The Essex Lights

Fast Love California from The Essex Lights begins with the song “Pride of Worchester”. Featuring lyrics of “Head west, child,” the song is sort of autobiographical for Michael Brawer as he did just that to follow his dreams of working in the entertainment industry. The song features a strong acoustic sound, as the track is built around the acoustic guitar of Brawer with Grady Axton Davis adding just enough electric guitar to give the song real depth and create an anthem-like feel to the track.

The combination of acoustic guitar and harmonica on the album’s second track of “Belle of the Ball” gives this track a sort of folk music flavor to the track. Add to that the energetic vocals of Brawer and you get a part folk/part punk combination, an interesting sound that may have some people pondering which direction the band wants to go. Somehow, the band makes that musical mixture work and that mixture makes “Belle of the Ball” one of the strongest tracks on the album.

The Essex Lights take a very different approach to the song “Forever a Contender”. Gone away is the acoustic guitar as both Michael Brawer and Grady Axton Davis create this song with two electric guitars. The background vocals to the track might remind some of the type of harmonies created by The Beach Boys on their songs. The harmonies and the stronger electrified sound of this track set this song apart from the first two songs and add a nice variety to the music of this album.

For the song “Angel City Ghosts,” the energy level is taken back up a notch. This track is the first real time that the listener gets the chance to hear the ability of the band members to play some all-out rock music. Michael Brawer, Grady Axton Davis and Ben Nelson prove on this track that there are still some people out in the music industry who want to create that “good old-fashioned rock sound”.

Just as you get used to the upbeat style of “Angel City Ghosts,” the band pulls the musical rug out from under the listener and slows the pace down. With the song “Stay Gold,” The Essex Lights return to an acoustic sound and slower pace in their music. The band picks up the pace just a little about half way through the song to ensure that the tune doesn’t drag you down.

“Life in the Time of the Crow” is probably the best song of the release from the Fast Love California release. The Essex Lights once again kick up the energy level and Brawer adds that same amount of energy to his lyrics as he sings. The resulting track is easily the hardest rockin’ song on the album, and just like “Angel City Ghosts,” the track allows the listener the chance to hear the band let loose with some good rock ’n’ roll.

After once again slowing the pace of the music down for the track “Postcards from Rio,” The Essex Lights return to their rockin’ ways on the song “Chelsea Smile”. The sound of “Chelsea Smile” might remind you a lot of the rock music that was played on college radio a few years before the term “Alternative Rock” was coined. The rock sound of this track brings back that sound and does it in a very strong way.

The final track of Fast Love California, “El Pistolero,” seems to contain the most production value as the music of the song was created using the most tracking of any of the songs on the release. The resulting song contains a lot of depth and really shows off the talent of the band. The song also brings the album to a close in a gentle way.

Throughout the nine tracks of Fast Love California from The Essex Lights, you get to experience the passion of the lyrics of the songs, the energy in the all-out rock songs contained within the release, and the passion of singer/guitarist Michael Brawer, guitarist Grady Axton Davis and drummer Ben Nelson. These elements help to create a very solid release from a trio of musicians who prove, from track to track, that there are still people out there who care about making good music.

Click HERE for the video to "Delilah Woke a Devil," a live version of a track from The Essex Lights' new release called Fast Love Cailfornia.

Secret Secure is a modern rock quartet made up of Alan Paul on lead vocals and bass, Dominic Cerna on guitar, David Work on guitar and Daniel Ross on drums. Together, this quartet has taken sixteen rockin’ tracks and created their 2012 self-titled album.

The self-titled album from Secret Secure begins with the track “Better than You”. The strong nature of the music, along with the power in Alan Paul’s vocals, gives the album’s opening track a lot of energy. The positive message in the lyrics about overcoming a disappointment makes for a great way to start off the release.

After the powerful opening track of “Better than You,” Secret Secure keeps the energy level up with the song “Lady,” one of the singles of the release. Like the first track, “Lady” has a lot of energy in the music and the lyrics contain a lot of confidence as Alan Paul sings about approaching a lady he’s interested in. Like “Better than You,” this track also shows off the talents of all of the band members as well as the writing contained within the song.

Many bands, when writing a song known as a “power ballad,” will give up a little intensity in their musical style to give more stress to the lyrics in the song. However, on the song “3 Things,” Secret Secure seems to be able to create a “power ballad’ that balances the intensity of the lyrics with the energy of the music. In fact, the energetic approach to the music on this track only seems to intensify the heartbreaking meaning to the lyrics. “3 Things” is one of the better “power ballads” to be produced in a long time.

Another track from the album, “You and I,” is another track that explores the pain in relationships in its lyrics. Once again, the lyrics and music work well together to create intensity in the feeling of the words to the song. You can almost feel the pain as Alan Paul sings.

“Start it Over” is one of the strongest songs on the album, as far as the music is concerned. This track is one instance where you can tell why Secret Secure has opened for bands like Breaking Benjamin and Disturbed. “Start it Over” has the same musical approach as songs from those bands already mentioned as well as others that have the same style to them. And while this song has a similar style to these bands, Secret Secure separates itself from these bands with a sound all its own.

“Capture You” is a song that will immediately stand out from the rest of the release. From the programming on the track to the production, this track has a different feel than the majority of the album. This song mixes the commercial feel of the band with its indie feel in a way that will make you stop and listen. This is one of the strongest tracks on the self-titled release from Secret Secure.

