CFW Rocks!

The Death of Megaupload: What Does The Future Hold?

2012-01-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

A day after the SOPA bill died in Congress, federal prosecutors decided to shutter Megaupload, one of the most popular websites for uploading and downloading files online. Seven people were arrested and those arrested members face up to 55 years in prison if convicted. Megaupload, at one point, was the 13th most visited website in the world.

The story is even more intriguing. Famous hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz (real name: Kasseem Dean) best known for his marriage to Alicia Keys and production credits for songs from Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Busta Rhymes was apparently named the company's CEO. That's currently being called into question, although there's little doubt that he at the very least invested in the site.

Dean's relationship with Megaupload led to a video circulating featuring many of his celebrity friends (ranging from Kim Kardashian to Kanye West) championing the site's usage. The Mega Song featured vocals from Will.I.Am and Macy Gray. This led to a lawsuit from Universal Music Group claiming that their artists had not been cleared to either appear on the video or participate in the making of the song. There was also a takedown notice from Will.I.Am sent to Megaupload.

Of course, Megaupload made the rounds on all kinds of sites, including hip hop sites such as World Star Hip Hop, who among a couple of other websites had been temporarily shuttered by Homeland Security due to copyright infringement last year.

So what becomes of the future of Internet cloud sharing? Many people believe that other sites are soon to follow such as Rapidshare and Mediafire.

What I would be interested in finding out is if any of the entities in the Mega Song video invested in Megaupload and if so, how much? Essentially, they would be making (advertising) money off of some of their own pirated downloads (and potentially more than they would be making off of their legal downloads...except for you Kim Kardashian, no one ever would download Jam legally OR illegally). It sounds completely conceivable given that Swizzy is friends with many of those listed in the video.

A group of hackers known as Anonymous used their hacktivism to take down Universal Music Group, BMI, the Department of Justice, and the RIAA amongst other related websites. The near future for those websites is going to be extremely turbulent.

In the meanwhile, the anti-piracy legislation known as PIPA, the Protect IP Act is currently making the rounds in the Senate.

Trent Reznor, Amanda Palmer and OK Go are amongst the artists speaking out against the pair of anti-piracy bills.

The future of Megaupload hangs in the balance, but where one entity dies, another will take its place and I think this is going to be a long, drawn-out battle. This is not going to be as cut and dry as the Napster case was and because of a legitimate artist like Dean being involved, it will probably have more twists and turns in the case.

I, for one, would like to see how this evolves and if there are any other artists implicated in this.

Dave Grohl: A New Rock Revolution is Coming

2012-01-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

In a recent Billboard interview, Dave Grohl compared the current musical climate to what was going on just before Nirvana exploded onto the scene in 1991 with Nevermind.

He believes that a new rock revolution is coming and that rock is not dead.

I believe that rock is not dead as well, despite what naysayers have been saying for a few years.

However, I don't know if rock will ever be as commercially successful as it was back when Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were platinum players.

It remains to be seen if there's an artist or group of artists willing to take that challenge, but I do know that there are plenty of hard rock and alternative artists that are consistently good at what they do.

One thing is for sure though; the rock revolution will not be televised. It'll be online.

MTV as we knew it died years ago.

My personal opinion is that there should be festivals that continue to be streamed for free online on sites such as Youtube. Last year's Lollapalooza where Foo Fighters headlined a rainy Sunday night is a brilliant example of how amazing a rock band's reach can be with the power of the web watching a rock show. Venues should take advantage of this as well. The Rave is another example of how webcasting can change the industry and the brands of popular venues around the country. It doesn't happen nearly as often as it should. Live music is the cornerstone of rock music's success.

Rock music needs the Internet to embrace it as terrestrial radio has abandoned rock as commercially viable music. Rock is not only getting switched out for pop and urban stations, but also non-music formats such as news and talk.

If Adele can spin the pop music world on its ears, then there has to be a rock artist that does the same to rock as Dave Grohl mentioned.

Is there anyone that you feel could lead the "new rock revolution" that exists today? Is the revolution just a short time away? If not now, when? (No, that's not in reference to the new Incubus album, but you should probably check that out anyway.)

Fave Five: Songs Dedicated to the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2012-01-16T05:16:00.000-08:00

People would be surprised by how important and inspirational Dr. King is in the music industry. The stories that come from his speeches and his faith live on through music dedicated in his memory. This list of five songs highlights the diversity of the message sent and the attempts that Dr. King made to bring about diversity throughout America.

1. Stevie Wonder-Happy Birthday (1980) - If you hear this song without knowing that this was about the struggle to accept Dr. King's birthday as a national holiday, you'd be surprised by how upbeat it is, but at the same time how angry and pointed it was. Dr. King would be proud of this song because it's every bit as much a protest song as those sang during the actual movement.

Favorite line: Because it should never be
Just because some cannot see
The dream as clear as he
That they should make it become an illusion

2. U2-Pride (In the Name of Love) (1984) - This song is probably the most recognizable and most commercially successful song related to Dr. King's memory. What makes this song so impressive to me is how this band, a band from Ireland, recognized how important Dr. King's message was not only to the United States, but to the rest of the world. It should come as no surprise that not only is it the most popular song in Dr. King's memory that it is also amongst the greatest songs U2 has made in its 30+ year history. The song has been covered by everyone from John Legend to Richard Patrick of Filter with Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf.

Favorite line: Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

3. Public Enemy-By the Time I Get To Arizona (1991) - Dr. King's holiday did not become recognized as a national holiday until 1986, but that didn't stop some states from hesitating to recognize it, such as Arizona. In fact, 2008 presidential candidate John McCain originally opposed the holiday back in the 1980s. Arizona's long history of denying the holiday led to this angry Public Enemy song.

Favorite line: They can't understand why he the man
I'm singin' 'bout a king
They don't like it
When I decide to mike it
Wait I'm waitin' for the date
For the man who demands respect

4. Rage Against the Machine-Wake Up (1992) - This song is more of a general song about the Civil Rights movement, but the history mentioned in this song makes it important to recognize in this post. In the fateful year of 1968, in fact, less than a month before Dr. King was assassinated, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover made a memo that targeted civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Dr. King (for his support to the end of the Vietnam War).

In fact, lead singer Zach de la Rocha read the infamous memo as the bridge of the song and ended the song with one of Dr. King's most famous lines from his 1965 Selma to Montgomery speech How Long, Not Long.

Favorite line: How long? Not long, cause what you reap is what you sow!

5. Anberlin-We Owe This To Ourselves (2010) - Anberlin released this song off of their last album Dark is the Way, Light is a Place and the song's references to Dr. King's assassination and the civil rights movement may not seem as obvious as the other songs, but the lines expressed here are just as intense as songs released closest to the movement that led states to finally recognize Dr. King's holiday. It should also be noted that U2 is one of Anberlin's biggest musical influences so it also comes across as an upbeat tribute to "Pride..."

Favorite line: If every man became a king,
(We could start it all with this)
We could do more than just dream
(We could start it all with this)
I feel, I feel, the change is here...

I hope that musicians continue to express the gratitude and grace that has come with Dr. King's message.

In fact, the 2012 Grammy Awards have recently honored Dr. King's most famous speech, the I Have a Dream speech from the March on Washington on August 28th, 1963 by adding its recording to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Let the dream live on.

Music Enthusiast: WTF is that?!?

2012-01-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

For those of you who've been following me and my articles, I don't classify myself as a music reviewer. Reviewers and journalists are more objective in their approach. I consider myself a music enthusiast.

I don't give out negative reviews because I don't write about music that I don't like. I figure that it's a lot easier to ignore music that I don't particularly care for. Why give music that doesn't deserve praise any more attention than it already gets? That's why I don't give scores for the music I present here, I merely profile it and then attempt to give you a reason to listen to it.

In a sense, I work like a radio station. Why broadcast anything that's not worthy of your attention? That's not to say that I don't post anything negative. There's a lot wrong about the current industry that I address strongly, but when it comes to the music, there's far too much good music out there to bother with the bad.

This is why I consider myself a music enthusiast.

The War on Kroeger

2012-01-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

The biggest story of the past week in rock music revolves yet again around the "biggest band in the world", Nickelback.

Patrick Carney, drummer for the band The Black Keys took Nickelback to task by saying that music fans made Nickelback the biggest band in the world and rock music is suffering in large part because of them, also managing to throw the post-grunge era under the bus with Nickelback.

Nickelback responded by actually thanking Carney who solidified them as the biggest band in the world. No band that has sold this many records that has received this much hatred.

So the question to ask regarding this topic would be: Is Nickelback singlehandedly responsible for rock music being on life support? Are they the Biebers of Rock in that they're the scapegoat for EVERYTHING that's wrong with the music industry?

More importantly, is there anything Nickelback can do to save themselves from being the scapegoat of the rock world?

Post-grunge includes bands such as Seether, Breaking Benjamin, and Three Days Grace. Are those bands just as guilty of destroying rock?

My New Favorite Rock Radio Station.

2012-01-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

As you know by now, I'm not a big fan of radio. At all. I generally don't care for online radio enough to listen to much of it either.

However, recently my faith has been restored thanks, in part, to Q109.net.

This online station has the perfect balance of playing new songs from established artists, old classics, and exciting new, unsigned talent.

It's the only station that I have thus far that I'm willing to listen to. The only thing I wish that I would be able to hear is some DJ's talking about the music. Playing the music is one thing, but being able to sell it to listeners is extremely important.

I hope that they consider adding DJ's in the future if only for a few hours of the day, but just the fact that they're taking charge in actually playing all of this music, when music critics and journalists claim that rock is dead, that hard rock is dead-er and when rock radio stations in the last two years have followed suit.

It's gotten to a point where even established rock artists on major labels have to fight to get on rock radio. However, rock is NOT dead and Q109 won't let that happen.

A band a day...The Memorials

2012-01-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

As far as female-fronted bands go, The Memorials are going to be the talk of 2012. They're currently in the middle of recording their second album which should see a release later this year. Last year, they put out their self-titled debut and this year will prove that there's no such thing as a sophomore curse.

The Memorials currently consist of:
Viveca Hawkins - lead vocals
Jordan Ferreira - touring guitarist
Thomas Pridgen - drums

Viveca Hawkins started off singing as an R&B singer, in fact putting out a solo record this past year, but her haunting vocals play a perfect role within The Memorials. If you've not yet heard of Thomas Pridgen, who's previously played drums for The Mars Volta, you probably should.

Progressive rock and R&B may sound like a mix of oil and water to you, but when you hear songs like the psychedelic-flavored We Go To War, it's going to amp you up. Kind of sucks that I missed them in this area playing live at one of the best live venues in the city, The Mercury Lounge.

Many publications will pigeonhole their sound as Afropunk or Afrorock and quite simply, they just rock. Most bands take a couple of albums or more to define their sound. The Memorials hit the ground running. When their second album comes out, they're going to rule the Bay Area music scene with an iron fist.

A band a day...The Intersphere

2012-01-06T05:07:00.000-08:00

2012 is looking up for up-and-coming bands. Mannheim, Germany based band The Intersphere will attempt to bring their slice of progressive rock stateside.

The Intersphere is:
Christoph Hessler - lead vocals
Thomas Zipner - guitarist
Sebastian Wagner - bassist
Moritz Müller - drums

The Intersphere will release Hold on, liberty overseas on January 20th in their home country and January 23rd elsewhere in Europe and will release it in North America on February 28th.

The Intersphere is a band that has an artsy approach to rock, but if you've listened to their current single "Sleeping God", you know that they're not afraid of having songs with crushing riffs. The Intersphere compares themselves to Muse, Dredg, and Incubus. I would like to add Karnivool to that list of awesomeness.

The Intersphere has played the Rock Am Ring festival, the biggest rock festival in Germany, so you know that they're capable of tearing stages up.

Momentum is definitely on The Intersphere's side. Now all they would need is the right tour to break them in the States. I think they'd fit perfectly touring with a band like Fair to Midland. Keep an eye on The Intersphere because I think 2012 will be a year for them to blossom at home and in the U.S.

New Year's Resolution: Go Your Own Way

2012-01-03T07:41:00.001-08:00

Everybody makes New Year's Resolutions, but it would really help if people made New Year's Resolutions that really stuck. For the music industry in 2012, it's for artists to go independent.

While the industry's sales were actually slightly up from a year before, the music industry's system is more broken than ever before. EMI, one of the big four labels dissolved in 2011, leaving only three majors (Warner, Sony, Universal). The system currently in place may not continue to be the same in the future and it may be better for artists to push for self-sufficiency.

I had a wonderful discussion with a friend of mine about this over New Year's where it had become apparent that bands still have a dollar and a dream to make it with a major.

However, those bands will clearly realize that labels won't be so quick to sign them without marketing savvy. At this point, labels are looking for a sure thing. They don't gamble nearly as much as they used to and they want to make sure that they're banking on whatever investment they make.

Bands have to be more self-sufficient because the industry seems to be moving in a way where labels won't exist as they are right now 2-5 years from now.

Bands need to not only market their shows, they need to know how to effectively use band pages on Facebook, Reverbnation, Root Music and the like, and they need to know how to effectively sell themselves to fans before selling themselves to labels. Bands will realize that labels are helpful, but if you can learn how to do a label's job better than a label can for you, you're much better off going it alone.

Let's make 2012 the year of independent bands and artists.

CFW Rocks: Most Anticipated New Music of 2012

2011-12-16T13:28:00.000-08:00

2011 had some really good music, but 2012 may just top it with some potential returns and brilliant up and comers. So, here it is in no particular order:

1. Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline - The Italian six-piece hits stores for the first time since 2009's Shallow Life. In a move that surprised many older fans, they returned to the studio with Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Bullet for My Valentine) in an attempt to return to their (In a) Reverie roots. Cristina and company claim that the album (out January 24th) is their heaviest album to date. "Trip the Darkness" and "Kill the Light" seem to suggest a much darker record (no pun intended) than the glammier Shallow Life.

2. Shinedown - TBA - Shinedown attempts to recreate the magic of The Sound of Madness with their upcoming fourth record. They returned to the studio with Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance) and "Bully" the upcoming first single off of their new album impacts radio at the beginning of next year. It'll be interesting to hear whether the album is an extension of the über-successful Sound or whether they go back to the sound of Leave a Whisper, that first netted them a platinum record.

3. Nine Lashes - World We View - The five-piece Birmingham, AL band goes major in 2012, putting out World We View, joining Tooth and Nail while hitting the road on Redvolution 2012 with Red and Thousand Foot Krutch. Songs like "Anthem of the Lonely" and "Adrenaline" give a glimpse into an album that is sure to be on top of year end lists as their independent Escape was in '09.

4. Fireflight - Now - Fireflight returns with their fourth album and will dominate Christian rock radio yet again when their album hits on March 6th. They've consistently put out a record every two years since their existence and have consistently rocked with every release. "Stay Close" is no different. All secular rock radio needs to do now is give them the break they deserve.

5. Hurt - The Crux - After a critically acclaimed acoustic tour, Hurt will put out their sixth album on March 27th. Hurt is an anomaly in the world of major labels. Most bands would crumble after leaving or getting dropped from a major label. Hurt's response was 2009's independent release Goodbye to the Machine, an album that I consider their best release to date. Hurt moves to Carved Records for this release and I'm happy their new single "How We End Up Alone" will be one of my first music purchases of the new year.

6. Valora - I Waited For You - After a successful remix of Breaking Benjamin's "Blow Me Away" featuring lead singer Syd Duran's vocals and after following the workings of this band for the last three years, Valora finally releases their highly anticipated Hollywood Records debut on April 3rd. I Waited For You is a multimedia concept record of sorts that features a free downloadable comic book with the accompanying upcoming record.

7. Trapt - Reborn - After No Apologies and an independent album featuring a collection of re-recorded past hits, Trapt returns in April with yet another independent release. Trapt recorded "Bring It", that will likely appear on the upcoming release and it's sounds as if Trapt is going back to the sound of their self-titled that netted them their biggest hit to date, "Headstrong".

8. No Doubt - TBA - After two solo Gwen Stefani records and over 10 years on the shelf, No Doubt attempts to reclaim the throne with their upcoming sixth record. A successful tour with Paramore in 2009 inspired them to return to their ska and reggae roots for their upcoming record which should be out by next year.

9. Halestorm - TBA - Halestorm returns next year with their female-fronted classic rock flair. The four piece from Pennsylvania has been recording since the end of the Avalanche Tour and have already given fans bits and pieces of the sound of the next record with songs like "American Boys".

10. Oh No Fiasco - TBA - After tour dates with bands such as Red and Framing Hanley in 2010, Knoxville outlet Oh No Fiasco will be releasing their debut with Eleven Seven Music sometime in 2012. Their catchy synthy rock will be sure to gain the attention of droves of new fans.

11. Nine Inch Nails - TBA - After holding the last live show almost two years ago and having successful stints in movie scoring that landed Trent Reznor a Golden Globe AND an Oscar, Reznor intends to focus on bringing Nine Inch Nails back in 2012. Most fans will be happy with just about anything as it was thought that Nine Inch Nails was pretty much never going to release any more new music.

The 2011 Dubbies

2011-12-10T16:10:00.001-08:00

After two years, I've brought back my personal awards in the world of music, The Dubbies, not to be confused with dubstep...WOBWOBWOB!!

Eight awards will be given out this year and I think the bands I've recognized for nomination are very much deserving.

Headbanger of the Year:
Trivium-In Waves
Underoath-Paper Lung
Straight Line Stitch-Conversion
Dark New Day-Come Alive
Dead By April-Within My Heart
Times In Grace-Strength in Numbers

The winner is:
Trivium-In Waves. Trivium washed away the competition with this brutal number. It was the uncompromising Trivium that many fans thought they'd lost with their latest albums, but it was also really catchy and I think that made a lot of new fans for Trivium this year.

Female Fronted Band of the Year:
Evanescence
Noctura
Charetta
Icon For Hire
Within Temptation
Don't Wake Aislin

The winner is:
Evanescence. Amy Lee and company came back in a big way this year with their self-titled effort. It was proof that they could stick around through all of the drama and, unlike The Open Door, worked this time.

Music Video of the Year:
Rise Against - Make It Stop (September's Children)
Red - Feed The Machine
Stone Sour - Hesitate
Seven Day Sonnet - Farewell to Good Days
Seether - Country Song
Underoath - Paper Lung

The winner is:
Rise Against-Make It Stop (September's Children). Rise Against is one of the few artists who gets better and better with music videos over time. This video (and song) about the recent teen suicide/cyberbullying trend is gutwrenching but, as all of their videos, makes you think and makes you want to act.

EP of the Year:
Charetta - A Nation Distracted
Don't Wake Aislin - Don't Wake Aislin
Dead Fish Handshake - Dead Fish Handshake
Periphery - The Icarus EP
Cavo - Sounds From the Hollow
Crosses - Crosses

The winner is:
Charetta-A Nation Distracted. Charetta is a band that has been under the radar for far too long and this EP shows their growth. The first full-length gave them the catchy songs, but this EP is showing off their songwriting and storytelling.

Best New Artist:
Noctura
Vestascension
Memory of a Melody
Eye Empire
Park Lane
Icon For Hire

The winner is:
It's a TIE! Noctura and Vestascension! It was hard to give it to one artist, but these two artists are great. Noctura this year deserves it for where they came from to get to where they are at this point and Vestascension because they give so much to their fans.

Record of the Year:
Thrice - Yellow Belly
There for Tomorrow - Hunt Hunt Hunt
Freestate - Home
Periphery - Jetpacks Was Yes 2.0
Red - Feed the Machine
Blindside - There Must Be Something in the Water

The winner is:
Thrice-Yellow Belly. Thrice is the most diverse band I've ever known and it's going to be hard to see them go into hiatus for the time being.

Song of the Year:
Charetta - Bully
Vestascension - Then We Are Here
Eye Empire - More Than Fate
Revis - From That Point On
Evanescence - My Heart is Broken
Twin Atlantic - Free

The winner is:
Vestascension-Then We Are Here. This was a wide open field, but I felt that Vestascension had the best song on this list. You don't have to make a song for radio to have a song that gets recognized for its greatness.

Album of the Year:
Evanescence - Evanescence
Dark New Day - Hail Mary
Red - Until We Have Faces
Freestate - Unify
Eye Empire - Moment of Impact
Thrice - Major/Minor

The winner is:
Freestate-Unify. Best album of the year hands down. All of the entries here deserve recognition, but Freestate put out another album that churns hit after hit. Freestate's debut Surrender was no fluke. The album of the year goes to Freestate.

Great year for rock music and I'm looking forward to more in 2012.

2011: The Year in Musical Fail

2011-12-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

By now, most of you will have already pegged the biggest musical fails to be Rebecca Black's "Friday" and Metallica and Lou Reed's Lulu. However, there is still more fail where that came from this year.

1. Guns n'Roses' disastrous Rock in Rio performance of Mr. Brownstone.
This is Mr. Brownstone as it was performed at Rock in Rio in 1991.
This is Mr. Brownstone as it was performed at Rock in Rio in 2011.
Any questions?
Axl has always been considered one of the greatest lead singers in the history of hard rock music. However, that fateful night this past October was embarrassing to his own legacy. Axl looked like Yosemite Sam really let himself go and I was surprised that he was able to fit himself and his ego in that gaudy-ass coat.

2. Bill O'Reilly attacks socially conscious rapper Common.
Bill O'Reilly continued his attack on mainstream rap music this year by attacking Common, who read poetry to kids in the White House. Bill O'Reilly was offended that they invited Common to the White House because of foul language in his lyrics and his radical political views on defending Assata Shakur and Mumia Abu Jamal amongst other alleged cop killers.

