Archive for the ‘Singer’ Category

hannah

Soulful songstress Hannah Gill is set to release her new EP, I Feel Awake  on January 20th. She may be young at only 17 but her voice definitely carries years of soulful bliss. Her vocals bring the spotlight on this vibrant young musician. Check out her new lyric video here:

Check out the tracklisting for I Feel Awake :

  • 1. I Feel Awake
  • 2. Silver Screens
  • 3. Love and Glory
  • 4. Evergreen
  • Bonus: I Feel Awake (original version)

Make sure to visit her social media sites and stay up to date on her latest news.

Information & Links:

eric

Singer/songwriter Eric Dash has just released a music video for his song, Ms. Sally Jones. After Eric’s first single, One More Love Song he quickly became a Vevo/Youtube sensation. About his new video, Eric says, When you actually listen to Ms. Sally Jones it’s kind of sad. But that’s not what we wanted for the video. We tried to keep the music video humorous so it’s an easier watch. I think it came out great!” Check out the video here:

The song really highlights Eric’s emotionally driven lyrics coming to life in the upbeat pop track. The song is off the forthcoming album from Eric which he plans on heading into the studio for recording with producer Jack Joseph Puig (John Mayer/Goo Goo Dolls/No Doubt).

Make sure to visit his social media sites and stay up to date on his latest news.

~ Marisol

Information & Links:

 

 

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The guitarist/vocalist Sean Danielsen from Smile Empty Soul has just released another solo EP, Food Chain which features five full band songs recorded at Babylon Studios in Van Nuys, California. “I’m really excited to be releasing my own solo music and doing my own shows,” said Danielsen. “It’s a nice change of pace for me, and a challenge that I’m looking forward to.”

Sean truly takes you on a musical journey through emotion and his passion shines through each song. He really captures so much in his songwriting that creates an immediate connection to the listener and opens the door to their soul as demonstrated in Rescue Me and Beautiful Things. Food Chain highlights the versatility of Sean as it brings out a heavier rock edge with some amazing powerful and aggressive vocals that really stand out. The guitars have a punkier edge feel and you get amped with the fast pasted drums, definitely a new Go To track to start my day off!

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Sean is finishing up a round of acoustic shows and we had a chance to catch up with him. Check it out here:

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Music Junkie Press: HI Sean, Thank you for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. We are excited to hear about your new solo release, Food Chain. Can you tell us more about the EP?

Sean: My new EP is just me doing up some of my songs without a band. I’m playing all the instruments, and  working with good friend/producer Eddie Wohl, and we just take the song wherever it needs to go.

Music Junkie Press: From your new EP, which song is the most personal for you and why?

Sean: They’re all personal in a way, but the song I’m most happy with at the moment is “Waves”. It’s a song about going through the motions without any real hope for anything positive.

Music Junkie Press: You have always delivered emotionally driven songs, do you have a particular songwriting process?

Sean: I don’t have any one process that all my songs go through. I just make sure that each tune affects me emotionally in a way that might hit others as well.

Music Junkie Press: I understand you are setting out on a tour in support of the new EP. Will it be full band shows like the EP or acoustic sets?

Sean: Yeah, I’m doing 22 shows starting on Halloween in Houston, TX and going through late November. I’ll just be playing acoustic sets by myself.

Music Junkie Press: With the music industry experience so many dramatic changes in the last 15 to 20 years, what is something that you would like to see changed?

Sean: We’ll of course, I would like to see people supporting music again like they used to. Everyone out there talks about how important music is in their lives, yet they won’t pay for music they like, or support the musicians live. It’s not going to change because it’s just too easy to download for free with zero consequence. But what’s going to happen in the long-term, is that no one will be able to afford to be an artist for a living and you’ll have millions of part-time hacks making music of low quality, while all the musicians that have been dedicating their lives to music will have to turn to other things to make ends meet. Overall…… Music is getting worse, and will only continue on this path as long as there’s no money in being an artist.

Music Junkie Press: Sean, if you could go back to your 14 year old self, what advice would you give to yourself at 14?

Sean:  Go to culinary school.

Music Junkie Press: We at Music Junkie Press are firm believers that music can heal, help, inspire, do you have a particular time in your life that you can share about where music helped you through something?

Sean: Music has helped me so much throughout my whole life. I’m passionate about music above anything else and always have been. There’s an emotional release that occurs when you hear a track that connects with your soul, and the lyrics relate to your life somehow. Music has always been there for me and always will be, and that’s comforting.

Music Junkie Press: What do you have planned after your upcoming solo tour?

Sean: I’m gonna do another run in Feb. in support of this EP as well, but I’m not sure after that.

