by Haylee Nighbert
They're not even out of high school yet, but are well on their way to being the next big
thing in new metal. Check out our Q and A with Picture Me Broken.
Artist on artist feature from Brianna Rettig on Florence + The Machine, Maroon 5,
Civil Twilight, Electric Six and more!
So after a bit of a summer hiatus we are back and I couldn't be happier to be back with an issue that is dedicated to the race to find a cure for breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, that alone is great, but I hope we view October as an exhibition of sorts on how we should treat the whole year on the race to find a cure.
It doesn't matter who you talk to, it seems everyone has been affected by this disease. My great grandmother who I never got the chance to meet had it, as well as countless friends I have who have either had a mom, sister, daughter or wife who's been diagnosed.
I will make a point of having this issue every year and I hope that in future years we can expand it to also being a fund raiser or hold Pink Lemonade concerts, anything that can bring everyone together to speak about it, think about it, and do whatever they can to help this cause, so that one day we don't have to have a month or magazine issue dedicated to the disease, because by that time it won't exist.
I am also very excited to bring to you a brand new artist named Amber Leigh. She's on our cover, so you already know she's gorgeous, but wait until you check out her music! She is pretty damn awesome.
Hopefully everyone had an awesome summer and didn't miss us too much during the hiatus.....ok actually we do hope you missed us a lot. Here's to hoping for less drama (i.e. summer hiatus) and over everything lets hope for a cure!
-Brandon
When you live near the border you tend to listen to more Canadian radio stations than American, so it's no surprise here in the north we have been listening to a band called Hedley for quite some time now and wondering where the rest of the states have been?
We caught up with Dave Rosin from Hedley over the phone while they were gearing up for a quick US tour, so that you could learn a little more about the band you have been missing.
So how's everything going? You're up in Canada now, right?
Hedley: Yeah man, we're still finishing up some stuf in our native homeland you can call it I guess here, I think we have 6 shows left. I think we can actually see the States right now, we're in Windsor, ON so we're literally right across the river across from my hotel to Detroit.
I was going to ask where abouts you were because you guys started out in Abbotsford, right?
Hedley: Yea, we are all in the Vancouver area (Abbotsford being one of the suburbs)
I'm here in Bellingham, WA so you're were very close to the border of BC. Abbotsford's actually about 15 minutes away from where I grew up. So what was it like growing up in Vancouver, music-wise?
Hedley: Well, I actually didn't grow up in the city of Vancouver, I grew up in a place called Prince George (about 8 hours north) so its right smack dab in the middle of BC, and it was small then, like total lumber hockey-town, it was the kind of town where if you didnt have a chainsaw and an ACDC tshirt, you had to watch your back.
Did you grow up a Canucks fan?
Hedley: Aahhh you know what, hockey was never my big thing, it is for Canada of course.
I was never that good of a skater, like I could never get the whole skate backwards thing down and so I never really played too much hockey, but I watched it. You know what I actually really love is curling. The good thing about curling is its a surefire thing to cheer for in the Olympics,
usually were almost guaranteed a gold, so its some good cheering.
Actually my grandfather grew up in Victoria, so I love all of that. Speaking of the Olympics, you sang at the closing ceremonies right?
Hedley: That was crazy dude, for the short amount of time we were on stage, probably only about 3 minutes, I think we probably had over 48 hours of rehearsal for it, so it was super crazy security, someone showed up at our house and made us sign confidentiality agreements basically saying that we wouldn't tell anyone we were doing it until just before. As it was happening my mom actually found out we were playing, and was like oh that's the closing ceremonies that's where he is. We all had a lot of fun though, we got to see Neil Young when we were walking around BC Place during dress rehearsal, so it was kinda cool. Speaking of hockey we got to see the Gold Medal Hockey game backstage.
Sore subject. But great game. Ive heard a lot from you guys from 94.5FM in Vancouver, but when it comes to the States, my cousin for example wanted to pick up your CD at Best Buy, but unfortunately they weren't selling it, so what would you like people in the States to know about your music, you guys will be touring soon right?