It then led to Jon Stewart obliterating O'Reilly both on his Daily Show and on Bill's own show The O'Reilly Factor. I could even sort of understand why Mr. O'Reilly has attacked other rappers such as Ludacris and Cam'ron because of their lyrics. However, Common is the least offensive rapper in the mix. I've got about 435 reasons to be angry about Washington more than I do some rapper that gets invited to the White House.

3. The Year in Kim Kardashian
Yes, Kim Kardashian invaded music this year, too. In fact, it's more of a fail than her marriage ever was this year. The year started off when she was invited to go on stage at a Prince concert. It's bad when a middle aged lady knows more what to do on stage than Kim does. It's even worse when Kim's had practice. No, not that kind of practice, this kind...you would think that that would be the worst of it, but we're not done yet.

Somehow, Kimmy K. thought she could be the next Apollonia by starting her own music career. And then this happened. Get off the stage, Kim...and take The Dream with you.

4. Limp Bizkit: Don't Call It a Comeback
Yes, Limp Bizkit attempted to return to their glory days by releasing Gold Cobra. And it actually did make sense seeing as other acts such as Hollywood Undead were becoming popular. Unfortunately for Limp Bizkit, many people were trying to forget those days where they wore their red Yankee cap backwards and arbitrarily grabbed their crotch. You want a visual representation of the music on Gold Cobra?

That covers it. Within the year, Limp Bizkit left their longtime home at Interscope Records.

5. Nickelback honors the Thanksgiving tradition of being the invitee that nobody actually wants there.

How hated do you have to be to be petitioned to go away? Nickelback performed at Detroit's Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers, which many fans thought was cruel and unusual punishment. They lost to the Packers and had to listen to Nickelback for the halftime show. As of this post, they haven't won a game since Nickelback performed.

Well, as you can clearly see, there's much more to the year in suck than you may have previously thought. Now let us never speak of this year this way again.

2011: The Year in Viral Music

2011-12-04T05:05:00.000-08:00

2011 marked an unforgettable year in music that went viral.

The video and song that set the tone for this year was Rebecca Black's "Friday". It trended and trended and yeah. Most everybody hated it, but most everybody was parodying it too. The song got so popular that it had been in the I-Tunes Top 100.

The song got so popular that it became the product of a lawsuit. The song's views got to a point where Youtube wanted to profit off of it even further, charging users to play the entire song and eventually pulling it and its millions of views. Not long after, the video returned to Youtube and has continued to amass an insane number of views.

It's gotten to a point that Rebecca Black has been granted a legitimate chance to have a music career. Her two followup videos, "My Moment" and "Person of Interest", have amassed over 30 million Youtube views.

No genre has benefitted from viral music as much as rap has. Last year's biggest viral hit was "The Bed Intruder Song".

The most controversial viral video this year was Mr. EBT's "My EBT". On the one hand, many people thought it was funny, but conservative commentators were quick to jump on its message saying that far too many people abuse the country's welfare system. It was because of this that the duo that made it (Money Maine was the producer) onto the news having to explain their stance on the song.

The Black Friday anthem of the year clearly went to Mr. Ghetto's "Wally World". If you're going to shake your ass while pepper spraying people in the face just to get that discounted X-Box, this is the jam to do it to. This is one of those videos that they would have probably shown on BET's Uncut back in the day at 3 o'clock in the morning. I want to hate it, but it's just so damn catchy.

Not everything turns out to be so bad it's good. Take Boston duo's Karmin, who's "Look At Me Now" video was amongst the top viewed videos of the entire year with almost 50 million views. In fact, most of their covers have at least 10 million Youtube views. They played Ellen, got commercial spots on the NBA Finals, and eventually got signed to Epic Records. Their debut album will hit stores next year and marks a change in traditional means for discovering new talent. This is the new tradition.

I just wonder what viral video can do the same next year.

CFW Predicts The 2012 Grammies (or tries to...)

2011-11-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday night, the focus will yet again be on CBS as the 4th annual Grammy Nominations Concert will be on and we'll find out the big nominees for this upcoming year. This year is going to be particularly interesting as the awards have contracted from the previous year, eliminating 31 categories. While I think that plays a bit of a role, I don't believe that it will completely change who dominates nominations on Wednesday night.

Record of the Year:
Adele-Rolling in the Deep - If Adele is not a shoe in to sweep nominations in the Big Four (apart from Best New Artist which she's not eligible for), I don't know what to think about NARAS.
The Civil Wars-Barton Hollow - The "Lady Antebellum" of this year. If you don't know them yet, you will know them on February 12, 2012. Interestingly enough, the duo toured with Adele earlier this year.
Bruno Mars-Grenade - Bruno Mars was largely ineligible as an artist last year, but managed to get nominated SEVEN times, more than any male artist last year. He's going to be another major nominee this year.
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga-The Lady is a Tramp - Tony Bennett is going to get recognized in the Big Four this year and I think that NARAS is still trying to make up for Gaga not being nominated for Best New Artist a few years back.
Gym Class Heroes & Adam Levine-Stereo Hearts - I think this gets in because it's current and is inescapable right now. It's fresh in Grammy voters minds.

Alternate Pick:
Black Eyed Peas-Just Can't Get Enough - As the group gets ready to undergo a hiatus, don't count Black Eyed Peas out for a nomination for Record of the Year. Their formula is a hit with NARAS.

Best New Artist:
The Band Perry - Had a pretty sizable crossover hit with "If I Die Young" that will probably lead them into this category.
The Civil Wars - I think they're going to have a big Grammy night and may surprise a lot of people in this category.
Jessie J. - I hear a lot of artists tweeting about her and that damned "Price Tag" song. Best way to tell if someone's worth nominating is to listen to artists first.
Nicki Minaj - I don't see how she doesn't get nominated here. She's on everyone's songs and visibility goes a long way.
Tyler, The Creator - The Grammies are never a group to shy away from controversial figures. Tyler and his OFWGKTA gang were easily the most talked about artists on music sites this year. Many people that don't have Twitter will wonder who this guy is.

Alternate Pick:
Jackie Evancho - The Esperanza Spalding of this category for those that don't follow talent reality competitions. The girl is only 8 days older than my sister, but has amassed amazing sales with Dream With Me, an album that debuted at #2 this past year with over 160,000 copies sold.

Song of the Year:
Taylor Swift - Back to December - She won the Album of the Year category just two years back, she's going to get recognized in the Big Four at some point.
Bruno Mars - Grenade - The only male artist that has any potential at competing with the ladies that dominate this category.
Katy Perry - Firework - This song is going to get recognized. It just has to. Katy had too big of a year not to get recognized in the Big Four.
Adele - Rolling in the Deep - I believe that Adele is a shoe-in in this category. If she doesn't get nominated for Record, she gets Song or vice versa.
Lady Gaga - You And I - Gaga again gets recognized, but this time for her own work.

Alternate Pick:
Mumford & Sons - The Cave - They'll get the Arcade Fire treatment as the little indie rock darlings that could.

Album of the Year:
Adele - 21 - If this doesn't somehow get nominated, I will eat my blog post.
Tony Bennett - Duets II - What a way to go out on top. Finally got a #1 album and may have a chance to win AOTY.
Beyonce - 4 - May not be her best effort, but NARAS LOVES Beyonce and will recognize her in a major category.
Bruno Mars - Doo Wops and Hooligans - Again, Bruno's album had not been eligible the year prior, but the singles off of it have made it a clear candidate for AOTY.
Taylor Swift - Speak Now - Three albums with two nominated for Album of the Year? Never has an artist so young received the accolade of Album of the Year, let alone get nominated twice by the age of 21, but if anyone can do it, it's Taylor Swift.

Alternate Pick:
The Band Perry - The Band Perry - Country always represents a big chunk of voters, so don't be surprised if you see The Band Perry getting recognized in yet another Big Four category.

I think Rihanna gets snubbed in the Big Four as many felt she had been the year before. I think Gaga not making the Album of the Year wouldn't be entirely shocking. I don't think Born This Way had as massive an appeal as they would have wanted it to.

Google Plus: Another Social Networking Failure?

2011-11-28T05:40:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, I just want to say that I like Google's company overall. They own Youtube and have the most recognizable search engine available. Having said all of that, it seems as if Google Plus, their latest social network is not very far away from becoming the next Google Buzz.

The problem has nothing to do with the functionality of the actual site. That's always fixable. What is not is the time that it has taken them to implement something as simple as business pages. Google Plus debuted in June, but they didn't start business pages until earlier this month. In the world of social networking where instant gratification is key, 5 months is a long time to wait.

In the meantime, Facebook took some of the qualities that made Google Plus unique (such as posting for certain circles) and made them their own. They now have their own "hangout" feature collaborating with Skype for video chatting.

Google's Music Store is even having its own issues. Facebook is trying to get their own music store off the ground and once it does that, even though Google was first in launching, Google can't even say they're a legitimate competitor with Facebook...merely an alternative.

I really would like to see Google be competitive with Facebook because I think that feature wise, they could potentially outperform Facebook. However, if Google Buzz was any indication to how they intend to handle Google Plus, there's nothing that would get Google out of the doldrums at that point and they will have failed yet again.

A band a day...We As Human

2011-11-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

After a successful independent full-length and EP, We As Human, originally from Idaho, have been given an opportunity from their mentors Skillet (more specifically lead singer John Cooper) for major label success.

We As Human is:
Justin Cordle-Vocals
Jake Jones-Guitar
Justin Forshaw - Guitar
Dave Draggoo-Bass
Adam Osborne-Drums

We As Human just released a major self-titled EP that is buzzing and ready to explode onto the active rock scene. The EP was produced by mega-producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Evanescence, Deftones). Most hard rock bands on a major label would their edge. We As Human takes their message to a new level.

If you like Red, you'd probably like the song Double Life, but there's a little bit of something for everyone on their major debut EP. If you do a bit of snooping around Youtube, you ought to check some of their earlier stuff as well. They'll also be doing quite a bit of touring with Skillet as well, so look out for dates!

Mark my words, 2012 will be the year We As Human rules rock radio, Christian or otherwise.

The Social Music Experiment

2011-11-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

About a year and a half ago, I was "working" and when there wasn't much to be done I was writing down ideas for a website that I was thinking about during the doldrums of the music industry. I didn't finish it, but I wanted to post the ideas that I had in the hope that someone would get where I'm going with the idea.

I didn't even come up with a name for it, so I just simply called it the Social Music Experiment.

Goal: To connect fans to artists and labels as never before, creating the greatest social networking site that caters to music fans. In a time where people download music for free, we need to reward the people that purchase music and promote discovery.

A point system would:
1. Reward people that buy music online either digitally or physically through SME.
2. Reward people that successfully promote unsigned artists through referrals.
3. Reward gift cards for digital music, electronic stores, band merch, and concert tickets (depending on, of course, how many points you earn).

Goal #2: To connect artists to other artists and labels in ways not previously connected before.

1. Artists would post videos of auditions either for labels or for bands if they would like to be recruited. Of course, Youtube exists, but it would make it a lot easier for labels to sort through the B.S.

2. There would also be a Band Aids portion of the site where bands post classifieds to find their missing pieces.

3. Bands can also post blogs, vlogs, performances, and whatever they see fit on their page.

The difference between the SME and other social networking sites would be the intimacy and less junk to have to go through to find your favorite bands and artists of the present and future.

Perhaps the site would grow to eventually host major music festivals...even an online exclusive festival to the website where bands of different genres play music live for all who listen.

BAH HUMBUG!

2011-11-27T11:48:00.001-08:00

I seriously can't be the only one bummed about the Christmas season. Why, you ask? It's because Christmas music is back in season. It's the most marketable time of the year when seemingly everyone and their mother decides to release a Christmas record and/or song. Hell, even Jim Jones of the Dipset squad put out a Christmas EP.

Even worse is when radio stations attempt to one up each other by playing Christmas music earlier and earlier in the season. Instead of going the traditional route of starting the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday for you pepper-spraying, gun toting shoppers out there), radio stations have been starting as early as Halloween. The Monster Mash has been replaced by Justin Bieber, truly making this the Nightmare Before Christmas.

Is NOTHING sacred anymore? Is Korn going to turn Jingle Bells into a Dubstep Christmas?

Is Lou Reed going to read the lines of Carol of the Bells as James Hetfield randomly screams I Am The Santa?!?

As a little kid, I used to love when my family broke out the Salsoul. But it's overkill now. Over overkill.

I can't be the only one. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Reflections on Thrice's Hiatus

2011-11-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

After 13 years as a band, Thrice's Dustin Kensrue announced on the Thrice main site that they would be taking a break as a full-time band so that members of Thrice can focus on family life.

The news is not entirely surprising, but nonetheless unfortunate for many fans.

This past year Thrice put out Major/Minor, an album that many critics are saying is amongst the best in their vast catalog.

In a bit of an homage to drummer Riley Breckenridge's Three Things blog for the OC Weekly, I'll post the three things to remember Thrice by (in the case they don't ever release any new music).

1. Versatility: Thrice's eight albums show how much Thrice has evolved. They started out as a post-hardcore band and then seamlessly transitioned through many different genres of music including indie rock, electronica, metal, and even the blues. For that very reason, Dustin Kensrue is arguably the most versatile vocalist I've ever listened to.

2. Consistency: As diverse as Thrice's albums have been, the result has always been positive. I think their influence on other and future bands has not yet been fully realized, but give that another 5 years.

3. Humanitarianism: One of the positives of Thrice's consistency is the fact that a portion of the proceeds of all of their albums has gone to a charity to help others in need. That humility started when they were at Sub City/Hopeless and has continued at their current home at Vagrant Records.

If Major/Minor is the last work that Thrice ever puts out, then it was a proper curtain call to one of the best bands out there.

Bonus:
Three Songs To Remember Thrice By:

1. Deadbolt: The highlight of Thrice's early catalog and the one word everyone yells out at a Thrice concert that hasn't heard that song yet. Think of it as their "Freebird".

2. Image of the Invisible: This was the lead single off of my favorite Thrice album Vheissu. Perfect lead single that had not only style, but substance as well. It serves as the battle cry for Invisible Children, a charity dedicated to ending the use of child soldiers out in central Africa.

3. The Whaler: A seemingly obscure choice in comparison with the other two, but a song that I personally feel best shows off the lighter side of Thrice. Beautiful harmonies and such a contrast to some of their heaviest works.

Music Is Not A Competition...

2011-11-21T10:47:00.001-08:00

J. Loren of Hurt said something that struck me during the Hurt/Dead Fish Handshake show last Saturday.

Paraphrased from his rant, he said that "Music is not a competition." J. Loren meant it as a way to say that musicians are all in this together and I thought that was the one thing, aside from their amazing performance, that I took home with me.

Hearing stories about some bands that have argued, fought and pulled off of tours because of such competition, it really means a lot for a musician to come out and say that.

In today's industry, musicians of any genre need each other now more than ever...a union of sorts, not just to protect themselves from label greed, but to protect their intellectual rights as an artist and to sell as many albums as possible by promoting each other. I think the greatest complement an artist can get is the recommendation from another artist.

Matthew Paul, lead singer of Dead Fish Handshake, reinforced the statement by saying that scenes barely exist anymore because bands are mostly into themselves instead of uplifting the scene they're involved in. This fragmentation of music scenes is not good for the artists that are forced to go it alone or for the music scene its self.

Sure, bands can compete for airplay and sales, but ultimately bands need to bolster each other to survive and to succeed. There needs to be camaraderie within a town or city so that bands can continue to support each other and support themselves.

United, scenes stand. Divided, they fall.

Live Review: Hurt/Dead Fish Handshake (Acoustic) 11/19/11 @ Architekt Music in Butler, NJ

2011-11-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

"If you don't mind, we're gonna rock the fuck out."-J. Loren (Hurt)

And that they did. And that they did. Hurt took their "Acoustic Experience" tour to the middle of nowhere New Jersey on Saturday evening for an unforgettable set.

Hurt, who is planning a release of their fourth album in March (The Crux), proved that you don't need the chug-chugging of guitars to rock a crowd.

Openers Matthew Paul (lead singer) and Rob Ferreira (guitarist) of the band Dead Fish Handshake (a band name that will likely go into the Rainbow Butt Monkeys Hall of Fame) started the night off with a great acoustic set that featured songs off of their March 2011 debut Across State Lines, a song off of the upcoming album that they're recording this winter and a great cover of Mad Season's River of Deceit, one of the greatest songs of the 90s. As odd as their name is, their set was great and managed to hold their own considering they were opening for a nationally renowned band.

And then there was Hurt. For those of you who've never listened to Hurt, they're a hard rock band that has elements of country and classical music rolled in with a singer/songwriter sensability. It's rare for a hard rock band's strength to be in their songwriting. J. Loren, in my opinion, is the most talented songwriter in the entire genre and the performance on Saturday night reinforced that.

Hurt played an expansive 18-song, two hour set that spanned the entire band catalogue, including their debut self-titled album from 2000. You can tell that the band really puts a lot into their work whether it comes to studio work or live performances. Each performance had such intricacy that I felt like I was watching Hurt record an acoustic album live (which they should clearly do after the release of The Crux). J. Loren's vocals were incredible to the point that even his whistling was on key. The fans themselves sang the end of Assurance on key as well.

As good as some of the other shows I've been to this year were, Hurt's acoustic performance at Architekt will go down as my hands down favorite. Hurt is an example of a band that could be on a major label, independent, or self-released that can put out the same spectacular result no matter the obstacles thrown their way. I'm so glad that they haven't folded under the weight of the crumbling music industry.

A band a day...Cyrenic

2011-10-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

Cyrenic started largely as a one man project under Brian Zuckerman, the lead singer. Zuckerman self-recorded and self-produced the band's first two efforts, The Whites Of Our Lies and A New Meaning. He sang, played guitar, bass, did the programming and produced the whole enchilada...with some help from his friends.

As the project became more successful, Zuckerman desired to play these songs live and after the creation of A New Meaning, the band played their first shows. Their new album Dying to Live is highly anticipated and marks the first time Zuckerman is recording a full band effort.

Cyrenic includes:
Kevin Holmes - Guitar
Don Pastorius - Bass
Keith Pereira - Drums

The band's sound used to be a bit more melodic and perhaps even a bit poppier such as with the song Let It Burn. Even though we got a taste of what the album may sound like with their new single Built of Sand, the sound of the band is definitely trending in a heavier direction. Their sound can be most compared to Rains, a band often associated with Evans Blue. Cyrenic's Dying to Live hits digital stores on November 22nd, giving us something we can all be thankful for aside from just stuffing our faces with turkey.

You can currently pre-order their new album on their website, but you can also download a Cyrenic sampler, which features material from their first two albums here.

Two bands a day?!? Hope Kills Fear/Park Lane

2011-10-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Two great bands, one great lead singer. For about 15 years, Carley Coma has been rocking stages. He started in the great math metal band known as Candiria, but ever since, he's embarked on two more mainstream-ish efforts.

The first of which is a local area band that I've actually had the pleasure of seeing live, Hope Kills Fear, which just so happens to be one of my favorite band names ever.

Hope Kills Fear includes:
Julio Arias - Guitars/Vocals
Steve Richards - Guitars/Vocals
Joe Fazio - Bass

Hope Kills Fear displays more of a religious side to Coma. The reason this band exists is because of a really bad car accident that took members of Candiria to the hospital. Coma underwent a spiritual awakening while healing and the lyrics are largely inspired by it. Hope Kills Fear would fit in perfectly on a bill that features the likes of a Decyfer Down or Red.

Just on the name alone, you can tell that they're all about positivity. It's so easy for bands to focus on negativity and offer no solutions, but Hope Kills Fear looks to change that with songs that include "Surrender" and "Save Me". If you like my description, I think you should check them out on ReverbNation.

The second band that I'd like to mention is Park Lane. Park Lane seems to be on the fast lane to success with their first tour being with the reformed Fuel under first lead singer Brett Scallions.

Park Lane includes:
Mike Keller - Guitar
Grayson Hurd - Guitar
Clayton Wages - Bass
Cameron Stucky - Drums

Park Lane is a bit more on the secular side of things and, while they may wind up garnering a bit more mainstream attention than Hope Kills Fear, it doesn't make Park Lane less heavy. In fact, their debut album Letters From The Fire is just that; fiery and uncompromisingly heavy.

Park Lane has already toured the country and with songs such as "The Edge" and "Silence", they're destined to break rock radio even though they're still somehow unsigned.

I recommend checking out songs like the ones I mentioned on their ReverbNation page.

Maybe you're not familiar with Carley Coma, but the truth is that he's been one of the best lead singers out there that you have not yet heard. His versatility really pops out with these two great bands.

A band a day...Memory of a Melody

2011-10-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

They say everything's bigger in Texas. I believe that thanks to the big, chunky sound of up and coming San Antonio band Memory of a Melody.

Memory of a Melody is:
Mario Galdos- Vocals
Wade Sigue - Guitar
Roel Castillo - Guitar
Joel Martinez - Bass
Robin Lopez- Drums

Memory of a Melody has been around for 3 years, but has been waiting for the perfect time to unleash their debut album Things That Make You Scream. Based on the amount of time it took them to make this record, it's clear that Memory of a Melody is all about crafting and perfecting their sound. That's not to say that their sound is not meant to be a little rough around the edges.

Their balance of melodic and heavy is not exactly for Mama Bear and not exactly for Papa Bear, but just right.

Their success thus far has earned them shows with Chevelle, 10 Years, and Framing Hanley to name a few. The success of their debut album seems to give them the ammunition to explode all over the airwaves in the coming year. They are quickly becoming a favorite of a lot of unsigned hard rock fans.

You owe it to yourself to check out the title track to their debut, "Break Away", and "Mask", all of which are available for free download on their ReverbNation.

