Growing up in Memphis,
Stephen Gordon settled on a career early on. He planned on being a professional
basketball player, and at 6’4″, it seemed like a logical choice. Still, music
was always there, weaving itself into his life.
His parents bought him his
first guitar when he was eleven and he still looks back on those early days as
a burgeoning musician with fondness. “I was introduced to the music of Chuck
Berry, and I just lost my mind. His were the first songs I remember learning
and singing.” His passion continued to grow, and in his sophomore year, the
deal was sealed. “My first performance was in the tenth grade at the school
talent show. We put a band together and played a song that I wrote. I still to
this day cannot describe that exhilaration.”
Stephen began pursuing
music in earnest. His grown-up musical palette expanded beyond Chuck Berry,
with new favorites like Neil Young, Ryan Adams, and Josh Ritter.
Stephen’s first record was
I Have Seen Your Shining Spirit in 2009. Showing an intensity and maturity
beyond his 22 years, it established him as more than just another kid with a
guitar and a microphone. It was just a taste of things to come.
Stephen was building a
career in the brave new world of a post-iTunes music industry. The time was
ripe for artists to forego the traditional attachment to a record label, and
Stephen took advantage of that. Spreading the word of his unique musical
sensibilities via word of mouth and social media, Stephen quickly had a full
schedule of touring and making new music.
Still, he faced many of the
challenges unique to independent artists. “The tough thing is that every day
there are seemingly a thousand different things I could do… each of which could
potentially be beneficial or futile. Making all these little decisions and
following through with no one looking over my shoulder saying, ‘make this
happen,’ has taken a lot of practice. I’m still learning to keep a good pace.”
Stephen released the
four-song VA in 2010. The brevity seemed to add to the brilliance of songs like
“Letterboxes” rather than burying them amid a dozen mediocre tracks. It leaves
one wondering if things would have sounded the same under a record label
contract. “The great thing is that I have all the freedom in the world to make
art and to keep learning how it can best serve people—without the weight of the
bottom line. I am growing as an artist and musician well beyond just being a
singer/songwriter at this point, and I don’t know that that would have happened
had I not had the freedom to explore my gifts and passions on my own.”
His 2011 full-length album,
So Young Now, was another brave step, but this time, Stephen took his fans with
him. Joining the ranks of an increasing number of creative professionals, the
record was crowd-sourced through a Kickstarter campaign. This solidified the
connection between Stephen and his loyal fans, ensuring that his creativity
could continue to enrich their lives in new ways.
Would he trade it all in?
If he could go back to middle school Stephen, would he tell him to stick with
basketball and never listen to that first fateful Chuck Berry tune? “I make
music because I love it. I’ve seen the deep down good it can do for people and
relationships, community and comfort. I don’t presume to understand all of the
ways that it works and moves, but I’m dedicated to learning and using that to
bring folks something worth listening to.
The Dodos began playing music
together in 2005, when musician Meric Long, who had been gigging steadily in
San Francisco as a solo singer-songwriter, was introduced to Logan Kroeber through
a mutual friend (a college acquaintance of Long's that happened to be Kroeber's
cousin).
Meric Long self-released a solo
EP titled Dodo Bird in March 2006, in which Long played all the
instruments. While they performed the songs from this release, Long and Kroeber
met and started playing together. They worked to blend Long's training in West
African “Ewe drumming” and Kroeber's experience in metal bands to create music
in which "drumming could be a center role and help bring out the syncopated
rhythms coming out of the acoustic guitar."
The duo released the 2006 album Beware
of the Maniacs, which was self-released under the "Dodo Bird"
moniker. In support of the album, Long and Kroeber toured relentlessly for most
of 2007. The band began to receive critical attention and developed a growing
fan base. Fans began referring to Dodo Bird simply as "The Dodos",
and the band decided to change their name accordingly.
