An attempt to tip the scales.

Invincible

2009-11-29T22:37:00.000-08:00

What comes to mind when you see a treadmill? Running, tracksuits or maybe even a gym? Or do you think of four men, dressed in floral wallpaper print suits, running around frantically, while performing over-the-top dance moves? No? Well then, you must not be familiar with the ridiculous world of all that is OK Go.

OK Go and treadmills have become one of the same. Thanks to the release of their 2006 YouTube video, choreographed to their hit single 'Here it Goes Again' which was performed on eight, in-synch treadmills, OK Go has become a world-wide music phenomenon. Rather than go the expected route in the music industry and release professionally made videos through their management, this band created some of the most refreshing and entertaining homemade videos to ever raid the World Wide Web. Within days of posting their treadmill video, the most popular of all their viral releases, OK Go shot to the top of the charts and gained unimaginable recognition.

When OK Go entered my life I was unfamiliar with their work. True to my nature of going to any show presented to me, I showed up at the concert not knowing what to expect. As soon as the first note was stuck I knew the trip to the city had been well worth my time. With feel good distortion and electro pop tendencies OK Go knows how to rave. They were able to get the crowd moving and laughing with their feel good riffs, charismatic jokes, and ridiculous stage antics. They were able to put their unique personalities into their performance and bring the stage to life. It became instantly apparent that this band had no problem with being true to themselves, and had even less of a problem enjoying all that had been presented to them. OK Go instantly became one of the bands that I turn to when I need to smile, need to escape to a world of careless fun and energized dance moves. To be able to enjoy life the way they do, and to be able to present such a happy go lucky attitude while on stage, is something to truly aspire to. Not to mention they have mad, amazing musical abilities.

The Masterminds that make up this over the top Chicago based band consist of Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, and Andy Ross. While Tim, Dan, and Andy Duncan, a member who was later replaced by Andy Ross, played in the Chicago band Stanley's Joyful Noise, Damian was attending Brown University where he took part in several musical side projects. Once Damien moved to Chicago he joined forces with Stanley's Joyful Noise to create the eccentric OK Go. With heavy influence from the Washington D.C punk scene, post-hardcore and indie rock OK Go released their first feel good album, self-titled OK Go, in 2002. In 2005 they released their second and more known album, Oh No.

To promote the release of their second album the band released their viral music videos, including several filmed in one of the members yard. Damien's sister Trish choreographed all of the dances performed and without the consent of their Capital Record's management OK Go released their videos. Surprisingly, in their videos Damian, the lead singer, is not the one who lip synchs their devious lyrics. Tim steals the spot light and takes over for Damian. There are many rumors as to why this occurs but it is still unknown. OK Go is not only able to step beyond the commonalities of today's music but they are also one of the few bands that keep some mystique surrounding their popularity, a wonderfully delightful rarity in today's mass-produced industry.

Since the release of their second album and incredibly amusing videos OK Go has rapidly developed and established their place in today's music industry. With a new album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, in the works OK Go is standing their ground. Leading the way in originality and much needed joy this band will continue to be a worldwide success. I will be one of the first in line to purchase their new album when it hits stands on January 12, 2010 and I recommend that you be there rocking out by my side to the wonderful enthusiasm that makes OK Go so loveable.

As Published by The Prospectus www.prospectusnews.com

Happy In Her Own Little World

2009-11-29T22:36:00.001-08:00

With successful rage and undeniable innocents this week's musician will become a staple in your play list. Not only is Kate Nash royalty when it comes to the British music scene, but she also makes for an interesting mix of sweetened individuality sprinkled with tainted awkwardness. Kate is a musician that is able to make any indie pop lover yearn for her unique taste.

