Charley Ramsay established himself as a songwriter and performer playing and singing with the local band, “Hey Zeus” for over ten years in Austin, Texas. His band achieved some radio play and a loyal Austin following.
Two songs eventually made their way onto primetime television (ABC’s “Cupid” and WB’s “Veronica Mars”).
Charley now has a career that pays more than it costs and doesn’t involve traveling in a van with musicians across the states. He is now married and travels in a van with his six children across Austin. “Catalyst”, produced by Joseph Victor (www.gangofhair.com) is officially Charley’s mid-life crisis album, and contains twelve new songs that lay baritone vocals, intelligent introspective lyrics on a bed of classical, national resonator and electric guitars.
The songs range from big-guitar rock anthems as found in “Monkey See Monkey Do”- a satirical look at the YouTube Generation, to the melancholy “Catalyst” which echoes a father’s care for the next generation.
Charley Ramsay’s influences include Chris Whitley, Travis, Beck, and John Hammond.
Charley recorded at Gang Of Hair studios, Andy Sharp's Studio and in his garage with crickets and his children in the background.
Middle Distance Runner is a rock and roll
band hailing from Washington, DC. They
formed in 2005, and have since released two full-length albums (Plane In Flames
and The Sun & Earth), a self-titled EP, and a handful of singles (including
two Christmas songs!). While firmly
grounded in pop songwriting, their style shifts with each new recording, and
they have been compared to bands as disparate as Radiohead and REO Speedwagon.
The four-piece is known for turning up the
intensity live, while being careful craftsmen in the studio. Drummer Erik Dean has been compared to John
Bonham for his heavy-footed style, and with help from bassist Tony Acampora's
vicious tones, MDR boasts a fearsome rhythm section. Guitarist and keyboardist Jay Smith adds complex texture to
seemingly facile pop songs, while lead singer Stephen Kilroy lends a soulful
vocal touch.
Somewhere off Jazz Street is the one man electronic jazz project of musician Buz Hendricks. The music is a mix of jazz, electronics and improvisation and features the sound of the saxophone. The sax and all the parts are played using a keyboard, the computer and various music programs.
Buz, a former student of New York jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen, has worked in jazz and rock bands, taught piano for over a decade and recieved a National Endownment for the Arts grant for jazz piano.
The Sax
Somewhere off Jazz Street is music inspired by jazz and the saxophone, but is not jazz or even a real saxophone.
"For years I played jazz piano but found myself listening more to the saxophonists than the piano players."
"With computer technology and virtual instruments , I could finally play the sound I was hearing."
Every note of the saxophone sound that you hear is played live from the keyboard.
The other instruments and sounds you hear are also made in the computer. Most are played on the keyboard but a few are programmed into the computer.
”A very talented musician and friend, Buzz Hendricks has many great tunes that are ahead of their time. Check out this awesome music from a very talented artist!” ~ Stewart Brennan – World United Music
With a subliminal nod to
the song-writing books and hooks of past and present pop-rock purveyors,
'Clockwise' proliferates the three-minute pop song with their unique brand of
power-pop.
Comparisons have been drawn to Elvis Costello, Joe
Jackson, Graham Parker and Squeeze. Not to be typecast, Clockwise' music isn't
revivalist but rather a continuous evolution of a style that can't be defined
by an era: Clockwise is at once modern, reminiscent and timeless.
Begat from the smouldering ashes of 90's
alt-rockers 'Katie's Bridge', pop-rockers 'The Gravelberrys' and nerdy
power-poppers 'The Pasty White Boys'; 'Clockwise' has cornmandeered a
strong-hold within Toronto's power-pop market and well beyond their own city's
borders. Assisted by an affiliation and a revered profile within David Bash's
'International Pop Overthrow', the band enjoys popularity in a variety of
countries and continents as well as in Canada.
