The iPod generation represents a new version of the world. This generation knows that the world is small, that the lines between right and wrong are often blurred and that their interests cannot fit in a single box or category. As music evolves at a breakneck pace, one band has shown it has what it takes to connect to the savvy iPod generation on every level: TOCA.Fueled by six main members and a genre-bending sound that spans rap, jazz, punk, reggae, pop and rock -- sometimes all in the same song -- TOCA’s self-titled debut album marks a seismic shift in the way music is be conceived, composed, executed and enjoyed. Named after the Mayan meaning of “TOCA” (&ldq...
How has 2006 been for you? 2006 for me was a year of….it was a good year! It was a year of doing lots of different things and starting new things and trying new things – and looking at things in a different way. I mean all that musically! It felt really good – it felt like throwing off a lot of chains from before and believing totally in what I was doing and putting my mouth where the money is! I travelled a lot, again, and started Mote-Evolver – we had three releases this year. The last once that’s just come out is the Head Converter EP I did and we did some great live shows in the summer. So, it’s been a good year and I’m still alive! Having playe...
TGL: Provocative, Authentic, and Just a Little Bit RawInterviewed by Maddison Hamil“In 6,000 miles we were only flashed once,” Will Cath says. “But I did discover you can lie in the back of a truck bed and not get wet when it rains. We would be driving down the highway at 75 miles per hour and it would be pouring down rain and I wouldn’t feel a drop.” “Yeah, 6,000 miles…in a truck,” says John Sibbitt, conjuring up a mental image of the small quarters. “It was a four-door. We brought five guys on tour. Our guys and a merch man.”“Merchandise man,” Cath clarifies, tilting his brown curly haired head to the side. “He wa...
Solon Bixler – vocals/guitarRachel Stolte – vocals/keyboardAshley Dzerigian - bassDavey Latter- drumsGreat Northern: The name evokes a feeling of a place and time in which . . . to dream, perhaps, to get away from it all, or away from one’s self. It’s late afternoon, strolling into night. There’s a slight breeze – but you’re warm in your coat, or bundled in cotton as you gaze out the window…An appropriately evocative soundtrack for all this – widescreen grand nudging fuzzy intimate – is something akin to what Solon Bixler and Rachel Stolte sought when they formed Great Northern. The two longtime friends had often talked ab...
Nick Cave: vocals, electric guitar, organ, piano Warren Ellis: electric bouzouki, Fendocaster, violin, viola, acoustic guitar, backing vocals Martyn Casey: bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals Jim Sclavunos: drums, percussion, backing vocals. The story of Grinderman begins within the working processes of another band: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. At the start of 2004, when Nick Cave took a small team of Bad Seeds members - violinist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P Casey and drummer Jim Sclavunos - off to the tiny Mis�¨re studio in Paris for a songwriting session, they effectively established a new working process. Rather than compose songs on his ...
A collection of musicians like no other, SICK CITY brings melody, maturity, and energy.Hailing from the Prairie tundra smack in the middle of Canada (Winnipeg, Manitoba) this five piece has already proven in 1 short year that it can and will turn heads in the year to come. Comprised of members of many local bands SICK CITY tears your heart and mind apart with its shredding guitars, solid and unique drums, intense and memorable melodies and mature song writing.With the addition of poetic front man Josh Youngson (the Novella) and bassist T.J Stevenson (the Recovery) in late 2004, Joel Neufeld (drums), Dorian Paszkowski ...
Ever since 2002 when Adam Stephens (guitar/vocals/harmonica) and Tyson Vogel (drums/vocals) began making noise at house parties and on street corners they've slowly been carving out their own creative space. In a world where bigger is often considered better and quality is sacrificed with ease, Two Gallants have risen against the tide with their cathartic, stripped-down sound and depth of material to forge an intimate bond with a wide array of fans. "The intensity of our interaction while playing is clearly quite different" explains Stephens. "I think it's the product of both of us pushing our own selves so hard and so far that out of necessity we have to lean upon each other to keep from flying off the track.&quo...
Once tagged "rock's boy genius" by the music press, Conor Oberst turned 27 on February 15th and even without that in mind it's hard to listen to Cassadaga without hearing a newfound sophistication to the Bright Eyes sound. Producer, multi-instrumentalist and permanent band member Mike Mogis has crafted a swirling, euphonious record, at times bursting with bombastic confidence and country swagger, and at others loose-limbed and mesmeric. Trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott, a Bright Eyes player since 2003 and now the third permanent member, is responsible for the cinematic string arrangements.Other than a handful of live appearances and the release of a collection of B-sides & rarities, Bright Eyes kept m...
