Wednesday, August 31, 2011

SASSY!!! punkified agitation energizes slap-in-the-face catfight

 

Sassy: Diggin’ Deep

(Good Trouble)
By Doug Simpson
 
Hard charging Bay Area duo Sassy is an uncompromising two-woman, guitar and drums band who combines fuzzy hard rock and punk inclinations akin to the Donnas or Betty Blowtorch. Sassy’s 35-minute, 13-track debut, Diggin’ Deep, blasts past with one distorted-guitar number after another.

There is pumped-up girl group action on the pheromone-rich “So Bad It’s Good” and punkified agitation energizes slap-in-the-face catfight “She’s a Liar.” Muffs-like pop punk permeates young love memoir “Something about You” while a taste of The Fastbacks’ patented kick in the rear end filters through the overdriven “It Really Hurts,” where passion goes sour.

Nothing dawdles here, each song blows by in a raw fervor with attitude to burn. Taken as a whole, the cuts have a stylistic similarity with few obvious differences, but the overdubbed guitars and hammering rhythms provide a breathless rush that has a dependably thumping brashness.

Grade: B



Diggin’ Deep is currently available.

Article posted on 5/4/2011
This article has been viewed 16 times.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

10 Questions for Stephanie Schneiderman

http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=130454435396121600
Music tumbles from teardrops

10 Questions for Stephanie Schneiderman

Christopher Onstott / Portland Tribune
A Beaverton High grad, Stephanie Schneiderman loves the appeal of the Alberta Arts District, saying “it’s like the Brooklyn of Portland.” Schneiderman will play the Alberta Rose Theatre on Friday, May 6.