Not intended to be released as a single, the song
'You Are a Star' from the band's sophomore release 'Too Little, Too Late'
respectably charted and held strong on internet radio station 'Music World
Radio' for sixty-nine weeks. In response to this happenstance and fan
appreciation in the UK, Clockwise has performed several times at the world
famous Cavern Club on Mathew St. in Liverpool to enthusiastic, appreciative and
cross-generational music fans.
Since the release of their last full length CD
'Faders On Stun' the band continues to realize a progressive and measurable
interest in their music, as more and more people get turned on to Clockwise'
ability to entertain and captivate listeners with the tight rendering of their
well crafted pop songs. The band's live performances are engaging, dynamic and 100%
fun! Their recorded output which spans a 14 year recording career, has all been
produced by four-time Juno award winning producer James Paul, includes songs
that are equally light-hearted, contemplative and terminally infectious.
Clockwise is a band and the four members coalesce
to produce the sum of their parts. Claude writes the words and melodies that
inspire contributions from Brent, James and Jason which ultimately comprise the
band's sound and it is this sound that defines Clockwise. This sound doesn't
defy description; on the contrary it invokes it. To offer an analogy for the
uninitiated, to quote Andy Partridge of XTC from the song of the same name;
"This is Pop!"
Clockwise is:
Jason Eagan – Bass and backing vocals Claude Kent – Rhythm guitar and lead vocals James Pollock – Drums and backing vocals Brent Welbourn – Lead guitar and backing vocals
Discography:
Accidentally on Purpose – 2001 Too Little, Too Late – 2006 Faders On Stun – 2008
The Nadas are Iowa's signature
alt-rock-country band, selling more than 200,000 albums through their own
label, Authentic Records. Singers/guitarists Mike Butterworth and Jason
Walsmith, bassist Brian Duffey, and drummer Brandon Stone mix country, rock, alternative,
and indie with flawless songwriting and catchy melodies for a crowd-pleasing
experience.
From the White House to "Real Housewives," transparency has become the promise of the digital age; everyone is broadcasting everything all of the time. So what happens when a rock band throws open the studio doors, stops being polite and starts getting real?
Des Moines rockers The Nadas found out when they set out last January to record their seventh LP, Almanac, virtually live. The rules were simple: the band would write, record and release one song a month all year. What’s more, every step of the process would be streamed live on the band's website and with unprecedented access to the creative process; fans were allowed to become an integral part of this album. By joining the band’s web-based Almanac Project, fans could monitor their blog and read the band’s project journal. Comments and criticisms on everything from lyrics to instruments were welcomed and even, in a few choice cases, incorporated into The Nadas’ music. In September of 2009, select fans that had joined the Almanac Project were extended an exclusive invitation to a special songwriting session arranged to write that month’s addition to this most unique album.
By 2009, with hundreds of thousands of copies of their previous six albums sold, and having toured along thousands of miles of highway (in Meatloaf's old tour bus, no less), one would think Playboy Magazine's "Best College Band You've Never Heard Of" would have little to worry about. However, singer/guitarist Mike Butterworth regretted the whole song-a-month idea almost immediately, “By February, I'd decided it was a terrible mistake," he says. "I didn't like being forced to be creative on a schedule, and it wrecked havoc on the creative process. Knowing that people were watching me fumble through musical and lyrical ideas was really difficult. I was self conscious the time whole time."
Co-founding singer/guitarist Jason Walsmith was equally dubious, "The truth is, the process of writing and recording is kind of ugly. I felt dumb singing things for the first time, sounding like junior high choir boy."
Butterworth and Walsmith are known for their flawless songwriting, but opening the normally intimate process for public scrutiny proved to be a trying time. By the end, though, the finished product is truly their best to date. Despite (or perhaps because) of the rigorous, self-imposed deadlines and wildly public creative process, the 12 tracks produced on Almanac, finds The Nadas in top form.
