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New Feature! To recognize the most popular artists, Gulf Coast Music Review will conduct a “Artist of the Month” contest. The artist with the most “Thumbs Up” votes by the end of the month will become the “Artist of the Month” and be posted on a special Artist of the Month page and receive a special graphics award on their review and that they can place on their personal sites! So, artists, round up all your fans and have them visit and cast their “Thumbs Up” votes by August 31! Right now, Lesson Zero is in the lead with 3 Thumbs up and Kelly Richey and The Kelly Richey Band is in second spot with 2 Thumbs Up!
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09/30/09 New Service Added! I have added a new Media Conversion Page. This is a partnership service with Media-Convert.com. You can convert from one media file type to another e.g. .wma to .mp3 or .wmv to .flv or most any media files. Hope you find this useful!
Genre: Pop, Rock, Funk Compared To: David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, The Rolling Stones , The Rolling Stones , Led Zepplin, The Small Faces, The Troggs, The Beatles Influenced By: Chet Atkins, Otis Redding, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones , The Rolling Stones , James Brown, The Clash, Iggy Pop, Prince, The Face, Johnny Cash
Bio: Pop-rock four piece, Loomis & The Lust, burst onto the scene in 2009 with an engaging live show, catchy guitar-based hooks, and infectious melodies. With a respectful nod to the past, the group draws from a broad range of styles, blending their own brand of modern pop with a heavy dose of old school rock ‘n roll. Thanks to their relentlessly danceable style, audiences can’t help but have a great time.
The band’s music video “Bright Red Chords” won MTVU’s best “Freshman” video award and is now in rotation on MTVU. The band was also chosen by MTV IGGY to be featured in a series on 20 developing artists, called “What’s Fresh” and currently appears in Subway’s online advertising campaign.
The band was also featured with an MTVU “Hot Seat” interview and has recently begun to get radio airplay on legendary rock stations such as WMMR in Philadelphia.
Guitar-wielding front man, Will Loomis, put together this youthful rock four-piece, which features Casey Hooper on guitar, Anthony Sonetti on drums and Scott Henson on bass. Casey and Scott, both graduates of Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, previously played with Django James & the Midnight Squires. Sonetti won Musician’s Institute’s their award best drummer.
The band finished their first tour in the fall of 2009 and are currently working on their second release which will appear in the spring of 2010.
My Review: I’m always looking for a “unique sound”, something that sets a group apart from the “crowd”. I feel that when I found Loomis and the Lust I found that “uniqueness”. Their lighthearted, catchy, almost addictive melodies really sets them apart from the crowd and makes you wonder why they haven’t made the top ten yet! I must warn you, though, their songs come with some mighty big hooks guaranteed to catch the most discriminating rock-o-phile!
Bright Red Chords is a light and carefree smooth sounding song, next is Break on Love, a little faster paced after that is the hard driving rhythm of Girl Next Door. Cure For Sale is a slower, darker piece and Sweetness picks up the pace as it tells of the seductiveness of women. All in all, Nagasha is a well rounded album.
Give Nagasha a listen and I’m sure you’ll agree, Loomis and The Lust has a bright future in the fast paced world of music. I give it a “Thumbs Up” and “9 out of 10”.
Compared To: Green Day, Paramore, No Doubt, Madonna, Pink, All American Rejects, Alanis Morissette
Influenced By: Green Day, No Doubt, Madonna, Foo Fighters
Members: Debbie Gabrione – Vocals & Guitars
Mark Rose – Rhythm Guitars
Tim Keenan – Bass Guitars
Andrew Foster – Lead Guitars
Gregory Nash – Drums
Bill Ketzer – Vocals, Percussion, Keyboards
Bio: Ten Year Vamp is a female fronted, high energy, modern radio rock band with pints full of personality, charm, and sex appeal. They’ve been described as the next No Doubt, and have won numerous local, regional, and National awards. Ten Year Vamp has sold thousands of CDs… even landed on the Billboard Charts, and have performed 2-4 shows a week for the past 6 years.
“While I’m a ‘girly girl’ in the sense that I like to do my hair and wear makeup and look pretty, I never degrade myself. My sex appeal is a result of the raw confidence I have inside—and I’ve earned that.” Debbie Gabrione says with a self-assuredness that you have to admire. She’s the bold lead singer of Ten Year Vamp, a power pop band with energy to spare. Imagine Foo Fighters meets Green Day with Gwen Stefani on vocals and you have an idea of their sound.
Ten Year Vamp have beaten the odds and found an incredibly loyal following and tremendous success all without a record company backing them. In fact, when they wanted to put out their latest release, they went to their fans to get funding.
