You know those times when you first hear a song and are hit by a blast of adrenalin that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up? Well, that’s what I felt after clicking on a link to a Tweet by the Miami-based indie rock band SunGhosts, which led me to a video of them performing their song “Indecision Incision.” Immediately, I was blown away by their electrifying energy and lead singer Nik Balsiero’s fierce vocals. These guys rip their guitars to shreds, clearly having fun in the process.
The charismatic four-man band includes Nik Balsiero (lead guitar,vocals), Jared Steingold (bass), Arminio Rivero (guitar, backing vocals) and Luis Estopinan (drums, backing vocals). As the band states on their website http://sunghosts.com/, they play “the best surf rock sock hop punk rock your ears can taste! Serving up hot and fresh vibes of aggressive positivity. Listening to SunGhosts you have no choice but to be happy!” All true, and I couldn’t have stated it any better myself.
Take a listen to “Indecision Incision” and I promise you’ll be hitting the repeat button. Be sure to turn up the volume!
SunGhosts have a huge following in South Florida, but are gaining fans worldwide through their infectious and eclectic surf/punk/rock sound, not to mention artistic generosity. They recently made a highly entertaining video of their song “Til the City Goes Under” to help promote the Miami music scene and other area artists.
Support these guys and follow them on Twitter and facebook, and listen to their music on Spotify & YouTube, or purchase on iTunes.
Sometimes you come across a band whose sound is so unique that you just have to sit up and take notice. The Infinite Eights is such a band. Hailing from Tampa, Florida, the amazingly talented three-member alternative/indie rock band consists of lead vocalist Parker Wilkson (who also plays lead guitar and keyboards), bass guitarist Davin Norman, and drummer Tyler Hanks. What makes their gorgeous, richly textured music even more remarkable is their young ages; as of April 2016, Parker and Tyler are still high school seniors, while Davin is in college at the University of Tampa. The guys have a maturity well beyond their years, and their kindness and humility are very refreshing.
The Infinite Eights has been playing together for a while and, despite their youth, have already racked up quite a few accomplishments. According to their bio on Soundcloud, they won Crowbar’s annual Battle of the Bands in 2014. Shortly after, the band was the opening act for Aaron Carter, for the Tampa concert of his tour. In May 2015, they opened for Brian Bell’s (of Weezer) band The Relationship, as well as Gringo Star. Other recent engagements in the Tampa Bay area have included performances at Raymond James Stadium, WMNF Radio, Fox 13 News, ABC Action News, Tropical Heatwave Festival, Gasparilla Music Festival, The Orpheum, Orbit 19 and Market on 7th.
In December 2015, the band released their first EP Unfound, a collection of six beautiful tracks that deal with the eternal subjects of love, loss and troubled relationships. The lyrics were all written by Parker, with the music a more collaborative effort. In describing their songs, Tyler stated “I want to spread love with our music. Our music is very emotional and has a good message that I want a lot of people to hear.” Parker added “When people write us online and tell us our song moved something in them, I can’t even describe how much that means to me and the group. It’s the best feeling in the world to know that your music is moving people.”
I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly awesome The Infinite Eights’ music is, even better than that of many seasoned bands with years of experience. At their young age, these guys are already gifted musicians. Their majestic, sweeping sound at times reminds me of Coldplay (one of my all-time favorite bands, I might add), with delicate but formidable piano and keyboards, mesmerizing guitar and strong, though not overwhelming, percussion. Parker’s ethereal, heartfelt vocals perfectly complement the beauty of their music. In addition to Coldplay, the band says their sound is influenced by some of their favorite artists such as U2, New Order, The Smiths, Tears For Fears, The Cure, Muse and One Republic, among others, which explains why their music is so magnificent.
Here are three songs from Unfound that showcase the band’s exceptional talents:
If you like your music smooth, sultry and sexy, then Yellow Shoots is definitely your go-to artist. He seamlessly fuses R&B, soul, jazz and hip-hop to create gorgeous songs that immediately envelop you in raw sensuality and emotion.
Yellow Shoots is actually Greg Matthews, a singer/songwriter from Philadelphia who is now based in the growing music scene of Brooklyn. His artistic name was born from his experiences with synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway, such as sound, leads to an automatic, involuntary response in a second sensory or cognitive pathway, such as sight.(Wikipedia) Greg sometimes sees vivid yellow colors when hearing music (a common form of synesthesia is known as chromesthesia, for sound to color), hence the name “Yellow Shoots.”
He attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied guitar. He began honing his music skills playing guitar for Noel Terrel’s gospel band, and later collaborated with Ryan Toby of City High, and played back-up for R&B/pop singer GoGo Morrow at Jay-Z’s Made in America music festival in 2013. After relocating to Brooklyn in 2014, Yellow Shoots started writing and producing his own music, and released his stellar debut single “Pieces” that October. His lushly produced music is mostly synthesized, and he records almost every instrument featured in his songs. His silky-smooth, sensually breathy vocals call to mind the jazz singer Michael Franks.
