Artist Spotlight: Vieem

Hey everyone!

Starting off the first Tuesday of March with an all new edition of Artist Spotlight. This week, we head over to Brooklyn, New York and check out the sounds of an emerging singer by the name of Vieem. She has a soulful, powerful voice similar to the likes of Alicia Keys and Leona Lewis, with a sole emphasis on the power of her voice that enables her to take the songs in a more focused R&B direction. Her music also contains some intricate piano sounds that givs her music an added boost and a more balanced intake of melody and soul that sets her voice apart from all the other emerging singers coming up in the business today. A lot of prominent R&B singers came up in the NYC area, including the aforementioned Alicia Keys who grew up in Manhattan, and you can definitely pick up on that influence in her music, but also manages to sneak in some small doses of rock that mostly go unnoticed by the human ear, but can be picked up again on repeated listens. A promising and dedicated talent that I would love to hear more from in the near future.

To check out Vieem's song "If Only You'd Know", head on over to her SoundCloud page where you can stream it at http://soundcloud.com/vieem She is on Facebook and you can 'Like' her page by going to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vieem/267448393288835 She is on Twitter as well and can be followed at www.twitter.com/vieem Check out her music video for "If Only You'd Know" directly below for your viewing pleasure!

Go Behind The Scenes of The Ocean's Eyes Debut Music Video!

Hey everyone!

You may remember a few weeks ago that British band The Ocean Eyes released their debut music video for "Room of Red" that was featured right here on the blog. Well now, take a look behind the scenes of the making of that video that gives a glimpse of everything that went into shooting the video and how much work goes into making it. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

The band will be heading out on tour throughout the month of March with Room 94 that will take them to several venues all throughout England. If you would like to purchase tickets, head on over to their Big Cartel site at http://toetickets.bigcartel.com Here is their full tour itinerary for all my overseas readers:

3/15/2012 OXFORD O2 Academy2
3/16/2012 SOUTHAMPTON Unit
3/17/2012 BRIGHTON Hydrant
3/18/2012 NORWICH B2
3/19/2012 BRISTOL Thekla
3/20/2012 CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
3/22/2012 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
3/23/2012 BIRMINGHAM HMV Institute
3/24/2012 MANCHESTER Roadhouse
3/25/2012 SHEFFIELD Corporation
3/26/2012 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy2
3/27/2012 GLASGOW Cathouse
3/28/2012 LIVERPOOL Elevator Bar
3/29/2012 LEEDS Cockpit
3/31/2012 LONDON King's College (KCLSU)

EXCLUSIVE!! Interview w/ Kenny & Brian From Person L!

Hey everyone!

Today for you I have a special and exclusive interview with one of my favorite up and coming bands in the last couple of years, Person L! Person L was actually the very first artist whose album I reviewed here on the blog upon its launch in November of 2009 with their full length debut release, "The Positives". Kenny Vasoli (of The Starting Line fame) and drummer Brian Medlin recently took some time to talk a little bit about Person L's origins and the genesis behind the overall sound that their latest album undertook. And without further ado, I'm proud to present my interview with them:

Can you give your names and what you do in the band?

Ken Vasoli: Guitar, vocals
Brian Medlin: Drums, percussion

How did the band come together?

Brian: From my understanding, Ken wanted to do something different and experiment with some different sounds. He came out to one of my old band's shows, The Minor Times, as he did a lot, and asked me to play drums. He wanted to play with a lot of different drummers, but Ryan, the other Person L drummer, and I were the ones that stuck. Neither of us were sure how it would go. But Ken and I just clicked at the very first practice. I think we wrote "Help Yourself" and "Wooden Soldiers" during that first jam. Maybe "Born in the Rainy Days of May" too.

With your last album "The Positives", do you feel like this time around it's more of a full band effort than your last effort, "Initial"?

Brian: Definitely. "Initial" was recorded before we were a live band. It was just a recording project at the time. In fact, I recorded the drums for that the day before I recorded the drums for The Minor Times "Summer of Wolves". We wrote "The Positives" together as a full band, after touring on "Initial". And we recorded it together at Aaron Marsh from Copeland's house in Florida in February 2009. That was a great time. A nice sunny getaway. All of our friends and family in Philly were stuck in the snow, and we were hanging out on decks in T-shirts.

How did you come up with the name Human Interest Recordings for releasing "The Positives"?

Ken: Human Interest is a great Drive Like Jehu song. They were a huge influence on me for Person L.

Can you describe the inspirations behind the song "Untitled" and what made you decide for it to not have a title?

Ken: From what I recall that song was written very quickly in one sitting, I was probably listening to lots of Bob Dylan and Dear and the Headlights along side with various 90's post-punk records at the time. There's not too much to the lyrics, it's really just about embracing changes in life. Because there are so few lyrics we decided to let them stand alone and keep it untitled.

Lastly, can you describe the element that makes your live performances so unique?

Brian: I'd like to think it's the energy and the spontaneity. We would always come up with a set list immediately before we went on stage. We never played to a click track or anything like that. It was always just raw and full of emotion. I think we have such great fans because they recognized that, and shared that energy with us.

Thanks once again to Kenny and Brian for being so gracious for carving time out of their busy schedules to do this interview! We'll keep you posted on Kenny's musical endeavors, but do check out Brian Medlin's solo material that you can check out at: www.brianmedlinmusic.com and on Facebook as well. He also has another alt-rock side project called Ghost Away that is worth checking out at: www.ghostaway.org and yet another band, this one is a punk-leaning outfit called Wives that is on BandCamp at: thepinktriangle.bandcamp.com

BREAKING NEWS!! Davy Jones Has Died!

