Who: Dead Daises (Live & Louder) Where: from the land down under infiltrated by former members of Motley Crue, Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake What: Classic Rock for a modern world When: year of origin 2012 Sounds Like: all things good about Classic Rock Originating from the land down under, since 2012 the band line-up has transformed significantly with David Lowy on rhythm guitar being the lone remaining original member left. The impressive self titled debut was released within a year of their formation and two years later their follow up album Revolucion upped their intensity along with a significant line-up change to include former Motley Crue vocalist John Corabi and former Whitesnake/Thin Lizzy bass player Marco Mendoza. The album even featured former Whitesnake drummer Brian Tichy on a few tracks who would make a full appearance on the crunching Make Some Noise third album to also include the golden guitarist Doug Aldrich also from Whitesnake. After a revolving door of line-up changes it is wonderful to not only see a repeat cast appearance but a high energy live album titled Live & Louder promoting their last studio album Make Some Noise. However the band does not hesitate to play tracks from the Revolucion album represented by the rhythmic “Mexico”, the melodic “Something I Said”, “With You And I” and the cover “Midnight Moses”. Unfortunately the solo visit to the debut album is courtesy of the radio played “Lock N’Load" co-written by Slash. Otherwise the remainder of the energetic fireball impeccably performed live album focuses on the new record Make Some Noise and some incredibly covers including the frolicking frenetic Grand Funk Railroad song “American Band”. Speaking of frolicking check out the behind the scenes bonus DVD that clocks in close to 70 minutes of the band having a great time that appear to be a lock n’loaded, fun and focused good time well oiled rock and roll monster of a band. While the DVD is not a carbon copy of the live concert along with four musical videos it is by no means skimpy on material. Live & Louder clearly focuses on their latest studio album Make Some Noise which includes the stunning “Long Way To Go”, “We All Fall Down”, Make Some Noise” and an even more ripped version of “Mainline”. Live & Louder is also a representation of what they are currently doing right now….heavy touring. And if for some reason this up and coming band happens to be coming to your town then do not hesitate to shell out some dollars and support this Classic Rock band for a modern world. Guaranteed they will make some noise live and louder!!!
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HeWho: Steffen Schackinger Where: Denmark What: shredder meets the blues with an underlying classical feel. When: year of origin 2008 Sounds Like: Steve Vai meets Pat Metheny Danish guitarist Steffen Schackinger’s debut recording ElectriGuitartistry was close to a decade ago thus to consider Schackinger a new artist would be misleading. However considering the limited press to date to assess him a plausible Undiscovered Artist would be more in line. But judging by the music on his unconventional follow up Fire Dance may change all that. Why unconventional? Well Schackinger is not an all out shredder, riffer or twiddler but more so a very intelligent guitarist that is simply very hard to categorize. This is both his strength and weakness. His strength being that Fire Dance is not your typical instrumental guitar album as Steffen adds violin and cello to his barrage of instrumentation bringing in some classical flavors on four of the ten tracks. He even closes out the album with a vocal track. The weakness of the album is its eccentric musical wanderings that may test the patience of those looking for instant gratification. Probably the most distinctive track would be the title track which includes several time changes and is progressive in nature. The rhythm section of drummer Lars Daugaard and bass player Henrik Bjorn are in complete sync with Schackinger’s impressive playing. Equally outstanding musicianship can be found on the slow builder “The Ladder of Transmigration” or for that matter the playful “A & V”. In our world of instant gratification the complexity of Fire Dance may result in many musical pleasure seekers skimming through this album and passing up on a very compelling guitarist. Hang around and let Fire Dance sink in and gratify your ears. Your patience will be fully rewarded. http://steffenschackinger.com Who: Russ Hewitt Where: Dallas Metroplex area What: Nuevo flamenco guitar When: year of debut recording 2011 Sounds Like: Strunz & Farah meets Jesse Cook The Nuevo Flamenco guitar scene is currently dominated by the likes of Jesse Cook, Johannes Linstead and Benise to name just a few. So what does local Texan Russ Hewitt bring to the table that makes him different to his peers? With