Well, Mike is a real, loosened-up rocker with the spirit of a romanticist. It’s evidenced by his lyrics and his special words directed to his beloved flame in the CD’s liner notes. But getting down to business (Mike does know the ambiguity of this phrase, ha!), I admit that the guitar and his vocal are the leading “characters” in the story called “Holy Avenger”. His stuff is simple, straight-forward and sincere, because this is what corporate rock is all about. It is very catchy, accessible, bright, energy- and optimism-bursting and really driving. One of its greatest advantages are powerful production and rock ‘n’ roll solo-efficient guitar parts. In other words, all elements are matched with themselves, and here is also the lack of excess of form. Mike can scream and sing with verve. Moreover, he adroitly jumps from rock, through blues, all the way to country music. Another virtue of the album is the fact it includes a non-tiring musical blend. A tiresome music has a destructive impact on listeners, but, believe me, this joyful man with a seductive smile from the cover is not a killer, ha ha.

In my opinion, “Holy Avenger” is a kind of hit-by-hit stuff from whom such tracks like “Little Princess”, “Watch Her Walk”, “Just Like Yesterday” and “Can’t Stop This Feelin’” can be surely played on the radio. They are most rhythmical and stimulating, so the conclusion is that they can be also most appealing to the listeners. This guitar album consists of 12 basic tracks and 3 hidden bonuses - a gift for a surprised hearer, ha! Michael “Oxygen Thief” Stollaire managed to strike an awkward balance between his corporate and musical life provided that he was born with entrepreneurial and musical flair. He does know what I mean, so all that’s left for me to do is writing: great job, Mike!

reviewed by Nicolo

http://www.SonicBids.com/MichaelStollaire

IAMA is open to all independent artists and labels. Unlike other music industry competitions, IAMA focuses on developing new markets for Acoustic artists, labels and with or without CD releases. Past year’s winners include Charlie Dore (UK), Randy Kohrs & The Lites (USA), Craig Bickhardt (USA), etc.

Judging is based on excellence in music performance, songwriting/composition/song choice,Music Production and originality. (Please note that IAMA is a different competition from USA Songwriting Competition). All entries must be postmarked by November 10 or earlier.

For the regular entry form, please go to:

http://www.inacoustic.com/entryform.html

]]> http://www.indiemusicreview.net/2008/08/06/international-acoustic-music-awards-accepting-entries/feed/ http://www.indiemusicreview.net/2008/08/05/royal-jones/ http://www.indiemusicreview.net/2008/08/05/royal-jones/#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:03:12 +0000 admin http://www.indiemusicreview.net/?p=42 Royal Jones
a Dear in the Head Lights
reviewed by Cherry Herring

“Somehow in the process of life itself I’ve become jazzy…” - Royal Jones

In the trendy east village of Manhattan you’ll find the self anointed king of quirk’ funk poet Royal Jones. He is going from door to door hanging his promo posters and giving away free CDs and eye catching business cards. All this in the hopes of garnering a sale or two of his new CD which was recorded in NYC in 2007 at East Side sound studios. Engineered by Marc Urselli. It was released April 11 2008. No balloons, no fan fare. just a few novenas from the Salesian sisters of east 12th St and Avenue A “Yes that’s me in the Royal Jones Tee shirt trying to entice wouldn’t say I’m desperate but I’d hate to think I recorded this wonderful CD in vain. I simply have no management or promotional skills. I am no spring chicken either” Jones stresses.

Assisting Royal Jones on this eclectic acoustic funk set produced by Janice Friedman (who also plays all keyboards as well as collaborating on 5 songs) is legendary Buddy Williams on drums: Soulful Leo Traversa on bass: Rhythmic Rogerio Boccato on percussion: Melodious William Galison and powerhouse Lily White all shining big time on their guest spots. Completing this well rounded original offering of jazz/funk are Myoshi Marilla and Chevis Packer who add their great harmony spice to the mix for 5 of the 11 songs. 9 of the 11 songs were written by Jones with Various collaborators. The new set also features two cover songs written by Dennis Belfield ‘Smokin’ Room’ and Alee Willis and David Lasley’s ‘Come What May’

Indescribable and full of surprises and originality…”somehow in the process of life itself I’ve become jazzy….a 1st for me…. performing with a live band is so thrilling and Ms Janice is such a true ‘Jazz Pro’ having worked with Woody Herman , Milt Hinton as well as Marian McPartland”.

I finally have arrangements like a Tony Bennett or a Tiny Tim might….

Jones quips “they told me to get down…..and I did”….

What is the genre? It’s been called acoustic acid funk…trip hop jazz a flava alternative

The jury is still out on this…I pray there’s an audience for it - whatever classification it may happen to fall under.

The musicians on this CD are all top notch. I can’t wait to get us on the road and deliver the funk fun…so Git your Jones as he pleads to the passers by in Tompkins Square Park .

Jones quips “they told me to get down…..and I did”….

reviewed by Cherry Herring

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/royaljones3

Hogjaw’s music is transcendental: I turned it on, sat down on our listening couch to take it in, and suddenly I was transported to I-95. I was sitting behind the wheel of an 18-Wheeler and yappin’ into my CB radio: “breaker one nine, breaker one nine, c’mon back gooooood buddy!”

This hard southern rock music (aka Trucker Music) reminded me of ZZ-Top, or perhaps the earlier music of Lynyrd Skynyrd. They have a clean production style which shows off the interplay of Craig Self, Jonboat Jones, and Elvis D’s rhythmic guitar riffs and Kwal’s strong percussion.

Their songs are about life on the road, which is really a mirror of life in general. Their songs are about people and their relationships, and the difficulties of dealing with the human experience of life.

