Sunday, July 28, 2013

Recently Unearthed: Two Gallants

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Two Gallants caught my ears recently. My Love Won't Wait is an awesome, rocking song. The vocals have a familiar sound, but not so familiar that it sounds like everyone else. My Madonna is a good song, but they drag it out a little too far for my taste. You can get a free download from the website, or there's a link to a free download on their Facebook page.

Pretty much I seem to love ATO Records' taste in music... these guys fit right in.

I like how their music typically starts soft, then goes full blast. For two guys taking care of business with mostly a guitar, drums, and vocals, they do an awesome job.

I think I'm going to be using my iTunes card to get some more of their music. I got one song from them from Amazon on an MTV sampler recently and now I'm hooked.


Sunday, July 21, 2013

Rambling Around Town: Unknown Stuntman / Replay Lounge Recently Unearthed: K.T.P.

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile...

Lucky for me, I haven't experienced many tragedies in my music love...none to equal Don McLean's American Pie, I suppose. Sure, I've lived through many losses of superstars: Kurt Cobain, Randy Rhoades, Michael Jackson, to name a few. Sure, I'm not a huge Michael Jackson fan, but I dare anyone in my generation (or the generation on either side of my generation) to argue that he didn't strongly influence all music in all genres in one way or another...

Today, children, our story begins about 20 years ago. I was but a pup, barely leaving the nest for the first time. (I know puppies don't live in nests, dummy. Pay attention!) I wasn't even 21, so a lot of bars wouldn't allow me in to live shows. I wasn't daring enough to try fake IDs although I do recall offering a rather personal favor to one guy at the Hurricane in Kansas City once to let me in to see Steve Vai. I'm now happy that he did not accept my offer. Geeesh!

Anyway, Warrensburg, where I found myself living at that time (early 90s) is a college town. They have bars that allow under 21 for certain circumstances.

As you might have already known, I was already a music lover by this point and sure, I'd already seen live music at big arena concerts, but here, for one of the first times I started experiencing live music in the grass roots stages. These were local bands who'd formed in garages, basements, classrooms, etc. and Warrensburg was a hot hub for these bands. I can't even start to name some of the really great local bands (unfortunately, there were a lot of not-so-great bands either).

Rising to the top were Flake, Winter Harvest, Frog Pond, Speak Easy...gosh so, many. I have to say I loved Flake, but my favorite was Keely Zoo. Luckily, often Keely Zoo and Flake would have shows together. My group of friends seemed to be split over which of the two bands was best. I still listen to the EPs I had converted from cassette to mp3 and still wish I had more of their music.

Besides pointing out that I am terribly old -- even for a supposedly-BABY dinosaur -- this long story has a point.

Keely Zoo broke up... went their separate ways. Lead singer, Nick, later ended up in Lawrence, Kansas and eventually in a band called Unknown Stuntman... a couple of years ago I realized he was in this band. Trouble is, I found out a bit too late and they had disbanded. Well, I was able to harvest some of their music online, but one day their Facebook page announced they were considering a reunion show.

Sure enough, it was Saturday (July 20) in Lawrence. Well, I had to go.

I haven't been to Lawrence for ages. I could never get into the bars and stuff when I was young and running the college scene... they were 21 and older there. So, off I went for Lawrence this weekend to relive my youth along with a whole lotta other folks who are still in denial that they are old and we had a great time... and I'm pretty sure no one broke a hip or anything.

The trio of bands started with a young, punk band: K.T.P. who I really enjoyed. They have a perfect mix of raw sound that isn't like kids throwing instruments down the stairs, but is still really, really loud and grungy and just great. I loved it. They gave out CDs after the show, of which, I am now a proud owner. Check them out. They drew a good crowd, so don't be surprised to hear more about them.

Next was Circle of Trust. I'm pretty sure I've heard these guys before. I'm not really into their type of growl vocals; however, they play great music and as much as this isn't my thing... I still enjoyed them.

Last, UNKNOWN STUNTMAN! They admitted that they didn't rehearse... that seemed a bit obvious. Nick's stamina onstage isn't what it used to be, but it was still great fun to hear them live. I listen to a lot of their music and I left VERY HAPPY. It sounds like there is a chance they might try this again. I'm hopeful.




Sunday, July 7, 2013

Baby D's Shuffle: Soundsupply Drop 9 / Allison Weiss

Earlier this month, Soundsupply sent out Soundsupply Best New Music 2 featuring 19 songs of their currently-favorite bands. Well, I have to say, I was terribly disappointed in the selection. Of the 19, 11 were immediately deleted for my iPod, 5 were meh-enough for me just to leave alone, and only 3 got a star rating (albeit a low star rating): A Great Big Pile of Leaves; Wintersleep; and On and On.