It’s a brave new world for Stephanie Schneiderman, who has made the transition into electronic music from her indie roots, a move readily apparent in the new album “Rubber Teardrop.”
The second venture with producer Keith Schreiner, “Rubber Teardrop” mixes Schneiderman’s sultry voice with electronic more than ever, and it has been an exciting and adventurous step forward for her, following up on previous album “Dangerous Fruit.”
“I love the idea of something organic living in a synthetic world,” says Schneiderman, a three-year resident of the Alberta Arts District who graduated from Beaverton High School in 1990. “I call it ‘ambient indie-pop,’ because I don’t know what else to call it.
“There are a lot of textures in ‘Rubber Teardrop,’ which I might have been resistant to the first time. We went right for them, and it made sense. I wrote songs with the idea of different loops and atmospheric, sonic landscapes, and things gelled so well. It was a really easy album to record and put together.”
Schneiderman, a former member of Body ’N Soul who also sang on two of Dirty Martini’s albums, raised nearly all of the money for the album on Kickstarter (kickstarter.com), which lets fans support artists’ projects through electronic fundraising. It took only 48 hours. And, Schneiderman looks for not only national appeal through Allegro but international distribution through Zero Entertainment, the company of former Portland musician Dan Reed.
Schneiderman burst on the music scene in the late 1990s. She was featured as a regional artist on the 1999 Lilith Fair. She has earned extensive radio play – KINK, KNRK – and her songs have graced television shows “Jack and Jill,” “Bad Girl Club,” “Real World” and “Felicity” and the movie “Kat and Allison.” She also appeared as an actress in the movie “Men of Honor.” In 2007, she produced “Voices for Silent Disasters,” a series of house concerts in Portland that raised $70,000 to go toward Mercy Corps’ efforts in Uganda.
Schneiderman will put on a “Rubber Teardrop” CD release party, 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 6 at Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St. The Tribune caught up with Schneiderman:
Tribune: Expand on the big change in your musical direction with “Dangerous Fruit” and “Rubber Teardrop.”
Schneiderman: I’ve put out albums that had more normal texture surrounding it, normal drums, bass, organ/piano. “Dangerous Fruit” was a departure for me, more electronic bass and drums. It changed my sound. (Keith) required me to wrap the songs around the production equally. We changed the way I was playing, minimized everything. He wanted me to find this softer, more introspective vocal performance that fit inside the textures of that environment.
Tribune: “Rubber Teardrop,” a title song about robot love?
Schneiderman: It started as a sweet love song, and I have a hard time writing love songs, so I made it about robot love.
Tribune: But you look sad on the cover photo, why?
Schneiderman: “Forlorn” I’d call it (laughing). I was making a music video, and it was a moment where I was coming out of the water and looking into the camera. Surrounding me were about 30 crawdads, and I was freaking out.
Tribune: Dan Reed wants to help you sell bigger?
Schneiderman: It’ll help me broaden my market in Europe, which is what I want, he says what I’m doing works well over there. (Reed has lived in London, and currently lives in Prague, Czech Republic). … Now that I have a bigger team helping me, I think it’s going to change sales and we’ll do well. … Downloads have gone well; I joke that next time I’m just going to release a verse.
Tribune: You could be a spokesperson for Kickstarter, as well as it worked for you.
Schneiderman: It allows fans of the artists to become the label – they funded it, the mixing, engineering, art work, even publicity. The idea is to put out an album that has high quality … if you went to L.A. and did the same thing, all the same players, the label, the price would be three times more. But because it’s personal, and I’m working with somebody who has worked on five albums before to mix it (David Friedlander), who knows how to meld the different worlds, you’re still getting the same quality as if somebody’s spending $50,000 on it.
I’ve been funding my own albums for years. I haven’t done it any other way, except with Dirty Martini, and we still funded it ourselves. This is the first time I’ve gone to fans, “Here’s the breakdown, here’s what I need, here are the rewards I’m offering.” I gave myself 30 days to raise the money, and I raised it in 48 hours. I set out to raise $7,200, and I raised $14,000 all together.
Tribune: “Voices for Silent Disasters” turned you into an activist musician?
Schneiderman: It’s not like the only thing I do. I don’t know if I have a mission. Mercy Corps thought I should focus on Uganda, and this one little idea about a house concert turned into 10 huge concerts within a period of a month, featuring 37 top Portland acts. We raised $70,000. It was huge.
Tribune: You want to do more activist things?
Schneiderman: I have another idea, which goes back to house concerts. I think you can maybe raise just as much, if not more, within a smaller realm, through a house concert template, treat it like a website. We would do what Mercy Corps does, “Here’s our family of supporters, artists, wineries, caterers, and everybody will give you things at a discount” … it’s jumbled in my brain. We’d create a house concert series, starting in Portland. It hasn’t been my focus for the past couple years, I’ve focused on the last two albums.
Tribune: Tell us about songs on “Rubber Teardrop.”
Schneiderman: The song “Anchor” sounds like what happened with the tsunami in Japan, metaphorically speaking. It fueled the choreography for Northwest Dance Project, which will be performing during the CD release party. I’m coupling the CD release party as a partial benefit, proceeds going to Mercy Corps Japan. … I started the album with “Wide Open” and “Hush,” they defined the rest of the album. There are two or three songs about death. Some songs about love.
Tribune: You’ve played all the cool venues around the city – Alberta Rose, Doug Fir, Aladdin, Roseland, Keller, Mississippi Studios, Dante’s, Berbati’s Pan, etc. – what is your favorite?
Schneiderman: Jimmy Mak’s. I like the sound there. But I also love Doug Fir, one of the best ambient sounds in town. Mississippi Studios has a great vibe.
Tribune: You also love the Alberta Arts District?
Schneiderman: The one thing funny about this album, most everything took place in the Alberta Arts District. It’s like the Brooklyn of Portland, a thriving, tight-knit arts community. I love it here.

Monday, August 29, 2011

BONEDOME : This is one jumpy jived up Sandman


review by Martin Smit



Phyllis Sinclair review by Guest writer

Beth Wimmer


Thintankubator – BoneDome (SummerBreak)

This is one jumpy jived up Sandman that takes us on our journey, maybe not the most serene of dreams perhaps but

full of sparkling intrigue and that kind of refined chaos that the best sweet nightmares should have.

Now imagine this, that in an alternate universe, Bowie actually succeeded with Tin Machine, that instead of white

suits and an 80s sheen, he found a Tv on the Radio and shoved it into a grunge house party, called all the punks, stole

that nervous twitch right from under the Hold Steady and OH you are about half way there.

Because in spite of the uncanny thin white duke voice and other much talked about influences/inspirations this band

carries their own weight, their own soul baggage, their own fire, anger and hatfulls of hope.

‘he ain’theavy, but he is fat and American, but the girls still love him’

well…

The band doesn’t’ sound fat and their love is complicated, one layer of tough flirting folded into another layer of wry

observation, mixed well with a spoonful of desire.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

KINK: Local Music Spotlight: Stephanie Schneiderman

Local Music Spotlight: Stephanie Schneiderman


Every time we turn around, Stephanie has devised a fresh direction for herself. We follow! In this latest incarnation, she describes it as "head-bopping shoegazer".


