American Riveria

Saturday, May 21, 2011

I can always count on my musician friends to recommend awesome music.

This recommendation came from my dear friend Lennon Bone. And after my first listen...I definitely owe el boniero.

Tommy & The High Pilots come from Cali, but seem to love the Midwest. Well that works out well, because the Midwest loves them. In their many tour stops in KC, I was only recently able to actually catch them. And I'm not sure which one I like better: CD or Live.

The guitars are energetic beyond control. The vocals are precise and incredible. And the lyrics are infectious to point that I had to watch myself at work and the random outbursts into songs. :) It's like melodic rock mixed with a bit of country and rolled out in fury of folk goodness.

My fav, fav, fav, songs are split between "Where To Start" and "American Riveria".
Here's the first:


And here's the second (not really a vid, but let's you listen to the song right away):


Check out their site: here

Tour Info:

5/27 – Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex

6/1 – Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room

6/2 – St. Louis, MO - The Firebird

6/5 – Chicago, IL - Sausage Fest

7/9 – Milwaukee, WI- Summerfest

7/14 – Chicago, IL - The Bottom Lounge

7/15 – Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room at Crofoot Ballroom

7/16 – Columbus, OH - The Basement

7/17 – Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar

7/18 – West Chester, PA - The Note

7/20 – Cambridge, MA - The Middle East

7/21 – Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club

7/22 – New York, NY - Highline Ballroom

7/24 – Dallas, TX - House of Blues (Cambridge Room)

7/25 – Houston, TX - House of Blues (Bronze Peacock)

7/26 – Austin, TX - Emo’s

7/28 – Tucson, AZ - Club Congress

7/29 – West Hollywood, CA - The Roxy Theatre

8/1 – Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound

8/2 – Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre

8/5 – Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground

8/6 – St. Louis, MO - The Pageant

8/7 – Columbia, MO - The Blue Note

ENJOY!!

-Rach

Helping you find your background music. \m/(>.<)\m/

sometimes it takes a second look..

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

the first shot was good. melodic, a little slower, with some solid vocals.

...they got on stage, figured out their lineup...

the second shot is, well, freakin' awesome.

Not A Planet is a little 3 piece from the blessed waters (errr, lands) of Kansas City. When it all started they were more like a 4 piece..or was it a 5 piece. Well either way, they had put up a few songs with this line-up. And like I said, they were more on the melodic side of life. Good stuff, don't get me wrong, but it took a live sesh for me to really get a full grasp of their talent.

"dammmnnn" - i'm pretty sure was my first initial reaction to their set. one of those bands that causes the audience to stop mid-sentence and take notice. so needless to say, my excitement grew when i heard they were going back in the studio to take a "second look" at their music. essentially recording all new goodness.

the new stuff? well it's:
- a crazy fun tempo (dance moves are unavoidable)
- a strong rock guitar (imagine Black Keys meets Cake)
- a dramatic set of drums (let me explain this - one minute the drums do this delicate skip and the next they're thrashing your face off - drama!)

and all this is only off of 3 songs, imagine an entire album! this music is what addictions are made of. once you hear it, you're going to want more and more.

here's a sexy little tune (just a touch fuzzy):



Cause they're super nice, here's some free music: reverbNation

Psh, of course they're on tour:





and for good measure, their...site

ENJOY!!

-Rach

Helping you find your background music. \m/(>.<)\m/

Lollapaloooooooooooooza...ready to ride

Sunday, February 13, 2011

When my editor sent out a list of albums to choose from for review, naturally I picked a few names I recognized and really wanted to hear. Then I threw in a couple "hey that name sounds interesting".

One of those bands was The Alternate Routes. At that time the band had just finished their album Sucker's Dream and that was the CD I received in the mail. Let's just say after I heard the song "On And On We Whisper" I was COMPLETELY sold!

A little bit of Rock guitar leads you into a twang full of attitude and a booty swaying set of notes. The chorus to this song is perfection. A sunny day and the windows down are the perfect habitat for this number. And this is just the first song!

