Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review #8: The Last Internationale, X Ambassadors & Daley

Radio check 1, 2, 3! What we have here is a Spring of 2013 segment for your recollection. This collaboration between High Voltage and Dirty Glitter with Brody Ramone on WGBU-FM every Thursday night at 8pm PST/11pm EST has yielded some pretty sweet musical fruit not the least of which comes from the three talents in this 8th edition of Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review.

Dirty Glitter 5/8/2013:

The Last Internationale- "Cod'ine"
The merger of folk, rock, punk and blues with an air of protestation for righteous reasons brings us to the Last Internationale, a New York City trio formed of Delila Paz (vox, bass), Edgey (guitar) and now Rage Against the Machine's Brad Wilk (drums). With a sound that's raw and strong, smacks of being socially awake and challenging the status quo by way of rock and roll (and isn't that what rock and roll is supposed to do?), the Last International are refreshingly irony-free and substantive: probably because they don't miss the musical plot that. Now what we have here is TLI shining on a cover song: the Buffy Saint-Marie classic "Cod'ine" which Saint-Marie wrote about her experience recovering from her addiction to codeine. Even though this is a cover, it's the Last Internationale flexing some of their strongest muscles in the translation of emotion. From their current EP New York, I Do Mind Dying this is "Cod'ine."

X Ambassadors- "Unconsolable"
Brothers Sam and Casey Harris along with friends Noah Feldshuh and Adam Levin source everything from the Staples Singers to the Stooges to Ginuwine to hip hop to fashion their seriously groove-based music. If you could actually taste music, which I totally believe is possible, you could file Brooklyn-based X Ambassadors under "thick and delicious"; it's full of texture and feeling, often swells into bombastic territory with lyrics that speak from many places of the heart. On Tuesday May 7th they released their 6-song EP, Love Songs Drug Songs, which had some serious production assistance from Alex da Kid and some guy named Dan Reynolds (yes that Dan from Imagine Dragons). Back to considering the music to be delicious, in this song "Unconsolable" Sam does reference bread and butter. See? It all comes full circle.

Daley- "Game Over"
His proper name is Gareth Daley but this British soul singer of the blue-eyed variety simply goes by Daley. Embracing all that is romantic, sexy, laid back and groovalicious about r&b and neo-soul and lacing it with a little pop, Daley's music breakthrough came in 2010 when he provided guest vocals on the Gorillaz song "Doncamatic." Since then he's produced and released the EP Those Who Wait in 2012, toured with and supported the likes of Emeli Sande and Jessie J and been one of the UK's rising stars in a new wave of neo soul. He's currently working on a full album but for now from the Those Who Wait EP here's "Game Over."

Signed,
Diary of a Concert Whore  aka @dharma69

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review #7: Terraplane Sun, Great White Buffalo, Trixie Whitley & Vanaprasta

The year's almost at an end, rock stars but here's another Dirty Glitter with Brody Ramone-review. We're up to part 7 my High Voltage Magazine-recap of artists to re-discover, the artists and songs that I selected for play. Are you ready? Here we go:

Dirty Glitter 5/30/2013 Edition:

Terraplane Sun: "Get Me Golden”
How can five guys who occupy space in the beachfront city of Venice, CA possibly tap into a river of south of the Mason-Dixon line-sound blended with California sun and soul without sounding- what’s the word…ridiculous? Well, that’s Terraplane Sun for you. Ben Rothbard, Johnny Zambetti, Cecil Campanaro, Lyle Riddle and Gabe Feenberg describe themselves as “blues indie rock folk dance soul”; their sound is a little vintage, a little timeless and a lot of awesome as they truly do flesh out blues, indie rock, folk, dance and soul with full blown musicality and a refined rawness that translates wonderfully from record to their live shows which- whether they're rocking a local show or on tour with Imagine Dragons- are flat out electric and virtuosity on on display. Here's there's sunshine of a track, "Get Me Golden," which was featured in the 21 Jump Street redo and in a national CitiBank commercial.