his musical background rooted in rock, while Hewitt’s guitar work is fluid it comes across with an underlying attitude that sets him apart from his counterparts. Russ Hewitt impressed us with his recording debut Bajo El Sol eight years ago and has been patience and particular with his steps since. Waiting three years to record his equally strong follow up Alma Vieja Hewitt avoided the sophomore slump and now it has been over 5 years for him to finally release his latest recording Cielo Nocturno. Keeping a creative streak is a difficult task for even the best of musicians and streaks are made to be broken. Clearly this is the case with Cielo Nocturno which is not of equal strength of his prior recordings but frankly exceeds all expectations from this artist that grows in his compositional capabilities. Focusing on quality not quantity, the three recordings in 8 years is supplemented by being very active in live appearances though for the most part they are locally in the Dallas Metroplex area. Nevertheless, as his profile has raised so has the broadening of his venues most recently being in the Southern Californian area and multiple visits to the NAMM convention in Orange County, CA. With the likes of Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Albert Collins, Texas has produced some very exceptional blues guitarists. Russ Hewitt’s body of work is so impressive that he is capable of putting Texas on the Nuevo Flamenco guitar map with his distinctive fusion of Latin and jazz themes stirred with a little underlying rock and roll attitude. Hewitt has his own party going on bringing a very unique attitude to his craft. General public you have been placed on notice!!! http://www.russhewittmusic.com Who: Damian Wilson Where: England What: mainstream melodies with progressive leanings with a singer-songwriter seasoning. When: year of origin 1997 Sounds Like: Marillion meets Supertramp meets James Taylor. There is so much good music and never enough time to catch it all however reviewing music helps minimize these losses. No better case than how my paths crossed with Damian Wilson who got his first big musical break as far back as 1993 as the vocalist for the progressive metal band Threshold. My exposure to this way overlooked vocalist did not occur until I heard him while reviewing Celestial Fire, the 2014 solo album of Iona’s keyboardist-guitarist Dave Bainbridge where Wilson made a few appearances. Damian’s upper register voice was immediately impressive and unique, powerful yet delicate that I immediately went on the internet and quickly found out about his contributions to the critically acclaimed progressive metal band Threshold. I was also pleasantly surprised that he had his own very polarized solo career in tandem with his work with the band, the former dating as far back as 1997 courtesy of his solo debut Cosmas. Even better this unique vocalist is currently active with his latest solo recording Built For Fighting released in 2016 that is a melodic beauty no matter what the mood and there are many dispositions. From the more immediate upbeat moments of the opener “Thrill Me” or the toe tapping straight forward “All I Need” to the downright naked and stripped down “Fire” equaled by the reflective closer “Battlelines”, no matter what the mood the melodies and music are exquisite. Add in the pure emotional expressive voice of Wilson along with his heartfelt lyrics assisted by his long time producer Andrew Holdsworth the results are built for success. Needless to say the results of Built For Fighting are so impressive that you will feel compelled to look for the entire body of his solo work but good luck with that. However, at minimum go look for the self depreciating title I Thought The World Was Listening 1997-2011 that covers his first 4 solo albums and also includes 9 unreleased tracks. Needless to say there is enough in there to entice both the initiated and the uninitiated. And Wilson’s producer Andrew Holdsworth sums it up best and I quote when he describes Damian as a man and artist who “…lives life deeply far more deeply than you or I, and he is willing to share the darkest and brightest part of his extraordinary experience.” As a result his music is plain and simply a rainbow of brilliance and to miss out on this extraordinary vocalist/lyricist would be a plain shame. Who: Kings Of Convenience Where: Norway What: the intersection of singer-songwriter meets indie meets folk meets pop and none of them have the right of way. When: year of origin 2001 Sounds Like: Simon Garfunkel meets Jack Johnson for the modern world Well it would be very untrue to say that Kings Of Convenience are new or for that matter undiscovered but to me this duo was a huge pleasurable find. Originating from the land of Norway, Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe are more than just a musical duo. With a friendship that dates back