I do have one caveat about the album, and it’s that some of the songs appear to romanticize the use of alcohol. No one really likes being stupid, or drunk, or sick (the next day); and while the alcoholic intoxication can be interesting for a few times when one is a teenager, the experience gets old fast.

But anyway: If you like hard southern rock, you’re sure to like Hogjaw.

Reviewed by Gary Levinson

http://www.HogjawMusic.com

Looking for some music to relax to, I tried this and that, often changing the disc after just a few seconds of play, ’cause I knew that was not what I wanted to hear. Then I put on Catherine Duc’s Visions and Dreams, and before I knew it, the whole CD had played….

Visions and Dreams is a new age instrumental CD, something like Enya or Deep Forest, and with astoundingly high production quality. It’s hard to pick out and put forward a few songs as my favorites, because I liked the whole thing.

There’s a definite Celtic quality to much of this electronic music, with other parts having an clear Aztec influence. Catherine Duc mixes, in a masterful, multitrack way, a combination of electronic keyboard and synthesizer, producing first rate mood music. This is music that aids in relaxing.

Visions and Dreams is high-quality new age album which brings a bit of peace and tranquility to today’s ever-tenser world.

Reviewed by Gary Levinson

http://www.CatherineDuc.com

Sponsors of the 2008 Competition are: New Music Weekly, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Sony, Audio-Technica, Ibanez Guitars, D’Addario Strings, Sam Ash Music Stores, ARC (Advanced Room Correction System), IK Multimedia, Mi7.com, Intellitouch Tuners, Shari’s Berries, Indie Bible, LivewireMusician.com, AirplayAccess.com, Loggins Promotion, Superdups.com, Acoustic Café Radio Program, Sonicbids.com, Broadjam and XM Radio.

Also, you can cast your vote on the Broadjam.com list of USA Songwriting Competition entries.

Is Eisenhower Field Day a Cold War leftover, or a fresh shot of post-rock music? My very first impression when listening to their CD Tyrants and Spies was that it sounded like an an English mod revival band like The Jam or an English New Wave band like Squeeze.

After listening some more, I decided that what they really sounded like is Los Angeles club music from the early 1980s, akin to the L.A. punk rock band X. They have a electrified sound, that is all the same melodic with the group’s blended vocals.

Eisenhower Field Day’s music is harmonious (with their blended vocals), raucous (with Holly Butler belting out the lyrics), tuneful (ie. “Sit Down and Wait”), thought-provoking (check out the lyrics to “Lighthouse”) and decadent (ie. “Pardon my Strangeness”) all at the same time. Their production – done by the band itself – is refined and sophisticated.

The subject matter of the songs is all Cold War stuff - or are the emotions and situations talked about in the songs really a reflection of the global tensions today? Naturally, their lyrics have a certain timelessness that allows the songs to fit both. Their music makes a perfect background to the under-siege mentality that we all have to live with today.

If you’ve wondered where Rock can go now that everything has been done, Eisenhower Field Day provides a long awaited uplifting, hopeful answer. Eisenhower Field Day is the real new-wave music; what New Wave music should have always been.

Reviewed by Gary Levinson

http://EisenhowerFieldDay.com

“I saw the world was changeable by the actions of one for one”

-Brian Cook, WHY

You know those heartbreaking commercials that you see every once in a while on television, where you see footage from the poorest places in the world. And there is that one child who just stares straight ahead and you could swear they are burning a hole right through the television looking at you. Perhaps at that one moment, you get an overwhelming feeling of guilt. But then your show comes back on and you’ve quickly forgotten what you just saw.

These are just a few examples of the songs that make up “Red”. People need to sit up and take notice of what WHY is doing for rock and for those who need help in this world. They are a true indie band, as they represent themselves and though as Cook states “it is incredibly difficult….you have to step up to the challenge of promoting a project you believe in. Songs are like your children, so you give them the best you can.”

reviewed by Craig Rempel, The Tub Magazine

www.myspace.com/whyy

www.whytheband.com

We’ve heard Bischeop Csynnikal’s tales of hardscrabble adolescence and rough-and-rugged adulthood from local emcees many times before. What we’ve rarely been gifted with is a tough-guy rhymer willing and able to step outside rap’s formulaic box and cover unexplored terrain, both topically and musically. When Csynnikal does this, as on “Father’s Smile”—in which he tells his unborn child how growing up without a dad led him to death row—and the a cappella verse on the socially incisive “Illegal,” he’s on his A-game. Csynnikal’s lyrics and storytelling can be quite memorable; his voice and most of his beats, not so much.

reviewed by Damon Hodge

http://cdbaby.com/cd/bischeopcsynnikal

I received Effusion 35’s CD with an info sheet that put a heavy emphasis on the fact that the band comes from Philadelphia. After reading that I expected something in the way of the typical Philly-Sound, maybe some R & B with a bit of Funk thrown in (Martha And The Vandellas: “Dancing in the streets - Philadelphia, PA!”), or some such.

Actually, it is nothing of the kind. Sounding a lot like Rush, Effusion 35’s music is what one would call ‘hard rock’. Like Rush, Effusion 35 mixes a variety of styles; melodic “classic” rock, with some heavy metal whining lead guitar hooks, a bit a synth, and some harmonious vocals. All in all pretty interesting. They must make a great live act.

Especially interesting were the song titles: “Soma”, “Placebo”, “Juxtaposition”, and let’s not even mention “Mindfuck”. Fortunately, since the vocals are not all that easy to understand, the album cover comes with a complete set of lyrics.

Randy Robbins Effusion 35’s drummer explains the basic existential problem that the band deals with in their music: “If Effusion 35 stands for anything, it’s that four guys really can’t make a difference.” However self-effacing Randy may be, for harder rock aficionados, Effusion 35 does make a difference.

reviewed by Gary Levinson

http://www.Effusion35.com