Archive for the ‘Band Spotlight’ Category

Artist Spotlight: Justin Ibrahim

Posted: January 29, 2013 by Kevin Collier in Band Spotlight
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I’ve known Southern California-based independent artist Justin Ibrahim for several years now. I met him through a friend and only recently got to experience his music in a live setting. In late June, 2012, Justin packed the small back room of the L.A. staple, the Pig N’ Whistle in his very first Hollywood show. It was great to see him and support a friend trying to share his music and get noticed in an unfortunately over-saturated market. I was really impressed. I even took some video of the show, but regrettably never got around to posting about it on the blog. But with his upcoming debut album, “Daybreak”, set to release on January 31st, I took the opportunity to reach out to Justin and ask him a few questions. Here is the interview:

Kevin Collier: You had a great turnout at your Pig N’ Whistle show back in June. What are your thoughts on the support you had and that show in general?

Justin Ibrahim: My first show in Hollywood was a kickstart show. The response to the show was simply outstanding! A big crowd showed up and we packed the room!! A new musical artist playing his first show in Hollywood couldn’t have asked for a better turnout! The show was so much fun! My wonderful family, friends, and fans were all present and we had a blast! They are some of the best people I know and I was so honored to have performed for them.
Though I loved the raw and intimate setting we created with an acoustic set I’m really looking forward to playing shows with more instrumentation and bigger production in the near future!

KC: Talk about your recent appearance on StaticBeach.com. How was that experience?

JI: It was a pleasure to be hosted on StaticBeach.com! Since I was playing with my friend singing back up and just an acoustic guitar the audience was really able to focus on the lyrics and simple and sweet melodies of the music. I played three of my own songs and an impromptu cover of 3 AM by Matchbox 20; we gave the song more of a folk style and stripped down feel. I acknowledge that switching the style of a song is risky but sometimes it has to be done in order to turn a regular performance into a memorable experience… that’s something I always try to keep in mind when performing! I received a lot of positive feedback for the new rendition of the old song from audience members tuning in. It was a wonderful show.

KC: Congrats on the impending release of your debut album Daybreak. How does it feel to be releasing this album?

JI: Thanks. My album, Daybreak, will be released on iTunes, Spotify, and all other major online music services on January 31st! I’m overly excited! This album has taken a long time to get out; almost 4 years! But such is the way with quality, independent music. I’m finally glad I am able to share these songs from my heart with music listeners everywhere.

KC: How many tracks will be on the album?

JI: There will be 9 tracks on the album. They each tell a story about moments in my life that really sculpted who I am today. When I was traveling in Argentina I wrote a song about a girl who broke my heart. One of the tracks touches on the fallout of a relationship I had with a woman that totally crashed and burned. And once, when I was overlooking the Pacific coast, after experiencing personal tragedy, I wrote a song about healing through heartache and learning to move on. ‘Rochester’ is probably the most accessible and catchiest track of the album but my personal favorite, my baby, is “Beautiful Things.” “Beautiful Things” is the heart of the album.

KC: Can you tell us about your album release show in February? Will there be any other shows in support of the album?

JI: There will be a show on the weekend of February 22-24. We’re looking for the perfect venue in Los Angeles to host the event! I’m hoping to play a couple of shows in LA and the Antelope Valley to kick off the CD. I’m starting to build a tour through California after the CD release shows. Details and updates will be up on my website: JustinIbrahimMusic.com.

KC: What do you hope listeners will get from your album?

JI: I want my listeners to have more questions to ask themselves. As a singer/ songwriter, I personally hope to write songs that inspire people to make positive changes in their lives and make decisions and movements towards hope. In our journeys of life, we’re all on different paths. I hope that my music influences people to move towards progress. If my audience can resonate with themes in each song, whether it’s heartache, being vulnerable, cutting your losses and moving on, or living for something bigger than yourself, I will be satisfied.

KC: Who or what has been your biggest influence/inspiration in your music?

