March ’09 Indie Band of the Month: Cuba

Cuba can be one of two things. The first is a country with missiles and cigars. The second, which is the topic of this post, is a great indie band that take influence from a very wide variety of sources ranging from Johnny Cash to Bright Eyes. And Wes Anderson movies.

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Cuba is March’s Indie Band of the Month and they deserve it. Unlike featured bands of the past, Cuba can’t be put into any single genre. They do everything from funk to rock to folk, if it is an established genre then chances are these boys have played around with it, and that is exactly what makes them the perfect choice for the Everyview Indie Band of the Month Award.

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“Mario Kart Love Song” by Sam Hart

I just wanted to let all you guys know about this. It’s a great song by Sam Hart relating passionate and romantic relationships to the Mario Kart, the greatest casual racing title ever. The lyrics are brilliant and the melody is catchy, and it’s a really good song overall, I hope you guys enjoy it.

Thanks to the lovely Kim Boland, my own wonderful Princess Toadstool for showing this video to me. Smooches.

Retro-Review: Dexter Freebish “A Life of Saturdays”

dexterfreebishlifeofsaturdays1Overview:

“Wait, Dexter Who? I’ve never heard of ’em, sorry.”

“A Life of Saturdays” was the 2000 debut album put out by the Austin, Texas band Dexter Freebish who won the 1999 John Lennon Songwriting Competition with their first hit single “Leaving Town” which was a top 40 hit on the radios and its video was played almost constantly on VH1 for a good while.

And if you’re wondering about the band’s name, they originally as The Twigs but was later changed to Dexter Freebish. The name itself was taken from a roller coaster ride at Astroworld theme park in Houston, Texas called Dexter Frebish’s Electric Roller Ride.

So is Dexter Freebish’ “A Life of Saturdays” an album you should pull from the dusty shelves at the back of your mind or is it a memory better off lost alongside the memories of your fourth grade bully making you throw up then force-feeding it back to you?

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Review: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Live at the Logan Square Auditorium

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Overview:

For years I have been billing Texas rock band …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, as “the best band that nobody but me listens to.” Luckily, there were hundreds of supporters as avid as I who convened on Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago Friday night for a stop on the bands tour to support their new album “The Century of Self,” creating another remarkably memorable concert experience I have drawn from this tragically under appreciated band.

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Feb. ’09 Indie Band of the Month: Renae

Renae. I almost don’t even know where to start with these guys. The first time I saw them play live was January 2nd, and I instantly had a new favorite local band. Consisting of front man Stephen Rosborough, drummer Adam DeWitt, guitarist Ben DeWitt, and Brad Pigg rockin’ the bass guitar and one helluvah beard, Renae puts on one unique and refreshing show.

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L-R: Stephen, Brad, Adam, Ben

On stage they are full of so much energy, but it isn’t depicted through over-the-top antics and lollygag dancing. Instead Stephen’s subtle hand gestures, which have a hypnotically crowd pleasing effect, and truly innovative and energetic tunes keep fans entranced throughout the entire set. The quality of their music doesn’t stop at the stage, either. Their first album, “The Coward, The Storm, & The Outlaw” is in near constant play on my iPod. The brilliant lyrics and powerful music shows that the boys behind Renae know how to pour both heart and soul into making music.

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Retro-Review: Marcy Playground Self-Titled Album

Overview:

Marcy Playground is probably (in my humble opinion) the single most underrated and unrecognized rock band from the ’90s. Their self-titled album debuted in 1997 and it’s first single “Sex and Candy” spent 15 weeks at #1 and managed to generate two other singles called “St. Joe on the Schoolbus” and “Sherry Frazier”. Despite the album’s platinum status Marcy Playground is now mostly a forgotten band remembered almost exclusively by the success of “Sex and Candy” which is an unfortunate fact because they really are one of the greatest bands around. You just don’t know it.

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Review:

My single favorite thing about the album is it’s immense diversity. Members John Wozniak (Guitar, Vocals), Dylan Keefe (Bass, Back-ups) and Dan Reiser (Drums, Back-ups/no longer with the band) pulled off a huge variation of sounds ranging from modern-folk to psychadelic to hard rock, and they pulled it off well. Extremely well.