STEPHANIE SCHNEIDERMAN


Stephanie continues the work she began with Keith Schreiner. This time, the result is rubber teardrop. LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION, BELOW.


>>Here's the link to kickstarter This is how Stephanie is funding her new CD

CD Release party Friday night at the
Alberta Rose Theatre

>>More about Stephanie here.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Janks, an up-and-coming indie band from Southern California



Music: The Janks



By Autumn Thatcher // In This Week

When Tad Dugan, the operations manager at The Depot, recommends that you check out a band, my advice is to listen to him.

Dugan suggested I look into The Janks, an up-and-coming indie band from Southern California playing a show in SLC on May 12. I took his advice, and before the first song on the band’s website was over, I was hooked. I called my boyfriend, told him that he needed to mark his calendar for May 12, and haven’t stopped listening since.

Soon after my newfound addiction to The Janks kicked in, I’m on the phone with lead singer/songwriter Zachary Zmed. Not long into our conversation, I discover that the album The Janks are currently working on is their debut. This news is a bit surprising to me because what I heard online sounds like music that comes from a band with a lot of experience. It’s so good, that before I realize that The Janks are nearing the toddler phase of their career as a band, I am wondering why I haven’t heard of them before. Their music is eclectic in its style and the songs that you can hear online can be compared to the likes of great acts such as The White Stripes, The Shins and Queen. Zmed’s vocal abilities are undeniable and he can sing with the best of them. The fact that The Janks have yet to hit it big have me that much more excited to see them live because I get to be one of those people who can later say “I knew them when.”

I ask Zmed to give me the scoop on his band and where he hopes to go with it and he is sincerely excited to talk about the music. He begins by telling me what it has been like to work on his first-ever album.

“The writing process was a bit of an assembly line. I wrote most of the music and lyrics and brought the ideas to the band and then we spent a good amount of time arranging together. The pool of songs was very big in the beginning and there was very light material and very dark material. We were trying to create some type of a loose narrative or some type of story out of all the songs. It turns out that the first half of the record is maybe lighter material, the acoustic side of the record, and then there’s a shift and it’s more like there is a darker, nighttime, much more creepy side of the record. Then the very last tune will kind of come full circle and it will be like maybe the sunrise and kind of linking it back to the beginning of the record,” explains Zmed.

Though The Janks have songs online, Zmed says that the tracks on the album are a bit different than what people can hear on their website and part of the reason for the difference in the songs lies in the recording process.

“What is up on sites is a little bit rushed. We were just trying to get something together. That whole EP, or whatever you want to call it, was recorded in a few days. We’ve really taken time with this record and done it the way we’ve wanted to,” says Zmed.

The album, which Zmed says will be released in July or August of this summer, is still in the process of being finished as we talk. As he discusses the record, he reveals that for the time being, the band is planning to release the record on their own label, Sprouted Records, but they are definitely not opposed to letting a bigger label do the work for them.

“Sprouted Records is our own thing but we are shopping it around to see what will happen. We literally, just last week, started letting a few people here and there hear them. If we get some bites then we might go with it and if not then we are going to release it ourselves and just play like maniacs. Regardless of what happens, we are just really excited about what the record itself and the people hearing are going to bring. I’m very proud of it,” says Zmed.

As The Janks prepare to release the album, Zmed says that they are excited to give people at their shows a preview of what’s to come by giving listeners a memorable live experience.

“I hope that they see me and the rest of the guys getting lost in the music and owning it. And therefore, they feel like it’s an intimate thing and feel like they have more ownership of the music as well,” says Zmed.
So, while Zmed and the rest of The Janks are preparing to play their first Salt Lake gig, locals are encouraged to get online and take a listen because I am confident that once you do, you will find yourself with concert plans at The Depot on May 12.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Some Brass For Yo Ass : CAMPFIRE OK



Some Brass For Yo Ass

Published on May 4, 2011 by Eric · No Comments
By Eric Wendt
Finding new music can be overwhelming. It seems like a million new bands pop up every day (most of them shitty). Allow us here at Synthesis to hold your hand through this scary time and lead you into the forest of high quality music. We love you, baby.
Anyway, here’s a new video from Seattle’s Campfire OK. It’s for the hauntingly melodic song “BRASS” off their debut album Strange Like We Are.



