Thursday, October 28, 2010

Lucky Street Interview featuring Kevin O'Leary


Calm, and peaceful, Kevin O'Leary is the solo artist of Lucky Street. He recently formed Lucky Street in the summer of 2010. The project is based out of Philadelphia where Kevin is a student at Villanova. The band is a pop, pop/punk, tranquil composition that takes influences from a lot of the pop influenced bands you hear today. Kevin O'Leary has yet to release an album, but his first one is coming out in the spring. That means, stay tuned and watch out for its release. Daringly, Kevin O'Leary has also composed a cover of the famous Mayday Parade's "Miserable at Best", and it's really good. The entire song is made up of fantastic piano, and vocals. I got a chance to talk with Kevin about his newly found project and how it was going.

Me: What has been the hardest thing to accomplish with Lucky Street?


Kevin: I think the hardest aspect of being in a new band is gaining a steady and consistent fan base. You have to have fans that want to listen to your music over and over again and that will eventually buy your cd and see your shows. I try to get dedicated fans by writing the best music I can and then reaching out to the fans. I answer every message and comment that people send me, whether it is positive or negative.


Me: What's it like being a solo artist? Is it harder than being in a band? Easier?


Kevin: I personally think that being a solo artist is easier than being in a band. I've been in a lot of bands over the past few years, and even though I greatly enjoy bouncing ideas off my friends, it is hard to get a group of people to all work hard enough to actually get something done. My old band mates are all great guys and good friends of mine, but they did not take the music as seriously as I did. I want Lucky Street to be a legitimate band that is more then just another garage band. I am in complete control of Lucky Street and I have big plans for where the band is going.


Me: What keeps you playing music?


Kevin: I just love it. I love creating melodies and I love performing. Writing and recording music is a lot of work, but it is a lot of fun.


Me: Who is your biggest fan?


Kevin: My girlfriend Taylor is definitely my biggest fan. She is there for me at every part of the writing process. She is the closest thing to a band mate I have with Lucky Street. I bounce every melody and lyric off of her on all of my songs.


Me: If you could play a show with any band in the world, who would it be? Why?


Kevin: Definitely Blink-182. I know everyone says Blink, but that just shows Blinks' importance. No one has had more of an impact on this scene then Blink and it'd be an incredible honor to play with them. Blink 182 will always be one of my favorite bands and if I could open up for them, I could die happy.


Me: Best movie of all time?


Kevin: That's a tough one. I know for sure that my favorite horror movie is The Omen, the original one. For other genres though I'm not so sure. I'd probably say 500 Days of Summer is my favorite comedy. I could watch that movie 100 times and that movie would still make me incredibly happy.


The best thing about his project is how much it brings you back to what music was originally intended for. Emotions. His music has a way of making you feel happy, and very calm with yourself. I definitely like Lucky Street's style, it's a bit of fresh air. You can check out his page on PureVolume here and download "Sky diving" and his cover of "Miserable at Best" for free! I'd also recommend "liking" Lucky Street on Facebook here . I'm sure this will not be the last time you hear the name Lucky Street. Feel free to comment!





Tuesday, October 26, 2010

"Smooth Man, Real Smooth..."

A Hero en Route
Wary As Bears
October 26, 2010




Fantastic. Hands down. A Hero en Route sent me a copy of their new EP Wary As Bears for review. I was actually pretty stoked because I've been a fan of the band since Therefore, I Fled. I dig the band's really mellow sound, it works well for them. A Hero en Route is from Evansville, Indiana. A traditional five-piece band, that writes indie/alternative music.

When I first listened to the new EP, I immediately remembered what made me originally become a fan of the band. The lyrics. They are amazing, and so damn well-written its ridiculous. They have a lot of meaning, and seem to paint a thoughtful picture. Bobby Angle's voice is crazy awesome too, not to mention the sweet, smooth guitar solos throughout the entire EP. The whole band just flows together really well. I'd say the songs that stood out the most to me were "Mask" and "Light and Dark". "Light and Dark" has one of the coolest bass parts that I've ever heard, and "Mask" has some crazy, sick guitar and an amazing chorus. The entire EP is fantastic, as well as the others they have managed to produce. Each individual song holds something unique, which is impressive. A Hero en Route is not your average band that makes every song sound the same, and you can really tell this band is working their asses off to produce great music.