Metallica: The Thing That Should Not Be?

2011-10-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Metallica is scheduled to release Lulu this coming Tuesday in the States, a collaboration with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Lou Reed, who went in as a member of Velvet Underground (one of the band's biggest influences). The album has been streamed for the last couple of weeks on their website, earning universal panning and parodying the likes of which even St. Anger never saw.

Unquestionably, Metallica's first five albums alone (Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice For All, Metallica) were enough to send them into the Hall of Fame.

However, fans have been separating those five albums (in some cases, even separating Metallica) from the newer Metallica for years. It's either "hit or miss" from Load onward or many fans just can't be bothered to listen to the newer Metallica.

Is Metallica ruining their legacy with recent albums that have been critically destructive or do they still hold their place as one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time?

Radio on Autopilot

2011-10-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

When you listen to the radio, do you tend to listen at around the same time of the day? Try that for a week and find out how many times you listen to the same song at any particular time. Find out whether it's one song or more than one song.

I was listening to a station at work and they played Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory at the same time every day. I know this because every time I came in at around the same time and they played Edge of Glory.

This is not the first time this has happened. I remember back in my high school years when Janet Jackson had the song "Go Deep". Don't get me wrong, I love me some Janet, but every time I got on the school bus, that song played for about two, maybe three weeks.

I can't be the only one who's noticed this happening for an extended period of time. There's no excuse for these major radio stations to go on autopilot and not switch things up every now and again. It's bad enough you hear the same 4 or 5 songs every hour, but playing them at the same time as yesterday? Someone please get me my I-Pod.

Referring to radio stations, you are the radio station. You are the tastemaker. Consumers are occasionally naive, but they're not stupid. They're gonna notice if you're half-assing and are likely to ask for their I-Pod's like I did.

Clear Channel just got rid of a considerable chunk of DJ staff just this week. It sounds like Clear Channel is intending to centralize their business in select markets, which could mean playing music from remote areas or having DJ's from completely different areas of the country announce local news. They already syndicate some morning programs, but this could mean that you may be eventually be hearing the same song in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the same time as you would in New York City.

Again I ask, have you ever dealt with a station that plays the same song at around the exact same tme? What do you think this Clear Channel reorganization means for the individuality of radio stations?

The League of Extraordinary Djentlemen...Djent: The Next Big Thing?

2011-10-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Djent is a relatively new term to most mainstream rock music listeners. It's a onomatopoeic term that describes the sound an electric guitar makes, but the genre takes it to a whole other level.

Meshuggah is considered to be the pioneer of the genre. Djent is progressive metal that uses unconventional time measures and uses the guitar sound to give it the sheen of heavy that it displays on each and every song.

In this entry, apart from simply mentioning what it comes from, I'd like to recommend a few Djent bands to listen to.

After shows with Dream Theater and Fair to Midland, Periphery seems to be the band primed for the most success. Misha "Bulb" Mansoor created the band out of his own musical productions on guitar searching for the perfect vocalist before finally going with Spencer Sotelo in 2010.

Vocals, while present, don't seem to always be the main attraction in Djent as is the case with Animals as Leaders, an instrumental metal band that toured with Underoath and Thursday amongst others.

Djent hit the US, but its effect is largely felt overseas as well.

TesseracT has largely been put on a lot of the same tours that the previous two mentioned have been on. While they're not seemingly as popular as the other two, they seem to be growing steadily in the same direction. I've started to get into this band quite heavily myself in the last couple of months.

Finally, one Djent band that hasn't fully started that should be big in 2012 is Being, which is being produced by two Periphery members, one current (Misha Mansoor) and one former (Chris Sabol).

While there are specific characteristics of Djent, the bands and the differences between them are different enough that there's something for every metal fan.

Check 'em out!

A band a day...Vestascension

2011-10-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

In this blog entry, I discuss my favorite music discovery of the entire year to date, Vestascension.

Vestascension is:
Mike Semesky: Vocals
Josh Clark: Vocals/Live Guitar
Justin Gosnell: Guitars/Keys/Programming (also the band manager)
Nathan Heavel: Bass
Mike Chubb: Drums (recently departed the band)

Vestascension is self-described as a progressive dream rock band from Frederick, Maryland, but prove to be so much more.

Their influences are as vast as the sound they produce...it ranges from dreamy ambient music to djent metal...sometimes even on the same song.

Vestascension has really been around for years, but didn't really start making music heavily until this year. They had a great idea where they would release one song a month for every month on the first day. Not only would that music be released every month, but it would be released every month for free.

I didn't catch on to this band until about April of this year which is around the time they put out Then We Are Here. That song seems to be their highlight thus far as it displays everything that is beautiful about this band's music. It's a band that is as intense as any without having to rely heavy on screaming vocals or omnipresent guitars.

That's not to say that they don't have great music that features guitar work. Lifoliage, which features members of bands from other local metal bands such as Periphery (whom I credit with my discovery of Vestascension), displays brilliant guitar work.

They aren't going to be a radio band (like a lot of the bands I like to post about), but I think that's what makes their sound refreshing.

Apart from the musical aspect, Vestascension takes their concept a step further by changing with the seasons. Their online presence changes with the time of the year. Their merchandise also changes with the seasons. There aren't any bands out there that take the total package into account and Vestascension looks to change all of that.

Unlike most bands where I can recommend a song or two for you, since everything they've released to date is a free download on their BandCamp page, I would suggest you download anything that's available. There's literally something for everybody.

Unfortunately, they've fallen behind schedule in their monthly music releases due to the recent departure of their drummer, but they are still plugging along.

Keep track of their progress on Facebook and Twitter!

1991: The Stars of the Music Industry Collide

2011-10-23T19:43:00.001-07:00

1991 was a landmark year in music.

Just to give you an idea of how important it was:
Nirvana - Nevermind
Metallica - Metallica
Pearl Jam - Ten
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Guns & Roses - Use Your Illusion I & II
REM - Out of Time

Yes, it was THAT big. Many of these artists' biggest albums came from this year alone. These were the albums that made these artists household names. Most of these artists still exist with the exceptions of Nirvana because of Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide and REM, who just called it quits on September 21st of this year. Most, if not all of these artists, are in consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if they aren't already in it (Metallica & REM).

What makes this year so special aside from all of these major albums being released is that it seems as if this was the industry at its finest moment.

Rock wasn't the only genre that was dominating the charts (though this is also one of the last times we would see so many rock acts dominate the chart).

Mariah Carey (Emotions), Michael Jackson (Dangerous), and Garth Brooks (Ropin' The Wind) (all among the top selling artists ever) also released major albums this year. Don't worry MC Hammer, Spin Doctors or Color Me Badd, we didn't forget about you guys (though I'm sure some of us would probably would like to).

Think of all of the tributes that just came out for Nevermind recently. All of those acts coming together for just one artist. One album.

The very reason Metallica can put out an album like Lulu is because of the self-titled, the best selling album of the Soundscan era and the inspiration for me listening to rock music in the first place.

Pearl Jam just recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with a documentary the likes of which you'd expect from National Geographic.

Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 10th studio album, I'm With You, in August achieving #1's all over the world.

And Guns & Roses...exist.

Many of the songs from these albums that came out 20 years ago are played almost sounding as relevant today as they did back in 1991, getting played as much as songs that are popular in 2011. All because of 1991.

My questions to readers would be:

Of all of the albums that are listed here, what album that came from that year influenced you the most?

Will there ever be a year as big in music as 1991 ever again? Is there a year that you feel was bigger sales/influence wise?

CFW Rocks Resurrected!

2011-10-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

I've decided to resurrect CFW Rocks, an old blog of mine in which I recommended artists to listen to.

I'd been doing some writing for Sidestage, but because that site has gone under, I am claiming this website back!

CFW Rocks will feature a mixture of the old CFW Rocks and Sidestage. Not only will I recommend new rock artists to listen to, I will also write about things about the music industry that interest me and will hopefully interest you as well.

I'd like to thank my friends, more specifically Matthew Hahn and Tracie Boyle, who both got me to start blogging my thoughts in the first place, Mike Herman who I've recently worked with on Emurg, and Jay Rushing who thought I was talented enough of a writer to take over Sidestage.

Thank you for keeping me going.

The Dubbies

2009-12-05T08:58:00.001-08:00

I get excited about the Grammies every year 'cause I'm a music geek like that. I get disappointed about the Grammies every year. So, I decided why not make my own, with a bit of my own personal flair and music taste.

I called them the Dubbies not 'cause of dub music, but because of my initials CFW. I don't expect anyone to agree with my choices for nominees or the winners, but I'm using this as a musical litmus test with my friends to see how close or far I am to another person's musical taste.

So here goes nothing...this is the first time I'm doing awards based on my personal taste rather than just ranking them.

The first category is:

Christian Rock Album of the Year.

Christian Rock has become more secular in reach than ever before. I'll admit, I'm not the most religious person in the world, but some of the stories of the songs from these albums always inspire me to become a better person of faith. That being said here are the nominees.

Flyleaf-Memento Mori

Thousand Foot Krutch-Welcome to the Masquerade

Red-Innocence and Instinct

Decyfer Down-Crash

Skillet-Awake

The winner of the Christian Rock Album of the Year is: Flyleaf-Memento Mori.

Flyleaf's Memento Mori is a great record about faith. I listened to the stories about the songs such as Treasure and Arise and even though it was released late in the year, the messages of faith reflect so strong on this record. If you read the liner, it gives you a "story within a story" of why those songs were written. If you haven't heard the record, I suggest you do whether you are of faith or not.

The next award goes to EP of the Year.

EP's are a bite-sized record. They may not have enough material to feed your hunger, but they'll give you just enough to where you want more. That being said, here are the nominees.

David Hodges-The Rising

Deepfield-Limited Release E.P.

Fireflight-Unbroken & Unplugged

The Letter Black-Breaking the Silence

Skindred-Shark Bites & Dog Fights

The winner of the EP of the Year goes to David Hodges for The Rising.

David Hodges, the oft-forgotten former member of Evanescence has been making a name for himself in recent years, songwriting for artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, and David Archuleta. After an unfortunate end to the Trading Yesterday project, Hodges found himself back on his feet and back on a record label putting out his first new music in 3 years. Even with only 3 songs and 1 instrumental, his material proved strong and I am personally waiting with baited breath for the next group of songs.

Our next one is Music Video of the Year.

Music videos are being considered a "dead art" as music videos barely get play on Viacom's network of music channels (MTV, VH1, BET, CMT). However, watching these 5 music videos this year have made me realize that while they may not be shown on those channels, great music videos still get made and judging by these 5, they are diverse in theme and mood.

The nominees for Music Video of the Year are:

Framing Hanley-Hear Me Now (2nd version)

Seether-Careless Whisper

Alice in Chains-A Looking in View

Rise Against-Hero of War

Lacuna Coil-I Like It

The winner of the Music Video of the Year is Alice in Chains for A Looking in View.

Alice in Chains marked their comeback with this nearly eight minute video that is about as disturbing as the first time I saw the movie Requiem for a Dream. It is equivalent to that movie in music video form. Each person in the video has an issue and finds different ways to deal with them and not always in the most positive way. That's a part of what draws you into this video from the very beginning.

The next award goes to Ballad of the Year.

Based on my musical tastes, the last thing you may hear out of my mouth is the very word "ballad". However, there is plenty of music that is as intense as it is beautiful and I would ask that you seek to listen to these songs as they are amongst the most beautiful songs I've heard this year.

The nominees for the Ballad of the Year are:

Alice in Chains-Black Gives Way to Blue

Hana Pestle-Need

Red-Never Be the Same

Breaking Benjamin-Anthem of the Angels

The Leo Project-A Perfect World

The winner of the Ballad of the Year goes to Hana Pestle's Need.

Throughout 2009, the independent artist attempted to rally the troops to get her song onto the now platinum certified Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack. While the actual attempt was unsuccessful, Need garnered over 2 million streams this year. Mission accomplished. As a result, Hana has gained enough of a name to tour the country throughout this year, which is difficult for an independent artist in and of its self.

The next award goes to a song that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on my friends. It's the Epic of the Year, awarding the best song that clocks in at over 5 minutes.

The nominees are:

Alice in Chains-A Looking in View

Green Day-21 Guns

Muse-Uprising

30 Seconds to Mars-Kings & Queens

Red-Nothing and Everything

The award goes to Muse for Uprising.

Muse is the most underrated mainstream rock act in the United States of the decade and this song and many others are the very reason why Muse not only deserves to be played here, but headlining stadium shows as they have in their home land. For being over five minutes, this song is extremely catchy and actually danceable unlike a lot of songs of its length.

The next award is for the Best Remixed Song.

The nominees are

Paramore-Where the Lines Overlap (Acoustic Version)

Red-Nothing and Everything (Fight Inside)

Lacuna Coil-I Like It (Das Basslaster Mix)

Fireflight-Unbreakable (Unbroken & Unplugged) (Acoustic Version)

Chris Cornell-Long Gone (Howard Benson Remix)

The award goes to Red for Nothing and Everything.

The song "Fight Inside" was stripped down, slowed down and turned into this amazingly beautiful ballady track to give it a more dramatic flair. It's truly a different song when you hear the original "Fight Inside" on the album.

The next award is meant to celebrate the best covers of the past year.

The nominees are:

Chris Daughtry-Poker Face (Lady Gaga)

Paramore-Use Somebody (Kings of Leon)

Seether-Careless Whisper (Wham!)

Framing Hanley-Lollipop (Lil' Wayne)

The Leo Project-Broken Wings (Mister Mister)

In This Moment-Call Me (Blondie)

The award for cover of the year goes to Framing Hanley for Lollipop. The actual cover was released last year, but didn't get put onto the re-released album until this year. Anyway, Lil' Wayne is probably my least favorite rapper. I just can't get into his music, even if I tried. Framing Hanley took the song, made it their own by implementing a taste of their signature single "Hear Me Now", and somehow stayed true to the original.

The next award is for Solo of the Year.

The nominees are:

Creed-Overcome

Five Finger Death Punch-Hard to See

The Leo Project-Half as Good

Orianthi-According to You

Pop Evil-Hero

The winner of the Solo of the Year award goes to Orianthi for According to You.

You wouldn't believe it, but a pop song has a better guitar solo in my opinion than all of the hard rock songs that I put on this list. Orianthi is also the only female on this list, proving that it doesn't matter what sex you are, you can excel as a musician with any instrument. The simple fact that this lady is making waves because of the fact that she plays guitar as unbelievably as she does is why she gets this award.

The next award goes to the other part of musical DNA, the riff.

The nominees for Riff of the Year are:

Flyleaf-Beautiful Bride

Creed-Overcome

Hurt-Wars

Red-Shadows

Three Days Grace-Break

The winner of the award goes to Creed for Overcome. When Creed came back together, I was extremely skeptical that they would ever come back and regain the hard rock fans that they'd alienated with Human Clay and Weathered. This song made a fool out of me thankfully and I'm glad that I can finally have a Creed song to listen to without feeling like a wimp.

And now we're getting to the biggest awards of the night.

The first award goes to Female Vocalist of the Year

The nominees are:

Angelina DelCarmen-Charetta

Lacey Mosley-Flyleaf

Hayley Williams-Paramore

Sierra Kusterbeck-VersaEmerge

Hana Pestle

The winner of the Female Vocalist of the Year goes to Hayley Williams of Paramore. Hayley has evolved in a mere four years, starting off as a talented teenager and is now a seasoned veteran. In that same amount of time, the band went from playing in small clubs to headlining shows in select arenas. The future of Paramore is hopefully bright, much like their bubbly, yet thought-provoking music.

The next award is for Male Vocalist of the Year.

The nominees are:

J. Loren Wince-Hurt

Tyler Lyon-The Leo Project

Ben Burnley-Breaking Benjamin

Michael Barnes-Red

Chris Daughtry-Daughtry

The winner of Male Vocalist of the Year goes to Michael Barnes of Red. This band does get a bit of respect, but not quite enough in my personal opinion. Michael Barnes' vocals on Innocence & Instinct are another I-word: impeccable.

And now for the Big Four. These are the most important awards, just as the regular Grammies.

The first of the Big Four to be given out is Best New Artist

The nominees for Best New Artist are:

Don't Wake Aislin

The Leo Project

Adelitas Way

Rains

Papercut Massacre

The winner of the Best New Artist is The Leo Project. It's hard to be unsigned, but don't tell The Leo Project that. They spent the better part of the past year playing shows with bands like Flyleaf, 10 Years and fellow new artist nominees Adelitas Way. They also opened the ginormous Rock on the Range festival. If you still don't know who they are, you've got all of 2010 to start. They're going to be huge.

The next award goes to Record of the Year.

I spun these songs more than any song over the last year and they are ingrained in my head perpetually.

The nominees for Record of the Year are:

Alice in Chains-Check My Brain

Sick Puppies-You're Going Down

Breaking Benjamin-I Will Not Bow

Hurt-Wars

Chevelle-Jars

The winner of the Record of the Year is Hurt for Wars. It is a song that is as powerful as it is beautiful. As unfortunate as it was that Hurt got dropped from Capitol, their music has been better and more diverse than it has ever been. For a hard rock band to have so many influences in their sound and even in this song (from the classic rock riff to the classical cello to even country storytelling at points), it speaks volumes that this song is my Record of the Year. Now crank it to 11!

We now go to Song of the Year, an award that goes to the best written song...lyrics, music, etc.

The nominees are:

Ben Moody-10/22

Dredg-I Don't Know

Flyleaf-Again

Red-Never Be the Same

David Hodges-When It All Goes Away

The winner of the Song of the Year goes to 10/22 from Ben Moody. October 22nd, 2003 marks the end of the Ben Moody-era of Evanescence. This song damns himself and the world around him and we're all the better for having heard it. Many people have been waiting 4 years to hear this song and while it's different from what everyone expected, it is also better than anyone could have imagined.

The last award is the big one. The Album of the Year.

In a world where the album is also considered a dying art, it's nice to know that these five albums keep the art of making an album alive.

The nominees for Album of the Year are

Ben Moody-All For This

Ben Moody's album appeared as shockingly as he left Evanescence six years ago. Few could have imagined his album to sound as it did but many were pleasantly surprised that he did something as different as it turned out.

Breaking Benjamin-Dear Agony

Breaking Benjamin's fourth album proves that less is more sometimes. They didn't reinvent the wheel, but they sure as hell made it run better. The sound didn't change overall, but with help from Jasen Rauch of Red and the songs fueled by Burnley's private battle with alcoholism and the loss of his grandfather, this new set of songs gave them the popularity in the rock world they so richly deserve by giving them the highest sales week of their career.

Hurt-Goodbye to the Machine

When a band gets dropped from a major record label, a band tends to change for the worst or end outright. Hurt turned around and put out their best album to date. This is an album that, as I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, could be played seamlessly with the greatest grunge-era albums of our time.

The Leo Project-Every Song Reminds Me...

The Leo Project's new record proves that unsigned artists can put forth works that are just as good or better as signed artists. You couldn't tell they're unsigned on the basis that they toured the country for about half of the year and this record proves that they're growing and can even improve on this with time.

Red-Innocence & Instinct

Tradition and technology collided when this album dropped in February. An album that was loosely based on the epic Dante's Inferno, Innocence & Instinct lived up to the viral hype that surrounded it. This album proved that there's no such thing as a sophomore curse.

And the winner for the 2009 Album of the Year is Red for Innocence & Instinct.

Live Review: The Senate (10/21/09)

2009-10-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't really had the luck of seeing a band that I've featured on here live more than once aside from Charetta and this group.

I hadn't seen The Senate in over a year and it was very different from what I'd seen the first time.

This show took place from the world famous S.O.B.'s. It was an interesting experience.

Whereas most of the shows I go to feature hard rock, this one was more of an r-and-b, nu-soul, gospel event.

For those who aren't into urban music, you're in for a real treat if you had the opportunity to go there. It features live music, which should erase the stereotype of urban music largely containing effects and samples. No matter what genre you listen to, there is nothing that can beat live music with live instruments.

That being said, let's fast-forward to about midnight that night. The Senate came on to a modest crowd playing tracks from Return to Democracy, an EP that largely deals with the concept of social change.

The first time I'd seen The Senate, it was a bit more raw.

This time, it was more refined and polished probably due to playing more live shows.

Instead of more than one vocalist, it was clear that Michael "Kellz" Coppola was the lead this time around. "Kellz" was schizophrenic, switching between Gerard Way vocals on "The Legend of Franquoix" (their single) to Jay-Z on "Madison Square" to Pharrell on "Changes". Much like N.E.R.D., The Senate was somehow able to switch genres from song to song (and sometimes within the song) seamlessly.

The part that struck me the most about this show didn't feature any notes. It was when Coppola went on stage and mentioned that his grandfather had passed away. He flew to Florida and back to New York City before the show started. They could have easily cancelled the show, but they soldiered on and the show went on as scheduled. It's a testament to their dedication for their fans and their craft. You have to respect that.

An idea for female-fronted bands...

2009-10-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I made a superlist of female-fronted bands and this just crossed my mind.

Keep in mind, this may not be a completely new idea, but read on anyway.

As you guys are well aware, there's a Rock on the Range festival every May in Columbus, Ohio.

I was thinking of having something similar, but just for female-fronted or even all-female bands. Kind of like Lilith Fair, but a little more badass.

It would be held in October and it would either be a one-day two stage event or a two day event. Proceeds from the concert would go and benefit Breast Cancer research.

For argument's sake, let's make it a one-day two stage event...

1st stage: Evanescence, Paramore, Flyleaf, Halestorm, In This Moment

2nd stage: Lacuna Coil, Hey Monday, Fireflight, The Letter Black, VersaEmerge

and perhaps a surprise guest or something like that.

