://www.eatsugarmusic.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eatsugarmusic
Style: Electro Post Punk/ New Wave
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Eat Sugar is comprised of Aidan Bogosian (vocals), Jim Reynolds (bass/synths), Greg Poneris (drums), and Erin Proctor (synths).

The band got started in January 2006 in Cincinnati Ohio after Greg Poneris and Jim Reynolds' band Chalk broke up. The guys wanted to start another band so they first added Aidan Bogosian (The Reaction) to the lineup and a few months later Erin Proctor (The Fairmount Girls) was added to complete the band's lineup.

This release is the band's debut and on it you'll find a heavy synth's lead sound that adds elements of post punk and new wave to create an upbeat almost dance club techno driving beats sound that will rattle your speakers with its driving beats.

On their MySpace site they describe their music as, "The Newer New Wave Meets Soul!"

This 4 track, eleven-minute EP, works as a nice musical appetizer that will tide you over until the band serves up a main meal of their music.

Juviley- How to Miss the Ground Review

2007-12-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

Artist: Juviley
Title: How to Miss the Ground
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/juviley
CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/juviley
Style: Singer Songwriter
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Zubalsky or Juviley as he goes by for his music started out as a drummer for some of Israel's leading Indie musical acts including, Shy Nobleman, Geva Alon, and Daphna & The Cookies in 2002.

The Israeli singer songwriter has decided to now pursue a solo career. How to Miss the Ground is Juviley's debut effort. On it you'll find a collection of 12 songs that have a melodic at time almost whimsical feel to them. Words like, gentle, peaceful, and mellow come to mind while listening to the simple, uncluttered song arrangements.

The song lyrics are intentionally left abstract and open to your interpretation but in general deal with issues like love, dreams, and not compromising.

Juviley list Brian Wilson, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Belle & Sebastian, and Yo La Tengo as some of his musical influences.

Juviley wears many different hats on this release; besides writing the songs he also arranged and produced them along with playing most of the instruments heard on How to Miss the Ground.

Juviley now lives in New York City and is constantly performing his music anywhere he can from clubs to parks, and even subway stations.

How to Miss the Ground hits most of its marks and will offer you 41 minutes of dreamscape music that will help to allow you to let your thoughts run free.

Brandi Shearer- Close to Dark Review

2007-12-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

Artist: Brandi Shearer
Title: Close to Dark
Website: http://www.brandishearer.com
Style: Singer-Songwriter/ Torch/ Blues
Label: Amoeba Records
Rating: 7.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

While Brandi grew up on a small farm located in rural Oregon she's also spent time living in both Hungary and France before returning to the U.S. to continue her music career. She currently calls San Francisco home.

Brandi has two previous independently produced albums, Music of A Saturday Night and The Sycamore. Amoebe Records picked Brandi's latest release Close to Dark to be the label's inaugural release. That was a wise choice with Brandi's music having many different musical flavors including, singer/songwriter, alt. country, blues, and 40's torch singer that should appeal to a wide range of audiences.

Brandi's smokey, sultry vocals on several of the songs painted a picture for me of her being in a 40's smoke filled lounge in a slinky evening gown perched on top of a piano with a martini in one hand and a cigarette in a long holder in the other hand singing torch songs about love had and love lost.

In contrast to that you'll find a stretch of several songs that have an alt. country feel to them. You'll also find a cover of the 1971 Jeannie C. Riley song, "Oh Singer." The song's lyrics talk about longing for the simpler times when things weren't so complicated and hectic.

The songs are left a little edgy with a lot of them being recorded in only one take thanks to a great group of musicians that Brandi has surrounded herself with.

Close to Dark for the most part has a melodic flow to it that makes it an ideal CD to put in the stereo on a rainy day or for a relaxing evening.

Amoeba Records has done well picking Close to Dark for their first release. Both Amoeba Records and Brandi's musical future should be bright.

Kevin Max- The Blood Review

2007-12-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

Artist: Kevin Max
Title: The Blood
Website: http://www.kevinmaxmusic.com/
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/kevinmaxtheblood
Style: Gospel
Label: Infinity Music Distribution
Rating: 9.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

On The Blood, Kevin's third solo release, he takes a break from rock to journey into his passion for soulful Gospel music that itself serves as the roots for much of today's rock music.

Kevin says that, "...It has taken me almost two decades to come full circle and realize how Gospel music has inspired me and influenced my decisions in music. The Blood is not a classic hymns cover project or a white/homogenized version of black gospel or soul music. It's a sensitive and stylized adaptation of the music that was at the root of rock, blues and popular culture. The Blood is about the story of Redemption and Grace, found only in the blood of Jesus Christ."

Kevin has also enlisted the help of many fellow artists on this release. The guest vocalist include, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Chris Sligh (American Idol finalist), Joanne Cash, Ashley Cleveland, Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) and a dcTalk reunion featuring Max and former band members TobyMac and Michael Tait.

Kevin also got help on the musician side from, William Owsley (guitars, bass, engineering, all production) Bobby Huff (drums), Wookie (drums), John Fields (sitar, absynth, jukebox hero bass), Phil Madeira- B3, organ, national guitar), Vince Gill (guitars), John Painter (horns, hiphop bass) Ashley Cleveland, Judson Spence, Kim (keys- BGV's).