JI: My greatest inspiration comes from my faith in Jesus Christ and my relationships with others. Though my faith in Christ plays a large role in my writing, I also find I write from great pain within my heart and constant thought and doubt in my mind. We live in so much complexity; there are no black and white lines in our lives.I want my music to explore how we navigate our world as such fragile and resilient beings. When I reflect on issues centered around that context I strongly feel my purpose in writing and sharing music with others.

KC: Is there anything you would like to say to your fans?

JI: You are the best! Thank you for your love, encouragement, and support! It only gets better from here. We’re going places and it’s going to be a new, awesome, and exciting journey! See you soon!

Check out Justin’s debut album, Daybreak, out now! Click here to buy the album on iTunes. Check out his website, Twitter, and Facebook page. You should also check out Music by Cazz, another great indie artist, (he’s the guy supporting Justin on cajon in the videos).

Support independent artists!

Enter this into your Search Engines: Crossfaith

Posted: August 20, 2012 by RowdyRob in Band Spotlight
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I’ve checked off several things since arriving in Japan but I still have yet to climb Mt Fuji, go to a hot spring, and see Crossfaith. The five piece metalcore outfit hails from the Land of the Rising Sun aka Nippon aka Japan and is one added benefit to finding employment in Japan (aside from receiving steady pay).

After grabbing their 2009 release, The Artificial Theory for the Dramatic Beauty, it became one of my favorite releases of the year, in spite of its incoherent title. Obvious influences from American Metal groups are littered throughout the eight tracks but manages portray enough personal flair that has kept me engaged. The added twist to the standard metalcore formula comes in the form of the programmer (and according to their Facebook page “vision”). If electronica seared into the edges of your heavy music isn’t your cup of musical joe, then this isn’t going to change your mind. But the keys that are placed are done respectfully and you shouldn’t suffer PTSD flashbacks of crabcore power stances. Also, Crossfaith has consistently produced musical interludes that I actually enjoy. It’s  easy to skip instrumentals on 90% of albums since they’re filler often times but Crossfaith’s version of the vocal-less jam successfully complements neighboring tracks and they do so consistently.

The same could be said for last year’s full-length follow-up The Dream, The Space. While it may not be as memorable as the first album, songs like “Stars Faded in Slow Motion” and “Promise” give off more of the grandeur that was found in their debut. I will note that songs like the playfully reckless, “Snake Code (Carribean Death Roulette)” provide a much needed respite to the often heavy-handed melodrama that is exhibited in Crossfaith’s music and lyrics. At this time, their Zion EP has been released and “Monolith” is the only track I’ve heard so far. Judging from this sole song,  it sounds like these Nihonjin’s mastery of metal and technology continues to progress. (Although, I’m not too aware of the EP’s US availability).

Two weeks after arriving in Japan, Crossfaith played in Tokyo. Sadly, the Yen to Dollar exchange rate is a murderer who ravishes you of a quarter for every dollar you spend. I am  now armed and ready with Yen in pocket and will be watching out for the next time Crossfaith plays in their motherland.

You can check Crossfaith on their Facebook to get your international metal groove going.

Album art’s all from crossfaithjapan.com.

T.REX….BEFORE AND AFTER – Music Makeovers that made sense AND dollars. (Vol. 1)

Posted: July 14, 2012 by Dale Nickey in Band Spotlight, List
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BEFORE: Tyrannosaurus Rex (1967-1969):

MUSIC: Tolkienesque’ Acoustic Acid Folk

Marc Bolan took an acoustic guitar, bongo player Steve Took, and made four very eclectic albums of  odd ball waif-folk. Mythology, magic, and gnomes were the subject matter. The world remained unimpressed. Without a course correction, Tyrannosaurs Rex was headed for the same Acid-Folk purgatory as the Incredible String Band and Tir Na Nog.

AFTER: T.REX (1970-1977)

MUSIC: Glitter-Pop-Metal

Bolan was a smart, Jewish self-promoter. He swapped his acoustic for a Les Paul Custom. He swapped his drug impaired bongo player for eye candy skin-beater/male-model Mickey Finn.  Bolan shortened the band name, cranked up the volume and loaded on the Max-Factor and eye shadow. Lyrics now sang the praises of Cars, Girls, and Cats. David Bowie was crouching in the weeds watching.  Though Bowie would eventually establish the universal Glam brand, Marc Bolan was the first to take uber-androgyny to the bank and make it pay.  

