Arizona is not an easy state to break out of as far as our local music scene in concerned. However while that may be true it also aides in pushing the creative boundaries of the locals striving for success in this hot dessert we call home. A Life of Science is one of those bands finding new and unique ways to deliver their music to fans. Their newest concept release The Apneist (Sundawg Records) is accompanied by a 28 page digital graphic novel which allows fans to enjoy the music while following the story of a scientist and marvel by the name of Jon Tate.
“The Apneist is the story of the rise and fall of Jon Tate, the man responsible for the end of the world. As he sank to his doom, his life started to flash before his eyes, revealing the path that led him to that point... Each song on this album represents a flashback...”
To help celebrate the release of their newest album, the band with be doing a signing all three days at the Phoenix Comicon (May 28 – 30 PhoenixConvention Center). We highly recommend picking up a copy and experiencing the Apneist for yourself, which is now available on iTunes.
"Sister Cities new demo" -oh yeah, you can dance to this **** This is one of the most addicting locals we’ve heard in a while. Although their music isn’t as bright and sunny as the now unfortunately defunct Format, the band still induces that Beach Boys, falling in love on the Ferris wheel feeling. We received a copy of Sister Cities new four song demo/ep recently, and I just can’t get enough of these songs. From beginning to end this disc has an almost dreamlike feel. The opening track, “White Dress”, is phenomenal. I instantaneously fell in love with its drum/piano intro, sounding like something similar to a 1960’s Zombies release. Aside from the songs smile inducing into, I have to be honest what really grabbed my attention the most about this track, and I know this is rarely heard, was the bass. I really enjoy and respect bands who can utilize their bassists’ abilities as more of a lead than rhythm. Maybe not too much though, we don’t want it going to their heads. I’m looking at you Fat Mike! The second track, “The Other Boys”, seems to be the most serious song of the four, as far as sound and style are concerned. With its very saleable chorus this is probably also the most commercial sounding song on the disc. Not that it is a bad thing. Bands don’t like eating on the dollar menu all the time either people! The last two tracks “Lately” and “Bruised Knees” are both good songs as well. We just found that we kept the first two on a more constant rotation than the latter. One more thing we need to mention, yeah yeah we do a lot we know, but we believe in giving credit where its do, is that the band worked with producer/engineer Bob Hoag on the tracks. It must be something about the way you record drums Bob. You can pick up a copy of this savory disc for free, amazingly, directly from the band at any of their shows.
“Tell Me Something Beautiful” - Moosh Music interviews David Owens, singer and guitarist of NEBA. (photo by: Joel Ekdahl)
MM: Okay, so I have to get this one out of the way first. Not only because we want to know, but I’m sure other people that are familiar with your music want to know/have wondered as well. What is NEBA, and how did you come up with that for the name of this band? DAVID: A lot of people do ask us this question...and as always we leave them highly disappointed. Before NEBA and after Mourning Maxwell we had a band called The Crab Nebula...somehow we simplified “nebula” by taking out the "U" and the "L”. I wish I could tell you the thought process on that one but we were probably out there... Now its more fun because we use it as slang for words like "never"...for example “neba say neba”...”neba gonna get it”...or for a terrible word created by idiots in our past...ya feel me neba?
MM: [laughs] Though it is obviously the same band, your music has noticeably changed from record to record. Not only in sound and style, but lyrically as well. Can you tell us more about that? DAVID: Well besides never wanting to do the same thing over and over again...I think life and its experiences just have a natural effect on your music...I felt that my lyrics were definitely more positive earlier on...as I got older and things got more real my lyrics changed...I feel I’ve always tried to make a positive out of a negative...and most of my lyrics come from finding that kind of clarity in my experiences
MM: NEBA's sound is pretty detailed. How does the band generally approach the process of writing new music? DAVID: There's definitely different ways we write our music. Most of the time, we just jam. Then take our favorite parts from those jams and construct them into a song. Some of those parts that we construct together are sometimes taken from different jams over long periods of time. They just come together after awhile. Everyone in our band is also capable of bringing a song or an idea to the table.
MM: In both songs, “Gold” as well as “Sex:30”, I noticed you managed to work the bands name into the lyrics. Is that a clever marketing technique on the bands part or coincidental after thought? DAVID: I use the word everyday I might as well use it in my songs.