In “Pieces,” warm, jazzy textures and multi-layered vocals, including sounds of a child singing, contrast with the darker lyrics of disillusionment and deceit: “All the ways that you show me that you care, turn into lies.”
After “Pieces” dropped, he continued working on additional songs, eventually releasing his EP More Alive in 2015. That EP contains five songs, all of which address love, lust, and relationships, set to slow, soulful electronic hip-hop infused vibes. Other singers collaborated on two of the songs – Mayo for the title song “More Alive” and Faja for “Soul Find Me.”
In an interview with Josh Messer for the weblog pressplay, Yellow Shoots explained his inspiration for his highly seductive music style. “Honestly, I think society has some serious polarity in the arena of sexuality. Sex in America is either massively overdone, overcompensating to grab people’s attention, or it’s considered completely taboo. I think this EP has a naturally seductive nature because I explored what sex actually does to people. I think it’s capable of driving people to insanity, euphoria, freedom and knowledge. It can be liberating as well as damaging. Most of the music here demonstrates sex as a quest for knowledge, to learn about others, expand one’s mind. So I explored this side of sex. It’s much less about about the instinctual side.”
Here is a live performance of another song from the EP – “Tame You” – performed with a back-up band on the roof of a Manhattan highrise for Balcony TV in 2015:
With his latest release, the bluesy, ethereal “Stormy Weather,” Yellow Shoots vocalizes the emotional agony and sense of loss that comes with the break-up of a relationship. He told The FADER magazine, “‘Stormy Weather’ is about a person losing a relationship or separating ties with someone. It talks about how one doesn’t actually feel the depths or significance at the time they lose a relationship. I tried to demonstrate that I get hit with that wave of loss at an unexpected time, which is often triggered by an unexpected event. Life is odd and awkward for a bit and all of a sudden you get smacked in the face with everything that’s missing, everything you had before.”
Yellow Shoots is currently working on his follow-up EP, scheduled to be released in 2016.
If you dig his music, support this guy and check it out on itunes, Spotify and SoundCloud.
David Oakes is an exceptionally talented musician and composer of electronic alternative rock instrumental music. He was born in England and spent part of his early childhood in Dubai, and currently resides in Wales. David says his musical skills – which are quite impressive – were self-taught, though he earned a degree in 2012 from the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, England. Through his intricate compositions, David compels his listeners to envision the beauty of a sunrise or the fury of an approaching storm or menacing dinosaur.
In the early 2000’s, David was a member of the British rock band Kotow, with whom he played drums. For his own classically-oriented-rock instrumental music, he plays some pretty amazing guitar, and the rest of his music is synthesized. In just the past three years, he has produced a tremendous output of music, and his discography is quite extensive. I’ll highlight a few different compositions to provide a glimpse of the breadth of David’s music talent and styles, which range from gentle guitar-driven melodies to aggressive hard rock.
Two of David’s albums I especially like are The Calm and the Storm and The Dawn and the Dusk. Although very different in sound and music style, both are like Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite in that their songs tell a story in a complete cycle from beginning to end. “The Flood” from The Calm and the Storm, released in 2014, has a decidedly more synthesized sound. Scratchy guitars and multi-layered riffs provide strong imagery that evokes the coming flood from a storm-produced cloudburst.
“Don’t Let Go,” the most upbeat and rock-oriented track on the album, has some really formidable guitar work.
The album ends with the lushly beautiful “The Calm After the Storm.”
“The Dawn”, from The Dawn and the Dusk is a gorgeous tract that coaxes your mind’s eye to envision the glory and hopeful optimism of a new day.
David’s style also has a darker side, most evident in “The Drop,” an intense song with an equally intense, horror film-like video, the only live-action video that David has starred in. The song has a strong repeating bass line, with staccato guitar and unrelenting drumbeat that propels the mysterious chase scene forward in the video. The video was produced by Dark Fable Media.
A recent effort, and one of my personal favorites, is “Fire Up The Centrifuge!,” a real tour de force done in three movements like a mini rock symphony. From the album More Primitive Weapons, the track begins with a simple and rather somber guitar riff and drumbeat. At 1:15 minutes, the pace abruptly quickens, with rapid, more aggressive and complicated guitar riffs, backed by pounding drums. At approximately 6:10 minutes, the song slows down with a repeat of the opening riff, only this time with more emphatic guitar and percussion. https://davidoakes.bandcamp.com/album/fire-up-the-centrifuge-single
Brett Vogel is a talented singer/songwriter from Illinois who now calls Los Angeles home. His second album, Never Giving Up, is a collection of really lovely heartfelt songs about life and love, and not giving up on something or someone that’s really important. In describing his passion for music, Brett has stated “Music is within every fiber of my being! I sincerely believe without music I’d be doomed. Music has kept me alive. Music is love to me. Music helps people heal. It’s what connects people, and for that I’m grateful!”