The Blood starts and ends with old-time gospel music. The first track is, "The Old Rugged Cross" the song is set against the sound of an old record player with its static noises. The last track, "One Way- One Blood" featuring Joanne Cash also ends with those same sounds. On both of these tracks Kevin's deep booming voice has a very Johnny Cash like sound to them.

There are so many good points found on this release that it would take too long to mention them all but here are a few of the highlights:

Track-2 "The Cross" featuring the dcTalk guys starts slow and then really rocks it out. I enjoyed the sitar parts found on it.

Track-3 "Run on for a Longtime" featuring American Idol finalist Chris Sligh. This song has a real soulful rock feel to it with the horn parts. You might have heard this one already since it's the first radio single off of The Blood.

Track-4 "Trouble of the World"- any song with the Hammond B-3 in it can't go wrong.

Track-5 "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole" features some good swamp blues music.

Track-6 "Up Above My Head I Hear Music" This is a upbeat country western top tapper featuring Amy Grant and Vince Gill.

Track-7 "They Won't Go When I Go" is a soulful piano ballad that deals with the tribulation.

Track-8 "The Blood Will Never Lose It's Power" another soulful gospel song with the B-3.

Track-9 "People Get Ready" The 1965 single by The Impressions and written by Curtis Mayfield has to be one of the most covered songs around. It has been covered by everyone from Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, U2, Aretha Franklin, and Phil Collins to John Denver, Taylor Hicks, and Alicia Keys to name just a few. This version features Erica Campbell from Mary Mary. I liked this cover that stayed pretty true to the original song. I also enjoyed the guitar solo's found on it.

When asked about the songs found on The Blood Kevin says, "One of the reasons the songs on The Blood are so important is because they represent the answer, the medicine for the ailments. I love the significance of Christ's blood as something that empowers us- it can literally change us. I know I am changed, and God has given me another chance to live a life that is full and without fear."

I really liked this release and it's ability to take black gospel and blend it with other styles to achieve its traditional Gospel yet fresh sound.

While the official release date for The Blood isn't until December 26th you can preorder it now at Kevin's web sites.

Lee Tyler Post- Emancipate Review

2007-12-05T17:41:00.000-05:00

Artist: Lee Tyler Post
Title: Emancipate
Website: http://www.leetylerpost.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/leetylerpost
Style: Rock / Soul / Blues
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Lee Tyler Post takes his blend of music that he refers to as, 'Rock 'N' Soul' on the road as a modern day musical Troubadour.

Currently Lee resides in his hometown of San Diego, CA. But over the past 5 years he's spent a lot of his time on the road performing between150-200 shows a year while driving between 25,000-40,000 miles each year getting to the shows.

If you're lucky enough to catch him performing live get ready for a real performance. Lee's marathon live performances have been known to last sometimes from 2-3 hours without any breaks.

Lee also has a heart of gold often lending his talents to charitable causes, Lee has performed at benefits for M.A.D.D., the M.S. Society, and The Ramona Cancer Resource Center, The Victory Junction Gang Camp, Bikers Who Care/Toys for Tots, and The Heartland Psychosocial Rehabilitation Center in San Diego, CA.

Lee's release Emancipate is a collection of 10 songs that deal with the subjects of love, relationships, redemption and hope. These 10 songs are some of the most emotion drenched that I've ever heard. Lee's music comes straight from the heart.

Lee's songs blend elements of folk, rock, soul and blues to achieve his end sound. His music has a raw edge to it and isn't over polished. He says that he prefers and, 'old school' approach so this release was recorded using a 1970 MCI Analog Machine.

His music is not over complicated with the guitars, bass, percussion and small touches of harmonica used in the songs staying in the musical background while the song vocal's and lyrics taking center stage.

If your a fan of artist like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, John Hiatt, and Van Morrison then you'll quickly become a fan of Lee Tyler Post' music.

Emancipate is one well done release that will find itself spending a lot of its time in your CD player!

Breakers Broken- Other Places to Search Review

2007-12-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

Artist: Breakers Broken
Title: Other Places to Search
Website: http://www.breakersbroken.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/yamayamusic
Style: Pop/Rock
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The band Breakers Broken is made up of two brothers, Tim Yamaya (vocals, guitar. keys) and Herf Yamaya ( vocals, bass, keys) along with best friend Neal Wehman (drums, percussion, vocals). The three attended school together at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Florida. After graduating in May of 2007 the guys moved back to their hometown of Chicago.

The band list everyone from Radiohead, Counting Crows, and The Beatles to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Ryan Adams, the Roots, Police and Soulive as their musical influences.

Other Places to Search is the debut release from the band. On it you'll find eleven original songs that use the band's two lead singer set up to create solid harmonies for their pop/rock styled songs.

The band did most of the recording at their own home studio and with Craig Williams at Dr. Caw Studios, located in Northbrook, Illinois. Craig Williams' has worked with such well-known artists as, Styx, Freddie Jones Band, Fareed Haque, and Kurt Elling. Michael Fuller of Fuller Sound who has worked with artists like Eric Clapton and Shakira mastered the release in Miami.

Other Places to Search is a really rock solid musical debut from the band. You need to add this one to your Christmas shopping list!

