Reality Serum- Hop In Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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 .