VN:F [1.9.7_1111]

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Janks are a young L.A. crew steeped in ‘60s-influenced pop


The Shivers, The Janks, Fictionist


In what is hopefully going to be an ongoing trend, The Depot is welcoming a couple of young touring groups to the venue with a crazy-cheap price, in hopes of introducing some new fans to both the bands and the club. The Janks are a young L.A. crew steeped in ‘60s-influenced pop and gritty Americana, and they’ve been compared to everyone from Neil Young to Wilco to the White Stripes, using vintage instruments to elicit the classic sounds they adore. The Shivers are a New York City-based boy-girl duo who have spent the past decade exploring garage-rock in its myriad forms, from gritty, energetic tunes to dark ballads. Opening up is Provo’s Fictionist, who are in the final four of Rolling Stone magazine’s contest to put an unsigned band on its cover this summer. Consider this a chance to congratulate the boys in advance. The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, 8 p.m., $5 advance/$10 day of show

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

SASSY!!! hipster 80s magazine for teen girls

SASSY!!!



Diggin’ Deep
Good Trouble
Sassy!!! (their exclamation marks, not ours) are not to be confused with the hipster 80s magazine for teen girls published under the same name. Or are they? Kitty Largewood and Trixie Delicious (these may possibly be aliases) are the two girls comprising the band (two is more than enough for you, buster) with the same attitude and flair for fun as the aforementioned publication. Lots of hair and fishnet stockings are ever present in their fashion fundamentals. Trixie plays loose, never sloppy, letting her guitar strings squeal between chord changes. Kitty drums up a storm like she grew up a kid sister to Tommy Ramone. If Joan Jett teamed up with Meg White for a concert at rock’n’roll high school, things would most certainly get sassy. Songs come at you in concise, three minute bursts of drinkin’, datin’, and rockin’. “Wild Summer,” “You Can Have Him,” and “Keep It Comin” give you a pretty good idea of the party contained on Diggin’ Deep. Boys best behave or these girls will be digging about six feet deep. And the headstone will bear

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

drastically changed her style, putting her strong lyrics in a totally different setting.


 

Stephanie Schneiderman: Watch her talk about her new album ‘Rubber Teardrop’


by Tom D'Antoni

The creative story of Stephanie Schneiderman and Keith Schreiner opens a new chapter this week with the release of her new album, Rubber Teardrop.

The release show is Friday, May 6 at the Alberta Rose Theatre, doors 7:30, $15 (5% of the door & 50% merch going to mercy corps Japan relief) with Dirty Martini opening (which Schneiderman is also in).

Well-known as a singer/songwriter, playing in various styles before they met, the collaboration with Schreiner (aka Auditory Sculpture) drastically changed her style, putting her strong lyrics in a totally different setting.

He was the electronics guy, she the guitar poet/goddess. When word got around that they were working together, heads tilted. No worries, her Dangerous Fruit did very well. They toured together, immediately planning for the follow-up.

At the time of the release of the first album, he said, “I liked the voice and I liked the songs. Her old style of music isn’t something that interests me that much but a song is a song. I thought it could use an update, the presentation of it. She can perform any one of these songs singer-songwriter style. I just listen for voices.”

On Tuesday of this week, she talked about the new album, and the differences between this one and the last one.

She also plays keys on the album. Jade Vanocore is on bassoon and vocals, Tony Furtado, Schneiderman’s husband-to-be is on ukulele and slide guitar. She wrote all the songs (with help from Ari Hest on one and Amelia White on two more) except for “Between the Bars” which is an Elliott Smith.
Listen to “Hush” from Rubber Teardrop

Monday, August 22, 2011

Love songs and anti-love songs from the lady and the laptop.

http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17430-stephanie_schneiderman_friday_may_6.html

Love songs and anti-love songs from the lady and the laptop.