Fort Pastor- Beautiful Imperfection Review

2007-12-02T14:58:00.000-05:00

Artist: Fort Pastor
Title: Beautiful Imperfection
Website: http://www.fortpastor.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/fortpastor
Style: Pop/ Acoustic Roots Rock
Label: KOCH/ Kosmos Records
Lineup: Brant Christopher Menswar (lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica), Jeffrey Todd Keel (resonator guitar, vocals), Jono Callow (didgeridoo, bass, vocals, percussion)
Rating: 9.3 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Let's start off with an explanation for the band's name Fort Pastor. "The name comes from a zombie movie; it comes from a movie called, "Dawn of the Dead," band member Menswar explains. "In that movie, Fort Pastor is the military fort that is the safe haven that everyone in town is trying to get to, to keep away from the zombies. And for us, it was more of a political statement, dating back to the '60s when zombie movies kind of first were in their heyday. At that time, the film was much more of a political statement about society and our consumerism and our need to consume everything around us -- where we slavishly become zombies to it."

The band members all currently reside in Orlando, FL., but originally Brant Christopher Menswar comes from Manchester, NH, Jeffrey Todd Keel is from Dalhart, TX, and Jono Callow hails from Melbourne Australia.

Beautiful Imperfection is their debut release on KOCH/Kosmos Records although the band has one other independent release, Alive Inside that was released in 2006.

Beautiful Imperfection is a collection of 13 songs that blend pop and acoustic rock roots music with a touch of a world sound provided by the extensive use of the didgeridoo found in it. After hearing the didgeridoo playing on this release it has now replaced the bagpipe as my favorite non-traditional instrument.

The band credits groups like The Dave Matthews Band and The John Butler Trio for influencing their sound. They also give some credit to artist like Billy Joel, Elton John, and James Taylor.

I really enjoyed the time spent listening to this release. The issue-oriented songs are well crafted and have a different sound then most of the other music out there now. The songs feature nice smooth vocals along with a variety of rhythmic percussion parts. The didgeridoo parts where mesmerizing and really brought the songs to life.

One song that I'm sure you'll recognize on the CD is the band's interesting cover of the Seal song, "Crazy." The song has a nice tempo and flow to it.

The band also has a not so normal spiritual side. Here's what band member Brant Christopher Menswar had to say, "We feel a lot of times that people look at us as being a little bit crazy," Menswar admits, "being that we're Christians, but we don't play a lot of churches. We kind of go to the places where we feel people need to hear what we're singing about and sometimes that's bars, sometimes it's prisons and wherever our message needs to be heard. So we're kind of a non-traditional band of Christians." "We'd much prefer to sing to people that haven't heard it, than preach to the choir."

Beautiful Imperfection will touch you both with its music and song subjects. Add this one to your must buy music list.

The band has a just don't talk about instead but put your words into action type of attitude. In 2007 they started a non-profit organization called Social Justice Army. The mission of the group is to inspire, rally and organize others to serve one another by providing opportunities to serve as a group within their local communities, thereby building hopes, conviction and courage in themselves and those they serve.

Members of the organization commit to serving their local community one hour a month. Their slogan is, "Changing the world an one hour at a time." For more information on the group and how you can get involved in it visit there website at: http://www.socialjusticearmy.org .

Last American Buffalo- Marquis for the Debutante Review

2007-11-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

Artist: Last American Buffalo
Title: Marquis for the Debutante
Website: http://www.lastamericanbuffalo.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lastamericanbuffalo
Style: Rock
Lineup: Jesse Carmichael (drums), Kevin Compton (vocals,guitars) , Brian Sadler (keys), Jesse Taylor (guitars, vocals), Ashley Taylor (tambourine, BG vocals)
Musical Influences: The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Oasis, Beck, Bob Marley, Ryan Adams, Coldplay, The Doors, Elliot Smith, The Flaming Lips, Scissors for Lefty, Arcade Fire, Interpol, Neil Young, The Who, The Dandy Warhols, The Stills, Wilco, The Rolling Stones.
Rating: 7.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Last American Buffalo, is like their name implies, a lost breed in a modern world. The band's press material harkens back to a time when buffalo ran free on the range and the railroads were the kings of transportation. That being said the band's music offers modern arrangements that include rolling drumbeats and fresh guitar parts.

For the most part the songs fall into the Indie rock category although the band does take a side trip on songs like, "Privateer", and ""Sunshine" that include banjo and harmonica parts in them. The songs have a 60's country folk feel to them.

The song "Ordinary Girl" also has an interesting Oriental sounding start to it. Most of the song's subjects deal with issues of love and relationships.

My favorite songs were the more rocking ones like track-1, "Breaking Up Mine" with its catchy melody and "Fon" which features nice interaction between the guitars and drums.

While the band didn't hit it out of the park with Marquis for the Debutante it's still a good solid sounding Indie rock release worth hearing.

Ellen Tipper- Flanagan's Field Review

2007-11-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

Artist: Ellen Tipper
Title: Flanagan's Field
Website: http://www.ellentipper.com
CDBaby Site: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ellentipper
Style: Singer Songwriter/ Piano Folk
Label: Self- Released
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Ellen Tipper is a Maine-based artist. Her new release Flanagan's Field is a collection of eleven songs that will entertain you while also pulling at your heartstrings. Most of the songs are driven by Ellen's stellar piano playing, but the song's lyrics are what really reach out and grab you.

The songs take on some tough subjects head on like in, "Not This Time," a story about a husband who constantly degrades his wife with emotional abuse, seeing her only as an object for his sexual pleasures and the woman finally getting the courage to say enough is enough.