Despite having a very diverse sound, it’s all mellow and soothing yet still extremely blissful. John Wozniak’s lax vocals complement his creative lyrics perfectly. And the lyrics are another great thing about the album. “Poppies” for instance tells the story of how opium came to be. “St. Joe” tells about John’s wistful childhood. One of my personal favorites, “One More Suicide” tells a depressing tale of love gone horribly wrong.

Usually, when doing album reviews I talk about the good and bad songs. The thing is, I’ve looked with a very critical eye and still can’t find any bad songs on the album. “Opium” is probably the least impressive song but that’s about it. And the only thing that really keeps it from being as great as every other song on the album is it’s overly lethargic sound and the overall depressing mood it presents listeners. Even so, it’s a great song.

Of all the other songs on the album, my personal favorites are “Ancient Walls of Flowers”, “A Cloak of Elvenkind”, “Sherry Frasier”, “One More Suicide”, “Dog and his Master”, and of course the album’s most popular hit “Sex and Candy”. The latter-most listed, “Sex and Candy”, was easily the album’s strongest hit but some of the others listed are way better, just not as recognized.

Track List:

  1. Poppies
  2. Sex and Candy
  3. Ancient Walls of Flowers
  4. Saint Joe on the Schoolbus
  5. A Cloak of Elvenkind
  6. Sherry Frasier
  7. Gone Crazy
  8. Opium
  9. One More Suicide
  10. Dog and his Master
  11. The Shadow of Seattle
  12. The Vampires of New York

Final Words:

Marcy Playground’s debut self-titled album is a great gem that deserves a listen from anyone who grew up in the ’90s. It’s one of my favorite albums and has been for several years. Marcy Playground’s music has a timeless quality that’s sure to please just about anyone even today, ten years after it’s release. Check it out.

Score:

Overall: 9.3/10 (Amazing)

Lyrics: 9.5/10 (Inspirational, clever, and from the heart)
Music: 9.5/10 (Smooth and calm, yet invigorating at the same time)
Entertainment Value: 9.0/10 (It’s ten years old, and I still find it to be fresh and unique)

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Review: Dear Science by TV On The Radio

tv-on-the-radio-dear-scienceOverview:

Two years ago, TV On The Radio was on the verge of becoming one of my favorite bands. Then came the night of March 8, 2007. I purchased a ticket to see them perform at The Vogue Theater in Indianapolis (aka: the Sodom and Gomorra of the Midwest). The Vogue is a 21+ venue, which shouldn’t have been a problem because I was 22 at the time. However, my driver’s license had expired, making me ineligible to get in, even though I had documented proof I was old enough to enter the putrid venue. So the evening ended with my “friends” watching the show while leaving me to sit alone in the car for over three hours.

Since then, I had been reluctant to listen to this band. While it was in no way their fault (in fact, I met two band members while waiting for my “friends” to exit) listening to them just brought back memories of that cruddy night. This reason, mixed with my non-existent cash flow, made me reluctant to purchase their new album “Dear Science.” After several months, I finally bit the bullet and bought it. After a few listens, I can officially say that all is forgiven.

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The dreams in which im dying are the best I’ve ever had…

While i was browsing music because of the ever so relentless boredom that plagues me all too much these days. I searched mad world because it’s a good song and this Kiwi popped up and changed my views on some certain obstacles. This neat little video actually gave me a lot of inspiration. I’m sure you will eventually understand that no matter what physical barrier lies in the way of your goals, you can fly over it.

Hip Hop Harmonica

This is a video of me beatboxing the harmonica live at a Bogey’s show as a warm-up for local band Nate (article soon, I swear). It’s not very long and I messed up a couple times, but it’s still pretty sweet.

It’s just a short little ditty, not an actual song or anything. It’s groovy none-the-less. Beatboxing harmonica is the greatest discovery since the noodle maker or condoms. Haven’t decided which.