Just as “Capture you” finishes, Secret Secure changes musical directions just a little bit in their sound on the track “Won’t Lead Me Wrong”. This track is probably the song on the release that sounds the closest to straight-out rock and roll as today’s music gets. “Won’t Lead Me Wrong” feels a little out of place, but it also shows the talent and musical ability of Alan Paul, Dominic Serna, David Work and Daniel Ross to keep their music sounding fresh.

The hour-long self-titled release from Secret Secure is a strong album that features powerful playing while also featuring strong heartfelt lyrics that will continually tug you in two directions at once, keeping you focused on the band’s musical abilities while you simultaneously experience the pain that Alan Paul sings about. The lyrics and music create the perfect musical combination that will make today’s music fans happy.

As Secret Secure has no videos online at the current time, check out the band's ReverbNation profile for the band's music.

Yes, there was a time when starting up a record company required actual brick and mortar (or at least some office space), telephones, pens, pencils, typewriters and reams of 20 lb stationery (plus desks to put them all on and, ideally, a staff of people to use them) not to mention, in the case of at least one of the two record companies mentioned below, a full Cordon Bleu kitchen staff equipped with a £600-a-month-at-least liquor allowance.

Oh. And many, many talented musicians, songwriters and singers with access to recording studios full of the brightest and most creative engineers, arrangers and/or producers available, I should most definitely add.

A pair of wonderful new DVDs from Sexy Intellectual spotlight two such maverick, pioneering operations from the Golden Age of Boutique Labels. We learn both of these companies were bravely and boldly artist-launched, artist-operated, and above all artist-friendly, both had quite specific audiences to target with their product, and that one of these two labels amazingly continues to run successfully to this very day …though lately their time is much more often spent in the courtroom as opposed to the recording studio.   

In a virtual nutshell then, Here's the stories:

DATE OF INCORPORATION:

APPLE:  January 1968, London, England.

BIZARRE:  February 1968, Los Angeles, California.

CHIEF OPERATING DIRECTORS:

APPLE:  John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Richard Starkey (MBE)

BIZARRE:  Frank Zappa, Herb Cohen (mgr)

INSPIRATION:

APPLE:  The Beatles needed to quickly spend a lot of untaxed income after the death of Brian Epstein.

BIZARRE:  Frank Zappa needed to quickly gain control of his career after MGM/Verve forgot [sic?] to renew his initial recording contract.

START-UP CAPITAL:

APPLE:  £2,000,000.00

BIZARRE:  200 shares of no par value common stock.  

CORPORATE LOGO:

APPLE:  A green Granny Smith apple.

BIZARRE:  A black vacuum pump.

EARLY STATEMENT OF INTENT:

APPLE: "It's business concerning records, films, electronics, and as a sideline, whatever it's called, manufacturing, whatever. But we want to set up a system whereby people who just want to make a film about anything don't have to go on their knees in somebody's office. Probably yours."  (John Lennon)

BIZARRE:  "We make records that are a little different. We present musical and sociological material which the important record companies would probably not allow you to hear."  (Frank Zappa)

LAUNCHED IN AMERICA WITH:

APPLE:  John Lennon and Paul McCartney appearing on The Tonight Show.

BIZARRE:  Wild Man Fischer appearing on Laugh-In.

AFFILIATE LABELS:

APPLE:  Zapple Records.

BIZARRE:  Straight Records.

OTHER DIVISIONS:

APPLE:  Apple Electronics, Apple Films, Apple Management, Apple Publicity, Apple Publishing, Apple Overseas, Apple Retail, Apple Tailoring (Civil and Theatrical).

BIZARRE:  United Mutations (fan club), NT&B (Nifty Tough & Bitchen PR), Intercontinental Absurdities (holding company).

TALENT ROSTER:

APPLE:  The Beatles, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, The Iveys aka Badfinger, (White) Trash, (the incredible) Brute Force, James Taylor, John Tavener, Billy Preston, The Modern Jazz Quartet, The Black Dyke Mills Band, The Plastic Ono Band,The Elastic Oz Band, The Hot Chocolate Band, The Radha Krishna Temple (London), Doris Troy, Ronnie Spector, Ravi Shankar, Yoko Ono, Wings, Mortimer, Chris Hodge, The Sundown Playboys (at 78 rpm!), Elephant's Memory, Lon and Derrek Van Eaton, David Peel and the Lower East Side.

BIZARRE:  Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Sandy Hurvitz, Wild Man Fischer, Alice Cooper, Judy Henske, Jerry Yester, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Mayf Nutter, Jeff Simmons, The GTO's, The Whistlers, The Persuasions, Rosebud, Junier Mintz, Tim Dawe, Tim Buckley, Lord Buckley, Lenny Bruce.   

MISSED OUT ON SIGNING:

APPLE:  Lord Buckley, Lenny Bruce, Grace Slick, Delaney and Bonnie, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Fleetwood Mac, Solomon Burke, David Bowie, The Turtles, The Easybeats, The Band, Yes, MC5, Timon, Harry Nilsson, Jon Isherwood, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Kenneth Patchen, Ken Kesey, Ken Weaver, Ed Sanders, Charles Bukowski, Charles Olson, Richard Brautigan, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Aram Saroyan, Anne Waldman, Gregory Corso, Diane di Prima, Simon Vinkenoog.

