North of the City Interview featuring Chris Visconti

From Pennsylvania, the four piece band North of the City dominates. The pop/punk rock band recently produced their first EP titled Swear on the Stars. North of the City writes songs that blend great pop/rock with a more serious punk attitude. It's a wonder these guys have caught the eyes of a record deal yet. Yes, they are that entertaining. One thing that I love about this band, and it's just a matter of personal preference, but the bass lines are sick. Unlike a lot of music today where the bass is unheard, they make sure its exposed. Bass with some badass parts only furthers the awesome experience of Chris Visconti's voice and the overall great sound of North of the City. I got a chance to talk with Chris Visconti, and here's what was said.


Me: What is your biggest influence?


Chris Visconti: We have a ton of very different influences, so picking one would be really tough. My personal biggest influence right now would have to be The All American Rejects.


Me: What is the greatest and worst thing about being in a full-time band?


Chris Visconti: The greatest thing is making music you love and connecting with people that love it right back. I'd have to say the worst is how many other bands there are, but in reality, all that does is force us to work even harder. 


Me: What are your goals for North of the City?


Chris Visconti: Our goals? We want to bring our music to as many people as we can throughout the world! I'd also love to tour with some outrageously huge artist like Dave Matthews or Kiss. 


Me: If you were a color, what color would you be? Why?


Chris Visconti: That's a tough one, I'd have to say green. Only because we're from Pennsylvania and if you look outside that's all you see!


Me: Name the best concert/show you have been to in the past year.


Chris Visconti: I saw Ke$ha a few weeks ago and her performance really blew my mind. She's a real entertainer.


Me: Star Wars or Star Trek?


Chris Visconti: Star Wars, for sure! Jabba the Hut is the man!




If you like pop/punk or pop/rock then make sure to check out North of the City. The band is getting bigger and bigger everyday, so make sure to keep up with them on Twitter here. You can also check out their PureVolume here and listen to their Swear On The Stars EP as well as their highly loved single "Make Me Sick". In all seriousness this band has got a good thing going for them. Pennsylvania is not very far from where I live so hopefully I'll have the privilege of seeing them come to Ohio soon! Feel free to leave comments, and make sure to check out Pennsylvania's sensation North of the City!

Something For Everyone

Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
Something For Nothing
November 2, 2010


Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! hails from Paris, France. I pre-ordered their new album Something For Nothing along with an awesome T-shirt from MerchNOW. I have to say that they really out did themselves with their debut album. I have been a fan since the Cum On EP, but this albums blows it away.

Immediately when listening to Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! it reminds you of bands like Set Your Goals and A Day To Remember. The pop/punk meets hardcore sound. Add a little twist of metal to the mix, and that describes Something For Nothing. The album features some awesome songs, each one better than the last. What I really like about Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! is their diversity. They have a few songs like "Captain Blood" and "Born for Adversity" that remind you of A Day To Remember or For The Fallen Dreams. Then on the other hand, they have songs like "Summer Heat" that remind you of bands like Hit The Lights.

All around the new album is awesome. I'd have to say my favorite songs would be "In Friends We Trust" and "We Fell Fast". They both just have an amazing blend of punk with hardcore influence. The intro to "In Friends We Trust" is killer too.

In reality, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! has to be experienced. If you are a fan of post-hardcore bands or pop/punk then definitely check them out. Oh, and by the way, if you are wondering where the band name came from, you either haven't seen "The Goonies" or you simply can't remember. Either way, this will explain everything. For those of you that want to check out the band, you can go to their PureVolume page here. Feel free to leave comments!

Kickin' Ass Since 2000

Various Artists
Punk Goes Pop 3
November 2, 2010



Punk Goes Pop 3 is the tenth installment of the "Punk Goes.." series. It's hands down one of my favorites. Some absolutely amazing artists appear on the Punk Goes Pop 3 CD. However, there were a few disappointments. Let's talk about the negative first shall we?