Guitarist Mark Rose explains, “We had a crazy idea. We thought why not have our fans become the record company? We had 60 people give us anywhere from $25. to $2,000. We then put 80 songs up on a website and let our fans choose the 12 songs that would go on the album.” Their crazy idea worked and their fans are now more motivated than ever to help Ten Year Vamp become the Next Big Thing. “Each owner will receive their fair percentage of album sales based on how much they invested,” says Rose. Owners also voted on which photos should be used for the album, including the cover. The group has been credited by Forbes, CNBC, Yahoo!, AOL Money and Finance, Columbia’s School of Journalism and countless other news sites as completely reinventing the way records are recorded, marketed and sold.
Ten Year Vamp is based in Albany, NY, where they’ve been voted best Rock Band in the Metroland Reader’s Poll for the 5th year in a row. Metroland is the New York Capital District’s weekly entertainment magazine and it reaches over 100,000 readers.
Lead singer Debbie Gabrione may be the only rocker in history to admit to having a happy childhood. She recalls, “My family was close. We had dinner together every night. We washed the dishes together. We laughed all the time and just did things as a family.”
It wasn’t until college that both Debbie and guitarist Mark Rose stated getting interested in being in a band. Debbie says, “Believe it or not, I really never had any exposure to rock music before college. I grew up on 50’s music, Broadway show tunes, and Italian music like Jerry Vale and Connie Francis. The heaviest music I heard before college was Neil Diamond and Rod Stewart” she laughs, almost embarrassed to admit this.
Mark is 10 years older than Debbie and that age gap became the inspiration behind the band’s name. Mark explains, “The word Vamp means female seductress and Debbie definitely has that seductive power over the audience—but it also means an improvised musical piece, so we thought that Ten Year Vamp was the perfect way to explain who we are and what our sound is.”
Ten Year Vamp is known for delivering a top-tier, high octane performance at their live shows and their reputation has fueled interest in their latest release. They’ve been featured on CNBC, Forbes.com and in a long list of music publications from around the world. They’ve played for thousands of fans at festivals and at prestigious venues from CBGB’s to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Their new album, “Don’t Act Like You Know Me” is Ten Year Vamp’s most polished work to date. The single “Never Know” has the intensity of Foo Fighter’s “Everlong” combined with the female angst of No Doubt’s “Just A Girl.” Ten Year Vamp wants to create music for a large, diverse audience. “Never Know” also features an MTV quality video that showcases Debbie’s “girl next door” sexiness. When asked if Debbie feels she’s a role model for young women, she says, “I definitely think I’m a positive role model for young women. I was raised to value myself and to set goals and work hard to achieve them.”
The song “I Don’t Need” examines the sometimes passive/aggressive roles that women can find themselves playing in relationships. The lyrics, “I don’t want you to scold me, I don’t need you to hold me” are an attempt for the song’s protagonist to find her own voice in a demanding relationship. In other words, this modern woman can do things herself in her own way. She doesn’t need a man to tell her what to do.
The song “Pleasures (that I call mine)” might just be the most exciting pro-female sexuality song since the Divinyls “I Touch Myself” from 1991. Debbie declares, “It’s a song about knowing what I like and owning it. It’s not about making myself into someone else’s fantasies. I think it’s a new version of feminism; being sexy because you want to be rather than because someone else wants you to be.”
Ten Year Vamp has opened for bands like, Lifehouse, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, and Spin Doctors, just to name a few. With the sure-fire power pop songs on “Don’t Act Like You Know Me” and die hard fans willing to shell out their hard earned cash to help their favorite local band get a shot at the big time, Ten Year Vamp will soon be headlining on the main festival stages. As guitarist Mark Rose says, “We wanted to make a record that would hold up to everything you hear on the radio.” With “Don’t Act Like You Know Me” Ten Year Vamp surpasses many of the songs that are played on the radio these days. Here’s hoping that modern day radio, and maybe even some of the record companies, catch up to Ten Year Vamp.
My Review: Big Message + High Intensity = Big Hit! Is the formula that best describes TYV’s Don’t Act Like You Know Me!
While Don’t Act Like You Know Me celebrates the independence, and with that the problems, of modern woman, front woman Debbie’s sex appeal passion and soul combined with TYV’s hard rockin’, in your face music appeals to the widest pop/rock audience.
Ten Year Vamp’s music breaks the generic, stale mold of so many pop/rock bands you hear today. It’s unique, without being gimmicky. It’s refreshing, indeed, to hear something original in today’s music world.