When Kate Nash entered my life I was instantly enamored. I first saw her music video for Mouthwash on the British MTV2, a station that provided me with many amazing British musicians. Unfortunately, I tuned in just in time to miss the artist and song title. Kate Nash had impressed me to such an extent with just the last few notes of her song that I devoted an entire day to waiting for the video to come on again. Twelve hours on the couch and an angry mother later the video aired and once again a musician stole my heart. Her strange take on average issues and everyday dilemmas fit in perfectly with my mentality. Kate shared her perspective on life that felt uncommon in today's popular music industry. Although Musicians commonly wow me, few have developed a permanent place on my play list the way the captivating Kate Nash has.

Born in Dublin, yet a native to London, Kate Nash is a UK musical genius ready to take the world by storm. Kate originally wanted act, but she changed her focus to music after being rejected from the Bristol Old Vic Theater School and after being forced to be on bed rest due to a broken foot. This decision to change to music worked well for her as she soon discovered an impeccable talent for song writing with an edge that is not easily recreated. With the release of her 2007 album, Made of Bricks, Kate quickly topped the UK charts. While her child-like persona came with a surprising rage that caught even the most prepared listeners off guard, Kate Nash was acknowledged as one of Brittan's most exceptional indie pop musicians.

Not only is Kate Nash a born star, but she is also unusually accessible to her audience. While listening to her music there becomes a connection that is highly unexpected. Kate sings about the common themes of boys, friends, and self-image in ways that feel real and relatable. Not once does Kate stray from her down to earth lyrics into the world of the rich and famous. She also utilizes this pristine accessibility in concert.

I was lucky enough to see her on her Made of Bricks tour at the Melkweg, my favorite concert hall located in Amsterdam. As I walked into the concert hall not quite sure what to expect, I was instantly surprised at how perfect the set suited my image of her. Her set consisted of a chaos of items, plastic geese, garden gnomes, a field's worth of large white flowers, vines that twisted their way up the walls, and a hot pink neon sign saying Kate Nash suspended in front of a backdrop of clouds. The second Kate walked on stage with her band (Jay, Elliottt from that film E.T, Meg-King Wong, Brett Alaimo, and Jon Jackson) the audience fell deeply into a trance. Drinking a cup of tea with not two, but three sugars, Kate grasped the audience's attention and held their focus the entire show with her amazing collection of songs and enchanting personality.

Although not currently on tour, Kate Nash is a musician I highly recommend investing in. As a 2010 album is rumored to be in the works a new era looms ahead for Kate. She is a musician that will not disappoint and will continuously surprise her fans with incredibly individual and obscure lyrics about content they can almost all relate to. Kate Nash is an incredibly endearing, sweet, and dreamy musician who is not afraid to express her unique mindset through alluring lyrics and undeniably catchy beats.

To get a free download of Kate Nash's brand new remix of the song Caroline's a Victim and a video to her first single Foundations go to her website www.katenash.co.uk.

As Published in the Prospectus www.prospectusnews.com

2009-11-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

Undeniably the most obscure thrash metal band out there, GWAR is an overload of the senses. Founded in 1984 in Richmond, Virginia the band is currently composed of Oderus Urungus, Flattus Maximus, Balsac: the Jaws of Death, Beefcake the Mighty, Jizmak Da Gusha, Sleazy P. Martini, several destructo side members and multiple kidnapped and mutilated human slaves. As all but one of the original members have survived the lengthy battle against Earth, GWAR pays tribute to its thirty-three retired members who have blessed the legend that has been created over the past 25 years. With twelve studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums, and two Grammy Award nominations, GWAR is here to rock.

GWAR first ripped an inter-dimensional portal into my soul two years ago when a few friends of mine went to one of their shows at the Canopy Club. Not quite sure what to expect, they entered a world of extra-terrestrial madness, defiant, ravenous, chaos-warriors, and the never-ending battle to destroy the human race. My friends returned from the show in awe. After seeing the pictures of them covered in fake blood, I started to research the band. Within moments of listening to their "Beyond Hell" album it became apparent that GWAR is not your average metal group. This band is not one to listen to in the solitude of your own home, but they are a band to indulge in live.