Hedley: We're your new favorite band and you just might not know it yet. It's funny actually, we had a couple older records out, on iTunes and some other places if you dig. There's a great place in L.A. called Amoeba records, very famous and some other places carry our older stuff.
Just so you know our new record The Show Must Go is coming out October 12th, so pretty soon all your Best Buys, Walmarts and Targets are all going to have that, but yeah If you're into just good Rock N' Roll or stuff like that, can't wait to bump into you at a show, or like I said, we might just be your new favorite band that's hiding under a rock.
I know you guys are getting huge amount of play in Canada, so that's just great. Jacob (lead singer) was on Canadian Idol a few years ago right?
Hedley: Yes he was! About 6 years ago he was on the second Canadian Idol, which is no longer around actually. We outlived the show, and actually outlived most anybody that was on the show or anyone in the music business that was involved with it, so thats kind cool. One thing I can say about him on the show is, he is and always was a performer. I think when people saw him back on the show and still see him play now they hope he just seriously takes a breath or timeout for a moment, because he's an absolute nut sometimes. He's a performer, which is great because I don't think enough people truly embrace the performance aspect of it all these days.
Its cool to see you guys outlasted it all. I feel like American Idol down here may be on the way out too.
Hedley: You know why that is? That's because Carrie Underwood is killing it.
What are you guys enjoying between tour stops when you're not playing onstage?
Hedley: We're not really touring a lot right now. Although the record is just coming out in the States, we're going to be working on the next record already. We're constantly working, writing and recording to put new stuff out. You know our fans are insatiable so we like to be able to keep their faith with songs and stuff as opposed to chains and whips, so the more stuff we put in the band, people stay. If I actually get some downtime I'll probably try to get some more skim boarding in before the summer's over.
So you have the upcoming tour, I think youll be in Seattle, and down the West Coast I saw, and a few other spots, does this tour go throughout the end of the year?
Hedley: This tour will be going until about Halloween. We're going to be starting on the east coast like Pittsburgh, Rochester, working our way down and of course then heading over to the west coast through Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, so that's going to take us up until the end of October. We'll also head back down in December to do some radio stuff.
One last thing about the touring, I know you guys just did a stadium tour in Canada, now your'e headed down here for some more intimate settings like El Corazon, what do you prefer to perform in?
Hedley: Well it's just different dude. The major difference between arenas and clubs is we can bring way less stuff. It's a little bit smaller, but it's actually pretty much the same, we get up every night and play the same songs. There's something kinda cool about a smaller gig, when you get small amount of good people in there get a really good vibe going, it can really start of the good energy and that's where music starts is good energy. The cool thing about playing a small club,
is it's kinda nice to get off stage and head directly to the bar and have a beer with your fans.
To get your fix of everything Hedley, go visit www.hedleyonline.com
What were the influences on The Horizon (is not that far away) and what was it like making it?
Well I was 17 when I made it and Im 19 now, it's a little bit more immature than the stuff I've written now. I wrote most of the stuff when I was in high school so some of the songs are angry songs about my parents and there's songs about boys. It's mostly happy stuff now. I recorded with Paul Barnett, he's my producer and he was phenomenal. It took forever because I was 17 and not really used to the whole recording process. It was fun, though.
In one of your songs (Don't Call Me) you have the line brown eyed girl. Is that at all related to the Van Morrison song?
Actually, I wanted to call it Brown Eyed Girl! But there was no way I could do that. That song is awesome. The song was actually written though a few years ago and related to the fact my dad called me his "brown eyed girl".
What do you have planned in the upcoming year for touring?
I'm hoping to start recording soon, but I don't have any shows scheduled right now. Pretty soon though, were looking for a new booking guy.
Is there anything we can expect differently sound-wise on the next record?
Well I think on the next one its going to be mostly acoustic. Not a lot of the electric stuff or piano, this one's gonna be more simple and more about emotion and getting across and connecting with people.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music?
I really like to do outdoorsy stuff. I like hiking and floating the river and going on the lake, stuff like that. That's my biggest thing other than music. I go to school for music, too so music is a huge part of my life.