MM: One track that majorly stood out to me while going through your discography was the last track on your second release (My Heart Always Beats Her) "Love Is Greater Than Power". Wow! That’s quite the song at whopping "10:48". Was that all recorded live? DAVID: All the music on every one of our cds has been recorded live whether it’s to a metronome or not. Feeling Reducer and My Heart Always Beats Her are metronome free.
MM: It must have been a bitch to play, huh? DAVID: Yes it was! Of course recording a song that long there's little spots you just have to punch in sometimes to fix things. Not going try and act like we are perfect...the whole point of recording live is to capture everyone's energy and feeling.
MM: I guess that’s what you get for trying to show off! DAVID: [laughs] Yes sometimes our creations put us in our place.
MM: I definitely agree. Let’s talk about the band itself a little. NEBA is made up of yourself, the bass player, Michael, and your two brothers, Jonathan (drums) and Cory (keys). Does working so closely with family aid or put strain on the process of creating music? DAVID: It makes everything so much easier when you have that kind of connection in your band. Even with Mike, I’ve known him for over 10 years. He might as well be one of my brothers. There's so many talented people out there that you could put in your band just to not have it flow right.
MM: How long has NEBA been a band? DAVID: Since 2005
MM: What is your favorite song to perform live, and why? DAVID: Probably "Feel my love". It’s a song we haven’t recorded yet. If a person inspires the lyrics from one of our songs I usually end up being a super douche and telling them that they inspired it...with this one I haven’t...so it feels that much closer to me every time I sing it.
MM: [laughs] “super douche”, that’s a new one. I think it’s great to see a band so closely attached to their music. What do you think has been NEBA’s most notable show to date? DAVID: I guess I would say The SoCo (Southern Comfort) Music Festival with the Cold War Kids and Girl Talk. I always have the best time playing shows at the Yucca being around good people and friends too.
MM: Your newest single “Gold” recently came out on the release of the compilation This Is Flying Blanket, Vol.2 (2010), which was engineered by Bob Hoag. Your album Sorry, I Don’t Speak Binary (2008) was also engineered by Hoag. Can you tell us a little more about working with him on NEBA’s music? DAVID: Bob's an amazing dude. To me he doesn't feel like a producer he feels like another band member. He always has great ideas and suggestions and he's preformed some of those on our tracks. He's very meticulous with sound. Both times we've recorded with him the whole first day was spent on sound alone. He just shows you that he really cares about your songs sounding the best they possibly can.
MM: Should we expect a new album in the near future? DAVID: We always have new stuff in the works. We've been working on a new song for awhile titled "Start Living". We might get it out there soon or release it on an album later this year.
Warm up the ol’ flux capacitor and go back ten to fifteen years. To a time when bands like the Anniversary, Texas Is the Reason, Mineral, and so many more were still creating enjoyable emo. Yeah, I said it, what! I am, of course, referring to a time before it transitioned into the nauseating standard of bands like Cute Is What We Aim For, that the word has now, unfortunately, become so synonymous with. By the way, your girlfriend’s pants look great on you guys, or good enough to get a record deal I guess…and some people still claim music isn’t all about image. Anyways, there was a time when listening to emo wasn’t as embarrassing to admit aloud as today. Okay, maybe there wasn’t, but at least we didn’t have to hide it under pseudonym indie. The main thing I enjoy about Dust Jacket is that they seem to capture the feel of one of those great emo bands from the past, not only with their music and lyrics, but also the sound of their recording itself.
As a whole More Greek Myths is a pretty solid album. Though I really enjoyed it, I did find myself skipping from track to track quite a bit upon listening to the record the third or fourth time. That’s not to say this album isn’t worth listening to all the way through, because we can assure you it is. Like with any record, some tracks are just better than others, as far as our ears are concerned. Most notably track seven, “Caroline Meeber”. This is easily the best song on this record, although “Lower Case” with its Elliott Smith-ish guitar intro, and “The Ballerina and The Bombardier” comes pretty close. “Caroline Meeber” is the one track on the record that you will most likely need to put on repeat a few times before it really sinks in. I could sit and write about this song, give you all the details and my opinion, but I think it as well as the rest of the album is worth taking the time to listen to for yourself. You can hear “Caroline Meeber” along with some other great songs from their previous releases on their MySpace. Unfortunately and fortunately it looks like if you want to get your hands on a copy of More Greek Myths you’ll have to catch the band live. Though I suppose you could also try getting a hold of them on their MySpace.