 What Happened?

 Bolan and T.REX cured Great Britain’s great cultural depression that had resulted from The Beatles’ demise. The idiot energy that fed Beatlemania found a new mode of expression. It was called “T-Rextasy” and it swept the nation. In fact, Ringo Starr passed the torch himself by directing Bolan’s only feature length film. America remained immune to the hysteria, but “Bang A Gong” remains a staple of the Classic Rock radio format. Bolan ‘died young and stayed pretty’. He died as a passenger in a car crash at age 29.  The driver was his paramour and mother of his only son Rolan.

That Is Ridiculous! Seriously

Posted: July 13, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight, Ridiculous
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Michael

                                    Angelo

                                                                                                   Batio

Seriously… This guy makes all the rest of us look like children… He must all the rest of us look like we are just smacking our Carpal tunnel ridden hands against a badly tuned guitar. How does he do that. The jerk is ambidextrous. Oh, and he IS the fastest guitarist in the world… As of November 2011… So maybe I should have put him on my list of ridiculous A-Holes a long time ago…

But, sadly… Batio is not an A-hole… He is a very nice guy. So I say, go Mikey, go.

Check out some cool interviewers with Michael Angelo at http://www.fret12.com . This guy is Seriously! Ridiculous!

-Ace Lancin-

They’re ooky and they’re spooky….”MATMOS”….The Addams Family of Rock

Posted: July 7, 2012 by Dale Nickey in Band Spotlight, List
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Authored by Dale Nickey:

It’s the pioneers who make life interesting for the rest of us. Back in the 60’s scientists advised us of all the practical technological goodies we would enjoy as perks pursuant to our space program. Lazers, computers, and tele-communications innovations for the masses would make the billions spent worthwhile. Many thought it was a come-on to justify the expense of a manned moon flight; but ultimately, science delivered the goods.

I remember when Synthesizers were a space age instrument for the rich, privileged, fringe music makers. It didn’t take long for disco producers to dumb it down for the mainstream. A few hardy, industrious, innovators absorbed the guffaws and blank stares so that future musicians might thrive and create….or stagnate….as they chose.

So what do we do when technology has provided for all our immediate sound chasing needs and we find ourselves looking for the next mountain to climb or the next new sound? Matmos has broken down any limits that good sense might have imposed on the normal music maker. They’re not above taking a violin bow to a rat cage…. Or sampling, looping and magnifying the snipping and sucking sounds of cosmetic surgery and liposuction as the basis for an album,  A Chance to Cut Is a Chance to Cure

Who and/or what are Matmos?  Well, they’re a San Francisco couple (M. C.  Schmidt and Drew Daniel). Openly gay and affectionate to the world. They look like they came right out of central casting. That is….if you’re casting a movie version of “The Geek Squad” from the student body of BYU. Wearing their horn-rims and pocket protectors like badges of honor, they boldly go where other musicians can’t or won’t go; and probably shouldn’t. But, Matmos makes their weirdness work. Not content to be merely abstract, they make music that is suprisingly listenable from the most unlikely sound sources.

Matmos had been plying their outsider art in happy obscurity since 1995. In 2001 they came to the attention of the world as the backing band (or should I say…sound designers) for the Icelandic high priestess of pop, Bjork. Handed the intricate beat structures and loops that were the backbone of her repertoire, they put them up on the blocks like an old Rambler and gutted and restored the chassis. They swapped out the massive big beats with an assortment of skittering, polyrhythmic, micro beats while still maintaining the clean lines of the vehicle. On Bjork’s groundbreaking “Vespertine” tour, they could be found manning the laptops in addition to providing sonic surprises by stomping around in a box of rock salt for percussive effect, shuffling a deck of cards into a microphone, or sensuously rubbing each others bodies with a contact microphone to add the resulting static electricity to the overall mix.

When not sampling melting rivers or crayfish nervous systems, they can also make evocative, and beautiful sounds with more conventional tools like percussion instruments.

click here to hear Matmos-so-percussion-

You have the vanguard, then you have the vanguard of the vanguard. That is where Matmos plants it flag. We will always need a Matmos to forge a path for the rest of us who are too blinkered by convention and conformity to forge one for ourselves.

