Members: Taylor Perkins (vocals), Cole Perkins (guitars), Mike Van Dyk (bass), Dan Steinke (guitars) Genre: Alternative Rock Location: Orillia, Ontario, Canada Recent Release: Bleeker EP
The acts coming out of Canada are basically blowing us away and we are a-ok with it. Our newest obsession? Canadian alt-rockers Bleeker. Though they aren’t new to the scene (they’ve been a band for about 13 years), they’re new to our ears. Their latest release, Bleeker, is a killer EP that grabs influences from alternative, rock and pop, and has you jamming out within the first few notes. Get to know the band below!
Members: Steve Ebert (guitars), Pete Greenberg (drums), Corrin Campbell (vocals/bass) Genre: Alternative Rock Location: Louisville, KY Recent Release:“Our Time Now”
For Louisville rockers Dash|Ten, 2016 is shaping up to be an incredible year. Just last month the band released their debut self-titled album, which features lead singles “What You Wanted” and “The Scene,” and next week the band will be hitting the road to perform on the Vans Warped Tour all summer long! We caught up with the band to discuss how Dash|Ten formed, what inspires them, and what they do outside of music. Check it out below and be sure to catch them on Warped at the Full Sail Stage (dates here)!
Members: Kyle McKearney (lead vocals), Shade ‘Indy’ McKearney (bass, vocals), Chris Doi (guitar, keys, vocals),James Janetty (keys, vocals), and Adam Casey (drums, vocals) Genre: Alternative Rock-Pop Location: Toronto, Canada Recent Release:“Inside Out”
Toronto alt pop-rockers The New Electric have made a name for themselves in Canada and it’s about time that we in the states start to give them some attention as well! The band has won numerous songwriting and band competitions (including the International Songwriting Competition 2016 and Canada’s Bell Media) and have worked with producer Brian Howes who is known for his work with artists including Keith Urban, Boys Like Girls, and Simple Plan. Basically, they’re amazing. Get to know more about The New Electric below!
Members: Larry “Fallout” Morris (Emcee/Lead Vocals), Keith Moore (Keys/Vocals), Kevin Koehler (Guitar/Vocals), Simon Chervitz (Bass), Chaz Brew (Drums/Vocals) Genre: Fusion (Hip-Hop, Alternative, Funk, Rock, Soul) Location: Saint Louis, MO Recent Release: “What D’Ya Like”
When we see 10-year anniversaries in music, it’s usually the anniversary of an album. Well, this time we’re changing it up. iLLPHONiCS, a St. Louis based hip-hop fusion band, just hit their 10th anniversary as a collective and THAT deserves to be celebrated! In addition to the anniversary, the band signed with Kansas City-based indie label The Record Machine to release their latest album, Gone With The Trends just a few months ago. Get to know more about iLLPHONiCS below!
Members: I usually hit the road on my own. However, I play some local shows with some really talented musicians/friends – Dallas Reedy (Drums), Ty Teixeira (Guitar), and Sam Derting (Bass/Guitar/Vocals) Genre: Folk/Rock/Indie Location: Pasco Washington Recent Release: From The Woods: Inside Llewyn Davis
Musicians can fund their musical career in a multitude of ways including playing small shows and raising money through Kickstarter. Then you have Quinell, a folk singer/songwriter who has funded his musical career through something a little different – commercial fishing trips in Alaska, where he spends four months on a boat with only a handful of people. Named after the Bob Dylan song “The Mighty Quinn,” Quinell focuses on combining heartfelt lyrics with catchy melodies to send messages of hope and love through his music. Get to know more about Quinell and how he first began playing music below!
Members: Adam Wolfsdorf (vocals), Ian VanderMeulen (guitar), James Clifford (bass), Zachary Thomas (drums) Genre: Rock Location: Brooklyn, NY Recent Release:“When We Were Young”
When cover bands are formed, it’s rare to see them evolve and turn into something more. Then you have Brooklyn rockers, The Energy, who originally formed as a cover band almost 10 years ago and now continue to kick ass as a soulful rock band that needs to be on everybody’s radar. Over the past few years, the band has toured with 3 Doors Down, Eve 6, and were even the headlining act for the 2011 NYC Marathon – so basically, if they haven’t been on your radar yet, where have you been? The band are currently planning on self-releasing their new full-length, When We Were Young, which is expected to be released early 2016! Get to know more about The Energy below!
How did The Energy form and come to be what it is today?
The Energy formed originally as a cover band about 10 years ago. I remember we used to play terrifying places such as the Orange Bear in downtown Manhattan. We even played at pizza joints such as Two Boots in Park Slope. We didn’t have an identity, but we loved music and loved playing together. We were actually originally called Furious George. And then some heavy metal 50 year old rocker threatened to sue us, because apparently that was his stage name and we were stealing it (unbeknownst to us!). So rather than going through a crazy lawsuit (although we did love the name), we switched to The Energy- our producer at the time thought we had a ton of energy on stage, so we tried out the name and it stuck. That’s about the time when we started writing tons of original material and seeking an identity as an original rock band. The rest is history.
