Supergroup Stateside 2
What do all these following musicians have in common...Rami Jaffe, Jesse Green (Foo Fighters), Jim Bogios (Counting Crows, Glider,Sheryl Crow),Prarie Prince (Jefferson Starship, Chris Isaak),Adam Levy(Norah Jones) and Michael Lockwood ( Fiona Apple)? Well, over the course of the past year they have all got together to get behind, suport and play on the new album of the new 'darling of the bay' Brittany Shane. Pretty impressive for a second album! but then so is Brittany...well, they wouldnt have all wanted to chip in if she was pants would they!!
Over the last eight years Brittany Shane has become a regular feature of the Bay area regularly touring the region playing alongside and as support for artists such as Heart, and Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) with whom quite a few have made comparrisons. Her first album was released on the west coast in 2003 and was soon tipped as one of the best new releases of the LA, San Francisco area of the time...So now that her music has matured and attracted the interests and repect of so many quality musicians ..whatever will they think of this new release now?
Well the word on the grapevine among freinds and foe alike seems to be narrowed down to a simple 'fantastic'. This darling of the bay is also one of our big tips to be the 'darling of the continent' once her touring territory expands over the following months.There is definately something special about her sound and a little something in her vocals that may trigger some comparrisons the matured vocalisations of Madonna ( though in a much more youthfull guise) ...we also noticed something in her live performances that reminded us slightly of Originality Award Winner and Cornwall UK's Darling of the Bay, Amy May (Who is due over to the Stateside Bay area herself over the summer of 2008-see Tale of Two Amy's and Originality Award pages). The new album is called 'Have Heart, Live Young' and is released by Painted Lady Records - Our favourite track so far is 'Over Your Shoulder' and there's some tiny tasters to tweak your ears with on her MySpace page along with some more goodies on her official site. In the meantime, if you hear of any Brittany Shane concerts in a town near you make sure you get hold of a ticket fast - because once the publicity bandwagon hit's the road in her wake, Brittany Shane concerts will start selling out fast!
Brittany's MySpace
Brittany's NonSpace
Before the rest of America becomes a little offended at our rampant Californiafication of the Stateside pages we will have to move on to the notable new headliners of the other 51 states...But before we do there is just one more west coast band from LA that has been more than worthy of a mention ever since their debut album shocked and astounded audiences with their depth of emotional perception in 2000. Why did it shock people..? Well 1) because the lyrical quality showed signs of a tempered ( as in 'steel ' and 'tried and tested') character and a maturity almost unheard of in a band so young (they were still teenagers). 2) They could actualy sing without relying on 'pitch correcting' technology and 3) They could actualy realy play all their own musical instruments and were making some incredibly unique and 'awesome' songs.
Apparently, that doesn't happen in the real world that often (says the man who once torched a few hundred songs of similar quality at the age of eighteen!)..and these kinds of lyrics usualy only come from one place deep within the soul and can only be squeezed out through actual experiance - usualy at a huge emotional personal cost. 'S**T happens ' so the saying goes..but when it does the poet bursts forth in the lucky ones as an incredible antiseptic to heal the turmoil within. It's a kind of self anylising internal balancing mechanism - and it works too! not just for the creator but for the listener also.
The name of this band..? The very aptly titled 'LIFEHOUSE' and their songs are just that. 2008 has seen them release their fourth album and what an album it is too...the healing balm is still very much at work. The band that astounded a nation is still at it and you can find them all via their official and MySpace sites here... And if you love Lifehouse you will love The Majority (-the new Liverpool UK supergroup on the Supergroups two page) which is one of Britains answers to astounding maturity and insight in a youthfull vase.