IMAGE: stephanieschneiderman.com
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[ELECTRONIC POP] Back in those heady days of the late ’90s, the electronic-music landscape was rife with groups that put a dulcet-voiced female at center stage while behind her, a gent or two turned knobs and cued up mid-tempo, bass-heavy rhythms on their laptops. It was music that fit nicely into motion-picture seduction scenes or soundtracked a cocktail bar.
It’s been a surprisingly resilient sound and setup, considering the number of acts and producers that are still taking this tack today (Zero 7, Morcheeba, etc.), including one of the more recent adoptees of this creative approach, Portland singer/songwriter Stephanie Schneiderman.
Schneiderman, also a member of the folk/pop trio Dirty Martini, was approached in 2007 by Keith Schreiner, a DJ/producer who helped initiate Portland into the world of electro-pop with his former band Dahlia.
“It was the right time,” says Schneiderman, between sips of green tea at Townshend’s Tea Company on Northeast Alberta Street, “because I had a whole batch of songs I knew I wanted to do, but I wanted to try something completely different. We had a one-day session in the studio and it was one of those magical days where everything he touched turned to gold.”
That collaboration yielded an impressive 2008 LP called Dangerous Fruit, which amped up the heat in Schneiderman’s sultry vocals with supple beats and skeins of gorgeous ambient electronics.
Inspired and emboldened by their work together, Schneiderman turned to Schreiner a second time, and the results are even stronger than before.
On Rubber Teardrop, you can hear the two settled into their mutual roles as artist and muse, both aware of and working with each other’s strengths to create an intimate and sexy LP that demands repeat listens just to catch up with every noise and lyric that drifts through it.
“I was pushed to take more risks,” says Schneiderman. “It took me a while to embrace it, but when I did I was able to write with the studio and Keith in mind. The further I went, I was more open to that world and the broadband of sounds and textures Keith would have.”
For such a personal-sounding work, it was supported in the most public of means. The sessions, mixing and mastering were all funded via a Kickstarter campaign. “We asked for $7,200, which is really a lot less than we needed,” Schneiderman remembers. “But we hit our goal and then some in 48 hours.” The intimacy of the music will be emphasized in the rewards for nine lucky backers who plunked down $1,000 or more for a private performance by the singer-songwriter in their homes.
But like many a musician, it is that push-pull with putting personal matters (many songs on Rubber Teardrop feel directed at a spurned lover) out into the world for public consumption that makes Schneiderman’s work—both on her own and with Dirty Martini—so exciting.
“Part of me feels resistant to that,” she says of putting her private life into her work. “But it should be a challenge. You have to give it a shot.”

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pacific NW musical mavens Stephanie Schneiderman and Scarlet Season

Kissing Cousins, Scarlet Season Prepare for Cinco de Mayo on MusicMonday

  By Brian Ball, Host of WomensRadio Music Review


We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off Cinco de Mayo week here on WomensRadio than by sharing some of the favorites to have arrived on our desks in the past week! There’s new music from so-cal darlings Kissing Cousins, Fereshta and Patsy Moore, east coast starlet Rachel Platten, Pacific NW musical mavens Stephanie Schneiderman and Scarlet Season and more to help get the fiesta started!
We’re not saying that the others listed below don’t deserve your clicks, as they most certainly do. Perhaps our listeners may even choose to go into ‘discovery mode’ themselves and totally disregard any of the hype found in above paragraphs. If that’s the case, we say ‘so be it’ and wish those pioneering souls Godspeed in their musical quest.
If you're on Twitter, you probably are already hip to the use of hash tags (#) to identify topics and trends ... and you probably see the same ones every Monday, “#MusicMonday", "#musicmonday" and "#MM". These hash tags facilitate worldwide recommendations / promos / plugs / playlists / reviews / concerts / gear and MUCH more throughout Twitter, and now the entire web!
Here at WomensRadio, we use these networks to give an added boost to the world's finest Independent Female (and Male) Musicians submitting to our studios. Here are a couple of submissions we picked up early Monday morning:

#1: Kissing Cousins Garage / Indie / Rock from Los Angeles, CA
#2: Stephanie Schneiderman Ambient / Pop / Trip Hop from Portland, OR
#3: Scarlet Season Pop / Rock / Experimental from Seattle, WA
#4: Zagar Electronica / Psychedelic / Alternative from Budapest, Hungary
#5: Hannah Judson Alternative / Folk / Indie from Paris / Chicago
#6: Fereshta Arena Rawwwk from Kabul, Afghanistan / Los Angeles, CA
#7: Rachel Platten Acoustic / Pop / Indie from New York, NY
#8: Patsy Moore Ambient / Indie / Pop from Los Angeles, CA

Join the conversation on Twitter!
Check out these artists and more in our Amazon aStore!

What do you think about the revamped MusicMonday on WomensRadio? Share your opinion with us by commenting on the page below.


