Pop, Rock, Electronic diva Karalyn Alderson and her band mates Josh, Dustin and Tony of The Goddessey Project will be appearing at this year's St. Lou Fringe Festival Saturday night and also Sunday evening. Both are all ages events. These appearances will be their biggest theatrical productions of the year which encompass the tale of a woman on the search for her true identity. They will both take place at Fubar on the venue side of Lord Fanch's domain. The actual festival itself takes place from Thursday, June 20th to Monday, June 24th featuring over half-a-dozen shows within several city blocks with artists of all types of performers.
The G.P. shows are on Saturday 6/22/13 is at 7:30 pm & on Sunday it is at 6:00 pm. The two events will also feature Adverse Impact & Ashleyliane Dance Company. Below the ticket info. and festival badge stuff is the title track off of G.P.'s new album.
Tickets are $10 which includes One FREE album ($10 Value) for 'Emergence See'. Fringe Fest badges $5 admittance. I heard that the badges are no longer available online, but can be purchased at the Fringe's Box office at 519 N. Grand (next to the Fox Theater). Hours are as follows: Thursday, JUNE 20th 4pm-9pm; Friday, JUNE 21st 4pm-10:30pm; Saturday, JUNE 22nd 12pm-10:30pm; Sunday, JUNE 22nd 12pm-9pm. Ticket sales for the shows will stop 15 minutes before the show begins on both nights. Advance tickets for these two in particular are available through:
Brooks Bracken returns with his new project Umbrella BLVD who will be releasing their debut album "A Wretch Like Me" on Saturday, June 29th at Plush along with Man Eating Tiger and Bad Graphics. The doors open at 8:00 pm and this is an 18 and up show only, the cover is $8.00 at the door. Visit HERE for the event page on facebook. I think this looks and sounds like an interesting show to attend. It features some veterans of the scene that have continued to be a part of this thing we call independent music in St. Louis. Take a moment to listen to the music below and or download it. The Umbrella BlVD. stuff is only available to stream, but they do have a link on their website to purchase it. One may find that linked above in this paragraph.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Bleeding Out - (Radio Edit)" by Man Eating Tiger.
*Click HERE to stream/download "A View Of The Aftermath" or "Scattering Pearls" by Man Eating Tiger.
*Click HERE to stream "The Old Disappearing Act" by Umbrella BLVD.
Last week I shared with you some media on Final Veil's debut of "Arabian Daze" happening tonight at Plush. In case you missed that post, scroll down the blog or visit HERE. Today I would like to share with you the interview she did this past week on KDHX about tonight's show and also I'm including a two-song review of the introduction part of the new album shared to me by Cora Camille. It's also nice to see this show made the RFT's top ten shows for this weekend too. I can certainly appreciate how much effort and thought it takes into putting together a show like this. Be sure to bookmark or "like"/follow the group's website or pages as they will be posting the full-album for streaming purposes in the coming week, or so. Now I'm going to share with you my experience of the first two songs on the new album. Find that below the interview.
*Click HERE to stream the Cora Camille interview on KDHX.
"Arabian Daze" : This first track is actually the traditional classic "Arabian Nights" turned on it's head. Listen to Cora on the interview for the back round on the original author, if you unfamiliar. I felt like Alice after she fell into the rabbit hole after listening this one. A dramatic string-section initiates a familiar strand of threading once formerly associated with it's vintage predecessor. Cora's vocals are introduces abruptly afterwards in fine, Arabian fashion summoning the listener as if her voice were the sound of the wind initiating a storm in the desert. Along with the strumming sound of the ude, it creates a tension in the tonal value of the song. After the first thirty seconds of this song, Cora sings a familiar phrase from the original version and the vibe is altered by the dramatic beat of a drum. This sets the pace for the rest of the track. The strings, the drum both speed up and a electronic beat is introduced. Arabian Daze is now born. The storm has quelled and a desert rose blooms, metaphorically speaking. The chorus goes dub-step and the melody swoons over the music. It re-minds me of the image that I get in my mind from listening to Moby's instrumental theme "God Moving Over The Waters". The back round vocals are inviting and add a nice touch. At about this point in the song, one min. and forty-five seconds, the difference in Final Veil's version and the original are polar opposites. Egyptian-Electronica, orchestral strings and dub-step continue for another forty-five seconds and then another tonal adjustment is made with the introduction of a piano. I find that the theme of the strings throughout mixed with the piano really set the tone for the song, musically. The piano continues to carry the bridge into the end of the song. Certain themes are created musically and vocally throughout the song and come to fruition at the end of the song, as it ends similar to the way it began. I thought the filter on Cora's voice was a good way to differentiate this part from the rest. I loved the down-beat and trip-hop influences in portions of this song. If this song doesn't give you chills, then something just might be wrong with you.
