Deltachord

Low Vs Diamond is an alternative, rock, pop band that exhibits a new wave sound in the song “Life After Love.” Field’s voice powers out angst, yet singing spaced lilting notes that weep in “I’ll Be.” The opening has a Pink Floyd quality and the music builds to a rockin’ pace.

The keyboards take the fore in “Stay Awake” during the opening which builds to a full sound with guitar and drums adding heavy emphasis, and the song flows effortlessly in and out of this pattern, then ends with a strong flourish. In “This Is Your Life” the cymbals flash and the tapping high-hat sounds cool, while the keyboards soar high notes like a flute, and the guitar rages just enough coming to a bombastic end.

They’ve already released an EP called “Life After Love” on the Marrakesh label. The band sounds like Roxy, Bowie, Pink Floyd, and XTC mixed in a blender with their own creative style commanding the notes, chords, melodies, and beat into a fresh musical mosaic.

They have a debut album happening this spring. The lead vocalist, Lucas Field, has an eclectic taste in music and enjoys melodrama, and writes insightful lyrics about the melancholy emotions, while never divorcing hopefulness and optimism. Low Vs Diamond creates an atmosphere of dark musical fiction, combining it with the airy melodies that exude light.

The band members are Lucas Field, lead vocals/guitar, Anthony Polcino, guitar, Jon Pancoast, bass, Tad Moore, keyboards, and Howie Diamond, drums. The band formed back in 2002, while Field, Diamond, and Moore attended the University of Colorado and played in a jam band. They now call Los Angeles their home.

Hear Low Vs Diamond at MySpace see their gig schedule for March 2008.

MySpace

Rhapsody

References:

MySpace

Ariel

If you like pop tunes with a good beat and catchy lyrics try the music of Jag Star…

Jag Star formed in 1998 rocked out of Knoxville, TN., until recently when they moved to Nashville to be involved in the songwriting atmosphere. Their genres are pop, rock, alternative, and indie. They have toured 15 countries besides the U.S. and have played for our troops several times.

Sarah has won several awards for songwriting.

She won the USA Songwriting Competition for overall winner in 2002 and 2006. In the 2001 John Lennon Songwriting Competition she was runner up and she won the 2007 Next Big Hit Competition, which inspired iTunes to give Jag Star a week’s feature spot.

The band recorded “A Different Road” for the MTV show Newport Harbor, which was featured December 12, 2007.

On to some of their poppin’ tunes…The chiming cymbals in the song “Something Different” sound great and the guitar is driving on the down-stroke. Sarah reminds me of Lisa Lobe. The guitar drives a little harder in “Does Anybody Know” and the drumbeat is a bit more prominent. The opening guitar riff is nice.”Ridiculous” is a jumpin’ tune. “Disguise” opens with a spoken line and then a keyboard riff; it’s a more dramatic song than the others mentioned.

Band Members:
Sarah Lewis the singer/songwriter/keys
Just J on guitars
Brad Williams on drums
Drew Gilch on bass
Jay Daniel on bass

Jag Star’s influences are Garbage, Imogen Heap, No Doubt, Maroon 5, and The Killers.

Hear Jag star at CD Baby or their MySpace page

Discography
The Beginning Release Date 2000
Crazy Place release Date 2001
Cinematic Release Date 2004
The Best Impression Of Insanity 2006

Upcoming Shows
Mar 7 2008 8:00P
Norfolk Marriott Waterside Norfolk, Virginia
Mar 29 2008 7:00P
FT. BENNING COLUMBUS, Georgia
Apr 23 2008 8:00P
Eastern KY University RICHMOND, Kentucky

Website: Jagstar
MySpace: Jagstar

Contemporary Artists Playing Historical American Music

I heard some great songs on Acoustic Cafe on 92zew last Sunday and I thought I’d share the music, so to speak. The ones that were most interesting from a 50-song, 3-CD set called Song of America.

This project was the brainchild of Janet Reno, which surprised me, but hey, the music is good and the historical songs are done by contemporary artists. It is a wonderful thing that these artists were interested in this music.

In the words of Janet Reno:

“The historical detail of the songs fascinated me and I suggested that Ed Pettersen record a whole album of songs focusing on key periods in American history, in order to tell our story to young people who might find joy in learning history through music.”