Who's dominating your MP3 player?
I started going into the more classic stuff like The Beatles recently, listening to a lot of Amos Lee, stuff like that. www.ambersmusic.com
We're having a special edition of the magazine coming out for the month of October and renaming it Pink Lemonade for the month. I thought I'd bring up the pink-ribboned corset that you wore onstage for your Warped Tour performances. Who designed it?
Delicious Corsets is a boutique down in Philly that does a bunch of homemade, couture corsets and corset dresses. It's a really cool store, we got hooked up with them through our friend Rosemary. We were playing a breast cancer benefit show that we recently wrote a song for called Stomp It Out (that features Little Wayne). I had an idea for a dress I wanted to make and sketched it out; a white dress with a pink breast cancer ribbon on the front and so Rosemary hooked me up with the company. I drove down to Philly from New York and met up with Amy, one of the owners and designers. It turned out pretty amazing, every show I played I got compliments. She said it would be about a $5000 dress but she decided to donate it to the cause.
Have you had anybody that's experienced breast cancer firsthand come up to you, whether to say something about the dress or compliment on what youve done to raise awareness?
Yes, I have had survivors come up to me. That's always touching. Y'know I think that so many women, not just with breast cancer but with all types of cancer, are effected. I had a close friend who's mother died of breast cancer. Im really proud to do my part, it's such an important cause. Any part I can do to spread awareness, Im happy to do that.
What have you been doing since Warped Tour?
Yeah we toured with Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and The Sleeping and we're actually in the middle of that tour now and so far so good. We just came back from Canada, we played Montreal last night which was very cool. Its great to do club shows.
Are you recording right now?
We're recording our follow up single coming up, and we're talking about another one in November. I swear you'll be hearing more new music from us soon!
Any chance you're coming to the west coast?
Hopefully! We're going to get a new tour started and hopefully we'll be over there soon.
We'd be happy to have you over here. Anything else you'd like to say?
All for October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month! I think its great what you guys are doing. Other than that, I just want people to know our single, Stomp It Out is available on iTunes
www.shiragirl.com
Four years ago I went to Bumbershoot for the first time. I was 20 and had started to take an interest in lots of up and coming artists, one of those being Matt Costa who was performing on one of the smaller stages. I was there with my friend and since I was new to it all, I only really got a chance to see The New Pornographers earlier in the day and then Matt Costa in the afternoon before having to leave. Just seeing those two concerts immediately made me fall in love with the festival. Whether it was the small amphitheater underneath the Space Needle that Matt played at or the huge soccer field full of fans that the New Pornographers played to, it was all just so charming. The years that followed were no different, I had some of the best concert experiences at Bumbershoot, whether it was top 40 bliss like Katy Perry, Joss Stone, All American Rejects, Estelle and Sheryl Crow or alternative brilliance like Nada Surf, The Frames, and Barcelona.
This year was the first year I went to Bumbershoot to cover the festival for the magazine, and sadly I was disappointed by the drastic changes that were made. Yes they happen to have one of the best press lounges I have ever seen, filled with some of the greatest snack food and drinks you are going to find, but that wasnt quite enough to make me forget that Bumbershoot had lost its charm. The first huge mistake was the absence of day time main stage shows. Although Labor Day weekend does mark the unofficial end of the summer for most of us in Washington State,
having the day time main stage shows gave everyone that summer festival feeling that we all love. This problem also led to another, the normally laid back smaller stages were stacked to over capacity making it a much less laid back atmosphere. People who paid to be at the festival all day, had nothing else to do, but go to the smaller stages, although this could be seen as good exposure for some of the lesser known acts, in my opinion it actually took away the intimacy and connection I liked having with these acts.
The second big problem was the Center Square Stage, although one of the best shows in my opinion of this year was at this stage (Crash Kings), the stage was placed in a terrible area, making walking paths hard to get through and once again turning the once well run festival into a mess.
Now I will say, this is all hard for me to say, I have a lot of respect for One Reel and what they do for Seattle, but something went wrong this year.
