Anberlin

To move away from the pop that I have been loving lately, we'll go with a Christian Rock band--Anberlin.

Basic stats...

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Label: Universal Republic Records (haven't released anything through URR yet), Tooth and Nail Records

Albums: Blueprints for the Black Market, Never Take Friendship Personal, Cities, Lost Songs

I first caught this band opening for Fall Out Boy in 2004. (I don't care how much you hate Fall Out Boy or Pete Wentz, but they have a solid history of touring with great bands) I saw them first at one of my favorite venues ever, mostly because it is so small, yet filled with great memories, Top Cat's in Cincinnati. (I hate doing research because I always find out bad news...according to their myspace page, Top Cat's is now closed! :( I'm waiting on confirmation from my friend Brittany who still lives there) Anyways, I have seen them all over the country with different types of bands--Story of the Year, Plain White T's, Bamboozle 2005, Motion City Soundtrack, etc.

More (sad) news that comes from research, Anberlin's guitarist, Nate Strayer, recently left the band, but Christian McAlhaney (formerly of Acceptance) has joined the band.

I had an opportunity to sit down with vocalist and band representative Stephen Christian for an interview a few years ago when they played at the Factory. Stephen told me that his band borrowed its name from him--Anberlin was a name that Stephen was saving to name his daughter, if he ever had one. He said the name stuck with the band and he wouldn't use it for his daughter anymore--wouldn't want people to think it was an ego thing. The band is NOT named after porn star Amber Lynn--really? Do people really think that a Christian rock band would borrow a name from a porn star?

Stephen Christian is quite the inspirational guy. He insists that Anberlin is not a Christian rock band, but I can see the influence on their music. He has a side project that is clearly inspired by his religious views, Anchor and Braille.

Over the years, Anberlin's sound has changed quite a bit. If you listen to tracks like "Glass to the Arson" and "Change the World (Lost Ones)" from Blueprints, and then compare them to newer songs from Cities (that are up on their myspace page) like "Dismantle. Repair." and "The Unwinding Cable Car", you can see a BIG change. However, "Hello Alone" and "Godspeed" are very reminiscent of the older Anberlin sound. I didn't really notice until now, but they even introduced more synth throughout Cities, where Blueprints only let it slip on "Autobahn".

By the way, don't think this band isn't a little poppy...tracks like "A Day Late" and "Stationary Stationery" could easily be Top 40 material--in heavy rotation. Both of these songs are from Never Take Friendship Personal which is a solid alt/pop album, but still makes a pretty even mix of Cities and Blueprints.

...and about 2 hours later, YouTube is still not working on my computer. I'll post some video later, but you definitely MUST HEAR THEM!

Abbey

Forgive Durden

More on this band later...I'm in love with their music, but for now...

*This is one of my favorite songs, "For a Dreamer, Night's the Only Time of Day"

*at one of the coolest venues ever, CBGB's, (unfortunately, I never got to see a show there)

*by one of my favorite bands (also, unfortunately, I never got to see them play) which recently broke up

*and this live performance starts out with a line from Romeo and Juliet, which is pretty cool in my book...here it is:





Abbey

Panic at the Disco

Obviously I am not claiming to have just now discovered this band, but I have been following them for awhile and they have a new video out.

Now that they have a new record coming out, sans the exlclamation point, Panic have a lot of pressure on them. I actually can't wait to hear the new material. I really liked A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, but I felt they were going in a different direction than I expected. This new song pleasantly surprised me--surprised me because I actually really like it. It's catchy as hell and gets stuck in my head for hours. Lyrically, it's nothing to write home about, but whatever. Everyone needs a feel good tune every once in awhile.

I saw the band live in February 2006 and was pretty disappointed. The amount of excitement in the crowd had expectations high, but let me down. I saw them at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ--which was probably one of the smallest venues they have ever played. They graduated from small clubs immediately after this tour opening for The Academy Is... and began selling out the bigger clubs.

They are currently preparing to embark on the Honda Civic Tour with Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound, and Phantom Planet (yes...Fueled By Ramen and their friends have formed a cult and are slowly taking over the music industry). The Honda Civic Tour has had quite an impressive line-up over the years:
2001 Blink 182, Everclear, Alkaline Trio
2002 Incubus, Hoobastank, and Phantom Planet (weird that PP is going on it again, right?)
2003 New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, Hot Rod Circuit, Less Than Jake, Stretch Armstrong, The Disasters (I saw this tour...it was a great show too...I got to see NFG's set from stage right!)
2004 Dashboard Confessional, The Get Up Kids (oh how I am glad to have seen them at least this once before they broke up), Thrice
2005 Maroon 5, Phantom Planet, The Donnas (someone in PP must be related to someone important to have landed this tour THREE times)
2006 Black Eyed Peas and The Pussycat Dolls (random)
2007 Fall Out Boy, +44, The Academy Is..., Cobra Starship, Paul Wall (FBR reigns supreme)

Well anyways...enough of my rambling history of Panic/Honda Civic Tour...I didn't even realize how many times I had seen this tour...good job Honda.