BIZARRE:  The Shaggs.

EARLY CATCH PHRASES:

APPLE:  "It'll be like a sort of Western communism."   

BIZARRE: "Just what the world needs – another record company."

EARLY ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN:

APPLE:  Boxed and hand-delivered their first four records to Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and even the Queen Mother.

BIZARRE:  Took out full-page ads in comic books.

FIRST RELEASE:

APPLE:  "Hey Jude" by The Beatles (on August 26, 1968)

BIZARRE:  "The Circle" by Wild Man Fischer (on September 10, 1968)

RAREST RELEASE:

APPLE:  The 1969 Wall's Ice Cream E.P. by The Iveys, James Taylor, Jackie Lomax and Mary Hopkin (available by mail-order only …after you bought enough ice cream, that is).  

BIZARRE:  The 1969 Japanese "World New Rock" Series 2-LP (with die-cut slipcase obi cover and "a nifty 12-page book") pressing of the Mothers' Uncle Meat soundtrack – sort of – album (most recently for auction online with a starting bid of $1,865.76 U.S.)    

MOST UNIQUE RELEASE:

APPLE:  "The King of Fuh" by Brute Force (1969)

BIZARRE:  "I don't think unique is a strong enough word for Trout Mask Replica" (Mark Paytress, Mojo Magazine)

UNRELEASED:

APPLE:  "The Lady Is A Champ" by Frank Sinatra, with new lyrics (e.g.: She married Ringo, and she could have had Paul) by Sammy Cahn (labeled Apple 1 and given to Maureen Starkey as a birthday present in 1968). 

BIZARRE:  The History And Collected Improvisations Of The Mothers Of Invention 12-LP ( !! ) box set (1970).

TOTAL RECORDS SOLD DURING FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION:

APPLE:  at least 16,000,000

BIZARRE:  well under 160,000

CROSSOVER:

APPLE:  Some Time In New York City by John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band featured a full album side recorded live at the Fillmore East with Frank Zappa and the Mothers.

BIZARRE:  We're Only In It For The Money by The Mothers Of Invention featured a full album cover parody of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sanctioned by Paul McCartney.

MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE TO EVER GRACE THEIR OFFICES:

APPLE:  Lauren Bacall (with her children), a bunch of Hell's Angels en route to "straighten out" Czechoslovakia, the "Original Shoot 'em Up Head 'em Off At The Pass Pardner Psychedelic Traveling Family Medicine Show" en route to the Fiji Islands to establish their own alternative universe (and hoping to pick up John & Yoko on the way), and this guy who kept visiting the Press Office claiming he was Adolf Hitler ("…oh Christ, not that arsehole again," complained Apple Press Officer Derek Taylor. "All right, send him up"). 

BIZARRE: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Sandy Hurvitz, Wild Man Fischer, Alice Cooper, Judy Henske, Jerry Yester, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Mayf Nutter, Jeff Simmons, The GTO's, The Whistlers, The Persuasions, Rosebud, Junier Mintz, Tim Dawe, Tim Buckley.                 

REASON FOR ORIGINAL DISSOLUTION OF COMPANY:

APPLE:  The Beatles broke up and Paul McCartney sued them because he didn't like their new manager, who later sued them.

BIZARRE:  Frank Zappa broke up The Mothers of Invention and then sued his manager, and then the Mothers of Invention sued Frank. 

CHIEF OPERATING DIRECTORS WENT ON TO OWN AND OPERATE:

APPLE:  Lenono Music, MPL Communications, Dark Horse Records, Ring O'Records.

BIZARRE:  DiscReet, Zappa Records, Barking Pumpkin Records. 

NUMBER OF ORIGINAL RELEASES STILL IN PRINT:

APPLE:  42

BIZARRE:  14  

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL READING:

APPLE:  The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello.

BIZARRE:  The Real Frank Zappa Book by you-know-who.

CLOSING STATEMENTS:

APPLE:  "Apple is losing money every week. If it carries on like this, all of us will be broke in six months. I'm down to my last £50,000."  (John Lennon, 1969)

BIZARRE:  "The richest people in the world aren’t particularly smart or happy. And the happiest people in the world aren’t particularly smart or rich. That leaves me making music."  (Frank Zappa, 1979)

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Now, that being said, I have not chosen a career that would lead to this dream, but I have chosen a career that still lead me to be in attendee at this year’s JUNO Fest and Awards.

24 hours a day, seven days a week, I’m a full-time music publicist and an occasional freelance writer. With the honor of attending the 2012 JUNOs as spectator and writer, I truly got to experience the JUNOs and the Canadian music talent it celebrates.

This year’s JUNO were in Ottawa, ON and were finally close enough to Montreal, QC, where I’m based, that I was simply able get in my car with my bestie and fave music writer Barbara Pavone and drive the two-hour trek.

Arriving on a Friday afternoon, you can already tell that the excitement of the JUNOs was plastered on the streets of downtown Ottawa.

I have to admit right off the bat you can tell that the JUNOs are a completely different element in their own right from other Canadian music events such as Canadian Music Week and NXNE. They’ve got a vibe of more suits and industry execs and are like being at one big office party.

