Hey there! We're back at this weekend and we've got some AMAZING music to bring to you from all over the world here on MY Indie Music Blog. And what better place to start than in our own (almost) backyard... New Haven, Connecticut, USA!
A couple of months ago, I was down in Connecticut for a Chaser Eight re-release show of their latest EP. On the bill that night was New Haven progressive rock quintet Mile Marker Zero. Featuring vocalist Dave Alley, John Tuohy on guitar, Mark Focarile on keyboard, bassist Tim Rykoski and drummer Doug Alle, MMZ did nothing less than blow me away that night. Having never heard of them before, I was able to go to the show with an open mind. No expectations, just a chance to check out a "local" New England band and enjoy some good music. Saying I was blown away by this band that night would be a bit of an understatement. What started out as a smooth, low-key melodic rock intro quickly exploded into a rousing rock n roll explosion in my earholes that didn't let up for the next 20 minutes. The only thing that disappointed me about their set was that it ended. MMZ is everything that today's modern rock radio fails to be. There's no cookie cutter pretense to their sound. Going back and listening to their catalog, you know that what they started out as is exactly what they intend to be, 100% pure rock. Now I'm left scratching me head and wondering, why the hell haven't more people heard of Mile Marker Zero??? New Englanders, no distance is too great to travel to support great regional talent, and the same goes for you wherever you are reading this. Trust me, I know. My borders have expanded in the last few years. If I can drive a few hundred miles to see a band, why can't you? It beats the hell out of over paying to see the latest mainstream darling prove that great studio engineers can get you far. Head over to the official Mile Marker Zero website. Follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook. For all of you Mile Marker Zero one stop music shopping, head over to the MMZ music hub. And as always, check back here on MY Indie Music Blog for all things Mile Marker Zero. Support independent artists. Give indie music a chance.
This is just a quick stop in to right a wrong here on MY Indie Music Blog... During my unplanned hiatus, Broken Romeo has been hard at work completing song after song for their new album, Side One.
Regular readers of this blog, as well as those who follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, know what a mark I am for Tuscon, Arizona's Broken Romeo. It's no coincidence that they came into my life about the time that I undertook this journey of music discovery. I like to think of it as divine intervention by the music gods. I happened upon one so called critic's review of their album Desperation Daze and knew that I had to do what I could, whenever I could, to make sure these guys were properly appreciated for what they give us, which is in-your-face-unapologetic-rock-n-fucking-roll. Period. Since they released Desperation Daze and while they've been working hard on Side One, the guys have gone back through their impressive catalog and remastered and reissued four other albums for our indie music loving listening pleasure: Retribution, Mother Mercury, Bleed and Temptation. This represents one of the baddest ass catalogs of music available today, indie or mainstream (and quite frankly, ten times better than ANY mainstream artist's renderings today). Now, with the near completion of Side One, it's all coming full circle for the guys. Seven songs down and three to go... but man, what a seven song intro this has been. I may have been away for a while, but I damn sure haven't missed a single one of these being released! Get your asses over to their Bandcamp page now and download the first seven tunes from Side One as well as their other albums. Then make sure you follow the band on Twitter and like them on Facebook and pay their official website a visit so that you don't miss out on ANY of these releases. And just so you know, this is an early front-runner for my top indie album of the year! Support independent artists. Give indie music a chance.
It's not everyday that one of the greatest rock n roll bands on the planet turns off the amps and strips themselves down for our listening pleasure. But when they do, damn it's something special.
New Haven, Connecticut's own Chaser Eight is at it again. This time, they've managed to one up themselves with their latest EP release, Chaser Eight: Naked. When I first heard of their plans to release an acoustic EP, I wondered how in the world one of the most energetic stage bands could possible turn it down quite a few notches and pull off an unplugged set. For starters, how could they possibly pick just a few songs from their impressive repertoire to re-record for an acoustic album? Having seen them live twice, I couldn't wait to see how they where going to pull this off (of course, I had no doubt that they could and would). Well, this my friends, is as close to musical nirvana as you're likely to get. Hearing a reserved *AUDRA* does wonders for your soul. On the standout track, To Find Him, you can hear a vulnerability in her voice that's a surprising change from the power we've become accustomed to. Don't worry though, her vocals are on full display in Moving On, mixed with just the right amount of restraint to draw you in to her world as she says goodbye to a love as she moves on. If I have one complaint about the EP, it's that Major and Minor didn't make the cut. But then, that's just me be greedy :) At least I got to hear a stripped down version in their recent StageIt show. Make sure you visit the official Chaser Eight website. Follow the band on Twitter and like them on Facebook. Then head over to iTunes to download your copy of Chaser Eight: Naked as well as all of their previous releases. Trust me, your earholes will thank you! And as always, follow along right here on MY Indie Music Blog for all things Chaser Eight as they happen! Support independent artists. Give indie music a chance.