In December 2007, the Dodos were
signed by Frenchkiss Records and they released their
second album Visiter
in March 2008, to critical acclaim.
In an April 2008 interview in the
L.A.
Record, Long revealed the origin of the name of Visiter.
"The reason it’s misspelled is because it’s from a drawing this kid gave
us. We played a show for a bunch of kids in South Central L.A.—Dorsey High. A
friend’s sister [Barbara Lempel] is a special-ed teacher there, so we went down
there to her class and we played for the kids and it was super fun. Then it
came to the kids asking us questions and then one of the kids came up to us and
he gave us a drawing with that written on it. The drawing is the cover actually
of the album, and just—I dunno we liked it. Actually we used all of the
drawings that the kids made in the artwork on the album. It was definitely a
fun, interesting venture for us. We’d never played for kids before—we didn’t
know what to expect but they were clapping and dancing."
In 2009, the song
"Fools," also from the Visiter album, was featured in an advertisement
for Miller Chill.
After the release of Visiter, the
band included Joe Haener (formerly of The
Gris Gris and Battleship) in its touring line-up, playing xylophone, toy piano
and additional percussions.
Their album Time to Die
was released for digital download on July 27, 2009 in the UK and July 28, 2009
in the US. The physical LP release was on August 31, 2009 in the UK and
September 15, 2009 in the US. Joe Haener was replaced by Keaton Snyder during
live performances.
Copies of Time To Die were sold
at The Dodos' August 14 performance in Seattle, WA.
The Dodos' fourth album, No Color,
was released on March 15, 2011. It features vocal contributions from Neko Case.
Vibraphonist Keaton Snyder is featured on this record, but is not part of the
band. As of March 24, 2011 the album has peaked at No. 70 on the US charts. The
band was chosen by Les Savy Fav to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas
festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England.
The Dodos are known for using an
alternate instrumental approach. Logan Kroeber plays on a drum kit without a
bass drum, playing often on the rims of the drums, and also uses a tambourine
taped to his shoe. During live performances they have a third member playing a
vibraphone, a drum, and two cymbals placed on each other (like a hihat). Meric
Long plays mainly acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars during performances, but
he also owns a Springtime and a Tafelberg drum guitar
built by Yuri Landman. Long has been known to favor using his
fingertips instead of a guitar pick
In 1981 Adrian Iowa founded the band PROTOTYP and "prototyp" became the program for the band. With every concert, the four musicians presented new compositions, there were no repetitions!
Adrian Iowa began his musical career with his own band PROTOTYP and pleased his fans with melodious Artrock songs, selective melodies and stirring rhythms. Whoever saw and listened to this band before, knows why they succeed in filling the masses with enthusiasm straight away! The melodies go into the ear, the lyrics leave an imprint. The end product is merciless Entertainment, full of surprises and because they don't become tired, they show their qualities live on stage to proof it - the performance on stage is a must.
Adrian Iowa is composer and copywriter of the band, (Some of his poems appeared in magazines). Remarcable about the band was, that for 6 years(during 1981-1987), they renounced the bass guitar. However, this was compensated through the development of an individual guitar tuning and gave the Prototyp sound something really unique.... although lyrics existed only instrumental songs were played for years... Adrian Iowa wanted to draw the audiences attention to the special tuned guitar of his.
Adrian Iowa and his band called PROTOTYP has become new members and define themselves somewhere between a production team, studio musicians, family and band. They come together to realize this project, a unique Rock-Opera, a musical event of special kind called.
"Not better than the others - just other than the best - so, B OriGinaL -don't ImiTate!"
Adrian Iowa
PROTOTYP
Artrock Made in Germany
Contact:
PROTOTYP Music Productions
Bozener Str. 3
72379
Hechingen
Deutschland
Phone: 0049 (0) 7471 622943
Fax: 0049 (0) 7471 621641
E-Mail: kontakt@prototypmusic.de
Roddy Doyle wrote that “the Irish are the blacks of Europe and Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland and the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin”. Born in Donaghmede on Dublin’s Northside in 1975, Damien Dempsey is the voice of that underclass and the quintessential Irish singer songwriter.