I don't even know what you would call it. I jokingly said the Ovarian Woodstock, but I'm sure there's something better and I figure it'd be a great idea. If it got even more popular, perhaps a CD/DVD of the event with the proceeds again going to Breast Cancer research.

Hey guys, what happened last night? (A.K.A. The Death of MTV Part Deux)

2009-09-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

This entry is going to be quite long, so pack your patience!

In part because of what I blogged about below, I made sure to miss the MTV Video Music Awards. It has nothing to do with the artists.

I just feel that MTV is not the "be all end all" for music videos anymore as they only show about 3-5 hours of actual music video programming a day. Don't worry, none of the other video music stations are any better at this point.

I didn't bother to watch.

Last night, I'm between watching the Bears and Packers and online when I see a slew of comments about Kanye West. "Fuck Kanye West", "Kanye West is an asshole" and the like.

Within a half hour of the show's start time, Taylor Swift went on stage to accept her Video Music Award for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me" and Kanye did...this.

3 million hits later, it's been the only thing people have been talking about relating to the VMA's and it got me to thinking.

Could this have been staged? I originally thought I was crazy, too. However, there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye.

Kanye West has showboated his way through awards shows since at least 2004 when he was up for Grammies as an artist for the first time. Nothing has changed in those five years. He has badmouthed MTV and the artists that play on MTV year after endless year and they keep inviting him to awards shows. Why? Because he likes the attention and MTV wants that attention.

My personal feeling is that Kanye probably did it because the producers asked him to do something crazy and spontaneous. Why else would they have let him on stage? He wasn't up for that award. Had it been any random person, they would have been escorted out before they even had a chance to finish. Security would have been there. But, he's Kanye and MTV loves Kanye.

Why do I think the producers did it? There are many reasons actually.

1. Look at the reality programming on MTV. The Real World, The Hills, and the like all exist for drama. Everything is edited in such a way to paint a picture and tell a story, because nobody wants to see a bunch of 20 somethings scratching their asses and doing nothing...they want to see drunkenness, sex, and fighting!

2. Something like this happens at MTV awards shows all the time to give people something to talk about. Just think about the Eminem/Sasha Baron Cohen situation. But MTV would never just fake something, right? Jerry Springer was a part of MTV's Spring Break way back when to promote his new movie Ringmaster when a fight broke out on his show. Days after it aired, Newsday posted an article with the party in question admitting that they put on a staged act.

3. Kanye gave The Insider something to put on their show the next day. Listen to the people that are there going about their business.

4. Beyonce's being seen as a classy lady. I totally believe that she is. She's the queen in shining armor for Taylor Swift and everybody was applauding what she did. However, she's worked in the business long enough to know how Kanye is and she probably has the bargaining power to work with who she wants to...so why is it that she's re-releasing I Am...Sasha Fierce with one of the singles off of it featuring Kanye West? I don't know. Maybe, I'm selfish. Badumbumchhhh...

Jay-Z knows how Kanye is and how he acted last night, embarrassing his wife and yet...he still let 'ye perform on The Jay Leno Show.

Still far-fetched? OK, maybe it isn't staged, but MTV allowed it to happen.

Kanye West has continued to do this at every single awards show, many of them related to MTV. Why keep inviting him when you know he's going to do this? It's MTV and they want the attention. If they don't have that "coffee talk moment" the next morning, it's perceived as a failure.

Personally, I see it as a failure that they can't do an awards show on the credibility of the artists that they play.

A one liner history lesson of the last decade of VMAs:

1999: Lil' Kim's boobylicious dress.

2000: Tim Commerford's climb to the rafters.

2001: Britney dancing with a snake.

2002: Eminem and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

2003: "The kiss."

2004: Welcome to Miami...booooooring.

2005: Fat Joe and G-Unit.

2006: Panic at the...fuck was that?

2007: The worst comeback of all time!

2008: The best comeback to the worst comeback of all time...and purity rings!

In just about every year, you wind up seeing at least one thing that you'll wind up talking about that may actually have nothing to do with the music at all.

It's the #1 show they have every year because of this and...big surprise, their ratings increased this year by 17%.

MTV has plenty to gain from this and from what I've seen...they already have.

The Death of MTV (no, really this time)

2009-08-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

For 12 years, MTV lived at the center of the world...Times Square.

At the end of this year though, MTV's time has run out.

MTV had an iconic brand name when it moved into Times Square.

They built a couple of shows around it at the beginning such as MTV Live and MTV News 1515.

Then, they got a little edgy. They started to host New Year's shows from Times Square and a tradition was born.

Then came Total Request Live. Even if you hated it, you couldn't deny the impact it had on the bubblegum pop era of '98-'04.

It broke Britney, Christina, Backstreet, N*Sync, Hanson, LFO, and O-Town (for Christ sake).

But they also had their fair share of artists that broke the top 10 that didn't quite fit the norm from artists such as Incubus, P.O.D., Deftones, and AFI.

Ever since 1992, MTV had been considered a pioneer for groundbreaking reality television with The Real World. They'd been good at it, so why stop there, right?

Well, 17 years later, reality has killed the video star. All those dating shows, all those shows about yo' momma, and all of those shows about do-nothing, know-nothing 20 somethings took over the very thing that defined MTV. Music videos were shoved to late nights for insomniacs.

Not only that, but the era of the Internet has brought on the I-Pod and Youtube and has effectively made MTV less and less of a tastemaker because there are so many other avenues to watch your favorite music videos.

Digital television has also allowed people to see music videos whenever they want to on demand.

The only time this year that MTV really made music videos its focus was after the death of Michael Jackson.

I used to be excited for every MTV VMA's. I don't remember anything from the last three.

Maybe I'm just getting old and past the MTV age, but it's disconcerting to see a channel that I used to go to music for become almost completely musically irrelevant. 10-15 years ago if you didn't have a video you didn't matter as an artist.

In some ways, it's actually gotten better to become noticed, but I can't help but get those nostalgic feelings that go back to that age.

You can't tell me that in this age that people all own a music player and download music all over the Internet that people aren't passionate about music. If anything, they want more.

Top Albums of the first half of the year.

2009-07-12T11:03:00.001-07:00

Even though we've only gone through six months, this year has already turned out to be a more competitive and diverse year than all of last year's.

Top Albums:

13. Charetta-Defying the Inevitable: At only 9 songs, this is the shortest of all of the albums to make the list. It's a small package, but it packs a powerful punch (that's what she said).

Listen to: The Truth is Out, Stop the Cycle

12. Nine Lashes-Escape: Produced by Travis Wyrick (10 Years, Pillar) this young band has the potential to be a future Cornerstone favorite.

Listen to: Words of Red, Escape

11. No Love Lost-No Love Lost: Just outside of the top 10 is this kick ass band from K-Town, Tennessee. Travis Wyrick also produced this solid record.

Listen to: The Silence, Break Me Now

10. Decyfer Down-Crash: When Caleb Oliver, the original lead singer, left the band last year after putting out the EP for Crash, I'd been skeptical that the band was going to jump the shark. Enter TJ Harris. He far exceeded everyone's expectations of how the record was going to sound and the band has remained among the top Christian rock acts in the country.

Listen to: Crash, Fading

9. The Veer Union-Against the Grain: For those of us who know their independent record from a couple of years ago, we were waiting for this to deliver and it did. It's a solid work from this band who's going to be touring with the top radio acts throughout the rest of the year.

Listen to: Seasons, What Have We Done

8. Dredg-The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion: This album that largely deals with agnosticism is Dredg at their absolute best. It's heavy, it's funky, it's groovy and it flat out rocks.

Listen to: Saviour, I Don't Know

7. Halestorm-Halestorm: Lzzy Hale turns the tables on the guys and becomes the most talked about girl rocker of the year so far.

Listen to: I Get Off, Familiar Taste of Poison

6. The Leo Project-Every Song Reminds Me...: This band should have a major record deal right now, it's ridiculous. This album got them on Rock on the Range and has taken them on tours with bands like 10 Years, Adelitas Way, and Tesla.

Listen to: Without the Sunshine, Half as Good

5. Karnivool-Sound Awake: The only band here that won't see an American release of their album until 2010. It's a shame, too because the songs on this record rank from amazing to fucking amazing.

Listen to: Set Fire to the Hive, New Day

4. Nural-Entitlement: This is one of my favorite albums ever produced by David Bendeth. It is basically the male counterpart to Paramore's Riot!, which still hasn't left my player.

Listen to: The Hits Keep Coming, Me or the Music

3. Ben Moody-All For This: As an Evanescence fan, this was an album that I'd been waiting for since 2005. It's a completely unexpected effort, but all the more appreciated.

Listen to: 10/22, Nothing Left of Me

2. Hurt-Goodbye to the Machine: It is not very often when a band's material improves after getting dumped by a major label. Not only is this one of those times, but this is my favorite record of theirs to date.

Listen to: Wars, Well

1. Red-Innocence and Instinct: I really liked End of Silence, but they really stepped their game up big time on Innocence and Instinct. A lot of bands tend to suffer the sophomore curse and Red avoided it in a big way. They built up the hype of the record in a way that I had not seen from many other bands and they delivered with their material.

Listen to: Shadows, Never Be the Same

Music Videos...

2009-07-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, I was going to discuss what has happened to music videos and why it appears that they're dying when all of the sudden, really good music videos have recently emerged.

Music videos used to make or break an artist. Throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, many were these flashy productions that normally cost endless amounts of money.

Nowadays, the event that used to be the music video is not anymore. Many videos nowadays are simply performance videos. I want to go back to a time when music videos were creative and groundbreaking all of the time.

That being said, there are three videos that I've seen recently that still give me hope that music videos are still alive and well.

Seether's Careless Whisper (directed by Tony Petrossian)-Tony Petrossian is one of my favorite directors currently. He's directed videos such as Stone Sour's Through Glass, Rise Against's Prayer of the Refugee, and Serj Tankian's Empty Walls. He may be very political, but the way that he's done it is always creative. In this particular case, he uses the 80s and tries to tie it in with what's going on in the world today through an Atari-esque video game featuring the band.

Framing Hanley's Hear Me Now (directed by Mason Dixon)-Mason Dixon has directed all of Framing Hanley's music videos and this is the second version of Hear Me Now. I like that this video takes more of a literal approach to the first one. It's dark, but very sexy. You could say that this video's built for sin (HA!). Jimmy Swaggart never sinned this badly.

Alice in Chains' A Looking in View (directed by Stephen Schuster)-Easily my favorite video of the year thus far and it has nothing to do with the nudity. This conjures up bad memories of the Tool videos I watched when I was younger. Except, whereas those videos were more sublime, there was a realness that made this particular video more disturbing. It kind of reminded me of the movie Requiem for a Dream. There was simulated child abuse, simulated rape, an implied suicide attempt, and a simulated drowning all within seven minutes. As crazy as it may sound, this is what music videos are all about. That video set the tone of the song and vice versa. I guarantee you won't be seeing that video anywhere near television anytime soon.

The Death of Michael Jackson: My thoughts and personal memories.

2009-06-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged on here in about a month and it's sad that it took this tragedy to get me to come back, but I had to get my thoughts out and make sense of the whole thing.

He was our Beatles. He was our Elvis.

I was born in 1983, at the height of the Thriller era, almost 26 years ago.

You can play that record today and it will be as relevant as it was back then.

Michael Jackson, however, was more than just a song. More than just an album. He was a movement.

He was known to be an extremely shy person and yet, through the music he put out, he let his voice and dancing shine through and he got other shy people like him to do it, too. Perhaps it was why he was so influential to so many artists.

He was not overly political apart from maybe this or this, but his music got people who would normally be apathetic to take action.

Michael's professionalism as a musician, performer, and entertainer not only made people want to work for him, but made those around him better. Better dancers, better collaborators, better producers, and better entertainers. Michael was a better artist and performer because of it.

Above all of that though, the music that has come out of four decades as a performer has brought people of all cultures, all creeds, and fans of all musical genres together.

I remember when HIStory came out and "Scream" was all the rage. I was at a summer day camp in the suburbs at the time and met this huge MJ fan who was my age. He was a white Jewish kid and for someone like me who grew up in mostly racially homogenized communities (whether black or white, HA get it?), it was both interesting and wonderful to see that this kid looked past any of his differences and appreciated his music for what it was.

As Videostatic so eloquently put it, Michael was and still is inarguably the greatest music video artist of all time.

They weren't just music videos, they were events. I remember the time (again, HA get it?) I watched his music videos when they premiered on Fox. Even Eddie Murphy got in on that shit.

25 years after the Thriller video came out, after a quarter of a century's worth of technological advancements in how music videos are produced, the Thriller video is still considered to be one of the greatest music videos ever made. It is old, but has not aged.

In this era of music videos, there are very few if any music videos that can hold a candle to it.

So many artists twittered (or is that tweeted) about his death. Rappers, rockers, pop stars, and metalheads alike are saddened and are probably reminiscing back to a day when they saw Michael moonwalk across a stage and decided that that was the day that they wanted to do what he did.

Whether he was covered or parodied, one thing is clear, his music and legacy will never be forgotten. Thanks for the music, MJ.

Superlist: Female-Fronted Bands

2009-05-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

I love women who can sing. I love women who can scream. I love female-fronted bands. Ever since Evanescence's meteoric rise in 2003, I've been captivated by bands that have the influence of a woman in a rock band. In what is generally considered a male-dominant formats of Active and Alternative Rock, there have been many bands that have charted with songs and have been touring the States.

I'll mention most of the bigger bands that I like before I get to a list of the small, up and coming bands that I've been listening to for years. If you haven't heard from some bands, take a listen.

The Main Eventers:

1. Evanescence

2. Flyleaf

3. Lacuna Coil

4. Within Temptation

5. In This Moment

6. Garbage

7. Paramore

8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

9. Halestorm

10. Fireflight

The Up and Comers (not in particular order):

1. The Swear

2. My Own Sin

3. Straight Line Stitch

4. The Day After...

5. Outlett

6. Damone

7. Self Made Soul

8. Blameshift

9. Meg and Dia

10. The Rebel Medium

11. Era for a Moment

12. Damsel Fly

13. Renfue

14. Don't Wake Aislin

15. Feed the Flame

16. Scarlet Sins

17. Goldy Locks

18. Kelsey and the Chaos

19. All Ends

20. Vertigo

21. Estrum

22. Valentine

23. Faces of March

24. April's End

25. Eowyn

26. Storyline

27. Mr. Bella

28. Breaking the Silence

29. VersaEmerge

30. Charetta

31. Ill of Day

32. Forever Oeuvre

33. Hey Monday

34. Swear On Your Life

35. Valora

36. UnSun

37. Maradona

38. Ardor

39. Eyes Set to Kill

40. Acalasia

41. The Birthday Massacre

42. Shadows Lie

43. Dilana

44. HeavensDust

45. Lennon/Devil's Gift

46. Cathryn Taylor Love

47. Delight

48. Die So Fluid

49. Lunic

50. Sick of Sarah

RIP

1. Flee the Seen

2. Wicked Wisdom

3. BiastFear

4. The Thief

5. Defy Tomorrow

6. Full Blown Rose

7. Holy Roman Empire

If you have any decent female-fronted bands that sound anything like these bands, I'm all ears.

You'd better like some of them, I've worked on this list for close to two hours now.

An Analysis of American Idol: Season 8

2009-05-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

In less than two hours from this post, history will be made yet again as America crowns its American Idol for the eighth time.

I figured it'd be appropriate to talk about it. But wait, this IS a rock music blog is it?

Sure it is, but that doesn't mean I don't follow anything else.

This is the first season I've watched pretty much in full since Season 2. I really only like a few Idols that have won, so why should I care?

Because quite simply, I like the competition. And in times as they are, it serves as a nice escape.

Now onto the analysis.

This season can be best be summed up in two words: Adam Lambert.

Whether people love him, hate him, or are indifferent, this season has been defined by his performances.

People weeks in advance have crowned him as the next American Idol and that may indeed be so.

But the true test will come after. If he does win, what's his sound going to be like? I can't imagine what it would be like, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be that of a typical pop star.

Is he going to be marketable past Idol or is he going to become the next Taylor Hicks? I would hate to say it, but it would seem that way. As shallow as it sounds, music is a business first.

I'm not knocking Adam for his singing talent (he has incredible range, but is generally not my kind of singer), however, I feel that his marketability will be the life and death of him.

Kris Allen may be considered by critics to be boring and just another guy, but I honestly think that he's more marketable than Adam. At least with Kris, he pretty much knows who his audience is.

If 30 million people are watching the show every week for 12 weeks and you can't sell at least 500,000 copies of your debut record, you'd better believe you're not going to be on that label anymore.

Remember that this is a singing contest, but it is much more. It's a popularity contest. Alison Iraheta may have very well deserved to be in the top 3 and perhaps even in the final after the performance she gave.

This season can also be summed up with two more words: Kara Dioguardi (I was waiting for this.).

The new judge has been met with mixed reviews...actually most people would rather have her gone. Say what you want about the woman, but when it comes to talent, she knows what she's talking about. She's a talented songwriter, no matter what you think of "No Boundaries", and is a hell of a singer.

This season has had its good points and bad points, but I think overall this show has actually become stronger. A part of it is because the Idols actually do more with the music. They now play instruments, they now re-interpret classic songs. Some for the better, some for the worse.

One thing I wish they'd do more of though is use more current songs.

Chris Daughtry used Shinedown's "I Dare You" and it became their most popular single at the time.

Chris Sligh used Mutemath's "Typical" and it became their most popular single to date.

American Idol needs to exploit its place in the music industry to promote what's going on now.

They already do some of that by bringing artists onto their shows, but I think they can do more if they used more current songs.

Well played, AI. Well played.

Favorite Songs (5/17/09)

2009-05-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

It was safe to say that I was going to do this at some point. I don't want to make a habit of it, but this is a snapshot of what would be my favorite songs of the moment.

1. Sick Puppies-You're Going Down: Ever since this song leaked a couple of days ago, I've had the song on repeat. I haven't played a song this much in a row since Breaking Benjamin's Diary of Jane.

2. The Veer Union-Seasons: Catchy, heavy, and flat out great stuff. And we just found out that Sick Puppies and The Veer Union will be on a tour together with Hurt.

3. Hurt-Pandora: And speaking of Hurt...I decided not to put the lead single up here because that would have been the easy thing to do. I LOVE this song, the frantic verses and the beautiful piano outro. It's sex in song form.

4. Halestorm-Innocence: Another non-single here. This song was co-written with CFW blog favorite Ben Moody. It's part of the reason that it's my favorite song on the album...or maybe all of it.

5. Dredg-I Don't Know: Well, as I said before, it's kind of weird for me as a Christian to gravitate to this song because of its skeptical view on religion. However, I feel that I can relate to the song because of its hook.

6. Dredg-Saviour: Might as well add another one.

7. People in Planes-Mayday (M'aidez): This song's been out for a while but the video just came out for it and I fell in love with the song again.

8. Ra-Supernova: This band can do no wrong, releasing song after song of goodness. Most underrated band ever. Seriously.

9. Nural-Stop Me When You've Had Enough: How this band is not raping rock radio is absolutely shocking. This album is like a male version of Paramore's Riot!

10. Madina Lake-Never Take Us Alive: See Nural.

Favorite riffs.

2009-05-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

Riffs are a rock song's DNA. 90% of the time, they make the song what it is. Of course, there are so many songs to choose from, but I'm going to give you just a sample of some of my personal favorites. Some of them are no-brainers and some of them are relatively new. All of them are awesome.

1. Alice in Chains-Man in the Box: And speaking of no brainers...

2. Deftones-My Own Summer (Shove It): This song has such a great riff to groove to. Easily one of the most recognizable riffs of the last 15 years.

3. Muse-Stockholm Syndrome: This is my favorite Muse song just for the riff.

4. Sevendust-Inner City Blues: I could theoretically add any Sevendust song I want on this list, but I added this one because of how they made it their own and somehow made it sound close enough to the original without losing it.

5. Ra-Do You Call My Name: I love how this song incorporates a Middle Eastern vibe and then kills you with the beat.

6. Black Water Rising-Brother Go On: The song is only a year old, but having heard it, it really sticks in your head. This song was one of my favorites of all of last year.

7. Seether-Remedy: Probably the only Seether song that I could ever dance to. The song is a catchy party song that's not really a party song at all!

8. Three Days Grace-Animal I Have Become: Howard Benson's producing peak right here. This is the song I feel he'll be most remembered for producing because of the riff, the catchy lyrics, and the danciest drum beat this side of Paralyzer.

9. Red-Shadows: This song ought to be the next single for Innocence and Instinct. It just has to happen!

Submit a band!

2009-05-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

I told you guys to stay tuned!

This is your forum. If you guys have a band or artist I should feature and you think they're good enough, reply to this message. I can't promise that I'll promote the band right away, but I promise that I'll at the very least listen to them.

I feel myself starting to run out of good bands to promote and I don't want to do that so that I stop writing entries.

A band a day...The Fleeting Moment

2009-05-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvania is really starting to become a hotbed for great rock bands. I've mentioned Halestorm, Breaking the Silence, and of course there's always Breaking Benjamin.

Could The Fleeting Moment be next in line?

The Fleeting Moment is:

Jordan Barmore (Vocals/Guitar)

Brad Kramer (Guitar/Vocals/Keys)

Jon Covert (Bass/Vocals/Keys)

Drew Kramer (Drums)

The Fleeting Moment kind of reminds me of some of the early 2000's pop-rock bands that were exploding onto the scene such as Vertical Horizon and Nine Days based on the song "Six Billion Pieces". Their demos seem to be moving in somewhat of a heavier direction though.

By the way, I'd like to thank the user Flyfreak on Tunelab Music who recommended them, making this band the first featured band to have actually been recommended by someone else on this blog.

If you have any bands that you'd like to recommend, you know what to do...or actually...I have a better plan. Stay tuned.

A band a day...Damone

2009-05-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes failing can be a good thing.

Let me explain. Damone has jumped from label to label before finally self-releasing their third album and with each release, they have gotten better and better.

Damone is:

Noelle LeBlanc (Vocals/Guitar)

Mike Woods (Lead Guitar/Vocals)

Vazquez (Bass)

Dustin Hengst (Drums)

Damone started in 2002 on RCA Records when they released From the Attic. Their deal fell through and then they got signed in 2006 by Island who released Out Here All Night. They left Island in 2008 and then without any warning released Roll the Dice late last year.

I'm not a big fan of classic rock. I just can't get into it.

I'm not a big fan of pop-punk. I just can't get into it.

However, this band has elements of both in their sound. And I LOVE them. They can shred and they know how to write a hook.

Somehow, this band always seems to wind up getting a raw deal.

I think they could theoretically be added to the Hidden Classics list with their last two records that I've purchased.

Noelle's style may remind you of a Joan Jett, but her voice is more reminiscent of Karen O. from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

This band has perfect party music if you don't feel like dancing.

Here's a live video for "What We Came Here For" from Out Here All Night.

If you don't feel like going on I-Tunes, you can grab their newest album, Roll the Dice, from Amie Street for a little over $2.

Bargain album of the year for me.

We now interrupt this music program to bring you this special report.

2009-05-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

I got on TV!

Well, Roger Clark of New York 1 News approached me to get interviewed and he was a nice guy. I don't normally just draw attention to myself so I kind of forced it.

I've got to find a way to get over my shyness and while I was visibly nervous, I think I made my points clear enough. Thanks New York 1 and thanks Roger Clark!

This has been Christopher Fuentes-Woods, reporter for the CFW Rocks Music Blog. We now return you to kickass music already in progress.

Favorite Music DVD's

2009-05-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Music DVD's come in so many different forms: As part of the special edition of an album, as a visual companion to the album, or perhaps it simply stands alone.

This list was not easy as I think I have enough music DVD's to make my own cable music network (Hey, I can always dream...)

12. People in Planes-Beyond the Horizon Live DVD: Aside from the album being brilliant, the live companion of this album is also great. In some instances, it's a completely different experience to listen to those songs live.

11. Thrice-Live at the House of Blues: Very simple live DVD that features the very best Thrice songs in about two live hours of music. The set is every bit as diverse as the music found on The Alchemy Index , ranging from screams in "The Messenger" to the bluesy "Come All You Weary".

10. Sevendust-Retrospective: I'm actually a relatively new Sevendust fan as I didn't start getting into them until I got the greatest hits set back in 2004, which is around the same time that Corey Lowery left. This pre-Animosity retrospective goes through performances, music videos and interviews, including the still fresh accident that killed Snot frontman James Lynn Strait.

9. Flyleaf-Beneath the Surface: Consider this DVD an unofficial, official release. It's not a typical DVD, which is in part why I put it up here. If you ever wanted to switch places with a rockstar for a day, this is your chance to see what it would be like without having to sneak into their bushes.

8. Evans Blue-Unplugged Melody: This DVD came as a Best Buy exclusive to those who bought The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends. Aside from the cover of Possession, every song from the first record was redone acoustically with sexy results.

7. Godsmack-Greatest Hits Acoustic DVD: This DVD, much like the other one is an acoustic record, but it's not completely unexpected as they also released The Other Side. It's just so well done though. They even managed to do an acoustic version of fan-favorite "Batalla de los Tambores (Battle of the Drums)"

6. Finger Eleven-Then vs. Us. vs. Now: This is the ultimate retrospective for any fan. Aside from having a CD full of demos and rare tracks, the DVD contains video material from every album they've released and somehow including two mini live sets bringing the DVD to almost three hours in length. I can describe how good the retrospective is in three words: Rainbow Butt Monkeys.

5. Seether-One Cold Night: Yes, it's yet another acoustic DVD. The great part about this DVD is that it features a song in their catalog that they'd never done before and a cover that they'd only done a number of times before performing it on this official release. But the most surprising part of this DVD was an in-depth interview with WMMR's Pierre Robert that actually got bassist Dale Stewart to talk!

4. Alice in Chains-MTV Unplugged: This is the classic MTV show at its best (when MTV actually stood for its name) with one of the last shows ever featuring frontman Layne Staley. You could tell that he was a bit distant, but he was still very much there if that makes any sense to you.

3. Demon Hunter-45 Days: This is one of my personal favorite DVD's ever. I actually don't include their live DVD, even though that's included in the 3 disc package. However, this is actually a feature length documentary that covers a tour from last year with Living Sacrifice. The cinematography in this DVD is just so stunning. It's completely done in black and white and it feels more like a movie than your traditional DVD. Even if you don't like the band, I think you can appreciate what is done on this DVD. My personal favorite part of the movie is when you hear all of the fan stories about the connections to the music. I wish every artist would have a DVD like this one.

2. Killswitch Engage-(Set This) World Ablaze: This is one of my favorite DVD's because a part from being a home show, it was filled with music videos and hilarious interviews featuring band members and members of other bands. Plus Adam D. is just ridiculous. This is the funniest music DVD I've ever seen.

1. Muse-H.A.A.R.P.:Epic doesn't even begin to describe this. It's a live performance and only a live performance, but just calling it that would seem like an insult when you watch this. This is a home show by one of the greatest live bands in the world. Watching this DVD isn't just a live performance, it's an experience. The way it's shot, you feel as if you're a part of the 70,000 that watched that day. They're not the heaviest band in the world, but they are every bit as intense.

Musical Elitism

2009-05-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is inspired by a couple of reviews from a website that shall remain nameless so as to not give this person any credibility. I can rule one site out immediately: Tunelab Music.

This person seems to make it a point to bash artists. Every sentence more virulent than the last, but much like the reviews, don't seem to go anywhere. It's even worse than when Maxim had the Black Crowes fiasco.

I used to do CD reviews of my own back when I had the Rockturtle blog, but then I thought to myself "Well, I'm not a musician and I don't know what plays good, I just think I know what sounds good."

So that's what I set out this blog to do. Rather than focus on the artists or artists that I don't like, I make it a habit to promote the artists that I like in the hopes that those checking this blog out listen to them.

I don't claim to be a know it all and I'm definitely not holier than thou.

I hope you keep checking it out and keep listening.

Hidden Classics

2009-05-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of albums that I've mentioned on this site that are very much well-known. However, for every really great album that gets noticed, there's always a diamond in the rough. I spent a little time digging in the crates, looking for lesser known artists that never quite get their due.

1. Acceptance-Phantoms (2005): This pop-rock band put out this amazing record in 2005. I thought of the record as a fresher sounding Coldplay. "Different", the first single, was just the tip of the iceberg. It's a beautifully crafted record and it's just a shame that it didn't have more commercial success. The band broke up the very next year. Members have gone on to form bands such as Search/Rescue. One of the members went on to become part of Universal act Anberlin.

2. Big Wreck-In Loving Memory Of (1997): Before I was completely into rock like I am now, I remember watching Big Wreck's video for "The Oaf" on Muchmusic Canada and I remember I actually liked it and would watch the video anytime it was on their top 30 Countdown. I was lucky enough to pick this record up from a bargain CD store last year and love this record. The Canadian band released one more record before the band broke up. Ian Thornley went on to form the band Thornley, who released their second record Tiny Pictures earlier this year.

3. The Receiving End of Sirens-Between the Heart and the Synapse (2005): Great band with an atypical sound and lyrical approach. This is one of those albums you actually have to read the lyrics to because they really sound as if you're reading a poem. Just take a listen to "Planning a Prison Break". They'd go on to release The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi before ending in 2007. I think VersaEmerge's sound is influenced by this band.

4. Revis-Places for Breathing (2003): This album is very well known among my friends and fellow fans of this music. As good as this record was though, it was a "one and done" record. "Seven" is one of my favorite songs ever. Justin Holman went on to play for the band Aujalyn. Two other members went on to form The Yelling.

5. Parmalee-Inside (2004): For the record, the link I posted of Inside is just three songs from the record since they didn't have the whole thing on Myspace. Also for the record, this record is great. It's a straight up hard-rock album that always fills you up and never lets you down (sorry for the copyright infringement, Bud Light). I remember seeing these guys the first time I went to the Crash Mansion with Rev(elation) Theory. The album is a nice straight listen. Unlike most of the bands on this list, this one is actually still together. Most recently, they've opened for Hinder, 3 Doors Down, and Theory of a Deadman.

Child Prodigies

2009-05-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

I am a humongous drums fan. Drums are my favorite instrument and if I could play, I would.

For those of you who visit Youtube, you guys may have seen a video of a young 12 year old Tony Royster Jr. going nuts on a drum solo. I was still playing with my WWE action figures at 12 years old. How this kid did what he did is astounding enough. He's gone on to drum in a band called Lazyeye and he also has drummed for Jay-Z.

This week, I found myself at a loss for words at a four year old that has essentially killed my desire to ever play drums. The kid is not perfect. Yeah, I know. Shut the hell up. Give him two years, he'll be throwing sticks in the air like he's Ray Luzier. Most drummers when they play wear band shirts or just play shirtless. This kid's wearing Shrek like a little bad-ass.

But drums aren't the only instrument that little kids can own.

They play guitar and boy, do they!

I mean, at 8 years old, I barely had enough hand-eye coordination to tie my God damned shoes. These little kids play guitar like freakin' Mark Tremonti.

Kids are getting better at doing this younger. Drive A, Crooked X, and Black Tide have played with Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Trivium and other great bands.

I haven't even picked up an instrument and I quit!

A Band A Day...Uriah

2009-05-08T18:49:00.001-07:00

Knock knock?

Who's there?

Uriah.

Uriah who?

Keep Uriah on the ball!

It was a joke, come on!

But this band certainly isn't.

Uriah is:

Lucas Carbajal (Vocals)

Philip Beer (Guitar)

Chris Breedlove (Bass)

Ryan Wade (Piano)

Ralf Muegler (Drums)

My last blog entry focused on an artist that plays the piano. This band also uses the piano, but in this case, it's like Mozart Metalcore.

Anybody that knows the type of stuff I listen to knows that I'm a sucker for strings and pianos. Their 2007 album Letters in Blood mixes piano with Killswitch Engage-esque intensity. It's as awesome as it sounds.

Sure, you have symphonic metal bands out there, but none of them have the slick production or commercial appeal that Uriah appears to have with their music.

Hollywood will never be the same.

Here's a promo vid for a new song called S.O.S.

Buuuuuuuut wait, there's MORE.

Two members of this band (Breedlove and Beer) also play in the same area for a band called Mission:Black with Chris Collier (Vocals) and Dan Stone (Drums).

They've got a great heavy modern rock sound that is undeniably catchy.

Both bands have a really great sound and it's just a matter of time before one of them or both of them break out.

Here's a live cover of Eleanor Rigby.

As an added bonus, you can actually download their song "We Collide" on Purevolume.

A Band...er uh...Artist A Day...Eric Lewis

2009-05-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

I normally pimp metal bands and hard rock groups on this site...but during this week, I went on Absolute Punk and found a video of this guy performing.

I couldn't believe my eyes or my ears.

This guy was playing both the inside and the outside of the piano.

Not to mention, he put a dark, but brilliant spin on a song from my favorite band.

Not to knock Vitamin's String and Piano tributes to bands, but it's not what Lewis covers that makes the music sound great, it's how he covers it that makes it sound great.

His influences range from Coltrane to Mudvayne. As weird as that may sound, you may actually hear a little bit of both in the way that he plays the piano.

According to a poster on Absolute Punk, his band ELEW intends to record a full length album of covers from bands like Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, and Thrice.

Epic would not even begin to describe that.

Who makes Steve Guttenberg...A STAR?!?

2009-05-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I'm a major Simpsons buff and the Stonecutters song is one of my favorites on that show.

However, I'm not referring to that Steve Guttenberg, I'm referring to the one that made this article.

In the article, he talks about how the current industry is going to falter in three years and how the filters that separated us from the music industry have disappeared with the growth of the Internet and implied that it's hurt the business.

Which leads me to these questions:

Has the era of Myspace hurt the music business?

Have the multitude of bands to listen to actually negatively impacted the way you listen to music?

Has music become disposable?

Are you willing to pay for music? If not, why not?

Is too much music, too much?

For an audiophile like me, it's really hard to believe, but it sounds like a legitimate argument.

A band a day...Lovers and Liars

2009-05-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've heard of this band for a couple of years, but I can't believe I've yet to give them any props.

Lovers and Liars is:

Stacy Hogan

Adam Nagel

Jason Stout

Stephen Taylor

A band from the bustling music scene of Nashville, Tennessee, this band has played for many national acts such as Seether, Shinedown, 10 Years, Theory of a Deadman, and more.

Their blend of rock may be very much different from the bands that they play with, but it is every bit as intense.

They are most influenced by and sound similar to Blue October.

Last year, they put out a concept dual EP called Before & After the Awakening that deals with introspective struggle and cathartic release.

It's so good, even Jesus likes it. Jesus...Chad Kroeger...I get the two confused from time to time. How do you explain all of that radio play?

Anyway, Lovers and Liars is definitely a band worth checking out.

If they don't rock your socks off yet, perhaps you should check out performances of Nothing Left to Burn and a cover of Peter Gabriel's Digging in the Dirt.

If you're convinced you can buy their dual EP on Amie St. for less than $2 provided you don't wait too long.

Sexiest Songs...

2009-05-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

My lists are going to be a little bit different. I don't want to post round numbers all the time. It makes things a bit easier to qualify and a bit more interesting.

1. Nine Inch Nails-Closer: OMG, duhhhh. You can't have a list like this and not expect this song to be on it. It's just not possible. While I'm at it, I'd like to add 2. "La Mer", 3. "Even Deeper", 4."The Hand That Feeds", 5. "All the Love in the World", 6."Me, I'm Not", and 7. "Discipline" (if you're into that sort of thing).

8. Deftones-Digital Bath: Even though NIN is #'s 1-7, I think that the Deftones' Digital Bath is perhaps sexier than those.

9. Deftones-Change (in the House of Flies): I'd heard this song covered at a Seether song a few years ago, turned around and saw two people basically dry humping. It works.

10. Finger Eleven-Paralyzer: You may think this is a surprising choice, but this is like the rock version of "Jizz In My Pants".

11. The Lonely Island-Jizz In My Pants: That's right I said it.

12. Flyleaf-All Around Me: This song is less about being closer to God and more about being closer to God...

13. Hoobastank-Inside of You: Notice how most of the songs on this list are danceable. You can't have a sexy song without being close to someone.

14. Hurt-Pandora: A recent song off of their new album Goodbye to the Machine. It's less tongue in cheek and more tongue in somewhere else.

15. Melissa Auf Der Maur-Taste You: I don't know what's sexier...this song...or this song in French.

16. A Perfect Circle-Thinking of You: This may very well be my favorite music video ever. It's violent, it's sexy...exactly what masturbation should be about!

17. Psychostick-Orgasm = Love: This song is pretty. This song is disturbing. This song is pretty disturbing.

18. Red-Lost: Not so much an obvious choice, but listen to the words and I think and hope you'd agree.

19. Skratch n'Sniff-Addicted to Lollipops: Who knew that a remix would ever make this list? A mashup of Saving Abel's "Addicted" and Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop"...it's as if the songs themselves had sex and made a baby with facial tattoos.

20. Framing Hanley-Lollipop: While we're on Lollipop...as far as videos go, this was the sexiest one of all of last year. Unlike the porn I'm accustomed to, this one actually had dialogue! Well, that and strip poker.

21. Korn-A.D.I.D.A.S.: This is not a song about footwear, unless you're referring to fuck me pumps.

22. The Urgency-Fingertips: Because subtlety is overrated.

Giggidy.

CFW Rocks Live: Summer Music Preview (Part I: May and June)

2009-05-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

Just as today begins the summer season for movies with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I'd like to use today as the beginning of the summer season for music and with that...there are some big releases coming up.

Starts with Decyfer Down on May 5th with new lead singer TJ Harris formerly of Fighting Instinct.

At first, I didn't know how I'd react to TJ Harris being the replacement for Caleb. However, TJ is the real deal live. No question.

Decyfer Down:

Crash

Moving On

Ride With Me

May keeps it going with Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown on May 15th (yes, that's a Friday).

Green Day:

Before the Lobotomy

Viva La Gloria!

Murder City

June starts off with Taking Back Sunday's New Again.

Taking Back Sunday:

Sink Into Me

New Again

Scooter Ward's alt-rock project The Killer and the Star will be putting out their self-titled debut and the first album for Sonicstar Records/Universal/Fontana in June.

The Killer and the Star:

Hallelujah

Symphony for a Mad World

Starts When You Fall

Dredg puts out The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion on June 9th.

Dredg:

I Don't Know

Saviour

The Information

Evans Blue will be releasing their third album, a self-titled and their first with new lead singer Dan Chandler.

Evans Blue:

Sick of It

Buried Alive

Finally, Killswitch Engage will be putting out a self-titled new album on June 30th.

Killswitch Engage:

Light in a Darkened World

All of these songs are brand new and are something to look for in the coming months.

May = List Month.

2009-05-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

I've decided that the month of May will be mostly dedicated to lists of songs or artists.

Could be as simple as what I like right now, but I'm going through a kind of lull as far as bands are concerned which is why I haven't posted as much.

Hey, why all the Christian bands?

2009-05-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you people have noticed or not, but throughout the blog, I've posted a lot of bands that would probably classify themselves as Christian artists.

It's not intentional, but it's just so you know. I don't mean to offend, but I guess it's that some of these bands just have great messages in their songs...some subtle...some, perhaps not so subtle.

I think of a Billboard article that I stumbled upon from big-time modern rock producer Howard Benson. At the time, he was producing Third Day's new record at the time, Revelation, which featured huge crossover artists such as Robert Randolph, Lacey Mosley, and Chris Daughtry.

Benson said this in Billboard:

I personally like Christian artists because they believe in something. As a producer, a lot of times what you're trying to do is find something that the artists believe in or something to be confident in. With a Christian artist, you know what that thing is.

I don't know if I'd go that far, but just look at his past history with artists like P.O.D., Flyleaf, and his most recent work with Skillet. Clearly, he's onto something.

*goes on tangent*

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is a great documentary that discusses the history of metal, debunks stereotypes, and plays to stereotypes. The film, in part, discussed satanism's connections with metal.

However, I'd actually like to see something that discusses modern Christian metal bands such as Demon Hunter and Underoath. You can't have one side of the story without the other and I think it'd make for an interesting spiritual debate when you consider that these artists could be influenced by the same artists but in completely different ways.

I guess a part of why I made this entry is because I don't want people to think that I would only listen to Christian artists. I don't want people to think that I'm any particular type of musical elitist.

Heck, I even listen to Dredg, who's upcoming album in June The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion seems to be inspired by themes of atheism and agnosticism.

I was born and raised a Christian, but I suppose we're all entitled to question or be inspired by our own spirituality from time to time.

A Band a Day...Even Heroes

2009-04-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

And speaking of great bands from Arkansas, here's a group with a great sound and hopefully a great future.

Even Heroes is:

Nathan Schroyer (Vocals)

Bruce Curtis (Guitar)

Thomas Doss (Guitar)

Billy Law (Bass)

Matt Chapko (Drums)

Originally known as Lifter, Even Heroes hails from the Fort Smith/Fayetteville area of Arkansas.

I'd first heard of them through the Shallow Bay, Breaking Benjamin's board, about a year ago. You can hear a bit of Breaking Benjamin and Alter Bridge in their music.

Throughout the year they'll be playing throughout the region of Arkansas and Tennessee, but their polished sound could take them much further than that.

If I had to pick a couple of songs to listen to first and foremost on their page, definitely "The Highway" and "Stellar" to give you an idea of their range in sound.

They haven't been around for long, but they've got some great music ahead of them.

In the meantime, here are some live songs...

The Highway

Stellar

There are more really good songs on their Youtube page.

CFW Rocks Live: Evanescence (Before They Were Stars)

2009-04-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Before I begin, let me say that I apologize for not updating the blog sooner and that should hopefully change in the coming weeks.

Those of you who know me off of this blog know how big a fan of this band that I am.

Many of you may know that they hit it big in 2003 with the Paul McCoy featured rap-rock anthem Bring Me to Life.

But what many may not know is how they got to that point.

The band started in the mid 90s as just Amy Lee and Ben Moody when they were young teenagers. They started writing songs together and released their self-titled EP in 1998, which included My Immortal, a song that would be all over top-40 radio 6 years later.

Ben Moody, who wrote most of the song as a tribute to his late grandfather, wrote it at the tender age of 15.

I think a big reason why I liked them so much is because for their ages at the time of their popularity, their writing was so mature...as if they lived a lifetime before they've really lived.

Although I'd only really known Fallen, I'd eventually learned of their prior works which made them all the more attractive to listen to.

Sometime in 2004, there was a poor quality video that surfaced of Evanescence performing a Live cover of The Dolphins Cry. Ever since that time, there'd been no actual video of them performing before the Fallen era.

That was until two weeks ago when a video from 1999 surfaced on Ebay. These videos ranged from $25 - $105 as far as being sold and I was lucky to get a copy for the low end to which I did this...sorry, I had to.

The video is priceless because it shows a very young band of Amy, Ben, and background singer Stephanie Pierce (who later sang on songs such as Lies and Understanding).

I'm going to give you an idea of how some of the songs sounded live back then, how they sound like now and how the song has evolved...first of all thanks to user CloudStar86 for the Vino's videos.

I'll start with Whisper...

Live show from 1999

(Sound Asleep EP) (1999)

Imaginary...

I've said it on other boards, but who knew that the band you see in 1999 would be the band that you see in 2003?

It's living proof that if you like an artist enough and support them enough that they could be the next big thing.

It's a part of what this blog is all about...finding the next big thing and drumming up support for them.

Even if you may not be into this band, I think it's very cool that you can take a trip back to what they were like as a local artist with less than 100 people probably watching them live as opposed to seeing them in front of thousands. It certainly makes me appreciate video more that's for sure.

The Piracy Debate...

2009-04-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing arguments for and against piracy ever since the Napster-era on the Internet. It's not going to go away anytime soon.

It's still making a bunch of headlines as our 44th President Barack Obama sides with the RIAA in getting rid of piracy.

Piracy has gotten to the point where radio stations follow the most popular songs being downloaded on Peer to Peer websites on Big Champagne.

First, I'd like to make the argument against...

Let me say first of all that even though I may seem critical of labels for many things, I am not completely against record labels or the business. When a record label gets behind their artists correctly, they can flourish in the business.

I feel that Flyleaf is a perfect example. Here's a new active rock band that from very early on had high profile tours and gained fans little by little. I know fans got tired of seeing them promote the same album over and over, but the upside to that is that they eventually earned a platinum album and can pretty much demand headlining dollars now.

The argument against piracy is that when you don't buy CD's that you take away the advertising, marketing, and promotion money needed for an artist to succeed.

I can see that. It just seems like these days that nine times out of ten that artists don't get promoted or advertised well enough to maintain any type of success. A lot of artists that have been signed to these major label deals are either "one and done" or done before they even get to one because the label doesn't see a profit being made from them.

There's also a compelling argument for piracy.

There's a case being made that piracy actually gets people to buy more music.

Quite frankly, I can see that too.

While there are a lot of pirates that tend to just download any and everything and not support an artist at all, there are also fans of artists who download advance copies of their favorite artists' albums and then turn around to either buy the album or go to shows. Also, there are music fans that just want a free listen to an artist to find out whether they're worth spending the dough for or not. More available music to find would generally lead to more music to buy.

A problem is that record labels don't see "good" pirates and "bad" pirates, they just see pirates.

I think that there are things that record labels can do and have done to avoid the problem as best they can.

One good thing that they have done is put out album streams a week or more before the album. I can't tell you how many times I've used this personally to buy a new album.

But they can do more.

Based on the Norwegian Twitter incident, I feel that labels need to open up their markets. I don't know how easy that's going to be, but in this digital world, there are still labels that release songs and albums exclusively to the US.

Granted, there are some artists that don't tour outside of the US and Canada, however, they are still popular outside of the country.

I also feel that the same is true vice versa for foreign artists. The digital world has made the world smaller and has given people a reason to buy music overseas and from small, independent artists worldwide.

Another idea that I made good use of is an immediate digital release. Let me explain...Halestorm made their album available last month even though the physical release was six weeks away. What this did was that it made it possible to get the album as quickly as possible. No waiting for a leak...you purchase it and get the album immediately. Apparently, the same holds true for Amanda Palmer when you pre-order her album.

I like this idea because it benefits fans the most. Fans want to have the music as quickly as possible and want to support their artists. Once a song (not a demo) hits Myspace, it should be available for purchase. Myspace does have Amazon and Snocap helping with downloads, but I think that Myspace should also have their own service, especially for independent and smaller artists.

An album generally leaks anywhere between two weeks and two months before an album comes out either externally (from music stores) or internally (from the label).

If labels grab hold of that idea, they can still promote an artist traditionally to the radio and they don't have to put such an emphasis on first week sales when an album is sold physically.

In the age of Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter, fans and friends of fans will know that an album or song is for sale and will generally purchase it.

This is the age of instant gratification where people want stuff now now now.

One idea I would like to see is another version of "try before you buy".

I'm pretty sure that digital music technology is to the point where you should be able to download a song onto your player and "rent" a song or album before you decide whether to buy it or not.

I think that the services that the labels were trying to push like Spiralfrog and Qtrax could have been useful for this if they had more choices available.

There should be a service out there with a subscription service where you rent songs between a week and a month with no pressure and then from there decide to buy them.

As I said before, I think that labels are still useful in the sense of marketing and promotion, but I think that in an age that requires instant gratification that they should free up markets so that fans of music around the world can enjoy music at the same time without feeling guilty about it.

CFW Rocks Live...

2009-04-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've actually got two separate stories to talk about.

The first live story is from April 2nd.

This one is a little bit more personal.

I went to see a band featuring someone that I went to high school with. His name is Craig Howe and he is the lead male vocal for an indie rock band called The Golden Age of Radio.

Indie rock is not generally my thing, but it was really good to see him still doing what he did when he was in high school, playing guitar in a band.

They're going to be working on an album and while the demos on their Myspace are a little raw, they definitely sound better live.

Now for story #2, which actually happened this past Saturday the 11th.

If you remember, earlier in this blog, I'd mentioned a band called Static Cycle.

I got to see them at a place in NYC called The Ace of Clubs.

There weren't a heck of a whole lot of people there...as a matter of fact, there were five people that went in to actually check them out. There are five people in the band.

They just came over from their home state of Alaska about a month ago and they're trying to develop a name within this enormous scene.

Their 40 minute set featured songs from their debut album When We Meet Again.

Well, even though there wasn't much of a crowd, they proved through their set that they're experienced and have the potential to get on a nice tour with other up and coming bands and hopefully get signed as well.

I talked briefly with Jared Navarre, the lead singer, about how hard the scene is here and how it's been made even more difficult with K-Rock no longer existing. I also made sure to plug the ever loving hell out of the website that I found them at, Tunelab Music.

But that wasn't the end of the night for me. I figured while I was down there that I'd bar hop to The Crash Mansion. The Crash Mansion is one of my favorite venues in New York City. It was the first small venue on the Lower East Side that I went to a concert for when I went to see Rev(elation) Theory back in 2005.

They have this mini-festival where they have a whole bunch of New York hard rock bands simply called Gotham Rocks.

A bunch of bands played and I got to see four of them.

The first was Diablo Royale. I'm not much into classic rock, but they tore it up quite nicely. They included a cover of Jimi Hendrix's classic song "Fire".

The next band that played was Fixer. I'm really sounding picky, but I'm also not a big fan of hair metal type bands either. However, they really connect well with their fans and Evan Saffer has one hell of a yell.

Next up was Black Water Rising. This was one of the bands I wanted to see because I particularly loved the song "Brother Go On" and I'd mentioned them on my blog before. This band is interesting because they play more of a Southern brand of rock and yet they're from Brooklyn. They're everything a hard rock band should be. Gritty, funky, and filthy. They didn't have to be pretty, they just flat out brought it. This show would have effectively served as their CD release party as their debut was scheduled to come out on April 7th. However, they're in negotiations with a label and after their set, there was no doubt why.

The last band, Shadows Lie, I'd actually seen before. The first time I saw them was when they opened for Fixer and Machina back in December of '07.

It looked like most of the people that were at the show were there to see them. The fans were hyped up and even though the lead singer Kira Leigh couldn't get her vocal effects to work (she actually uses her voice almost as a lead guitar in some songs), they still had the crowd in the palms of their hands. Not to mention that they have a bad ass Journey cover.

Temporary hearing loss has never sounded so good.

Congratulations are in order (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2009)!

2009-04-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

The Class of 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was inducted this past Saturday.

Two of the largest artists of my generation were inducted: Metallica and Run-DMC.

If you read the introduction to the blog, you may know how much of a role Metallica plays in my hard rock listening.

Metallica is probably the most influential hard rock band of the last 20 years.

I'd be hard pressed to find a hard rock artist...any artist for that matter to have a better run of critically acclaimed albums through the first five of their career (Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice For All, Metallica).

And when you can say that your biggest critical failure still sold millions, you'd damn well better be in the Hall of Fame.

Run-DMC is only the second hip-hop act to be inducted, but their induction means more to rock than many will ever know.

The 1986 remake of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" is one of the most successful collaborations in music history. Rap wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is today without that song. It made rap-rock possible. The genre has many great artists including Rage Against the Machine and earlier Linkin Park, but that song made it abundantly clear that no one would do it better.

And that makes it all the more tragic that Jason Mizell, otherwise known as Jam-Master Jay, could not participate in the festivities. He died tragically in a hail of bullets on October 30, 2002.

While Run-DMC may not have performed, their music has and will continue to stand the test of time.

No Good Music Goes Unlistened (Volume 8): Thrice

2009-04-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

Thrice has been rocking stages for over 10 years.

They've run the musical gamut, going from what is called post-hardcore to dabbling in everything from electronica to blues on their latest project The Alchemy Index.

They'd been on Island Records for two albums (The Artist in the Ambulance, Vheissu), but I feel that their latest album proves that they don't need a major label to produce their work.

They're already working on their sixth album which is likely going to come out before the end of the year.

Another reason why I love this band is that a part of their profit from every album always go to a charity which they learned very early in their career at Sub City Records.

But if you're looking for something to hold you over until then, look no further than Water is Poison, one of the best Thrice fansites around. There are rare songs you could only find on vinyl that could be out of print by now, live rarities including solo performances by Dustin Kensrue and even fan covers.

My personal favorite Thrice songs are: Paper Tigers, Firebreather, Image of the Invisible (a song based on the Invisible Children charity), For Miles (a song inspired by jazz great Miles Davis), and Broken Lungs.

Two for the Price of One: It's All In the Family

2009-03-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Normally, I like to post about bands one at a time to give them their shine.

However, I wanted to switch things up a bit and bring about a theme.

This two for one features two bands who have famous family.

I'll start with the band Citysquare.

Citysquare features Eric Brown, brother of Chris Brown. No, not THAT Chris Brown.

I'm referring to Chris Taylor Brown of the band Trapt.

The band is more poppy than his counterpart, but still has a familiarity about it. Of course, he sounds a bit like his brother and could probably stand in as a ringer for Trapt lead singer.

The next band is Eye Alaska.

Eye Alaska's lead singer is Brandon Wronsky, but he's not the one I'm talking about in this case.

Chase Kensrue is the younger brother of Dustin Kensrue of the band Thrice.

Eye Alaska is an alternative band, but they tread the waters of many different genres, kind of like what Thrice has been doing lately with their latest releases.

If you guys have any other bands I should look at related to this topic or anything that I should post about, you could e-mail me at cfw828@gmail.com.

I don't bite, I promise.

CFW Rocks Live: The Cold Reunion Tour

2009-03-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to go to a lot of live shows, but thanks to modern day technology, for the most part, I haven't had to...although I wish I could.

In this and in future blog posts, I will be posting videos from Youtube and various video portals detailing either artists touring or an entire tour.

In this case, I'll be posting videos from the Cold Reunion Tour. I'd like to thank user IWillResurface and davemoczulski for posting these videos for public consumption.

The Killer and the Star-Hallelujah

This song will be the first single off of their debut album which is coming out on June 6th.

The Killer and the Star is the side project of Cold lead singer Scooter Ward. He recruited Rocky Gray (Evanescence) and Michael Harris (Idiot Pilot) to play live shows.

I apologize in advance that you can't really see anything, but at least you can hear it.

The Drama Club-November

Features former Lifer lead singer Nick Coyle. Two of Lifer's members went on to form Breaking Benjamin. Ben Burnley actually does vocals on their song "Brand New Day".

Cold-Back Home

If you don't know who Cold is by now, Cold had been together for 15 years before disbanding in 2005 after A Different Kind of Pain, one of my personal favorite albums. Year of the Spider is their most successful album and features their most popular hit, the Rivers Cuomo co-penned "Stupid Girl".

A Band a Day...Genedefect

2009-03-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Australia has given me great bands like Sick Puppies and Freestate, but it's time to up the ante with Genedefect, a metalcore band that intends to give you whiplash.

Genedefect is:

Dean Defect (Vocals)

Luke Smith (Guitar)

Dave Tallents (Bass)

Harley Day (Drums)

They only have one EP to their name, but are already getting airplay in their native Australia on Triple M Radio and videoplay on Rage.

Dean's got some great vocals, wailing and growling away with each and every song. The songs are heavy, but have a bit of a progressive sound to it. The music is catchy, but not traditionally radio catchy. It may not hit you the first time you hear it, but when it does hit, it'll be a mack truck.

Hell, they even have a song about a pirate on their Myspace. If that's not enough to make you listen, I don't know what else you want me to tell you.

Here's their video for "My Ready Eye".

A Band a Day...Death Pilot

2009-03-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

This next metal band comes from Hollywood, California.

Death Pilot is:

Colonel Midian (Vocals)

First Lieutenant Johnny Death (Guitar)

Second Lieutenant Matt Thrash (Guitar)

Captain Ghost (Keys/Vocals)

Major Ares (Bass)

Lieutenant Colonel Diamonds (Drums)

Get it! They're an army!

The first time I'd heard of this band was on the Kings of A&R blog, which is interesting because I never hear of these types of bands on A&R Showcase blogs.

This band mixes California metal of Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu with thrash bands such as Trivium and as a matter of fact, they opened dates for Trivium recently.

All gimmicks aside, this band is the real deal. They are unrelenting, unbridled, and unbelievable.

They're starting to release new demos to their Myspace and hope to put something new out soon.

To hold you over, there's a video for "Until the End", which was directed by the lead singer of new Roadrunner signee Dommin.

A Band a Day...Seasons After

2009-03-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

We move from Ohio to a little bit further into the heartland of America.

Seasons After comes from Wichita, Kansas.

Seasons After is:

Chris Schlichting (Vocals)

Steve Frank (Guitar/Vocals)

Chris Dawson (Guitar)

Michael Byers (Bass/Vocals)

Tim Rails (Drums)

Within three years of playing together this band has already been living the dream playing dates on the Warped Tour and the Taste of Chaos tour in their region.

Their debut album Through Tomorrow came out in the summer of last year and it has been heavily distributed, enough so that next month, they'll be announcing what label has signed them.

They'll be touring in Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa and hope to expand countrywide later this year.

Here's a video featuring their song "Some Things Burn".

A Band a Day...This Fire's Embrace

2009-03-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Columbus, Ohio will be holding the third Rock on the Range this year just as they have held the previous two.

This band comes from Columbus, Ohio, but is surprisingly not on the bill.

This Fire's Embrace is:

Aaron Benner (Vocals)

Zack Koah (Guitar/Vocals)

Marc Leist (Guitar/Vocals)

Steve Malone (Bass)

Josh Hall (Drums)

Lead singer Aaron Benner witnessed a sad moment in music history.

On December 8, 2004, the band Damageplan played at Columbus' Alrosa Villa.

Aaron Benner had been close to the stage when out of nowhere Nathan Gale came onto the stage, shot and killed four people. One of those people was "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, legendary guitarist of the band Pantera.

There are moments in a person's life which change you forever.

Instead of letting this horrible tragedy get to him, Benner decided to use music not only to heal himself, but to help other people.

Within a year, this band formed.

Within three years, they've played in the region with bands like Pillar, Decyfer Down, Shinedown, Trapt, and Buckcherry and they've also played major Christian festivals such as Ichithus and Cornerstone.

In 2008, the band released a live EP from the very same venue Aaron Benner went to 4 years prior, The Alrosa Villa.

Here's their video for "Home Again" and a cover of Killswitch Engage's "The End of Heartache".

A Band a Day...Amplexus

2009-03-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

I normally don't post metal bands, but for this entry and others later this week, I plan on making an exception. This next band from Kent, Ohio has a sound that mixes three of my favorite bands together.

Amplexus is:

Mahlon Rhodes (Vocals)

Cory Kobrinski (Guitar/Vocals)

Billy Liber (Guitar/Vocals)

Curtis von Tacky (Keys/Programming)

Chris Yannon (Bass/Vocals)

Chris McClennon (Drums)

The band has a wide range of influences and you can hear a few of them in their music. Bands they're often compared to are Killswitch Engage, Thrice, and The Receiving End of Sirens.

The brutality of Killswitch's guitars, meets the musical dexterity of Thrice, meets the poetic language of The Receiving End of Sirens.

Not exactly easy to do, but they somehow pull it off. Sometimes all in the same song.

Here's a video of Canaries in a Coalmine and the acoustic version of said song.

A Band a Day...Dangerous New Machine

2009-03-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

You may remember a band years back by the name of Stereomud.

Stereomud released two albums Perfect Self (2001) and Every Given Moment (2003).

Erik Rogers led that band and has been a part of that famous Atlanta band circle which features bands like Sevendust, Dark New Day, Doubledrive, Still Rain, and Stuck Mojo.

After Stereomud though, Erik branched out from that circle and formed bands that were a little bit different from the crowd such as Love Said No.

After six years of being away, Rogers decided to reform Stereomud. Although, according to Rogers, some members had a little trouble accepting a reformed Stereomud without them.

So Erik Rogers formed Dangerous New Machine, instead.

Dangerous New Machine is:

Erik Rogers (Vocals)

Billy Grey (Guitar)

Jake Kitchen (Bass)

Rodney Beauboeuf (Drums)

Dangerous New Machine is kind of like Dark New Day in the sense that it has members of different bands and brings them together to form a sound that brings a bit of each from them. Billy Grey comes from Fozzy, Jake Kitchen and Rodney Beaubouef come from Outshine.

Supergroups are kind of like a Megazord. All elements of the band are strong on their own, but together are extremely powerful.

They've only played one official show as of this post, but hope to have a new album out by the summer.

In the meantime, you can download "Burn" to your PC and watch what appears to be the video for the first official single "Skeletons".

Memories of Virgin Megastore.

2009-03-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

After serving the public for 38 years, Virgin Megastore, home to some of the world's biggest music stores will see its last stores close by June.

The music store is a dying industry as mentioned in previous blogs. Circuit City closed just a few weeks ago while Virgin's Times Square flagship store is in its last days.

I'd like to post some memories related to Virgin Megastore and if anyone has any to share, they're more than welcome to.

One of my first memories of going into the store was the first day I hung out with many of my current friends almost four years ago. At the time, it had a movie theater on the bottom floor.

The store changed like new pairs of underwear.

One of my favorite memories was November 22-23rd, 2004. It was the night that I was going to buy Evanescence's CD/DVD Anywhere But Home. It was also the same day that U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb came out. U2's album was played on the in-store radio station (one of the coolest things about the store). It was almost midnight and some guy who appeared to be Bono walked into the store. I had reason to believe that he wasn't going to just walk into a store in the middle of Times Square without being mobbed, but that didn't stop some people from actually walking out of the line to see "him". It was because U2 spent the day driving through New York City on a flatbed truck performing songs from the new album and their classic songs.

It was one of the few times that I actually went to see a midnight release which is probably why I remember it so well.

Another time I went to a midnight release was for Seether's Karma and Effect. It wasn't so memorable because it wasn't a huge music week, however, being in the heart of New York City and standing outside of the store for about an hour brought about its own experience.

A lot of times, rappers would come by the store plugging their CD's. Since it was near summer and not raining, they were everywhere. One of my friends had actually gotten to talk on the syndicated radio show Rockline with Seether, but at one point there was a rapper who came close to her face rapping. She moved and he was rapping at the wall. One of those things where you had to be there to see it.

They also had a lot of in-store appearances. Two that I can remember were the Spanish group Aventura and Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx.

Union Square had quite a few in-store performances, but I was never lucky enough to go to one.

Anyway, enjoy the sales while you can and pray for the people that will be going unemployed.

Racism and Music: A Personal Perspective.

2009-03-21T22:51:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday, one of my relatives had a comment for me wondering why I don't listen to much if any rap.

Before I go any further, I love that guy and he's hilarious.

However, what he said got me to thinking about how people see me, how I see music and how I see the world.

Clearly, the message is that since I'm black that I have to listen to what other people feel is "black music" completely ignoring Lenny Kravitz, Lajon Witherspoon, Howard Jones, Kele Okereke, and Doug Pinnock.

I don't particularly listen to much rap nowadays, but I am absolutely proud of who I am and where I come from. I wouldn't change where I came from if I could.

I grew up in the birthplace of modern day rap music, The Bronx in New York City.

The reason I don't listen to as much rap is because I feel that a lot of the current mainstream music is a mockery of what rap is. It's become a mere gimmick that insults the community. I feel that a lot of the music in the mainstream has become fast-food quality. Easy to consume, but just as easy to excrete.

That being said, I still love the music and will defend the art form.

For example, it gets me upset when people will swear that they hate rap, but adore Linkin Park. What Mike Shinoda does is no different from what Jay-Z or Ludacris does.

I don't feel that the rock that I listen to is as gimmicky and I relate to its messages. It has nothing to do with color.

A comment my father made years ago also comes up with this. He said that he doesn't understand why I listen to my "devil music".

I can't blame him because he may have been raised a certain way, but it's funny that a lot of the bands that I listen to are considered Christian rock artists.

Flyleaf, Red, P.O.D., Switchfoot, and Skillet to name a few.

While I may keep to posting about a particular genre, don't assume that I don't listen to anything else.

I will listen to anything that I can relate to, no matter the genre.

Ticketmaster + Live Nation = MasterNation and how they plan to screw you.

2009-03-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

As of February of this year, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, two former rivals in the ticket selling industry have decided to come together in the wake of dwindling sales and a weakening economy.

Trent Reznor has spoken his mind about the merger.

StubHub.com is an example of a re-seller / scalper. So is TicketsNow.com.