But for Lifehouse ... go here...... Official bandsite
. MySpace site
For our next Californian...Ooops!.. I mean American Supergroup we're heading to Nabraska...(is that far enough away from LA for everyone?) and to the acoustic supertalent of Joshua James. Every word of our Lifehouse review is just as applicable to Joshua - perhaps even more so, as he has become a master craftsman at breaking open jars of the inner healing balm and he freely admits to finding solace in his own songs - which probably explains why he also seems to have spent so much of the past year on the road singing them . Many of you Statesiders will no doubt remember him from his recent stint of shows touring alongside GlenHansard ( of 'Once', The Swell Season and The Frames - see 'A Tale of Two Films 'page) and there are just a few more dates available to catch Joshua as he rounds up his 2008 tour of the States. To hear more, buy his album and order the new one due for release this December ...here's the link to his own special MySpace....
And... for tickets to forthcoming shows and albums etc, here's his official 'NonSpace' site...
For most people ( and especialy those who dont actualy live in America) the very mention of Kansas City stirs up the Deanna Durbin images of a small dog called Toto and the sweet Dorothy, politely trying to find their way home along the yellow brick road...Well savour that last moment of sweet imagery because our next artist has kicked the 'sweet li'l innocent me' Kansas City image firmly in to touch (as also did miss Durbin once she got off the film set) . This new star of the Mid West has done it by becoming one of the queens of the city's exploding punk and dance rock underground. In recent years Kansas has been likened to a 'new' New York due to it's exploding indie music scene and Alicia Solombrino's band 'The Beautiful Bodies' certainly does manage to carpet bomb most other State and City indie scenes with their high altitude and highly explosive sonic boom.
Tight loops, fills, flurries and raucus dive bombing riffs and breaks form this overpowering , fast paced musical backbone of this Kansas City 'Dance Rock' in it's most brutal form with Alicia's wayward stage antics and 'debaucherising' vocals all tightly sealing in the flavour of a full throttled hijacking of notoriety burning amid the intense blaze of gloriously shocking music ...the 'Wizard of Oz' will never seem quite the same after clicking these links. But there is alot more to the new Kansas City queen of punk than you might think...Firstly, despite living in the front line of a heady party scene that makes other Stateside cities of notoriety look a little mouse-like , Alicia is not quite as naughty as her lyrics and out of control stage antics would have us believe or suggest (...maybe it's just that she's not found anyone interesting enough yet). Secondly, there is a much quieter, reflective and refined side to the 'Solombrino' phenomenon that includes a more gentle and thoughtfull acoustic solo 'Solo' ensemble, with the additional acoustic musical skills adding to her electric list of mastered instruments to include the violin, piano and acoustic guitar....but either way, she still starts headbanging half way through her acoustic sets! Thirdly, despite not coming in first place in a certain recent nationaly televised 'pop' talent show that has a habit of undermining the artistic credabilities and careers of all but the occaisional finalist, she has stil earned the genuine respect and admiration of many of the regions best bands and musicians along with invites to play with, join and/or record with and for many of the MidWests top indie acts... and fourthly, she is also a budding film maker, artistic photographer and web designer (more information on this to be found at her personal website ) so there's plenty of treasures to yet be unveiled. Alicia's 'Beautifull Bodies' can be found giving old men heart attacks and parents of teenagers panic attacks at the following links with her 'Solo' solo site just below too. Red Parental warning issued for shockability and the reason why some Kansas parents may never let their teenagers out of the house ever again...
To put just a little of the sweetness back into the Kansas City image our next supergroup have made a particularly 'sweet' sound ( as in 'cool' sweet as opposed to sickly sweet) with an especialy unique indie 'pop' feel. The combined vocalisations of the band (which have also occaisionaly included the harmonies of Alicia Solo' ) have a range of octaves mastered descending from the depths of Bony M to the heights of 10cc or Supertramp...and their arranged in a way that makes them pretty much uncomparable to any other. Thoughtful and philosophical songs that seem to ask the most fundamental questions of life meander through their repetoir to answer themselves in the most surprisingly basic and down to earth ways through a miriad of musical twists and turns.With a fanbase now snowballing far beyond not only the Kansas City limits but well into europe and beyond to the far east, The Republic Tigers are a musical artform who are happily creating their very own brand of 'indie pop' to revolutionise and topple the long standing commercialised sector. To get yourself striped in the sound of Republic Tigers , go here...
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