It's that Thursday force and feeling A parade of black garments bearing the name My Chemical Romance in various places and excited faces wait religiously outside the back of the MEN Arena, for a mere sighting of Gerard Way and troupe. Just inside the hallowed venue, six guys are relaxing in order to maintain a sense of readiness. They are blessed with the task of building the excitement and warming the crowd up. For the black parade that will follow Thursday's exhibition of emotive, hardcore pushing and punk embracing alternative music from their four album range that spans ten years. Guitarist, Tom Keeley agrees to be whisked off to the tour bus to open out the world of the poetic, piercing and ...
"Tony Dekker takes acoustics very seriously. His haunting, somber ballads emit an otherworldly quality, due in no small part to the natural environment in which they're captured ... Natural reverb and folkie arrangements complement Dekker's soft voice perfectly" - Rob Bolton, Exclaim!Tony Dekker is the singer/songwriter behind the musical project Great Lake Swimmers, and the new third full-length album "Ongiara" will be released in Canada on June 5th, 2007 by Nettwerk Productions.As with the first two critically acclaimed albums ("Great Lake Swimmers" 2003, and "Bodies and Minds" 2005), "Ongiara" continues to explore the worlds ...
Tears of the Valedictorian is the fourth official full-length album from the Victoria, BC band Frog Eyes. As Tears takes flight, it's clear the album is something wholly other. There is space on this record, real dynamic development, especially heard on the two tracks that make up its centerpiece: the twin epics "Caravan Breakers" and "Bushels," (the latter is Frog Eyes at its finest hour). Tears follows The Folded Palm, an abrasive and fragmented work whose dark shards brought an end to an unnamed trilogy of records (The Bloody Hand, The Golden River and The Folded Palm). Tears of the Valedictorianis counterpoint from this abrasiveness, so hot at its center that it s...
2000 – 2004 In early 2000 guitarist/songwriter Robin Staps moved to Berlin with the intention to materialize his vision of the band THE OCEAN. In late 2001 the band leased the basement of a former aluminum factory from World War II and converted it into “Oceanland”, a complex that includes rehearsal, studio and sle...
Hayley Sales (born August 31st 1985) spent the first years of her life surrounded by music. She lived inside music, inside the beats, the rhythms and melodies. Her father, Richard Sales, owned and ran GlassWing Recording studios out of the basement of their house. Night and day rap, folk and rock artists from the DC area came to record, their loud beats often vibrating the entire house and everyone in it.At age three, Hayleys parents moved the family across the continent to Portland, Oregon, all they owned packed into the two moving vans. In Portland, Hayleys interest in music continued to grow. At 8, she picked up the piano and learned to play all the old jazz standards, and began writing her own songs. A few years later she fell...
In 1982, at the age of 8, Adam Carter woke up on a Saturday morning, poured himself some cereal, sat down in the living room in front of the TV, turned off the cartoons that he normally watched, and penned his first rhyme. The son of Jamaican immigrants living in the heart of Oakland, he had recently been exposed to the early sounds of hip-hop. At the age when most of us are more concerned with the latest toys, Carter made a resolute decision: he would become a rapper. Thing was, at that time the idea of being a rap star was not part of the mainstream consciousness, much less that of young boys. Nevertheless, that morning Carter set out on a road that would span 25 years and lead him through the peaks and tro...
The Chicago White Sox aren't the only icons to come out of the city's South Side. For 15 years, the rambunctious Irish revelers known as the Tossers have seen their popularity grow, winning new fans with every joyous and boisterous live performance of their unique Celtic sound...and with every new album. The latest of which is called, ironically enough, Agony.According to guitarist Mike Pawula, the title doesn't reflect an overall theme of pain or depression. "[Singer/mandolin player] Tony Duggins just came up with it out of the blue," he recalls. "We were just looking for a good album title. It wasn't necessarily one overriding theme, or one song that seemed to speak for ...