I feel the same way about music, so can totally identify with Brett’s feelings.
His music combines elements of pop, rock, country and folk into an infectious and pleasing style that delights the listener, not to mention the fact that Brett has a beautiful singing voice. His songs just make you feel happy! Here are two of his songs I especially like.
An exciting and charismatic alternative hard rock band I discovered when they followed me on Twitter is She Pulled The Trigger, a relatively new four-man group from Lancaster, PA. Band members include brothers Chris Zell (lead vocals/guitar) and Nick Zell (drums), Patrick Kearney (lead guitar/backing vocals) and Ricky Leblanc (bass guitar/backing vocals). Their melodic, hard-driving rock sound has influences of Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace, and lead singer Chris Zell’s aggressive vocals occasionally reach the ferocity of Slipknot’s Corey Taylor. In an interview for the website New Transcendence, Chris explained that the band’s songs, like those of many other rock bands, touch on “pain and dark times,” but they want “to also give our fans a light to follow. We want to inspire positive change.”
Accordingly, She Pulled The Trigger has a rapidly growing base of loyal fans, and I’m one of them. They hope to release a full album in 2016. Here are videos of their first two excellent singles, both of which feature intricate guitar riffs, speaker-blowing drums and powerful, harmonic vocals.
Follow She Pulled The Trigger on Twitter and Facebook, subscribe to their YouTube channel and purchase their music on Bandcamp.
MissMaze is an earnest young alternative/grunge rock band based in Guildford, England, and consists of Hungarian-born Csongor Debreczy (guitar/lead vocals), Aron Boateng (bass, backing vocals) and James Storey (drums, backing vocals). Their distinct music style is characterized by hard-driven guitar riffs, aggressive yet melodic vocals and compelling lyrics. The band’s sound is influenced by some of their favorite bands such as Nirvana, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and Led Zeppelin. According to their bio on Soundcloud, band frontman Debreczy began writing songs while performing in venues throughout Europe before arriving in England and connecting with the other two band members at The Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. Each brought their individual music talents together to form MissMaze in late 2013, and released their first singles in 2015.
The Trims are one of those bands you just can’t help but like, not only because they make awesomely good music, but also because of their dedication to their growing legion of fans. The self-described “post-punk alternative dance-rock” band hails from San Jose, CA, and was founded in 2009 by the charismatic singer/songwriter/guitarist Gabriel Maciel. The other band members include lead guitarist Bryan Aguirre, drummer Billy Brady, and Bass guitarist David Ovlite.
They’ve stated that their sound, which is characterized by infectious, rapid-fire melodies, incredible arrangements and Maciel’s strong, sultry vocals, is influenced by some of their favorite bands like The Killers, Interpol and The Doors. There’s a hint of A Flock of Seagulls there as well in a few of their songs. The Trims have a strong following in the San Francisco Bay Area, but are gaining nationwide popularity through their catalog of great, energetic music. The more I listen to them, the bigger fan I become.
The Trims have recorded an extensive number of songs over the past seven years, far too many to include here. I offer a sampling of a few of their best:
To learn more about The Trims and their awesome music, check out their website: http://www.thetrims.net/music
Another great band I’ve recently discovered is No Devotion, an alternative rock supergroup formed by the four remaining former members of the Welsh band Lostprophets after their unfortunate demise – Lee Gaze, Stuart Richardson, Jamie Oliver and Mike Lewis – and American singer Geoff Rickly (formerly of the bands Thursday and United Nations). Their sound has been compared to that of The Cure and New Order, and I hear a bit of Interpol as well. But their music surely stands on its own. With lush, sweeping synth rock arrangements, compelling lyrics and Rickly’s beautiful soaring vocals, their debut album Permanence is, quite simply, a work of art. It’s easily one of the best albums of 2015, if not the past several years. It usually takes several listens for me to like a song, but I liked all of the songs on this album on the first or, at most, second listen. Now I love every single one of them.
I’d like to include every song in this post, but for the sake of brevity I’m sharing three of my favorites:
One of my favorite indie alternative rock bands is The Awareness, who hail from Ontario, Canada. Their sound is somewhat reminiscent of fellow Canadian band Three Days Grace, with a bit of the Gin Blossoms and Jimmy Eat World thrown in, but they have a unique style all their own. Band members include Barry Mantle (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Tav Hotoyan (Drums, Vocals), Matt Rock (Bass, Vocals) and Andy Guglielmo (Lead Guitar).
Their songs’ intelligent lyrics primarily address troubled relationships. The most striking feature of their hard-driving music style is the outstanding guitar work, with complex, multi-layered riffs and buzzing bass lines. Add Mantle’s commanding, yet melodic vocals and Hatoyan’s forceful drums, and you’ve got some really awesome classic-style rock songs.
Here’s a sampling of two great songs from their EP “Static Transmissions.”
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 