Saturday, August 20, 2011

Berklee College of Music cohorts are still relatively young as a band,

The Memorials at the Walnut Room
Evil Vince
Bay Area quintet The Memorials (playing tonight at the Walnut Room with Yerkish and the Orchid Set) are definitely definable as a hard-rock band, but underneath ex-Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen's brutal rhythms, there is a progressive, funk-influenced smoothness. Much can be attributed to the vocals of Viveca Hawkins, but the inclusion of organ sounds and synthesized melodies also adds a soft edge to the band's almost-sludgy style. On tour in support of their self-titled debut released earlier this year, these Berklee College of Music cohorts are still relatively young as a band, but this evening could be an opportunity to see the Memorials before they rocket off into a bigger limelight. This show is 21-and-up, and tickets are $10-$12. Doors open at 7 p.m., and bands start at 8.

Friday, August 19, 2011

White Orange, "…and this is why I speak to you in parables," (Made in China Records)

White Orange, "…and this is why I speak to you in parables," (Made in China Records)
http://hardcorenorfolk.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=242%3Awhite-orange&Itemid=82.



Never have I seen a more elaborate two-song set-up than this full-length looking EP. First, it's on a beautifully illustrated, picture-disc vinyl, along with a limited run of 500. And the illustrators are no small potatoes. Side A is Aleister Crowley's "Ceremonial Seal" and side B is by Raul Casillas, who looks to be an artist with an introspective soul. It seems that this Portland band either has a serious message they are trying to convey, or somebody backing them does.

The title track starts with a brief sampled speech before dipping into 13 minutes and 13 seconds—yes, spooky stuff—of psychedelic vocalizing a la Black Sabbath. The bouncy percussion reminds me of David Bowie's "Black Country Rock" (not in sound, but rather repetition) before it gives way to a seventies-style jam. Or more of a modern take on a jam, like the Foo Fighters or even a doom metal band.

What's odd is that the second song, "Middle of the Middle" is just that; it's literally the middle five minutes and three seconds of the title track. Although I like the song, I'm scratching my head as to why so much is spent on the production of technically just one song. Hey, I'm not one to complain, this album was gratis and it looks good spinning on my record player. Maybe I should play it backwards and see if there is a hidden message.

You can check out the two tunes
here.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Jessie Torrisi & the Please, Please Me

Jessie Torrisi & the Please, Please Me

Aug. 19 • MOTR Pub

By Brian Baker
Jessie Torrisi has done time in over a dozen New York bands (Unisex Salon, Les Fleurs Tragiques and Laptop among them), although kept time would probably be a more fitting description. Is there anything sexier than a female drummer? Early in 2009, she pulled up stakes and relocated to Austin, Texas, the unofficial music capitol of the country, and began crafting her own musical identity, a mixture of the dusty Americana of her new home and the Jazz that had enraptured her since her teenage excursions to clubs in her native Philadelphia (not to mention her college studies in West Africa and brief stints living in New Orleans and Brazil). To that end, Torrisi assembled her band, the Please Please Me, and set to work on her debut album, 2009’s Bruler Bruler (French for “burn, burn”).
Spinning through Bruler Bruler, it’s not impossibly difficult to draw a line from Torrisi to contemporary Indie singer/songwriters like Feist, Cat Power and Regina Spektor (“Hungry Like Me,” “Cannonball”). But at the same time there is a distinct element of Stax-to-Motown Soul (“So Many Miles”) and there are moments when Torrisi sings with the smouldering classicism of Bonnie Raitt and Maria Muldaur (“Breeze in Carolina”). In a similar vein, Torrisi torques up the intensity with “Runaway Train,” which churns and smokes like a collaboration between Tom Waits and Chrissie Hynde, then dials back with the loping Folk Pop of “Storm Clouds,” a song that Karin Bergquist would be proud to call her own.
Torrisi is currently at work on her second album, and she’s out on the road with the full slate of Please Please Me players, typically a roster of multi-instrumentalists who shift roles (Torrisi will even take a seat behind the kit on occasion). Jessie Torrisi and the Please Please Me may be first on the bill, but this is a co-headliner kind of show. Don’t come late.
JESSIE TORRISI AND THE PLEASE, PLEASE ME plays MOTR Pub Friday, Aug. 19 with BRIGHTON MA.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Thomas Pridgen’s drumming accolades

 
 