To truly experience A Hero en Route, you just have to check them out. If you are a fan of City and Colour, Kings of Leon, or any band with that mellow, smooth sound then give A Hero en Route a listen. I'd also check them out if you are a big fan of that classic rock sound; smooth bass, simple drums, and guitar solos. You can look them up on PureVolume here and listen to "Light and Dark" and "Curses". You can also stay up to date with the band on Twitter here . Feel free to leave comments!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Interview with Friday All Summer

Remember that classic punk sound that got the whole pop/punk movement started? Mix that with a few influences from today's pop/punk bands and you end up with Friday All Summer. It's a familiar sound you have heard before but with their own twist. The band is from Rockford, Illinois with hopes of a record deal in the future. They are currently unsigned, but their self-produced EP Late Nights & Party Lights and their cover of Taylor Swift's "Love Story" are done really well. I got a chance to talk with these guys about their band Friday All Summer and what they do.


Me: Tell me a little bit about your band and its influences.


FAS: Well every since we saw the Urethra Chronicles by Blink 182 we were obsessed!


Me: What inspires you to do what you do?


FAS: Any time we go to see a show, and see those lights, and the fans we know this is what we want to do for the rest of our lives :)


Me: How do you go about promoting your music?


FAS: With Myspace (here), screaming in malls and public places, and doing whatever it takes (wink, wink).


Me: What made you decide to do a cover of Taylor Swift's "Love Story"?


FAS: Well first of all she is really hot! But, besides that she is an amazing artist and we love the way she composes her music; we just wanted to put some pop/punk into it!


Me: What's the most "rockstar" thing you have ever done in your life?


FAS: When we did the Hot Topic Tour our showers consisted of shampoo + bottled water + rest stops. We also got asked by the girl working at Misfields Cookies to play a set in the middle of the mall and got free cookies. It was great! But probably the best thing we ever did was go to Dunkin' Donuts after a show and we got whatever we wanted for free. We also played a show in the parking lot for about 60 kids. Shania Twain covers!


Me: Any shout-outs?


FAS: We like to shout out to our boys Alacrity, Taken in, and Freshman 15!!




Short, sweet, and to the point! Check these guys out on PureVolume , and make sure to download their cover of "Love Story" for FREE! My favorite song is probably "Jack Lost Jill". The band also mentioned something to me about doing a video for my website and answering some questions, but due to hardware issues it didn't get to happen. However, the band assured me that if they could make one happen they would be sure to send it to me. So stay tuned, and feel free to comment!



Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Interview with The Summer Soundtrack


The infamous TV series South Park, The Rocky Mountains, and The Summer Soundtrack. Best things to come out of Colorado, hands down. The Summer Soundtrack is and indie pop/rock band similar to The Maine and A Bird A Sparrow. It's really hard to believe these guys are unsigned. At this point I think it's just a matter of time, especially with the release of the must have EP This Love. I have been wanting to talk to these guys and share them with everyone for quite a while now. Recently I just got that chance and here's what went down...


Me: If you had to pick one word to describe The Summer Soundtrack what would it be?

TSS: Word!

Me: What's the most embarrassing thing you have ever done while playing?

TSS: It's hard to say what's been the most embarrassing thing we've done. Chase (bass) started the trend of having terrible falls on stage. He hurt his foot really bad in the first song of our set and was limping the rest of the time. the next day his foot looked like a ball. But I'd say recently, Ben (vocals) had a two-in-one night where he accidentally hit a fan with the mic and then later slipping and sliding on some water he spilled. He looked like classic stooges or a cartoon legs flying up in the air!