With that all said, not all was lost...somewhere in the mix was a band, a band most of us know and love who would save my Bumbershoot 2010 and make it a memorable one..that band was Weezer.
After a day of me mostly complaining about the festival, I finally sat down in the stands at the main stage. Hole was performing before Weezer and everyone was eagerly awaiting Courtney Love's performance, would she behave? Or wouldn't she?
Shockingly she did behave and although I'm not necessarily a fan of hers, she puts on a straight up rock show, not really missing a beat (besides her rendition of Jeremy by Pearl Jam, which even she admitted was terrible). However for me it was all about Weezer, and boy did they deliver. I joined the mostly Generation X crowd for the show and never stopped jumping, singing and moving. Rivers (Cuomo) was on fire, whether he was surfing on stage, or running into the stands much to the dismay of security personnel. It seemed that everyone knew every word to every song, and at points Rivers could have stopped singing and nobody would have noticed because all of us were singing our favorite songs at the top of our lungs. There wasn't a disappointed fan to be found and in fact one fan I ran into also shared her experience with Lemonade which is included in this issue.
Overall was Bumbershoot amazing this year? No, it needs to go back to its old format and they need to practice what they preach, if you want to be all about local art then show a little more respect to local publications as well, instead of giving most of the interviews to larger publications such as Spin, Rolling Stone and Alternative Press. However did Weezer save this music fan's day....absolutely! They made it an unforgettable night and single handedly saved Bumbershoot 2010.
I did not know what to expect Sunday night when I arrived at Bumbershoot to see Hole and Weezer. I had heard plenty of naysaying in my ears during the week leading up to the event. One thing is for sure though, both bands fell nothing short of amazing. If you were a teenager any time during the 90s you should not have missed it. Both sets were absolutely nostalgic. And I wonder, why did we need prozac back then when we had Weezer?
Both Weezer and Hole showed Seattle massive amounts of love and respect during each of their performances. With a ton of thank yous from Ms. Courtney Love and uber amounts of enthusiasm and respect from Rivers Cuomo. This was definitely one of the best shows I have ever seen and was well worth the $40 I spent on my ticket.
At dusk, Courtney Love and her band Hole got right down to business. She looked beautiful and sounded just like the same Courtney we all remember from the 90s. Love her or hate her this woman is a true old school Riot Girl rock star. Proving it when she asked an audience member for a cigarette, then smoked it while singing. She also looked cool doing it, like it was nothing. Love did not miss a beat. She covered Pearl Jams Jeremy while looking up at the lit up Space Needle, or was she looking up to the sky to Kurt? Whatever the case may be it was very moving. Also, during her set Love sang us a song from her new album and promised the crowd that we would like it, and we did. Love also made sure to perform some of our favorites. She sounded fabulous as she sang Miss World and Violet. As she sang both of those songs I looked around at my fellow concert goers and realized I wasnt the only one with tears in my eyes.
Weezer came on next. During their set front man Rivers Cuomo made it obvious he clearly knew who his original fans were. Cuomo even gave a shout out to us Gen Xers. Showing loads of excitement and gratitude to the audience, Weezer also performed many of the fan favorites old and new, Undone (The Sweater Song), My Name is Jonas, Island in the Sun, you name it they played it. One of the best parts of the show was when Rivers ran into the audience to shake the hands of fans and returned to the stage to do a montage of MGMT's Kids which then went into Lady Ga Ga's Poker Face, sporting a blonde wig even, which then went back into MGMT's Kids. The crowd was ecstatic and we were dancing. That was one of the coolest/funniest things I have ever seen and heard and I could tell the crowd agreed. Closing with Buddy Holly I again had tears in my eyes. Weezer was awesome!
With spectacular performances from both Hole and Weezer Sunday night at Bumbershoot was for sure an event to write home to Grandma about. I completely forgot about the terrible hangover I had been nursing all day.
Metal never seems to die, it seems almost anywhere you will end up finding a metal head who is just dying to go to a concert that literally blows your ear drums into smitherines. Perhaps though one of the more interesting things about the genre is how much it keeps on changing. In the early days you had hair metal, full of heavy riffs, heavy boots, and heavy makeup or if you are a child of the 90's like myself you may remember the transition into scream metal and even hip hop influenced metal (Incubus, Linkin Park).