More known for their epic stage performances than for their studio recordings, this band makes for an amazing theatrical night out. GWAR's characters are created from costumes consisting of Styrofoam, rubber, foam-latex, and a creative use of makeup to accentuate their bodies natural features. Seeing these striking costumes is not the only breathtaking part of their live performance, as they also make certain to have plenty of on and off stage entertainment. GWAR drenches their live audience in various fluids such a carrageenan (a type of seaweed extract), water, and powdered food coloring to make horrifyingly realistic blood and gore.

When contemplating if you should enter the realm of cosmic inspired metal by attending a GWAR show, it is important to understand the band's mythos as well as the inspiration behind their music. Ultimately created by the Master, a horrifyingly ugly creature who was said to be the size of a planet, the vast universe was made for entertainment. The Master created GWAR as an army to destroy all that he had created; however as most creation stories go, the army of GWAR rebelled against the Master. Furious, the Master banished GWAR to Earth where they created the human race-a race they quickly learned to despise.

After years of barbarous and epic battles against the human race, the Master returned to imprison GWAR to Antarctica where they continued to plot the destruction of human kind for millions of years. Their savior from this icy tomb came from the overuse of hairspray that 80's hair metal bands indulged in. Metal and a man named Sleazy P. Martini released GWAR into the United States of America where they learned how to play thrash metal and have continued to ever since.

If you would like to join the madness of all that is GWAR you are in luck. On December 7 GWAR will be ruling the stage at the House of Blues in Chicago. Although unconventional in every way, this band is guaranteed to be one of the best live shows of your life. GWAR is a band worth knowing, especially as Halloween looms ever closer.

To learn more about their mythos, music, tour dates, and stage act visit www.gwar.net.

Photo rights approved by GWAR.
Article as seen on www.prospectusnews.com

Through The Hosiery

2009-10-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Creating the sounds of the strange, Alice Glass and Ethan Kath join forces to create an unforgettable duo. Sounding like something straight out of an early 1980’s video game; the music of Crystal Castles is here to twist your world. I was introduced to Crystal Castles while working as a DJ at a Colorado radio station (KCSU) and instantly I became fascinated with this unconventional twosome and their devious musical antics. Founded in 2003, Ethan explains that he discovered Alice, fifteen years old and homeless, performing in the underground music scene of Toronto. After combining Alice’s exotic voice and Ethan’s talent producing tracks, they started on their unconventional path to musical stardom. Using a name taken from an animated television show called “She-Ra: Princess of Power”, a spin off of He-Man, Alice and Ethan called themselves Crystal Castles after She-Ra’s all powerful fortress. This name sparked from a line in the show that stated “The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles”.

Their first single, Alice Practice shot into popularity after an anonymous sound engineer from Merok Records recorded their microphone sound check. After gaining the bands permission to release the recording, Merok Records received rave reviews about the up and coming band. Within days the limited edition single sold out and Crystal Castles was contacted by and eventually signed to Last Gang Records. Under Last Gang Records, Crystal Castles recorded their self-titled album, “Crystal Castles”. Commonly described as a mix of ‘electronic noise and experimental indie folk rock’, the distorted female lyrics and soft rave techno that this unique pair of musicians creates is some of today's hottest noises.

Four years from their start, Crystal Castles stole my heart and tainted it with synthesized chaos and highly distorted vocals. Although they have only produced one studio record in the past five years, you can count on Alice and Ethan to rule the underground and independent music industries for quite some time. Singles off the album include Untrust Us, Alice Practice, Crimewave, and Courtship Dating. Each track off their album will spark an intense urge to bust out your glow sticks and send you spiraling into musical bliss. Not only will Crystal Castles change your world through their jagged and oddly pristine albums, but they will also become music royalty the second they step onstage.