Me: What inspired you guys to play music?

TSS: All of us grew up playing music at a young age and we went through testing the 'scene' hopping through several genres. But then we all came together after the failure of previous projects. This one stuck...probably because it's so catchy! I can't really say what initially inspired us though, but the overall fun and sweaty times it takes to be in the lifestyle of a musician keeps us trucking.

Me: What are your hopes for The Summer Soundtrack in the near future?

TSS: We are going on two U.S. tours from January to mid-March hitting almost all of the lower 48 states. We're hoping to catch the eyes and ears of some people who can hook us up and take us farther in our journey (labels, management, etc.) while also gathering a whole bunch of new fans along the way.

Me: Who would you say is your biggest fan?

TSS: Hmm...well we have a handful of big fans, but I'd say our biggest one locally is probably a guy named Ryan who is pretty much guaranteed to be at every one of our shows. He has even ridden his bike for about an hour to get to one!

Check out The Summer Soundtrack on PureVolume, seriously. My favorite song is probably "This Love", it's just a very well put together pop/rock song. Also, I'm not sure about you guys but I'm totally stoked on the tour announcement! I had a talk with their drummer Dallas and he told that they are for sure hitting quite a few states, a lot of them multiple times. I'm definitely heading out to the show in Cincinnati, OH! I encourage you to check them out and keep an eye on their Twitter for any news or show announcements. Feel free to comment!


Monday, October 18, 2010

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Lights
The Bigger Lights
March 30, 2010


The first time I ever heard The Bigger Lights I found myself tapping my foot without even realizing it. Yes, their songs are that catchy. The five-piece rock/pop group formed in 2007 and were signed to Doghouse Records in 2008. The Bigger Lights has released two EP's and their first full length album, self-titled, The Bigger Lights. All of this in roughly three years. There's a reason the band was only together less than a year and were signed by Doghouse Records. The reason being, they know how to produce an entire album's worth of songs, and make every one of them catchy and memorable.

The album starts off with one of the best songs on the album, "That Kind Of Girl". The song is simple and tells a story about that special kind of girl. It also is composed of one the most catchy choruses I've ever heard, not to mention badass guitar & bass riffs throughout the whole song. The other song I want to mention is "What About Us". I know I keep using the word catchy, but that is exactly how I would describe this band. Catchy. They just know how to write songs that like to stick in your head for the rest of the day.

If you are a fan of bands like All Time Low, Artist Vs. Poet, or The Summer Set then definitely check these guys out. I even went as far as sharing this album with a friend of mine, and he loved it. His favorite band is Pantera, so that really says something about these guys. You can check them out on PureVolume here and listen to their Fiction Fever EP and part of The Bigger Lights album. Make sure to show them some love on Facebook too. Feel free to comment!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Creatures of the Night...

Motionless In White
Creatures
October 12, 2010




Remember the first time you ever heard Avenged Sevenfold? That really dark, eerie feeling you get in their songs? Well combine that with mind-splitting screams, amazing double-bass influenced drum beats, and heavy screams and you wind up with Creatures. Motionless In White is a hardcore/metal band from Pennsylvania signed with Fearless Records, and they sure know how to produce an album.

Let me be the first to say, it's relatively difficult to impress with me really hardcore music. I'm just not the biggest fan of it, but bands like We Came As Romans, Of Mice & Men, and Motionless In White are exceptions. It just takes a special something that the band produces for me to thoroughly enjoy hardcore music, but I can honestly say I enjoyed Creatures.

The first song that blew me away is one of their most popular from the new album and that's "We Only Come Out At Night". It starts out interestingly with a vampire like voice talking and then the great voices of Chris Cerulli and TJ Bell enter the scene. The other exceptionally noteworthy song is "Immaculate Misconception" which is a demonstration of how metal the band can really be. It combines deep screams, heavy riffs, and a dark keyboard sound.