I was upset by the cover of "Blame It" by Of Mice & Men. I honestly can say, I don't care for the band much anymore after they kicked Austin Carlile. I dislike Jerry Roush being in the band. It's not that I don't think he's good, I just think he's better suited elsewhere. I'm about to make a bold statement so bear with me. Austin Carlile is the best screamer I have ever heard. There I said it. When I went to the OM&M show, his screams made me just about shit myself. That however, is another story. The other cover I don't care for is the one by Miss May I. The band originated very close to where I live now, so I seen them perform long before they were "famous". The band is nothing that it used to be. If you ask me, they got a bit cocky. They used to have a lot of heart for what they do, and now they seem like they don't care to me. I personally think this is because they think they have already "made it". The cover itself was simply OK. It just didn't impress me. Let's move on to the good before I piss off more people than I already have.

Breathe Carolina killed it. Woe, Is Me killed it. Artist Vs. Poet killed it. Mayday Parade, Asking Alexandria, This Century, The Word Alive, Family Force 5, The Ready Set, Cute Is What We Aim For, Sparks The Rescue, and We Came As Romans all killed it. I could make a novel long post of all the good things that Punk Goes Pop 3 brings to the table. My top three happen to be, The Ready Set, The Word Alive, and Artist Vs. Poet. Not in that order. Keep in mind though, that was very hard to narrow down. Another noteworthy one is Breathe Carolina.

The Ready Set managed to cover "Airplanes" by B.o.B amazingly. I was a bit skeptical at first before I heard the song, because Hayley Williams nails it so well. However, Jordan did it again, and created a hit song. I'd like to hear him pair up with Hayley Williams though. Now that would be awesome. The Word Alive covers "Heartless" by Kanye West. The beginning is my favorite, but the whole song is great, especially the dual vocals in the song, between clean singing and screaming. Artist Vs. Poet covered a hit song by Lady Gaga "Bad Romance". It's fantastic. They even manage to give it the "lady gaga" feel, while still retaining their pop/rock glory.

All-in-all Punk Goes Pop 3 is worth picking up. Especially if you are already a fan of the series. Feel free to comment and tell me what you favorites on the album are!

October's Unsigned Band of the Month: Vendetta Skies

Vendetta Skies. Hot damn. Why did I choose these guys to be my Unsigned Band of the Month? Well, they are refreshing to say the least. They don't sound like everyone else. Plain and simple. The band was formed in Canada in January of 2010. A lot of the guys had been in bands previously, but Vendetta Skies began when the guys were forming a band for a battle of the bands competition. All of the band mates attended the same university, and under a previous name (From Time Immemorial) they played their first show together in the competition. They achieved 2nd place (just 2 points from 1st place). When it was all said and done, they decided to keep the project going. After discussing their band with various Indie labels, they decided to change their name to Vendetta Skies. In the 9 short months the band has been together they have produced an awesome album called Lack of Color, which is available online virtually everywhere. The band has also played quite a few shows, including doing a tour of Western Canada.

When I first heard these guys, I was very impressed to say the least. I really wanted to get a chance to talk to them, and help to give further exposure to Vendetta Skies. Luckily, the band was stoked about doing an interview with me, and I got a chance to talk to all the members of the band. Ryan and James Motyer, Zac Forrest, and Evann Neumann. 


Me: Who influences your music the most?



Zac: Arif from Protest The Hero, Mike Portnoy, Joey Jordison, and Neal Peart.


Evann: Protest The Hero also. Matt Heffy from Trivium, Hetfield from the old Metallica and Rise Against.


Ryan: Everything from Motion City Soundtrack and Blink 182, to Underoath and As I Lay Dying.


James: Definitely Rancid and Anti-Flag. I get a lot of my creativity and playing style from those bass players.


Me: What are your short term goals for this band? (6 months - 1 year)

Vendetta Skies: We want to play as many shows as possible and promote the bands current album. We also are in the progress of writing for our next album, which potentially will be released through an indie label. We have 12-13 new songs right now. We want to write 20-25 songs and narrow the album down to the best 13-14. We believe in making every album better then the last, so the process is a little different when writing songs and contrasting them to previous songs.


Me: What are your long term goals? (5+ years)



Ryan: We have played lots of shows around town and western Canada. Now our shows are getting bigger and we are headlining some dates. Eventually we want to do longer tours cross Canada and branch out to the US. Maybe Zac can get a girlfriend too (extremely doubtful).


