This Wednesday, TheIndie SD presents three amazing bands at my new favorite venue, The Griffin. I think you just figured out the best way to get through hump day. You’re welcome!
If you haven’t heard the dramatic indie folk tunes of The Lonely Wild, please put them on your playlist as soon as humanly possible! I’m completely in love with the entire package of this band, which at times includes just the right amount of driving, folky drum beats and crooning, eerie guitar melodies. Their song “Buried in the Murder” paints the perfect scene for the lyrics “Will we stand up and see eye to eye, once the wild has torn straight through our guards.” Deep.
Barbarian offers just what their name states: an unapologetic, unique display of musicianship that is both messy and exhilarating, connected and yet unpolished. And then there’s Warships, the group that will turn this whole thing into a dance party. With their catchy tunes and upbeat 70s inspired riffs, Warships offers music reminiscent of an extra groovy, atmospheric Two Door Cinema Club. They are sure to get a few feet moving, including mine — no judging my terrible dance skills, though!
To top off all this fun, I have a pair of tickets to give away! Head over to the Facebook event page and RSVP to be entered to win a pair! You can purchase tickets for this event on the Griffin’s website. SEE YOU THERE, INDIES!
“Like a Quaker in a strip club, I was enamored with this new discovery and I wanted more.”
Being one who is typically not on the cutting edge of most technological trends, I was relatively late to the Spotify bandwagon. In fact I was well invested and sufficiently pleased with my Pandora account and had no reason to fix something that wasn’t broken—or so I thought. With great hesitancy I relinquished what little virtual privacy I once held to Spotify, but in return I would gain a doorway to a world of musical discover. But instead of yammering on about the majestic musical database, I would rather discuss Atlas Genius, an Australian based indie-pop band whose new album When it Was Now was released last month and whose popularity have gone from 0 to 60 in half a quarter beat—for those of you who can’t add fractions well, that’s really fast.
Taking an atypical approach to music, the foursome focused on building a studio that would facilitate creativity and songwriting years before they ever performed live as Atlas Genius. Brothers Michael and Keith Jeffries carefully designed their workspace exactly the way they wanted not really knowing where it would lead them. After two years of building and playing at local pubs to finance their dream studio, their musical mecca was finally in place where they would write and produce their EP Through the Glass and eventually their full-length debut When it Was Now.
Unsuspecting and unaware of what was to come, when their featured song “Trojans” came up on Spotify, I was hooked like a fat kid in an all-you-can-eat doughnut shop. Their aptly named hit song permeated my psyche much like the Trojan horse did the once thriving Spartan fortress. Hours later I couldn’t help but unconsciously hum the melody, which was quite frustrating considering I didn’t know but a few lyrics. The relatively simplistic song elements were powerful enough to get my toe tapping and my soul dancing. Like a Quaker in a strip club, I was enamored with this new discovery and I wanted more.
Much to the surprise of the guys from down under, “Trojans” was an instant hit. Soon after sharing their catchy tune on sites such as Triple J Unearthed, Sound Cloud and iTunes, the song began attracting attention from labels, publishers, and a barrage of others in the music industry. However, the guys were so wrapped up in their college studies they didn’t bother to check the band email. Fortunately, once they had, Atlas Genius was more focused on music than they ever had been—paving the way to two major tours, a major label contract and a full-length album.
Although When it was Now, which released mid February, is a fun album to listen to, it is anything but revolutionary. Their overall approach to the album falls a bit on the formulaic side and may not speak to the music snob continually boasting about “the band that’s gonna change it all.” That being said, for the guy/gal who loves music that simply sounds good (I know, totally subjective) and is well written (how egocentric is this guy?), Atlas Genius will always be the band that may not be at the top of the list, but will certainly bring the fun.
Their full length album When it Was Now is available now on iTunes and other music retailers.
View Photos of Atlas Genius, live at The House of Blues San Diego on March 18th. Photos by Christian Rodas, Soul Venture Productions.
Click photos to launch full-screen.
Atlas Genius performs live at House of Blues, San Diego
Atlas Genius performs live at House of Blues, San Diego
Atlas Genius performs live at House of Blues, San Diego
Atlas Genius performs live at House of Blues, San Diego
Atlas Genius performs live at House of Blues, San Diego
Before You Exit, performing live in San Diego, CA. Photo by Christian Rodas.