An imposing six foot two, Dempsey is a former amateur boxer and a survivor of street gang culture. His youthful audience identify with a singer who has emerged from the rough working class streets with his powerful self belief intact. And his lyrics - “Stevie smashed the delf / ‘cause he can’t express himself / He’s consumed by rage / Like his father at his age” - speak of their shared childhood experiences.
But the optimism that he reaches for amidst Ireland’s industrial and social collapse - “I can see the evil, but I can feel the good, shining out to greet me” - is an inspiration to his burgeoning troubled audience. His concerts can be almost spiritual occasions – his fans sing along to every word and look to him as a leader for expressing such intense social and cultural concerns. Dempsey is reminiscent of Terry Malloy the prize fighter turned longshoreman in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront – a man whose conscience forces him to speak the truth, despite the consequences of his honesty.
The Times recently described Dempsey as “the Bob Marley of Ireland”; a comparison which holds true when one witnesses the devotion of his audience and his charismatic presence on stage. “Going to a Damien Dempsey show was like stumbling on a secret society” observed David Sinclair. “The audience greeted him like a superstar.”
His singular stage presence was nurtured by the legendary Irish Folk singer Christy Moore who in mentoring a shy, young Dempsey advised him, “if you’re nervous, tell the audience you’re nervous”. Dempsey concludes “the audience has always been with me. They feel what I feel.”
Since his first concerts in 1995 Dempsey has come to be regarded as the pre-eminent Irish singer songwriter. The Irish Examiner wrote that “he now stands as one of the most important and evocative Irish singers of all time.” Morrissey, who was deeply moved by Dempsey, declared that “to hear him sing is to realise the magnitude of his astounding voice and heart. The songs are true, and his is the best and often the saddest voice of this generation.” And it’s a generation that Dempsey is compelled to speak up for: “the kids have no religion now, nothing to look up to. I try to teach them about their history and lead them towards spirituality, give them some light and some purpose”
Yet Dempsey’s music and vision extend far beyond Ireland itself. He speaks to Africans, Aborigines, the dispossessed and underprivileged, never more poignantly that on his 2005 song “Colony” - “how many years and sure still we’re not free, and your mother cries and you ask God why. Greed is the knife and the scars run deep, how many races with much reason weep. And your children cry and you ask God why.” Dempsey has travelled on his with his guitar throughout Australia, and America and his empathy for the people he's seen is palpable. “Those people [the aborigines] have a spirit that we have almost lost. They have kept a spirituality that we’re not preserving.”
As a child Dempsey was influenced by Christy Moore, Luke Kelly, Shane MacGowan, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. He attended a music school at Ballyfermot College of Further Education. When he graduated in 1995 the college released his debut EP, The Contender, on their own imprint. In 1997 he released a single “Dublin Town” on the tiny Treasure Island Discs. Although the song went to number 18 in the Irish charts, Dempsey didn’t release his debut album until three years later. In March 2000, They Don’t Teach This Shit In School, established Dempsey as an exciting new talent and attracted the attention of Sinéad O'Connor who took Dempsey out on tour and championed him as an important new talent . “I don't think there's ever been anyone like him. I think he represents the sort of voice in Ireland that is not allowed to be heard" she said.
His second album, Seize The Day, released in May 2003 featured contributions from Brian Eno and Sinéad O'Connor and began a successful artist producer relationship with John Reynolds. Seize The Day marked an artistic leap for Dempsey. He had matured as a writer and was garnering praise from some of the most prestigious publications in the world. “He writes about the street life of suburban Dublin, in all its glory and malice” observed The Sunday Times, “with an evocative and unsentimental affection rarely seen.” Morrissey became a passionate patron of Dempsey’s music, taking him on a full North American, British and Irish tour, releasing Seize the Day in the USA on his Attack imprint and championing him tirelessly in the press. The album won two Meteor Awards, the Irish equivalent of the Grammys.
