Category: Features

Posted on: October 11, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 5

Black Suit Karma – Negative White (CD)

“In Between The Space of Things” shows that the band knows how to craft a rock track that touches upon the distinct genres and developments that have been created in the last fifteen years. Black Suit Karma comes forth on “Space of Things” with a tight set of musical arrangements that burst into fleshes of intensity that will stick with listeners for weeks and months after their first listen. This…

Posted on: October 4, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 2

Anberlin Interview (Conducted By Jam Shawna)

Interview with Anberlin singer Stephen Christian How are you doing? Doing wonderful. I’m here in San Antonio, Texas on our New Surrender headlining tour. What’s the meaning behind the new album name? Well, New Surrender for me was more of like a motivational speech in two words as best as I could. What it is basically for me is that I think that in everyone’s life there is something that’s…

Posted on: October 2, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The All-American Rejects – “Gives You Hell”

As someone who has kept up with the band since the days of “Swing Swing”, the intro to this song leaves me shocked that I am hearing The All-American Rejects. The opening and bouncy beat definitely channel Smash Mouth, when upon further research I discovered this song was produced by Eric Valentine, who also produced some Smash Mouth singles.

Posted on: September 30, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway (PS3)

Hell’s Highway is the third of the Brothers in Arms series, and it saw a release on the PS3, the Xbox 360 and the PC. This time out, the Playstation 3 version of Hell’s Highway will be reviewed. Regardless of the console through which the player enters into “Hell’s Highway”, the storyline is the same. Based off a real World War II offensive (Operation Market Garden, where the Allies attempted…

Posted on: September 30, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

My Secret World (DS)

When the Nintendo DS first came out, it seemed like the number of different games were pitifully few, and the number of those games that broke free of the narrow genre confines of the early library were even fewer. Imagine (and Ubisoft generally) have been wondrous in actually expanding the palette of the DS, and making it into a console that is more attractive at this point than a PSP.…

Posted on: September 28, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Glenn Beck: Unelectable (DVD)

Most viewers of Unelectable will know Glenn Beck as being one of the only conservative forces on CNN Headline News, but chances are good that they do not know that Beck conducts a one-person stage show. This stage show is what is ultimately captured on ”Unelectable”, and this DVD is integral to understand the funny side of Beck. The stage show is largely stand-up based, pointing out foibles in political…

Posted on: September 28, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Little Fish (Cast Recording) (CD)

While the original engagement of Little Fish only ran for a little over three weeks (February 15th to March 9th, 2003), the impact that Michael John LaChiusa’s music had on all lucky enough to familiarize themselves with it cannot be understated. This was first seen in the musical’s second life, where it enjoyed over a month of performances in 2007 at The Blank Theatre (Los Angeles). The musical’s cast recording,…

Posted on: September 27, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

TNA Impact (Playstation 3)

It has been quite a few years since there has been a challenger to the WWE series of games on the current generation of video game consoles. Midway and TNA wrestling have stepped up to create a contender that goes beyond the Backyard Wrestling and the Fire Pro Wrestling series, and in many ways, TNA Impact surpasses the Smackdown Vs. Raw series. The cast of characters – aside from some…

Posted on: September 25, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

OST: Mamma Mia! (CD)

Mamma Mia! was one of the biggest hits of the summer movie season, and as of right now, the box it brought in far surpassed any other musical released. It is not surprising that Decca chose to release a soundtrack of the film, then. All of listeners’ favorite ABBA tracks are here, be they “The Winner Takes It All”, “The Name of the Game”, “Super Trouper”, or even “Dancing Queen”.…

Posted on: September 23, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 3

Kenny Lattimore – Timeless (CD)

Kenny Lattimore is an individual that, while not gaining the same commercial success of some of eir colleagues, has cultivated a rapid fan base over the last twenty years. “Timeless” is the disc that is poised to bring Lattimore’s soul-filled stylings into the mainstream, something that is first provided to listeners during the disc’s introductory track, “Something”. Of course, tracks like “And I Love Her” (The Beatles), “Ain’t No Way”…

Posted on: September 22, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360)