Yes, I'm back at it again! I don't know about you, but I'm glad this bout of writer's block is finally gone! Something that I'm going to attempt in the coming days, weeks and months is to broaden my musical horizons, so to speak, and begin to bring you a more eclectic mix of music here on MY Indie Music Blog. I'll never turn my back on the rock and roll, don't get me wrong, but there is so much more out there that deserves to be heard. I can't tell you how excited I am for what's coming up! Case in point, tonight's feature artist.
Los Angeles, California based indie pop singer Alisa Sharp released her latest single Say What You Want back in July. A social media firestorm erupted as she Tweeted and posted to everyone and anyone who would give her song a listen. I happened to have been one of the lucky recipients of said Tweets. Admittedly, I wasn't immediately a fan of the song itself. Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of Alisa's for some time now, but her particular style of music isn't necessarily what I prefer these days. She is what you might expect to hear on your local Top 40 radio station. This particular blog is the exact opposite of that, and for good reason. In no way, shape or form do I slight Alisa for her style of music. As I've stated before, I force myself to listen to my local Top 40 station for at least 15 minutes a day. It gives me a different perspective for what I hope to accomplish with this blog. But sometimes, I am my own worst enemy because I often find that I've overlooked someone who is the perfect fit for this blog. That's what I've found in Alisa Sharp and Say What You Want. What Alisa does, she does extremely well. She has a huge voice that's full of emotion. Her visible scars, which she wears proudly, do not define who she is. It's that voice, which makes Say What You Want the type of song that reaches down into your soul and grabs a hold of it and refuses to let go. No words that I type here can do this song or this artist the justice that they deserve. I've told Alisa this and I'll repeat it here: SHE made me a fan of this song. "...I'll be your haven just say what you want, so say what you want...". Alisa Sharp, thank YOU for having the voice to say what you want. I can not wait for the album to come out! Make sure you check out the official Alisa Sharp website. Follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook. Head over to Bandcamp, Reverbnation and Soundcloud to download Say What You Want. And as always, follow along here on MY Indie Music Blog for everything Alisa Sharp as it happens. Support independent artists. Give indie music a chance.
Welcome back to MY Indie Music Blog! I know we celebrated our third anniversary some time ago, but then a funny thing called life got in the way of all the music I had planned to share with you. Good thing life had a way of working things out so that we could happily co-exist. Now I can get back to what matters to us here at MY Indie Music Blog- the music! The journey of an independent music blogger is filled with wide open highways as well as winding back roads that take us all over the musical spectrum. Fortunately for me, that means that I'm exposed to so much more music than your average mainstream radio listener. Sure, this blog has often been accused of favoritism with one style of music over another. While it's never been my intention to alienate certain types of music, this blog is more or less dependent on whatever my musical taste happens to be at any given time. It just so happens that my indie music loving soul tends to favor my rock n roll side more than most others! That is until now. This certain electro-pop duo from Canada reached out to me to take a listen to their upcoming EP and I was instantly blown away. So let's see what we've got in store for you as we officially kick off our third year of bringing you the very best in independent music from all over the world!
FEATURETTE is an electro-pop duo from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Made up of Lexie Jay (vocals) and Jon Fedorsen (drums/production). I can honestly say that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I agreed to take a listen to their upcoming release Crave. I haven't been into the electro sound since the new wave days of the 80's (yes, I just dated myself) and the alternative sounds of the late 80's and early 90's. Admittedly, my musical preference leans towards rock and metal. It's amazing what happens to you when you break down some of your own barriers and just let the music take over your soul, which is exactly what happened when I pressed play on Crave. Playing in two distinct volumes, Crave is best described by Lexie as "(a)
‘featurette’ - like a mini movie - so we’ve written the songs to express
that story and really help the listener feel what the girl is going
through. The first vol. is rather dark (craving passion, lust,
destruction - the wild side), and then the second is the resolution
(craving love, respect, resolution, self acceptance)..."