Great White Buffalo: "Thanks For Nothing"
For some reason what Graham Bockmiller, Stephen Johnson, Blake LaGrange, and Rich Carrillo aka Great White Buffalo do seems almost effortless and in its ease is the pleasure of listening. Hopefully that makes sense because with Graham's textured vocals, the choice hooks and melodies and the lyrically well-crafted songs, Great White Buffalo are just a little too solid for their own good. They've followed up last year’s four-song Tightrope EP with a self-title one composed of six tight as a drum rockers produced by Grammy winner Phil Allen (Aerosmith, Adele) that stand up to anything that any indie rock band- LA based or otherwise- has dished out in the past year. to check out those songs, see their Bandcamp for further. In the meantime, get to grooving and rocking with Great White Buffalo and "Thanks For Nothing."

Trixie Whitley "Never Enough"
Trixie Whitley may only be 25 years old but her life experiences have brought a wisdom far beyond her age. Born in Belgium, she's the daughter of the acclaimed late bluesman Chris Whitley and those genes have passed on some immense talent as she's been a DJ, a dancer, a waitress...most before she was even old enough to vote. A multi-instrumentalist equally comfortable with a guitar or behind a drum kit, Trixie's fiercest tools are her songwriting and her voice which is stunningly soulful, haunting, emotive and- also- belies her age. So much so that the one and only Daniel Lanois (who has produced Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and some of U2's best work) tapped Trixie to be the voice of a collaboration project called Black Dub. Her full length debut album, Fourth Corner, was released in April and shows off what makes this lady so darned special. From that album, this is "Never Enough."

Vanaprasta: "NineEqualsNine" (honorable mention) (I. Love. This. Band. So. Hard.)

Vanaprasta is Sanskrit for a person who lives in the forest as a hermit after giving up most material desires. It’s also the name of one of my absolute favorite local bands. Based in Echo Park, CA, Vanaprasta are all about dynamic musical elements that shape-shift from psych guitar rock to disarming soul to blues progressive and shamelessly back again carried by Steven Wilkin’s flexible and arena-worthy vocals: he was, after all, an opera singer as a child. Along with Taylor Brown, Collin Desha, Cameron Dmytryk and Ben Smiley, these guys are ambitious with Pink Floyd-ish experimentation to Zeppelin-ish guitar to full blown prog, and yet they aren’t afraid of tripping a little weird. While indie rock is their game, this track, “NineEqualsNine,” is a game-changer due to the lush and sensual current of R&B that runs through it and the song title is indicative of their fascination with numbers, shapes and patterns in life. They’re in the studio working on album #2 as we speak (and I cannot wait for it) but this track is from their 2011 debut, Healthy Geometry. 

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review #6: Davis Fetter, Birds of a Black Feather & the Crash Kings

Summertime, oh sweet summertime.

Alright music lovers, welcome to the 6th installment of my High Voltage Magazine and Dirty Glitter with Brody Ramone 2013 in review! Three songs from three artists whom I highly approve of and I hope you find something to approve of, as well. New music discovery is what I love so let's get you busy discovering.

Dirty Glitter 6/20/2013 Edition:

David Fetter- "Born"
Every now and then you come across an artist of some sort- in this case, a musician- who seems as if they should have been born in another era or decade. With that in mind, see the romantic rocker Davis Fetter for further as he channels the rock and roll of the 50s and 60s with a Britpop coolness and a guitar rock flair that's uniquely his own. Rock and roll legend Chuck Berry has been a major influence on Davis' musical style. Over the years Davis has opened for the likes of Blondie, Peter Murphy, the B-52s, Chris Cornell and more. Seasoned as a songwriter as well as a performer, Davis is equally adept rocking loud and electric or crooning stripped down and acoustic; his voice is wonderfully fluid instrument and we're lucky that he was born when he was.

Birds of a Black Feather- "Turn Me On"
A mutual love of rock and roll, blues and soul is just one unifying element in Birds of a Black Feather. The Los Angeles quartet is made up of, not only friends, but also family: sisters Katie and Sarah Virden along with Murray Foretich and Ben Nelson. A little raw with moments of refined, touches of Southern rock and sultry in the music and in the co-vocal harmonies of Katie and Sarah. In band years, they're relatively young but you wouldn't know it by the musical force they present when on stage and live really is where the music lives. This track, "Turn Me On," is from their self-titled EP.

