Author: James

Posted on: June 30, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

California Indie Band Great Northern Tour

Great Northern, California-born indie-rock band, receive accolade and tour. Yahoo! Music has selected California foursome Great Northern to participate in their Who’s Next? promotion.

Posted on: June 29, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Steve Lieberman Interview

This is an interview that James McQuiston conducted with Steve Lieberman. Lieberman, the “Gangsta Rabbi”, released eir “Melancholia Falling” a few months back. Check out eir website at http://www.gangstarabbi.com . When and why did you first get into creating music? In 1968 I wrote something for clarinet and trumpet and played bass in some successful local rock bands til 1978.. the ‘modern age’ started in 1981 when i put the…

Posted on: June 28, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Galahad – Live In Poland

Galahad – Live In Poland / 2006 MVD / 200 Minutes / http://www.musicvideodistributors.com / Galahad has been around for over a quarter century, and for some reason, I’ve completely missed their contributions to the larger music scene. Apparently, I’m about the only one, as there are literally tens of thousands of websites chronicling their work over the past few decades. The band comes down in the progressive rock side of…

Posted on: June 27, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

OST: 300 Soundtrack

OST: 300 / 2007 WB / 25 Tracks / http://www.300themovie.warnerbros.com / Pretty much everyone has seen 300 at this point. It is the story of the valiant Spartan army against the evil Persians; what individuals may not be immediately familiar with is the work of Tyler Bates. Bates, who composed the score to this movie, is best known for creating the soundtrack to movies like Dawn of the Dead and…

Posted on: June 27, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Videohippos – Unbeast The Leash

Videohippos – Unbeast The Leash / 2007 Monitor / 12 Tracks / http://www.videohippos.com / http://www.monitorrecords.com / The electro-indie rock of Videohippos reminds me of a coked-out reinterpretation of Neil Young’s Trans album. There is an earthy, natural progression to the track even as the synthesizer and electronic fuzz seem to paint a picture opposed to that. “Tooth Sub” is the first track on the disc, and the band’s only fault…

Posted on: June 27, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Amber Pacific – Truth In Sincerity

Amber Pacific – Truth In Sincerity / 2007 Hopeless / 12 Tracks / http://www.amberpacific.com / http://www.hopelessrecords.com / For a few years back when I first started the magazine, The Red Hot Valentines were the band that could do no wrong. Through four or five releases, everything they did was golden. They broke p a few years back, but it did not take me too terribly long to find another band…

Posted on: June 27, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Baby Boy Da Prince – Across The Water

Baby Boy Da Prince – Across The Water / 2007 Republic / 18 Tracks / http://www.babyboydaprince.com / http://www.universalrepublic.com Baby Boy Da Prince is one of the few artists that I actually knew about before I received the disc. “The Way I Live” (featuring the up and coming Lil Boosie) has been played on all the local radio stations on high rotation, and “Naw Meen” is another track that has been…

Posted on: June 27, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

The Toasters – One More Bullet

The Toasters – One More Bullet / 2007 Stomp / 12 Tracks / http://www.toasters.org / http://www.stomprecords.com/ The Toasters have been around for a quarter-century. They were one of the most influential acts in the creation of the third wave of ska music which peaked around 1996. Surprisingly enough, The Toasters are still around while the rest of the acts latter era have broken up or have decreased in importance. Feeling…

Posted on: June 26, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

OST: Ocean’s Thirteen

OST: Ocean’s Thirteen / 2007 Warner Bros / 20 Tracks / http://oceans13.warnerbros.com / http://www.warnerbros.com / I have not had a chance to see any of the newer “Ocean’s” movies, but I can generally guess what the movies are able. A group of people (however many are determined by the title of the movie, typically) are trying to rip off a casino. One can guess that the music for a movie…

Posted on: June 26, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Plan B – Who Needs Actions When You Got Words

Plan B – Who Needs Actions When You Got Words / 2007 Warner / 14 Tracks / http://www.time4planb.co.uk / The United Kingdom comes up with the most interesting rappers. Since Goldie Looking Chain and The Streets, the country has been creating notable changes to the style that still maintain a very catchy and radio-friendly song. “Who Needs Actions When You Got Words” starts out with “Kidz”, and while the backing…

Posted on: June 26, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Strength Behind Tears – Bridges Between Us

Strength Behind Tears – Bridges Between Us / 2007 Basement / 10 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/sbt / Strength Behind Tears is a band that I have never heard before conducting this review, but apparently they have went on a national tour and have played with acts like Scars of Tomorrow, Undying, If Hope Dies, and As Hope Dies. “November Tenth” is the opening track on the disc, and it shows Strength…

Posted on: June 26, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 1

LKN – Postulate II

LKN – Postulate II / 2007 Greyday / 13 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/lkn / http://www.greydayproductions.com / About a year and a third ago, I reviewed the predecessor to “Postulate II”, which as some people could guess, was called “Postulate I”. I ultimately loved the album, and likened LKN’s sound to a Patti Smith or other similar artists. This is LKNs new album, and the disc starts out with the same instrumentally…

Posted on: June 26, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

ALO – Roses and Clover

ALO – Roses and Clover / 2007 Brushfire / 10 Tracks / http://www.brushfirerecords.com / This is the fourth album by ALO. I was not familiar with the act before reviewing this album. The disc starts off with “Maria”, and the song feels as if the Counting Crows and Rusted Root united with the seventies pop stars. This is to say, there is a high amount of focus on the instrumentation…

Posted on: June 25, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

My American Heart – Hiding Inside The Horrible Weather

My American Heart – Hiding Inside The Horrible Weather / 2007 Warcon / 11 Tracks / http://www.myamericanheartrock.com / http://www.warconent.com / My American Heart I’ve heard of before, but I’ve never had the chance to hear until now. “Hiding Inside The Horrible Weather” shows that the band is definitely capable enough to craft a rock sound that has more than its’ fair share of emo influence to it. The tracks on…

Posted on: June 25, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Under The Volcano #89

Under The Volcano #89 / $3.95 / 1:30 / 60M / http://www.underthevolcano.net /   Under The Volcano has been around for a number of years. The collection of bands featured in this issue show why they have been able to succeed where so many zines have failed in the last decade. This time, pieces featuring Jello Biafra, Cipher, The Melvins, and Ramallah are all present. There are a lot in…

Posted on: June 25, 2007 Posted by: James Comments: 0

Slug #221

Slug #221 / Free / 1:15 / 64M / http://www.slugmag.com / Salt Lake City is starting to get warm. And, with the weather changing, the sports coverage of Slug changes as well. Gone are all the features about snowboarding, present are a number of pieces about up and coming skateboarders. However, what really gets me with each issue of Slug is their major focus on bands around the scene. I…