Panic's latest effort, Pretty. Odd., is due out March 25, 2008, but will probably leak sometime next week. Here's the video...fall under the spell that is FBR....




Abbey

show review...

Hey everyone,

So I went to the First Unitarian Church this past Friday, February 15th to see the Pac Tour with The Audition, Envy on the Coast, Danger Radio, and Another Day Late.

(Here's a photo of the stage the the church I found through Google images...I didn't get any pictures of the bands who played Friday, but this will give you an idea of the quality of the stage...you can't see from this picture, but the speakers are held up by scaffolding on the left of this picture. The bands have to squat to load equipment under the structure...bootleg!)

Conclusion of the night: Scene kids get weirder and weirder everyday....

The first band, Another Day Late, was great, but their vocals were so drowned out that you couldn't hear anything. They had sick guitars though....I think most of the parents who were in the crowd thought it was more like noise, but not a terrible band.

Danger Radio had a singer that looked a bit like Pete Wentz. I liked their first couple of songs because they were kind of like a dance-electronica. At the same time, however, the first three or four songs all had a crowd clap-along chorus that annoyed me. Probably the most disturbing thing of the night happened during DR's set...a bunch of tweens started throwing their (training) bras on stage--really not that unusual at a rock show, I guess, but that's not all....after the band concluded their set, the girls came to the side of the stage talking to the guys about something. A few minutes later, I realized what they were talking about--they wanted their bras back! The annoyed musicians pointed to a corner of the side-stage that had a small pile of adolescent undergarments. What are kids thinking these days? I feel old.

Next came the two main acts, Envy and The Audish. The crowd was going wild, and the bands were getting pumped, and I was getting sick. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the show like I normally would because of a pending cold. I hung on the side of the room with some friends and enjoyed the show. Envy put on a great performance--a ton of fun! I wish I knew more of their music to sing along with, but I suspect that I will see them again soon.

The Audition's set was intimidating for a new fan. The kids in the crowd were so devoted and filled with excitement that I felt overwhelmed, even as I moved to the back of the church basement. I have to say, I think their singer looks like a love child from Isaac Hanson and Bigfoot...(on the right)

Creepy right? Anyways...my friend Kerri is a huge fan of both of these bands. She said she loves Danny from the Audition because he has some sweet dance moves on stage. Shout out to Kerri! Thanks for the tunes!

That's all for today...I don't feel right judging this show very critically because I was a little distracted by my cold and old friends. Until next time...

Abbey

Jealousy Curve

Ever heard of Jealousy Curve? I doubt it, unless you are from Philly...even then, you might not have heard of them.




This unsigned indie/alt/rock band caught my attention when they won an opening spot on the 2005 Zippo Hot Tour which was headlined by The All American Rejects, Rooney, and The Academy Is... This was a great opportunity for the band to engage new fans, and even led to 3 shows at SXSW festival, but this success was slightly short-lived.

It seems like the band has been taking it slow lately. Since March 2006, the band has done 2 small, national tours and spent nearly a year putting out an EP, This Is For Your Own Destruction. They had another great opportunity when their song, "Don't Lie Down," was featured on the soundtrack for Dane Cook's Tourgasm DVD.

I booked this band to play at the Campus Philly Kick Off last September on the Local Music Stage and they had a killer performance. I think if they pick up the momentum a little more, they will have a bright musical future ahead of them....what do you think?

Abbey

Melee part 2

Hey there...

I found this video of Melee playing at the TLA in Philly from Summer 2007. They are a great live band...

Thanks for watching!

Abbey

Suburban Legends

I am going through my favorite bands very quickly...pretty soon I'm going to have to start listening to newer music and writing about it in here...but for now, I'm sticking with an oldie, but a goodie...

Suburban Legends!

Watch this video for "Come Back Home"...

Suburban Legends is a ska/pop/rock band from Orange County, CA (yes, they are friends with the guys in Melee). I've seen them a few times with bands like Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Patent Pending, Lucky Boys Confusion, RX Bandits, Streetlight Manifesto, etc.

I have to say that I love their first album, Rump Shaker, the most. I'm not a big fan of their newer material that is much more pop than ska. Either way, these guys put on the best damn show I have ever seen. My MOM even loves them. With choreographed dance moves, Disney cover songs, and tons of energy, you can't help but fall in love with this band.

Another impressive feat--they often play at Disneyland in CA, and they can brag that they are the only Disney house band that is allowed to play their own original music! Fun Fact!

Here are the guys covering "Under The Sea" from the Little Mermaid...watch it...you know you wanna...

These guys have to be the nicest ever, and they have gone through a lot together as well.

One of their trombone players, Dallas Cook, was killed in a hit-and-run accident a few years ago--so very sad. The story is really sketchy, too. Supposedly he hit a Hyundai exec's vehicle, who parked it in the carpool lane while intoxicated, and then the Hyundai company help the guy flee the country!?! Check out this article...

"On April 4, 2006, police announced they had determined the identity of the driver who killed Dallas. Youn Bum Lee, a Hyundai executive, parked his car in the carpool lane on the freeway and turned off his lights while under the influence of alcohol. Police believe that Dallas never saw the car that was the cause of his death. After contacting his lawyers and showing the damage to associates, Lee fled to Korea. It is suspected that he is still currently located there.

On May 23, 2007, Dallas' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hyundai, with allegations that airport surveillance footage shows Lee accompanied by two fellow Hyundai executives as he boarded his plane. Hyundai released a statement that they terminated Lee's employment shortly after the incident and do not know his current whereabouts."

Crazy right?

Well, not too long ago, Suburban Legends played a show in Philly and woke up the next day with their van and trailer missing. They turned to the local news stations for help, and were able to locate their van and trailer. When they reclaimed their transportation, they realized all of their belongings were missing, and the thieves had filled the gas tank with sugar.

Now these poor guys were stuck in Philly with an empty trailer.

Suburban Legends are a great band and they deserve nothing but success because of all of their hard work and dedication--oh did I mention they have great music? They have had quite the line up change throughout the last 5 years--Vince Walker is now on vocals, but started out on trumpet. He has a great stage presence and commands your attention.

That's all you'll get from me today...

Abbey

"High fives to all the guys! Props to the homies in the field!" ~ my mom's favorite lyric

Melee

Before we get into it, I have to say that music and I are not in a good place right now. Besides trying to find a job, NovaFest is also slowly breaking my spirit. I am the Director of Musical Events at Villanova, and we are currently trying to program NovaFest, our spring fling concert. The good news is that all of the other schools in the area have already booked their talent so we don't have any competition. The bad news is that this is the hardest thing to do--try to filter everyones' thoughts on music (good and mostly bad) in an attempt to make the most amount of people happy...oh, while staying under budget, keeping the act clean (a signed Augustinian waiver is a must), and keeping the big secret out of The Villanova Times. I hate the Villanova Times...but that is another story.

At this point in the process, I'm about to quit and let the advisors do all of the work because they aren't listening to our feedback and decisions anyway. Did I mention that I withdrew my application for NovaFest Director? I wonder why...

It's time for some piano rock...

Melee is a rock/pop/soul band from Orange County, CA. Their latest album, Devils and Angels is amazing. Sometimes it's a bit sugary for me, but hands down, still a great album. The band is now on Warner Bros Records, but started out on Hopeless/SubCity Records (known for launching musical careers for Thrice and Avenged Sevenfold to name a few). That is a cool label because all of their bands donate a portion of their profits to a cause chosen by the band. Melee supported Orangewood PALS to help fight child abuse and neglect in Orange County. I don't know how big that problem is in the OC, but still an honorable effort.

Their last album, Everyday Behavior, captured me, and the big single off that album, "The War," really left an impact on me. Not to go into too many details, I remember leaving Villanova after my freshman year listening to "The War" and deciding it was my anthem for that year/summer/point in my life. They actually re-recorded it making it a much more musically heavy song. Check out the video...I'm kind of obsessed with the fact that they pitch blue cherries against red lightning bolts...

LOVE it!

The band has been doing a few small tours lately and traveled to Japan last October to celebrate their number one single overseas, "Built To Last," off of Devils and Angels. I'm not quite sure what they are doing right now, but they need to tour on the east coast again. It's been too long!

The first time I heard this band was at the first Bamboozle in 2005. They plays an amazing song that caught my attention. I can't be sure, but I think it was "Perfect Mess." After Bamboozle, I caught the guys opening for Lucky Boys Confusion in Cincinnati and did an interview. The guys are hilarious--I tried to sit down with Ricky, but he was too shy to do it alone, so he brought the drummer, Mike. Then Ryan was lonely, so he came to sit down. Then Chris, the singer, who was swarmed with girls, got jealous and felt left out. I ended up with all 4 guys with indistinguishable voices--a ton of fun, but I ended up having to scrap the interview, otherwise it would have been 'Melee Dude #1 said...' I saw the guys this summer--not the best tour--with Bowling For Soup and QuietDrive. QuietDrive has been getting some attention for their cover of "Time After Time."

I'm excited to see this band continue to grow. On top of writing their own great songs, they do great covers. Once I saw them do Elton John's "Tiny Dancer," and they also covered Hall and Oates' "You Make My Dreams" as a hidden track on Devils and Angels.

Listen to the H&O cover here (you may need to turn off your pop-up blocker): http://play.napster.com/track/19552622

That's it for now! Hope you enjoy Melee!

Abbey

Envy On The Coast

Two recommendations in one day!

Also touring with The Audition on the Pac Tour will be Envy on the Coast from Long Island, NY.

Their new album, Lucy Gray, is really interesting to me. I can't decide if I like it. It's not bad, just not my usual taste. They are on Photo Finish Records, which I had not really heard much about before now.

Here's some info from wikipedia, the ultimate source of band information...

"The bands first full length CD was released on August 7, 2007 and is entitled Lucy Gray. The song title "I'm Breathing...Are You Breathing Too?" is taken from a line of Robert Bolt's novel A Man For All Seasons. The song title "...Because All Suffering Is Sweet to Me" is taken from the last words of Saint Thérèse. The CD title itself is from the poem "Lucy Gray" by William Wordsworth.

They have toured with bands such as 30 Seconds to Mars, Agent Sparks, Angels & Airwaves, The Audition, Boys Like Girls, Emanuel, Forgive Durden, Hit the Lights, June, Mikoto, The Outline, Permanent Me, Saosin, The Sounds, and Valencia. They were on MTV2's $2 Bill tour featuring 30 Seconds to Mars, Head Automatica, and Cobra Starship.

In the Spring of 2007, Envy took part in the first Alternative Press tour with Cute is What We Aim For, As Tall as Lions, and Circa Survive. In the summer of 2007 the band toured with acts The Sleeping, A Day To Remember, and Valeyra and Kaddisfly, Powerspace, and Danger Radio, as well as a month long stint on the Vans Warped Tour.

In November, Envy on the Coast had to cancel the tour with From First to Last and several college dates after lead singer Ryan Hunter's vocal problems worsened so that he could have time to visit specialists and heal. However, instead of canceling their hometown show in Long Island, Envy on The Coast took the stage without Ryan and had the audience sing their set for them."

So check out the band next Friday, February 15th at the First Unitarian Church with The Audition, Danger Radio, and Another Day Late. After this tour, Envy will hit Australia for some festival dates with acts such as Thursday, Incubus, Motion City Soundtrack, and more.

The Audition

Okay...Today I am going to cheat a little and make two posts that are linked...

My first pick of the day is The Audition. My friend Kerri has been telling me about this band (and the next one as well) for a long time now. The Audition hails from Chicago, and almost all bands from chi-town hold a special place in my heart.

Their latest album, Champion, just came out in late January. I love their track, "Warm Me Up." I think I might have to use my iTunes giftcard from Christmas on this album.

This Victory Records band has toured with Jack's Mannequin, Silverstein, Spitalfield, mae, Lovedrug, Head Automatica, Rock Kills Kid, etc.

Next Friday, February 15th, the band will hit Philly at the First Unitarian Church on the Pac Tour (sponsored by Pac Sun, of course)...with my next recommendation.....

Abbey

Lucas Carpenter

Hey everyone,

My next recommendation is Lucas Carpenter from Williamsport, PA. I booked Lucas to open for Pete Francis at Villanova on Dec 8, 2007. I discovered Lucas when he was playing at The Gryphon Cafe (my favorite coffee shop!) in Wayne, PA last summer while my roommate was working.

Here's a video of Lucas performing his song, "Sexual Tension", live at Villanova...




Hope you liked it!

When he was coming to Nova, I also wrote a little article for The Villanovan to introduce him to Villanova students. Here's a little bit of that article to give you some more insight to LC's music...