It seems now the trend is young girls who are kicking ass in the world of metal. We were fortunate enough to get Brooklyn from the up and coming metal sensation Picture Me Broken to take some time and talk to Lemonade after one of her yoga sessions in beautiful San Francisco, here is what she had to say...
What made you go toward a metal sound as opposed to other genres?
Ever since I was a child, I was never the kid listening to Britney Spears or Disney bands I was always drawn to things like Linkin Park and AFI. I've always wanted to adopt a darker sound with our music and our lyrics. I always liked more poetic lyrics and it coincides better with a heavier sound and instrumentation. So, I've definitely always been drawn to heavier, darker metal music. I was listening to AFI in 5th grade so its a huge inspiration for me, which is why I went down the hard rock path.
Could you explain the inspiration behind the song Nerds and Cigarettes?
I think that's a perfect example of the fact that I draw my lyrical inspiration from personal experience. Nerds and Cigarettes is actually a direct characterization of someone in my life. The whole song kind of paints the relationship I had with this person. I take something from personal experience and make it something relatable for people who were in a similar type of relationship.
Are you guys planning on touring soon?
Well, right now we're all still in high school. I'm actually currently taking school online so I have more time to do band business and travel when needed. After the Spring when we've all graduated, we'll be able to do more extensive touring. Hopefully in the Summer.
Who do you think has the better metal hair between you guys?
I think I have better metal hair, mine's longer! It's more intense and menacing. It's much more luscious, too.
What do you plan on doing after high school with the band?
We actually have a pretty important showcase coming up. It could essentially be huge for us. I can't say much about it but it's a great opportunity. So were planning that and making it the best show we've ever played. Also, planning on getting out this summer and getting back to the writing process. We plan on releasing a CD as soon as possible. We're maturing a lot and are feeling much more comfortable with our sound.
I was going to sa...you look young, but your writing and music obviously isnt.
We never really intended to be a kid band. We don't want to play kid music or market to only a young audience. I mean, we just try to play to the best of our abilities and draw in our own influences. We don't really regard our ages as a factor.
What was it like being picked as one of the hottest chicks in metal by Revolver?
That was a really great opportunity. I couldn't believe it when I opened the magazine and I saw that they had chosen me in the table of contents. That was definitely one of the bigger things that has happened for me.
I was very happy to see that Revolver recognized you guys. So, what was it like growing up in the Bay Area? What's the music scene like?
It's been a great music scene. I've always liked playing local shows, but it's really more focused on indie music and pop punk and there's not really a huge amount of people that are supporting metal bands and post-hardcore bands. It's really nice when we go out of town and experience kids who really love that genre.
What has been your favorite place to play outside of the Bay Area?
Austin, Texas is really great. We had the opportunity to play at SXSW shows, and the whole experience being at that festival was really overwhelming. So many people supporting you and so many fans out there. It really seems like thats the ultimate for music and bands to come together. That's one of my fondest memories of the band.
What's an artist that you're into that people would least expect?
I'm really into Lady Gaga. I think she's incredible. I love how unique she is, I love that she's really pushing her image and doing something completely different while still appealing to a mainstream audience. I think her writing is incredible and she is one of the few true, authentic artists I've seen out there. It's really refreshing to see someone who puts everything they have into what they do and It's not just a machine behind them telling them what to do and fabricating their work.
What do you do in your down time?
I'm kind of a hermit, I don't like to go out much. I stay focused on music. Ive never been a partier, Ive never been the high school cheerleader type. I do like to keep in shape so I like to work out and do yoga. I really just like to hang out with the few people that are close to me and relaxing at home.
www.myspace.com/picturemebroken
You know what they say...opinions are like a.........oh nevermind you get it, lets just say we are no different. However is it just me or does it seem like the flood of new music has calmed down just a little bit lately? Well regardless, we still have some reviews for you including an artist on artist review from Brianna Rettig who gives her opinion on one of my personal favorite CDs of the year, Florence + the Machine's, Lungs. Hope you all enjoy!