Music Junkie Press: Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with our audience and your fans?

Sean: Just the music on my new EP!!!! Please go check it out!!!

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It is definitely an EP to pick up and fall in love with. Check the dates below and see if you will be able to catch one of his shows:

  • 11/19 – Louisville, KY @ Diamonds Pub
  • 11/20 – St. Louis, MO @ Mad Magician
  • 11/21 – Joplin, MO @ Rock 3405
  • 11/22 – Cape Girardeau, MO @ Pitter’s

Make sure to visit his social media sites and stay up to date on the latest news.

Information & Links:

 

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“Happy Kat”  is  not Kat McDowell’s nickname, but  after seeing her live at the Witzend Saturday night, that  is what I am going to call her because  that is what she does – make people happy. And Saturday night she made a packed house, standing room only cheering crowd very, very happy.  Not bad for his first major live performance in her adopted LA home.

 

Born in Japan, raised mostly in New Zealand, with many parts of both cultures inside her, Kat McDowell makes  music in both English and Japanese that make you sit up and take notice, or just let you happily tap your feet. She combines, pop, J-Pop, calypso, rock, Hawaiian and a positive musical attitude in a mixture that is like sunshine to listen to.  She built a successful career in Japan as a gaijun – a non-Japanese, even though she  is a native –  and that’s a serious challenge . But after many albums, singles, gigs, shows,  TV commercials and studio sessions, she was  a success there so now she is taking on the largest and most competitive music city in the world.  And from what I saw Saturday night,  she is taking it by storm.

 

Starting the 11 song set list with “Hopeful” , the lead song on the album she released Saturday, “Rise Above”,  she gets us moving right away with a lively western/pop  acoustic guitar  strum beat and the lyrics that  tell us that although it is  Just us against the world…we’ll rise above again…and we are hopeful. She picks us the energy with Diana with strong guitar riffs powdered with a fast-paced kick drum  that stays steady as she pushes even higher and faster, propelling one guest to get up and dance to the side of the stage – much to Kat’s  encouraging amusement.

 

After introducing  herself  and the band Peter Chalmers on guitar, Pablo Motta on drums

Masaki Kusumori on bass and telling us about the new album, “Rise Above” she downshifts the energy and smoothed out the beat out with “Where Are you love:’ from her You and Me album, a perfect  prelude to  her kicking back and starting a personal conversation with the audience, telling us about starting the piano at 6 years old  and wanting to learn more, but  being intimidated by a 4-year old boy prodigy in her class. However, when she moved to the piano,  kicked off her shoes, and demonstrated her prowess on the keys on two  songs, including the “Still Learning How to Start” accented by an electrifying guitar riff and “Lovely Day”, written with her brother.

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Putting her shoes back on and flashing her 100-megawatt smile,  Kat returned to center stage, pulled  up a stool  and asked us if she minded her sitting down for a while.  We  didn’t and were  rewarded with the ukulele-led  “ Human” ,  3.11 from her Hope  in You album, and “Everywhere I go’  and  the island-hopping  “Goodbye” with Kat’s signature happy beats and not  so-happy lyrics blending into addictive  music.  Then she did something  I have never seen a singer do – she gave us her phone number – actually, she brought out a large banner with her number on it (310-846-8416)  and told  us  to text  it  for a free download.  Phones came out and the  sound of fingers  tapping filled the room (it worked – I got my  download).

 

Rolling down to the finish line, Kat held up a hand-designed towel  with her name on it and told us  they would available  with CD’s.  Then she balled up  the towel, threw into the audience – almost  as good as  a t-shirt  gun at the ball game. While the towel was being passed  around the back rows, she  kicked  off  “Final Win” telling us  You have never heard her roar and then really roared in “Break Free” from her You and Me album. But best of  all, she finished  with “A Little  Rain”,  charging it with the best energy of the  night, engaging the audience in call and response and even demonstrating her trilling skills.

The audience was  deliriously happy and clearly wanted now, and the Witzend widely gave her time for an encore even though the clock said it now Sunday morning. Kat McDowell had accomplished what she set out to do, release an album

m with a band and make people  happy. From now on, she is “Happy Kat” to me.

Patrick  O’Heffernan. Host Music  FridayLive!

 

Kat McDowell. Rise Above

http://kat-mcdowell.com/

https://twitter.com/katmcdowell

album available on iTunes and Amazon

See my review of the album at http://www.revolutionthreesixty.com/2014/10/kat-mcdowell.html

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With her brilliant smile, athletic body  and mischievous eyes, the diminutive Maggie Szabo put on a show Friday night at LA’s premier showcase club this Friday that topped even her high-energy performance  record.  Nobody sat still as she rocked  through  11 songs – mostly new material including the new, soon-to-be-a-hit “Paralyze”,  along with favorites like “Sweetest  Heartache” and the solid pop-anthem, “Slow Fire”.