"Let it Be Real," deals with the issue of divorce and blindly searching for love in the aftermath of such a tough situation. "Play It Blue" offers up suggestions for living with the disappointments that can be found sometimes in long-term type relationships. The songs are written in a way to be honest but also offer up some hope and strength.

Another main theme found in Flanagan's Field is the need to slow down your life, to relax and enjoy even the simplest things in life. One example of this is found in the title track, "Flanagan's Field", the song talks about the joy that can be found in the simplest things like viewing a beautiful sunset.

One of the more interesting tracks, style wise is, "Fatima" with its African rhythms. Ellen has a connection with the country. After college and grad school in the U.S. and her studies in London, she moved to West Africa where she worked with women's cooperatives and AIDS education efforts.

When asked about her songs Ellen said, "Songs allow you to be transported, like traveling, it's the crooked path that's usually the most interesting. Distilling songs to their essence from that faucet of raw ideas is like emerging from that path, renewed, emboldened and ready for more."

With Flanagan's Field Ellen Tipper has shown that she has both the talent and heart to entertain, inform, and move people to make this world a better place. What more could you ask for from someone's music.

Jupiter One- Jupiter One Review

2007-11-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

Artist: Jupiter One
Title: Jupiter One
Website: http://www.jupiterone.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jupiterone
Style: Rock/ Electronica/New Wave
Label: Cordless Recording
Lineup: K. Ishibashi (lead vocals, guitar, violin), Zac Colwell (keyboard), Mocha (keyboard), Ben Wright (bass), Dave Heilman (drums)
Rating: 7.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

To make the cocktail that is Jupiter One- Take large amounts of Talking Heads, Styx, and the Cars styles and finish it off with a few quick splashes of funk, electronica , and new wave, along with club beats and you'll have the musical cocktail that is Jupiter One's music.

The band got their name, Jupiter One, from the failed starship in 1960's TV sci-fi show Lost in Space.

Jupiter One was formed in 2003 and started out as an instrumental group. They would play their music while kung-fu type movies would be shown behind them.

This self-titled debut from Jupiter One is filled with infectious songs that feature killer rhythmic bass parts and guitars that drive the songs as smoothly as a Ferrari driving down the German Autobahn. All of this is completed by the keyboard and synth. sounds.

The songs are rich and full with most of them lasting between 4-5 minutes. The only thing I missed on the CD was a completely instrumental track. The band came close on a few tracks with mostly instruments and only a few lyrics but with their style of music lending itself to it an instrumental song I wish that they would have just let loose for an epic 7-9 minute instrumental track.

Besides the point mentioned above I thought that the album flowed really well and the songs were well done. The music mixed a little of the old with new to make fresh, inventive songs.

Cordless Recording founder and music legend Jac Holzman personally sequenced the release. Here's what he had to say about it, "When the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with the excitement of discovery I pay close attention. And stand they did for Jupiter One's first single, "Countdown," an uncommonly fresh and gripping track," Holzman raved. "Then my silent prayer, 'I hope the album is as good.' Every time I listen to Jupiter One's debut album it is with joyous anticipation and delight in knowing that others will soon share that joy."

For any of you gamers out there you probably have heard the band's music already. Their songs can be found on several of the EA Sports releases including, Madden 2008, and FIFA 2008, along with on the video game NHL2K8.

If you're a fan of bands like, The Cars, Killers, Styx, Franz Ferdinand, Talking Heads, and Bloc Party, then you should really enjoy Jupiter One's self titled debut release.

Indie Vision Music- Hearts Bleed Passion Vol. 2 Review

2007-11-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

Artist: Indie Vision Music
Title: Hearts Bleed Passion Vol. 2
Website: http://www.indievisiomusic.com
Style: Compilation (Pop/Punk/Rock/Hardcore)
Label: Indie Vision Music
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
By Senior Writer C.W. Ross

Hearts Bleed Passion Vol. 2 is the second in the series that feature unsigned bands. The music found on it ranges from hardcore and metal to punk, alternative and rock in style.

With its 20 tracks you're sure to find something that you'll like on this release. The price is also right at only $4.00 at Indie Vision Music's online store. I like these compilation style releases as they offer many different bands a chance to get heard and the listener a chance to hear some good bands that they might not get the chance to hear any other way.

Here's the CD's track listing:

1. Olivia "Feelings", 2. Sophia "Mocking Birds After The Picture Show", 3. Take It Back "Lights In This Town", 4. Avery Pkwy "Sleep Now" 5. Someday "The Sink Is Here Cause I Got Problems",6. Thyne Scabbard "Call of God",7. Kings to You "Strike Back",8. All But Screaming "Wide Eyed", 9. Quick and the Dead "Nothing Changes",10. Spacepilot "Without Stitch",11. Abandon Kansas "Minutes", 12. Stand The Gaff "Frankly My Dear", 13. One Star Story "Near To Far", 14. Death Is Not Welcome Here "Facing Today", 15. Newvale "Summer's Gone", 16. Fixed Til Tuesday "Heaven Knocking, Hell Rising", 17. The Distance Between "Building Bridges", 18. The Relay "Back Seat Driver Sara", 19. Ashcroft "Behind the Bruised" and 20. The Trade "White Noise."

Out of the 20 tracks I really liked 12 of them, which is a pretty good ratio. 77 minutes worth of music for a couple of bucks sounds like a real good deal to me!