But it was with Shots in 2005 that Dempsey delivered his masterpiece and his defining album. Backed by Eno, John Reynolds and Justin Adams, the music achieved a new finesse and songs like “Sing All Our Cares Away” and “Not on Your Own Tonight” were bracing views of Irish society that were both shocking and compassionate. On “Colony” he spoke of the bloody colonization of the world and identified his own countrymen with the indigenous people of Africa, Australia and America: “They raped, robbed, pillaged, enslaved and murdered / Jesus Christ was their God and they done it in his name / So he could take the blame if it's not all a game / With bible in one hand and a sword in the other / They came to purify my land of my Gaelic Irish mothers / And fathers, and sisters and brothers” The Times described it as “a powerful fierce polemic, sung with quivery emotion”. His mentor Christy Moore observed that “Damien uses his own language; he's not looking to Hollywood for his vernacular” and proudly added, “when Damien reaches where he is going to reach everyone will say 'we always knew he'd make it - we've always loved him from the very start'.” The album topped the Irish charts and went Platinum. He released his first live album, Live at the Olympia which captured the enthusiasm of a wild Dublin audience. He then toured the USA coast to coast and was honored as Best Irish Male at 2006's Meteor Awards.
In 2007 he released To Hell or Barbados, which debuted at number two in the Irish charts. It was a harder edged record that opened with the brutal “Maasai”; “When I die / I want to die / Not in a home built for the unknown / But by the hand of a Maasai / When I love / I want to love / Not like some swine with no semblance of spine / But like a flower loves sunshine.” The album’s title referred to the 50,000 Irish sent as slaves to Barbados by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600’s. The Guardian stated that “To Hell or Barbados confirms Dempsey’s position as one of Ireland’s great singer-songwriters”. The album debuted at number one in the Irish charts and won him the Best Irish Male award at the Meteors for a second year running (he has won six Meteor Awards to date).
In 2008 he recorded a set of traditional songs with the Dubliners for his fifth album, The Rocky Road. Mojo wrote that “listening to the ancient folk anthems like 'Kelly from Killan' and 'The Hot Asphalt' it’s like hearing a social history set to music, but the arrangements lend the performances a stirring mix of grit and grace”. Dempsey said that he recorded the album not for the old folk music guard but the teenagers who came to his shows; “I have a lot of very young fans, so naturally these kids are gonna hear all these timeless songs that they may not have heard otherwise. I want to give the young kids an alternative to the new MTV generation, gangster rap, Britney Spears and maybe get them interested in their own history through music”.
The live tour that followed demonstrated that Dempsey had equaled and surpassed most of his peers, The Guardian noting that Dempsey’s “musical heroes are now his admirers”. He had become the most vibrant and vital Irish live performer working today. Having played with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, U2 and The Pogues, Dempsey’s stage craft and voice had become so powerful that it prompted Bono to say “when he opens his mouth - it's like the end of the world."
After returning this summer from an extensive furlough in South East Asia and Australia, where he was invited by Brian Eno to perform a sell out concert at Sydney Opera House as part Eno’s inaugural Luminous Festival, Dempsey was asked by U2 to support them at the Croke Park concert in Ireland. He has begun recording his sixth album with John Reynolds. It promises to consolidate his position as one of Ireland’s greatest ever songwriters. As Shane MacGowan recently explained “It's great music and it’s great lyrics. It's angry and it's humorous. He sees the beauty that is Ireland and that is Ireland's past and that can be Ireland's future.”