"Sinister" : The second song is much different than the first. The beginning few measures begin with a lull in sound that increases in volume introducing the beat and rhythm. "He's a joker, he's evil" is the vocal and lyrical cue for the chaos that ensues with the percussive beat. The rhythm of this one is more industrial influenced. Something you might have heard on David Bowie's "Earthling" release in the nineties, for example. Cora sings over the verses with a confidence and haunting tone to her voice. There is some cool vocal-bends and falsettos mixed in along with additional reverb for effect. Some faint dub-step is introduced after the first chorus and some guitar that sounds familiar to something you may have heard from the movie 'Pulp Fiction'. Around the one-min. twenty-second mark there is a build in layers with additional percussion added in along with the electronic portion of it. The pace is set when verse two is began by Cora's vocals and followed by the second chorus. From there additional themes and beats are slowly added in, similar to a chef cooking his finest meal with timed calculations and experience. Just when you begin to really adjust and settle in to just how evil the song's character is, it is over. It left me wanting more, which is exactly what a song should do sometimes. Especially, the second track of a thirteen song album!
The second event of three that the Rock University Festival is putting on this year is almost here! It is a benefit show for Play It Forward, so bring donations and also any used instruments to help out our schools in need. Two of these original music acts will secure a spot at the third annual event this fall and one will get to play immediately before this year's head-liner. Tickets are available from all the bands and you can find their links below and also on the "Buy" tab on each SoundCloud widget. HERE is the official event page for the show at Fubar this Sunday evening. Be sure to also stop by the website at the top of this post for video by the bands on this bill, plus the commercial for this year's fest, a Play It Forward documentary, plus media coverage from last year's festival and also the "Dues Paid" event from earlier this year at Lemmons.
Sunday's show features pop-punk band Seven Eighteen, Alt. Rock band Say Yes, hard-rock/alternative group Axis Denied, singer/songwriter Daniel Dwyer, the indie-rock band Carpathia will be re-uniting for this show, plus the hard-rock/alternative band Out Of Sequence and the progressive-rock/metal band Crank Sanctuary will be throwin' it down. The indie, pop-rock act Bella & Lily were scheduled to perform, until the other day, when they received word that they were presented with the opportunity to open for The Go-Go's at The Pageant this same night. So, they will not be appearing. However, this is going to be a great show full of young talent! Please note that I threw in the Bella & Lily track to stream and also that Crank Sanctuary's music is simply the audio downloaded from one of their YouTube videos and it was a song that was special to them and their late music instructor. It's a tribute to him and it is an instrumental. In addition, Out Of Sequence is working on their latest recording and they mentioned that it is not necessarily the best overall example of what they actually sound like now. Fair enough. See you this Sunday!
*Click HERE to stream "Charlie" by Seven Eighteen.
Cutthroat Shamrock is a punk-rock group from Tennessee that incorporates Celtic and Appalachian influences into their music. They will be performing a free show this coming Monday night, June 10th at Cicero's as a new series of shows will begin there called,"On The Radar". This new addition to the venue will bring in out-of-town acts in for additional exposure on nights like a Monday or Tuesday night where it is harder to get people in to see the acts that deserve some attention. This will be a 21 and up show only, scheduled to start around 8:30pm. I remember these guys came last year and sent over a track and it was still in our SoundCloud account's rotation, so I figured I would throw this out there for you to enjoy.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Hell's Shovel" by Cutthroat Shamrock.