"ReCreation In Sleep" - The Constellation Branch Experience
The Constellation Branch is a band that I can only describe as something to be experienced, both through album and live. It’s rare that a group can create a piece of work so powerful and massive in sound and still be able to transpose it into a live performance. The Constellation Branch does just that. Not only do they sound even more prodigious live, but Jordan Cruz also delivers the vocals on what seems to be a parallel with the bands recordings. If this happens to be a local you’re unfamiliar with I suggest investing some time into them . The band will be performing live on May 24 @ Rhythm Room with FAR (Vagrant Records)
"Move over Partridge family, the Smiths are in the house"
- Former singer and guitarist of Mourning Maxwell returns to the scene.
From the pop-punk sounds of Slowpoke to the progressive rock of Mourning Maxwell, Derek Smith seems to be a name commonly heard in the local scene. Now he returns along side his brother, Ryan, with their new project, The Smith Family Band. If the name of the project itself didn't grab your attention, the music definitely will. This is nothing like Smith's previous projects. It seems he has retired his distortion pedal and replaced it with an acoustic, some horns, and a slide. However, by no means are we saying that is a bad thing. While only about two tracks have surfaced from the band so far, it's clear that their upcoming release is something to be anticipated. If that alone isn't enough to moisten your taste buds, then maybe the fact that Smith worked with Bob Hoag [Flying Blanket] on the upcoming release will!
Now here is a band that at first, and I'll be honest, I wasn't to
crazy about. However, over the last year or so I have had the opportunity to see them perform live a few times, and their music really started growing on me. I caught them live at the Yucca Tap Room on Cinco de Mayo, performing with Stealing Your Kill and NEBA. And if there is one thing I can say about this band, even unaccompanied by a drummer, it is that they can pull off the sound of their recordings live without flaw. Their harmonies are spot on. Aside from sounding good live, Kirkwood Dellinger is also fun to watch. From switching up instruments between songs, to pulling fans up on stage to accompany their music by doing the robot. I highly recommend checking this band out either live or on their MySpace. More info: Kirkwood Dellinger MySpace | Facebook
Bringing their third album to land, Tugboat teamed up with producer/engineer Cory Spotts [Blue Light Audio Media] to create the Patches Of Land ep.
Though all of the songs feature the same vocally driven openers, it doesn't take away or damper the experience of this album in the least. The opening track, "Sixty-Five", is my personal favorite on this record. I love the guitar and synth riffs, which perfectly compliment the vocals. Easily their best release to date. Patches of Land is a great album to pop into your car cd player and just drive around to. I think fans of Minus the Bears Planet of Ice(2007), will enjoy this album quite a bit. Not for the similar music styling, but the overall feel.
More info: Get your copy of the Patches of Land EP tugboatband.com
Flying Blanket/Bob Hoag bring you a new compilation
featuring 20 tracks showcasing Bobs engineering and
production skills over the last year or so. This comp. is a tasty blend of local talent.
Featuring exclusive songs from some amazing local
artist such as: Dear and the Headlights,Black Carl, Kinch, What Laura Says, Courtney Marie Andrews, and even one Hoags own projects, The Love Me Nots. Compared to its predecessor, This Is Flying Blanket, Vol.1(2008), I have to say that overall this comp. has a much better flow of music track-to-track, with almost seamlessly comfortable transitions between songs.
Like with any record there are good, decent, and interesting tracks, and then there are the songs that make you stop and say, "Oh shit! REPEAT!”. Well, there are three solid tracks on this record that I found myself excitedly anticipating through my various listens. The first being the opening track "Toolbox" by Sister Cities. I can only describe this song as beautifully haunting. Extremely vocally driven and spacey. This song also features some of the most unique transitions I have heard from a local band in a while. On the topic of unique local bands, I come to my second favorite track on the record, "Gold" by NEBA. Not only is this song instantaneously powerful and attention grabbing, it also features, in my humble opinion, some of the best lyrics on this disc. If there is one track on this comp worth blowing the speakers in your '95 Honda out for, it is definitely "Gold". The last track that I really stopped and invested a lot of listening time into (and still am) is "Hookie", by Back Ted N-Ted. Ryan Breen has a ridiculous talent for assembling catchy vocal melodies on top of beats that will immediately having you bobbing your head. If you’re new to hearing Back Ted N-Ted, I have to say this is probably to best song to be introduced to the music by. The amount of talent the artist has to offer evident on this track.
At only $8 a copy, I can guarantee you won't find a better compilation or mix of music out this year. If you need something new to listen to, and want a diverse breed of music, I highly suggest picking up a copy for yourself. You won't be disappointed.