to their school days the duo clearly understand each other musically with an intertwined layered vocal harmonies supplemented by their ultra smooth melodic twin acoustic guitar work. Kings of Convenience have only released three original studio albums since 2001. They include the oxymoronic titles of Quiet Is The New Loud, 2004’s Riot On An Empty Street and 2009’s Declaration Of Dependence with rumors that they are in the process of recording a long overdue album. These clever paradox album titles carry over to some of their lyrical content only adding to their delightful musical escapades. Oye and Boe are by no means a super cool duo but their singer songwriter influences made for a modern world only adds credence to their musical motifs. Focusing on substance versus style, Kings Of Convenience are living proof that it is hip to be square and still be cool cats. They recently toured this year playing all new songs to get fan input on their upcoming tentatively titled album The Unrecorded Record which is just additional proof that they just go against the flow. If it delivers like their past recordings then the wait of 7 plus years will be worth every day. Who: Dead Daises Where: the land down under infiltrated by former members of Whitesnake and others. What: Classic Rock for a modern world When: year of origin 2012 Sounds Like: Classic Aerosmith on steroids Originating from the land down under, in less than four years The Dead Daisies have already seen multiple line- up changes that has already resulted in David Lowy on guitar being the sole remaining original member. However, the rank and file of the current Dead Daisies have swelled to include Marcus Mendoza on bass, Brian Tichy on drums and Doug Aldrich on guitar (all prior Whitesnake members) playing alongside the powerhouse vocals of John Corabi formerly of Motley Crue. As a result there is no doubting that the performance was going to be questionable. The difficulty remains the lack of a predictable line up and the longevity of this incredible band. What is not in question is that this year’s release Make Some Noise totally lives up to its name with high octane, high energy, balls to the walls classic rock blues infused supercharged rock and roll that is screaming potential album of the year. Clocking in at 47 minutes with ten supercharged self compositions plus two impressive covers (“Fortunate Son” and “Join Together”) there is absolutely no let down and no filler. There is nothing dead about this band that is clearly relevant in the sometimes redundant Classic Rock genre. Make Some Noise clearly elevates the bands game with a linear progression from the self titled album to the impressive sophomore effort Revolucion both of which are already out of print. However considering the buzz of the highly impressive critically acclaimed Make Some Noise it would be easy to predict that the two prior albums will be back in print soon very soon. Who: Audio Caviar Where: not enough information to assess their origins but heavily rooted in the EWF pre-commercial period. What: smooth jazz to freeform jazz and everything in between When: solo debut released in 2007 and nothing since. Sounds Like: Conglomeration of Earth Wind & Fire smittened with the sounds of smooth jazz With the Undiscovered Artist mantra being "new artists coming at you all the time" sometimes this is about an undiscovered artist that made an attempt but was totally off the musical radar. And there is no better example than Audio Caviar that featured artwork that would catch your eye, an all star line up that would suck you in and music that is nothing short of stellar both at production and performance level. How this 2007 recording Transoceanic completely missed the boat for the lack of a better phrase is beyond me. The core members are former Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Ralph Johnson , keyboard player Morris Pleasure (who predates EWF as one of the original members of the group The Elements Of The Universe with Ralph) and Danish acoustic guitarist Steen Kyed produced impeccably by Marcel East. Add superstars Jonathan Butler, George Duke, Howard Hewett and additional Earth Wind & Fire members Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Al McKay and even the EWF horns on one track featured here and there, you have all the ingredients of a smorgasbord audio delight. Needless to say the one and only recording of Audio Caviar is sumptuous with the musical styles varying anywhere from Smooth Jazz to more traditional jazz and everything in between. Check out the more mainstream effort of “Now That I’ve Found You” with Kyed’s acoustic guitar style reminiscent of Earl Klugh or the previously mentioned Jonathan Butler all the way to the other spectrum of the freeform cover of Miles Davis’s “All Blues” and you have a mishmash musical masterpiece. Careful you don’t blink or else you will