Ah, let me tell you the problem with boy bands. Oh wait, you mean you already know the answer to that? How about instead, I tell you why the ‘age of the adolescents’ isn’t really all that bad. Don’t turn away from this article just yet – there are a lot of facts to learn about the elusive, mysterious, all-male musical machine known as the boy band, and some of these facts might actually surprise you.
For instance, one of the main issues with the typical definitive boy band is that it gives every young male musician under the legal drinking age a bad rep. We’ve always been a bit pretentious as a society when it came to music, especially when artists use their looks or their sex appeal to gain fans. And yet, this is completely acceptable in any other form of entertainment. ‘That Oscar winning actress is totally hot.’ ‘This model has a sexy body.’ ‘Let’s give Lara Croft a huge rack.’ You might need to be a gamer geek like me to get that last reference, but the point still stands – the entertainment industry as a whole has always welcomed and embraced sex appeal…at least, when it refers to women.
Male musicians have always garnered screaming, crying, panty-tossing female fans. But back in the day, those male musicians were playing instruments. Elvis Presley was “reinventing” mainstream rock ‘n roll. The Beatles were expressing their music without suffering creativity. Even 80’s hair metal groups — some of the first true boy bands, if you ask me — were rocking and rolling all night, and partying every day to the riffs of their guitars and the power of their drums. And they all had screaming, crying, no-holds-barred female fans.
That can’t really be said these days. The music industry evolved, and as a result, so did the boy band. But I’m telling you, it’s not all bad. Maybe we’re used to the age of One Directions and Justin Beibers (he counts as a boy band in my book; I think they might actually be cloning him for insurance reasons), and this reluctant acceptance has closed our minds to the idea that yes, boys can play instruments too.
We even want to ignore the typical boy band “formula” once our favorite songs are involved. Recent Grammy winners Fun. pretty much fit all the boy band criteria, and yet for some reason these guys are exempt. Is it because their music is about life instead of about love? I’m really starting to think the main factor is drinking age. And also, once you put instruments into the mix, there’s something else that appeals to the band’s fans than just their good looks.
Take the indie band of brothers Before You Exit, for instance. The modern day boy band formula is there: attractive young dudes, sentimental pseudo-love songs, high energy performances, and photo shoots reminiscent of the 90’s, minus the 90’s fashion trends. But there’s an extra element of surprise here, and it comes in the form of many, many instruments. This is a group that is okay with being adorable as long as they also get to be amazing, well-versed musicians in the process.
If you think about it, it doesn’t make sense to persecute musicians of any gender simply because they are beautiful. A female singer is less reputable because she’s stunningly hot? A group of guys can’t be taken seriously because they’re well groomed? These kinds of theories only make sense when image is just as important as the music itself.
Here’s the kicker: regardless of what kind of music you listen to, image is always important. Would you listen to your favorite punk band if they wore polo shirts and belonged to a golf club? Would Lady Gaga, who is actually a stunning singer and multi-instrumentalist herself, garner as many “little monsters” if she didn’t wear suits made of meat? There’s a direct correlation between a musician and his or her image, whether you want to admit it or not. It’s simply up to each individual artist to decide if that image is going to be used for good (such as, The Beatles walking Abby Road), or evil (whatever this is.)
And while I’m not ready to put One Direction on repeat anytime soon — unlike a preteen adolescent girl, I know what makes me beautiful and I’d prefer not to hear it from a boy I can’t legally date–, I would listen to Before You Exit. Maybe I’ll also give latest X Factor finalists Emblem 3 a chance, too. Because there are male musicians all around us who play well, learn their trade, entertain us on stage, and happen to look really great while they’re doing that. I’m not saying they aren’t that media definition of a “boy band”. But I am saying we can at least toss image aside and judge a musician on their abilities, just this once, right?
If you’re still pretty upset with boy bands in general, don’t stone me! Instead, tell me what you think about bands like Before You Exit, Emblem 3, and even pop rockers like Fun. being considered a “boy band”. Comment below with what you think!