If you read the Bio., you can see that TYV has already fronted for some pretty big groups, such as Nickleback and 3 Doors Down. As they gain popularity, I see no reason why Ten Year Vamp shouldn’t be headlining major venues int the next year or two!
Compared To: Cake, Outkast, The Roots, Big Audio Dynamite
Influenced By: The Roots, Prince, Outkast, Big Audio Dynamite, Roxy Music, Method Man, Soulive, Robert Randolph
Bio: While steel guitar and hip hop might seem an unlikely union, Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka has managed to make it their own little niche. The band combines the elastic grooves of Philadelphia steel guitarist Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner (Magnolia Electric, Badly Drawn Boy, Marah) and the hip hop poetry of front man Mic Wrecka to create not just uniquely funky tracks, but a rocking live show that has been impressing an ever-growing number of fans.
Slo-Mo is the brainchild of Philadelphia steel guitarist Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner. Brenner has recorded and played on the road with such artists as Badly Drawn Boy, Magnolia Electric Company, Marah, Melody Gardot, G Love and more, but Slo-Mo is something totally different. Mixing Brenner’s steel guitar grooves with frontman Mic Wrecka’s rhymes and hip hop poetry, Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka has become a Philly favorite, winning over fans with a slamming live show and uniquely funky tunes backed by a tight 8-piece band.
Slo-Mo’s first disc, “Novelty,” (Bong Load, 2000) was produced by Tom Rothrock (Beck, Foo Fighters, James Blunt) and Beale Dabbs (R.L. Burnside, Lute sk) and combined electronic beats and samples with Brenner’s dobro playing. Weighing in on “Novelty,” none other than Bruce Springsteen recently said: “a lot of really great stuff on it…certainly worth checking out.” The follow-up was “My Buzz Comes Back,”(PHIdelity, 2005) the rst disc to feature Mic Wrecka as a collaborator. The Brenner/Wrecka co-written songs “My Buzz Comes Back” and “Shackamaxon” received heavy airplay from Philly station WXPN and the band, now augmented by singers Susan Rosetti and Steph Hayes (of Philly’s Stargazer Lily), set to work impressing audiences with their highly energetic live gigs. The next disc “Smokey Mountain” (PHIdelity, 2007) continued the evolution of the band and further established Mic Wrecka as the frontman and main lyricist. Songs such as “Shine As You Are” and “Aramingo Takeout” immediately became live show staples.
With their newest, “Gimme What You Got,” (Authentic Records, 2009) the band has created a disc that matches the excitement of their live shows as well as showcasing the increased confidence of the unit itself. With the addition of keyboardist Daryl Hirsch, the line-up has solidified and bloomed into a band that consistently delivers the goods, night after night.
Slo-Mo featuring Mic Wrecka has opened for Robert Randolph, India Aire, Arrested Development and more and has become a crowd favorite at the Great Blue Heron Music Festival in Jamestown, NY.
My Review: “Rural Rap”?, “Country Hip-Hop”?, “Rockin’ R&B”? It’s really hard to figure out what exactly to call this! Instead of the Bass dominated sound of Urban music you have the smooth twang and slide that only Slo Mo’s Dobro steel guitar can deliver, the R&B touch of the female vocalist and all through this Mic Wrecka be rappin’!
Strange as this may sound, these songs have some mighty big “hooks” that keep sinking in deeper every time you listen to them.
To me, at least, innovation is one of the main things that determines the success of a new artist. Almost anyone can be an imitator, but it takes some real talent to come up with something that is totally unique.
I particularly like “County” as the hapless criminal is being marched off to the County Jail, probably for a major crime like walking down the wrong side of the sidewalk or being in the wrong neighborhood! This reminds me so much of the “small town South” its hard to believe this group is from Philly!
All in all, “Gimme What You Got” finds a unique blend of just the correct amount of several unlikely musical styles in a way which should appeal to any eclectic listener looking for something that “breaks the mold” of conventional music. Personally, I give it a 10 out of 10 for uniqueness and innovation and a big “thumbs up”!
Band Members: Alex Debney – Vocals
Ben Canty – Guitar
Zak Kotschner – Guitar
Aidan Kofoed – Bass
Ashley Dunne – Drums
Bio: Ennui Breathes Malice a.k.a. EBM, is a 5-Piece progressive metalcore outfit based in Ballarat, Regional Victoria – Australia! After notable setbacks, EBM have shared stages with such esteemed acts as : Whitechapel (USA), For The Fallen Dreams (USA), The Red Shore, Carpathian, In Trenches, Psycroptic, The Berzerker, Wish For Wings, The Abandonment and many more. It is hard to accurately specific a certain brand or style of music associated to Ennui Breathes Malice, successfully blending beauty and brutality in each compostion…. With a solely independant debut release to date, EBM shall release a follow up full length album in the early stages of 2010.