Diamond Rio- The Star Still Shines Review

2007-11-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Artist: Diamond Rio
Title: The Star Still Shines
Website: http://www.diamondrio.com
Style: Christmas Music
Label: Word Records
Band Lineup: Marty Roe (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Gene Johnson (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar, tenor vocals), Jimmy Olander (electric guitar, banjo) Brian Prout (drums), Dan Truman (keyboards), Dana Williams (bass guitar, baritone vocals)
Rating: 7.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The band Diamond Rio has long been one of country music's most successful groups. In their over two decades in the music business they've won numerous awards, have had nine No. 1 hits, placed 15 singles in the Top Five, been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, and have sold more than 10 million records and received the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award in recognition of their many charitable endeavors, including their longtime relationship as National Spokespersons for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

With all of those achievements it's hard to believe that the group has never put out a holiday release. The band says that they've always wanted to do a Christmas album and with their recent signing to the Word Record's label the time and situation was right.

The result is The Star Still Shines, a collection of Christmas classics along with the original title track, "The Star Still Shines".

When I first got this release I expected to hear Christmas songs set to a heavy country music style. While songs like, "Winter Wonderland", "Sleigh Ride", and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" have a country vibe the only 'hill music country' track is the country/ bluegrass song, "Christmas Times A Comin'." This songs a real toe taper that will quickly have you singing along. That being said a good portion of the album has more of a contemporary /pop sound to it.

The Star Still Shines though is filled with the band's signature vocal harmonies that could stand their ground against anyone in a singing contest. You'll also find those harmonies showcased in their purest form in the a capella songs, "O Come O Come Emmanuel", and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" found on The Star Still Shines.

The release's original track, "The Star Still Shines" has the potential to become a Christmas classic. When asked about the song band member Marty Roe said, "It's a great song and it has a great message to it," he continued, "It's about the Christmas story, the birth of Christ. I love the sentiment that the star is still shining. He is still here with us and that good news is still here today. I think we came out with something really, really special."

If your looking for a new album to add to your Christmas play list then Diamond Rio's, The Star Still Shines would make a nice choice. The music is done in such a way that I think it will appeal to many different family generations as you set around enjoying the holidays together.

chasetheglow- chasetheglow EP Review

2007-11-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

Artist:chasetheglow
Title chasetheglow EP
Website: http://www.myspace.com/chasetheglow
Style: Alternative Rock
Musical Influences: Switchfoot, Paramore, Disciple, Flyleaf, Anberlin, The Rocket Summer, Bleach , Family Force 5.
Lineup: Sara Pecchia (lead vocals), Jordan Crenshaw (guitar, background vocals), Aaron Carlson (bass), Eric Steward (drums)
Rating: 8.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Chasetheglow was formed recently in the spring of 2007. While the band itself is new its individual members aren't having previous music experience being in other bands.

For example, I first hear lead singer Sara Pecchia's vocals a few years back when she was in the band Identity. Back then I was amazed by her vocal talents being that she was still only a teenager, so when she recently contacted me about a new band she was involved with I couldn't wait to hear their music.

I wasn't disappointed Sara always had the vocal talent but now she also has the extra wisdom that comes from life experiences that adds that extra bit of passion to her vocals.

Sara's lead vocals blend well with the rest of the band. The rhythmic guitar playing of Jordan Crenshaw keeps the songs flowing nicely while the drum beats provided by Eric Steward punch up the songs. Aaron Carlson's bass parts jump back and forth from being in the spotlight grabbing your attention and then melding back into the song like a chameleon.

The band's music is mostly up-tempo with catchy rhythms and driving beats although they aren't afraid to also add in some tempo changes, slowing things down for a few moments before driving the song's tempo back up again.

The song lyrics are filled with spiritual messages, but not in an overt way where every other word is God or Jesus. The band's spiritual message is more subtle leaning more on life lessons and finding hope to get their message out.

This style of song writing should offer the band great opportunities to reach out to people looking for faith not in a traditional church way. The band's song lyrics should also offer up opportunities to cross over to the secular music market should they choose to do so.

This self-titled EP from chasetheglow offers up a nice taste of their music and hopefully a full -length release from the band will be coming down the road, until then this EP should keep you happy.

Pawbox- Pawbox EP Review

2007-11-26T14:28:00.000-05:00

Artist: Pawbox
Title: Pawbox EP
Website: http://www.myspace.com/pawbox
CdBaby Site: http://cdbaby.com/cd/pawbox
Style: Rock
Label: Self-Released
Lineup: Will Moore (vocals, bass), Ryan Leyva (guitar), Jon Epcar (drums)
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

PawBox is a Los Angeles trio that puts out a big sound. Although this self-titled EP is the debut from the guys, as individuals they all have 10+ years of musical experience under their belts.

This EP kicks of with the track, "O.O.T.N.I.F." a real rocker that starts out with a driving guitar sound that builds to a crescendo with fast paced drum beats joining in on the action.

After hearing it I was ready to tighten up the belt and get ready for some really heavy rockin' music. But after that first song the band shifted gears and went in a more melodic direction with the power ballad, "Leave the Door Open," and the piano ballad, "Razor Burn."

The guys pick it back up a little with the song, "Losing Sleep", and then end it out with another melodic track, "Silent Movie."