The Artists and Songs

Earl Bullhead - “Lakota Dream Song”
Julie Lee - “Once More Our God Vouchesafe To Shine”
Blind Boys of Alabama - “Let Us Break Bread Together”
John Wesley Harding - “God Save the King”
Elizabeth Foster - “Young Ladies in Town”
Malcolm Holcombe - “The Old Woman Taught Wisdom”
Ed Pettersen - “The Liberty Song”
Harper Simon - “Yankee Doodle”
The Wilders - “Jefferson & Liberty”
Steven Kowalczyk-Santoro - “Hail Columbia”
Take 6 - “Star Spangled Banner”
Beth Nielsen Chapman - “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”
Freedy Johnston - “Peg and Awl”
BR549 - “Sweet Betsy From Pike”
Will Hill and Jehnean Day Washington - “Trail of Tears”
Minton Sparks and Pat Flynn - “Declaration of Sentiments”
Fisk Jubilee Singers - “Go Down Moses”
Mavericks [ft. Thad Cockrell] - “Dixie’s Land”
Marah - “John Brown’s Body”
Joanna Smith - “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
Janis Ian - “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye”
Tim O’Brien - “Thousands Are Sailing to Amerikay”
Otis Gibbs - “The Farmer Is the Man”
Joni Harms - “Home on the Range”
Jake Shimabukuro - “Stars & Stripes Forever”
Jen Chapin - “Over There”
Andrew Bird - “How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm”
Karen Parks - “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
Danielson - “Happy Days Are Here Again”
Andy Bey - “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?”
Jim Lauderdale - “Seven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat”
Old Crow Medicine Show - “Deportee”
Suzy Bogguss - “Rosie the Riveter”
Folk Family Robinson (Black Crowes with Stan Robinson) - “Reuben James”
Scott Kempner - “Apache Tears”
Elizabeth Cook and the Grascals - “The Great Atomic Power”
Devendra Banhart - “Little Boxes”
The Del McCoury Band - “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
Kim Richey - “Get Together”
The Dynamites / Charles Walker - “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud”
Ben Taylor - “Ohio”
Anthony David - “What’s Going On”
Martha Wainwright - “I Am Woman”
Matthew Ryan - “Youngstown”
Bettye LaVette - “Streets of Philadelphia”
Gary Heffern / Chris Eckman - “Wave”
Shortee - “The Message”
Judith Edelman / Neilson Hubbard - “Sleep, My Child (Schlof Mayn Kind)”
The Wrights - “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning”
John Mellencamp - “This Land Is Your Land”

Song of America at MySpace

At Amazon

References:
http://www.myspace.com/songofamerica
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/
92zew

Music fans, you’ll enjoy looking into Tuneflow, where you can review and rate the current music entries. Thus, your contribution will help determine the winners that month.

Artists enter original songs each month. Four titles are chosen ahead of time and the bands/artists write a song about one of the titles.

You can discuss your favorite bands and artists and other musical ideas in the forum.

The styles you’ll find at TuneFlow range from rock, alternative, spirit, and techno, to r&b, hip-hop, folk, country, and world.

Look for yourself at:

http://www.tuneflow.com

Recently, I asked Mark of Analog Missionary some questions. Check the results out below.

Would you describe the band as alternative?

If the implications are “independent/outside the mainstream,” I guess that would apply. Commercial appeal isn’t a concern with us really and we do like to experiment. These are some of the things originally associated with the term “alternative,” but it’s not something we consciously try to adhere to.

The songs tend to come out the way they want to, and we try not to force them into any particular style or genre.

How would you describe the band?

Sound-wise, “atmospheric/cinematic art-rock” is what we feel comes closest to describing what we do.

Which artists do different members of Analog Missionary like?

Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Cocteau Twins, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, Muse

What genres of music does each member like?

Progressive Rock, Ambient Rock, Shoegaze, Polka.

What age group does your band appeal to the most?

Our demographic falls between 21-53, or so.

Did the band ever have another name?

Nope, just this one. (Thanks for not asking what the name means, by the way. That one’s outlived its welcome…)

What plans does the group have for the future? Anything unsual?

Keep recording our own albums and performing across the country. Perhaps starting our own label. We would also enjoy doing more scoring/film soundtrack work.

Do any of the members create art in other media or mediums?

Anstrom teaches and performs Bellydance, and paints. Tony is delving deeper into photography, lately.

Do any of the members of the band ever listen to music they don’t like in order to find something useful, that can be used differently?

I don’t believe this is a technique any of us have ever utilized.

Do you play any covers? If so, which ones and why?

We perform a few homages to artists that we respect, but often twist them in a bit of a different direction. Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Rush, Yes, Bjork, Tori Amos, and P J Harvey are all artists that we enjoy.

And are sometimes overlooked by the general listening public (well, maybe not in the case of Zep, but the others…). We also enjoy the challenge of performing a wide variety of material.

Anything else you want to add?

Maybe just that we always enjoy meeting new folks, that’s half the fun of traveling and performing.

Well, dear reader, some of the answers suggest other questions, which we’ll delve into in the future.

So, stay too cool for school, as my friend Mike says. Hey, you remember Mike don’t you? My friend that I chatted with about the Merseybeat and the Merseybeat posts were born. We really need to birth another one of those soon. Until then…

http://myspace.com/analogmissionary

Ronnie Winter of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus got stuck playing the tuba in his high school band, which turned out to be a musical education. He credits the time he spent listening to the other instruments, while he kept time as sharpening his song writing ability because this experience ingrained melody and timing into his musical thinking.

I hear Rush in their song Face Down, in the lead vocals and the guitar riffs. Cat and Mouse is a ballad that is reminiscent of seventies bands like Aerosmith and pivots on a reaccuring piano melody.

The band is from Middlesburg, FL. and the members are Ronnie Winter (lead vocals), Elias Reidy (guitar, vocals), Duke Kitchens (guitar, vocals), Joey Westwood (bass, vocals), and Jon Wilkes (drums, vocals).

They have the emo screaming anthem thing going on in songs like Waiting, In Fate’s Hands, and Seventeen Ain’t so Sweet.

To hear Red Jumpsuit Apparatus go to:
http://www.redjumpsuit.com/

References:

http://altpress.com/index.cfm
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: Drumlines And Firing Lines
Rob Ortenzi

http://www.redjumpsuit.com/
http://www.lyricsmania.com/

Check out The Bravery’s new single Time Won’t Let Me Go at their website: http://thebravery.com/ or iTunes, off the album: The Sun & The Moon, coming in May.

Great sound, reminds me of that middle sixties era of shimmering cymbals and that beat, don’t forget the harmonization. That synthesizer, didn’t we just talk about that? Gorgeous. Ah!

Another time…

mymusictools
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