Some sad news just coming in this afternoon. Davy Jones, lead singer of the 1960's band The Monkees has died of a heart attack at age 66. The Monkees were formed in 1966 as the basis for a TV show of the same name that was broadcast on NBC from 1966-1968. The theme song for the show became one of their most well known hits including "I'm A Believer" and "Daydream Believer", both of which went to #1 on the Hot 100 chart. They were seen as a manufactured alternative to The Beatles, but their music was a relaxing and escapist departure from the late 60's hippie and Vietnam War era that consumed much of the nation around that time.

Flashback Review: Thrice - The Illusion of Safety

For today's flashback review, we take a look back at the sophomore album from the recently disbanded hardcore band Thrice. Their second effort was a perfect mix of hardcore and punk rhythms and was a glimpse into a band that was just starting to find themselves as musicians, and quickly became one of my favorite groups to this day.

The disc starts off with "Kill Me Quickly", a melodic mixture of hardcore and punk that shows off the still developing lead vocals of Dustin Kensrue, who adds a great deal of emotion and intensity to every single Thrice song that you can feel like if you were experiencing it right as they were recording it in the studio. "A Subtle Dagger" is a fast-moving, punk barrage that clocks in at just under 2 minutes that is an awesome and gritty punk breakdown that is no holds barred and takes no punches right from the get-go, a truly remarkable track from start to finish. My favorite song from this album is "See You in the Shadows", an incredible balance of hardcore and punk influences that is a perfect example of a band willing to merge two genres and feels the urge to go the extra mile to make an impression on its listeners, a masterful track from beginning to end. "Deadbolt" is probably one of the most well known tracks in Thrice's catalog, and was heavily requested at most of their past concerts, a mid-tempo rocker that provides for a certain amount of diversity on this album.  "In Years to Come" features Dustin's amazing and melodic vocal power pouring through every crevice of the song with remarkable precision that it leaves no holes to fill whatsoever.

The disc's second half gets underway with "A Living Dance Upon Dead Minds", a song that takes a slight detour from the intense melodic hardcore, but still maintains a strong musical ethos that permeates the entire track. "Where Idols Once Stood" starts off with an amazing and gritty drum solo courtesy of drummer Riley Breckenridge that fills the entire track with a certain heartbeat that powers all the instruments together and they work in conjunction with one another to create a gritty and powerful hardcore anthem. The disc gets ready to close out in the waning tracks with "To Awake and Avenge The Dead", a diverse, musically technical track that gets down right into the center of melodic hardcore with a song that pulls in every ounce of strength from the kinship of all the band members to create a sonic ear blast that is unlike anything ever heard before. The energy is brought down a notch on "So Strange I Remember You", but the song still packs a melodic punch and still retains the emotional intensity of the prior tracks. "The Beltsville Crucible" closes it all out with a mid-tempo sonic boom that reflects on the album as a whole and all the musical wonders that we've encountered along the way. Thrice have always been one of my favorite bands because they weren't afraid to experiment with different sound and genres, especially hardcore and punk and are probably some of the most musically skilled musicians I've ever heard. All musicians interpret songs different ways and have a different skill set that they obtained from their education, but Thrice always have and always will be the masters of music technicality.

All in all, a master work from Thrice, from their debut Identity Crisis to their final studio effort as a band, Major/Minor are a band that are experts in the craft and will always be looked at as pioneers within their respective genre.

                                                                                                                            Album Score: 5/5

Track Listing:

1. Kill Me Quickly
2. A Subtle Dagger
3. See You in the Shallows
4. Betrayal Is A Symptom
5. Deadbolt
6. In Years To Come
7. The Red Death
8. A Living Dance Upon Dead Minds
9. Where Idols Once Stood
10. Trust
11. To Awake and Avenge the Dead
12. So Strange I Remember You
13. The Beltsville Crucible

Kingston 530 Named Semi-Finalist in WBRU's "Rock Hunt"!

Hey everyone!

Boston-based band Kingston 530 has been named a semi-finalist in WBRU's annual "Rock Hunt" competition! The band is among a group of 12 other bands competing over the course of 2 weekends from March 2nd & 3rd and March 9th & 10th. All shows will start at 9pm and there is a $5 cover charge to get in. All of these shows will be held at different venues in the Rhode Island area, so head on over to WBRU's Rock Hunt page to find out more info on the bands and where they'll be playing at:

http://www.wbru.com/2012/01/16/register-now-for-rock-hunt-2012/

Artist Spotlight: Troy Cartwright

Hey everyone!

Time to check out an all-new edition of Artist Spotlight! This week, we're going a little bit country with the amazing sounds of Troy Cartwright. Troy is originally from Dallas, Texas but resides right here in the Boston area, and his music is reminiscent of the type of music that is popular from his home state: pure unadulterated country music with a calm, mellow sound that can be easily enjoyed by listeners of music from all genres, regardless if you like country music or not. I must admit that I'm not an avid country music fan, but there is something to be appreciated by Troy and the way he approaches his music and how he conducts himself as he performs. You can clearly tell from listening to him how dedicated he his to his craft and his voice has a smooth, mellow finish to it that allows each and every song to float along at ease without much difficulty at all. Troy is an amazing and talented individual that is definitely primed to have a long lasting career. A good starting point for people looking to get into country music, but don't know where to start. Some quality tracks for you to have at a listen at include "Sweet Suzanne" and "Tiny Little Terrors".

For more information in Troy Cartwright, head on over to his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/troycartwrightmusic You can follow Troy on Twitter as well to get all the latest news on him, including tour dates at www.twitter.com/troycartwright His official website links directly to BandCamp where you can download his songs as well at www.troycartwright.com