Monthly Archives: December 2009

Intense Nick checks out Psychedelic Shag

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psychedelic shag 300Psychedelic Shag (http://www.myspace.com/psychedelicshag,  http://www.psychedelic-shag.com)  are an electrifying new psychedelic/stoner/alternative/stoner rock band, cosmically hailing from Germany gaining much attention and a huge fan base globally, and deservedly so. They are now exploding onto the music scene with a supreme, bold debut album entitled The Sunlight Underground. Entirely self-penned, this important release on Stone Island’s elite ‘Stargaze International’ label is a compelling mind-blowing musical trip from start to finish with vibrant musicianship. The songs possess fire, overflowing with life experience, awareness and insight into the times we are living in right now.

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CD Review: Gooding “The Return”

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goodingYou may have heard the thunderous, adventuresome rock from Gooding already if you’ve seen movies and TV shows such as Walk The Line, The Animatrix, Nip/Tuck, or The Closer. After listening to his latest, “The Return”, it isn’t hard to figure out why his tunes are becoming ubiquitous in edgy films and TV episodes. Gooding‘s music starts with a melodic core and then is dressed to the nines with layers upon layers of diverse sounds. You’ll hear classic rock with hints of industrial rock and an occasional urban beat, all set to grooves that will make you want to shake your booty (or at least nod along).

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MAKE A RECORD WITH THE PROS

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Lp33.tv is playing host to a great A&R contest that will give your band the chance to be coached from the best in the industry. Your band could win the opportunity to get three months of A&R consulting from industry veteran Michael Rosenblatt (Madonna, Depeche Mode, Augustana, New Radicals). Plus, the contest sets you up with Pledge Music to raise money for a professionally produced and engineered EP. The contest is free, just go to http://www.lp33.tv/studiofasttrack to read complete entry instructions. An LP33 account (which is free) is required.

A Rock and Roll Report Chat with Love & Opium

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love and opium 300Today I would like thank Love & Opium for taking some time out to do this for us their Fans

Welcome guys and before we start I just wanted to say Welcome to The Rock and Roll Report, We Love Your Tunes.

Shaz: What’s the name of your band and what’s the origin of that name?

Eddie Mac: Love & Opium; and the name was originally conceived by Joe. It was a combination of the names of two techno dance clubs in South Beach, FL, USA where he promoted shows. Over time, it took on a meaning of its own and that meaning is whatever the listener perceives it to be. I like the idea of words and phrases that are open-ended, vague or have more than one meaning, and that applies in this case.

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CD Review: Research Turtles – S/T

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Born on the bayou of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Research Turtles are a band with buzzing British Invasion styled guitars layered on top of Foo Fighters styled grunge pop. It’s a natural mix that takes elements of the past guitar greats (Beatles, The Who) and fits it into chunky rock melodies that grow on you like moss on a tree.

Founders Jud and Joe Norman channel the melodic magic on the opener “Let’s Get Carried Away.” The heavy guitars plunge listeners into the Green Day-styled “Damn” full of both distorted guitar solos and harmonic choruses. “Mission” is a great straight ahead power pop single that should garner attention from a few radio stations that value good music. The southern style of the band emerges on the power ballad “Kiss Her Goodbye” and aggressive guitars race ahead on the excellent “Cement Floor.”

It tends to bog down on “The Riff Song” into a Led Zeppelin-esque gumbo of riffs and vocal distortions. The sweet “Into A Hole” is another highlight, with both melody and riffs on equal footing. The musical hooks tend to take a back seat on the albums second half, but for a debut this is more than enough to get excited about. Fans of Teenage Fanclub, You Am I and Bowling For Soup will also find a lot to like about these Turtles.

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CD Review: Bobby Emmett “Learning Love”

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bobby emmett webDiscovering great discs like the new one from Bobby Emmett (formerly of The Sights) helps to remind me why I started this blog in the first place. I am panning for gold when listening to the stacks of CDs piled up on my desk and when I heard the first couple notes off “Learning Love” I knew I hit pay dirt.

Bobby Emmett, a Detroit native who also plays in Shooter Jenning‘s band, has delivered a treasure trove of power pop goodies on “Learning Love”. Not surprisingly, an album with a title such as this is a meditation on the pros and cons of being in love, but it doesn’t come off as simplistic or sappy at all. What really stands out are the catchy melodies and memorable riffs – and “Learning Love” has more than its fair share. Highlights include the crunchy opener “Queen of Hearts”, the crowd pleasing “Still Wanna Be With You” (complete with some retro surf guitar), and “Moving Ahn”, which brilliantly shifts between psychedelic verses and a juicy pop rock chorus.

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The Rock and Roll Report Band of the Week is Exit State

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exit state band of the weekHailing from East Lancashire UK, Roy Bright (vocals/guitars), Adam Stephenson (guitars), Phil Ireland (bass guitar/vocals) & Peat “Crazy Texas” Hicks (drums/vocals) are Exit State! a rock band that draw influences from such greats as Foo Fighters, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Nickelback, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Weezer, Faith No More, Nirvana, Therapy?, The Smiths, Cave-In, Pantera, Dinosaur Jr, THE LIONS, THE TIGERS, THE BEARS….OH MY!!

Likened to Foo Fighters, Nickelback & Therapy, the band demonstrates a sound that combines the melodic qualities of indie with the innovation of rock and the power of metal that saw them described in Rocksound Magazine as “Satisfyingly heavy, unexpectedly catchy, unashamedly experimental and curiously engaging – Impressive”.

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‘Family of the Year’ now charm crowds everywhere they go, but it all started with a chance encounter outside an LA bar

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l_67e134b9652c41548beae4df18be9a90It’s not often you come across a band that has, yes, six members. On top of that two are dating, two are brothers, and it still all manages to work out wonderfully. Sound impossible? Not for California’s Family of the Year who are one such band. The self-professed indie-rock-folk-Americana songsters have just released their debut album, Songbook, and seem to be charming their way onto everyone’s iPod. If you haven’t heard them yet, SPIN Magazine recommends that you do – and so does The Rock and Roll Report.

The band consists of: Vanessa Jeanne Long (vocals), Joe Beaulieu Keefe (Vocals & Guitar), Sebastian Keefe (Drums & Guitar), James Buckey (Keys), Christina Schroeter (Keys) and Brent Freaney (Bass). Vanessa recently phoned in for a chat about Rock Band’s (yes, the videogame) pivotal role in their formation, impossible to remember band names and actually living and feeling like a family.

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Pigshit By Gary Pig Gold – Gary Pig Gold got his Kicks with JOE STRUMMER

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PigshitForDec11While the Clash were hardly the only band that ever mattered to me, I personally sure owe a tip-o-the ol’ snout to the one, the only Joe Strummer for most vividly helping me see The Light back in that dark, dank cultural wasteland known as the mid-Seventies.

It was my first-ever night in London, August of 1975, and a friend took me to see The Troggs at the Nashville Room.

Opening was a young band called The 101’ers who, I was most amazed to discover, performed almost the precise same set (beginning with the Stones’ roll down “Route 66”) as did my own high school combo Martin & The E-Chords back there in the Toronto suburbs!

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