Their previous efforts The Ghosts Inside These Halls (2007) and Listen Through The Static (2005) have found the band (rounded out by bassist Jon Locker, drummer Jason Smith, and violinist Becca Smith) alternating between alt-rock and alt-country. Now, Almanac finds the band fully embracing muscular, anthemic rock. "Bitter Love," "Dodged a Bullet" and "Last to Know" stand confidently alongside the band's most amplified efforts.
The surprise is in the band's strong-but-subtle instrumental choices: staccato strings in "Long Goodbye," tin whistle in "Crystal Clear," steel drums "All I Want Is You." Where a crisp keyboard sound in "Parachute" borrows from Van Halen's "1984," the hint of auto tune in "Long Goodbye" appropriates a dash of Kanye West.
Less surprisingly, though, is the affect of the band's very-public recording process on the lyrics. Tracks like "Call Me" and "Crystal Clear" find both frontmen at their most exposed.
"I'm not gonna' let it break down," Butterworth (whose marital woes read like an open wound in “Ghosts”) sings in "Crystal Clear." 0"I'm not gonna' let it fall apart the way it did again."
In the end, even he admits that Almanac somehow captures all twelve months. "It was an average year: I lived in the same house, had the same wife, toured in the same bus, and took the same vacation. But I don't think Almanac is an average record. We stepped way out of our comfort zone in terms of writing and producing. Somehow, it's our most cohesive record yet."
"It was a risk," Walsmith said. "But our die-hard fans were game. They came along for the ride. And, just because a little bit of the magic was taken away doesn't mean they didn't relish the process.”
Like so many American bands, The Nadas started as a way for its members to pass the time between college classes. Unlike so many American bands, The Nadas outlasted their educations and rode a growing fan base to a genuine, honest-to-goodness career.
While Butterworth is known for his rock ‘n’ roll intuitions (on perfect display in his live cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”) and Walsmith for his alt-country roots, they work perfectly as a songwriting unit, skillfully evoking the romance, introspection and uncertainty of living life on one’s own terms in the 21st Century.
Those terms are what brought on the thoughts of intertwining their fans and the rise of social networking into the process of the album. Over the past sixteen years, The Nadas have built a strong community of fans and together they have sold more than 125,000 albums through their own Authentic Records, including 2003’s Transceiver and 2005’s Listen Through The Static, both produced by Todd and Toby Pipes of Deep Blue Something, as well as 2007’s The Ghosts Inside These Halls. Now, with Almanac, their seventh LP, they are confident they will continue to grow their community, bringing in new fans and new beginnings.
“We started The Nadas sixteen years ago with just a couple of songs, a van and a newsletter, then grew a community from there,” said Walsmith. “The tools we have now to communicate with and build that community are crazy. But it’s still about the songs, and our fans. They’re why we do this.”
After releasing their Greatest
Hits album, in 2005, the band went into a period of relative inactivity for a
number of years, with Mark McGrath starting a new job as an anchor on the
television show Extra. In January 2006, Sugar Ray was
released from their recording contract with Atlantic
Records. An exception to this was during mid 2007, with their inclusion of
the previously unreleased song "Into Yesterday" on the Surf's
Up movie soundtrack, and a brief tour in Asia in August 2007 where they
headlined SingFest, Singapore's first international music festival.
Sugar Ray appeared on the May 18,
2008, season 3 finale of American Dad, titled "Spring
Break-Up", as themselves, playing "Fly" at a Spring Break party.
They also starred in the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie as themselves
performing the song "Words to Me".
An announcement came the next
day, on May 19, 2008, that the band would be entering the studio to record
their first album of new material since 2003. It was also announced that the
band signed a new record deal with Pulse Recordings and that the new album
should be released in the summer of 2009.
On March 6, 2009, Mark McGrath
posted an update on Facebook announcing that a new album, titled Music
for Cougars, was on the way. It was released on July 21, 2009. The
first single was "Boardwalk".
On August 22, 2010, Sugar Ray's
Twitter page announced that Craig "DJ Homicide" Bullock has left the
band.