Evann: I agree with Ryan, Zac is destined to be alone. We would like to go and play in Europe sometime, maybe in Australia too.


James: If a bigger label picks us up hopefully play around Germany or somewhere.


Me: How do you go about promoting your music?



Zac: MySpace, PureVolume, Facebook and posters.


Evann: I have figured out that I can get other people to do all my bidding, because of this; I have Ian and Sam (manager/band slave) totally to do my portion of promotion.


James: Playing shows and interacting with the crowd is awesome. Our manager really helps with booking shows and distributing our new album. Our friends and fans also help to bring new people to our shows, so every show is important to play the best we possibly can.


Me: What's the coolest thing Vendetta Skies has ever done?



Evann: Getting our song “All My Life” put on the Calgary’s radio station X92.9 was pretty awesome


Ryan: During our western Canada tour, after one of our shows, everyone got really drunk. That night we got a call to our hotel room at 6 or 7am telling us to come wipe our drunken manager’s face off the hotel lobby floor directly beside the front desk. Not really cool so much as funny, and a sign of a good night.


James: Recording our first album. Just the coolest experience laying down the tracks to finally have our own music professionally recorded for people to listen to. I’m sure as the band progresses and grows cooler things will happen.


Me: Any shout outs?



Zac: I want to give a shout out to Taylor Swift. Just to say hello, and wow you have an amazing voice. I would like to meet you one day. Maybe play a show with you and get to know you better.


Evann: I totally disagree; she looks too much like my cousin… I give a shout out to all our fans and say “hey what’s up?” Come and have a drink with us and PARTY!!!


Ryan: A huge shout out to you for doing this for us!!! Thanks for taking time out of your day to do this for Vendetta Skies!


James: To friends, fans and family! Thanks for the support!


So there you have it. What have we learned? Zac is single (there ya go ladies), Evann has a hot cousin, and that Vendetta Skies is one of the best bands in Canada. However, competing with bands/artists like Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Neil Young, and Sum 41 among others, they have a lot to live up to. I'm pretty confident in their abilities though. Make sure to check out their Myspace, Facebook, and etc (links are listed below). Pick up Lack of Color too. My favorite song of the album is probably "All My Life". The bass line in that song is the definition of badass. But you will just have to see for yourselves. Feel free to comment, and visit the links below!


Myspace
Facebook
PureVolume
iTunes

Phone Calls From Home Interview featuring Danny Stockman

Pop/rock band, Phone Calls From Home, rises from Boston Massachusetts. The band is signed to Red Blue Records, and is similar to bands like Boys Will Be Boys, Red Car Wire, and Runner Runner. The band was first formed in 2008, and since then has produced a self-titled EP and their debut album Connected. They also can write some pretty badass acoustic songs. I'd watch out for these guys, because they sure know what they are doing when it comes to writing music. I talked to their drummer Danny Stockman about Phone Calls From Home in a short interview, and here's what was said.


Me: Describe Phone Calls From Home in one sentence.


Danny Stockman: Phone Calls From Home is a pop/rock band that wants to influence people in a positive way.


Me: How did Phone Calls From Home get started?


Danny Stockman: Dave and Zack started the band together out of high school. 


Me: What inspires you to keep playing music?


Danny Stockman: What inspires me personally is the fact that music gives you a way to touch so many peoples lives.


Me: What's the best performance you have ever given?


Danny Stockman: I don't think I've really had a "best performance" yet. I'm learning more about music and performing everyday, so I think my best performance is still to come!


Me: Favorite Superhero?


Danny Stockman: My favorite superhero is definitely Spiderman! I've always loved him since I was a little kid.


Me: Best band of all time?


Danny Stockman: Lynyrd Skynyrd. 



Awesome! I love when bands still respect the classics. It's how music formed into what it is today. I would reccomend Phone Calls From Home to just about anyone. Especially those that like the pop, pop/rock scene. If you would like to check out the bands music, you can listen to almost all of their songs on iLike here or on PureVolume here . I'd also suggest you go to Itunes and pick up Connected. The album features some awesome songs, my personal favorite being "Keep This Dream Alive." A very catchy song. Anyway, make sure to check these guys out, and feel free to comment!

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!

"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!