Carpenter grew up as an "art kid from the country," as the title and lead track on his latest album proclaims. In his biography, Carpenter provides a disclaimer of sorts to listeners - "Blending rock, R&B, folk and musical theater, Lucas Carpenter creates a danceable cocktail of deliciousness you will be humming in the shower Monday morning."
After spending an afternoon in a coffee shop with Carpenter, I learned a great deal about his songwriting style, life as a musician and more about music in general.
Like many college students, Carpenter went through a summer of reflection and soul-searching. He decided to take one summer slow, only taking a couple of classes, taking a break from playing shows and just trying to find himself. At some point in that summer before his senior year at Berklee, Carpenter found himself someplace in between Batman and Bubba Sparxxx. "I think 'Batman Begins' is the perfect movie for 20-somethings trying to find themselves," he says. "It is one of the few superhero movies where the plot makes sense. It's like, 'Of course, that's how he became Batman! Maybe I should move to Mongolia and become a ninja, too!' "Bubba Sparxxx's unique blend of country and hip hop showed Carpenter that you didn't have to do what people expect. "It was like a gift from the heavens when I wrote 'Art Kids,' " he says. "I was trying to figure out who I was, when it hit me: I'm just this awkward, outcast musical theatre kid from the sticks. "After talking to some friends with the same background, I realized there were these pockets of people throughout the country - we were all 'art kids from the country'!"
Besides Batman and Bubba Sparxxx, Lucas has been inspired by a wide variety of artists from The Beatles to Pharrell Williams to Bobby Pinson."
I try not to listen to singer/songwriters too much because a lot of it really bores me and it's the same thing over and over again," he says.
"That's why I listen to a lot of hip hop because I think it's progressing and really at the forefront of music today. "People like Pharrell Williams are completely pushing the envelope of what music is and what music can be. I love Bobby Pinson. Not many people know him. He did that tune, 'Don't Ask Me How I Know.' Lyrically, if Shakespeare wrote country music, he would be Bobby Pinson. The way he paints these pictures is so beautiful and so profound. "What Robert Frost did for the country and rural forests, and what Ansel Adams did with photography for the country, I think Bobby Pinson does that for country music - that's probably a bold statement for me to say, but I believe it. "Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie is great, too; lyrically, he's on another planet. I think it's him, Bobby Pinson and Eminem hanging out on that lyrical genius planet.
"For new listeners, Lucas would recommend checking out "Art Kids from the Country" because it is probably the most representative of what he does with live looping where he records himself playing several different instruments. If you are checking him out live for the first time, he definitely wants you to hear "Ice Cream Truck" - one of my personal favorites. " 'Ice Cream Truck' is a lot of fun because I do a lot of looping with that, and I play the penny whistle for that one," he says. "I cover a lot of strange songs, like 'Sexy Back' by Justin Timberlake. This past tour, I did 'Don't Matter' by Akon which is another fun song to sing. I do a few pop cover songs because they are fun and people really get into them."
Catch him now, so you can say you knew him when …

I picked Lucas for today's selection because he will be playing in Ardmore, PA at the Milkboy Cafe this Saturday, Feb 9th. (A little birthday present to me, maybe!?)

The show starts at 7...Hope to see you there!

Abbey


OTHER LUCAS CARPENTER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
* His song GOD FELL SILENT, was featured in the independent film "Inclusions", which won Best Feature Film at the 2007 Northampton International Film Festival and will be featured at the 2008 Festivus Film Festival
* Has opened for Pete Francis of Dispatch, and members of The Click Five
* Has recorded his music with veteran producer Bill Scheniman (Mick Jagger, Carly Simon, Bon Jovi)
* Winner of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 Berklee Songwriting Contests with his song MORNING TOUCHING DOWN IN NEW YORK and MAKING MIRRORS EXTINCT
* LCs CRIMSON CROWN was selected from over 400 applicants for Berklees 2004 Heavy Rotation Records CD, distributed by Rounder Records
* 2006 Graduated of the Berklee College of Music with a degree in songwriting and has studied under Jeff Ramsey (Maxwell, Al Jarreau, Diana Ross), Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Carly Simon), Pat Pattison (author: Writing Better Lyrics), and Livingston Taylor.

Fiction Plane

Happy Super Bowl!

What did you think of Tom Petty's performance? I did not like the production...weak. The weird black hole thing? The cheesy heart and guitar/arrow...weird. Not enough fireworks.

Anyways, today, my pick is Fiction Plane from England. I don't know very much about this band, but I love their song, "Two Sisters." Their lead singer, Joe Sumner, is the son of Sting...and you can definitely see AND hear the family resemblance. They gained some popularity after opening for The Police in 2007, but Joe has been quoted as not feeling very comfortable with being initially associated with his rockstar father.

I think it's okay to get your name out there because of your father, but you better have some great music to solidify your reputation among fans.

Check them out for yourself...





Abbey