Sugar Ray released on their blog
a song called "Down With Whatever" that was previously unreleased.
Also on their blog, they make mention of new music before planning another
tour.
In early 2011, Al Keith joined as
a percussionist, making Sugar Ray a 5-piece band once again.
As of around March 2012, Murphy
Karges and Stan Frazier are no longer in Sugar Ray. Karges has taken a
full-time job, and Frazier has dedicated his time to producing, and are not
taking part of the Summerland Tour, featuring Everclear,
Gin
Blossoms, Lit, and Marcy
Playground. They have been replaced by bassist Justin Bivona and drummer
Jesse Bivona (who have worked with Sugar Ray in the past, stepping in for
bassist Murphy Karges and drummer Stan Frazier), respectively.
Belying their origins as a raucous funk metal band, Sugar Ray created several of the most breezily infectious summer singles of the late '90s, hitting on an appealing combination of sunny pop, lightly funky hip-hop grooves, and reggae lilt. Pegged as likely one-hit wonders after their 1997 breakthrough smash "Fly," Sugar Ray managed to maintain their career momentum far longer than many observers expected, aided in no small part by the pinup-worthy looks of lead singer Mark McGrath. Of course, it also helped that the band was able to duplicate the carefree vibe and effortless catchiness of "Fly" on a string of subsequent singles, including "Someday" and "Every Morning." Not everything Sugar Ray recorded bore the sonic stamp of those songs, of course, but that was certainly the sound that transformed the band into a mainstream entity.
Sugar Ray formed in Orange County, the heavily suburban area south of Los Angeles, in 1992. Guitarist Rodney Sheppard, bassist Murphy Karges, and drummer Stan Frazier had been playing parties together in a hard rock/heavy metal cover band, Shrinky Dinx, since the late '80s. Karges served as the touring bassist of L.A. punk veterans the Weirdos in 1990, although a story that Sheppard had once been a cast member on Land of the Lost was patently false. Friend Mark McGrath became the lead singer of Shrinky Dinx after jumping up on-stage to perform one night, and they soon began collaborating on original material. Shows in the L.A./San Diego area helped the band build a regional audience, and a friend of the group even financed a music video for one of their original tunes. The video wound up getting them a deal with Atlantic Records in 1994, albeit owing more to the band's visual presence and potential than the song itself.
The threat of legal action by Milton Bradley, which owned the rights to the original Shrinky Dinks toy, forced the band to change its name to Sugar Ray (after boxer Sugar Ray Leonard). Around the same time, they began augmenting their live shows with the turntables of Craig Bullock, aka DJ Homicide, who later became an official member of the group. Sugar Ray released their debut album, Lemonade and Brownies, in the spring of 1995. Dominated by aggressive funk metal, with touches of punk and alternative rock, the record's typically roaring guitars and smart-a*s humor seemed to position the band as a potential keg-party favorite. Commercially, however, the album stiffed.
Atlantic decided to try again, based on the enthusiasm Sugar Ray generated on their lengthy supporting tour, and sent them into the studio with producer David Kahne (who, among many other credits, had recently masterminded Sublime's commercial breakthrough). The result, Floored, became double-platinum hit thanks to "Fly," a laid-back groove that was seemingly tailor-made for summertime. With help from reggae toaster Super Cat, "Fly" set new airplay records at modern-rock radio and reigned as one of the summer's most ubiquitous hits. The song didn't sound much like anything else in Sugar Ray's repertoire, however, and when Floored failed to produce a significant follow-up hit, many assumed that "Fly" was a fluke that the band would never be able to repeat.