If you were looking forward to seeing up and coming indie darlings Atlas Genius and platinum-selling Imagine Dragons perform live this year, you might have to wait until next season — seeing as how the bands have currently sold out 19 dates on their tour. But there may be one more chance for Southern California to enjoy these two acts live…
Imagine Dragons performing live in Orlando. Photo courtesy Facebook
I don’t think I could have predicted the amount of sold out dates on the Atlas Genius and Imagine Dragons tour this year, but it’s quite shocking. Hearing that the House of Blues San Diego was sold out made since: the venue really isn’t that big and these two bands are quickly outgrowing the smaller digs that they’ve selected for their tour. But upon further inspection, one will find that the bands have also sold out at least 19 dates, including shows in Boston, Portland, Anaheim, Canada and two dates in Chicago. Yowsa!
Tickets are still floating about on ticket resellers such as StubHub, which is great if you have anywhere between $114 to $350 to spare on one ticket alone. For most of us, that’s a little too steep for one night of fun, regardless of how much buzz these bands have generated. These resellers bring up the question of ticket scalping, making me wonder if this is some sort of inside job to monopolize the indie market on these bands. Ticket scalping is infamous for targeting big acts and major sporting events, but for two indie bands? It seems a little improbable. Or maybe that is my conspiracy theory side getting the best of me.
Regardless of all of this, there are still at least two chances for the Southern California crowd to see Imagine Dragons and Atlas Genius sometime before 2014. Tickets are still currently available for Santa Barbara and Bakersfield tour dates — and at the regular, face value price. That is, if you want to drive the approximate three hours to see them perform. (Honestly…I would and just might!)
But if those dates will turn out anything like the beginning of their tour, the tickets are sure to be gone very quickly.
In the meantime, there’s always the internet to quench your indie thirst for these two great acts. And with today’s release of Atlas Genius’ well anticipated full length album When It Was Now, you have all new goodies from this band, just waiting to be devoured.
Let us know in the comments below if you plan on attending one of the tour dates for Atlas Genius and Imagine Dragons!
String player performing with The Red Paintings (Photo credit: mystikeel)
Music and art have always been combined, and most people do it right. (read: local Beats and Brushes event hosted by RiPs Entertainment.) Psychedelic performance art rockers The Red Paintings do it with a flair that will keep your ears peeled and your eyes glued to the stage. Trust me when I say, you have never seen or heard anything like this.
That’s why our Guilty Pleasure of the Week segment is coming back with a bang in the form of this Australian, genre-bending, orchestral rock group. Fascination pretty much surrounds this music project, from the moment you listen to the music, to the story behind how lead singer and musical mastermind Trash McSweeney began his musical journey. One near-fatal seizure and many inspiring moments later, and The Red Paintings was born.
Gimmicky bands are sometimes a hit or a miss, but with this group the gimmick is simply artful, colorful, mesmerizing and sometimes downright acid-trip inducing entertainment. Woven around all of that creativity is a voice that isn’t quite perfect but manages to fit into the theme of the music completely. Add in the sweet yet ominous sounds of string instruments, which are usually included in their live ensemble as well, and The Red Paintings succeed in creating its own little Tim Burton-esque world.
The performance is theatrical, and sometimes over-obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, but the music is more than just a soundtrack to a play. McSweeney croons one moment and sears through his lyrics the next, as the dynamics of each song rise and fall like a tumultuous ocean. Still, beautiful pseudo-ballads such as “We Belong in the Sea” are just as alluring and can stand alone without the stage antics.
In essence, the entire package of The Red Paintings is perfect, complete with a big red bow on top.
This is the kind of music experience that is extremely fun to watch live, especially since the group adds in a real-time art collaboration featuring local artists at each of their tour destinations, and even occasionally including human canvasses.
Alright, now are you convinced? If you are, head over to the Griffin on Valentine’s Day (February 14th, in case you forgot), for The Red Paintings, Stone Horse, The Falling Doves and others.
Imagine an intergalactic spaceship has crash landed in the middle of the House of Blues, and there in front of you are five out of this world dudes, emerging from the lights of their ship and the smoke of the crash, holding instruments and ready to rock out. At some point, one of them has to say “I will sing you the song of my people”, only it’s not an internet meme, it’s Minus the Bear.
That is how I can accurately describe the show that took place on Sunday. Lead singer Jake Snider barely revealed himself from the dense fog that clouded the stage before he started singing the first note of their first song. The lights behind the band created a surreal, warm halo of light that truly made me think the five musicians were some sort of rock-music spacemen. It was, for all intents and purposes, the perfect setting for the sounds of Minus the Bear.
