Category Archives: News

This Treatment Doesn’t “Hurt”

August 4, 2012 Jonathan McMahon Leave a comment

Let me take you back to another time, friends. It was a day when men were men, women were women, and not every rock band wore skinny jeans and guyliner. Bands like AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, and all their counterparts were dominating stages and airwaves. These days, those bands are considered legendary, but their style and presence are long considered a thing of the past.

Well worry no more, friends. If you like that style, then The Treatment is for you.

Formed in Cambridge, UK in 2008, this five-piece rock band is currently traveling through the US for their first tour of the country, opening up for rock icons KISS and Mötley Crüe on their not-just-cleverly titled “The Tour”. With their debut album, “This Might Hurt”, currently available for download on iTunes, the album also comes attached with their EP of covers, “Then & Again”. San Supersonic had a chance to catch up with lead singer Matt Jones on the cusp of their show on August 12th at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista.

If you’ve had a chance to listen to their first single, “Nothing to Lose but Our Minds” (which you can right here), then you’ll notice that the band happens to be pretty classic sounding. It’s less of a current style of rock, and has drawn a lot of comparisons to the earlier bands. It was one of the reasons Nikki Sixx championed the band and was instrumental in getting them on board as the opening act of this tour. “We couldn’t ask for more,” said Jones about the tour. “We grew up listening to both bands, and I had posters of them on my wall.”

The craziest part is that these aren’t the only rock juggernauts these guys have already put in miles with. They’ve also shared performances with Motorhead, Black Stone Cherry, and Alice Cooper among others. Big name performances? They’ve notched those too. They’ve already gained experience playing at Download and Sonisphere, two of the biggest European festivals for music.

It’s easy to understand why Jones couldn’t ask for more. The group’s origins began in 2008, when Dani Mansworth began looking to start a band. With him as the drummer, he quickly recruited Ben Brookland and Tagore Grey on guitar, along with Rick “Swoggle” Newman on bass. After a six-month search for a vocalist, the group found Jones in Norwich and the road began for the five-piece. The members of the band packed up and moved in with Mansworth and his father Laurie, who was no stranger to music himself. The elder Mansworth has worked with such UK acts as More, Airrace, and Roadstar. The group began almost daily practices, knowing exactly in which direction they wanted to go. The sound is incredibly vintage for a band where all the members are in their late teens and early 20’s, but considering they list Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Thin Lizzy as influences, it should come as no surprise. “We didn’t think we could be doing this all this quick,” said Jones. “We all work hard at what we do.”

It’s easy to talk comparisons to some of these bands though, and often PR pieces will tend to use a lot of hyperbole when discussing a new band’s sound, strictly to get others to warm them up. When Jones was given the chance to put the band’s style into his own words, he gave an opinion not far from others I’ve spoken with. “We’re just a rock band. We’ve got a classic rock feel with a youthful twist.”

The 14-track debut just premiered in the States on July 17th, being distributed through Spinefarm Records, and the upcoming EP features tracks that not everyone would recognize as “iconic” right away. Picking tracks from artists like Canned Heat, Electric Light Orchestra, Slade, Jo Jo Gunne, and Chris Spedding, none of these tracks may possibly click in someone’s head. The most notorious, at least people I spoke to can remember, is ELO’s “Evil Woman”, which is still not a track someone can point out instantly.

“We wanted to do songs people our age might not have heard of,” said Jones, and the selection work. Instead of taking the safe route and tossing in something like “Back In Black” or “The Boys Are Back In Town”, the group threw in tracks like Canned Heat’s “Let’s Work Together”, or Spedding’s “Motorbikin'”.

The band is still young and there’s still several thousands of miles for this group to log before they near the number their heroes have traveled, but if their hard work is any indication, the group is more than up to the task. “This Might Hurt” is available on iTunes, and “Then & Again” is actually available as part of the album on the iTunes store. If you can’t see The Treatment in Chula Vista, they also play Irvine on August 14th.

News, Shows

Carolina Liar to headline The Griffin

July 24, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus 3 Comments

Have you ever been to a show by your favorite band in the perfect, intimate setting that made it possible to not only enjoy the show, but also feel like that band is singing right to you? Well, if you haven’t, get out to the Griffin while the summer’s hot (or, while the summer’s as sticky as a roll of duct tape). The Griffin is getting a shiny new summer series, including a stop by pop rockers Carolina Liar on July 31st. And this is quite possibly the perfect setting for them.

