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!
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?
The Indie 