Take the song "The Future's Nothing New" about a minute in and you hear a new sound. It's not a drum and it's not a computer. Rather it's toolbox with a mic trapped inside. Seriously. My guess is this element came as an accident. But it turned out freakin' awesome.

The band went back into the studio and wrote Lately in 2010. The favorite off of this one? Well if the title of this post is any hint....the song "Lollapalooza" is a lazy afternoon on a winding river. Very simplistic elements nearly lullaby the sentiment. In the end, this is the kind of music that will be soundtracking my retirement.

This first video is an actual music video they produced:


This second one is purely so you can hear "On And On We Whisper" right away:


Tour:





ENJOY!!

-Rach

Helping you find your background music. \m/(>.<)\m/

a tear...

Monday, January 24, 2011

It’s only fear that runs through my veins
It’s all the things you can’t explain
That make us human

These lyrics that come from the band Civil Twilight 's song "Human", are so beautiful that when paired with the elegant piano work can evoke very strong emotions. However it could be said that drawing emotion from lyrics is easy. Throw out the heart and love and you're probably on the right track. But what if you didn't have any words?

When I first heard the opening notes from the song "The Ash Is In Our Clothes" something welled up inside of me. And when that horn whispers it's hello, a small tear formed. No words. There's not a single word in this song. But it...is...breathtaking. Forget trying to stay warm during this number, 'cause the chills will continue throughout.

Sleeping At Last first entered my library with a download from NoiseTrade.com. A few selections from Keep No Score and a few from Storyboards. There's just something about the music that this band makes. They blow you away with every album and there's only 2 members!

The notes are elegant, the vocals are mesmerizing and the extra elements are so poetic that it's hard to believe that musicians like this still exist. Imagine the orchestra/band that one would get to make a movie score. Now add brutally human lyrics from a choir-esque voice and you've got a hint of what Sleeping At Last has to offer.

Right now they're in the middle of a MASSIVE project. They're producing an EP for every month of the year and calling it the Yearbook. So far the months have been awesome. However I'm partial to January (for a few reasons).

This video gives you a feel for the mesmerizing vocals:


If I had all the money in the world I would buy each of my friends the song "The Ash Is In Our Clothes". But then again, these guys deserve at least $1 of your money for this kind of genius (or whatever they end up getting off iTunes sales). You can though, still find some of their music for free on NoiseTrade.

SAL is not currently touring, but I'm guessing the new EP every month is to blame for that.

ENJOY!!

-Rach

Helping you find your background music. \m/(>.<)\m/

What IS an instrument??

Saturday, January 8, 2011

If you asked any tom, dick or harry what the definition of an instrument was, they'd most likely answer: guitar, drum, tamborine, etc. Well if you asked Caleb Mueller, otherwise known as the artist Decomposure he'd respond: Everything!

Decomposure's music takes the traditional instruments and almost just uses them as a background. As his main elements are everything else. In any given song you're likely to hear a telephone ringing, a car driving past, a washing machine shaking, or any other random sound that could occur. All these are mixed with some expert computer work and synthesizers. And if that wasn't enough, he's got a pretty awesome vocal ability for the that are lyrics interlaced throughout.

It's not your typical music, but that's what makes it awesome!

The album "Vertical Lines A" has a few songs on it that seem to fit perfectly as a soundtrack for a city. The sounds he created just seem to capture the beats and pulses of human activity. I sat down in Union Station one night while a multitude of people rushed in and out and managed to get lost in Decomposure's music and how it fit perfectly with that scene.

And the 50 min of "Humidity Patient Guide" is an excellent ebb and flow of sounds to get those creative juices flowing.

Here's a GREAT example:


And here's where you can pretty much get all of his music for free:
Blank Squirrel

though i think you'll agree after hearing a song or two, Caleb is worth a little donation or 5.

ENJOY!!

-Rach

Helping you find your background music. \m/(>.<)\m/