Wednesday, July 27th 2007. I was sitting in the middle of the darkness on top of the hood of a Chevrolet Lumina parked in a park somewhere in Ohio. I lay my head back and put it on the back of the car and lit myself a Black-n-Mild cigar. I puffed the hard, sweet smoke deep into my lungs and puff it out slowly; the thick grey smoke carefully blends…
He’s “Takin’ It to the Streets” on “American Idol” — now Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks will be takin’ it more directly to the people. Celebrating his birthday today, Hicks has tapped the independent artist services company Artist To Market (A2M) to release his much-buzzed-about new album, due in stores on February 10, 2009. The platinum-selling singer-songwriter will be releasing the new title with complete control of direction and ownership…
We may already have received one of the best albums to be released in 2009. This album, Julie Clark’s 1/13/2009 release Change Your Mind, really places the bar for any GLBT musician that much further than it had been in 2008. This is due to the fact that Clark’s music simultaneously struggles for the GLBT cause without being circumscribed by what listeners tend to assume about GLBT-oriented artists. When January…
“Suspended†is the first track on “Second Warâ€, and it showcases a type of rock that skillfully and deftly brings together hard rock, industrial, and even a little bit of New Wave music into something that is slinky and will ultimately be on listeners minds for long after the disc packs it in. That means that there are hints of Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Stabbing Westward, and even minor amounts…
California-based band Jaymes Reunion, recently signed to BEC Recordings and Universal Music Group Publishing, performed Sunday (October 5th) in Madison, New Jersey for the 14th Annual T.J. Martell Foundation Walk-A-Thon. The quickly rising band was thrilled to support the foundation that raises essential funds for innovative leukemia, cancer, and AIDS research in loving memory of T.J. Martell, the son of legendary music executive Tony Martell of Madison. Jaymes Reunion performed…
“At Ease†is the first introduction that many individuals will have to Ping Trace. The great thing is that the act does not limit themselves with “At Ease†in the slightest. Bits of natural (drumming) and artificial elements (scratching) fuse together to create a chill sound that is perfect for any downtempo type of party or gathering. While there may be some vocals here, these are part of a sample…
The Reel Banditos are a unique act. Imagine if CCR mated with KMFDM and listeners will have some sort of clue what The Reel Banditos are doing during this EP. Where there are no vocals during this track, The Reel Banditos do a heck of a job creating an easy to follow narrative that is present at all points during this track. Their dedication to this sound continues through this…
Capitol Records will release Coldplay’s Viva La Vida – Prospekt’s March edition on November 25th. The two-disc deluxe package includes Viva La Vida, the band’s fourth full-length album, plus a brand new EP entitled The EP, which will also be for sale separately in CD and 12″ vinyl configurations, includes six recently-completed songs that the band had begun recording during the Viva La Vida sessions and brand new versions of…
While the previous two issues showed an upward trend in quality and interesting articles, this issue of Wonkavision just feels like a miss to me. We notice some color pages (8 to be exact) in this issue, but a total of seven do not have any content on them, either being ads for Wonkavision itself or for a number of larger punk labels. The issue was apparently delayed by the…
Black ambient forestdwellers VINDENSANG have finally completed their highly-anticipated debut full-length, collecting seventy minutes’ worth of atmospheric, introspective forest hymns and paeans to the beauty of nature and intensities of human emotions. Juxtaposing the dark ambiance of black metal with the gentle strains of neo-folk and muted tones of cold, dark rock, VINDENSANG have created something quite special and even more impossible to describe. Is it black metal? Ambient? Folk?…