There was a great number of superb Canadian bands performing during the JUNO Fest that I was dying to see, but unfortunately I couldn’t be at more than one place at a time. I kicked off my first night by attending The JUNO Cup, a night of hockey between former NHL players like Paul Coffey and Gary Roberts vs. The Rockers (i.e. Juno-nominated musicians). It was honestly a great entertaining game full of action-packed hockey along with follies of seeing pros kicking some serious amateur ass, though Sam Roberts and Classified really delivered finesse as if they were real NHLers.

After a great hockey game, which proves I truly am Canadian, I kicked off my music fun with a night at local venue The Cabin where I saw Jordan Cook, a one-man band from Saskatoon, SK who put on a mind-blowing set with so much showmanship on stage and great tunes; he was doing vocals, guitar and drums all at the same time. Cook is a true prodigy that puts on an incredible performance and is a must-see.

The second band I got to see was a band from Hamilton, ON called Monster Truck. If you’re looking for a great old school ‘70s rock band that gives you that modern good time rock ‘n’ roll fun, this is the band to check out. My fave song from their set was ‘Space Nebula’ and if you want to check out their rocking tracks, then head over to their website and download their two EPs -The Brown EP and Monster Truck – for free.

To follow up Monster Truck’s most awesome set were legendary metalheads ANVIL. Taking to the stage, these old school head bangers brought out a contingent of fans stuck in the ‘80s with mullets and ladies with the full-on hairspray poofs. ANVIL aren’t legendary just because they’re aging metalheads, but because they know how to head bang their way into the hearts of fans, performing classics like ‘666,’ ‘Metal on Metal’ and recent tracks like ‘This Is Thirteen’ from 2007’s same-tilted release and ‘New Orleans Voodoo’ from their 2011 release, Juggernaut of Justice.

Saturday was a night I wasn’t sure what to be prepared for, but am really glad about the way the night played out. Attending the non-broadcasted part of the JUNO Awards was truly a treat and obviously different from the big show to be broadcasted on CTV the following night.

The non-broadcast night included a very nice gala with a dinner for all the nominees and members of CARAS (The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts Society) and saw 36 awards given out over three and half hours. The category I was anticipating the most was the first one – Metal Album of the Year. First on the list to be given out, the category had five great Canadian metal talents nominated: ANVIL, Devin Townsend Project, Cauldron, Fuck the Facts and KEN mode, who won the award.

Over the gala night, it was great to observe the non-broadcast show hosted by Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio’s ‘The Q show’ and see all the great Canadian talent. The highlights were meeting CBC’s ‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ comedian Sean Majumder, Simple Plan and getting a chance to talk nerd shop with Devin Townsend.

Following the gala, I headed over to the Gibson party thanks to one of my fave Toronto music promoters Darryl Hurs who runs Indie Week, a festival in Toronto that promotes Canadian indie music. The Gibson bash was pretty great, as I got to hang with musicians from The Rabid Whole, ANVIL, the UK’s Suburbians and Monster Truck. Both Monster Truck and ANVIL were playing again that night for the party with two-songs sets and it was a true treat to see them both play again.

From the Gibson party, to end my night, I took off to see Metal Album of the Year winners, Winnipeg’s KEN mode perform at Café Dekcuf for a 1:00am set, anticipating and hungry crowd. The assault these guys laid down for the crowd was bleeding to the ears in a good way and I truly was stoked to finally see them live.

Sunday night was the big night and I was full of excitement, but before I made my way to the big show, I hung out with Marcus Ryan from The Grind podcast to do an interview and talk about our love of music.

From there I headed off to the big JUNO show, which was taking place at the Scotia Bank Place, a good twenty-minute drive outside the city. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was sure it was going to be memorable. And it truly was and even though I was stuck in the media room for Q&As with winners, it was still a great experience to hear comments from artists like Feist, Dallas Green, Blue Rodeo and Deadmau5.

I have to say legendary actor William Shatner, who I’m sad I didn’t get to meet, was hilarious as host. At his age of 81 he’s still kicking it and entertaining people of all generations.

The highlight of the night for performances was Dallas Green; his performance of ‘O’Sister’ was truly heartfelt. 

After a long night of Q&As in the media room, there were the after parties and it seemed every label had a party going on and wanted you to be there and it was a no brainer of how to get ya there – free booze! I only attended one party that night, as I figured Warner Music’s bash would be the best bet for great people and fun, but to be honest, it was like going to a Christmas party and being the guest of a guest. It was all pretty much suits and nothing else, there were occasional artists and celebrities here and there, such as Ron Sexsmith, Jim Cuddy and Ron Maclean of CBC’s ‘Hockey Night in Canada,’ but overall it felt stuffy, except for the free beaver tails!

All in all, it was a great experience of music and I pray one of these days they bring the JUNOs to Canada’s true music capital, my hometown of Montreal. The JUNOs won’t know what fun is until they experience the life and culture of this city, so I express and urge they come this way soon. And if the JUNOs do come to a town near you, go experience the festivities and enjoy as much music as possible.

For all the latest on the Juno Awards: http://junoawards.ca/

News Release: Jägermeister Canada Unveils More Details About Upcoming Friday the 13th Events Across Canada

Traditionally, Friday the 13th is a day for bad luck, tomfoolery, and knocking back a few drinks (it’s still a Friday, after all). Jägermeister wasn’t satisfied with these interpretations of what is, if nothing else, a pretty significant date on your calendar. That’s why we’ve gotten the greatest drinkers and thinkers from Jägermeister and Rue Morgue Magazine to put their heads together and reinvent this largely underrated holiday. Beginning April 13th, 2012, the world’s 8th leading spirit Jägermeister will launch the Friday the 13th: the party to end all parties!