Okay, so when I was first asked to write this article, it was suggested we pick a female artist to honor breast cancer awareness month. I won't lie, this was hard for me for two reasons. The first being that I'm an absolute pain in the ass and the other being that most current women artists do not impress me. Not that I'm the authority on music by any means but most records I want to listen to usually fall into the category of pre-pro tool/ digital days. Before the bubblegum pop princesses and before the nouveau fem folk stereotype that came up around the mid to late 90's. I don't know but sometimes I wish female artists would just grow some balls.
The first time I came across Florence + the Machine was on the Eat, Pray, Love trailer. It made me want to fly to some distant place, drink magic tea and learn a new tribal language. I found myself growing more and more fond of it every time it came on during my daily Law and Order episodes. There is just something very liberating about this Florence. First off, Florence + the Machine is not necessarily a band but a 24 year old English-born puppet master named Florence Welch. With the help of four different producers, Paul Epworth, Steve Mackey, James Ford and Charlie Hugall, she has impressively taken elements of punk, indie rock, and pop and made it flow in and out of the record with absolute fluidity. At some points, it's as if the Ramones and Feist had a baby girl and named her Florence + the Machine. She's got a razor for a tongue and angel for a voice but if I was to pick one word to describe this girl it would be imagination.
She's a tall, pale, lanky, red-headed artist and if you know me, you know that right off the bat I can relate. When I watch the fantastic videos off her album Lungs I get the sense that she was the girl in school who was artsy and awkward. This album however is not. It's beautiful and creative yet extremely pop. Pop is a pretty vague term these days anyhow but what I mean by pop is that after I turn it off I'm still humming along or when I hear it in a store I want to break into a dance. Not just any dance but that dance I made up when I was 8 years old floating around my bedroom and jumping on my bed wishing I could grow up to be a Queen of that country I invented in space somewhere. (I was a strange little thing).
Now, I don't want to give the impression that this is some light, airy, lovey-dovey album. Florence plays with the darker aspects of all of our imaginations and between her layers and textures of vocals she takes us to places we've most likely forgotten about.
The dark places we tuck away and try not to revisit unless we are lead there by something beautiful. In her song My Boy Builds Coffins, she toys with the idea of mortality and how no matter if you're a king, queen, gypsy or a thief, one day you'll be in the ground with the rest of us.
Her voice is ABSOLUTELY an instrument if not THE instrument most prevalent in this album. It's very much at the forefront of the record and the backgrounds are like a church choir preaching to the damned and guiding you home. Her vocals are the drums, they are the bass and they are the melody. She could do an entire record with her voice and nothing else and I would be absolutely satisfied.
With song titles like Kiss with a Fist, The Girl With One Eye (a cover of the Ludes song) and Dog Days are Over, it feels as if Florence would have no problem punching you in the face because after you fell to the ground she'd hold you in her arms and sing you lullabies about love and lost places as you drift away into unconsciousness.
I can appreciate a girl with a twisted sense of humor and I like feeling like I've been on a journey through someone else's mind. The vivid colors and rich textures assault you're senses and make you pay attention. It's almost as if the songs reach through the speakers and grab you by the face and scream WAKE UP. I like a girl who can tell me a story with every bit of truth and honesty she's got inside of her. This record is from a strong woman with a real point of view and I'll readily raise my glass to that.
Brianna Rettig is a singer songwriter down in L.A. who can often be seen hanging out with the likes of our own Sally Jaye and a favorite of ours Brother Sal. She and Brother Sal are also part of a project right now called 365 in 365, where they cover or sing a new song each day and post it on facebook, just search either Brother Sal, Brianna Rettig or 365 in 365 to check it out, I promise you will enjoy it!
When you read the bio on Electric Six, you don't know what to expect from their album if you aren't familiar with them. You get the feeling they don't take life too seriously and that is definitely somewhat of a theme in their music as well, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in this case. When I first heard Zodiac, the first image that came to my mind was Franz Ferdinand, James Hatfield, and a few one hit wonders from the 80s walking into a room and getting locked in. At first they aren't at all too happy with being stuck with each other, but after a good brawl followed by a few rounds of drinks, they all become friends and start playing music.