After partnerning with Kahne once again, Sugar Ray delivered their third album in early 1999. The title, 14:59, was a wry reference to Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame" dictum, but as it turned out, the group's time wasn't up by a long shot. 14:59 wound up outselling its predecessor, eventually going triple platinum. The first single, the "Fly"-like "Every Morning," shot to number three on the pop charts and became the group's second number one at modern-rock radio. The follow-up singles were successful this time as well, with the hit songs "Someday" and "Falls Apart" consolidated the group's growing reputation for summery, radio-friendly alternative pop. Plus, the album boasted a guest appearance from hip-hop legend KRS-One. The band played Woodstock '99 that summer and made a guest appearance on Run-D.M.C.'s Crown Royal album.
In the spring of 2000, McGrath made his acting debut portraying a doctor on an episode of the acclaimed drama ER. Sugar Ray returned in the summer of 2001 with their self-titled fourth album, which entered the charts at number six and gave the band its first-ever Top Ten album; meanwhile, lead-off single "When It's Over" became another substantial hit in the familiar Sugar Ray mold. But in spite of reviews claiming that the band sounded more like a band than ever before, Sugar Ray's sales were ultimately disappointing. Hurt by the relatively lackluster performance of follow-up singles "Answer the Phone" and "Ours," the record failed to go platinum. In the Pursuit of Leisure and its single "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" also underperformed and after the release of The Best of Sugar Ray in 2005, the band was dropped from Atlantic. In 2009 they returned with the single "Boardwalk" along with the album Music for Cougars, both released by the Pulse label.
Lisbon-born singer, songwriter, rock n'roll guitar player, amateur producer & Indie label entrepreneur: Neil Leyton became familiar with the stage while living in Canada in the 1990's, where he fronted Toronto's glam godfathers The Conscience Pilate, after starting out on bass with psychedelic art-rockers Passion'd Flower.
He launched his solo career in 1998 with the release of the critically acclaimed "Secret Avenue" album, throwing himself simultaneously into his music as well as running Fading Ways Music, his Canadian indie label. His second album, "...from the brighter side of her Midnight Sun", was released in the UK via the ChangesOne label in 2003 and in Canada via Scratch Records and Distribution, harnessing critical acclaim throughout all of Fading Ways Music's distributed territories.
In 2004 Leyton's label, Fading Ways, embraced Creative Commons licenses, endorsing file-sharing and cultural freedom while most of the music industry launched reactionary lawsuits against so-called "pirates".
"Blacklight Skies", a compilation featuring tracks from both albums and several Leyton EPs, was released in 2005 by Fading Ways Music UK and the German label Supermusic, raising Leyton's profile in Germany considerably, with some excellent record reviews and radio airplay.
The FW Finland label released a 7" split of two Leyton tracks from the Dead Fashion Brigade EP, recorded and co-produced with Rich Jones (ex-Amen, ex-Black Halos) and Ginger (Wildhearts); b/w Finland's Turku Romantic Movement, who had also backed Leyton on tour in Finland, Slovenia, Austria and Germany.
The Betrayal of the Self, Leyton's third self-produced album, followed the Dead Fashion Brigade EP, via FW UK and Feedback Boogie Records (Sweden). Recorded in Stockholm at Acetone studios and featuring Leyton's new Sweden-based backing unit, The Ghosts, this album proved to be his most immediate, urgent, and politicized release thus far, captivating reviewers from Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, the UK and Canada - selling units as far wide as Japan. This album will be released in Portugal in 2010.
Leyton and the Ghosts have so far accomplished two central European tours behind the album, while Leyton, on his own, released "Again", a limited edition x-mas '06 CDR release for fans-only (on CDR), covering tracks from several Fading Ways Artists and introducing a few new originals. The Hyperventilating tour followed in the spring of '07, and two more home-recorded albums sold straight to fans followed: "A Reckoning" (2007) and "Metacognitive Apperceptions" (2008).
In February 2010, Leyton released "Elite Nylon", a 3-part album (or 3 maxi-EPs if you will), which he had been compiling since 2007.