Just as the band made their way to California, I got the chance to speak with keyboardist Alex Rose on the phone. In addition to spilling his love for partying at the Casbah, Rose spoke about the tour, the process behind their new album Infinity Overhead and the possible future of Minus the Bear on the top of the charts.
theIndie: Minus the Bear has done a great job at maturing your music while still staying true to your unique sound. How does the band approach recording when you’re in the studio?
Alex Rose: “There was this sort of idea where Omni was us getting out of our comfort zone and…taking a little detour, and Infinity Overhead was getting back to the natural progression, getting back to working with our ex-member and long time friend Matt Bayles.”
theIndie: You previously worked with Joe Chiccarelli on Omni in 2010. Any particular reason why the band went back with Matt Bayles for this album?
AR: “We’ve worked with him on many albums and are comfortable with him. We all had a great experience with Joe and we learned a lot, and Matt’s learned a lot over the past five years since Planet of Ice. I think it was helpful to have someone who understands all of our personalities, and we could just kind of hit the ground running.”
theIndie: How have you been enjoying the tour with Cursive?
AR: “When you go on tour you want to make sure you have some solid homies around! When you acquire all these friends all over the country and sometimes all over the world, it’s nice to say ‘hey, for these six or seven weeks, we’re going to be hanging out everyday’. It’s great.”
theIndie: Minus the Bear has a reputation for selling out Pomona shows. Are you excited about the reception there?
AR: “It’s always a blast to play there. In addition to doing an L.A. show, it’s always nice to play Pomona. I prefer packing out the smaller venue.” theIndie: I’ve noticed that Minus the Bear tends to feature songs that balance between love and tragedy. Do you agree?
AR: “Definitely, especially the newer ones. I think you’re right on the newer stuff.”
theIndie: So the band must be taking lead singer Jake Snider’s lyrics into perspective when creating your songs?
AR: “You would think, but a lot of times we will do the music first. So I’m sure [Jake] takes the music into consideration when writing. On ‘Lonely Gun’ for instance, we hadn’t heard the vocals until we basically recorded the whole song, and it was interesting to see that come together last minute. The band’s been working this way for awhile, it’s kind of always been music first. It kind of happens from the music up.”
theIndie: How much of a hand did you have in creating the story and the video for your single ‘Steel and Blood’?
AR: “Steel and Blood is talking about the volatile nature of relationships, not necessarily physically but just sort of emotionally. The director, Dan Brown, kind of went with that. We had some input on the ending, there were different options, and we made the decision to leave it a little open ended.”
Minus the Bear’s official music video for ‘Steel and Blood’.
theIndie: Infinity Overhead hit #31 on the Billboard charts, and both this album and your last album performed well on the Indie charts. Would it be in your interests to dominate the major Billboard charts in the future?
AR: “We don’t have sales goals, I think we just want to reach as many people as we can. And keep making interesting music that excites us and hopefully our fans will come on the journey with us.”
Well, this fan will come along; bags packed, ready for the journey. Minus the Bear is currently on tour, making their way to a homecoming show in Seattle, Washington. For more tour dates, check out their official site.
If you haven’t been to a show at the re-purposed church-turned-indie haven The Irenic in San Diego’s North Park, here’s the perfect opportunity to check it out. Instrumental duo El Ten Eleven will be there on November 17th, bringing with them their addictive, meticulously created musical masterpieces. Say that five times fast! Or don’t and instead check out this video. I’m instantly fan. Let me know what you think in the comments, or on our Facebook page!
This is a little mini post. I am turning over a new leaf with this website. I, being the owner, Stephanie. By the end of this post, I am going to need your help.
For those of you who have ever wondered what it would be like to have your own site dedicated to the music scene of San Diego, I have one word for you: Exhausting! That’s the first word that comes to mind, but trust me, that’s not the only one. I can also say that this site is fun, inspirational, and even downright surprising at times. Through hard work and dedication one can get so much done, and see so many things, and I’ve definitely done that over the year.
But there’s a problem. There’s a big stain on my site lately and I’ve been totally lacking in elbow grease. Let’s say that my inspiration is the elbow grease — so you get my drift. I got too roped up in all the opportunities that this site brought about and I worried too much about pleasing everyone else. I realized that at the end of the day this is MY project, and thus I have to start thinking of it in that way.