Having seen her live four times,  I  could tell that there has been both a creative burst and a lot of hard work in her career since I started following her about a year ago. New songs  blended smoothly with her audience’s established favorites, making the evening  seem like a  party  with old  friends;  there were no dissonant  notes, no “where is Maggie going?”, questions.  It  just all worked.  Even when she took to the old  upright piano in far stage left and shifted mood for “Touch the Ground” and “Take Your Time”,  she was  on  target both as a singer and as  a performer. Plus she gave a preview of some of  the new songs on an EP  she is now wrapping up a new EP, Truth.

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It was the performer side of Maggie  that really seems  to have grown.  A consummate  relationship builder online, with tens of thousands of Facebook and twitter  followers, Maggie has always been able to transfer that likeability to her performances – a skill I marveled at last February  when I attended her album release  party on the same stage.  But this Friday night she brought a  new confidence and a new capacity to connect personally with individual  fans  – the way Bill  Clinton does  in a crowd.  She was singing to you, personally.

A Canadian-born,  Nashville-trained soul-pop singer with ferocious energy packed into a compact, constantly moving frame, Maggie  has moved from an online hit wonder to full-blown top writing, signing and touring performer.  In the short time she has been in LA, I have watched her tighten her song-writing, elevate her command of the stage, and pull her current band – Steven Shook, Sam Campbell, Frank Grande, Sonny Kennelly, Aaron Aiken, Chantel McCrary together into a well-oiled and joyfully focused machine.

Stepping up to her trademark pink mic stand and microphone, dressed in formal short black dress with a bare  midriff that let the rhinestone in her belly button flash as she moved, Maggie was  confident and energized.  She kicked off the evening with a new song, “Tragedy”, telling  the song’s recipient of her attitude, Cuz I’d be the one who would make you feel/Like a million dollars every day of the week while letting us know she would make us feel  like a million dollars that night.

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And she did,  introducing us to the new song, “Paralyze” and then  upshifting even more to her full-tilt dance cut,  “Slow Fire”.  The room bounced  and swayed as she told us Baby, we can burn all night-  and we were ready to do just that.  As she moved through the set list, including the two  songs with her at the piano and back to the band with “One Sided”,   her command of the performance and the audience expanded, like the lens on  a spotlight opening up to illuminate a growing circle.  When she gave the band a downbeat and launched into the pop-constructed “Sweetest Heartache” with  its ultimately singable hooks, people  in the back of the room couldn’t  restrain themselves and started dancing, clearing a tiny  space  in the standing crowd.

“Relapse” and “Forgive and forget”  kept  the energy up.  Maggie finished on the highest note  in reparatory, her  hit single “Tidal  Waves and Hurricanes”.  It was over too soon.

Early on in the performance Maggie told us that the Hotel  Café is her favorite venue in LA and she rocks it wonderfully. But  I would love to see her in a larger space, either solo or opening for a national  act where she could bring in her legions of fans and give them room to dance. Her pop  constructions can easily cross from iPod Playlists sand Pandora  downloads to into  room-filling anthem/dance music  A larger space as a solo or big tour warm up act would also give her the freedom to lengthen her songs from radio-ready 2 to 3 minutes to concert length, 5 – 7  minute cuts.  She has the energy and the material – “Slow Fire” and “Tidal Waves and Hurricanes”, for instance – and her current band  could easily kick it up even more with drum and guitar solos.  But  most importantly, Maggie has  the authority on stage to translate to a larger venue  and a growing audience. She deserves it and so do we.

~ Patrick O’Heffernan. Host, MusicFridayLive!

 

Maggie Szabo

Allaboutmaggie.com

https://twitter.com/allaboutmaggie

Hotel Café, Hollywood CA

11/7/14

loreli black fethers

The pharmacological definition of dopamine is “a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that acts on the brain to control movement, emotion, pain and pleasure. It  also forces the contraction of the heart in the treatment of shock.”  The musical definition of  dopamine is Lorelei Carlson and her new album named after the chemical. Dopamine arouses movement and intoxicating and sometimes painful emotions while it grips your heart and heats your blood until it steams in your veins.  The effect is mystical, magical, disturbing and addictive.