Known for having a nauseating light show and a dance worthy live performance, I was psyched when I got the opportunity to see them in July of 2009. The duo did not disappoint and reined supreme at Melkweg, a concert hall located near my home in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Melkweg, also known as The Milky Way for tourists, is known by performing artists as being one of the best venues in the world. To see such a unique performance, in such a mind-blowing concert hall was an unforgettable experience. As Alice Glass, Ethan Kath, and a live performance only drummer named Christopher Robin, walked on stage, the audience prepared themselves for two hours of absolute chaos and unpredictable madness. For the first five minutes, the dizzy flashing of strobe lights blinded the crowd while Alice appeared and disappeared on stage. Once the magic of the show set in, energy rose from the fans and engulfed Alice, allowing her to drench the crowd in her energized stage presence. While Ethan rarely wandered out from behind the safety of his keyboard, Alice pranced off the stage, danced through the audience and threw herself over the amplifiers.

Through the combination of Alice’s crazy antics and Ethan’s incredible synthesizer skills, Crystal Castles creates music that will be never be forgotten. Performing an upcoming show for $35 on October 30^th in Chicago at the Congress Theatre, Crystal Castles is not a live performance you want to miss. So, if you are looking for a night of chaos, neon, and raveable madness, Crystal Castles is your perfect electronic fix.

As seen in The Prospectus http://www.prospectusnews.com
Published October 15th.

Image found on http://2fm.rte.ie/blogs/dan_hegarty/Crystal%20Castles.jpg

Formally known as Crazy Ironing Board Guy.

2007-11-11T07:02:00.001-08:00

What is it about a man who rocks out with a dirty ironing board that makes good entertainment? Opening for Mindless Self Indulgence, a spastic, bowa-wearing, Capa instantly grabbed the attention of an impatient audience. As a one man band Capa switched between synthesized keyboard, to heavy guitar, to singing crazed lyrics, and then to breaking it down a little by dancing. This chain of events was highly amusing for the audience as people found themselves unable to take their eyes off the scene on stage. Capa gave the audience a reason to dance and successfully wound them up for the main act. For his last song he played his keyboard so hard that it fell off his glitter covered ironing board (probably stolen from his grandmother's basement) and screamed as loud as he could. Without an instrument to play and the synthesized back beat still going strong Capa gave the audience a show of a life time by putting the ironing board up over his head and continued to dance psychotically.

A mix between indie and electro rock, Capa knows how to rock. With a voice sounding like a mix Caleb Followill from Kings of Leon, and Alex Huntly from Franz Ferdinand, Rene Beerens gives life to his music. He is undoubtedly worth checking out if you're into the likes of Mindless Self Indulgence and Super Fun Yeah Yeah Rocket Ship.

Check him out on Myspace at www.myspace.com/capamusic

Capa was a great surprise for me. After my second day of waiting outside for hours to see MSI and the disapointment of the night before Rene's performance made my friend and I unbelievably happy. I saw him play in Eindhoven at De Effenaar on October 13, 2007 and will be seeing him again at the Meander in Amsterdam with his band Capacocha. At the end of this month they will be playing in New York and New Jersey. Once they return they will begin work on their EP. Get excited, this is just the beginning for Capacocha.

If I close my eyes Hell would give me sire.

2007-11-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

As a disapointment to their live audience, The Two Gallants broke down during their 2006 Roskilde performance. With an audience to match their badass attitude, the Two Gallants played a grand total of 30 minutes before passing out on their microphones and kicking over their drum set. The band continuously stopped the show to ask for less flashing lights and forced the crew to lower the sound to a point where even the front row had to lean closer to hear. The drummer, Tyson Vogel, rested his head on his microphone and hid behind is long hair for the majority of the performance . Guitarist, Adam Stephens followed suit by throwing his guitar down and walking off stage. As The Two Gallants stormed off they left behind a somewhat aggressive audience yelling for more. Currently on tour this blues-influenced band is definitely worth listening to. With chilled out tones and compassionate lyrics Vogel and Stephens recreate folk music to fit the modern times. Here's to hoping they finally got their live act together.