Creatures just released yesterday, but now that you know about it, make sure to check it out! Fans of metal, hardcore, or a combination of the two should definitely add Motionless In White to their collection. You can check out part of their album on PureVolume here and follow them on twitter here . Feel free to post comments and make sure to pick up the album!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Highlight The Night Interview featuring Mitchell Gray

Rising from Atlanta, Georgia the pop/punk band Highlight The Night kicks ass and takes names. Highlight The Night is a three piece band (they only have a temporary drummer at the moment) with heavy influences of pop/punk, similar to bands like All Time Low and The Maine. Currently Highlight The Night remains unsigned but the band sounds promising with hopes of a record deal. Recently they just produced their first EP titled Summer Fever. I got a chance to talk to their vocalist/guitarist Mitchell Gray so he could tell us more about his band.


Me: Sum up the band Highlight the Night in 5 words.


Mitchell Gray: Sexy, funny, awesome, weird, orgasmic.


Me: How did this band start?


Mitchell Gray: Well I, Mitchell, started playing guitar and singing about two years ago and just started messing around trying to write some acoustic songs.Then i started moving my songs from acoustic to electric and eventually got better at writing songs. I got my friends together and we started jamming then we decided to hit the studio and record our first EP!


Me: Every band has some inspirations, what are yours?


Mitchell Gray: The first thing that ever inspired me to start playing guitar and writing songs was All Time Low's EP 'Put Up or Shut Up'. Alex Gaskarth is and will always be my biggest inspiration. He is so talented at what he does and he's just an awesome guy.


Me: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?


Mitchell Gray:  The hardest thing so far is finding a drummer. It is just so hard these days to find people who are good at their instruments and love the same music as you. We do not have a permanent drummer yet but we have a temporary one that is going to play some shows with us.


Me: Whats the biggest goal you hope to achieve with this band?


Mitchell Gray: Our biggest goal is probably to get signed but sadly the music industry is so fucked up these days that its so hard to get signed. But even if we never get signed that's perfectly fine with me because I started writing songs because its what I love, not to become rich or famous.


Me: What's your favorite band of all time?


Mitchell Gray:  Definitely All Time Low. Fucking amazing band.


Check out Highlight The Night if you haven't already. This is a band to definitely watch out for. Go to their PureVolume page here and check out their full EP Summer Fever. I'd easily reccomend this band to almost anyone that was a fan of pop/punk. I'd have to say my favorite song they have is "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Two Of Us". It reminds me of the band Set It Off, and just has the great general pop/punk sound. However the band manages to prove that they can write acoustic too with their song "Summer Fever". Follow the band on twitter here and feel free to leave comments!



Thursday, October 7, 2010

Make Way For Set Your Goals!

Set Your Goals
This Will Be The Death Of Us
July 21, 2009




Set Your Goals does pop/punk how it's suppose to be done. The band has hardcore influences that give the band an edginess and a harder sound. Set Your Goals rose from San Francisco, CA in 2004 and continue to rally fans to this very day. This album especially shows the true talent that the guys from Set Your Goals possess. Hits like "This Will Be The Death Of Us" and "Gaia Bleeds(Make Way For Man)" back that statement up tremendously.

Set Your Goals was actually referred to me by a friend quite some time ago, and I remember driving down the road in his car and listening to this album. Right off the bat I noticed this bands raw, more hardcore sound that other pop/punk bands don't have. I liked it, it was actually a breath of fresh air. This is also a band that knows how to do dual vocals the way they are suppose to be done.

The first time I heard "Gaia Bleeds(Make Way For Man)" I'm pretty sure I forced my friend to play it about four more times. It's easily my favorite song off the album, but that definitely doesn't mean the other songs aren't well put together. This Will Be The Death Of Us is one of those albums I can actually put in and listen to all the way through without any complaints.