The child  of a bi-national couple of constantly moving diplomats who had  lived in seven countries by the time she was 15,  she knew she was special as a toddler.  She absorbed the culture and music of each of those countries and a determination to put them to work in her own  art for the audience that she knew would resonate with her.  And they do.  With a million  downloads on Myspace.com,  tens of thousands of followers and  multiple albums, she is standing on the cliff of stardom.  Dopamine  should give her the rush to step off and soar,

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The title song immediately immerses you in Lorelei’s hallucinogenic world of ache, dreams and  lust, coming on with a soft kick drum downbeat and a synth buzz.  Her ethereal voice that combines pain and dreams together traps you in a claustrophobic nether world of sex, abuse, and resignation but holds you aloof, above it all. He  don’t care/He don’t share/So don’t follow/And don’t swallow. The urgency rises with the music, her voice surrounding you with churning images of hurt. It’s not the way you would/Just like  you said you could/He’ll pull the arrow good/ and strike you like he should. The drum  swells and the synth swirls with her voice, as if rising to a climax  and then release.  But she tells us you can escape: What’s a woman to do when she’s not chased/Go slip a blue till he’s erased. No need to slip a blue,  just hit repeat.

From the orgasmic darkness of “Dopamine”, Lorelei caresses you languidly with Nirvana’s classic  “Rape  Me”,  her throaty voice gliding nonchalantly through the disturbing lyrics with muted drum beats and soft, sometimes electric synth tones. As with “Dopamine”, the effect is psychotropic as well as aural, with the synth arrangements coming on and then fading like a drug coursing through your brain. An anti-rape song written by Kurt  Cobain as a warning to rapists that they will suffer the same fate someday,  she puts her spin on it. She updated the lyrics in interviews with context,  pointing out that not only women get raped and that rape is not always sexual. Musically, Lorelei has delivers  a version that is frightening  – she sounds like a passive, smiling former lover  sliding a knife blade under your fingernails. Few woman, or men for that matter,  could pull off  this song as unequivocally and as powerfully as Lorelei has.

“Sandcastles” follows  the musical  and the lyrical landscape, circling gently around death with  her  signature languid treatment  of hard topics. Simple snare hits and synth pssts  carry her while she asks Sandcastles and a glass half full/When I dismantle, will I still be beautiful?. But  she has not totally  resigned herself to death: Grab ahold  of me (I will hold myself in place). “Open Your Eyes ups the tempo a bit with more complex but still muted drumming – kick  and snare –  combined with a horizon-distant synth violin. The hallucinogenic imagery continues: You opened the door and there you stood/My body lay frozen on the bed/I’m tellin’ myself it’s in my head.

The tempo really picks up with “Push the Button (The 8th Floor) ” with fast drumming, Lorelei rapping over a distorted male voice repeating “push the button”.  This  is the perhaps  the most explicit of Lorelei’s lyrics about sexual vulnerability and detachment from loveless, perhaps abusive sex. But realistically I’m prey on top  of your bed/When you  open the door to my own demise/Just sit back and watch as I slip into disguise. As with “Dopamine” the song picks up speed and urgency, moving us to climax while  she tells us she is zoning out.

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She leaves us with a commentary on life in her adopted home, Los  Angeles, where she has lived for  the past four  years.  An observation on the difficulty of honest relationships in the City of the Angels,  “Sunset Blvd” moves with a very spare, restrained snare drum,  bass notes and Lorelei’s languorous voice,  enhanced with perfectly placed  echoes and overdubs.  And  everything just flows/Like a mid-summer’s night breeze blows/I  didn’t have to try too hard on the boulevard…but  here we are Found and lost.

The six songs on Dopamine extend her earlier work, especially the album 20 MG, but they also go beyond it into deeper and in many ways more  personal and lonely territory.  They remind me of fresh blood in a test tube:  liquid, hot, steamy –  but passive; the stuff of life, but not of this life. In some ways Lorelei Carlson  and  Dopamine are the stuff of our lives, but not of our world. But whatever world they are from, you want to go there..

Patrick O’Heffernan, Host, Music FridayLive!

Dopamine by Lorelei Carlson

Available  on iTunes and all the usual online outlets

www.loreleicarlson.com

https://twitter.com/LoreleiCarlson

4/5

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shawnmemdes

The new single Something Big from  Shawn Mendes is out now and you can take a listen here:

You can pick up the new single on iTunes here and make sure to tell your friends. Let everyone know about Something Big by adding  #SomethingBig and #SomethingBigToNumber1 to your tweets.