"Leyton has it: the Songs, the tendency, the voice. A new filming of Velvet Goldmine should line up shortly, and Blacklight Skies would be the better soundtrack, with all its seventies influences from Roxy Music to the Rolling Stones, from David Bowie to the MC5." – Steffen Greiner, Echoes Online, Germany
"Leyton's got a wonderful voice (channelling Nick Cave's sinister whisper on one track and Jeff Buckley's chilling warble on another), and his songwriting skills prove more than worthy of any delusions of grandeur." – Sarah Liss, NOW Magazine
"This album changes color and mood every three minutes or so. No sooner does that mercurial pop song fade but Leyton has switched to a rootsy tearjerker; draws the last remaining punk fibers from his skinny frame; loses himself in a rant about capitalism; creates an asphyxiating atmosphere with soundscapes or has his entire circle of friends roaring along with him. Anyone who's human would yield in a moment and put his shopping list in order: water, bread and Neil Leyton.
- Helmut Boeijen, Oor Magazine, Netherlands
"This one had me playing air guitar within the first minute as it launched into action with the riffed out bluesy rock'n'roll and the
"Rocks Off" energy the Stones used to open their landmark Exile on Main St. — an ass kick of a way to get things going. Leyton's glam rock past as front man for Toronto's the Conscience Pilate injects an extra shot of attitude but he knows when to tone it down. This disc kept surprising me; one minute the Jagger esque "Angie" like ballad "To Jay 17," the next the bouncy "Newspaper Memories," but keeping the whole album together is a raunchy 1970's Rolling Stones brilliance and a sparkling clarity of songwriting genius. - Coreen Wolanski, Exclaim! Magazine, Canada
"I'm in love, and my significant other has that sarcastic jealousy thing going in response. "This album is so much fun," I told him. "I love this Neil kid!" To which he replied, with pre school surliness, "Why don't you marry him, then?" Personally, I think he was just threatened by Leyton's darkly enigmatic good looks and history in the notable glam/rock band The Conscience Pilate. In any case, his jealousy was a charade sustainable only until he heard From the Brighter Side of Her Midnight Sun. Now we're both in love. And this isn't just the early stages of puppy love, either; Neil and I are in it for the long haul. - Melissa Amos, Splendid Magazine, USA.
"There are some tracks (on the Midnight Sun album) where Neil sounds like At The Drive-In (the politically fueled "The Fading Ways Manifesto"). He then, somehow, follows up that track with a latin piece called "Sangue Latino". He can easily go from an aggressive style to a sweet melody not only during the length of the album but sometimes within the course of a song. This introduction to the artist shows that he is extremely diverse in his musical endeavors. Not only is Neil an established musician, he has also started a label called Fading Ways. - Dennis Scanland, Music Emissions
"Part Rolling Stones, part Zeppelin but at all times cleverly mixing strong pop hooks with a thoughtful and slightly dark overhead. For an album with so many tracks, seventeen in total, it skips along at a fast pace thanks to several punchy radio ready tracks like 'Whispers', 'Once Upon a Yesterday' and 'Nine'. At times a thinking man's rock record and at others just a dirty bar rock and roll album." - Rob Lane, Trashpit Magazine UK
"To say that Neil Leyton represents the more subdued side of rock & roll would be an inaccuracy. Above all what strikes me is Leyton's brilliant control of dynamics. With an unusually expressive vocal quality, Leyton is able to shift mood almost seamlessly, as epitomised by opening track, 'Whispers'. Meanwhile, in '(I Miss the Times) When the Russians Were Coming', his voice ascends to a genuinely terrifying shriek at the end. Overall, this is more than just a collection of songs - by the time you reach final track and album highlight, 'Twilight of the Gods', you really feel that you have travelled somewhere. Comparisons with Jeff Buckley are perhaps inevitable, but on this record Leyton has undeniably placed the stamp of his own
unique artistry." – Drowned in Sound, UK
COMMENTS FROM GERMAN RADIO:
Radio Dortmund 91.2, Dortmund - Klaus Lenser:
„An artist who shows what he´s able to do, who doesn't let himself be produced too nice and who plays wonderful guitars."