To some people, 1997 may recall a memory of good things past. For one particular Victory Records band, 1997 will be the harbinger of great music to come. From Chicago comes this young quintet, who creates an effervescent, yet passionate brand of pop-rock that will linger in one's mind like the best of memories.Belying their age, the members of 1997 have spent significant time in several Chicago area outfits, including suburban emo giants Constance, metal core/screamsters Funeral Etiquette and the nationally touring pop-rock act October Fall. However, as soon as they found themselves playing together for the first time, it became readily apparent that something special was happening. "We just knew,"...
Breaking boundaries and creating new musical standards drive Brian Buckley as a songwriter and performer. Born and bred in California, he has spent his life making music and tailoring his craft. His powerful and moving debut studio record, For Her - set for release on April 17, 2007 on Chris Allison’s label Sonic360 - manages to project the in-the-moment vibe of his live performance, as well as his myriad of influences and experiences. Never one to force the process, his muse comes naturally and is uninhibited.Seeing Buckley perform might be the truest way to experience the free-flow of his artistry as Brian’s own hope for his audience is that each live show is a different experi...
The Matches are four nonsmokers with radically different dietary habits, unified by the love of stepping into brand new socks, and amateur voodoo. The band's new record, A Band In Hope (March 18, 2008), will be their third on indie label Epitaph, preceded by Decomposer (September 2006) and E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals (2004). Both A Band In Hope and Decomposer are the result of the band's collaboration with myriad producers: Tim Armstrong, Nick Hexum, Mark Hoppus, John Feldmann, the Wizard Miles Hurwitz, Matt Radosevich, Mike Green, Paul Ruxton, John Paulsen, and it's rumored even Teddy Roosevelt's ghost, br...
There are dozens of cliches extolling the virtue of experience. Washington, D.C.'s Olympia is living proof that sometimes cliches are cliched for good reason. Born from the ashes of Fairweather and Brand New Disaster, Olympia draws on a vast reservoir of practice when it comes to making music and being in a band- a fact that shines through the foursome's debut album Emergencies. After the demise of Fairweather, a beloved emo outfit signed to Equal Vision, in 2004, guitarist Peter Tsouras and drummer Shane Johnson connected with bassist Nick Barkley, who had toured with Fairweather and played in various bands around the D.C. area. At the suggestion of Fairweather's vocalist Jay Littleton, the trio recruited Phi...
According to Jason Gleason, ActionReaction's spark and individuality relies not on any single member, but on their combined personality and styles: "We're all very different people, but when it comes to the band, those differences are what makes ActionReaction special."After leaving his post as front man for Further Seems Forever, a role previously played by Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional), Jason left sunny Florida and headed north to New Jersey joining ex-labelmates Bella and Salvatore from the band Element 101. An intricate web of history, laced with blue-collar bindings, carried them through days of grueling carpentry work and nights playing music as a release from their daily...
Sometimes driving directions look overwhelming, and then you get in your car to use them, and the drive is smooth through until the end. Just as a song by Chiodos takes you in many directions, but when it’s done you never question how you got there.The band Chiodos formed in high school, just outside of Flint, MI. Then known as The Chiodos Bros, they played the local scene and began writing original music. In June 2002, they recorded a demo called, The Best Way To Ruin Your Life, which gave the group a healthy local following.Choidos (now with a shortened moniker) has covered plenty of ground since then. Lead singer Craig Owens’ bout with pneumonia in 2004 stalled the band&rsqu...
Slippery Nipple. When these words are uttered only the mild fascination of a dirty porn film comes to those with an also dirty mind. Be warned though, because lurking behind the words of filth lies a band of five members, which spawned lovingly from a vibrant Lichfield Music Scene in the late months of 2005 and are already being heralded by some as Lichfields First Super Group. Fronted on guitar by Jonathan Taylor, who also plays bass for the extremely talented Maritza, and singer George GEM Mainwaring on lead vocals, the two together, using Jons musical genius and GEMs ambiguous lyrics (inspired heavily by David Bowie), have achieved a blend only achievable with the help and also brilliance of the improving and excellent ...
As products of the original "punk" movement, the members of Mercy Killers carry the torch with the strength of 10 men. Growing up on bands like The Damned, T.S.O.L., Generation X and The Clash has provided Fairbaugh and Co. with the inspiration needed to create something new and refreshing, all the while keeping in mind the threatening poise and noise of their punk-rock forefathers. It is evident on their debut release that there is true chemistry between the members of this clandestine musical society... ...for this society rewards only the strong and shows mercy only to those deserving. It casts out weakness and cowardice like they were the black plague themselves. It has and will continue to strike its enemies with...