Carolina Liar has been making serious waves while they (successfully) battle the sophomore slump with their second album Wild Blessed Freedom, and when you’re touring with heavy hitters like One Republic, Kelly Clarkson, and fellow up-and-comers We the Kings, you’re bound to make some important friends along the way. They’ve been compared to about a million and one solid acts, from the Killers to U2, but this group isn’t trying to fit into anyone else’s shoes.

They’re holding their own, delicately navigating the atmosphere of pop, while not being afraid to throw an out-of-the-box lyric your way. Lead singer Chad Wolf is brave enough to test the limits of his vocal prowess, and in songs like “Beautiful People”, he dares to sing the lyrics “‘Cause it’s beautiful people like you/Who get whatever they want/And it’s beautiful people like you/Who suck the life right outta my heart.”
Add in the catchy melodrama of tracks like “I Don’t Think So”, and the album starts to sound like a fresh approach on pop.

Check out the brand new video for their single “Drown” and let me know what you think.

Sure, there are a couple cookie cutter pop medleys that fall into a familiar pattern (namely, “King of Broken Hearts” and “Daddy’s Little Girl”), but overall, Carolina Liar isn’t just content with the ordinary. And a band that is willing to push its songwriting limits is pretty much guaranteed to impress you live.

Not to mention, venues like the Griffin make shows by bands like Carolina Liar an experience. There’s just something missing from the large arenas; a personal touch that really gives you the chance to enjoy the music, no matter what you listen to. So if you’re interested in being a part of that kind of experience, check out Carolina Liar at the Griffin on July 31st.

Silver Snakes is getting a little more colorful

July 23, 2012 Jonathan McMahon Leave a comment

Silver Snakes Album Cover It takes a lot these days to stand out. You get a lot of bands that blend right into one another and it makes listening to new music rather tedious. However, every now and then comes a band that catches your ear for one reason or another, and this band (at least in my opinion) is about to release their debut on vinyl on July 24th.

Los Angeles’ Silver Snakes, who actually dropped this album late last year, is re-releasing “Pictures of a Floating World” in limited quantities in three different colors, all pressings coming with a special code to digitally download two new songs from their digital single “Old Light.”

The real question is this – how does it play?

Well for post-hardcore fans, people who found themselves with bands like Thursday and At the Drive-In will probably find themselves enjoying this band, and the music actually even gave me flashbacks to other things in that vein as well. For those of you into vocalists who aren’t necessarily screaming every lyric, this will do you well. For the rest of you that enjoy a good scream, you’ll probably enjoy this too. There’s definitely elements of Underoath circa They’re Only Chasing Safety-era. These are the kind of things that I enjoy putting in my iPod, and the news over its re-release in a few short days is a great chance for you to experience this band for the first time if you haven’t checked them out.

If you need a pedigree, or even just a small hint that this band has chops, know that Steve Choi (RX Bandits) and Roger Camero (No Motiv) actually helmed the effort, who has been out on tour with Aegis and has a show coming up in Tuscon on August 7th. Who do they happen to be playing with that night? Why, Coheed and Cambria of course.

Animal Style Records is the one responsible for putting out the vinyl, and tracks like “Lungs and Lanterns” and “Rebuild Us” are fairly catchy and could keep you wanting more. If you’re ready to give these throwbacks a chance, you can pre-order the vinyl before its release on the 24th, or head on over to iTunes and pick up the release now.

STORY BY JONATHAN M

Warped Interviews: Tonight, we are Alive!

July 18, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus Leave a comment

Meet Australian pop rockers Tonight Alive, Warped Tour’s resident “foreign exchange students” as one guy enthusiastically yelled out before their interview, during their stop in San Diego, CA. I got to sit down with Jenna McDougall and Whakaio Taahi and discuss everything from their experience so far on Warped, to their first full length album, What Are You So Scared Of? For a band that is barely graduating from their freshman year in the game, Tonight Alive is quickly making a name for themselves and putting a few of the seniors in their place, too. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be the most humble, down to earth people from down under. And….. cue the unison “awww”!

Being a ‘female-fronted band’ in a typically perceived man’s world, Jenna and Whakaio had wise words to say about their music and the bands that share this rather broad category with them. Some people may argue that it’s easier or more difficult for a female-fronted band, but lead singer Jenna notes that Tonight Alive have had no special treatment, and “if you’re doing it right, it’s as hard as it is for everyone else.” Whakaio further adds that he doesn’t see the group as being a female-fronted band. “The thing about Jenna,” he states, “is it’s not because she’s female, it’s because she’s talented as a songwriter and as a vocalist.”