Infinite Undiscovery is the latest RPG release by Square-Enix, being released on the Xbox 360 platform, coming out at the beginning of September in the United States. Perhaps the best addition to the traditional PRG game play would have to be the real-time nature of the game. Where there seems to be a sort of “pause” present in a number of RPGs when an individual goes into the start menu…

Posted on: September 21, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Alabama 3 – Hits & Exit Wounds (CD)

Pretty much, the only familiarity that listeners on this side of the Atlantic would have had with Alabama 3 up to this point would have been through the use of “Woke Up This Morning” as the theme from The Sopranos. Luckily, One Little Indian has released a “greatest hits” for Alabama 3 in “Hits & Exit Wounds”. This disc gives listeners a quick rundown of those tracks deemed best by…

Posted on: September 19, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Billy Joel – The Stranger Legacy Edition (CD)

Billy Joel’s 1977 album, “The Stranger”, has a number of hits that fans of Joel’s would declare as some of Joel’s defining tracks. This means that “Just The Way You Are”, “She’s Always A Woman”, and “Movin’ Out” all reached the top 20, while “Only The Good Die Young” hit #24. A slight bit over thirty years have passed, and Sony Legacy have recreated some of the original magic that…

Posted on: September 16, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Imagine: Teacher (DS)

A few months ago, we had the chance to go forth and review Imagine: Rock Star for the Nintendo DS. The series continues with Imagine: Teacher, a game that allows individuals to have their first attempt at seeing what a teaching career may be like. Ubisoft has created this game in order to give the female 6-14 subset something substantive to do on their DSes, ensuring that there is a…

Posted on: September 10, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 7

Strange Day – Face The Change (CD)

“A Beaten Man” is a track that introduces fans to Strange Day well; the band’s eclectic nature is shown perfectly here. Whether it is the vocals calling forth equal amounts Chris Cornell and Axl Rose or the epic instrumental arrangements that operate in the background, listeners that have a chance to give “A Beaten Man” a few spins will understand the band’s allure. Strange Day does not pigeonhole themselves into…

Posted on: August 29, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

G. Love and Special Sauce Custom Guitar Giveaway

Enter at http://www.totalassault.com/contests/id/01634/ for a chance to win the G. Love custom model guitar from Gretsch, along with a SIGNED harmonica and Shure 520DX “Green Bullet” Harmonica Microphone. You’ll see G. Love playing these instruments all summer long on his headline tour with John Butler Trio and Tristan Prettyman. Make sure you pick up a copy of his new album Superhero Brother before you head out to the show!

Posted on: August 28, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

NeuFutur Print Magazine Reviewed

NeuFutur #6 – At one point in this zine the editor mentions that in the past, his writing has been criticized for being too impersonal. And I would agree with him. Even after he throws in some “personal narrative” it just seems very rigid and reserved. The writing covers – a look at the ENDA, vague insturctions for an electric bicycle, zine and music reviews, a warning about crazed Christian…

Posted on: August 7, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

The Madison Project Interview

Can you first give us an introduction to the members of the band, and then describe for us the genesis of the Madison Project? Madison Project is a rock trio that formed Burlington, VT. Forrest Thomas on drums Ben Kogan on bass and me on vocals and guitar. The genesis of Madison Project came from an idea; a vision that i saw. The previous band that i was in was…

Posted on: August 2, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Scary Kids Scaring Kids / Finch Contest

Finch and Scary Kids Scaring Kids are embarking on a U.S. co-headlining tour. Along for the ride on various dates are Foxy Shazam, From First To Last, Tickle Me Pink and Our Last Night. For our local (Cleveland-area) readers, check them out on 8/30 at the House of Blues.

Posted on: July 19, 2008 Posted by: Danica Comments: 0

My First Warped Tour

I have never really been to a music festival, personally I thought I was probably making a huge mistake going to Warped tour, I had the stereotypical view on music festivals. At first I thought it was going to be a dirty, hot, drunken, drug fest. Well this proved me wrong. The whole area was great, kept up and clean, flyers all over the place but no true garbage on…