I found that it's nearly impossible to get the hauntingly beautiful vocals of Lexie Jay out of my head. I've found myself, on more than one occasion in the past few weeks, getting lost in the album for hours at a time, just listening to it on repeat. I've gotten tangled up in the web that they've weaved in this girls journey for love. I can feel her passion unfolding as she slips down that slippery slope of self-destruction before ultimately finding that self acceptance she craved from the beginning. A standout track on the album is Sticks and Stones, where she begs her love over and over "...I love you, I love you, don't leave me on my own." My heart literally ached the first time I heard this track. The passion and emotion in the vocals are about as real as they come. It's as if Lexie Jay has experienced this emotion in her real life (and how do we know that she hasn't?). What FEATURETTE has done is trumped any artist on mainstream radio. They've written a cohesively perfect album that brings back storytelling. There's depth and meaning to every word being sung. It flows perfectly from track to track to tell the story from the dark beginnings of Broken to the resolute finisher Procession "... somebody's gonna take over the world tonight. Somebody's gonna fall. Somebody stands tall... and that could be, I could be that girl. And she could be me..."
Well played FEATURETTE, well played. I'm hooked. Mark October 15th on your calendar now. That's the official release date for Crave. I've heard it in its entirety. I'm obsessed. You'll find out why for yourself. And you'll thank Lexie and Jon as I am now. Follow FEATURETTE on Twitter. Like them on Facebook. And heard over to their official website now to pre-order Crave. And as always, follow along right here on MY Indie Music Blog for all things FEATURETTE as they happen.
Support independent artists. Give indie music a chance.
Dos Ringos is back on MY Indie Music Blog with my pick for song of the summer, KY Women.
To say that I was a little excited when the guys sent this song to me would be an understatement. Having become such a fan of this band, I'm always on the lookout for new material by them. Each time, I'm left wanting more, and in advance of their upcoming double EP, KY Women is exactly what I needed to get my Dos Ringos fix!
KY Women is just a good old fashioned southern rock song done right. Picture yourself cruising down your favorite back road on your way to nowhere in particular. Roll the windows down and crank this tune as loud as you can. Then hit repeat. I've done this on more than one occasion and it does wonders for your country music loving soul. At the same time, it makes up for the rash of "bro country" that's hitting the airwaves over on your local FM dial. Country music purists can rest assured that the genre is indeed safe in the hands of Dos Ringos! Follow Dos Ringos on Twitter and like them on Facebook. Make sure you check out the official Dos Ringos website and don't forget to download your copy of KY Women while you're there! And as always, make sure you check back here with me at MY Indie Music Blog for all things Dos Ringos as they happen! Support unsigned artists... give indie music a chance.
During the course of the last four and a half years (or so), the most gratifying aspect of my love and support for independent artists has been their accessibility. No cattle call VIP experience from any major record label act will ever top sitting in a bar on a Friday night before a gig and just talking with two of my favorite people in the entire universe. Which is exactly what I had the chance to do this past weekend in Dover, New Hampshire with Sasha Alcott and Chris Viner, who make up rock n roll duo When Particles Collide. I was reminded that I have been a fan and supporter of WPC for roughly four years of their four and a half year existence. In this time, I have had a front row seat for their evolution from a pop/punk power duo (Making Enemies and Pop! Pop! Bang! Bang!) to full fledged rock n roll icons for the indie scene with Ego, Photoelectric and their latest EP, This Town.
This Town is a 6 song EP that pays homage to their hometown of Bangor, Maine and was born out of
the tragic loss of a couple of their friends from Bangor in a car
accident last summer. Having listened to this EP almost non-stop since
its pre-release to pledge backers and having heard the songs live, I can
honestly say that I have never heard a body of art as personal and full
of raw emotion as This Town. For those who were there and lived these songs, This Town is a fitting tribute to lost lives and a more fitting tribute to the town that shaped all of their lives. The independent music community is a tight knit group. To be a part of it is indeed something special. And for When Particles Collide, I will forever be grateful. Head over to the When Particles Collide Bandcamp page to download This Town. For those local to Maine and New Hampshire, you can head to your local Bull Moose Records store to buy the cd. Follow the band on Twitter and like them on Facebook. But most importantly, check them out at one of their two album release shows on May 29th and the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub in Boston (event info is here) and on May 30th at the Asylum in Portland, Maine (event info is here) and check back here with MY Indie Music Blog for info on their upcoming summer tour dates.
Support unsigned artists... give indie music a chance.