Electric Six is what I like to call pure out and out dance metal, a mixture of danceable beats with heavy guitars and vocals that eat up every bit of silence in the vicinity of where the music is playing. Some of the lyrics will make you laugh, some of them are downright what the fuck?, but they never come across as trying to be something they aren't, it is simply who they are. Not to mention a band who has enough balls to cover one of the worst songs ever and make it tolerable (Rubber Band Man) deserves some credit for doing whatever the hell they want. If you are in the mood for something completely different in the way of party music, I highly suggest you check out Zodiac.
-Brandon Lemons
Seems like years since a band once called Kara's Flowers first came bursting onto radio stations and music channels everywhere with their sexually charged pop/rock music.
In fact it HAS been quite a few years and in those years Maroon 5 has only released three studio albums along with a few live CDs and a remix CD. I will be the first to admit Maroon 5 is one of my favorite bands out there, to me there is nobody else like them. Pop music has become a wasteland of catchy dance hooks and party anthems. A really good pop song with really good pop lyrics seems to be a lost art anymore, however Adam Levine always seems to find a way to revive that lost art in each song he writes.
From the standpoint of a Maroon 5 fan like myself Hands All Over might not be their best album, in fact it may even be their weakest, but that is only in comparison to their previous work. From the standpoint of me as a music fan, Hands All Over is yet another near perfect pop album. The debut single Misery has been a radio darling, getting airplay on any top 40 station you're listening to and if anybody says they hate the song, they are probably lying, but the album is more than just the debut single. Songs like Get a Little More is classic Maroon 5 with that twinge of funk and soul that we have all come to love about them, and songs like Never Gonna Leave This Bed could rank as some of their best work. Once again Maroon 5 has released a CD that is completely pleasing from start to finish and is a must have for pop fans everywhere.
Some songs pull you in by their sound, sometimes it even gives you a different feeling than what the song is actually about. Other songs are the opposite, you hear one line that catches you and you listen intently through the rest of the song to hear every word sang. Then you have bands like Coldplay and The Verve where the emotions in the music and lyrics are so perfectly matched that you can't help, but let it envelop you completely.
There just so happens to be a new band out there who seems to have that same knack for grabbing you and twisting your heart into knots as well as sending your head back to all the times in your life that their songs seem to relate to so well.
Civil Twilight out of South Africa is that band. Their new self titled CD is their first to make impact state side. This CD is brilliant from the first track to the last and feels like when you first heard either of the bands mentioned before for the first time. Steven McKellar's voice is haunting in all the best ways, whether he ups the tempo and declares "I am a soldier fighting for someone else!" in Soldier or beautifully tells the story of a couple who can't fall apart no matter how hard they try in Letters From The Sky.
This could very well be one of the most promising new bands I have come across in a while, so what more do you need to know? Go out and buy it!
Not all of us can donate thousands or millions, some of us may even have a hard time donating $5 to any certain cause. However we all can help. We all have a passion, we all have a voice, we can use these things to spread the word about defeating cancer.
One of the reasons I feel so strongly about Breast Cancer Awareness Month is because I admire what groups like Susan G. Komen have done. They have taken a cause and turned it into a revolution. Breast cancer may not be cured yet, but the leaps that have been made have been outstanding, much bigger than any moon walk or Mars Rover. Lives have been changed and survivors have gone on to be wives, mothers and grandmothers instead of memories.
As the owner of this magazine, I am able to speak to the people who read it, I am following my passion and I feel it's my duty as a human being to use my passion to make a difference.
I urge all of you to do the same, if you have even just a little to give...donate. If you don't have anything....speak. Be creative, you might be surprised at every day things you do that you can turn into a way to help.
Thank you all for reading this and thanks to everyone else whether it be publications, musicians, or sports leagues that have shown their support to this cause as well. We should use this revolution as a model for other causes as well.
One day we're all going to look back at this and smile at the fact we were all one huge leap for humanity.