The band's press material describes their music as being both classic while still on the cutting edge. A mixture of rock styles combining bands like, the Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone Age with the edge of Nine Inch Nails.

The EP was produced by Matty Green (Solare, Kid Gloves, Xonimo).

For a debut release the music was pretty tight and solid. The EP should work as a nice offering to get the band's music out there and heard.

Alex Tobin- 16 Wentworth Review

2007-11-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

Artist: Alex Tobin
Title: 16 Wentworth
Website: http://www.alextobin.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/alextobin
Style: Singer Songwriter/Piano
Musical Influences: Billy Joel, Ben Folds, Train, Counting Crows, Ray Charles, Beatles, Bela Fleck, Bleu, Boston, Elton John, David Gray, Chicago, Coldplay, Phil Collins, Eagles, Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, Five for Fighting, Guster, Huey Lewis and the News, Bruce Hornsby, Journey, Led Zepplin, Matchbox twenty, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Sting, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, U2, Bob Seger, Simon and Garfunkel, Otis Redding, The Push Stars, Nada Surf, John Williams, Alan Slivestri, Ari Hest, The Who.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

You've heard of the saying a boy and his dog? Well 16 Wentworth is a man and his piano. On it you'll find 7-tracks of very well done piano music that ranges from ballads to lively tickling of the ivory styled songs.

The songs found on 16 Wentworth are a collection of songs that were recorded by Alex between July 2002 and Sept. 2004 at Eman Music Studios in Boston. The song's subjects deal with life issues including, relationships, facing and overcoming life problems, and Alex lamenting about his hometown.

Alex's piano playing is top notch and his vocals have that friend like tone to them that makes you feel comfortable. The songs have a feel like a friend telling you about his life.

His sound has been compared to that of Billy Joel, Ben Folds, and Elton John.

If your looking for some really good piano filled singer songwriter style of music to buy then Alex Tobin's release 16 Wentworth will meet and exceed your needs. The songs offer up very nice arrangements along with a wide variety of styles that keep things fresh all topped off with heartfelt lyrics.

The Metapuffs- Dimensional Maze Review

2007-11-26T14:25:00.000-05:00

Artist: The Metapuffs
Title: Dimensional Maze
Website: http://www.metapuffs.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/themetapuffs
Style: Alternative/Retro Rock
Label: Interplanetary Records
Band Members Tris Lucas (guitar,vocals) Candy Lane (drums, vocals) Jon Collins (bass, backing vocals)
Rating: 8.4 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

The Metapuffs got started when Tris Lucas and Candy Lane met at a local Chicago hangout. From there they performed with a couple of different bass players until they met bassist Jon Collins and the final piece of the puzzle was in place.

The band was originally known as Lost Monkey but they changed that because they didn't want to get confused with the band the Artic Monkeys due to their growing popularity.

If you're like me, and thought Metapuff sounded like it had something to do with a marshmallow, then here's the band's definition of just what it means, "Metapuff is the smallest conceivable unit of matter. It exists outside of time and space as pure potential, and makes up the things that make up the things that make up other particles we are able to observe."

The band says that they want to bring the glitz and the glam back to an art form that they say, "...has grown increasingly stale and cookie-cutter." From seeing the band's picture, listening to their music, and reading their press information I would put them in the category of Prince or David Bowie in regards to their show presence.

Their debut release Dimensional Maze features 12 original songs, although Tris Lucas did use the song, "I'd Get Arrested for You," on a solo album he put out in 2004. Tris is the main songwriter for the band. He says that he churns out on average five songs a week and has written over a thousand songs. So the band should be set for new material for many, many, years to come.

The band likes to call their style of music, 'retro-futro,' because of its mixture of both classic and futuristic styles. I could feel both of them in the songs. At times the music felt like a throwback to 60's pop/rock while other times the songs had a space adventure feel.

The vocals duties are shared with both male and female lead parts along with the mixing of them in vocal harmonies in the songs.

The band's songs deal with a wide variety of emotions. Some song lyrics are joyful while others deal with the more depressing side of life.

One of my favorite songs was, "Keep Your Hair Long," a song that had a very deep rock vibe that reminded me a lot of an early Black Sabbath's sound. I also liked the song "2025," with its White Stripes like steady rhythmic beats.

While the music found on Dimensional Maze is good I get the feeling that The Metapuffs are the kind of band you need to see live to get the full experience. And when you do they'll knock your socks off!

If you can't catch them live then getting Dimensional Maze is the next best thing.

Saint of the Day- Maker Fair EP Review

2007-11-26T14:23:00.000-05:00

Artist: Saint of the Day
Title: Maker Fair EP
Website: http://www.myspace.com/saintoftheday
Style: Rock
Rating: 9.1 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Formed in early 2007Saint of the Day's debut EP Maker Fair is a blend of rock with elements of the blues. The 5 songs found on this ep (1-"Little Miss My Way", 2-"Relevance", 3-"Heaven", 4-"Bartender", 5-"Humor Me") are driven by the guitar talents of band member Sergio Ortega.

The songs are for the most part up-tempo rockers laced with rich guitar solos along with steady drumbeats. Inside of the rock genre the songs range in style from rousing southern rockers to more progressive and blues flavored tracks.

The band decided to write songs about subjects that almost everyone could relate to. Issues like, relationships, forgiveness, overindulgence, and laziness are covered in the songs.