If you haven't checked out Set Your Goals yet, you're missing out. I'd reccomend this band to almost anyone that enjoys pop/punk or even anyone into hardcore. You can check out a few songs from their album on PureVolume ,  as well as songs from their first full length album Mutiny. Feel free to leave comments!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Set It Off's NEW Music Video: "Hush Hush"

Wow, I was really surprised at how good the "Hush Hush" music video was. I wasn't expecting such a "background" to the music video itself. Meaning that the music video actually explained the story behind "Hush Hush". It was really well done.

The video starts out with the members of Set It Off pulling off to the side of the road in a van. They stop and unload body bags, get back in the van and leave. That's when the song begins. Now let me just say that the song "Hush Hush" itself is an amazing song by one hell of a band.

The band itself is composed of 4 members (they are minus a drummer right now) in a pop/punk, powerpop, crazy, party-hard atmosphere. I've got the privilege of seeing these guys perform live and they were amazing, and that was about a year ago so I would imagine they are even better now. They have released 2 EP's: Baby You Don't Tripajaharda and Calm Before The Storm. Both are crazy good, and with the release of their new single "Hush Hush", it blows my mind how the band has not been signed yet.

So check out the new video at keepithushhush.com or check out my embedded video below. The band can be found on Myspace here . Feel free to comment. <143

Sunday, October 3, 2010

September's Unsigned Band of the Month: Sound of the Stereo

"Damn, this is impressive" were the first words that came out of my mouth after hearing Marshall Traver in the solo project, Sound of the Stereo. Addictive beats, perfect rhythms, catchy lyrics, and killer vocals make up Sound of the Stereo (not to mention the just shy of 80,000 plays he has on Myspace, and his many fans despite only being on myspace less than two months). The pop/electronica sound is something unique, and this kid has one hell of a voice! I got a chance to talk with Marshall Traver, so he could share some things about himself and his music.

I asked Marshall to tell me a little bit about himself and the music he plays, and this is what he told me...

"I'm Marshall Traver! I'm 16 years old and I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. I started Sound Of  The Stereo In June of 2010 because I realized doing music by myself was less stressful then doing it with a band. I play music out of pure passion for it. I like to make music that helps you escape from reality. Ever since I was really little that's been my favorite kind of music. You know, the kind of music you can put on when you're sad and feel happy for that whole 3 and a half minutes? That's my first goal with music. I like to make fun, upbeat music, too. I want to be able to trigger an emotion in listener's with my music. Whether is be happy, sad, fun, mad, love, hate or even if you hate my music. It's all an emotion. I currently have my two released songs streaming on my Myspace and PureVolume page. I'm also the 9th most downloaded song on all of Purevolume :) I hope you can take the time to check me out! <3"


In regards to what he says, he is definitely meaningful with his music. Despite only having two songs on his Myspace and PureVolume pages, he has a ton of people already hooked. If you really listen to his lyrics too, you can tell they truly do come from pure passion, probably some of it even comes from real life experiences. 


Next I asked Marshall to tell me a bit about his dreams and goals with this band. I also asked him to share some inspirations of his, and this is what he had to share with us...


"I guess my main goal and dream with this band is to make pop music that people can relate to. Not only that, but I never want to have to worry about living my life paycheck to paycheck. I have a talent and potential to do something amazing and I would hate to die knowing that it didn't happen when it could have. This is what I feel I was born to do. I love music and I hope that I can do this for the rest of my life. I started off listening to bands like Blink 182, Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory. Then as time went on it evolved to bands like All Time Low, Boys Like Girls and The Maine. Now that I'm older and understand the concept of music, I'll listen to anything. I find influence from any artist making something of themselves whether it be Lady Gaga, The Ready Set, Sleeping With Sirens or A Day To Remember. I dig it all! :)"


There you have it, that's Sound of the Stereo in a nutshell! Marshall asked me personally to invite anyone and everyone that reads this to any number of his websites. They are listed below, but if you aren't into following people on Twitter, or reading on Facebook or Myspace, at the very minimum I encourage you to check out his PureVolume page. You can check out both his songs on there and even download his hit song "Tell Me You Need Me" for free! Check it out, and feel free to comment!


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