www.myspace.com/twogallants

For more information and tour dates:
www.twogallants.com

I was super excited to see this band as I love their song Anna's Sweater. I discovered them on a mix CD I have called Ny2lon (worth checking out! has tracks from bands like The Subways, Giant Drag, and The Ordinary Boys). After pulling two of my friends to wait with me front row I was greeted by disapointment. They seemed to be on something, either that or they just weren't in the mood to play. I kept hoping it would get better yet within 5 minutes my friends had left me alone to watch the band fall apart. They will be playing in Amsterdam at the Melkweg November 23rd and in Groningen at the Vera on November 25th. I passed up the chance to see them again though, The Two Gallants are one of those bands that I respect more while rocking out to them in my room.

This next song is a cover.

2007-11-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

Like a true cover band, Me First and The Gimme Gimmes take the most melodic songs and convert them into raging punk. You think it's not possible to mosh to Annie's The sun will come out tomorrow? Now it is. Me First is all about pleasing the audience with old school hits in revised form. Each song starts out with the band proclaiming that this next song...is, you guessed it, a cover. Not afraid to destroy a song, this band takes classics from the likes of The Eagles and Led Zeppelin then speeds them up to a pure rock tempo. With a theme to match every tour, such as country and American white trash, the pop punk band gives a good live act. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes is a band to see if you're in the mood to rock out to the ultimate music classics.

Picture taken from
www.myspace.com/mefirstandthegimmegimmes

I saw Me First on June 26, 2007 as a birthday present from a friend. They played at Melkweg The Max. Located on Lijnbaansgracht The Melkweg is a great and intimate place to see shows. With two different halls, The Max and The OudeZaal, The Melkweg gives you the ultimate concert experience. Many of the concerts I go to are at the OudeZaal which is about half the size of The Max with a super low stage and a good, chilled atmosphere. For more information on Melkweg go to www.melkweg.nl

Last time I tried to rock your world...

2007-11-09T15:33:00.001-08:00

I wanted to make a place where I could keep track of all the shows I’ve been to, all the bands I’ve seen live, and as a way to remember how the shows and festivals were. I decided to start my blog today so I could begin critiquing bands, festivals, concerts and such. I plan to add pictures, videos, my travel information, favorite music halls, lyrics, set lists, recommendations and much more. To date I’ve seen over 100 different bands live, and quite a few of those I’ve seen multiple times. This blog is open for anyone to comment on, feel free to tell me what you think and recommend more bands. All titles of entries are song titles or lyrics and will usually relate to the band I talk about. "An Attempt to tip the scales" is the title of a Bright Eyes song and today's entry title "Last time I tried to rock your world" is the title of a Mindless self Indulgence song.

First show? Peter Paul and Mary (August 5, 1990)

Most memorable shows? Mindless Self Indulgence at Powerfest in Amsterdam (April 21, 2007), The Subways in Amsterdam (February 20, 2006), Garbage in Amsterdam (June 2, 2005)

Worst Band seen live? A local dutch band called Monkey Beats Donkey. I saw them on October 12, 2007 as an opening act for Mindless Self Indulgence. They where, undoubtedly, the worst band I have ever seen. A mix between pop rock, rasta, ska, gothic rock and a little bit of metal they where unable to gain the respect of the audience. The lead singer had a boner for most of the performance and at one point laid down on stage and refused to move. Monkey Beats Donkey did nothing but piss off the audience and confuse them with the continuous changes of music genre. As the band ignored the yells of “get the fuck off the stage” and “burn in hell” many of the audience members literally turned their backs to the stage. Monkey Beats Donkey could be a good band if they stuck to one genre and sounded a little less like an animal undergoing an epileptic seizure in a musical form.

Watch the whole thing, totally worth it.