     
  • The Memorials, Amrita, Model Stranger, and Arma at Double Door Thomas Pridgen’s drumming accolades—like winning the Guitar Center Drum-Off at age 9, getting sponsored by Zildjian at age 10, and receiving a full scholarship to the Berklee College Of Music at age 15—should help you prepare for his live show. But they won’t. And when the former Mars Volta drummer starts his set with his new band, The Memorials, your jaw will be on the fucking floor. His precise intensity and technical proficiency—combined with Nick Brewer’s guitar easily handling the changes, and singer Viveca Hawkins’ presence scorching your eyebrows off—on the band’s debut full-length makes the group’s music worth the pummeling it doles out. Double Door 1572 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
21+ $8/$10
Thomas Pridgen’s drumming accolades—like winning the Guitar Center Drum-Off at age 9, getting sponsored by Zildjian at age 10, and receiving a full scholarship to the Berklee College Of Music at age 15—should help you prepare for his live show. But they won’t. And when the former Mars Volta drummer starts his set with his new band, The Memorials, your jaw will be on the fucking floor. His precise intensity and technical proficiency—combined with Nick Brewer’s guitar easily handling the changes, and singer Viveca Hawkins’ presence scorching your eyebrows off—on the band’s debut full-length makes the group’s music worth the pummeling it doles out.
Updated 04/26/2011

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Drummer-front people are a rare breed - JESSIE TORRISI

https://unveiledarts.com/event/jessie-torrisi-and-the-please-please-me

Jessie Torrisi and the Please, Please Me

Sunday, Aug. 21st at 8PM


Speakeasy pop with a drumming frontwoman

  • Photography by Todd Chalfant | Jessie Torrisi
  • Photography by Anton Brookes

Why go?


Drummer-frontpeople are a rare breed — Levon Helm, Jimmy "What I Like About You" Marinos and, uh, Phil Collins come to mind. Jessie Torrisi, who spent the last several years pounding the tubs with Unisex Salon, the C.U.N.T. Rock Revolution and other NYC acts, joins that multitasking pantheon with the Please, Please Me. From behind her stripped-for-battle kit, Torrisi croons catchy heartbreak songs that sometimes require the entire audience to take up kazoos. Songs like “X in Texas,” off her debut album, Bruler Bruler, have all the components of speakeasy pop: a charming singer with a bit of grit in her voice and some seriously sensual accompaniment. Leave your drummer jokes at home (yes, even "What's the difference between a drummer and a bucket of KFC?"); Torrisi's the real deal.

— Carol Shih
for Unveiled Arts

Monday, August 15, 2011

Magnuson is a power pop/art rock duo

http://www.prognaut.com/reviews/magnuson.html

Artist/ Band: Magnuson
Title: Crash Of Cassini
Label: Self release
Year of Release: 2011
Offical Artist/ Band Link


The Review:
Magnuson is a power pop/art rock duo consisting of a husband and wife, Greg & Kyrsten (both on vocals, drums, guitars). This duo makes the same sound as a full three or more piece band. They play loud, aggressive & melodic rock based music. On their 2011 album, Crash Of Cassini, they feature 14 songs, all of which are under 4 minutes. They do have a straightforward mainstream sound without compromising to a label.
 
At first I thought they weren’t in the ’progressive’ music realm of which ProgNaut is all about. Very seldom do we deviate outside of the progressive rock genre but listening to their music more, it grew on me and I realized their music is on par with some of the art rock bands of the 70s & 80s and the power pop/alt rock of the 90s.
Some bands that they remind me of are The White Stripes (because of being a duo), The Pretenders (when they share vocals), and The Foo Fighter (for the aggressiveness) Dark Reality (2:16) to name a few.
The music on Crash Of Cassini goes by in a flash but leaves the melodies bouncing around in my head which makes me want to listen to the album again and again. I for one would love to hear Magnuson tackle something between 4-6 minutes or longer in the future.
I really don’t have a favorite track because they all have standout qualities. If you love art rock with some power pop included, then look no further than Magnuson and their latest release, Crash Of Cassini. A purchase of their album is a very good investment in the band and their version of music.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs

Sunday, August 14, 2011

The hottest 2 piece female sensation

http://powerpopoverdose.blogspot.com/2011/05/sassy-diggin-deep-on-cd.html

 
 

Sassy!!! Diggin' Deep on CD

The hottest 2 piece female sensation out there featuring Lynda Mandolyn on guitar and vocals and Christa DiBiase on drums and vocals - Their amazing harmonies are mind blowing and can only be beat by their insane outfits!!