Crash Kings- "All Along"
Brothers Antonio and Michael Beliveau along with Jason Morris are the Crash Kings and one of the most uniquely crafted rock bands out there. Known for Tony's extraordinary vocal range and dynamics, as every note you hear on this song Tony easily hits live, Crash Kings are also famous (or 'infamous') for rocking just as hard as any guitar-driven band out there...but minus the guitar. Instead Tony plays a specially designed Clavinet tricked out with a whammy bar and a few other tweaks for distortion effects which he uses to replace guitar tones. Signed to Linda Perry's label, their 2009 debut album produced the hit single "Mountain Man" and they've toured with the likes of Jet, Chris Cornell, Rooney and Mason Jennings. It's been a few years but the boys are back: they launched a Kickstarter to fund their upcoming tour and album release: they met their goal in about 8 hours. Now their long awaited follow up release, Dark of the Daylight, is out and from it is "All Along."

 

Signed,

Diary of a Concert Whore  aka @dharma69

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review #5: The Technicolors, Queen V & The New Electric Sound

Once again, welcome to Dirty Glitter with Brody Ramone-review. We're up to part 5 my High Voltage Magazine-recap of artists to re-discover, the artists and songs that I selected for play. Here we go:

Dirty Glitter 7/11/2013:

The Technicolors- "Again"
The Technicolors are out of Phoenix, AZ and their music is modern rock colored with shades of Britpop with good guitar work in the forefront: think shades of Oasis and Supergrass. They're a four-man outfit made up of Brennan Smiley, Mikey Finezza, Michael Nicolette and Kevin Prociw and their current album, Listener, is a solid piece of work and on it is a pretty wicked cover of Chris Isaac's "Wicked Game." But on the original side of things, here's the Technicolors with "Again."

Queen V- "Good Enough"
Queen V isn't just a band, it's the woman who fronts this hard rocking outfit from New York City. Even though rock is typically a boy's club, Queen V brings swagger, attitude and the ability to hold her own on a stage, with a guitar, writing songs and definitely when she opens her mouth to sing. She's toured with Billy Idol and Twisted Sister and her new album released on June 25th, The Decade of Queen V, basically sums up the music she's made since 2005 and she gets a little help from her friends like Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) and Lemmy of Motorhead. While she specializes in gutsy and hard rocking music, this track is the softer side of Queen V yet still gives you a clue as to what she's about as well as her incredible lung power.

The New Electric Sound- "Suitcase"
Los Angeles by way of Utah is the New Electric Sound and all you really need to know about this five-piece can probably be found in a few key lines in their biography:

"You ask yourself what it is that makes this music so incredibly catchy, so deeply arresting. Suddenly, you are humming melodies against your own will and snapping your fingers uncontrollably. You begin to find that you are unable to perform the most basic of tasks - food becomes impossible to masticate, your favorite movie cannot be watched, the cutest kitten cannot be stroked. You experience an uncanny joy."

Fronted by Scott Vance and drawing influences from the likes of Buddy Holly to the Kooks, the New Electric Sound's vintage surf guitar tones make for solid songs that really do stick. So much so that they were one of the bands I asked to play my High Voltage birthday show in July, which happened to be their first LA show. They've a full album that came out in 2012 and I highly recommended that you dig into it.

Signed,
Diary of a Concert Whore  aka @dharma69

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review #2: ft. Brendan James, The Alarm Science, The Moth & the Flame

Welcome to the second installment in my series of recaps of the songs and artists that I selected for our High Voltage segment on Dirty Glitter with Brody Ramone and I'm extra fond of these choices for various reasons.

Dirty Glitter 9/26/2013: Diversity Rocks

A little art rock, a quintessential singer/songwriter and some indie rock touched with electronica. Diversity makes the musical world go round.

Brendan James: "The Skeptic"
[I chose this particular song from Brendan because it's the voice of reality to me, personally. That thing I said about daily minefields and mindfucks? Here's a song saying amongst all of that, having a saving something to hold on to]
In the vein of the singer/songwriter, Brendan James possesses the immense gift of being able to paint a lyrical picture and tell a story so vivid you can almost taste it. He's from Derry, NH and specializes in emotionally connected and connective piano driven moments of song that reflect his personal convictions: whether he's singing about gun violence or divorce or conscious living, Brendan does it with elegant honesty and care. This track is "The Skeptic" and from his latest album, Simplify which, according to Brendan, represents him "finding a clarity" he'd been searching for for years. So pay particular attention to the lyrics because there's gold in there.