Taking place simultaneously in 8 different markets across Canada: Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, London, Montreal and Quebec City, those brave souls willing to thumb their nose at bad luck and come to the Friday the 13th event will experience one of the most memorable parties ever. From sword swallowing, to burlesque dancers, and a live performance from So Sick Social Club, each city has its own badass surprise in store for you. And that’s not even all we’ve got planned! Didn’t we tell you this party was going to be HUGE?!

Where will Jägermeister descend onto your city, you ask? We’re pleased to finally announce the location of the Friday the 13th party in each of the 8 stops. With Jägermeister in charge of your Friday the 13th, the only unlucky part will be missing out on the PARTY.

Vancouver – Caprice (967 Granville St.)

Victoria – Boutique (1318 Broad St.)

Calgary – The Back Alley Nightclub (4630 Macleod Trail S.)

Edmonton – The Ranch Roadhouse (6107-104 St.)

Toronto – Grace O’Malley’s (14 Duncan St.)

London – Jim Bob’s (595 Richmond St.)

Montreal – Cafe Chaos (2031 rue St-Denis)

Quebec City – Scanner (291 St Vallier Est, Local 001)

About Jägermeister: Jägermeister, which translates to “master hunter,” is one of the top shot brands in the world and is sold in more than 80 countries worldwide. The liqueur is based on a secret recipe of 56 herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits from around the world. Jägermeister, with the distinctive square bottle, was developed in 1934 in Germany. The brand quickly gained global fame through its innovative marketing, unique taste profile and its association with good times. Jägermeister, which is dedicated to music not underage drinking, is proud to be part of the music scene and an active supporter of up-and-coming musicians worldwide.

WATCH Jägermeister’s Friday the 13th teaser video: http://youtu.be/ndJmKITc8N4

Lords of the Highway is a rockabilly trio that keeps the traditions of that style of music alive, adding their influences to the music. The band takes a lot of their style from bands like the Stray Cats and adds some of the playing of people like “guitar god” Dick Dale to their sound, all while including more than a few elements of horror to their lyrics. When you combine all of these various parts of the band’s music together, you get a very unique, and very dark, style of rock and roll.

Over the years, Lords of the Highway has released three albums of their style of rockabilly. Their latest album is entitled Death before 2^nd Place. The 2011 release is probably the best album the band has put out.

Death before 2^nd Place from Lords of the Highway is an eleven-song release that starts strong and never lets up. The CD begins with “Get in my Fun,” a track that features a lot of energy from the band as the guitar of Bell is one of the elements that makes the track strong, not to mention Bell’s over-the-top vocals that add a lot of “fun” to the track.

While the vast majority of Death before 2^nd Place was created by Lords of the Highway, the band takes a shot at “Devil’s ½ Moon,” a track originally recorded by The Heptanes. Lords of the Highway seem to have a lot of fun with this horror-themed song, which is a fast paced rockabilly jam, and the song lyrics about trying to outrace the devil as he gets closer add that horror element that makes Lords of the Highway fun and unique.

Another track that features horror elements in the lyrics is the song “Graveyard beyond the Woods”. The song about the dead meeting up for a meal is probably the track that shows off the band’s talent as musicians the most of any of the album’s tracks. Guitarist Dennis A. Bell adds a lot of twang while the thumping of “Jimbo’s” bass and the playing of Jocephus’ drums add the strong backing that creates perhaps the strongest and most entertaining track on the album.

On the track “Dynaflo,” the band lets loose with a great instrumental rock song that would make Dick Dale proud. The track feels like it would have been played on the radio back in the sixties. While other tracks on Death before 2^nd Place feature spots where you can hear the talents of the players in the band, “Dynaflo” really allows the listener to enjoy the playing of each musician on this instrumental song.

Lyrically, the album’s most interesting song is probably “My Name is Evel,” a track that pays homage to the world famous stuntman. The rockabilly music seems to fit well with the image of Evel Knievel.

Lords of the Highway bring Death before 2^nd Place to an end with the track “Run from the Graveyard”. Yet another horror-themed song, the track works the best with the rockabilly and horror lyrics in creating a very strong song with which to end the album. And the “hidden track” that follows the song really makes it feel like a theme song to a movie.

If you are a fan of retro sounds, there are many moments on Death before 2^nd Place, the newest release from Lords of the Highway, which will make you happy. The eleven tracks feature great playing, good vocals and a whole lot of fun. If you have never heard Lords of the Highway before today, start with this release and then add the other releases to your music collection.

Click HERE to see the video to the Lords of the Highway song "Rat Rod".

In order to create music for this version of Broken Poets, Tim McDonald teams his vocals and guitar up with pianist Svetlana Antropova. McDonald and Antropova create music that features the piano as the driving force while the guitar adds strength and depth to create songs that feel as much like rock music as folk music. The resulting music created by the duo is sparse yet still full-bodied to a point where you don’t miss the bass and drums that would usually go along with everyday rock music.

Broken Poets’ self-titled EP is a four-song release that takes the listener on a musical trip that really should be experienced with headphones. The piano of Antropova and guitar of McDonald work well together to strengthen and balance the music of each song to bring out the full potential of each piece. The placing of the instruments and McDonald’s vocals in the tracking make the listening experience an absolute pleasure.