My review: I can see that Ballarat, Vic., Australia, a town of around 88,000 people, is fast becoming the Metal capital of Australia! First, we had Kaamora, a Death Metal group, now we have another fine group, Ennui Breathes Malice, a great Metalcore/Deathcore group. I’m sure more will follow. One thing I do want to mention is that at the present time I am not entirely sure, aside from Canty and Dunne, if any of the other members mentioned here are still with EBM or not.
As most visitors may know by now, I usually do a lot of research before I write a review. This one is no exception. Seems that the “Growling” vocal technique used in most if not all, forms of metal music originated as far back as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ release of “I Put A Spell On You” in 1956! That’s right, 1956! Hawkins also pioneered many of the other “metal” techniques such of heavy use of smoke machines and even arising from a coffin at the start of his performances! Hawkins may well have been the first “Shock Rock” performer! Whenever you think something is radically new, it probably isn’t!
Anyway, now that we’ve had our history lesson, Ennui Breathes Malice is one of the hottest new Metal acts to hit the circuit! Ennui Breathes Malice has overcome several obstacles to produce one of the outstanding demo EP’s of the year, Of Agony & Ecstasy. Remember now, this is an EP not a full album, so it is noticeably shorter than some would like.
I really like the overall composition of the songs, I think they were well thought out and the lyrics are also well written. You can tell that a lot of work went into this EP. Track 1, Agony, adequately sets the dark tone of the EP and Track 8, Ecstasy finishes it smoothly.
One track in particular stands out and that is “When Curiosity Kills A Dog”. In this one song, a little over four minutes EBM touches on just about everything that makes Heavy Metal, Heavy, and even throws in a little “Glam Rock” for good measure. Here are the Lyrics, but I must warn you some may find them offensive.
Rotting inside – Decayed!
Shit hits the fan – A lack of mercy clears the room;
I designed it to humiliate you!
Such courage and compassion would humble me, had it been real….
Who truly believes your lie?
Do you find solace in ridicule?
Black is a fad – Attacks all beauty in the room; In the room….
Ape those who walk by, while eroding inside!
Curiosity is a fashion that could topple you with looks that could kill…..
I deny it, to stay different from you – Cripples me with looks that could kill
Slice your magenta lips – Spills no vanilla!
Now slit your frail wrists – Still no vanilla – Pale your faces!
Rotting inside!
I hate your pale face – Go slit your fucking wrists bitch!
Bleed – Slut!
Another track I found intriguing is The Most Embarrassing Part About Hardcore Dancing Is… Telling Your Parents Your Gay! I like the spoken intro and feel its quite profound and adds a lot to the overall song.
As to the overall production of Agony and Ecstasy, I appreciate, even favor, the elimination of any pause between tracks as I feel this adds to the “flow” of the music. I do, however, feel that something is lacking in overall fidelity and recording quality. Keep in mind that all I had to work with was digital downloads and not the actual CD. Perhaps the recording quality is better on the CD, I don’t know.
All in all, for a first time demo recording, Of Agony & Ecstasy stands out and I hope I am given the opportunity to review Ennui Breathes Malice’s promised full album sometime in 2010. I rate them a 9 out of 10 and a “thumps up”! Keep your eye on them in the future!
Some of the tracks have rather long names, and I know they won’t fit in my player, so here is a list of the full track titles!
1: Agony
2: Don’t Confuse Bravery For Courage… It Begins With The Letter “B”
3: Lacerating Stones With Origami Scissors
4: The Most Embarrassing Part About Hardcore Dancing Is… Telling Your Parents You’re Gay
5: Salmon Is Not A Colour
6: When Curiosity Kills A Dog
7: On The Seventh Day, God Created Myspace
8: Ecstasy
To demonstrate the “flow of the tracks” I have combined tracks 1 and 2 so they play as they would if you had the actual CD or even the downloads with no pause between tracks.
Compared to: Live, Nickelback, Staind, 3 Doors Down, Anberlin
Influenced by: Candlebox, Live, Pearl Jam, Lifehouse, The Twilight Singers
Bio: Most rock bands look to hitch themselves to whatever the hot new musical trend is. Not so with Underwhelmed. The New York based quintet plays a driving and emotionally overwhelming brand of hard rock that hearkens back to an era where bands left everything they had on the stage. On their new album, Reveal, the band displays the unity and sense of purpose that has built the band a growing national base of fans who love rock, because they live it.
