New Blog Site

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,

 

CW

 

Collin Herring- Past Life Crashing Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.