The self-titled EP from Broken Poets begins with the song “Singularity”. The energy from Svetlana Antropova’s keyboard at the beginning of the track gives off a warm hum that creates a musical bed for Tim McDonald’s electric guitar as they start slow and then when Antropova’s piano is added to the mix, the duo end up making a song that examines the question of what would have happened if people took a second to see things from a different perspective. This first track of the EP ends up being one of the stronger moments of the release.

As “Singularity” comes to an end, the second track “The Clairvoyant,” takes the energy level down just a little as the music gets a little more intense in its feeling. The subject matter of a person who has just had his eyes opened to the ways of the world takes the listener into a more intimate setting. McDonald and Antropova work well with the music, creating a song with sections that alternate between piano-driven and guitar-driven parts. The beauty of the piano and guitar together on this track makes a song that truly has an indie-rock feeling.

The third track of this release, “My Selfish Altruism,” is probably the song that could be used as the single for the release. The electric guitar of McDonald is a lot stronger on this song than on any other song on the four-song EP. The lyrics are a lot more upbeat, giving the listener a reason to pay attention to their meanings. The lyrics are also the easiest for the listener to get behind and want to sing along with. The addition of a kick drum from Svetlana Antropova gives the song a stronger beat than the rest of the release.

As this four-song release was written around the memory of Dustin Essary, a childhood friend of Tim McDonald’s who died early on because of cancer, the final track of the album is called “The Death of Dustin Essary”. On this track, McDonald creates a very personal track using things Essary had said before his death. The words speak of someone coming to terms with what is sure to be coming. On this track, the vocals from McDonald take on an Ian Anderson-like quality. With the Anderson-like quality in his voice and the style of writing in the lyrics on this track, you can almost imagine this song being performed by the classic rock band Jethro Tull.
While the four-song self-titled release from the Broken Poets is relatively short, there is much to enjoy: The lyrics are very personal, the music is beautiful and the musical relationship between singer/guitarist Tim McDonald and pianist Svetlana Antropova creates a feeling that will leave you with as much joy as if you had just listened to something a lot heavier.

To discover this and other bands, check out the band's PR firm, Rainmaker Media Group.

On Law of the Jungle, Kris Heaton took creative control and put together an album that features his playing on guitar, bass, keys and drums, with Ace Foster adding percussion, harmonica and background vocals to songs that alternate between rock-based and blues-based approaches. This blues/rock combination that exists throughout the songs helps to create a certain vibe on the album that will literally grab your attention and refuse to let go for over an hour’s worth of music.

Law of the Jungle from the Kris Heaton Band begins with “The Rain Song”. The punk/rock feel of the hard-hitting track gives the listener an immediate sense of the talent from Kris Heaton right from the start. From there, the album never lets up.

“Midnight Romeo” is the second track of the album. On this song, the music will probably remind you the most of John Mellencamp, as the song definitely has a Mellencamp feel to it……………especially the more rockin’ songs from that musician.

On the title track of “Law of the Jungle,” Kris Heaton gives this song more power to bring the energy level back up. The hard rock song features some solid guitar playing from Heaton, and his drums also help to push that energy level up on the track.

Lyrically, the track “Virginia” is one of the strongest songs on the album and feels like a single. The track’s solid rock sound will transport you back to the eighties, as the song brings back some of the feeling from that era. The horns from Joe Meo add to that feeling. While the song itself is very upbeat, the lyrics to the story tell of a woman who loses her life to a stranger in town. The song’s simple refrain will get you singing along after only one verse.

Kris Heaton changes musical directions for the next two tracks on the album: For “Crossfire” and “Businessman,” Heaton calls upon his inner bluesman to perform. With songs that feel closer to material from Stevie Ray Vaughn than to Robert Johnson, these tracks allow the listener to experience the versatility of Kris Heaton as a musician. Heaton also steps back from the spotlight just a little on “Businessman” as Donna Bocuzzi joins him on a duet-like approach to the tune.

“Lonely is the Night” is a song by the Kris Heaton Band that brings back the sound and energy of that radio format from the eighties known as “power rock”. This track is one of the most commercial, yet slightly outdated, songs on the release. For those who miss that style of rock and roll, this track is a fine reminder of what rock and roll music used to sound like.

Heaton brings back a little of the blues for the song “He’s Coming”. While harder than the vast majority of the blues, the song’s subject of the “devil child” is well known to lovers of the blues. “He’s Coming” is easily one of the strongest tracks on Law of the Jungle.
“Hurricane Blues” is yet another track that features the blues. But while “He’s Coming” also has a strong rock feel to it at the same time, this song feels closer to the blues than to rock and roll. This song also features the harmonica playing from Ace Foster, giving him a more prominent position on the track, which helps to give the song itself some real blues feel.

Law of the Jungle comes to a close with the track “Not Tonight”. Adding a little positive energy to the end of the album, the lyrics of the song tell of the ending to a beautiful day. Whatever comes tomorrow doesn’t matter tonight.

Throughout the fifteen tracks of Law of the Jungle from the Kris Heaton Band, the listener receives many moments of listening pleasure. The talents of Kris Heaton and Ace Foster shine through, as do the rest of the musicians who help bring the album to life. There isn’t one low point throughout the hour-long album, and that keeps the listener hungry for more. Now, if only more albums were this strong.

New song? But I thought…

Jim Morrison?

Yeah.

Gary Pig Gold here, from The Rock and Roll Report.

Hey! Good to talk to you. How're you doing?

You know, you were surprisingly easy to track down, I must say.

Well, I'm not that hard to find. In fact, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.  [pause]  So anyways, what'd you want to talk about?

For starters I guess, the new "L.A. Woman" DVD.

The what?

The new Doors "Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman" album documentary.

Oh! Okay, sure.

You have seen it, I assume?

Well, sure, I get all these "new" Doors releases in the mail all the time. I have to so I can sign off on 'em and they can get 'em out there …but that doesn't mean I have to watch them [laughs].

Well, this is a pretty good one. Starts off with a little history of the band, goes through all the songs on the album track-by-track, giving the background information, showing some stills and whenever possible footage from the sessions, talking to many of the original participants…

Oh yeah? Like who?

Jac Holzman, Bill Siddons, Paul Rothchild…

Rothchild wasn't with us for that album. He split pretty soon. Said he was bored. I know what he means… so was I [laughs again].

Yes. Bruce Botnick basically "produced" L.A. Woman with the band themselves, right?

Yeah, I guess. If you can call it that. He called out the takes, turned on the tapes… yeah, but I remember he did bring in Elvis Presley's bass player to play with us.

Yes! Jerry Scheff. He mentions that in the film. He talks about how excited you were to be working with him.

Are you kidding? Of course I was! I mean, this was ELVIS we're talking about !!

You really were a fan?

BIG fan, you bet. Always was. Always will be. I still hang with him from time to time too [possibly sarcastic laughter].

I remember the very first book I ever read about Elvis…

By Jerry Hopkins?

Yes! That's it.

I suggested he write that, you know.

So I heard. And he also wrote a book later on you and The Doors, didn't he?

Yeah, and I helped him with that one too.

What did you think about Oliver Stone's Doors movie that was supposedly based on Jerry's book?

I thought we had this other thing to talk about.

Oh. Okay.

One movie at a time, okay? [almost laughs]

Let me throw some quotes at you from this new DVD then, alright?

Sure. Throw.

"They," meaning The Doors, "were right up there with The Beatles and Dylan."

[silence]

uh, "The Doors are a living entity. When I play them tonight, they will mean something to my audience."

[deep, hearty, prolonged laughter]  Who said that ??

DJ Jim Ladd.

Jim Ladd !!

"I'm tellin' you that right now there's a 16, 17, 18-year-old kid who's listening to The Doors for the first time as a new band and is getting his or her mind BLOWN."

What ??

Jim Ladd again.

[silence]

Talking about L.A. Woman, David Fricke from Rolling Stone says, "If you're going to have an epitaph – if you're gonna have one last record – then THAT was the record to make."

[continuing silence]

Howzabout calling L.A. Woman the Doors' "garage masterpiece"?

"Garage masterpiece" ??

Yes. "Garage," like in a "garage band."

[confused]  Garage band? What's… Who was saying this?

John Densmore.

John! They talked to him?

Absolutely. And Ray and Robby too.

Robby! Last time I saw him he looked like an underemployed executive caddy…

That is a great image, by the way!

Did you ever see Robby on Married with Children? Man, that was a great show. Why'd they ever have to take that off?

Sure, I saw that one. Robby was on with John Sebastian, Richie Havens…

…and Herman !!

Peter Noone, yes. Spencer Davis, and Mark Lindsay.

[affectionately]  yeahhhhh, Mark Lindsay. Now there was a GREAT singer. Damn, he was great. I always loved the Raiders' stuff.

Really.

What did Manzarek have to say? Pretty Zen as always?

Well, speaking of quotes, in the Bonus Footage he says about the Doors' live shows – let me make sure I get this exact; I wrote it down here – "That Dionysian session of worship of Dionysus, the God of Ecstasy, the God of Madness, the ancient Greek God of Madness and Intoxication and Freedom…"

Oh, Jesus…

There's also a great, almost spine-tingling segment where Ray, sitting all alone at the Fender Rhodes, demonstrates that wonderful "Riders On The Storm" –

You mean our Vaughn Monroe song ??

– that descending E Dorian keyboard line that's still so evocative of gentle, but menacing rainfall. Absolutely beautiful…

[absolutely deafening silence] 

…anyways…

So what else is on this "bonus footage"?

There's a section called "The Doors Guide To L.A."

The what ??!

It's like a little travelogue around the city showing all these different locations.

Like what?

Sunset Sound and the Elektra recording studios, the old Doors Workshop – there's a gold plaque up on the building now…

Yeah, I've seen that.

There's even this big green sign that says "Jim Morrison Room" on the door to # 32 at the Alta Cienega Motel.

I haven't seen that  [laughter].

They show the Doors' Hollywood Walk of Fame star –

That cost us a lot of money, you know…

Then the Phone Booth strip club – it's L.A. Premier Flowers now…

[appreciative, ironic chuckle]

…Barney's Beanery, the Laurel Canyon Country Store…

Did they fix their sign yet?

Nope. Still says "grocerys" instead of "groceries."

[laughter, then some inaudible off-color comment about patchouli, it sounded like]

And of course, they show all the places around town where you guys used to live.