Also, check out the lyric video for his latest single, Life of the Party:

 

You can also pick up his current EP The Shawn Mendes EP on iTunes here. You will be treated to vocals that just capture emotions and takes you on a musical journey with your heart. Make sure to visit his social media sites and stay up to date on his latest news.  Also, check the tour dates below and see Shawn perform live:

HEADLINING TOUR DATES

11/15 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
11/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern

11/30 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall

JINGLE BALL DATES

12/5 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center

12/8 – Minneapolis, MN – Xcel Energy Arena

12/10 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Arena

12/12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

12/14 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

12/15 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center

12/18 – Chicago, IL – United Center

12/21 – Miami, FL – BB&T Center

12/22 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Forum

TAYLOR SWIFT DATES

5/22/15 – Baton Rouge, LA – LSU Tiger Stadium

5/30/15 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field

6/6/15 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field

6/13/15 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field

7/11/15 – East Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium

7/13/15 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park

7/18/15 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

7/24/15 & 7/25/15 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium

8/1/15 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place Stadium

8/8/15 – Seattle, WA – Century Link Field

8/15/15 – Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium

8/29/15 – San Diego, CA – PETCO Park

10/2/15 & 10/3/15 – Toronto, ONT – Rogers Centre

10/18/15 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium

10/24/15 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome

10/31/15 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium

 

Information & Links:

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We are very excited to announce the first solo show of Shimon Moore formerly of Sick Puppies. Shim has one of the most amazingly powerful vocals and I am so excited to hear that he will be continuing on with his music. That is one voice that cannot and should not be silenced!  The solo show was announced via his Facebook page:

Here is is! My first solo show. Cant wait to see you all on December 6th at The Asylum! Thanks to Rob and everyone at WCYY for helping me put this on Hit up www.shimonmooreofficial.com for the tickets.

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I hope he will be announcing more dates including one here in Northern California. We will try and see if we can bring you an interview soon. Make sure to visit his social media sites and stay up to date on his latest news.

~ Marisol

Information & Links:

hemming

Hemming (aka Candice Martello) was first introduced to the world through VH1’s Make or Break : The Linda Perry Project as one half of the Philadelphia punk duo Omar. Make or Break was developed by superstar producer and songwriter Linda Perry as the antithesis to reality music shows.  Martello joined the show as part of a band, but it was her solo work and a song called “Vitamins” that caught Perry’s attention and started Martello on the journey of finding and developing the voice of Hemming. At the conclusion of the show Martello was presented with the opportunity to make a record with Perry that will be coming out on Perry’s label (Custard Records) this Spring.

Hemming’s unique songwriting stamp is her ability to beautifully personify inanimate objects. The idea for “Vitamins” came to her while doing the regular morning routine of taking her daily vitamin. The song is about relying on something outside of yourself, whether that be material goods, substances or another person, to be happy and fulfilled. The song was recorded three different ways before getting it right. The initial attempt included very experimental  orchestrations, but the experimentation diminished the songs emotion. As an acoustic track the sound didn’t quite capture the beauty of the lyrics, and the final product was a combination of the two,  a simple and subtle arrangement that allows the strength of the lyrics and the uniqueness of Hemming’s voice to shine. Check out the song here and download it on iTunes here:

Hemming is in currently in the middle of a twenty-seven date tour with Rachael Yamagata. The list of remaining dates are below:

11.05 | Nashville, TN | 3rd & Lindsley
11.07 | Charlotte, NC | Visulite Theatre
11.08 | Carrboro, NC | Cat’s Cradle Back Room
11.10 | Annapolis, MD | Rams Head On Stage
11.15 | Philadelphia, PA | Union Transfer
11.17 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom

In case you missed it, check out the video for her song, Hard on Myself. The song is currently available on the Linda Perry Project Season One EP oniTunes. It begins with a country twangy vibe and then her compelling vocals set in. She really is spectacular and the country feel is like a triumph of emotions at a Western high noon shoot out. Very creative and quite unique style, definitely a fave of mine. Check it out here:

Make sure to pick up the EP, which is  available on iTunes and Amazon. Stay tuned for her new album set to release in Spring 2015.  Also check out our article on the single by Linda Perry’s alter-ego BluStone.

~ Marisol

Information & Links:

postcards

Postcards from Jeff will be releasing a new album in the spring of 2015. Today they are offering a free download of their new song, Veronica. Head over to http://emailunlock.com/postcardsfromjeff/veronica and get your free download.

Postcards From Jeff is enigmatic multi-instrumentalist and producer Joss Worthington who writes, plays, records and mixes all his own material to produce snapshots – postcards – of the city life he looks down onto from his home and studio high in the bleak Yorkshire moors.’ Once you take a listen to Veronica you will be excited for the upcoming release. Joss does an amazing job of bringing his words to life when he sings and paints you a picture and scene through his melodies.

Make sure to visit the social media sites and stay up to date on the latest news.

~ Marisol

Information & Links: