Dead To Me - Little Brother [EP]

The Golden Gate Bridge, Math Rock, Dave Eggers and his Staggering Work Of Heartbreaking Genius... I'm trying to get ideas about how to introduce The Bay Area punk rock band Dead To Me by listing the only thing I know about Northern California's hilliest...whoa did you know hilliness is a word? That's goofy. Back on track - It's a place I've never been, but have always wanted to visit. Instead of this whacked out semantic thinking, this picture exactly describes Dead to Me, to...um me. 

A night blurred from too many drunken sing a longs with your best friends in a night that is the precedent for every other drunken romp thereafter - almost impossible to top. 

The music is catchy, feeling like a best friend that you feel comfortable enough to put your arm around without hesitation, to look into their eyes and sing Bohemian Rhapsody all the way through without feeling the slightest bit subconscious of what other people think. A friend who you can text, without a plan and expect to have a good night just because of good company. Dead to Me, with this 13 minute EP, has created a work of genius in short - a snapshot of a night at the bar with too many shots! I love it and recommend it to anyone who wants to have a good time. Little Brother is a record you can put on at anytime and it'll put a smile on your face, guaranteed - as sure as one of your friends getting kicked out of the bar on a Thursday night for drunken tackling you, and you both laughing about it on the long walk home. 

The Bay Area punk rockers from the seminal Fat Wreck Chords produce another gruff gem with Little Brother. Clocking in at just 13 minutes, there's no excuse NOT to check out this 5 song from the guys that released Cuban Ballerina in 2006. 

Dead To Me's myspace

Emiliana Torrini

I didn't know much about her at all, so I did a quick wiki check and this is what I found:

"Emiliana Torrini Daviosdottir (but crazy icelandic symbols)  born May 16, 1977 is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" during the ending credits of Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers..."

That sounds like the answer to some useless trivia question, but nevertheless I urge anyone who's into indie/acoustic/folk with warm female vocals to check out her latest album, the 2008 album, Me and Armini. I'm a bit over 1/2 way through the album on my first listen. What's stood out, besides Emiliana's almost breathy but beautiful voice, is the instrumentation. The bass especially has stood out with bouncy, pulsing with energy bass lines. Jungle Drum has just come on, which is an energetic, poppy number some might view as silly, but is simply good fun to listen to. Check her out with sounds ranging from slow moody burning rock tracks seeping with emotion to bouncy joyous tracks! Some linkage:

Jungle Drum

myspace

Tastycaster

Around 4 summers ago, I saved every little penny I had and told myself I'd upgrade my guitar. I was playing this 100 dollar Ibanez GAX 20 (?) which I loved, but knew had seen better days. Since I live overseas, I was on vacation in the US. 

When passing through Boston, I dropped by the Guitar Center and shyly asked the guy working the floor what kind of used Ibanez's they had. He brought this beat up RG in this tacky silver with the paint chipping off. After strumming barely audible chords from the few songs I knew at the time, the salesman suddenly rushed off and came back with this sleek guitar in a sunburst color. He said the necks were almost as thin as Ibanez's (which is what I told him I liked, since I have small hands) and people were really digging them. They were a relatively small brand at the time, and since they were made in Korea, the price tag was significantly lower than other guitars.

 I plugged in this Schecter, never having heard a word about them and was blown away! It just had that feeling, that all guitarists get when they pick up the guitar that's going to be their companion through the next 5-10 years of riffing and finger picking and rock star poses when no one's looking (in my case). It just feels right, and there's no doubt in your mind that this is THE ONE. Its like your hands fall in love, love at first touch and you can't put the damn thing down. You guys know what I'm talking about.

The only thing was that color. The Sunburst color just screamed old people's interior in dim houses and it marred what would've been a fateful meeting between this otherwise amazing 24 fretted piece of art and myself. I told myself 'they'll have these in California, most definitely' and put the guitar back on the rack.

Fast forward to two weeks later, and the day before I left back home, I had in my possession a brand new Schecter C-1 +, in a classy Black Cherry color way. I named her Audrey and after swapping out her electronics for some DiMarzio's, have played her faithfully and treated her with nothing but the utmost care. I couldn't even dream of another guitar. Until....

I don't know when it happened, but I began lusting after this guitar

I've played it, and its gorgeous. The 2008 American Standard Telecaster. I can't even begin to describe all the reasons why I love this guitar- it's just calling me. My musical heroes, Dustin and Teppei from Thrice play them, but its not just me trying to imitate my idols. The appeal for me, lies in the simplicity of the color way - a natural wood finish which is no frills. Also, the fact that you can beat these bad boys up and play them for years - I can't wait to have mine look like it was on the bad side of a knife fight. The craftsmanship was just impeccable to my untrained eye - I may not know everything but I know I was thoroughly impressed with Fender's attention to detail. The neck was so smooth and fast and the versatile sound is as great as everyone says. This will be $1000 I'd be more than willing to part with. Now, to get 1000 bucks...Sorry Audrey!

Emery - While Broken Hearts Prevail EP

Emery is a band I've often overlooked. I went through this period or phase where, I believe the scientific term is, I thought I was 'too cool for school'. I slapped a label on these guys, dismissing them as a run of the mill generic pop punk band. And maybe they are, or were, but their 2008 release, a 7 song EP is still a strong release. The subject matter may feel a bit exhausted, with the title of the EP aptly foreshadowing what's to come on the 25 minute long disc, and that might the the major downfall, which combined with cheesy lyrics (all IMO of course) have Emery looking like a dime a dozen in todays scene. Thoughtlife, with a piano romping thourghout the track newar the end of the EP has lyrics that just seem so lame and matter of fact, that you'll want to slap whoever thought them up.

"I would have offered my life! Taken you home! Made you my wife (eww barf) but hearing you now, filling your mouth with a cowards lines, you're just a disguise, of the girl of my dreams. But I know she's waiting for me." (laaame sauce man!)

Barf unducing cringe-worthy lameness aside,  the first half of the EP is quite strong and well worth hearing, especially if you are a fan. The vocals and for the most part strong song writing make Emery seem capable of bigger and better things in the future. Now if you'll excuse me..."I would  have offered my liiiiiife, taken you hoooooooome! made you my wiiiife. (yuck)

New Fear Before

shit's coo.

xoxo

Check These Guys Out!

Just some stuff I've been listening to lately. 

1) Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground

From Seattle, and listed as Alternative/Experimental/Lounge, I'm making my way through their self titled as I'm typing this up, and I still don't know what to make of the band, much less write something clever about them. Saying that members from Gatsby's American Dream were involved piqued my interest, but if you're expecting the catchy but non-conventional pop/punk stylings of GAD, you won't find it here. Except maybe the quirkiness of the aforementioned band, one easy way to describe these guys is fresh! A pleasant surprise. Strong vocals and song writing will keep you interested. Imagine if Panic At The Disco were successful at trying to do it is they do.

2) Demians

Nicholas Chapel just seems like a guy who's so sure of himself and what he's good at and I'm not the only one to notice. Steven Wilson, of Porcupine Tree fame seems to think so, and the one man machine that is the French outfit Demians succeeds in creating an amazing, emotional and just damn good debut in Building an Empire. Prog rock that isn't boring? Oui, s'il vous plait!

3) Anberlin

Looking at the past couple of entries, it's no secret I dig these guys. But check out the myspace if I haven't persuaded you to do so yet- you can peep their rerecording of their song Feel Good Drag, which features on the recently released New Surrender. A great way to sum up what's good about the band - besides being a  strong track, this track represent how the band utilize strong song writing and instrumentation to breathe life into an older song that could've sounded stale if just plucked from their back catalogue - just like they do to the pop punk genre they unfortunately are grouped into.

4) The Riot Before

It seems like there are a lot of soulful, impassioned white dudes around these days. But instead of losing its appeal with the whole 'folk-punk!?been there done that!' schpiel, The Riot Before squeak by and put a smile on my face. With the word on the street being they sound like Against Me! and The Gaslight Anthem (and I'm inclined to agree), I could see these guys blowing up. I can't believe they're not from Gainesville! 

5) Emarosa

Energetic, fast, with amazing vocals make this hard for me to pass up. With Jonny Craig and his godly pipes searing through walls of quick picked riffs and hard hitting chords. You may see it all over Hot Topic and in scene kids Ipods, but don't let that deter you from enjoying a great band.

6) Lisa Hannigan

I just picture the streets of Dublin teeming with red-haired, Guiness wielding musicians singing gaily, arm in arm. Sort of like a scene straight out of a Disney flick (don't pay attention to my warped mind, I don't understand it either). You may recognize Lisa Hannigan's name from another famous Irish musician, the ever-melancholy tear jerker Damien Rice. Up until his latest release, 9, she graced his songs and added a beautiful, haunting contrast to his sincere and pained voice. But enough about him, because Miss Hannigan's ethereal voice definitely holds its own on her debut release Sea Sew

7) Thursday/Envy

NJ and Japan may not have very much in common, but these two bands seem to be on the same page with this 7 track EP split. With equally strong showings from both sides of the world, the bands create atmospheric post rock with exciting, crushing vocals (especially Envy!) Lots of moments where you're mouth will hit the floor and stay there, which is saying a lot for an EP