The Alarm Science: "Uncover All The Scars"
"Getting a lesson in how it's done by The Alarm Science."
[All I can say about the Alarm Science is as good as they sound recorded, live they're ridiculous. In the best way]
That was a tweet sent out to the interwebz by a musician who happened to be catching the Alarm Science's set recently and, generally, you know it's good when other musicians are all over it. Made up of Cameron Meshell and Marc Slutsky and, while only a mere two guys, this Los Angeles-based duo who lace their rock with a touch of electronica make amazingly good noise live. Hopefully they'll hit the road soon and head your way so that you all can find out for yourselves.

The Moth and the Flame: "Sorry"
[This is a band that has an emotional pull to me; there's this musical tension about their songs which requires leaning into. I like that.]
The thing about The Moth and the Flame is their command of the backbone of art rock with an eerie and atmospheric haunt which was thoroughly showcased on their heady 2011 self-titled debut release. Think something of a Radiohead/Pearl Jam lovechild, if you will. Originally from Provo, UT Brandon Robbins (vox, guitar), Mark Garbett (keys) and Andrew Tolman (drums) are now settled in Los Angeles and have tapped producer Joey Waronker (who has worked with the likes of Beck and Atoms For Peace) to flesh out their follow up EP due out October 29th. Here is a band who is seemingly much more interested in substance over style and that's what makes them a band to keep your ear on.

Check these artists out and tell me what you think. You can always find me out there on the interwebz like on Twitter at @dharma69.

Dirty Glitter 2013 In Review: The Record Company, Louis London, Ceasefire, Mona & James Bay

Here we are nearing 2013's end and isn't this the by-the-book time of the year for year end lists and stuff? Best ofs, worst ofs, highlights, lowlights and trends that- for better or worse- defined this annual cycle. Get ready for the inevitable onslaught of references to blurred twerking and if that's what you're looking forward to, then you'd best look elsewhere. No really, fuck that noise, it's a waste of time and space.

It's been a full year of a rock solid collaboration between High Voltage and WGBU-FM's radio show Dirty Glitter hosted by the fantasatical Brody Ramone. What began as an experimental hook-up every Thursday night (8pm PST/11pm EST) turned out to be a brilliant match because our goals just happened to be in perfect alignment: helping listeners find their new favorite band or artist. We're all about new music discovery that's worth getting excited about as opposed to pushing/promoting artists who are already established and on the map. Seriously, I love Queens of the Stone Age and Soundgarden as much as the next person, but they don't need a damned thing from me as far as coverage when Rolling Stone and NME are underfoot. It's the creative and diverse sonance being made underneath what is on the Top 40/Billboard charts, mostly by bands/artists who are still busting their asses at club shows, still hustling for your *Like* on Facebook, slinging their own merch and deserve to be heard. So we try and get you to hear them.

So here's the first in a series of recaps of the songs and artists that I personally selected for our High Voltage segments on Dirty Glitter w/ Brody Ramone this year.

November 21, 2013
The Record Company- "Baby I'm Broken"
We're paying a return visit to the Los Angeles blues/rock revivalists that High Voltage loves called the Record Company because Tuesday (Nov. 19th) brought a new EP from the trio called Feels So Good. By nature of the seasoned musicians that they are, Chris Vos, Marc Cazorla and Alex Stiff do fantastic work in honoring the old school but are finely adept at freshening it up and serving it new with hearty rock and soul. As is tradition with the blues, love is hard work so here's Chris wailing on his harmonica and guitar while Marc on drums and Alex on bass are the rhythm of trying to do right with "Baby I'm Broken."


Louis London- "We're Not Alone"
From Sydney, Australia we have the 5-piece pop/rock outfit, Louis London. Relatively young in band-years, Ed Saloman, Nick Ingall, Karl Fernandes, Jack O' Donnell and Jack Kiddell conceived Louis London in 2010. In 2012 their debut EP, On Your Lips We Roared, did just that with tracks like "Hardly Hear You" putting the band on the music radar in Australia with great song structures and Saloman's soaring and flexible vocal style. Their second EP called The Big Deep came out Nov. 11th and from that EP, here's "We're Not Alone."