Radio Rheinwelle, Wiesbaden - Martin Bewernick:
„We´re absolutely enthusiastic about the album and played one track every day on our midday show!"
RBB Radio Eins, Berlin - Anja Caspary:
"Wow, that was the surprise of the week! Very interesting artist. I played Paint The White House Black as the opener for my show – Radio Affair – on 13th June, more plays to come soon."
University Radio, Berlin - Kaspar Welten:
"Surprising and wonderful album, the organ parts are dirty and brilliant!"
University Radio, Jena Anja:
"Unbelievable album with lots and lots of styles on it. We took the title track for our rotation-list."
Bio: Pretty Volume
Pretty Volume is a side project by two Canadian Indie underground musicians, Montreal's Ky Anto (ex-Sassy Scarlet ringleader) and Toronto's Neil Leyton (ex-The Conscience Pilate singer/guitarist). The album was recorded in 2003 but only saw release in CD format in 2007 via the UK's Fading Ways Music label and the FW Music Store.
At the time the recording took place, Ky Anto was playing in Canada's glam rock band The Intergalactic Rockstars, who took The Conscience Pilate's glam torch from their 70s-influenced sound into a more 80s vein when guitarist Stacey Stray left TCP in '98. Stacey had also introduced Ky Anto to Neil Leyton and they had both guested on Leyton's debut solo album Secret Avenue (1999) along with drummer Kevin Taylor (TCP, IRS, and later, Crash Kelly). Pretty Volume was thus recorded at Halla Music, the same studio where Leyton recorded his second album, Midnight Sun (2003). Pretty Volume also features special guests Sean 'Crash' Kelly on a couple blistering solos, and ex-Images in Vogue vocalist Dale Martindale.
Besides their respective solo careers, both musicians also played and toured with several other projects including Crash Kelly, Sylvain Sylvain (Ky), Michael Monroe (Ky), Dogs d'Amour (Neil), Galore, and others.
B.B. & The Blues Shacks,
formed in 1989, are one of Europe's most touring and internationally recognized
blues bands. Originally strictly devoted to 1940s and 1950s jump and r&b,
the band has developed its own musical language, perfectly combining blues and
soul in their originals songs.
One of the hardest working European blues acts, B.B. & The Blues Shacks
joined CrossCut's roster of artists in 2001 and has recorded five albums plus a
live DVD for our company. The next album is scheduled to be released in 2012.
Marilyn Stringer reports on the *Doheny Blues Festival, Dana Point, CA, U.S.A.
– May 21-22, 2011 for Blues Blast Magazine, www.thebluesblast.com*
SAILOR JERRY STAGE, SATURDAY: …
Direct from Germany! Presenting: B.B. & The Blues Shacks. Best European
Band, Best German Blues Band. Big Hit at Doheny – crowd favorite by virtue of
the fact that the crowd that flooded the Backporch Stage the next day never
stopped dancing to their “swinging and grooving blues”…. Good Job on that
booking, Omega!! I would go to Germany to see them again!
The BACKPORCH STAGE, SUNDAY: ….
The last band of the day, B.B. & The Blues Shacks (direct from Germany), R
O C K E D the small stage! Because the audience had seen them the day before on
the SJ stage, they flooded the smallest venue and the party was in full gear
when I arrived. And to top it off, Candye Kane, who had joined them many times
in Europe, and just there enjoying the festival, joined them for the last song
of the afternoon.
ACRONYCAL is an alternative power trio that rock with passion and ambition. The enthusiastic three piece is sure to get audiences on their feet. ACRONYCAL first got together when Scott Lehman met Keith Madsen in a hair salon. Scott, guitarist, had overheard Keith talking with a hairdresser about music and decided to join in on the conversation. After talking for a while Scott asked Keith if he would like to start up a band. Keith, who just happened to play bass, took Scott up on his offer. After Scott and Keith joined, they tried to find a lead singer. The boys were having trouble finding someone, so both Scott and Keith began taking vocal lessons. Keith had power in his voice, so the choice was made; he was to become the lead vocalist.