We are the Dirty Little Rabbits…it all started when rabbit 1 met rabbit 2 at a mutual friend’s studio….Sid. It all started at Sid’s. The jam was epic. Rabbit 2 found himself at the bench of a Hammond B-3 organ for the first time ever. The music ended at 4 a.m., and the phone call that started it all happened just four hours later. Next came rabbit 4…Rabbits 1,2 and 4 met in a town called Otho and recorded what later became known as “Misfits”, and “Poor Poor Woman”. These two songs were the first two in the Rabbit’s repertoire. Soon after the Otho Sessions, Rabbit 2 introduced Rabbit 5 to Rabbit 1. The band was set; rabbit 1-drums, rabbit 2-keys, rabbit 4...
As a kid on a journey having human experience, Luke Brian spent a decade chasing down his demons. When he finally emerged from the dark bowels of New York City, he had the kind of life perspective most decadent rock frontmen would take an entire career to amass. Reconnecting with lifelong friend Timothy Falzone just after the multi-instrumentalist saw his cousin perish in the September 11 terrorist attacks, the two found solace and purpose in music. Partnering up creatively, the pair weaned on everything from Depeche Mode to the Deftones to the Doors-drew strength from their long-term trusting relationship and mutual sobriety. Working weekends in the New York club scene to pay the rent and make connections, ...
Goldrush have created a stunning and defiant record that steps beyond the British alt-country anthems of 2005's "Ozona" full-length. After two years of constant worldwide touring, Goldrush returned to their homes in the Oxfordshire countryside and their 'cowshed, turned studio' to write and record this new full-length. Producer/musician James Rutledge [aka Pedro, instrumental hip-hop artist on Mush Records] helped Goldrush realize their vision for this new record. Goldrush had previously worked with the legendary David Fridmann [Mercury Rev/Flaming Lips], but Rutledge took a different tag, and encouraged the band to be more sonically adventurous, while simultaneously helping them re...
"This whole project has been blessed with many instances of good luck," says Matt Hales about Memory Man, the emotionally gripping new Aqualung album. Hales, of course, is the inhabiting spirit of Aqualung, a musical space that he creates with the help of his wife Kim Oliver, with whom he co-writes, and his brother Ben Hales, with whom he also co-writes and who plays guitar and bass. Trained on keyboards as a young child in England, Matt Hales sings Aqualung's songs in a voice that conveys equal parts vulnerability and a cool cerebral distance. In addition, he plays innumerable instruments, including, in his description, "piano, moogbass, broken synthesizer, glockenspiel, pretend orchestra, programming, harmonium, ec...
There are things we see in movies that serve for most people more as idealized romantic notions than actual reality: the pivotal scenes where people turn their backs on a “rational” life choice to follow their hearts instead — and the consequences be damned. But on occasion, these things do happen in real life, and Circa Survive is the product of just such an extraordinary decision.From an outside perspective, Anthony Green had it made in early 2004. He was fronting Saosin, a California-based band that was rapidly on the rise. He had felt strongly enough about the group to relocate from his native Philadelphia to the West Coast, and now major touring and a debut album were on the horizon. ...
"Rainbowarriors are on a crusade for the kind of drug- free America where the elected officials are tranny shaman and the religious leaders are winged evangelists who speak in tongues of Happy Core.Rainbowarriors horse gallop through miles of balmy grass roads all the way to the swingset swamps. They witch water and have witches for fathers; they hear disharmonies of sadness sung by drunken glowworms. They sleep in swollen barns; they sleep through silver nights.Rainbowarriors live by the hero myth; Rainbowarriors ain't nothin' to fuck with."Birthed through an intricate process of prank phone calls and clairvoyant documentation, ...
Being in a band used to be different. It wasn’t all about getting the best support slots, collecting the most friends on MySpace or dressing a certain way in order to sell records. It was about crafting music that celebrated your influences, seeing the country unfold via bug-splattered van windows and meeting people and sharing experiences that wouldn’t only help spike sales in certain markets, but would also help define you as a human being.When Limbeck frontman Robb MacLean sings “It feels like I grew up too late” on Limbeck, you get the feeling that might be what he’s referring to—and with the band’s third full-length, they’ve finally done j...