Saint of the Day has really come out of the starting gate strong with this EP. It grabs your attention from the rocking first song, "Little Miss My Way" and doesn't ever let go.

Hopefully it won't be too long before the band goes back into the studio and puts out a full-length release. Until then their Maker Fair EP should fulfill your rock needs.

Mouse About- Mouse About Review

2007-11-26T14:22:00.000-05:00

Artist: Mouse About
Title: Mouse About
Website: http://www.mouseabout.net
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mouseabout
Style: Alternative/Rock/Pop
Lineup: Peter O'Dowd (guitar, keyboard, vocals), John Cassibry (bass), Shane Kullberg, (drums, vocals)
Rating: 7 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

Mouse About hails from the indie music hotbed of Austin, Texas. On their MySpace page the band list under their musical influences as everyone from, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and AC/DC, to Johnny Cash, Elliot Smith, and Public Enemy. As you might imagine with such an eclectic list their music is very hard to pigeonhole into one particular style.

I could hear everything from alternative, rock, 60's pop, punk, ska and jazz in the songs. The one constant that run through the whole release though was a moody undertone. I'm not sure exactly what it's from. Maybe its the deep vocal tones or the unusual sounds found in some of the songs.

For any conspiracy theorist out there here's a mystery to ponder. There's no track 10 listed on the CD's packaging. One the CD case's label it skips listing track-10 going from track-9 straight to track-11.

At first I thought maybe this was similar to what a lot of hotels do, not having a 13th floor elevator button due to superstition. My question were quickly answered though when I checked the CD and found all of the tracks listed correctly, and it was just a printing error, or was it?

Now back to the important stuff, the music. This self-titled release from Mouse About does a really nice job of mixing styles to create their own unique sound and kept the songs sounding fresh. Being an old trumpeter I also enjoyed the trumpet work found on several of the songs provided by Steven Welch.

This band has a bit of an offbeat side that comes through in the song lyrics. On their MySpace site when answering the question what their music sounded like they gave the answer, " Like garbage, not the band ".

If you have a desire for something a little bit off of the beaten music path, with an edge of quirkiness, then Mouse About's self-titled release is for you.

David Sasscer- Quiet Mind Review

2007-11-26T14:20:00.001-05:00

Artist: David Sasscer (and the Mojo Conga Jam)
Title: Quiet Mind
Website: http://www.davesasscer.com
Style: World/Pop/SingerSongwriter
Label: Roomful of Sky Records
Rating: 7 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

David was raised in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, a small town located on the west coast of the island. With this fact along with the press material that came along with this release mentioning that David is joined on the release by his band with the name Mojo Conga Jam I expected to hear a real Latin flavor to the music which didn't happen on most of the songs.

David's love of music started early writing songs when he was only in 5th grade. While attending college in Atlanta he shared the music bill with acts like REM and Love Tractor. He quickly notes that this was before REM gained worldwide fame.

From there he moved to New York City where he began performing with his band, the 'Mojo Conga Jam', at infamous NYC clubs such as CBGB's, The Bitter End and Under Acme. Sasscer and the Mojo Conga Jam released their first Indie CD, Teaser on Gusto Records, which was labeled by music critics as, 'eclectic pop-definitely worth a listen'.

After several years of living in Paris, writing, recording, and producing other artist along with getting a few of his own songs on French radio stations he returned to the states and co-produced a musical television show with the legendary folk-rock artist Richie Havens.

He's also been keeping busy writing and producing a soundtrack for the Emmy nominated TV show, "Keeping Kids Healthy."

David isn't one to back down when asked a question, when asked if it is possible for an Indie artist to have both commercial success and artistic integrity? He answered with the following, " You can absolutely have artistic integrity and commercial success at the same time. I believe that more often then not, the argument that they are incompatible is used to justify really poor sales and/or really bad art."

On his latest release, Quiet Mind, you'll hear a world sound that you can better understand after considering all of his world travels mentioned earlier. The two things that stuck out most in the songs were the drum and percussion parts that steered each songs direction by their beats along with the vocal tracks that have a tone to them that keeps your attention while not going over the top.

My favorite tracks were, "Almost Perfect Weekend," a horn saturated island sounding song that deals with romance. I also enjoyed the very lively song, "Dynamite" with its rocking guitar parts and "I Do, To" with its funky R&B bass line.

There are two songs that I'm not sure I really got the true meaning of, "Jon Stewart is God," I'm guessing the song is about the Jon Stewart who host the Daily Show on TV. From the song I get the feeling that either David is a 'stalker type fan' of Jon or this song is done with tongue planted firmly in cheek humor.

Also the last track, "Doxology" came like a shot out of the blue with its praise and worship lyrics to God. The song features a killer heavy drumbeat that drives it along with other percussion and guitar parts. The vocals don't start until 1:35 into the song and are filled with rich harmonies.

This is one of those releases that will grow on you more with each listen as you pick up every little nuance that it has to offer.

In a footnote the record label that this release is found on Roomful of Sky Records says that, they strive to achieve their goals in a karmic way. This includes using environmentally friendly packaging and 10% of proceeds from sales going to charity. For this particular album the charity picked was Amnesty International.

