» twilight

Apr
4thFoxy Shazam “Likes It”; Hey Rim Jeon Plays It

It seems the music industry — charts and award shows anyway — are too focused these days on Adele, her majesty’s clones, auto-tuned hip hoppers and tween artists that appeal to the Twilight generation. Frankly, it all kind of sucks. I mean Adele is unquestionably amazing, but what ever happened to good old fashioned rock and roll? That’s the question Cincinnati rockers answer with their fourth album The Church of Rock and Roll. Rock is very much alive, and this band — who have been opening for acclaimed artists for years — from Hole to The Strokes to The Darkness — are more than ready to have as many parishioners as humanly possible. The band (Eric Sean Nally, Loren Daniel Turner,Daisy Caplan, Schuyler Vaughn White, Aaron McVeigh and Alex Nauth) stopped by to perform their new single “I Like It” followed by a brief chat at the Music Conservatory of Westchester for an A-Sides music session. Enjoy the music (and their hats) below: Foxy Shazam “I Like It” [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f6w_dty5b0&w=460&h=315] Foxy Shazam Interview: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHxzxattIXU&w=460&h=315] Hey Rim Jeon World-renowned pianist, composer and educator Hey Rim Jeon has little in common with Foxy Shazam. The pairing of the Korea native with that quirky band for this week’s A-Sides is a wonderful non sequitur, but that’s the point. My series showcases artists making their art — no matter what kind of art or artist it is. Anyway, both Foxy and Jeon thrive in their respective genres so it’s not completely off base. [...]
Oct
13thMutemath Perform and Discuss “Blood Pressure”

Two hours before they’d take the stage for a performance that sold-out in five minutes and two days before Hurricane Irene would sort of embarrass a somewhat frantic Mayor Mike Bloomberg, New Orleans rockers Mutemath and I took refuge in the lower depths of the historic rock venue Mercury Lounge in New York City. There, the band performed and the discussed their new single “Blood Pressure” off their their upcoming album “Odd Soul” which drops Oct. 4. The song, as drummer Darren King explained, addresses their somewhat intense Christian upbringing as well as other daily stresses in life. The conversation humorously detoured from that upbringing to Judaism to parenting. Watch it below, but just so you know: The band, which also consists of front man Paul Meany, bassist/guitarist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas and new guitarist Todd Gummerman, are currently playing a few dates here or there before launching their “Odd Soul Introduction Tour” on Sept. 7. That month-long tour will see the quartet playing smaller venues before setting off for a full-fledged arena tour that matches their “Typical” big sound. Thankfully, as I found, the band don’t have big egos. That’s saying something considering they’ve had hit albums (their last “Armistice” debuted at Number 3 on Billboard’s Digital Albums and Alternative charts), have been featured on the Twilight soundtrack (“Spotlight” didn’t suck), and had one of their tracks performed on juggernaut American Idol (Sideshow Bob look-a-like Chris Sligh performed “Typical” in 2007.) Listen and watch below… [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9d5wd7wbXg&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3] About “A-Sides with Jon [...]