I thought long and hard about all of the things that bring me inspiration, and I thought about all of the articles I have posted on the site over the course of the past year. Yes, it will be a year on November 21st, since I created my dot com. I know it’s a little too soon for New Years-like nostalgia, but just stick with me for a moment. I thought back and I realized that I had the most fun, the most inspiration, while working on two projects. The first was a piece I did on my friend’s project, Immovable Objects. I sat in the studio with Matt Gagin and his friends, and I learned so much. I witnessed their dedication and talent, and I got to dive right into their musical world. It was enlightening to be let in on such a process.
The second thing was the shortly famous Streetside Sessions. My most views ever on this site came the day after I posted that video. I remember I could hardly contain myself, as I kept having to push back its debut date on the site. I just wanted to share it already! Not only that, but being on the streets of Bankers Hill, listening to a San Diego musician play their songs for their entire neighborhood to hear, was magical. I watched people come out of their balconies to sip a cup of coffee and just listen and admire. I watched passerbys stop to ask insightful questions, and one person even offered a tip! To say that the project was a success would be a severe understatement.
Those were my two favorite moments of theIndie SD, ever. Now I invite you all to help me turn over a new leaf.
Help me help musicians, local musicians, people who want to share their music on a street corner, or conduct an impromptu concert in a park. People who want to genuinely share their love for creation and art. Tell me which bands you think should be a part of something like this. I seriously want to know.
And more so than that, tell me what you want to see on a local music site. What do you not want to see? What kinds of things have you always wanted to do with the San Diego music scene? I know it sounds like I’m just stealing your ideas, but what I want is everyone to have the chance to be a part of this. Music is a community event. It’s something to be shared and experienced, whether you play an instrument or not, whether you sing like an angel or croak like a frog. Consider all of you guys and gals, all of you out there reading this, cordially invited to be a part of it. Come into studios. Sit down with others and learn about their music. Head bang at local music shows. And yes, listen to some great, amazing musicians, playing on the streets of San Diego.
Because at the end of the day, I get absolutely nothing out of this site, no money, no fame, nothing — except fun. I’m profiting off of inspiration. And I want to share the profits with all of you. Here are more than a few ways to reach me, there’s also a comment form, and please don’t be shy! This isn’t just my music scene. It’s all of ours. And we all get to be a part of this creative process, don’t we?
This is the kind of band that can jump between creating inspiring, dreamy and sometimes folky songs and composing modern instrumental pieces for a ballet. Yes, a ballet! I’m talking about indie rockers, Mercies, and when this trio of multi-instrumentalists came into town, they brought along with them their unique, vintage-inspired sounds, high energy rhythms, and a few surprise guests sprinkled along their crowd at the Ruby Room.
When I arrived at the Ruby Room, the guys were immediately happy to sit down with me at one of the dimly lit booths near the bar. Curiosity caused me to ask them first about the ballet music they created, which was commissioned by The Charlottesville Ballet in Charlottesville, Virginia. Lead singer and guitarist Josh Rheault and bassist Jordan Flower, told me that the process was obviously much different than anything else they had written. Even so, the guys included the ballet on their latest EP release, appropriately titled The Ballet.
“Initially we were going to treat it as a separate thing, and then we kind of figured we might as well release an EP and use the EP as a way to house the ballet. It worked out, timing wise.” Jordan and Josh told me, about their choice to include their instrumental pieces on the EP. The guys have even more up their sleeves, as far as composition goes, as they also noted, “We hope to do a lot more work with other dance companies. We might be doing an indie film, scoring that.”
The indie film is currently in the works, and penned and directed by Nicole Eckenrose. The guys were fairly tight-lipped on the project, since there are so many details that still have yet to be established for the project, but just one listen to what they composed for the ballet will convince anyone that their future soundtrack endeavors will be highly successful.
The group was formed by Rheault and drummer, Sammy Dent, both of whom may have been seen in their previous band, the Deer Hunter. There’s always a “previous band stigma” that can follow some musicians around, but not for Mercies. The trio has successfully branded themselves as a must-listen kind of band, and they boast a sound that is unique, a little astral, a little old school, and a lot of interesting; a feat that I had to congratulate them on. Rheault noted that he spent nearly four years in Los Angeles, touring and writing with his previous project, before finally making his way back home to Connecticut where he eventually started Mercies.
Though New England is their home, the guys had to admit they were really looking forward to their San Diego show. Rheault recalled his last show in San Diego where he played SOMA, a venue that definitely stood out to him. He described the venue in vivid detail as he recollected that night, and added that, “People here seem to really like music and shows, and they still go to them. It’s a good place.” He’s even kept in contact with some of his San Diego friends, including local heavy hitters Pierce the Veil, who were all at the show, ready to support the band with rowdy cheers and generous applause.
The people in San Diego do love their music scene, but it’s also easy for a band like Mercies to draw a crowd on their tour when they can cater to indie lovers so well. At first glance, Mercies may seem like a hipster’s ultimate wet dream; however, as soon as one takes a listen to The Ballet EP, it’s really easy to distinguish a difference between them and some of the other bands that are attempting the same thing. The first difference is in their influences. Mercies successfully draws on some of the greatest sounds of old, making those sounds new and fresh and exciting again. “[Our] biggest influences probably all stem back 50, 60 years. You know: Beatles, Beach Boys, and Les Paul.” All of this is apparent in their EP, and in their Beach Boys cover of “In My Room”. This was quite possibly the best song for the group to cover, and one of my favorite tunes to hear that night, since it is just as good live as it is recorded.
Sometime in November, the trio plans to release a 7″ vinyl of their latest songs. “People usually get a CD and then chuck it, or lose it. With vinyl, it’s something to hold on to,” says Rheault. One thing is for certain, their mesmerizing sound transposed onto the clarity and quality of vinyl, is going to be a unique item that any music lover won’t want to miss.
Perhaps I am biased because I have a true appreciation for rock. I mean actual rock. I mean a couple of guys or gals, their trusty instruments, and the raw energy that can only come from a string vibrating against electricity. That is the kind of rock that comes with San Diego natives, Machines Learning.
There might be a particular singer out there who in 2011, said that rock would never die. Most of us music fans already knew this, because rock doesn’t have to live on the mainstream charts in order to live. And local players like Machines Learning are proving that fact, everyday.
I really miss the feeling that comes from the perfect balance of melodic music to edgy noise, a balance that can be seen all over the band’s debut album, Pendragon’s Lullaby. Machines Learning creates the kind of music that reverberates in your chest, and yet you can still sing (or yell or scream or whatever) along with it. Songs like “Bulletproof Tiger” will become instant anthems as you chant along to the punchy guitars. It fades to just the perfect level of subdued melancholy before hitting you right back again with intense energy that was definitely meant to move you.
Not to mention, the guys are talented and seasoned instrumentalists. Comprised of Black Box Studios‘ own Mario Quintero on drums, Bradley Botbyl on bass, and Paul Balmer on guitars and vocals, the group created the perfect trio. Their precise use of rhythm is not only fun, but it is what sets them apart from any other local rockers. There’s something that is just a little bit different about their debut; just different enough to set them apart, but not so different as to put them in hipster category. They have the meaty parts of the dish, but their potatoes are the little surprises that come from the dynamics, effects, and down-to-earth lyrics that puts them just on the line of rock and something else. Which is probably why the guys dubbed themselves “post atmospheric indie space rock.” Say that five times fast.
The ‘atmospheric’ will definitely come in on tracks such as “this destroyed me”, an instrumental treat which uses just the right amount of effects before leading into the chord-heavy, structured guitar and slightly syncopated, heartbeat-driven drum patterns that are very customary to the group, and heard throughout the album.
This is the kind of band that can jump between creating inspiring, dreamy and sometimes folky songs and composing modern instrumental pieces for a ballet. Yes, a ballet! I’m talking about indie rockers, Mercies, and when this trio of multi-instrumentalists came into town, they brought along with them their unique, vintage-inspired sounds, high energy rhythms, and a few surprise guests sprinkled along their crowd at the Ruby Room.
Perhaps I am biased because I have a true appreciation for rock. I mean actual rock. I mean a couple of guys or gals, their trusty instruments, and the raw energy that can only come from a string vibrating against electricity. That is the kind of rock that comes with San Diego natives, Machines Learning.
The Indie 