Talent is the first factor that catches your eyes (and ears) when listening to Tonight Alive. Another trait that is hard to ignore is how seasoned the band seems, even though they currently have released only one full length album. Whakaio accredits this to the band touring with each other for over 2 years now, making them a tight-knit group. Even so, Warped Tour is a whole other world and it’s obvious that the band is still riding on cloud nine. Whakaio adds that “It’s been two weeks and still it hasn’t worn off that we’re in this thing finally.”

Jenna’s face lights up when she mentions how excited she’s been for the entire experience and the fans that come out to the shows. “It’s nice to know that the people that are standing in front of us when we play are not waiting for the band that’s coming on next,” says Jenna, and she’s got a good point. For a freshman band to attract so much attention while on a tour with over 90 other musicians, I must say, it’s impressive.

The band has obviously put a lot of thought into their tours, their performances and their music, as Jenna and Whakaio describe the feelings behind their album, What Are You So Scared Of? Jenna states the album’s theme is a number of things, but mainly it hopes to ask others the question, “what’s holding you back?” For a first album, the idea of facing your fears head-on seems like the perfect theme. Whakaio adds that he wanted to “help those people that are…searching for something.” with Jenna adding in to “take chances.”

Maybe that’s why the album has been quite popular. It sounds like YOLO, only smarter and a little more relatable. And I’m loving that. What do you think?

Another reason why I like this band? They signed that poster that we’re giving away on the site! If you’re interested in winning it, make sure you check out the giveaways section.

News

All aboard the S.S. Coachella

Aside July 17, 2012 theindiestaff Leave a comment

If you can afford it, board it! I should write the advertising campaign for Coachella’s brand new water version of its sold out, three day, hippie & hipster music lovers’ festival. While the theory seems kind of neat (many artists have done cruises in the past, including Weezer), I’m just going to guess that the only people who can afford this cruise are the same people who bought three day Coachella passes just to listen to two artists and spend the rest of their time drunk in a field. Basically, if you can throw the money away, why not throw it overboard a classy cruiseliner?

I’d be much more excited if the lineup was better — Sleigh Bells and Girl Talk are about the only acts on here that would make this cruise a party, and while Yeasayer and Hot Chip are interesting, are they $700 worth of interesting?

On a side note, it is nearly impossible to hide contraband booze or weed on a cruise ship headed for an international destination. Maybe the high prices are to deter the criminal masterminds from getting detained in the Bahamas because Maui Wowie does not count as a valid proof of US citizenship?

What do you think? Would you go on a Coachella cruise? Let me know in the comments!

Behind the Scenes of the Warped Tour Interviews

July 11, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus 4 Comments

Yours truly got the chance to interview some amazing bands from Van’s Warped Tour including Taking Back Sunday, Tonight Alive, Every Time I Die, Cali natives G-Eazy and Pierce the Veil, and Austin from Of Mice & Men, among others! The videos will be here soon, but until then, here’s some behind-the-scenes eye candy to drool over. Happy Hump Day!

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Features, News, Reviews, SD Locals

Guilty Pleasure of the Week: Banjos just got a little bit cooler

July 3, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus 3 Comments

Trouble in the Wind. Photo courtesy their website.

I know it’s technically almost the middle of the week but this is perfect timing to try something a little different, in the form of alt-country groovers Trouble in the Wind, who have masterfully placed their own laid-back, melodic emotion into a quaint version of folk music. Their sound is almost reminiscent to the far out, hippie generation of the 70s that makes you want to pull out the flowers and the peace signs, and I’m diggin’ it.

Lead singer Robbie Gira brings a modern tone to the music with his almost effortless vocals, while the band (including banjo, accordion, and an upright bassist) flow out a steady instrumentation that keeps your ears happy, even if you can’t always make out the words.

This band is…underground cool. And the reason why this band is the definition of underground cool (a term that I just made up right now)? They’re naturally packed with emotion, superb musicianship, and just enough melody to get their songs stuck in your head in the best way possible. They know their genre, and yet they’re not quite like everything else that you’ll hear out there. And on top of all of that, I’ve had the pleasure to hear them live, and they pull out all the stops in person, too.

If you’re in San Diego, check out Trouble in the Wind at the Belly Up this week. Flowers and bell bottoms not required. But also, let me know what YOU think about their style.

Features, News, Reviews

Warped Pleasure of the Week: The little reggae that could

June 25, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus Leave a comment

In the vein of predecessors Pepper and Sublime,Tomorrows Bad Seeds is attempting to put their own unique stamp on the whole fusion-Reggae appeal, and I have to admit, I kinda like it. When I lived in Hawaii, I discovered an ongoing musical feud between authentic Reggae-loving Rastafarians and their mainstream cousins who fuse anything from Hawaiian music to Spanish influences into their sound. Most people think if it isn’t reggae, don’t call it reggae. And I get where they’re coming from.

But music isn’t really about the name game, especially when you have a band with such a versatile sound. In the past, this South Bay Los Angeles based band walked the line of reggae and rock, but I have a feeling TBS will be premiering their brand new, anthem rock inspired songs all throughout Warped Tour.

So then… what do you call this genre? TBS is incorporating an assortment of sounds on their 2012 release The Great Escape. From the track “Ballerina Girl” which is a serious throwback to early 2000s pop and r&b, to their dance-flavored tunes which sound like they should be played over the speakers of a Hollister store, not a Rastafarian’s radio; they’ve got a lot going on. Sprinkled in there are those familiar beachy, pseudo-reggae songs that make the album just enough feel good, and not too serious.

So can we just call it the Feel Good genre? Is that too suggestive for radio play? What do you think?

Features, Music Videos, News, Reviews, Videos

Warped Pleasure of the Week: A party worth dying for

June 19, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus 1 Comment

Maybe the rough yet melodic rockers of Funeral Party were on to something when they named their band; when you listen to the monotone yet searing vocals of Chad Elliott over the melodic and sometimes dance worthy riffs behind the music, it’s hard to tell whether it’s a funeral or a party. Perhaps these LA natives strive for both, and that’s what makes their music interesting to hear.

It’s easy to tell why they became a cult hit in their local neighborhood, but you have to give them props for catching the ear of Lars Stalfors, a producer who has worked with the likes of The Mars Volta, Juliette Lewis, and Reel Big Fish. Factor in their own decision to get dropped from predominantly pop-punk Fearless Records (they were later signed with Sony), and it’s now up to Funeral Party to not only prove they can hack it mainstream, but also convince us of their sound.

Pseudo-pop and ironic clashes of genres are the next big thing, making Funeral Party pretty damn catchy, despite the lack of melody in Elliott’s vocals. But I’m waiting to see if they can take the energy-driven garage show and put it in a package that will make Sony Music proud.

On a completely unrelated note, their website is probably one of the coolest I’ve ever seen. But what do you think? Would you see them at Warped?

Features, Music Videos, News, Reviews, Videos

Warped Pleasure of the Week: Dead Sara

June 11, 2012 Stephanie Amadeus 3 Comments

It’s that time of year again boys and girls. Teenagers, PETA warriors, and one journalist-like, music loving blogger will be sweaty and dehydrated for the chance to see a handful of metal-core bands and one or two fairly awesome closers. But wait, don’t hate on Warped Tour just yet. I know it tends to be a biased music production, but with over 90 bands performing there is bound to be something for everyone — a few diamonds in the rough — which is why I’m highlighting some particularly shiny Guilty Pleasures of the Week for the rest of June.

I have to start with gruff, rough-around-the-edges rock group Dead Sara, because I have a weakness for female-fronted bands. And the first moment that I heard the unique vocals of Emily Armstrong part screaming, part singing over the powerful guitar riffs that are an ode to the nu metal style of the 90s, I was in love. Armstrong seems to channel the fiery rasp of Janis Joplin as she pours either pure emotion or raw energy (I can’t tell which one) into the lyrics “So go for the kill/’Cause no one else cares!” from the single “Weatherman”.

But don’t get me wrong, Armstrong is no Joplin. Armstrong is at times missing style and magnetism in her voice, causing some to say Dead Sara’s debut full length album as a whole falls a little flat. Despite the huge growth spurt of the band, it’s probably going to be up to their live performances to convince audiences that they are definitely not a one-trick pony and have more to offer. (Just check out some of the meaningless heavy debate on the YouTube page for this video for more on how unconvinced a few people are.)

But… it is their first album. They are allowed a first album to put themselves out there and grow from here on out. Despite the lack of dynamic, I’m excited to see what they can pull out for their sophomore attempt. But what do you think? Do you think we’ll hear more from this band in the future?