"It (To Hell or Barbados) confirms Dempsey's position as one of Ireland's great singer-songwriters" - The Guardian (London)
"...one of the greatest songwriters of his generation" - Irish Abroad (USA)
"To Hell or Barbados is folk and roots rock with substance, with the sound of Ireland mixed in for good measure. A most intriguing cocktail." - Billboard
"It's clear from the first moment he sings a note that Damien Dempsey is one astonishingly gifted individual" -The Daily Express, London - 5* review of To Hell or Barbados
"...whip-smart lyrical tours de force...his songwriter's eye for detail astounds.." - HOT PRESS (Shots)
"A phenomenal voice..." - Sunday Times (Seize the Day)
"...Dempsey's arrow-true voice has a liquid quality...this is bold, compelling stuff" - Mojo (Shots)
"...not for the faint hearted...extraordinary" - Q (Shots )
"This is a hearty, fraternal embrace of an album" - Telegraph (Shots)
"If you need to be convinced, look no further; Damien Dempsey is the real thing" -Hotpress (Live at the Olympia)
"...the future of Irish songwriting is in good hands" -Irish American News (Shots)
"...America is about to hear a voice she will not want to forget" - Irish Voice(Shots)
After spending many years in the South Florida music
scene the members of Marqui Adora finally found the musical formula that
worked…
Just as Joe Shockley and John Tooker had almost given up on finding a singer
who could create the sound they wanted they heard it through the walls at a
rehearsal studio in August of 2004. After a quick hello during a break Joe
learned that the voice they heard in the next studio was Danny Ashe and that
his band was called Marqui Adora.
At the time Joe said to John, “We’ve got to steal that guy!” Things worked
themselves out without any larceny when Joe noticed Marqui Adora was looking
for a drummer a few weeks later. Joe called Danny and proposed that they could
combine both of the bands and see if it worked. When that first practice
resulted in three new songs they knew that this was the right mix.
Things worked so well that the new Marqui Adora played a show in less then two
months to a very shocked audience. Members came and went during the next two
years but the core of the group stayed Danny, Joe, and John.
After nearly two years of false starts the first record White Buildings was
finished in June of 2006. It was a challenging mixture of rock and dance music
with layers of sound making for a easy repeat listen. A short time later the
band was contacted about using one of the songs from the record, Empty, in a
2007 Nissan Sentra campaign.
At the end of 2006 the band also found itself with an offer they couldn’t refuse.
When local rock group Fashionista fell apart their guitarist Howard Melnick
found himself without a band and offered his services.
The power trio version of Marqui Adora now found itself with it’s own guitar
god as a very solid four piece.
Matt Woods is caught in a melting pot of early millennium pop and modern Americana with a splash of southern roots. His acoustic rock, yet very laid-back sound stirs from the influences of Dave Matthews, Tom Petty, and the Counting Crows.
Matt, 26, is from the most southern region of Alabama in the city of Dothan, but now resides in Nashville. He made his start in high school playing various private parties and events. Venturing off to college at Auburn in 2001, he worked the local scene around the area playing smoky bars, fraternity parties, and small venues.
“I actually really miss those days. Inebriated college kids somehow give you the confidence that you need at that age when you’re on stage in front of a crowd.”
Slowly the out of town gigs were piling up, providing a new vessel of marketability. In 2004, producers sparked interest in the budding musician and he left Auburn for the “Music City” to take the next step.
“It wasn’t that I was intentional about making a career out of it, but music made me happy…and at the time, I was able to financially support myself through music, so I stuck with it. You’d do the same thing.”
In December 2004, Woods released his first studio album “Something Surreal.” The album wasn’t pushed hard until the end of 2006, and the acoustic version of the record became the double ammunition that it needed to market. Oxygen network’s “The Bad Girls’ Club” picked up the single “Misconception” for an episode, launching a national taste of Matt’s music. His southeastern college tours in the 2006 seasons were a success, branching out to Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and gaining more regional exposure.
Woods is very active in his music career. He is currently writing new material for the next full-length album. No date is set for the release, but he hints to possibly sometime in the summer of 2010.
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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