After about 2 years of playing together, the guys were still in need of a good drummer. Keith ended up meeting drummer Jayme Wenzel through a mutual friend, and after auditioning, Jayme was welcomed in as the newest addition to the band. ACRONYCAL was complete.
After being together for just over a year, ACRONYCAL had quickly gained a loyal fan base and had played for packed houses on some of the best stages in Edmonton, St. Albert and Calgary. The boys had shared the stage with the likes of Social Code (Edmonton), Pride Tiger (Vancouver), Daniel Wesly (Vancouver), Murder City Sparrows (Edmonton), Hot Little Rocket (Calgary), Ours (New York), and Lukas Rossi (California). The band had also participated in the 2008 Emergenza Battle of the Bands and the 2008 Mazda Muzik Tour.
ACRONYCAL released their self-titled EP in late 2008, featuring four original tracks. After playing around 15 shows in and around the northern Alberta area. In early 2009 the band decided to hit the road and planned an independent Canadian tour, with stops ranging from Victoria British Columbia, to Montreal Quebec to showcase the material from the EP. After a long month on the road the band decided to batten down and put together material for a full-length release.
The winter of 2009 consisted of writing twelve new tracks for ACRONYCAL's first full- length album "SHOWDOWN". The band put the songs in the hands of Edmonton's Velveteen Audio with Brad Simons, producer/engineer, behind the board and on July 20th, 2010 SHOWDOWN was released worldwide.
In September of 2010 ACRONYCAL made the unified decision to move their band to the next level and follow an opportunity that was presented to them. This opportunity lead the band to Palm Springs California where they are currently living and working towards the success of their group. Instrumentation Keith Madsen - lead vocals & bass guitar Scott Lehman - lead guitar & backing vocals Jayme Wenzel - drums & backing vocals
Discography Acronycal EP (Dec 2008) Available on most Internet stores (itunes, Napster, Amazon...) SHOWDOWN (July 2010) Available on most Internet stores (itunes, Napster, Amazon...) as well as physically through Amazon.ca and HMV only.
Psychedelic, Alternative, New Wave, Dark Wave – (2000 to 2019)
Psychedelic, Alternative, New Wave, Dark Wave – (2020 to 2029)
Rock, Alternative - (2010 to 2019)
Rock, Alternative – (2020 to 2021)
Soft Rock, Lite Rock, Alternative – (2010 to 2019)
Soft Rock, Lite Rock, Alternative – (2020 to 2021)
Pop Rock – (2000 to 2019)
Pop Rock - (2020 to 2021)
Folk Rock, Acoustic – (2010 to 2019)
Folk Rock, Acoustic – (2020 to 2021)
Hard Rock, Heavy Metal – (2000 to 2019)
Punk Rock, High Energy Rock n Roll – (2000 to 2019)
Southern Rock, Alt Country – (2000 to 2019)
Classic, New Age Classic
New Age Alternative
Ambient, Electronic, Relaxation
Music for the Revolutionary Mind
Welcome!
World United Music (W.U.M.) was dedicated to promoting a variety of music by Independent, Signed, and Unsigned artists. The goal of this project was to help artists gain recognition for their music by Fans across the World while also offering additional support to established artists that continue to create.
World United Music gathered the very best music and put it right here in one place to help listeners discover new music.
If you like what you hear, please consider sharing the music with friends and family.
I'm not in phase with what mainstream mediums have to offer, nor do I like being lied to. So I decided to build my own World where creativity, music, and truth prevail. Therefore I’m a photographer, Writer, Video Producer, News Reporter, Music Promoter, Radio DJ, Poet, Activist, Critical Thinker, and Problem Solver. Be sure to visit all my websites linked below for more of my world.
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