[deep sigh]  I'm really so damn glad I got out of L.A. when I finally did. I really always was more of a Palm Springs kinda guy…  

Enough about the travelogue then. There's also a nice section elsewhere on the DVD of John demonstrating his Jo Jones brush chops on the snare: "…you sorta just swish around – but you gotta have some technique…"

You tell 'em, Johnny !!

Then he talks about the song "L.A. Woman," and how he slowly increased the tempo on you guys – "like an orgasm," he says…

[quite affectionate laughter]

"The problem was," he says about the song, "It was a seven-minute piece!"

John is our Seven-Minute Man !!  [more laughter]

There's another interesting little part where Robby insists that "Love Her Madly" was, and again I'm quoting here, "a little too commercial." But Bruce Botnick says that he knew it was a hit right off the bat. "I just knew it," he says. "We ALL knew it!"

Yeah, I'm sure they did. They were always after those kinda things.

And then they show "Love Her Madly" right there at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 alongside Ringo Starr, Donny Osmond, and Daddy Dewdrop!

Daddy Dewdrop !!

Which reminds me Jim, if you wouldn't mind: What are you listening to yourself these days?

Oh, not much. Toni Braxton. Spin Doctors. Some Bill Withers. Red, uh Hot…

…Chili Peppers?

I think so. Cranberries.

The Cranberries…

…and, uh, Nickelback. Or the Wallflowers. Whatever they're called…

Books?

What?

How about books? Anything special you're reading these days?

Janet Evanovich – not so much Steffie Hall. Lisa Scottoline. James Patterson. Robert Ludlum, and of course the "Twilight" books by Stephenie Meyer.

Really!

I gotta say I mainly watch television though. Lots of television. Lots.

Really.

Yeah.  [pause]  uh, Anything else I can help you with?

Um, no, not really. I don't think so…

Alright then.

Gee, you know, I just want to say Thank you, Jim. So nice talking with you.

Yeah… uhhh, what did you say the title of this DVD is? The full title?

"Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman."

You know? I really wish they'd stop with all of that "Mr. Mojo Risin'" stuff already. I mean, I wasn't the only guy in The Doors who loved to mess around with loose Scrabble tiles on the road, y'know…

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On Egyptian Surfer, Matt Hurray takes time to explore several different styles of music, though he spends the most time playing instrumental surf tunes. The album begins with one such surf instrumental called “C+H Girls”.

“C+H Girls” is a song that brings to mind the instrumental rock bands from the sixties, especially the Rock Hall members The Ventures. The solid rock sound of the first track will have many rock fans thinking back to times gone by when instrumental bands could be found on the radio airwaves playing their brand of rock and roll and rock guitarists were able to show off their talents on the guitar. With this track, Matt Hurray gives the listener just a sample of his abilities on the guitar.

With the track “Peninsula Prowl,” Hurray seems to summon the talents of guitarist like Link Wray and Dick Dale. In fact, this track has a sound that will remind many people of Dick Dale’s numerous hits, while Hurray’s playing is very much influenced by Dale’s playing style.

The third track off of Egyptian Surfer finds the album’s style changing dramatically. While the first two tracks are rock-oriented, “Sunset Gammon” features a smooth jazz feel. This smooth jazz track slows the pace down and takes the listener into a more relaxed setting, sort of like being on a beach at sunset.

Egyptian Surfer from Matt Hurray continues with the title track. The fourth track of the album brings the energy level back up and also brings the surf feel back on the aptly-named “Egyptian Surfer,” as well as on the next track of “Nose Rider”. In fact, it’s hard not to imagine scenes of surfers riding the waves off the coasts of California or Hawaii as you listen to these tracks.

On the track “Las Olas,” Hurray once again lightens the feel of the music. While the earlier track of “Sunset Gammon” slowed the pace of the music down, Hurray keeps the energy level up on a track the features the sounds of the acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar is a nice contrast to the electric guitar that Hurray gravitates to for the majority of the songs on this album.

For the release of Egyptian Surfer, Matt Hurray calls on the talents of drummer Gary Ferguson and multi-instrumentalist Jim Rice to help fill out the sound for the album. It is on the track “No Parking,” however, that the three musicians are joined by keyboard players Eric Vinje and Danny Timms. While still containing that surf rock feel, the keyboards from Vinje and Timms also give the track a little flavor. This gives “No Parking” a slightly different feeling than the rest of the album.

While the majority of the new release from Matt Hurray has a very distinct feeling to it because of the surf instrumentals, there are instances during the release where Hurray changes the pace of the music, like on the aforementioned “Sunset Gammon”. Another instance where the pace of the music changes is on the track “Doheny Daze”; while not a smooth jazz piece like “Sunset Gammon,” “Doheny Daze” does slow the pace down. This track also features some vocalizing from Hurray and Jim Rice. While Hurray and Rice don’t actually sing on this track, their vocals do add texture to the music of the track.

The title of Matt Hurray’s 2012 solo release of Egyptian Surfer seems to have been wisely chosen. While the surf motif on the album is very obvious, the release was also put together in such a way that the peaks and valleys made by the various tracks on the album help to create “waves” from the energy levels from each track on the release; so much so, the listener can imagine riding the waves back to shore as the final song of “Aloha” finishes out the album.

For a solo debut release, Matt Hurray’s Egyptian Surfer is very well-rounded. And with the different approaches to the music on the album, there is much for the listener to discover and enjoy. The album never gets stale and keeps the listener wanting more.