Digby- What's Not Plastic EP Review

2007-11-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

Artist: Digby
Title: What's Not Plastic EP
Website: http://www.digbyonline.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/digby
Style: Pop/Rock
Label: Label X/Toucan Cove Entertainment
Rating: 8 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

This band has been put through the ringer of life but continues on. It all started three years ago after the band released their debut full-length release. In the middle of a tour one band member had to deal with a divorce while two other members started to question whether or not they should leave the band. The big blow came shortly afterwards when a close friend of the band was killed in a car accident.

The band continues on with a slightly different line up though with the release of their What's Not Plastic EP. In a fitting ironic twist the EP was recorded in a small studio on the second floor of a working funeral home in Louisville, Kentucky over a two-month period in the spring of 2006.

As you might imagine the band's music has a searching side to it with songs like, "New America", "Self Evaluation", "Bad Swing", "Knocking at Your Door", and "How Long".

The songs feature melodic guitar hooks that draw you in to them. If you're a fan of bands like, Weezer, The Elms, Squeeze and Superdrag then you'll enjoy the sound of Digby.

The band has also created videos to accompany each track that can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/Pmoeller

One final note you can download the entire EP including all of the artwork from the band's website for any size of donation or even free.

Here's what the band has to say about the free download, "Hello, friends. Just wanted to let you in on little secret. Digby has just released its most recent project, the EP "What's Not Plastic". As a special gift, we have decided to make it available on our website as a download. Not only will you get 5 new songs, but all the artwork as well. You can download it for free, or if you choose to help keep us out of the poorhouse, you can donate any amount of money that you feel the songs are worth. As the old song goes "please put a penny in the old man's hat, but if you haven't got a penny, then God bless you."

Haven't these guys been through enough already so why not show them some love and give them at least a small donation for all of their efforts put into making the What's Not Plastic EP.

II Big- Face in the Glass Review

2007-11-26T14:16:00.000-05:00

Artist: II Big
Title: Face in the Glass
Website: http://www.riverrox.com
Style: Classic Rock
Label: Russian River Records
Lineup: Aubrey Hansen (guitar, vocals), Tom Hansen (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Ken Ingels (drums, percussion), Roger Vance (bass)
Rating: 9.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

If you're old enough to remember the 70's and 80's then this band's music will have a familiar tone to it and bring back some fond memories.

II Big plays what they describe as, 'brand new classic rock.' They accomplish this by fusing elements of classic rock music along with new musical twists to achieve their sound.

The band has opened for all of the top classic rock bands from, Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, and Grand Funk Railroad, to Joe Walsh, REO Speedwagon, and the motor city madmen -Ted Nugent.

Band drummer Ken Ingels says, "Although our audience seems to be made up of people of all ages, we're most popular with those folks who grew up with the sounds of classic Eagles, Bob Seger, and ZZ Top. "

On Face in the Glass you'll find ten tracks, nine of them are originals, and the one cover track is of the Crosby, Stills & Nash classic, "Wooden Ship."

I really liked this group's guitar and keyboard driven sound that ranges from country and southern rocker to classic rock ballads. No matter what style of music their playing the band does them all equally well. Besides the song's instrumentation the vocal harmonies found on many of the songs are nothing short of stellar.

So if you're a fan of bands like, Charlie Daniels, Hank Williams Jr., 38 Special, The Marshall Tucker Band, meets Bad Company and ZZ Top then you need to get Face in the Glass and hear what good country flavored classic rock music should sound like.

Brittney Elizabeth- Breathe In Review

2007-11-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

Artist: Brittney Elizabeth
Title: Breathe In
Website: http://www.brittneyelizabeth.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/brittneyelizabeth19
Style: Pop/Rock/SingerSongwriter
Label: Desert Sunrise Records
Rating: 8.2 out of 10
By C.W. Ross

When first looking at the 20 year old Brittney Elizabeth one might think that she's just another in the line of cute looking, but limited talent, female artist that has splashed on the music scene in the last several years. Once her vocals start cracking through your stereo speakers though you'll quickly realize that she's different and has real talent.

Her trained vocals are clear, bright and passionate. Some of that passion comes from the fact that she's singing about actual events from her life. The songs are filled with her introspective thoughts about first love and following your dreams.

Most of the songs are taken from Brittney's journals and notes that she scribbled down while dating a boy that she met in math class as a sophomore in high school. The on and off again relationship didn't last but Brittney says the two still remain best friends.

"What I Live for is love and even though it hasn't worked out for me, for us, I'm just glad I got to experience it," Brittney said. "Whether it's happy or sad it is what gives me life. I completely believe in soul mates and finding that one person. I know that I'm not alone in believing this."

Breathe In is Elizabeth's debut release and mixes her singer-songwriter side with her pop rocker edge to create an interesting flow to the release.

Her musical influences come from many different styles of music. The softer side includes artist like Lisa Loeb, Sarah MacLachlan, and Dashboard Confessional while the pop-punk rocker influence comes from bands like, The Ataris and the queen of punk Patti Smith.

You might have heard some of Brittney's music already and not even known it. Here's a list of some of the shows where her music has, or will be appearing on soon, including MTV shows- The Real World: Hollywood, The Paper, My Super Sweet 16, Engaged and Underage, The Diary Series, Trick It Out, Cribs, High School Stories, Newport Harbor and True Life. Along with Lifetime Television's American Psychic Challenge, E! Entertainment- Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Oxygen Network's Bad Girls Club.

If you're looking for some singer-songwriter music with a pop rock edge to it then the sweet vocals of Brittney Elizabeth's Breathe In is a must buy.

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2007-02-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

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