Who are some of your musical influences – both as a band and individually? You know, we’re all pretty eclectic. Our guitar player studied classical trumpet at Oberlin College. I grew up singing in choruses and doing music theater- I was in the national tour of Rent with Neil Patrick Harris, and played Danny Zuko in the tour of Grease. Our drummer grew up on Zeppelin and the Beatles. Our bassist loved the Marvelous 3, REM, and Eve 6. So we all brought different things to the table. The funny this is, when we write, it’s usually something pretty different from anybody we love or admire. It’s a synthesis of our four souls- and that’s a strange synthesis, for sure! But seriously, our sound is a bit of a mystery even to us. We produce strong, propulsive rock songs with an anthemic, lyrical feel. How’s that? Hard to define the undefinable.
What do you enjoy most about playing shows? How different one is from the next. You never know what you’re gong to get. We’ve stood on stage in front of thousands of roaring fans- like when we were direct support for 3 Doors Down at the National Harbor in Maryland, or like when we headlined and sold out Irving Plaza in New York. We’ve also played some really quite, desolate shows for two or three people and the bartender in South Carolina. Part of what makes live performance so addictive/interesting is that you never really know exactly what you’re going to get. The lead singer of Dashboard Confessional once said “I drive 7 hours a day, so that I can be a rock star for 45 minutes a night”. I’d say that’s pretty true. There’s a ton of uncertainty, and that makes it both appealing and frustrating.
What do you do when you’re not playing music? I love nature. I love to read and to write- not just music but also poetry, short stories, etc. I like to spend time with friends. My family is very important to me. I have two sons (2 years old and 2 two months old- they keep me pretty busy!). I also love to exercise. I find that I’m not happy unless I exercise 5 or more times a week. Helps to get me going.
Members: Evan Ambrose (Vocals), Omar Ahmed (bass), Nate Lotz (drums) Genre: Garage Rock Location: Los Angeles, CA Recent Release: “Everybody”
When LA rockers Blacktop Queen released their debut single a few weeks ago, we were completely into it. Filled with gritty vocals and catchy riffs, the track (which was self-produced and recorded in one take) is a relatable one to those who have been in toxic relationships and just can’t seem to stay away. Though a new band, Blacktop Queen is no stranger to the scene. Lotz plays drums for Halsey and Ryan Adams (yes – you read that correctly) and Ahmed plays bass in Youngblood Hawke and Kitten. So basically, Blacktop Queen is the band we’ve all been waiting to come to life and now our prayers have been answered. Get to know Blacktop Queen below!
How did Blacktop Queen form and come to be what it is today? Blacktop Queen came from the death of a lot of previous project and bands. We had all known each other from playing music in the past, and it just so happened that we were all free’d up around the same time, it was a pretty a natural thing.
Who are some of your musical influences – both as a band and individually? Omar – Radiohead, Chance The Rapper, BRMC Evan– Oasis, the La’s, the cars, Nas Nate – the pixies , refused, the clash
What do you enjoy most about playing shows? I really enjoy the energy, from the crowd and from my band mates on stage. I love the interaction between everyone, trying to push yourself and your bandmates musically, its really fun having musicians that can all pull people in certain directions depending on the moment.
What do you do when you’re not playing music? Omar – I love TV series, podcasts, and video games Evan– play with my dogs, drink wine, listen to podcasts, and watch fail videos Nate – go out to eat, go to museums, lay on the couch, play star wars video games
Members: Cameron, Charles, & Ethan Christopher Genre: Pop/Rock Location: Los Angeles, CA Recent Release: Dog Daze
It’s been a while since we’ve been crazy about a band of brothers until The Christopher Brothers entered the picture. At only 14, 17 and 19, the trio of brothers write, play AND produce their own music. The trio may seem familiar for those of you who watched the X Factor back in 2013 when they made it to the top 20 of the group category. Since then, the band has toured nonstop at a variety of locations (Six Flags, malls, festivals, clubs, etc) and recently released their latest album, Dog Daze, on February 11th which we are a huge fan of. Get to know more about The Christopher Brothers below!
How did The Christopher Brothers form and come to be what it is today? Each of us were playing our instruments on our own just because we liked them. We didn’t start out trying to be a band. Cameron was in a band with some friends and they told him he wasn’t very good so our mom suggested we all try playing together and it just worked. Within a month we wrote our first song.
Who are some of your musical influences – both as a band and individually? We all love Green Day, The Beatles, Blur, The Hives, All American Rejects, The Beach Boys & The Who.
What do you enjoy most about playing shows? Meeting our fans and having people enjoying our music in front of us! We love performing live!
What do you do when you’re not playing music? All three of us do acting jobs in TV, commercials & films and we love playing video games as well as playing basketball and baseball and hanging with our friends.
