I Ate Your Microphone

One of the incredible things about listening to independent bands is the diverse range of styles and influences. Not having been tainted by the labels’ desire to make all bands sound the same, indie musicians can generate an entirely unique sound without fear of getting dumped. The Energy Trio don’t create one unique sound, they manage to cross every genre and invent several of their own along the way. The very first thing you’ll probably think when you hear them is “My God, they can actually play” and you’d be right. Hardly a surprise when you look at the staggering range of musical influences that range from Pantera to Art Blakey, Gene Harris, and Pat Martino that it is so difficult to pigeon hole them in any single style. There is always a concern with bands offering this diverse a range of influences that the result is going to be headache inducing garbage, but that is quite possibly the only genre that the Energy Trio has yetto conquer. Incredible rock guitar riffs, Jazz drum lines and 1960s keyboard just shouldn’t combine this well but in “Softly” they manage it perfectly and even throw in some Jazz Funk effects for good measure. This is surely 1960’s heavy metal jazz-fusion bebop at its very finest. All the band members hail from an incredible musical background. Bob “Animal” Powers on guitar can play his way through heavy metal riffs and back out in any other musical style. Shea “LCD” Marshall is an organ player like no other. He currently lists his projects as including a Ballet School, resident pianist for a contemporary church, and is soon to take over the role as organist for a Jewish Congregation. Adam “AC Biggs” Clark is responsible for some of the most varied and accomplished rhythms of any band and boasts playing many styles of music in all styles of bands.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 29th, 2006 at 11:05 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

As far as eclectic combinations of music genres go, Gretchen has the alternative scene virtually wrapped up. The viciously heavy guitar riffs and drumbeats are easily comparable with any number of heavy metal bands. The often-surreal vocals stretch from the obvious Gothic influence to more serene and even traditional female vocalist sounds. The combination is a hugely powerful and unique sound that is well deserved of the numerous accolades that Gretchen has already received. As well as wowing readers of the Heaven Metal Magazine and featuring as the soundtrack for a recent Ford Ranger promotion, Gretchen has also amassed radio airtime in an impressive 70 cities throughout 25 different states. It’s truly refreshing to hear a rock band willing to try and change the mould of modern music. Being a girl fronted rock band immediately means the music media and potential fans alike listen for similarities to Evanescence and No Doubt, and while occasional similarities do undoubtedly exist Mia Richards has invented an entirely new style of her own. If the world had an ounce of justice then soon enough, girl fronted rock bands would be compared to Gretchen and, if they were, they would all fall short in terms of originality. The latest album entitled “In The Mean Time” incorporates everything that is great about Gretchen and throws in Travis Wyrick as producer and Brad Noah of Disciple making a guest appearance on guitar. In a world where most bands are afraid to try anything new, Gretchen brings a breath of fresh air to the music scene. Whether you’re a secular or a regular rock fan you will find plenty to love about this band.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are actually several points neatly rolled into one post here but they’re all essentially based around the initial signing of that elusive first contract and even slightly before that.When a label A&R guy turns up to a gig and likes what he hears he generally brings the equivalent of a pre-contract agreement with him. He tells the band that this agreement enables him to speak to the label about them and vice versa. All is not at it seems, even at this early stage. Most unsigned bands, though, would jump through hoops at this point and understandably sign the agreement. This pre-contract agreement in actual fact ties the band or musician to that particular label. It prevents them from contacting any other label or signing any agreements with another label. Essentially, unless the band agrees to the deal offered by the music label, they are left with no deal and no possibility of signing another deal. Eventually, the band will sign whatever the label has to offer. Usually this is a long contract requiring the band to commit to at least 5 albums and numerous videos. Obviously, if the first album is successful they’re still stuck withthe same deal despite being a much more marketable prospect. What makes this worse is that while the band have essentially no way of getting out of the contract without being sued by the label, the reverse is not true. The label essentially have the right to cancel the agreement whenever they choose. Slow album sales or poor progress on an album will often see the label cancel their agreement. Bearing in mind how soon this occurs in the relationship between label and musician the early signs are not good.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Label Bashing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.