Here's the rub: TicketMaster has essentially been a monopoly for many years - certainly up until Live Nation's exclusive deal ran out. They could have (and can right now) stop the secondary market dead in its tracks by doing the following: limit the amount of sales per customer, print names on the tickets and require ID / ticket matches at the venue. We know this works because we do it for our pre-sales. Why don't THEY do it? It's obvious - they make a lot of money fueling the secondary market. TicketMaster even bought a re-seller site and often bounces you over to that site to buy tickets (TicketsNow.com)!

This part of his explanation is important because Bruce Springsteen recently had a big flap over ticket selling at his massive Giants Stadium residency.

The story is that people who went to buy tickets for his shows were redirected to TicketsNow.com where they would have had to pay for tickets hundreds of dollars more than their face value.

Ticketmaster has long been criticized for the idea of a "convenience charge" because nobody sees the convenience in it. They buy their tickets the same way, they don't help move a line faster, it simply means you bought a ticket.

To add to the chaos, venues are also adding charges...THAT DON'T EXIST!

Could you imagine having to purchase a ticket from Ticketmaster, getting redirected to TicketsNow and then having to pay PNC $6,. even if you came into the venue on a bus?

I can see how and why people are seething mad over this.

The Department of Justice is currently scrutinizing the merger.

If this merger goes through, I can't see it being any good for the consumer.

The majority of tickets sold in this country are through those two companies, meaning that the "convenience" charges could be higher than they're charging now.

I remember when Live Nation and Ticketmaster were competitors. I remember one show in particular, buying two Ticketmaster tickets for $90 and basically getting two nosebleed seats. Buying from Live Nation, I bought two more tickets that were a dollar less and a full section up.

You won't see anything like that again if this deal goes through.

I feel that these companies need to do more for the consumer.

The same way that they're quick to add convenience charges to everything, they should reward their most loyal customers.

For example, give discounts to customers that buy tickets to multiple events at once, buy the maximum number of tickets allowed, or buy tickets that are worth a certain amount of money.

Waive the convenience charges for those customers.

Granted, it may not apply to most consumers, but at least you're showing you care somewhat.

There's no way that this company/merger can be in any sort of financial trouble or needs a bailout.

It kind of reminds me of the MTA battle in New York City. New Yorkers everywhere are complaining about budget cuts and paying more money for less services. New Yorkers feel that the MTA is a fiscally irresponsible company that doesn't care about its consumers.

It'll be interesting to see how this story plays out in the coming months. Hopefully, whichever way it does go, I can actually afford to go to a show.

A Band a Day...Silent Season

2009-03-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

After only a few official shows, this "Bahstun" band opened for Taproot. That should already give you an idea of the kind of reputation this band has made in a short time.

Silent Season is:

Jeremy Rae (Vocals)

Shawn Glassman (Guitar)

Brendan Sheehan (Guitar)

Ryan Sheehan (Bass)

Dave Pappalardo (Drums)

Silent Season is making a lot of noise recently in Boston. They've only toured for months but have already had a following. They're only touring the general region right now, but this band has the talent to tour the country. And that's only with two songs released to their Myspace.

The first song, "Without You", has drawn comparisons to Revis. I personally played Revis' "Seven" and Silent Season's "Without You" back to back and it's as if it plays out a story.

The latest song, "Cross the Line", is anthemic, gritty, pulse-pounding rock and could be a tagline for TNA Wrestling.

Boston is one of my favorite music scenes in the country as it's filled with history.

Aerosmith, Boston (DUHHHHH!), The Cars, Damone, Dinosaur Jr., Dropkick Murphys, Extreme, Gangstarr (had to throw that in there), Godsmack, Guster, Amanda Fucking Palmer, The Pixies and Staind.

No pressure.

In the meantime, here are some live clips of Silent Season:

"Cross the Line"

End of "Cross the Line" into "Without You"

"Victim"

Rock on the Range: Part IV

2009-03-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hoobastank-Four major label albums...Over 5 million served. For(N)ever is their latest. They've toured with major acts like Linkin Park and Velvet Revolver and bring a lot of energy to the stage.

Watch this: Inside of You

Billy Talent-This Canadian band has existed for 15 years, but have been known to the American public for six. Billy Talent is releasing their third major label album this June and will be one of only a couple of acts to play both the American and Canadian versions of Rock on the Range (Shinedown and Blue October have also been tapped to play Rock on the Range Canada). This is their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Fallen Leaves

All That Remains-All That Remains is enjoying the most success as a band than ever after its fourth album Overcome. This "Bahstun" metalcore act has been blazing up the active rock airwaves with "Two Weeks". This is their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: This Calling

Rev Theory-Rev Theory has enjoyed moderate success with their major label debut. Touring with the likes of Evanescence, Hinder, Trapt, and Theory of a Deadman, the New York rockers have been touring the country even as an independent band to crowds of thousands. This is their second Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Hell Yeah

Duff McKagan's Loaded-This band has been around for 10 years while playing for his other little band known as Velvet Revolver. Having spent a legendary stint with Guns N'Roses, Duff looks to branch on his own.

Watch this: Dust and Bones, It's So Easy

Black Stone Cherry-Black Stone Cherry brings their old Kentucky home into Columbus, Ohio. Their brand of Southern rock has earned them tours with Sevendust and Nickelback. This is their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Blind Man

Crooked X-This band has opened up for Kiss, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, and they aren't even old enough to drive! These 14 year olds from Oklahoma have captivated crowds since starting as a band at the ages of 11! This is their first Rock on the Range

Watch this: For Whom The Bell Tolls

Rock on the Range: Part III

2009-03-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Atreyu-Playing shows in the Warped Tour and Family Values and headlining Taste of Chaos, Atreyu have played to all audiences. They might want to think twice about opening up for Iron Maiden though. This is their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Becoming the Bull

Blue October-Not the heaviest of bands on the bill, but deserve it for being industry underdogs. They'd been dropped by Universal only to get picked up again and have earned platinum success. Approaching Normal is their fifth album. This is their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Dirt Room

Saving Abel-Skidd Mills' most successful artist, Saving Abel's gone gold with their top 40 hit "Addicted". Currently touring with Nickelback, this will be their second year at Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Addicted

Saliva-For over a decade and through five albums, Saliva has churned out a consistent set of hits. Their first album went double platinum and the next two went Gold. Currently co-headlining the Snocore tour with Static-X, the band will be playing their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: Rest in Pieces

Clutch-Through eight studio albums and almost 20 years of service, this cult favorite has kept its nucleus throughout. Clutch brings their unique brand of Southern rock to their first Rock on the Range.

Watch this: The Regulator

A Band a Day...Hello Demons...Meet Skeletons

2009-03-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Demons...Meet Skeletons might sound like a weird name for a band.

However, it is a solo project for Clint Lowery.

A far cry from heavy bands like Sevendust, Still Rain, and Dark New Day, Clint Lowery plays a brand of bluesy acoustic rock.

It also features his brother Corey and drummer Morgan Rose.

The name of the project may refer to Sevendust's "Skeleton Song", an acoustic flavored song from my favorite Sevendust album Seasons.

HDMS has had a few headlining shows, but for now, they've been performing after Sevendust shows.

Chills, the EP that came out last year won't be the last that we've heard of Clint Lowery's project and as a matter of fact, may change musical styles throughout suggesting a sense of freedom.

As a Sevendust fan, I wonder whether starting a side project was one of the reasons he left or was kicked out in the first place.

Oh well, that's another argument for another day. Let's enjoy some live tunes.

This Day

Devil in a Cage

Pride (In the Name of Love)

No Good Music Goes Unlistened (Volume 7): Ra

2009-03-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ra formed in the late 1990s.

Their first commercially released song was released in 1998 with "Crazy Little Voices" making the soundtrack to Carrie 2: The Rage.

They released One in 2000.

But they didn't get signed to a record label until Universal came along in 2002.

2002 brought along From One, their debut album that had songs rerecorded from their 2000 EP.

Do You Call My Name is still their most popular and most well-known song to date.

They released two albums on Universal to little fanfare and left in 2006.

Later that year, they got signed to a Universal imprint called Cement Shoes Records.

They had a tour with fellow labelmates, Godhead and Ill Nino and released a live album called Raw.

They were supposed to work on a new album, but the Cement Shoes deal fell through and Ra left Cement Shoes.

In 2008, Ra finally put out their long awaited third studio album called Black Sun. The album is easily one of the best albums of last year and I'll bet that most readers have not already heard it. You can go to Myspace to hear all of their albums now.

Well, I can't give you Black Sun, but what I can do is send you a bunch of Ra rarities, including their live album (registration required for Raw).

I like Ra because lead singer Sahaj Ticotin implements his culture into his music. He's of Puerto Rican and Egyptian descent. He also sounds like in an alternate world, he could be the lead singer of the Police which he has jokingly referred to.

I also feel that he's one of the best lead singers of the last decade. Even though they've been around that long, their music has often been passed aside.

No more.

The Alternatives to Now.

2009-03-17T06:17:00.001-07:00

As was mentioned and as you may have heard, 92.3 WXRK-FM (otherwise formerly known as K-Rock) has changed formats to a pop station as of last Wednesday to Now FM.

K-Rock may be gone, but the truth is that there are a lot of alternatives (no pun intended).

Let's start with the home stations...

101.9 WRXP-It's more of a classic rock station, but they do play a lot of current artists like Kings of Leon, MGMT, and The Killers.

Q 104.3-Another classic rock station, but this one is more classic rock.

And now, let's go around the continent for other great alternative stations.

Detroit's 89x-It's a nice mix of active and alternative that reminds me of K-Rock before it changed formats the first time.

Scranton's 97.9-One of my favorite active rock stations in the country. They do tend to play local artists. Breaking Benjamin anyone?

Honolulu's Star 101.9-The most diverse alt-rock station in the country. They play everything from the Plain White T's to Mudvayne.

Vancouver's Fox 99.3-My favorite station north of the border, this station features a great mix of alternative and active that I like, but also features many Canadian artists (because due to legislation, they have to play a certain amount).

Online only radio stations:

Cage Rattle Radio-Run in part by Breaking Benjamin's tour manager and former terrestrial DJ, Freddie Fabbri. The station has had in depth interviews with great artists and just recently went 24/7.

525 Power Tracks-A favorite by many, this station tends to play a lot of active rock by unsigned artists.

Alternative Addiction-Very much like 525, but this station is more alternative than active.

K-Rock Radio-Originally known as K-Rock 2 because of its terrestrial partner is now the closest alternative station in the market.

I hope those of you who miss the original K-Rock find something in these stations while you wait for Now to fail.

A Band a Day...Nural

2009-03-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

Readers, you'll have to excuse me for posting four consecutive area bands.

I was just trying to practice what I preach when it comes to sticking to the scene.

I hope I posted some really good bands.

Now that that's over, I've got an band from another big city that deserves attention.

Nural is from Los Angeles, California.

Nural is:

Kyle Castellani (Vocals)

Douglas Allen (Guitar/Vocals/Keyboard)

Charley Hoy (Guitar)

Kyle Black (Bass)

Aaron Breding (Drums)

Nural has existed as a band since 2000, releasing their debut The Weight of the World in 2005. The album was led by Tension.

They had some stints on Warped Tour shows before going into record their next album with superproducer David Bendeth.

They hadn't really broken through and this was supposed to be the album. Years passed however without hearing a peep out of the album aside from some teaser videos.

Then on February 2nd, 2009, inexplicably and unexpectedly, their second album Entitlement showed up on Download Punk.

It has quickly become the #1 album on the site.

The thing that I like most about Nural is that they seem to bridge the gap between pop-punk and hard rock better than any band I've heard. It works when you have influences ranging from Muse and Mutemath to Blindside and Every Time I Die.

Most hard rock fans tend to hate pop-punk and vice versa. In this case, there's a little something for everyone.

Working with David Bendeth, who's worked with bands like Breaking Benjamin and Paramore, helped to perfect their sound.

I've seen weird performances, but this might take the cake. This is Nural performing Tension at an ice rink. It ain't Ice Capades people!

A Band a Day...Tragic Orange

2009-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Continuing with some local flavor, I've got a Long Island band that has been playing around the country with a lot of great bands.

Tragic Orange is:

Phil Skiba (Vocals)

Victor Fakhoury (Guitar)

Jimmy Pavlis (Bass)

Christina Vitucci (Drums)

First off, the name makes me think of this, which is just great.

But don't let the name fool you, these guys bring it.

I had the pleasure of seeing them with Charetta on February 19th.

Tragic Orange was the headliner.

It's rare to go to a bar show in New York City and expect to see at least two bands you like because they don't lump similar sounding bands together regularly.

They didn't disappoint. They give it just about everything they have and leave everything out there. Since we were at a small venue, the lead singer actually jumped down into the crowd and bunched everyone together so that they could participate.

I like bands that demand your attention.

These guys have played and will play with a who's who of up and comers and veterans in modern rock.

The list includes Saliva, Framing Hanley, Earshot, Egypt Central, Cold, Halestorm, Ashes of Soma, Joan Red, Absence of Concern, and Lynam.

They've been touring for almost four years behind their self-titled album and while there have been lineup changes, the one thing that has remained a constant has been their 100% attitude live, leaving everything they have on stage.

Given all of the great acts that they've played with, I have no doubt that they will have the reputation that some of these bands have.

In the meantime, here's a performance of The First Agreement.

A Band a Day...Doubledge

2009-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

In almost a year, my blog has traveled to many places. We've gone overseas, we've gone to Alaska, but in the past week or so, my attention has turned a bit closer to home. This next band lives in my backyard of the Bronx, New York...but the hilarious thing is that I haven't seen them perform live.

Doubledge is:

Efrain Goyco (Vocals)

Jason Cruz (Guitar)

Manny Ferrer (Keyboard/Backup Vocals)

Larry Abreu (Drums)

This band plays Christian rock that I feel would fit just fine at the Cornerstone Festival.

The band formed in 2001 and has evolved tenfold since then.

Efrain's voice has a bit of a different approach to harder rock music. He still screams and such, but there's a bit more of pop and R&B in his voice. It's a mix of the stuff that's heard largely around him.

Jason is more classically trained.

Manny has more roots in hip-hop and newest member Larry has been a drummer since he was a child.

Think of it as a Christian rock version of Ill Nino mixed with a bit of Creed, Ra, and Red.

They've generally toured the Northeast, but hope to branch out and I think they have the chops to do it.

To give you an idea of what they may sound like live, here's a compilation of live songs beginning with their Christian interpretation of "In the Air Tonight".

A Band a Day...Kelsey and the Chaos

2009-03-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

A true case of sticking to my scene, this local band is buzzing big time.

Kelsey and the Chaos is:

Kelsey Merritt (Vocals)

Brian Pascoe (Guitar)

Justin Stabler (Guitar)

Rich Skibinsky (Bass/Keyboards)

Nick Rotunno (Drums)

They had an appearance on MTV2's short lived Rock Band game show, but don't let them playing with guitar and drum peripherals fool you. They ARE a band.

They've jokingly called their brand of pretty pop-punk Merritt-core after their lead singer.

This band has been touring around the region for a couple of years now and their reputation is only growing.

Alternative Press (an alternative music mag with a huge reputation) just named them one of 100 bands to watch in 2009.

They played on the local show Fearless Music TV which actually gets aired around the country.

They're going to be playing regionally on the Warped Tour this year.

Much like with Blameshift and "The Sirens are Set", the Kelsey and the Chaos song "Wrapped Around Your Finger" is extremely catchy and should be all over NYC pop station airwaves (now that there are two...ugh!).

They're currently touring the Northeastern US, so if you get the chance, go out and dance to Kelsey and the Chaos.

Here's a live performance of "Wrapped Around Your Finger".

A Band a Day...Blameshift

2009-03-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

In my band profiles, I've gone from one corner of the country to another. This is no different.

Welcome to the hamlet of Syosset, Long Island (LAWN GUY LAND) New York, birthplace of Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up), Chris "Mad Dog" Russo (Mike and the Mad Dog) and these guys...Blameshift. God, I'm starting to sound like News 12 now.

Blameshift is:

Jenny Mann (Vocals)

Tim Barbour (Vocals/Guitar)

Joe Meyer (Bass)

James Miller (Drums)

This dual vocal band brings a sound that mixes a bit of dance, pop-punk, and in some cases polka, as they rep their town in a song called "The Syosset Polka".

If you were to explain this band to someone who hadn't heard of them, I'd probably say The Used as done by Bert McCracken and Gwen Stefani.

"The Sirens are Set" is one of the catchiest songs I've heard in a while and has a chorus that will get stuck in your head.

They've toured the country for 18 months with some dates on the Warped Tour and for being unsigned have a very professional sound about them.

The Test marks their second album and they're currently in the studio making their third album which should hopefully be out before the first half of the year's over.

In the meantime, here's a live performance of The Sirens are Set from a freakin' bowling alley (how Long Island is that?) and an acoustic version of a song called Be Careful What You Wish For.

No Good Music Goes Unlistened (Volume 6): SXSW Edition

2009-03-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

In two days, the music world will descend upon Austin, Texas for the 23rd year of the South By Southwest Festival.

Hundreds of bands and artists from many different genres over four days play free shows.

There have been plenty of bands broken because of the festival and plenty more signed.

Every year, the festival has released a torrent of artists playing at the event. If you have a program like Bittorrent, you can download hundreds of songs free here.

Now, you may not download 6 GB of music, but I'll give you a heads up on some artists to download and unlike most blogs where I just go over Rock, I'm going to branch out a bit.

I'll start with Rock:

Anberlin (Feel Good Drag): Last year's New Surrender marked their major label debut on Universal Records. The song Feel Good Drag is their first song to not only chart on alternative, but hit the top 10 where it currently still sits.

Melissa Auf Der Maur (Followed the Waves): This song was the first single off of her self-titled Capitol album in 2004. It was a very underrated record here in the States and her show March 20th will hopefully bring her back to where she belongs.

Bigelf (Money, It's Pure Evil): It's as if The Beatles from their "Helter Skelter" days got together with early Black Sabbath. Bigelf, it's pure rock.

The Break and Repair Method (You Won't Be Able to Be Sad): By listening to it you probably couldn't be able to tell, but this is a wonderful side project of Matchbox 20 guitarist Paul Doucette.

Closure in Moscow (We Want Guarantees, Not Hunger Pains): This Aussie band is kind of a mixture of Circa Survive and Coheed and Cambria. Lead singer Chris DeCinque has the highest pitched vocals of any band I've heard since Circa Survive's Anthony Green.

Fair to Midland (Tall Tales Taste Like Sour Grapes): The storytelling of hard rock here is reminscent of System of a Down, who's Serj Tankian actually signed to his imprint Serjical Strike Records.

The Maine (Girls Do What They Want): These guys played with CFW favorite VersaEmerge on the Secret Valentines Tour and they have a bitchin' cover of Akon's "I Wanna Love You" on the first installment of Punk Goes Crunk.

Nevertheless (Longshot): Pop punk band toured with Fireflight last year and are currently touring behind In the Making...

Amanda Palmer (Leeds United): Singer/songwriter genius behind half of The Dresden Dolls will be performing solo at this year's SXSW.

Shiny Toy Guns (Ghost Town): The second single off of Season of Poison, the new-wave Shiny Toy Guns has become a bit heavier and a lot catchier with their second album.

The Urgency (Fingertips): The David Bendeth produced self-titled debut, this song is less tongue-in-cheek and more tongue-in-other-places.

Metal:

Bring Me the Horizon (The Comedown): Metalcore has hit Britain like a mack truck through a teenager's bed.

Kylesa (Said and Done): Male and female dual hardcore vocals...a band that I've actually never heard of before, but has my attention at first listen.

Alternative:

The Day After (Car Crash): A melodic smorgasbord of Vegas alt-rock.

Punk:

Star Fucking Hipsters (Two Cups of Tea): Aside from having one of the coolest names on the entire bill, this female-fronted band's "Two Cups of Tea" pops between a electropop beat and balls out hardcore.

Whole Wheat Bread (Throw Your Sets Up): Pop punk band that runs the gamut of genres even doing an EP split with covers of crunk songs. "Throw Your Sets Up" is reggae rock that's easier to dance to than Skindred.

Pop:

Bedouin Soundclash (Walls Fall Down): Those of you that are going to the No Doubt/Paramore summer tour might want to check this out as this band will be opening for both juggernauts.

Lisa Hannigan (Lillie): Anyone that knows Damien Rice's best work might want to download this. Lisa's finally going to put out solo work of her own later this year. She'll be opening for Jason Mraz on his latest tour.

Ladyhawke (My Delirium): This Kiwi makes her debut at the festival. A true rags to riches story may get her a contract here in the States.

Stars Go Dim (Come Around): I mentioned them before on this blog. Perfect power pop.

Comedy:

Chip Pope (Ladyboy): Flight of the Conchords meets The Lonely Island meets What the fuck is that?

Howard Kremer (You Won't Sass Me Like That When I Can Summon Wolves): This song is just as random and just as crazy as the other one. I mean, just look at the title.

This doesn't even mention the many bands that are playing in and around the area just to play there for this mega event and there are also surprises.

If you live in or near the area, I am insanely jealous.

No Good Music Goes Unlistened (Volume 5): Static Cycle

2009-03-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

We've visited all corners of the country...from Florida to New Hampshire and from Washington to California. This next band is American, but doesn't come from the contiguous 48.

Static Cycle is:

Jared Navarre (Vocals/Guitar)

Josh Witham (Guitar)

Travis Allen (Guitar/Backup Vocals)

Johnny Rheaume (Bass)

Dennis Smith (Drums/Backup Vocals)

They come from Anchorage, Alaska and they're the only band I'll feature that has actually played in nearby Wasilla, Alaska where 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and family reside. They can see Palins from their house!

Their music is pretty strongly influenced by Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle. Their music is heavy, but has a pop sensibility that separates them from both bands and that's straight talk.