miss the song “Welcome” that is co written by EWF’s former fearless leader Maurice White (RIP) as well as the famous short interludes that EWF was famous far throughout the album. However this is not an EWF rip off or a carbon copy but an authentic original recording that defies any specific musical category which is most likely both its strength and weakness. Nevertheless it is criminal that the musical industry and listening public totally missed the boat. So do yourself a favor and seek this one out!!! Who: Flying Colors Where: The outer universe of Progressive rock wonderland What: Accessible progressive rock When: 2012 Sounds Like: Spocks Beard, Dream Theater, Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs and Alpha Rev And why do they sound like so many groups? That’s because Flying Colors features past and current members of the previously mentioned groups. At first it appears like just another super group but this time a pop singer Casey McPherson was invited to be surrounded by some of progressive rocks finest musicians. The combination of accessible well structured melodies countered by the odd time structure of progressive rock has resulted in some exceptional music. On the surface the band members McPherson, Neal Morse, Steve Morse, Mike Portney and Dave Larue appear to be having a blast with each other. And with two studio and two live albums to their name in less than four years they have already outlasted the typical average lifespan of your normal super group. But then again this is not your normal super group. At the end of 2015 they released a double live CD supplemented by a beautifully filmed DVD entitled Second Flight: Live At The Z7. It was actually only recorded 1 week after their second studio album as well as only being their eighth date on their 2014 tour. And despite this, the performance passes with flying colors for Flying Colors. And one can only hope that there is more compelling music around the corner. Who: Jennifer Thomas Where: Seattle based What: New Age Classical crossover When: 2007 Sounds Like: Karl Jenkins and The Piano Guys Jennifer Thomas has already become a heavy hitter in the New Age/Contemporary Instrumental world dating back to her impressive 2007 debut Key Of Sea that effectively cross pollinated Classical, World and New Age themes. Her music is not only experimental and intriguing but also exquisite and invigorating. In 2012 Thomas came out guns a blazing with the highly remarkable Illumination that featured the twin barrels of World and Classical elements with a cutting edge of freshness that will set your musical soul on fire. So much so that Illumination is breathtakingly brilliant crying big record label deal. This year has Thomas has followed up this epic with her seasonal specialty album Winter Symphony that is not your cookie cutter stocking stuffer Christmas album but the real deal classic dream. Not only has Jennifer Thomas quickly shown the musical world that she is an exceptional writer and performer but this also extends to her production quality that is bold and beautiful. Whether she is creating original material or even creating a Winter Symphony of the familiar and less familiar the musical world of Jennifer Thomas is always sensually sumptuous! Who: Hellsingland Underground Where: Sweden What: Alternative folk n roll When: 2006 Sounds Like: Black Crowes with a Southern Rock n Folk twist The Swedes have exported some interesting music from the popular Abba, to the hair band Europe all the way to the extreme heavy metal swagger of Yngwie Malmsteen just to name a few. But their latest export Hellsingland Undeground utterly defies category. One look at their latest album cover of Evil Will Prevail one would expect the speakers to spew heavy metal riffs with praises to Satan but quite the contrary. While lyrically there are some darker themes explored here and there, musically Hellsingland Underground is an extraordinary band that ferments a very organic musical experience of layered acoustic and electric guitars merging with keyboards, harmonica's and terrific vocal harmonies, but never boring. In fact, take the straight up rock n roll of the Black Crowes, the harmonies, harmonica of the delightful English folk rockers Lindisfarne and merge it with some of the swag of southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd along with a healthy dose of their own secret potion, then shazam you are in Hellsingland Underground. 2012’s Evil Will Prevail represents the band's third album and is just as strong as their prior releases. While there is a spiritual disagreement with the album title Evil Will Prevail with Hellsingland Underground currently in the studio at time of posting there is no doubt their latest release will continue the streak of such stellar recordings. |
New Artists coming at you all the time.
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