I must admit, I quite like Ghosts from On and On. While they do seem to like to add some random noises, it doesn't get in the way of the sound. I find this song quite hypnotic, with a Fleet Foxes sound in the vocals with maybe a touch of Coldplay (but not in a bad way). I am sure I will be spending a lot of time listening to this song. Some of their other songs are okay, but the vocals tend to be over-modulated a bit for me.

This weekend, Soundsupply provided Drop 9. I have to say that I haven't been that impressed with their selections so far this year. So, I thought I'd do a little Baby D Shuffle of the new collection like I've done in the past to see what we ended up with this time. I'm going to randomly select at least one song from each of the albums provided in the drop.

1. Allison Weiss

I Was An Island
I like this A LOT. This is like a rocked-up 1950s progression sound. I'm gong to cheat and listen to another song.

How To Be Alone
OK, still good. A different sound, but not totally different. This is actually a compliment. I get tired of artists whose songs all sound alike. This song will definitely get your blood pumping. Female vocalists require a delicate balance and she does it right. I'm finding myself too excited about what I'm hearing to move on without listening to more!

Wait For Me
This song makes me think of Death Cab for Cutie's I Will Follow You Into the Dark for some reason. I don't know if it's the beat or the rhythm of the vocals or what. I am a fan of their version of that song, so this is certainly a compliment.



OK, Soundsupply, thank you for Allison Weiss. Now, I really must move on.

2. California Wives

Blood Red Youth
This is good, not great. It sounds like a lot of other stuff you can listen to right now.

Purple
This track is recommended by Soundsupply. I do like that this track has a cleaner sound, but it still doesn't excite me all that much. I don't hate it though.

3. COIN

Pyramid Scheme
Me Likey! I love Grouplove and the vocals sound a lot like Grouplove (well, so far in this one song I've listened to). "Sounds like" is not bad, if you like what it sounds like, btw. I'm definitely going to listen to them some more, but I really must move on right now.

4. Conveyor

Two DavidsBanjoey and plucky in the wrong way for my taste. That's not to say I'm totally dismissing them. Since this is supposed to be a sampling, I'm going to say I don't hate it, but I'm reserving the right to do so later, if necessary.

5. Daylight

Around the Railing
Soundsupply says their sound is like Seattle Grunge from the 90s. I disagree. I feel it's too muddy sounding for that true Flannel-era sound. They sound a little too undeveloped for me, at least in this track.

6. Have Mercy

Level Head
This has a demo tape quality that I don't care for. This song leaves me hoping the others are better, but with feelings of doubt that they are.

7. Joie De Vivre

I'd Be Upset if I Broke Up With Me Too
The song title gets an A, the song gets about a D+.  I was expecting some skater music or something with that whimsical title, but got a HUM cover band instead.

8. Koji

Chasing a Ghost
I have to say, I had my doubts before I listened. It wasn't as bad as I was fearing. I tend to feel that the offerings from Asian musicians are often too electronic and experimental for me. I was afraid this would be a bunch of weird howling and computerized music. I WAS WRONG. This is heavy with melody and acoustic guitar. He has a nice voice; however, I was not thrilled with the song. It seems like something a grandma might like. I'm going to give another track a chance.

In the Line
Nope, still not for me.

9. Little Big League

Summer Wounds
Interesting. Not great, but I'll probably listen more.

10. Shugo Tokumaru

Call
Being Japanese, I was very afraid of what I would find. It's not my sort of thing, but I'll listen more before I completely delete it. I do; however, feel that deleting is inevitable.

11. Sombear

Love You in the Dark
This is a bonus track for the drop. It's okay, a little to electronic for me.

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Well, that's it for today's shuffle. Allison Weiss was today's clear winner. As usual, I typically end up with one new artist I love out of each of Soundsupply's drops. I guess, the price is right, even if I don't love it all.

Now, leave me alone so I can listen to the rest of Say What You Mean.




Thursday, July 4, 2013

Recently Unearthed: Neulore

Today, being Independence Day, I was off from my day job. I went to the casino buffet for lunch. I am sort of still in a food coma and stuck in the limbo of wanting to take a nap, but not being able to take a nap because I have to sleep normally tonight so I can go to work tomorrow.

I had some quiet time this week to be able to just sit and listen to my iPod. When I came across a song I liked, I'd go listen to all the tracks I had from that band/artist to start a list of new blogs to write for you. I left that list at work...but at least I remembered to bring my iPod home with me this time. I do remember one band from my list, Neulore.

They've been in my collection for awhile. I have their EP, Apples & Eve, which you can get from their website FREE.

There is new music in the works for this Nashville band. I know I've mentioned before how it feels like all the good music comes from Nashville these days. They have a few tour dates coming up that bring them close, but not close enough. They'll be out with The Lighthouse and the Whaler, a band I have a lot of in my collection.

Regardless of their apparent fetish for apples, if you like "modern folk music" like I do, give them a listen.