Consisting of Chris Amplo on vocals, Mike Russo on bass, his brother Chris Russo on drums, Paul Boyle on guitar and Mike Armstrong on guitar, the story of Underwhelmed is one of friendship and a shared vision. Starting in 1998, when Chris auditioned for the Russo brothers, the band has dedicated themselves to their own vision of what rock can be. As lead singer Chris Amplo says, “We go for a real sense of purity in what we do. We’re not trying to reinvent rock. We’re five guys playing the music the way we think it should be played.” That way is an amalgam of styles, containing everything from the anthem-istic rock of Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen and U2, to the darker sonic palette of bands like the Doors and the Afghan Whigs.
After filling out their lineup with Paul Boyle and Mike Armstrong in 2003, the band set to take New York by storm. Playing legendary clubs like CBGB’s, the band paid their dues in the competitive New York club scene with an attitude that is at the heart of who they are. Mike states, “Basically, we play with the same passion whether we’re playing for 4 people or 4000. I think audiences recognize that, and it has them feel a real connection to us.”
The results have spoken for themselves. 10,000 visitors to their MySpace page each month and expanding tour base including markets in the mid-Atlantic, mid-West, South and Northeast. “We have a band that’s exciting to watch,” Amplo enthuses. Mike and Chris Russo are incredible musicians – Chris is an unbelievably exciting drummer to watch. Mike just kills it on guitar and Paul just oozes with the most unique energy that we get so much from. He’s a real creative inspiration to all of us.” What makes it even more impressive is that the band has done this all on their own, all self-managed and self-financed.
Now the band is set to take things to the next level with the release of their new album, Reveal. Produced by Tom Hazaert at his studios in Strongsville, OH, the album is a collection of songs that are far more than the sum of their parts. Written collectively by the band, the songs display the maturation of the songwriting and confidence that has come with it. As Amplo says, “We’re all more confident in ourselves and each other, and that really comes through in the songs.”
The band will be hitting the road soon – playing whenever they can. “If it was up to me,” says Mike with nods from the rest of the band, “I’d just pack up the van and be gone.” “We love getting out there and meeting people,” says Chris. And with an album containing the skill and depth of Reveal, combined with a work ethic that has already paid the band dividends, it seems only a matter of time until Underwhelmed ascend to a level befitting their status as a truly great melodic hard rock band.
My Review: With thundering guitars and crashing chords and their commitment to excellence in rock and roll, it is little wonder that Underwhelmed and their latest release, Reveal, has topped such charts as Garageband.com and IndiesTop10.com. While being compared to Nickelback and 3 Doors Down, I find them more reminiscent of that great rock band of the 80s, Creed. The first 4 songs on Reveal are full of big hooks and powerful choruses guaranteed to grab the attention of the most discriminating listener.
Track 1, Freak, is a well written, blend of rock, pop and electronica. Track 4, With You, is a nice change of pace power ballad of sorts. These first four songs are Underwhelmed’s strongest and showcase their songwriting and musical talent at its’ best.
Unfortunately, track 6, the title track, a rock anthem, while well executed and enjoyable to listen to, begins to succumb to the formula-like sameness which seems to fill the air waves of so many modern rock stations today. While it may have great commercial appeal, there is nothing that makes it “stand out in the crowd”. The rest of the album continues along these lines. The final track, Silhouette, was recorded live, but, unfortunately the vocals come across as muddied and too far in the background and overshadow the great drum work on this piece. It would have been better to have left this off the album completely. It’s really sad that the last impression you get of Underwhelmed leaves you feeling underwhelmed.
For a debut album, Reveal fits the bill and is a decent entry vehicle for Underwhelmed. Its unfortunate that they get caught up in “the sound of the moment” so that their collective talent is not fully realized. Don’t get me wrong, Reveal certainly will see some commercial sales and airplay, but it will never be a truly great album, that withstands the “test of time”.
It is through songs like Freak, Angel and With You that we see a glimpse of all that Underwhelmed has to offer. With their talent and their phenomenal work ethic and commitment to excellence in rock music, Underwhelmed is definitely a band to watch for in the future! I give them 8 out of 10 and a “thumbs up”.
Here are Tracks 1, 2, 4 and 6 from Reveal, followed by a video of Track 10, Silhouette.
Genre: Pop, Rock
Genre: Rock, Hip Hop / Rap, Blues
Band Members: Alex Debney – Vocals
Genre: Pop/Rock/Alternative