Azusa’s Best: Robert DeLong, Scott Ryan and Johanna Chase

Posted: June 28, 2012 by Kevin Collier in Band Spotlight
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One of the great things about my time at Azusa Pacific University is the sheer amount of amazing, talented people I met along the way. I want to give a snapshot of three people I met there and what they’re doing with their music right now. Without further ado:

Robert DeLong

Photographed by Ben Miller
Courtesy of Leveled Magazine

I’ll never forget the first time I met Robert DeLong. “Hi, I”m Robbie. Do you like robots?” He said, as we headed downstairs from our dorm hall, which we called “Second South” to watch Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Here was this guy in a beanie from some small town in Washington called Bothell. Soon I found he was very into music and he actually piqued my interest in bands like Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie. In the months that followed I heard him talking about starting a band with another guy from our hall, Sam Ward. I had the privilege of seeing their band, called The Denouement, perform several times. I even watched them win APU’s Battle of the Bands, beating out another, more commercial sounding and arguably more popular band. In the years that followed, we both graduated and moved on. I was always interested to see what Robert would do next. His solo work at first spoke of often depressing subjects like getting older and feeling lost, yet it had a cool vibe and I couldn’t get enough. In 2010, he announced he would release free songs of the month to those who subscribed via e-mail. I signed up and like clockwork he has continued to produce original, thought-provoking, incredible art consistently. I always admired his intensity on drums when he played with The Denouement or backed other solo artists in their bands. What’s cool to see though is how he has evolved his music into a sort of amalgamation of multiple genres that frankly sounds nothing like it should with you mess with that many elements. I look forward to seeing him in concert as part of KROQ‘s Locals Only Showcase at The Troubadour on July 11th. Buy tickets here.

Scott Ryan

Image Courtesy of Facebook

It’s hard to believe it’s been since September of last year that I reviewed Scott Ryan’s album, Mercy Killings. Unfortunately I didn’t take the opportunity to really get to know Scott in college, but I did watch him play a lot. He led the band at APU’s weekly chapel events and  he’s a natural at this whole music thing. His brother also played in the band with him. I had the pleasure of attending the music video premiere of “VFW”, which you can watch here. I think it’s about time I check in on Scott Ryan and see what’s next for him. You should too. He’ll be at El Cid Theatre in Silverlake, along with his band, The Thunderbeast. Tomorrow’s Friday, so do yourself a favor and stay up late to watch Scott Ryan and the Thunderbeast rock out. Also performing will be Kyle McNeill & The Stumble. I hope to see you there.

Johanna Chase

Image Courtesy of Facebook

Johanna Chase and I share a special connection. We used to get paid to pick up trash together. I actually met Johanna originally through Robbie DeLong and I had the opportunity to work with her as an on campus Custodian. We cleaned the shit out of that place. Well, I did…but that’s a story for another time. I got to see her do some pretty cool things over the years, such as her St. Baldrick‘s benefit show on campus. She shaved her normally trademark dreadlocks for a more freshly shorn look. You wouldn’t know it looking at her today. She also traveled around the US on her I heart people tour. But what’s really cool is that you can help her make a new album in New York with Producer Roger Greenawalt (Rhett Miller, Rufus Wainwright, Nellie McKay, Ben Kweller). I did! Please check out her music and donate on Kickstarter. Speaking of Kickstarter, stay tuned for a big announcement for The Stereo Lounge on Kickstarter.

Support independent artists!

- Kevin

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That is Ridiculous…ly bad! The Second Encounter!

Posted: June 27, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight, List, Ridiculous
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Oh goodness. I am going to step on some toes today… I’ll be honest, I am almost afraid to do this one, but I must. Too many people think this person is talented and fantastic and awesome and beautiful. I disagree with all points. What use is what I think? Why should my opinion matter? Like my bio says: I attended Musician’s Institute. I spent almost two years surrounded by amazing musicians. I got to sit in practice rooms with some of the best singers I have ever heard. I sat in on vocal classes during my free time to get a sense of what was and is a good singer. I have played with men and women that could sing the pants off of any, ANY!, pop/rock/rap singer on the radio. I live and breathe music. I KNOW MUSIC! It might be all I know, but I know it…

So… Now that that is out-of-the-way…

That is Ridiculously Bad!