Members: Mau (Vocals/Guitar), Yusuke (Guitar), Jeff (Bass), Dag (Drums) Genre: Indie pop/rock Location: Los Angeles, CA Recent Release: “Take My Hand”
Los
Angeles indie-rockers, Night Lights, are planning to make 2016 a year full of
new music! As a band that is from all over the world (Mexico, Japan, United States and Norway), fans can expect the new music to touch on their experiences of heartache, joy, fear and love. Having
just released their newest music video for “Take My Hand,” their music has been
described by Baeble Music as “a warm
blast of dance pop,” and we couldn’t agree with them more! Get to know Night Lights in our interview below!
How did Night Lights form and come to be what it is today? Dag: The idea of Night Lights started in conversation around a lunch table in Boston. 3 of us got together to jam one day, and the chemistry was there. As we started writing together, we also started talking about band names, which wasn’t easy, but Night Lights was the outcome. We’re all international, so thinking about that, it’s crazy how we all ended up meeting right after we all moved to Boston for college, and now we’re best friends doing music for a living.
Who are some of your musical influences – both as a band and individually? Jeff: As a band, we find common ground in our love for bands like MuteMath and Phoenix. Individually, our influences are pretty diverse. I’m a fan of just about everything from the likes of Michael Jackson to Justin Timberlake to D’Angelo to Raphael Saadiq to Kimbra to Sufjan Stevens to Silversun Pickups (I’m sure each of us could go on for days, we listen to a lot of different things). I know Dag is a really big fan of *Nsync, Mau draws the majority of his lyrical influence from his favorite band, Nickelback, and Yusuke considers Tool to be the biggest influence on his guitar playing as far as I know.
What do you enjoy most about playing shows? Mau: I think my favorite thing about playing shows is the unique experiences in each one. The reactions and the creative stuff we get to output whenever we play. For example, Jeff and I love to be silly and I’m notoriously dorky so I always have some sort of silly awkward thing to say and Jeff is so quick on his feet that he makes it into a punch line. Another example is that every concert there is a song that strikes an emotional chord for every one of us that may be different every time, and its great to see what it brings out of each one of us and by extension, how that influences and elevates the room. #fitness
What do you do when you’re not playing music? Yusuke: When I’m not playing music I love to drink good coffee and cook with friends. 🙂
Members: Joey Chehade, Ben Leang, Cory Bean, Joel Silloway Genre: Rock, Electro-rock Location: Boston, MA Recent Release: The Real You (3.25.16)
Boston rockers, The Life Electric, have big things planned this year when it comes to new music! Last month they released their second single, “Heartbeat,” which is an important song to the band as it was the first song they recorded with producer Brian Charles. The song comes from the band’s second full-length, The Real You, which is scheduled to be released on March 25th. Having previously opened for artists including Neon Trees, Cracker, and Marcy Playground, the band draw in attention with their indie-rock-meets-electro-pop sound (basically they seriously kick ass). Get to know more about The Life Electric below!
How did The Life Electric form and come to be what it is today? Ben: Cory and I were in a band that was dissolving right as Joey’s former band was, and our mutual audio engineer was like, “Hey, you guys should get together!” Joey: Happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right folks.
Who are some of your musical influences – both as a band and individually? Joey: For me, Pearl Jam, The Wrens, U2, Elvis, The National, The Cars, Broken Social Scene and on and on.
Ben: The Beatles and U2 for sure. I know that’s not the cool answer, but I grew up on that music, and it’s the archetype for a rock band to me. But almost anything and everything under the sun; I’ll absorb it and use it somehow.
What do you enjoy most about playing shows? Joey: It’s a very specific and very addictive feeling to succeed at something that on it’s face feels so unnatural. You’re standing up in front of a bunch of people you likely don’t know and you’re singing songs to them. There’s a moment where that weirdness disappears, usually after the first or second song. You’re left with what I would call exhilaration. I think that comes from connecting with an audience you just met, like we’re all gonna be ok and we know you’ll like this ride we’re going to take you on. The closest experience I can compare it to is skydiving. The moment after you pull that ripcord. There’s a split second of uncertainty and then an internal celebration that you’re succeeding at this crazy task. And that’s goes for playing in front of 5 to 5,000.
Ben: There’s just a unique joy that’s playing your songs live. When the band is really on it and the audience is giving it right back at you, it just takes you to such an amazing place, emotionally. Not so much skydiving for me as it is just pure freedom. Like the end of Free Willy!
What do you do when you’re not playing music? Ben: Um… planning to play more shows? But really, there’s always a lot to do behind the scenes, whether it’s writing more songs, planning a tour, figuring out album art. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else though. But if it’s not music, I love the other arts as well. Reading. Cooking. Oh, and there’s that show called Game of Thrones coming soon.
Joey: Music has been the focus for a while now. Outside of that, I’m a random grab bag of interests. I’ve done this that and the other for a long time. I’ve been lucky in my life to be able to explore and do whatever feels right at any given time.
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