Ceasefire- "Wake Up"
From Orange County, CA we have Ray Alexander (vocals), Kamren Alexander (guitar), Tristan Montgomery (bass) and Anthony Hainsworth (drums) of Ceasefire who are all about reaching and anthemic songs that move the head and the heart. They formed in 2011 and their music channels and even pays homage to 80s new wave, 90s arena rock and their wide stretch of influences that range from Joy Division to Oasis, Morrissey to Pink Floyd and the Cure to ELO. These guys are ambitious down to who they work with and earlier this year Ceasefire went into the studio to record their In The Dead of the Night EP with serious music muscle: Josh Mosser (Eminem, Imagine Dragons, Christina Aguilera) and Mark Needham (The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Pink). Here's a track from the EP: "Wake Up."


October 31, 2013
MONA- "Cross The Line"
Mona aren't new; they've been around since 2007 but we don't feel like enough ears are aware of their goodness. A little 50's retro swagger, cigarettes, guitars blazing and some blue collar Mid-Western and gritty Southern attitude and charm, Nick Brown, Vince Gard, Zach Lindsey and Jordan Young sound like that band your mother warned you about but only because she knows how good bad boys can be: musically and otherwise. Now based in Nashville, the foursome throw down scorching and rugged rockers of honesty, then can flip to something gospel-touched or ballad pretty all carried by Nick's soaring vocals: The guy can sing. In July came their sophomore album, Torches & Pitchforks,  which speaks of the tug between good and evil and is a worthy addition to your 2013 record collection.

James Bay- "When We Were On Fire"
Most 22 year-olds don't have anywhere near the vocal command and presence as James Bay does but we're not complaining; he's from the UK and a singer-songwriter who creates a certain magic between him and his guitar. In the vein of a John Mayer or a Ray Lamontagne, the earthiness and expressiveness of James' voice along with his lyrics convey a sensual warmth. This track, "When We Were On Fire" is from his Dark of the Night EP which is a very stripped showcase of this young man's talent of which there is plenty of. He's toured with ZZ Ward, Beth Orton and even opened for the Rolling Stones. Keep an eye on this one.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next Dirty Glitter recap!
Signed,
Diary of a Concert Whore  aka @dharma69

Putting A Shine On Terraplane Sun's "Get Me Golden"

How can five music-making dudes who occupy space in the beachfront city of Venice, CA possibly go all south of the Mason-Dixon line-sound and blend it with California sun and soul without sounding- what’s the word- ridiculous? Yes, fricking ridiculous. Well, that’s Terraplane Sun for you. These guys are my guys: I  took ownership of them a long time ago (in the most platonic way possible) and am just shy of being able to claim them on my taxes.

Ben Rothbard (singer dude), Johnny Zambetti (guitar, mandolin and awesome hair), Cecil Campanaro (slapping da bass), Lyle Riddle (cool drummer, cool tats) and Gabe Feenberg (like...everything else, seriously) describe themselves as “blues indie rock folk dance soul”: their sound is a little vintage, a little timeless and a lot of awesome as they truly do flesh out blues, indie rock, folk, dance and soul with full blown musicality and a refined rawness that translates fantastically from record to their live show. So here's a song for you that will be on their brand spanking new EP coming out in June. The song: "Get Me Golden." The theme: going for the gold, silly.

Rothbard (or 'Ben' as I like to call him) was kind enough to sum up the song in his own words:

"Golden was written with the notion that if you want something, you gotta go and get it. One thing we've learned as a band and even just as individuals is that very little will fall in your lap and if it does, chances are it won't happen again. I've never been a fan of the lottery and have always been called crazy for saying that I'd give away all the money if I won it. It's always so much more rewarding if you earn what you get and really go after exactly what you want, whether it's love, a goal, a challenge etc...

The song itself was Motown inspired for sure. It's a dancer!"

And who doesn't like to dance? So you read these words, listened to the killer song, did the hand claps because it's a little irresistable and now you're all, "Holy shit, this band's a bucket full of awesome...if you could actually put awesome in a bucket, of course! Where/when can I get some of this live?"

Funny you should ask: if you happen to be in Los Angeles on Thursday 5/30 and attending the Imagine Dragons concert at the Hollywood Palladium, Terraplane Sun just happen to be the opening band so, BAM!, you're welcome. Otherwise, do your duty and stalk them in the usual places like their website, Facebook and Twitter in order to get in their business. They'd probably like that.

By the way, every Thursday night at 11pm EST/8pm PST High Voltage takes over the radio on Dirty Glitter w/ Brody Ramone on WBGU-FM in order to play three High Voltage-approved songs. Tune in this Thursday night and you'll hear Terraplane Sun getting some love.