The Scam and Scene Of Irony are both St. Louis original music support for the Swingin' Utters show with the Goddamn Gallows at The Firebird on June 17th. To find out more about the event, visit the page for it on facebook HERE. If you care to support The Scam by purchasing a ticket/tickets through them, note they are selling their first 100 for just $10 bucks each and just message them on facebook or visit the bandcamp link below and hit them up there too. The tickets will be $15 day of the show. This hardcore-punk rock act is known for their irreverent antics and wild live show. It looks like this will be one punk show not to miss. Check out their latest release for yourself, it is "pay what you want", so support them with any monetary value that you place on their effort, or if you don't value music that way or are just broke. Enter 0 in the box on bandcamp.
*Click HERE to stream/download The Scam Sucks by The Scam.
After three years of transformation, Final Veil will debut their second album titled "Arabian Daze" at Plush in St. Louis on Saturday, June 8, 2013. The doors open @ 8pm & show starts @ 9pm. It's an 18 and up show, it's $7 at the door. Music on this clip is from their new album, the track is "Yallabina" and the video HERE features Cora Camille, Victor the Constrictor, and Jazz. Final Veil is an Egyptian/Electronic group with traditional rhythms mixed with house, triphop, and drum&bass. Think hand-drums, vocals, guitars, electronics, and bellydance. If you haven't seen them before, you should. I saw them once at The Pageant a few years back and loved them. I think you might too. Stay tuned for a review of a couple of tracks from the new album right here when they release it publicly online!
Final Veil's Album Release Party and Bellydance Festival will also feature Raw Earth including their own latest evolutions with the addition of an amazing electric violin player. Many dance pieces will be performed throughout the evening by a wide variety in styles of bellydancers that are coming into town from all over the midwest for this show! This will also include live snake dancing by Ami Amore and shamadan with fire dancing by Raksanna's Desert Flames and Aalim Arabian Silk! This will be their biggest production for 2013 "The Year of the Snake", so if you cannot make any other show this year, let this be the one! If you just can't make it, Final Veil's next appearance is at the St. Louis Garlic Fest in Carondelet Park later in the month. Below is a free download of a song called, "Hark" that Final Veil released in 2010 as a gift to friends and fans. Below that is their debut album that is also self-titled.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Hark" by Final Veil.
*Click HERE to stream Final Veil's self-titled album.
Isaiah Harris is Bridgeton Airfield from St. Charles, MO. His music is done in a modern-classical, ambient type of soundtrack. It sounds real atmospheric and is done in a electronica and minimalist way. Although, it's not really all that practical for him to present this material live, he doesn't plan on having any shows to promote. However, if any filmmakers, videographers or other atists/musicians are looking for soundtrack material or wish to collaborate in any manner, they may contact him at the email address. bridgetonairfield (AT) gmail (DOT) com
*Visit HERE to stream/download "Schlaflosigkeitsreihe" by Bridgeton Airfield.
Rap/Hip-Hop artist Kendall Webb has a story to tell and he is just trying to tell his. He is set to drop a new mix-tape this month and below is his first single from it. So, be on the look out for that. For inquiries and features contact him by email at: laduerams09 (AT) yahoo (DOT)com One can find his Facebook fan page
online and his Twitter and Instagram handle is: @KWebb_TR
*Visit HERE to stream/download "Go From Hurr" by Kendall Web.
Painter and singer/songwriter Pamela Devine has been working on her album that is scheduled for release in late 2013. She came to the last STLMU meeting at Utopia Studios. By the way, if you are interested in attending one, visit the "About" page and see when the next one is. Where was I? Oh, yes. I remember. While Pamela was walking down the steps into "The Necropolis" portion of the creative space there, she told me afterwards she was wondering what she was getting herself into. Once she sat down we all introduced ourselves and chatted about many things. Shawn and I later listened to her music after the meeting and she has a soulful voice and reminds us of Annie Lenox. She writes her music for those they are meant for, maybe these speak to you.
Didges Christ Superdrum from Florida will be coming to town on Friday, May 31st to The Way Out Club and they sent over this video. HERE is the event page for the show with all the details. They play an odd mix of tribal drumming/didgeridoo/industrial/trance, and also have an interpretive dancer! Eclectic. HERE is this week's #VideoOfTheWeek!
The Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center is proud to present Ulan Bator (from Paris, France), Wei Zhongle, and Nathalie Forget. The concert will take place at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center on May 9th from 8 p.m to 11 p.m. Tickets are seven dollars and will be available for purchase at the door. Click HERE for the event page on facebook.
Ulan Bator is an Avant-Rock, four piece band that hails from Paris, France. Formed in 1993 by Amaury Cambuzat, who is also a member of the legendary German band Faust, Ulan Bator has toured all throughout Europe and has had past singles featured extensively on EU MTV. They continue to have numerous guest members including James Johnston (Gallon Drunk, Lydia Lunch, Bad Seeds) and most recently Nathalie Forget (Ondes Martenot, Radiohead). Michael Gira, of Swans fame and Young God Records, praises Ulan Bator as “one of the best french bands in the past 300 years”. Currently on their first ever U.S tour, Ulan Bator will release their new L.P En France/En Trance on May 27th, 2013.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Santa Lucia" by Ulan Bator.
Wei Zhongle is an experimental rock band from Carbondale, Illinois. Founded by Rob Jacobs (Rob Jacobs Ensemble), Wei Zhongle pushes the boundaries of music by combining various world music sounds with heavy eastern influences and nonlinear lyrics. Their third album, Raised High/Brought Low, was recently released on April 13th.
*Click HERE to stream "Raised High/Bought Low" by Wei Zhongle.
Nathalie Forget is an installation artist and currently a member of Ulan Bator. Nathalie’s performance, Kiss on a Mexican Stone, incorporates the Ondes Martenot, sheep wool, and obsidian stone. She uses sheep as a symbol because it not only represents the religious symbol of sacrifice, but a mystical symbol as well as an image of softness, warmth, and love.
HeavyArms is from Belleville, Illinois and just digitally released their full-length album "Burning Crowds" on April 29th 2013 through UK based label, Myriad Records. The group formed in late 2009 between members of various groups from the local region and have the DIY spirit. Being like-minded musicians with a goal in place, they have accomplished seven self-booked tours and an EP under their belt. This overdue and long-awaited album also features Chad Kapper, vocalist for A Dark Orbit on a track. The mastering was done by Alan Douches of West Side Music known for working with acts such as Converge, ETID, Architects, Dilinger, Brand New and the list just goes on. The following recording was done at Encapsulated Studios, known for having recorded Story Of The Year, Fister and Everything Went Black. The subject matter tackles defeat, triumph, loneliness, disgust, pride, and crippling bouts of self-realization. They wrote this album on a six month break during shows in 2010 and 2011. Below are three key tracks from the album with a review of each song. These are streamable only. If you like them, you can purchase them by visiting the band online at their website link at the beginning of this paragraph. I did, however, include a free download just below this new music that is from 2012 by the group. Explicit lyrics are contained, so be advised and discover for yourself whether or not this pushes your boundaries of what is an acceptable auditory experience.
*Click HERE to stream "Burning Crowds" by HEAVYARMS on Bandcamp.
"Boundless" Musically, this song kicks off with the lead guitar playing melodic runs up and down the guitar, meanwhile the rhythm guitar adds to the atmosphere with a dramatic flare for a measure or two. The drums and vocals kick in from there. Hardcore screaming is the style of choice, but the voice is strong and has good placement. The percussionist has tons of time signature changes, but knows when to just rock it on the verses. This song is progressive and builds and builds. On the bridge of this song, the low-tuned guitars are complimented nicely with this six-string, bass fill that comes out of nowhere. Lyrically, my interpretation of the words leaves me with the inclination that the writer is at a crossroads. Not just with a particular relationship, but with life in general. While he is uncertain of his future, he is actively aware of his chosen path and also seems to regret certain inescapable truths. Having tried so hard, his conscience is troubled and yet things appear to be unchanged from a particular point of view.
"Blood-letting" Musically, the guitar rings off a signal for the drums to set the pace for about a bar and then they all chime in. The beginning of the verses has the guitars nicely harmonizing and setting the tone, the drums play an oddly intriguing pattern and the bass underlines the guitars. I feel the vocalist's cries of pain. He sets a particular tone that stands out on this one. I was impressed with the sudden placement of musical synchronizations on the bridge. After that, it speeds up double-time just before the final breakdown. Then things compound and explode just before the end, where it seemingly almost sounds as if suddenly there is some sort of purging of the senses. Lyrically, I think that the writer is overwhelmed with the familiarity of certain thoughts and images that continually cause affliction. While he knows how to control them, the anxiety seems to keep him at bay. Times passes, his thoughts race as he cognitively knows he is out of control. Tired of the past, he embraces the optimism of the future by just letting go.
"Burning Crowds" is the stand out song of the three. On each song one can ascertain that the musicians are gifted, not only do they sound tight on all three efforts, but this actual song has a "tight" sound. It is fast and abrasive. Everyone compliments each other. It just rocks and drives and then something happens. Time slows down with the continual tap of the drummer and you just hear hair-raising screams of the vocalist trudging forward with the lyrics,"Erase that image in your mind, turn back the clocks, their not keeping you in time." The snare drum comes out of this measure the second time this structure is introduced and the guitars sound epic here. Immediately followed after this bar is a choral "Oh-Oh-Oh" sound repeated over and over until the end of the track. The intention of the words seems to be about those continual faces from the past that come to the writer's mind. He knows some are a problem and some are just friends that are no longer close. Not ready to forgive them of their wrongdoing's he is choosing to "erase" these images, which are the faces of these alleged evil-doer's. He is "Burning Crowds" metaphorically speaking, when he lets these thoughts into his mind, he gets that sinking feeling and something goes off. I think that he uses the visual image as a metaphor for breaking the cycle of madness that this train of thought leads him down.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Red Wedding" (The Bled Cover) by HEAVYARMS on Bandcamp.
Meet SoSy a R&B hip-hop trio of ladies. They have been together for ten years now and have been featured on several nationwide shows. For example, their recent audition on America's Got Talent, as well as appearances on Showtime At The Apollo, Split Endz, etc. Having performed hundreds of shows across America, this independent artist is on the rise and on the road to being discovered. Ironically enough, their new mixtape is entitled,"Undiscovered". Below are three tracks that were sent by the group, along with a video from them.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Meet Me In St. Louis - Mix 3" by SoSy.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Supa Fly" by SoSy.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Shake N' Bake" by SoSy.
The 3rd Annual Rock University Festival & Number 6 Media present: "Dues Paid" an all ages event happening tonight at Lemmons which features five acts from Rock U Fest 2011 and 2012 joining forces to celebrate three years of this blog and to also raise money and awareness for Play It Forward. It will feature A Life Less Gray, Since 1902, Unifyah, Gemini Hustler and Banks And Cathedrals. This is a kick off show which is one of three events this year that will lead up to the third annual festival happening on September 28th. Save that date and then visit HERE to RSVP to tonight's event and to get the details. Below is a song from all of the five artists playing tonight, four of which may be downloaded for free.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Chokehold" by A Life Less Gray.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Timeshares" by Since 1902.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Good Lovin'" by Unifyah.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Denim & Blues" by Gemini Hustler.
*Click HERE to stream "Watching The Sun Go Down On Treme" by Banks & Cathedrals.
Red Red Waves rock Fubar on the venue side tonight along with Avalon Cinema and The Few, doors at 7pm and the show is at 8pm, this is an all-ages event. Click HERE for more details on the show.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Lunar" by Red Red Waves.
Here is your break down for Record Store Day in the St. Louis metro area. I'm going to throw in one download by a random artist playing at each location. There are six store locations are having events and they are as follows:
Afterward, the party is just down the street: CHIKAMORACHI (Darin Gray & Chris Corsano) performs at Foam, supported by the luminous GHOST ICE. RSVP for that HERE or watch the trailer HERE.
*Click HERE to RSVP to the Apop Records event on 4/20 and get all the extra details.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Happy Birthday Little" Jesus by Black James.
CD Warehouse has four bands performing live there at the store and the music starts at 1PM I was told by Walter, but I don't have an order of set times for these groups: Soul Kiss, Greek Fire, J. Boozer and Fivefold. They will have tons of cd/dvd/vinyl specials, FREE concert tickets and Record Store Day only releases!
*There is not an event page to RSVP to the CD Warehouse event on 4/20.
*Click HERE to stream/download "When Saturday Night Turns Into Sunday Morning" by J. Boozer.
In addition to the RSD exclusives, there will be a sidewalk sale.
*Click HERE RSVP to the Euclid Records events page.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Harder With Time" by Bo And The Locomotive.
Slackers has two locations doing events. Record Store Day is April 20th this year, and Slackers wants you to come out for a day of great tunes and great deals! They’ll have live music, exclusive Record Store Day Vinyl, and more! Special Deals: Buy 2 Get 1 Free on pre-owned CDs, Vinyl, and Cassettes*, 50% Off All T-Shirts & the lesser of the items is free. Exclusive RSD Vinyl available!
The first location has some slots not filled out on their site. I will email Luke and see what he may have not had time to add to their blog yet and will keep this post up to date as I get more info. Here is what they have posted: 3PM Skinney Boy, 4PM N/A, 5PM The Weekend Routine, 6PM N/A, 7PM N/A, 8PM Losing Controllers. Stay tuned to their blog post HERE for specials and RSD vinyl listing or the event page below for last minute new additions.
*Click HERE to RSVP to the Slackers in St. Charles event on 4/20.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Robotic" by Losing Controllers.
*Click HERE to RSVP to the Vintage Vinyl event on 4/20.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Middling" by Kisser.
This weeks #VideoOfTheWeek! is provided by the STL Music Preservation Project mentioned previously in this post. HERE is the link to their YouTube channel. This video below is from '97 and was performed by The Trip Daddys. Enjoy some vintage daddy...
Rowsdower has a lot of influences, yet one can say that they possess a blues oriented groove with a heavy sound. Music to head-bob too. For sure. Visit HERE for additional free downloads by Rowsdower. In addition, this week's #VideoOfTheWeek! is also by the group and was recently shot at Fubar.
Click HERE to stream/download "Starchild" by Rowsdower.
Carpathia released this song in 2011 and dropped me a line to share this with you. They have additional free downloads available on their Purevolume account HERE, as well.
Click HERE to stream/download "Giovanni" by Carpathia.
Coming soon is the Record Store Day post for 4/20!
Moritat will be rolling through St Louis again, playing at Heavy Anchor on Friday, April 12th with Earth Program, Boreal Hills, and Moon Glampers. HERE is the event page on facebook. On our Soundcloud, you can download "I Forgot to Kiss Her" of which they'll be releasing a video for it in the very near future, as well as "Cats" which was the single premier off their debut LP CLiLL BLaNZIN. Plus, I went down the artists on the bill for that night's show and all have downloads available for sampling purposes, as well. We have a track by another Chicago act below and then the two original music groups based in St. Louis offer up a complete album digitally on Bandcamp.
*Click HERE to stream/download "I Forgot To Kiss Her" by Moritat.
This Friday night is a big one for one Daniel Dwyer as he will be joined on stage at Foam with his friends Carson Burke on upright bass, John Lee on cello and Chris Princivalli on acoustic guitar. They will be celebrating the "Sincerely," EP release along with Austin Jones and the Bootheel Boys, plus Jack Nations. This will be an all-ages show and is $5 at the door. Show starts at 9pm. Daniel shared on the event page HERE that "All the music on the EP will be recreated into something live, up close, genuine, and sincere." Sounds like a night of good music to me. Check out a song by Daniel Dwyer below and also this week's #VideoOfTheWeek! by Jack Nations below.
*Click HERE to stream/download "I Don't Know feat. IQ" by Daniel Dwyer.
Brandon Petit of The New Madrid Fault Line has a side project called, "Salt Creek Coyotes" and he heads up the production end of it. He also has released some experimental sounding electronic music with some hip-hop, rap and instrumental influences under his production monicker "Flyswatter Maestro". I'm digging the name for sure. Sample his track below and if you like it you can download the full nineteen-track album, as well.
*Click HERE to stream/download "Little, Little, Late, Late" by Flyswatter Maestro.
*Click HERE to stream/download the full album "Bill Malloney & The 2 Step Crew" by Flyswatter Maestro.
Richie Callison just so happened to be logged into his facebook account last year promoting his music when that little box popped up on the right. You know, the one that shows "Here's someone you may know", "Would you like to add them as a friend?" Before he sends a friend request, aside from having mutual friends, Richie always check to see what their musical tastes are. He uses it to promote his music. As it turned out, it was a hot chick that has mutual friends and loves hard rock music, so Richie sent the request. Not a day later, he get this snotty message from her "Do I Know You?" Richie thought about it for a while and wrote back,"No, but thanks for the song title!" True story, he also obviously created a story around this encounter. For the lyrics to this song and more of his music downloads visit HERE. His next single drops 4/16 on Itunes. The title is "Easy on the Eyes"!
*Click HERE to stream/download "Do I Know You?" by Richie Callison.
The uplifting St. Louis Metal artist Battalion really does not disappoint with their sophomore release. It is the follow up to 2009's "Seasons" by them. "Resilience" was recorded in the fall of 2012 at The Nook Recording Studio in New Lenox, IL with studio engineer Nick Nativo (Oceano, Monsters). I saw them live this past year at Fubar and enjoyed their set. Vocalists Clint Kesinger and Jamey Kroesen bring it and duel throughout the entire effort. Then you have Josh Masten on guitar, Shad Baldes on the bass and Justin Bess on drums. Initially, they were from rural Green County, Illinois. After some time, they decided to move to St. Louis and get more exposure. Battalion is scheduled for an exclusive interview to be featured on The Black Sheep Radio Show
(88.3FM, www.wqna.org) in Springfield, Illinois later this month. Battalion has been asked to perform,
fellow St. Louis local, Tear Out The Heart's (Victory Record's) album release show on March 22nd at "The Mad Magician" in St. Louis. Tear Out The Heart is an aggressive and catchy metal-core band which signed to Victory Records in August of 2012. Below is a quick review of the album by Battalion, followed by a free download of one of their new songs. Note that the album can be purchased on Itunes and ordered on CD Baby through the band's facebook page, which is linked at the top of this paragraph.
The first track "Chump Change" starts out with a short, but powerful introduction to the new eight-song effort by Battalion called, "Resilience". The second song, "Semper Fi" shows off elements that the listener will discover throughout the album, as a whole. Time signature changes, sweet grooves and original sounding builds. It ends with silence, followed by an echo that is reverberated a few times which then brings the listener to the next song. The guitar work on "Riot Control" is real cool. The drummer really sets the pace with this one. I also liked the atmosphere on the bridge of this song too. An excellent choice for track three and this one really stood out to me.
On "Thieves" the listener finds out just how brutal these guy's sound is. A polyphonic symphony for the metal-head heading out to war, so to speak. "Heartland" has a particularly upbeat groove with some interesting time signature changes. On the bridge, there is a guitar effect that really makes the song hit home and also the vocals seem to be chanted by their vocalists as the reverb added to their tracks give this part a different feel. Thus proving that these guys are a threat from the heartland. "Armistice" is an instrumental song with a nice delay on the guitar and a clean tone. The drummer paces the timing out with some snare beats. The bass plays a low melody to fill it out further. Appropriately, timed out too. Which then brings us to the title track.
"Resilience" is a rousing number. Quickly I figured out why. This is an anthem. Not just for the listener, but for the group itself. At the end of the song, the lyrics state the following,"Take a look at where you are, Where you've been, and where you're going. You only have one life, achievement sustained through believing in myself. Tighten the grasp on what is dear to you, We are at the top of the bottom, we are a band of brothers standing resilient." The back ground vocals stand out well with the effect that is chosen as the last two lines of the lyrics above are repeated a few times as the song plays out. "The Maniac" is the final song and just leaves you wanting more. This one is merely unpredictable and the changes come out of nowhere throughout, whether it be the drums, the guitar or the vocals.
Click HERE to stream/download the song "Resilience" by Battalion.
Fight For Midnight is a five-piece Indie, Alt. Rock outfit. Dennis Hamer, their Sax, Keys and backing vocalist was kind enough to send me over a song in promotion of a show that they are headlining this coming weekend at Plush. HERE is the official event page. Sharing the stage with them is a band from Columbia that is releasing their CD called Pluto's Still A Planet. They are a four-piece that play Blues, Funk-Rock and are scheduled to play at 11 pm. HERE is a video of the creation of their album. Check it out, it is interesting. Then at 10 pm, Indie Rock artist Shotgun Abby will be keeping the evening in motion. They are a six-piece band with some female back ground vocalists even. Frontman Shawn Telkamp is now officially a contributor to the blog here and has been a big part of STLMU from the beginning. Kicking the show off at 9 pm is Flat Earth Society from St. Charles. They are a female-fronted group that is also a six-piece playing Rock, Funk, Acoustic and Pop. Their first EP is in post-production, so when I get something from them I will share it when it is shared with me. I know that they are excited to almost have it complete. Looks like it will be a good turn out. Check out three of the four artists on the bill below and download their tracks if you like. This is an 18 and up show, doors are at 8pm. $5 at the door.
Click HERE to stream/download "Waiting" by Fight For Midnight.
Click HERE to stream/download "Southern Junk Funk" by Plutos Still A Planet.
Click HERE to stream/download "Cold" by Shotgun Abby.
It's February of 2013 and I guess that I should get around to the best of 2012. Just like last year, this is based off of songs that have been submitted and then uploaded by one of our Soundcloud accounts. The only method that I track otherwise is how it performs on a loved basis via the Hype Machine. Otherwise, this is just too time consuming to follow all together for each post, plus some plays/downloads by different accounts would not necessarily be from this blog. So, without taking up any more time here are your top performers for 2012. By the looks of it, I notice that three out of these five artists were represented at Rock University Festival this past year. Hmmm... Well, what do you know?!
Most played song goes to the F.O.A.D.'s with a total of 1,040 plays.
Click HERE to stream/download "F**K You!" by CeeLo Green in the style of the F.O.A.D.'s.
Click HERE to stream/download "Reggae Soul" by Jeff Riley Jazz Suite. Also, this song was the second most played track on the blog this year with 723 plays.
The second most played song is by Unanimous and it's called "Stay The Night". It received 511 plays. Click HERE to stream/download this song.
This year's most downloaded artist is Unifyah. This song received 26 downloads itself. However, they had submitted three songs, the three totalled 80 downloads all together. 1,195 plays in all, which also gives them the title of most played artist. In addition, they also are crowned with this year's most hyped artist on the Hype Machine with 13 loves between all three tracks total. See the most hyped HERE.
Click HERE to stream/download "Over You" by Unifyah.
Most hyped song on the Hype Machine goes to Dancefloor Makeout's "Slut" with 15 hearts.
Click HERE to see this song's performance on the Hype Machine.
Dead And Gone is a brand new band to St. Louis with an old mountain style of music. Music fit for criminals and ghost-story telling around the fire. Dave Sale, the fiddle player sings along with Paul Cooper, who also plays the guitar. They even have a member named Cleatus. Dave used to jam with Old Crow Medicine back east, so if you like that sound, they can be contacted by message on their fan page or via email: davidksale (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Click HERE to stream/download "Hang Me" by Dead And Gone.
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