Lady Gaga

If I wanted to watch a cheap, trashy, far less talented version of Madonna… wait, who am I kidding, I wouldn’t even listen to Madonna, so why would I subject myself to something worse?

If I pumped myself full of that much auto-tune, I too could sound half decent. But I can’t sing, and neither can Gaga. You know what Lady Gaga is in the music world? A rogue back-up singer. She can carry a tune, but can’t SING.

We’re talking about a girl who quit music school because she thought she was better than the other people there.. A girl who says things like, “I just wanted to do it alone, so it was me and my piano.” SOURCE! [1] Is this sound reason for dropping out of music school? no.  That just sounds like a whiny little girl who didn’t get along with her music instructors.

Now my opinion of her beauty is, let’s face it, my opinion. so let’s just leave it at I don’t find her pretty.

NOW! The one thing I will give this tiny little freak, is her music videos are astounding. Visually. They are very VERY well done. So kudos on the visuals Lady Gaga. But lay off the “singing”.

Okay! That is all I will say about that.

-Ace (soon to be murdered by a raging Gaga fan) Lancin- RIP

Dynamic Duos – TOP FIVE SINGER/GUITARIST HOOKUPS

Posted: June 24, 2012 by Dale Nickey in Band Spotlight, List
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Authored by Dale Nickey:

The Stones, Guns & Roses, Led Zeppelin, The Who. Great BANDS right? What makes a great Rock And Roll band anyway? It ain’t that hard to figure. A great rhythm section is the slab foundation. Then you need the brick and mortar. That comes down to a charismatic lead singer and a gunslinger guitarist; and in epic bands, they’re usually joined at the hip and have a special musical, telepathic and (sometimes) quasi-homoerotic bond. Disagree? Allow me to submit the following for your consideration….

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (The Stones);

Mick n’ Keef  have been playing, writing and fighting in the same band for 50 years now. A dysfunctional marriage without the sex. Every song they produce is community property (Jagger/Richards). They fight over money and who is whose best friend. Mick pulled a pout during the ‘Exile’ sessions when Keef started spending too much time with stud-muffin country rock pioneer Gram Parsons. Keef pissed and moaned when Mick left him at home to make his first solo album with Jeff Beck. Together they are a money spinning machine that transcends Mick’s modest vocal abilities  and the band’s fabled inconsistency. They are the prototype.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)

One of the hallmarks of the epic tag-team is that the band cannot exist without either partner. You could have Zep again with a deputy drummer. However, without Page or Plant it’s ‘no deal’. Like the Stones, the Zep songwriting is a co-op. On stage, they only have eyes for each other. As solo artists, Plant has survived well and Page has managed to stay gainfully employed.  However, they will never escape the Zep legacy and will be dogged by reunion inquiries until they die.

Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend (The Who):

Even in his youth, Pete Townsend and his prominent proboscis were hard on the eyes.  However, his musical genius was indisputable. Roger Daltry was the perfect hood ornament for the high-performance vehicle that was The Who. Daltry was not a writer (a good thing), yet was such a passionate and protective advocate of the brand that he engaged in fistfights with Townsend over the direction of the band  (a good thing). Golden-god Daltry was a perfect foil and muse for Townsend. So much so, that when it came time to cast an actor for the movie version of the rock opera “Tommy”, Daltry was the only possible choice.

David Bowie and Mick Ronson (The Spiders From Mars):

Yes, I know, I know…..Bowie has been a successful solo artist for decades after his estrangement from the late Mick Ronson. However, Bowie established his brand after Ronson came on board, not before. And, Bowie went mega in the role of “Ziggy Stardust”. Ziggy had a band. The band was The Spiders From Mars. Onstage, Ronson was Ziggy’s onstage foil and object of unrequited man-lust. In the studio, classically trained Ronson was indispensable as musical director, string arranger, guitarist and piano man. The grand trilogy of Bowie albums (“Hunky Dory”, “Ziggy Stardust” and “Aladdin Sane”) bear Ronson’s indelible stamp. The drop-off in the quality of Bowie’s productions (post-Ronson) was within acceptable parameters, but still noticeable to discerning rock music fans.

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (Aerosmith):

At least a few of the above musicians can claim some solo success outside their main-squeeze partnerships. Not so for Tyler and Perry.  Solo efforts by both have been laughable and catastrophic. A union cut from the same co-dependant cloth as Mick and Keef;  Steve and Joe always end up back together in sickness and in health, for the career salvaging make-up album and tour. Their personal, studio and onstage chemistry is undeniable; and to hear Steven Tyler talk about it, kinda creepy…..

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That is Ridiculous. Rhan Saith

Posted: June 21, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight, List, Ridiculous
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I might be a little biased in the type of musician’s I choose to write about, but I don’t care. Which means, today, another bass player. Sorta. This guy was more than a bass player. One of the best players to have ever lived, A fantastic big band leader, an amazing composer, a noteworthy producer, and A psycho.

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco

Jaco Pastorius

This edition of That is Ridiculous has been somewhat difficult for me to get out. I started writing this on Tuesday June 19th and it is now Thursday June 21st and I still don’t have it done. The reason this is so hard, Jaco! Jaco was an inspiration to just about every bass player out there.   “I think I succeeded in finding my own sound, but I think it’s obvious that Jaco is a big influence when you hear me play (at least sometimes).” -Marcus Miller-

Jaco’s playing style grabbed everyone’s attention right out of the gate. His first Album, Jaco Pastorius (1976) got him two Grammy Award Nominations. (When the Grammy’s still meant something.) And Jaco was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988. He was one of only four bassists get the honor, and the ONLY electric bassist to get the award.

Jaco has played with Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Trio of Doom, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Word of Mouth, Al Di Meola, Ian Hunter, Biréli Lagrène, Mike Stern, Flora Purim, and Airto Moreira.

Sadly, in 1982 Jaco was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His behavior and antics kept getting stranger and more erratic. There are rumors of him stripping naked on stage and coloring his face with magic marker…

September 11th, 1987 Jaco sneaked on stage at a Santana Concert, he was thrown out of the concert. He then went to the Midnight Bottle Club, where he and the bouncer Luc Havan got into a fight. Jaco was put into the hospital where he slipped into a coma. And on September 21st, 1987 Jaco Pastorius died of a brain hemorrhage. Luc Havan plead guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 22 months in jail, he served four of those months and was released on good behavior.

I know these articles are usually short. But I had to say more! IT’S JACO! All I can say, go listen to all the Jaco you can. Read what he had to say. Learn from him. He was such a great bass player it would be a shame to not learn from him.

Jerry Jemmott: “Any advice for musicians, young and old?”
Jaco: “Just to keep your minds open, keep an open head about music…
I grew up in Florida where there is no real musical prejudice,
there was all sorts of music, everyone was playing everything
from Cuban music to symphonic music…keep listening…
keep your ears open…”

-Ace Lancin-

That Is Ridiculous. Del Seks

Posted: June 13, 2012 by acelancin in Band Spotlight
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I seem to be really bad at keeping a schedule…

Every time most men hear the sound of a banjo they think about Deliverance. And then they cringe.

When I think of banjo I think about the Prelude to Bach’s Violin Partitia #3. I think about Crazy fusion jazz/bluegrass. In short I think about Bela Fleck.

This dude really is ridiculous!

Notice how he plays that whole thing without reading the music. He’s got that mess in his HEAD!

I have been listening to Bela for years. Named a cat after him. His band Bela Fleck and The Flecktones is one of the best. Victor Wooten Trumps the low end for little ol’ Bela.

 

 

I recommend anyone interested in music should go out and check out anything they can by Bela Fleck, his music will open your mind to new musical possibilities.

Ace Lancin

 

p.s. You all wanna know something else ridiculous!? Prometheus! Go see it. It was extremely ridiculous. I need to see it again…

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