Their debut album When We Meet Again was released last year and earned a buzz on music blogs like this one, but they've been trying to take the album on the road.

After their show in Alaska last night, they will head out to the Northeastern United States to tour and hopefully get a record deal.

Unlike Joe the Plumber, Chris the Blogger has voted on a sure shot ballot. Static Cycle for '09!

You can download two tracks from their debut album here.

A Band a Day...Rains

2009-03-14T07:56:00.001-07:00

Rains is an up and coming band that brings a different spin to hard rock.

Rains is:

Jeff Rains (Vocals/Guitar)

Zach Ruetz (Guitar)

Jason Anderson (Guitar)

Joe Pitter (Bass)

Joe Schultz (Drums)

From Fort Wayne, Indiana, where singer-songwriters like John Mellencamp are king, Jeff Rains takes a bit of that influence and puts it into his music.

Rains released his debut album in 2006 called Stories, to which thousands have purchased. At one point, the band included his wife and brother.

In late 2007, Rains worked with Trevor Kustiak, best known for his work on Evans Blue's two albums, for their new album Right or Wrong. The band even recruited Evans Blue's Joe Pitter to play bass on the record.

In 2008, Rains put out an EP that earned enough attention to get play on Sirius' Octane and other major radio stations with the single "Liar".

Right or Wrong, which was originally intended to come out last fall is finally ready to come out on March 31st.

Normally, I'd have a live clip, but instead, if you don't feel like waiting to purchase the album, you can purchase the EP from Amie Street for 68 cents.

The Death of Radio.

2009-03-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at 5 PM, WXRK-FM in New York (known as K-Rock) changed formats for the 3rd time in four years becoming 92.3 Now FM. It has become the second CHR (contemporary hits radio) in the market and will directly go against the most popular pop station in the country, Z100.

As a rock fan, you would think that I'd be upset about this.

The truth is, they lost me the first time that they changed their formats in 2005 to more of a classic rock station.

Don't get me wrong, I love the grunge of the 90s and some of the harder alternative songs of the 80s.

However, I feel that radio for the most part is current-driven. How is the current music business expected to succeed if you keep referring to the past?

K-Rock lost me for that very reason.

In the current age of the IPod, Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube, where songs are just a click away, radio has lost me.

Radio has been relegated to little more than background music at work. It's a sad reality.

Radio used to have a certain magic to it that when new songs were played, people listened.

It also has the power of nostalgia. Whenever you hear a song you hadn't heard in a long time, you hearken back to the days when you heard that song for the very first time.

Music radio still has that power, but doesn't seem to know how to bring it back.

It seems a lot easier than these radio station music directors are making it out to be.

People say it all of the time, but it may be because MDs are in bed with the labels.

It may not be payola in the traditional sense, but it's related because certain artists get more airplay if they appear in the area locally.

Because of large media ownership, this script gets rewritten all around the country.

Rather than simply complain about K-Rock's demise, I'd like to come up with a few solutions as to how radio can keep from becoming the dying medium that it clearly is.

Music directors need to take on a more active role in a station becoming mini A&R's scouting for unsigned artists, artists on smaller labels and local artists.

Labels need to be less involved with stations because while their artists certainly help a station's viability by making appearances, stations are hurting because they're limited to what they can play.

Formats need to be more fresh. An idea would be to make a station with all currents that focuses on popular songs on all formats...it'd be kind of like a pop station, but there would be more of an eclectic mix.

Finally, there needs to be a change in rotation. There's nothing wrong with the idea of rotation, but the way that songs are being played (sometimes twice every 75-90 minutes), makes radio very boring. Radio needs to be a lot more freeform and a lot less streamlined.

Clear Channel, CBS Radio, and other radio entities have turned radio into a science rather than a medium. The variables need to change and the experimentations have to continue. Otherwise, you'll wind up hearing "Love Lockdown" on up to 6 major NYC stations.

My favorite musical concept ever.

2009-03-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last blog, in times as depressing as these, music can help heal the soul.

Music can help uplift and inspire. Unlike the last blog, where I mentioned how much you can get from music.

It's gotten me through school shootings, untimely celebrity deaths, and the worst tragedy of our generation, 9/11.

Unlike the last blog, where I mentioned how much you can get from music, this blog will focus on how we can give back.

The band Mae, who'd released Singularity with Capitol in 2007 and left the label last year has such an amazing idea.

The idea is that they would release 12 songs for their next project, one for every month of the year and have people donate at least a dollar to purchase the song and at the same time fund a humanitarian cause.

They are attempting to rebuild the house of Rhonda Floyd, a resident of Newport News, Virginia, who's house burned down in a fire.

Their goal is to raise $65,000 for the year. Every little bit helps and even though I'm not a huge fan of Mae, the idea that music can not only heal, but give back is something that you don't see in the industry nowadays.

CFW Fights the Recession!

2009-03-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Earlier in this blog, I had posted about the economy. The truth is that we'd only just begun back then and many probably wish we could go back to that period.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had been over 11000 and currently sits at 6500.

The three major auto companies in this country are faltering and heading towards bankruptcy.

Circuit City has gone out of business and Virgin Megastore is next in line.

Times are indeed depressing, but if there's one thing I know, it's that music can uplift and inspire you.

In this entry, I will help you with tips on how to get music that you want cheap.

Before you say "album leaks", let me finish.

First, let's start with digital.

1. Amie Street-This is a great website especially for unsigned and smaller artists. It's a great concept where word of mouth can get an artist very far. Songs start very cheap or for free and as songs are recommended and downloaded, the price increases. The highest a song goes for though is a mere 98 cents and that's provided that the song is popular enough. You can easily grab a great song for a mere 20 cents and in some cases, you can get a good quality album for $3 or even less.

2. The Amazon MP3 Daily Deal-You have to check out Amazon's Daily Deal because they're like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get...but you know what you're going to get is good. Very good. Amazon puts quality albums up for sale (some new, some classic) for as little as $1.99. You need to be quick on the draw though as those downloads only last for the day. For example, a few days ago, you would have been able to buy Beastie Boys' classic album Licensed to Ill for $1.99. There are also times where you can get popular songs for less than what labels would normally want them as well. You can get songs for 79 cents rather than 99 cents. Every little bit helps.

3. I-Tunes' Free Song of the Week-You probably are familiar with this if you have I-Tunes. What you may not know is that there are actually two more than they normally show. They generally have songs from three different genres. The songs that they pick may not generally be your cup of tea, but every now and then some songs that they have featured have become huge radio hits like Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" or Daniel Powter's "Bad Day".

4. Free Downloads-They are practically everywhere now. Most artists have given into the idea that some music can be downloaded for free. Like everything else in this list, you just have to keep checking.

Now for physical...

Even though the format may be starting to falter, some people (like me) still prefer physical CD's over digital albums.

1. Liquidation sales-You may have missed out on Circuit City's sale, but you'll still likely have some record stores going away. The key to these is to not wait for the very last minute. The key is to check the sale every now and again. Stores reset prices to the original prices and then take the liquidation percentages off. When CD's or DVD's are about 50%-60% off of the original price, you should have an idea of what you want and then horde every section. You can still get great quality CD's at those prices and instead of grabbing 2 or 3, you'll have no problem grabbing 10 or more...well, in my case. The only drawback is that there are no returns so please, choose wisely.

2. Cheap/Used CD Places-If you're lucky enough to have one, you can find a lot of great CDs for cheap. There are some CD's that you may find special deals for as these stores are always trying to get rid of them. These CD exchanges always work out for the consumer because it's a mom and pop operation. They determine the price and you can normally find newer CD's cheaper as well. This is probably my favorite option because they will at least compensate you if you want to bring back a CD you've purchased either there or elsewhere. May not be much, but as I said before, every cent counts.

And there's one more miscellaneous tip:

Stick To Your Scene-That does not mean stick to one genre, it simply means to buy local. If you can't afford going to a major show or festival that's two hours away, it's probably best for you to stay close. There's sure to be a band in your town or your general area that's really good that could be worth following. Most local shows are not more than $10 in small bars and small venues. Occasionally, there will be a free show.

The thing that holds all of these points together is to always stay on top. Try to keep up as best you can or you may miss out on the deals that you want.

CFW Chartwhores (3/4/09)

2009-03-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking...chart whore?

Well, back in late 2003 when I started following Evanescence, I was intrigued by their progress on the radio. I followed everything from placement on the charts to where they were playing.

What I'm going to attempt to do is an abbreviated version of that by using the Alternative and Active Rock radio charts. Unfortunately, Mediabase doesn't allow us to view an entire chart anymore. This is merely the top 50 of each...but it still gives us a good idea of where things are going.

I'll also post songs that may make an impact on each chart.

I'll start with Alternative.

Incubus' "Love Hurts" is currently the #1 song on the format. No, it's not from a new album. It's from an album that came out in November of 2006 (Light Grenades). It came out as a single over a year after their last single "Oil and Water" and yet, it still managed to hit #1. This won't be the last thing we hear from Incubus on the format as a new single from their upcoming greatest hits "Black Heart Inertia" makes its radio debut in less than three weeks.

Pearl Jam's "Brother", a song that was originally released as an instrumental on Lost Dogs but had been an outtake from the classic Ten, is currently the #5 song and has the best shot to be the next #1. It currently has a bullet of over 400 (Bullets refer to the amount of spins gained from the previous week).

Anberlin currently has their first top 10 on the format with "Feel Good Drag" and it's been a long time coming. New Surrender really deserves the praise it's been getting.

Framing Hanley have broken the top 20 with "Lollipop".

Depeche Mode have been getting more play on the format than in recent memory with their new single "Wrong". And no, it does not sound like "Jizz In My Pants".

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have debuted in the top 40 with "Zero".

Finally, in something that really tells you how the alternative chart has become less active, The Fray are currently holding on to #40 with "You Found Me".

Active Rock:

This chart tends to be more interesting as artists on small labels and unsigned artists tend to be more common.

Burn Halo and Aranda are currently sitting in the lowest tier of the top 40 with "Dirty Little Girl" and "Still in the Dark" respectively.

Seether's cover of Wham's "Careless Whisper" which they'd originally recorded as a bit of a joke actually has a nice sized bullet and could potentially do some chart damage in the near future.

All That Remains' "Two Weeks" is the first song from them to ever chart on the Active Rock chart and it is currently flirting with the top 15.

Pearl Jam's "Brother" and Papa Roach's "Lifeline" are in a good position to eventually take over #1 and in a bit of a surprise, without an official music video, Nickelback may get the #1 song on the format with "Something In Your Mouth". They're a few mere spins away from the current #1, Mudvayne's "Do What You Do".

Songs to keep an ear out for:

Sevendust-"Inside"-The third single from Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow. Sevendust is a workhorse, finishing up a tour with Disturbed and moving on with Black Label Society.

The Veer Union-"Seasons"-The debut single from the Vancouver, BC standout. Their album should be out by late spring and a tour with Hinder and Theory of a Deadman should give them a lot of exposure.

Madina Lake-"Never Take Us Alive"-My favorite song of the three. It's produced by David Bendeth and should do the band wonders. The album Attics to Eden comes out April 28th.

My Essential Top Ten Albums.

2009-03-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

Challenges seem to be following me wherever I go.

In this particular case, I'm being challenged to list my ten favorite albums ever. It sounds easy enough, however, it's not.

I've listened to and own so many albums.

For all of the albums that I've put up top, it's potentially more amazing to see the albums that didn't make the cut.

Albums that missed the final cut (in alphabetical order):

Alter Bridge-One Day Remains

Breaking Benjamin-Phobia

Deftones-White Pony

Green Day-American Idiot

In This Moment-The Dream

Killswitch Engage-The End of Heartache

Paramore-Riot!

Red-Innocence and Instinct

Smashing Pumpkins-Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Now for my top 10:

10. Sevendust-Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow-My #1 album last year, Sevendust has made it a career of consistently good albums. What makes this album so good in part is the collaborative efforts of Chris Daughtry, Mark Tremonti, and Myles Kennedy. This album marked a return of the melodic band that had departed with their previous two albums (Alpha and Next) and marked the return of Clint Lowery. It proved that Sevendust (who's been around for over a decade) can be more diverse than a simple hard rock band, even though that is what they are at the core.

9. Evanescence-Origin-By the time I'd first heard about it it was already almost three years old, but that didn't make it any less amazing. The production may be less slick, but this album proved to me that independent artists or artists on smaller labels could have albums as good or better than those on major labels. Despite the three major albums they've put out, many fans still consider this to be their best album.

8. Linkin Park-Meteora-This is the perfect case of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Following up their mega-successful Hybrid Theory was a chore, but as Linkin Park proved, it was not impossible. They're arguably the most successful band of this decade and this album I feel cemented their place. Every song on this album could have been played on radio. And just about every song was. 20 million people worldwide own this album. This album came out in 2003. That just about says it all.

7. Lacuna Coil-Comalies-I originally didn't think much about Lacuna Coil. Not necessarily because I thought that they were copying Evanescence (who I was also into at the time), but I hadn't been exposed to them until around 2004. The re-release of this album (which features bonus acoustic versions) showcased the diversity and the beauty of this band's sound. It was then when I could differentiate between Lacuna Coil's sound and Evanescence's sound. Unlike Linkin Park, they didn't really get the airplay, but that didn't stop this album from becoming the greatest selling album in their label's history (Century Media).

6. Seether-Disclaimer II-For having 20 songs on this album, this album is a ridiculously straight listen. It's probably the longest album out of anything on here. This album is a re-worked, remixed version of the original Disclaimer, which in itself is not a bad album. However, this album has a more polished feel and while the album may not be conceptually solid, every song on the album tells its own tale. This is the way I wish re-releases would happen. Instead of putting out the same album with one extra song, they remixed the entire album and added eight songs (and that's not counting the DVD with the music videos and live show they put on there). At the time, it was the first album to have gone gold and to have its subsequent re-release go gold as well.

5. Dark New Day-Twelve Year Silence-Critics of the band will call this nothing more than Sevendust-lite. However, fans of this band know that's not the case. At the time I'd gotten this album, I'd actually just gotten into Sevendust as well. Dark New Day's album is different because it's rare to find practically an entire band able to sing. There are songs in their catalog that have four-part harmonies that might make Boyz II Men jealous. Most rock radio listeners will know "Brother" and unfortunately not much else, which is a shame because it appears that they are pretty much 'one and done'.

4. Flyleaf-Flyleaf-I loved them long before their debut album came out and I knew that the album would be big. I just didn't realize how big. Flyleaf's debut album era lasted about 3 and a half years dating back from the first single to their last tours. It gives you an idea of their potential longevity in the industry. Their EP was rather raw and was filled with Lacey Mosley's wails, but the album also showed the beauty and the grace of their music and their faith. Even if you're not a believer in their faith, you can believe in their music because it's intense and authentic. It's something that you won't find very often in the industry.

3. Metallica-Metallica-It's been out since 1991 and it's still the benchmark for what a hard rock band can do. This is the oldest album in the top 10 and there's no question as to why it should be on here. The album has sold over 15 million in the States alone. My uncle let me borrow his copy because I was curious and I almost didn't give it back to him. Quite simply, it is the album that made me a hard rock fan rather than just a hard rock listener.

2. Sevendust-Seasons-Speaking of making a career of consistently good albums...Sevendust is back on the list for the second time. This was the last album that the band released before Clint Lowery left the first time. This band is the most underrated hard rock band, period. They've always been consistent, but they've never really knocked one out of the park. That's ok though because there's more for fans of this band to appreciate.

1. Evanescence-Fallen-No matter what happens to this band, I will never be able to simply throw this album away. I was personally going through a lot when I first heard "Bring Me to Life" and it was the first song that I've ever listened to that ever caught my emotions, my thoughts, and my feelings so well. Three minutes and fifty-seven seconds that have changed my life forever. It was depressing, it was uplifting, it was beautiful, it was ugly, and everything else that I could think of. I couldn't necessarily take the same thing from every song, but there are lines in most of the songs that I took to change my negative mentality.

Whew, that was not easy, but challenging and pretty fun.

No Good Music Goes Unlistened (Volume 4): The Take It Tour...

2009-03-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

The Take It Tour kicks off this Friday with three pretty kickass bands.

Taproot (the headliner, who's "Take It" is the theme of the tour)

Dear Enemy

Adakain

Taproot has been rocking stages for over a decade playing on tours such as Ozzfest and the second installment of the Music As a Weapon Tour.

They are one of the most underrated bands that play live. Stephen Richards, the lead singer, gets into it...literally.

Dear Enemy is just starting to get a name for themselves. Even though they're unsigned, this Atlanta band earned an opening spot on the Sevendust/Taproot tour late last year and have been touring behind their new album Believe the Rumors ever since. On top of that, their sense of humor must make them fun to tour with.

Adakain doesn't particularly have any silly 80s sitcom promos, but they certainly do have a following. They're going on tour with other up and coming bands such as Neverset (who's recent work also links them to Sevendust), Black Tie Vendetta, and Bobaflex. Their music is probably the most aggressive on the bill and they should be able to fire up any crowd they play for.

All three bands came to an agreement to give away two songs of each of theirs (hence the name of the tour...TAKE IT!)

Taproot is giving away their assumed second official single from Our Long Road Home, "Take It" and an unreleased B-side called "Stay Away".

Dear Enemy is giving away two tracks from the Corey Lowery produced Believe the Rumors, called "Sacrifice" and "The Juggernaut".

Finally, Adakain is giving away "Run" and "The Only One".

For these three bands to offer six songs, you'd be a fool not to take it!

Notes!

2009-03-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

My Change of Pace blogs went well and I'll do more in the future, but I'm going to post more along the lines of the bands that I like in the meanwhile.

Also, if you notice there are new links on the side of my page. They link up to my friends' blogs. They talk about anything and everything. Check them out!

A Change of Pace...John Legend

2009-03-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

Artists that I normally profile on this blog are either unsigned or are signed ready to explode. The artist I'm profiling in this entry has already won six Grammies.

However, I still feel that John Legend needs attention.

He may be an R&B, neo-soul artist, but he has earned attention well outside of his genre.

He started out doing background vocals for some songs such as Slum Village's Selfish and Alicia Keys' You Don't Know My Name.

In 2004, he got signed to Columbia Records and released his debut album Get Lifted.

That album was led by the aforementioned "Used to Love U" and signature song "Ordinary People".

He very quietly won three Grammies at the 2006 Grammies and has since added three more to the mantle.

He's collaborated with Fergie, Sergio Mendes, Juanes, Fort Minor...even Stephen Colbert.

There are plenty of artists that people can discredit in the name of pop or R&B these days. John Legend is not one of them.

I leave this entry with his cover of U2's Pride (in the Name of Love).

A Change of Pace...Tamar

2009-03-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

When you think of the current pop music world, young female singer-songwriters are cleaning up shop.

Sara Bareilles and Colbie Caillat are among the new breed and Tamar intends to be the next in line.

Backed by other talented musicians (such as some of my favorites including David Hodges), Tamar intends to release music with Interscope Records in the future.

She writes catchy songs like "New Day" which has earned over 500,000 plays to date on her Myspace.

Weirdly, the song reminds me of Paula Abdul's Promise of a New Day (at least in the chorus of the song...oh yeah, I went there).

She has been compared to a female version of Coldplay mixed with a female version of The Fray.

Based on their successes, Tamar should find herself a perfect spot on adult top 40 radio.

No word on when her debut comes out, but it should hopefully come soon.

You ought to see the videos for New Day and Purified.

And here's a live performance of Returning to Sand with David Hodges.

No Good Music Goes Unlistened (Volume 3): Nine Days

2009-02-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

Does anyone remember the band Nine Days?

If you don't, let me refresh your memory.

Absolutely (Story of a Girl) was one of the top songs in the year 2000.

If I Am also earned modest play that year.

The Madding Crowd earned a gold record and they were ready for more success with their follow-up record.

That is until the follow-up record So Happily Unsatisfied never actually came.

Sony pushed the record back to the point where in late 2002, the band left.

It took years for Nine Days to actually get back the record that they recorded, but they got it back and have since given it to fans who'd been waiting for it in the first place for free.

The album So Happily Unsatisfied is one of the best pop-rock albums money can't buy. They could have been bigger than bands that had hit in that same year including Lifehouse and Vertical Horizon.

That being said, they have continued to put out music on a consistently regular basis since 2002.

Lead singer, John Hampson's solo work has even caught the attention of Disney, as a song that he recorded called "The In Crowd" has been reworked into a song for Hannah Montana's Mitchel Musso.

A Change in Pace...Fiction Family

2009-02-23T08:39:00.000-08:00

Fiction Family is the collective musical effort of Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek lead singer Sean Watkins.

Each man has paved his own way to both commercial and critical success. However, it's where these paths meet that they have formed.

Fiction Family was born in 2005, casually writing songs together.

Without any music even officially released, they earned serious offers from Starbucks' Hear Music and other labels before eventually signing with ATO Records, the label Dave Matthews found at the turn of the century.

Fiction Family isn't so much a mix of simply Switchfoot and Nickel Creek, but more of a mixture of each of the solo projects that they've released.

The music is about as laid back as the city that they were conceived in (San Diego), featuring a sound scape of ocean-kissed acoustic pop (I've been reading way too much perfume descriptions).

Each singer leads on a song (Jon leading on most) giving it a sense of unconventionality.

Their album is a little bit more diverse than acoustic pop...it has a Beatlesesque sound on the song "When She's Near" and Nickel Creek-esque bluegrass on "Closer Than You Think".

No word yet on whether this will be an ongoing project, but this album has cemented the careers of both Foreman and Watkins as wonderfully talented singer-songwriters.

I will now highlight their past and present projects.

Switchfoot:

Nickel Creek:

Fiction Family: