Interview with Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter

What do Ra Ra Riot, Cold War Kids, Raphael Saadiq, Ani DiFranco, Fleet Foxes, and The National all have in common? Yeah, probably whatever you're thinking but also, Daytrotter! All these artists along with hundreds of others have stopped by the Daytrotter studios to perform quality stripped down sessions for the site. By doing this these artists have contributed to the 16 million sessions downloaded so far by members of the site since it's launch in 2006.

Usually I get obsessed with an artist and want to know everything about them. I reel it in a little bit, pull myself together, and ask for an interview. However, back in June I got more obsessed with a website than I had been with any band in a while at that point. That site was Daytrotter. I was led there by Steel Train, who have now done two sessions.

If you want to see the magic for yourself go to the site. Pick three of your favorite indie bands and search for them there. Chances are at least one of them will have a Daytrotter session. At least this has been my experience. Now when I'm researching bands one of the the first places I go is DT. If I find a session I choose to listen to it before the actual record. I choose to read Sean's essays prior to cracking open a press release. The site is truly a music lover's dream.

I'll start with the obvious question: Why did you start Daytrotter?

The reasons why aren't really fuzzy, they're just sort of insignificant, the more I think about them. I really just wanted to try something. I was working for the newspaper here in Davenport and doing a handful of freelance writing for a couple of music magazines across the country, but it felt like I was always getting pushed to write about bands and people that I didn't really think were all that great -- instead of getting to write about those I thought had the most merit. I thought, "Why not try doing something else?" and so Pat Stolley, Johnnie Cluney and I started doing this. There was no over-planning or brainstorm, just a decision one evening of, "Let's start this next week and see where it goes."

Were you at all inspired by the Peel Sessions?

I've never actually listened to a Peel Session, I don't believe. I think I own a CD of a Hot Snakes Peel Session, but I've never listened to it. I obviously respect John Peel and have read a bit about him since we started Daytrotter, but I can safely say that Daytrotter wasn't inspired by anything at all. Funny how that works sometimes.

Daytrotter promises 7 bands, 28 songs a week. Was this tough to accomplish when DT first launched?

Well, we didn't do it like that at all in the beginning. We released one session a week. Then about three months in, it was two a week. Then we jumped to three a week about a year later. Shortly after that, we were posting one a day Monday-through-Friday. Now we're at seven days a week and starting in January, you're likely to see 2-3 sessions a day. It's impossible for us not to do that at this point. It's not hard at all.

Your essays and biographies of the bands are always incredible. I read some over and over. Did you or do you write professionally for other sites or publications?

Thanks so much. I spend a lot of time on them. I wrote for 12 years for the Quad-City Times, a newspaper here in the Quad-Cities and I did some freelance writing for Rockpile, Punk Planet, Filter and a handful of other places. Mostly a ton of publications that don't print physical copies any longer.

Could you take us through the process of preparing for a band to come record and then how exactly the sessions are recorded?

There's really not much preparation. We just wait for them. I book all of the sessions and they're all recorded live in one room -- no headphones or overdubs. We have a bunch of Otari 50/50 quarter-inch tape machines and we lay everything down onto quarter-inch tape. It's pretty sexy.

Are there other Daytrotter studios now, aside from the Horseshack?

We are now using Big Orange, the studio we have used for the past five years when we travel down there to tape during SXSW, as a second studio. It's a great thing to have available. We tape about 20 sessions a month down there, in addition to our close to 40 a month here in Rock Island. We're looking into the possibility of having a third studio in London sometime soon. We'll see how that goes.

Are you always around to personally oversee sessions recorded?

I'm usually always here. I hate to miss sessions, but reality gets to me sometimes as it's really hard to write at the studio and the writing really does demand a lot of my time so sometimes I have to choose between being at the studio and being productive/prolific.

What has been some of your favorite sessions?

I really do like all of them as I personally invite every band/artist to the studio, but there are certainly some sessions that really stand out. Kris Kristofferson, Gayngs, every time Delta Spirit's here, Avett Brothers, Blind Boys of Alabama and too many others are really at the top of my list for memorability. I have a feeling our upcoming session with Naughty By Nature will rank pretty high too.

I'm a huge fan of Johnnie Cluney's illustrations, just one of many things I look forward to in a new session. I can't help obsessing over how cool it would be to own vinyls with his pictures as album art. Any plans to produce vinyls of DT sessions?

Get ready. Yes.

The Naughty By Nature session takes place at Rock Island Brewing Company in Rock Island, IL. Tickets are $20, proceeds go to QC Times/United Way Wish List.

http://ribco.tickets.musictoday.com/RockIslandBrewingCompany/moreInfo.aspx

Some Personal DT Faves:

First Aid Kit

Kaki King

Dark Dark Dark

Ra Ra Riot

Tegan & Sara

Steel Train

LINKS!!!

http://Daytrotter.com (If you hadn't figured that one out yet...)

http://Twitter.com/Daytrotter

http://Twitter.com/RealDaytrotter (Sean)

What Were You Listening To This Summer?

So it's starting to feel less and less like summer everyday now. Believe it or not there's a few weeks left. All we've been talking about here are summer records; I listed my favorite record releases of the (spring and) summer and LLV basically gave a run down of what she's been into this summer with a wide range of selections from Eminem to Fleetwood Mac.

I had this idea to ask a few people what their favorite records were to listen to in the summer. For me it's Weezer's Blue Album, hands down. It's as if I forget that record exists until it gets warm outside. The opening chords of the acoustic on "My Name Is Jonas", the lyrics in "Surf Wax America" (and the title!) and the visual I get from "In The Garage" seem to just scream "It's summer, get out, enjoy the weather, have fun!!!". Hell, I don't even own a car this is the feeling I get from popping some ear buds in my ear so I can only imagine what fun I'd be inspired to have if I hopped into a car and cranked the volume up to 'obnoxious'. This summer however I've gotten a bit dark. Along with my beloved Weezer summer pick-me-up I've been putting Kittie's discography on repeat. Ironically, one of my favorite songs by the band is called "Summer Dies"

SO, I asked Raimy Rosenduft, Sarah Bastin, Jamie Holm (Sick of Sarah), Brad Hale (Now, Now Every Children) and Lindsey Byrnes to fill us in on what they've been blasting this summer. I'm nosy, I ask a lot of people a lot of things and you're no different. I'd love to see what you guys have been listening to this summer in the comments!

And yeah The Byrnes' answer is kind of short. But if you're a fan of The Byrnes then you know how busy she is, seriously, I don't think the woman sleeps! Glad I could get a hold of her to get this! Enjoy

__________________________________

Nada Surf's 'Let Go' it just happened that way, I got back to Los Angeles after being gone for almost a year and it's just what has been on my ipod. That and Next Stop Soweto and Miriam Makeba's Greatest Hits and a bunch of other afrobeat... and the new LCD and Washed Out all on shuffle. It reminds me of walking around Park Slope and Ft. Greene... home.

-Raimy
http://raimyrosenduft.com
http://twitter.com/muthafunka

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my record of the summer 2010 is ra ra riot - boy
because before them i hated the cello and the violin. because their new record makes me sad, happy, joyful, melancolic and summer is all about that. it's the moment of the year to reach a new level in work and life, you start a new year in the summer. ra ra riot is a great band for roadtrips !

-Sarah
http://sarahbastin.net
http://twitter.com/sarahbastin
__________________________________

The album I've been listening to the most is my boyfriends band, Vaudeville, I'm a nerd. Haha. Other than that I would have to say Mermaid Avenue, Wilco & Billy Bragg. I'm addicted.

-Jamie
http://sickofsarah.com
http://twitter.com/jamiestrange

__________________________________

I'm not big on summer, so whenever summer happens to come around I need to listen to music that distracts me from the heat. Every summer for the past handful of years I have found myself retreating to the Sufjan Stevens "Songs for Christmas" albums. Maybe it's a bad habit, but it totally gives me this nostalgic feeling that I can never find anywhere during summer.

-Brad
http://nownowband.tumblr.com
http://twitter.com/poopybrad

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Steel Train/Steel Train
Pixies/ Doolittle
Tegan and Sara/Sainthood

These are the CDs that are currently on rotation in my car.

-Lindsey
http://lindseybyrnes.com
http://twitter.com/lindseybyrnes

Illustrations by Jodi Sandler

http://jodisandler.com

http://twitter.com/jodisandler

Tegan Quin: A Moment of Your Time?

So if you've been paying attention at all you know that I have been trying to get an interview with Tegan or Sara for a while now. Seven months and a billion emails later, I DID IT, or rather their manager took pity on me and did it! I was told they didn't have time for blog interviews (blame Australia...) but one of them could probably answer 5 questions for me. So I narrowed down my 15 questions accordingly. The fact that Tegan took time out to do this is just a testament to her and Sara's devotion to their fans (they know I don't work for a publication). I hope you guys enjoy this. I really asked what I thought were the best 5 questions you could ask Tegan or Sara Quin, if told you could ONLY ask Tegan or Sara Quin 5 questions.




July 18^th is the 10-year anniversary of the release of ‘This Business of Art’ (first Vapor release). You guys seem to have had a well crafted career; from the way in which you’ve marketed yourselves to the way you’ve essentially built your own fan base. Is the successful career you have now the result of some sort of 10-year plan?

When we started out 12 years ago we decided not to try and sign to a major label and instead focus on trying to find a partner to make records with. Vapor came into our sights and reassured us of that goal. Ultimately Sara and I were striving for longevity and creative ownership rather than fame and fortune. Since then, over the past 5 records with them we have continued to focus on that rather than how to become more famous or make more money. Although those things are important and definitely play into our day to day decisions when we look long term and think big picture, its always about HOW to stay creative for as long as possible!



If you were an only child or didn’t have a sibling that wanted to make music do you think you would have pursued a music career?

Oh wow, I have no idea. Its hard to say. We have always written alone and we definitely didn't always want to do this growing up. Even once we started making records and touring professionally we have had differences in opinion about how serious to take what we do and how long we'll both agree to doing it. I think that we both have grown to love music and our career so much that no matter what we do it will always be somewhat related to this industry and being creative. But its hard to say what we would have done different 15 years ago had we not had one another. I have no idea.



You guys have been doing a ton of in-stores and acoustic sessions. Is this done as a way to stay connected with fans as your main shows get bigger? Is this something you think you will always try to make time for?

You hit the nail on the head. Sara and I are trying to do more instores, radio performances for contest winners and fans as well as book acoustic shows when we can as an attempt to get back to our roots and connect with our very loyal and devoted fan base. We love that our band is getting more popular and doing so well but as the shows get bigger we miss the intimacy of our former days and so we are trying to balance that out with some more intimate gigs. And its working!



You have one record left with Warner. I’ve read that it wasn’t your choice to be on a major label so my question is do you see the end of the contract as an end of something, or as a chance to be free to pursue other things?

Its hard to say. I have nothing against major labels personally. I think they play an important role in spreading the word about a band. Our band has benefited greatly from being on Warner. BUT when we finished The Con we were DONE! It was 10 years later and we were about to become free agents. Mainly we were excited about this because we knew The Con was going to be very successful and we were looking forward to renegotiating a record deal that would give Sara and I ownership over our masters. When Sanctuary closed its doors, our catalogue and US went up for sale. Warner became our owner. And while they are a great owner and home for T+S, it meant we had to renegotiate sooner and so we now have to make 2 more records [after The Con] and not retain ownership. Which sucks. Hopefully we are able to stay at Warner or find a home for T+S soon when our deal is up that WILL allow us to finally be owners of our own music. Fingers crossed.


Both of you have talked about how you’re interested in other areas of the music industry aside from making music. You have both produced on other records and Sara has done A&R for An Horse. You’ve also steered much of your own career through smart marketing. With all this knowledge and skill under your belt I have to ask: Do either of you think you would ever start your own independent record label or production company?

I think that Sara and I both have an open mind when it comes to what we do next or what we do to fill the time off between tours and records. We're definitely both taking the opportunities that come our way and we're exploring and experimenting with different paths. Right now I have no ambition to be a record label or an A&R. The industry is changing so fast and I really don't think I'd do a better job than the one being done. But I do hope to always have a job in this industry. I think next I'm going to do some song writing with other artists. That seems to be where my instincts are pulling me!

photo credit: Lindsey Byrnes (http://twitter.com/lindseybyrnes)

photo credit: Jaime Wojodowski (http://twitter.com/wojo4hitz)

LINKS!!!

http://teganandsara.com

http://twitter.com/theteganandsara

The Thermals: Culture Icons

"Hardly art, hardly starving. Hardly art, hardly garbage!"

And with that, I fell in love with The Thermals! The lyrics, from "No Culture Icons" of the band's debut LP More Parts Per Million, struck me as a direct dig at mainstream music. Not all mainstream music is bad, just because someone is on a major label, doesn't mean they aren't capable of making important music. It's just that over the last 15 years, that has been rare. Old school mainstream meant Bruce Springstein, The Who, The Police, Phil Collins...I could go on. New school mainstream is Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Fall Out Boy, selling Pepsi, Target and Burger King commercials. Do you see? New school mainstream music is all about marketing: "This song is great...now what can we sell with it?". And THAT my friends is why punk bands exist, just to keep everyone focused. Which is why when Hummer offered The Thermals $50,000 to use one of their songs in a commercial, The Thermals basically gave them the finger. Now had Honda offered them 20,000 bucks for a Hybrid commercial, perhaps they would've considered that. Cause that's another horrible thing, it's not bad enough that music has just become a marketing strategy, it's being used to sell the most unnecessary and unhealthy things! How about a Black Eyed Peas song on a life insurance commercial? Just saying....

*sigh* This is actually a post about The Thermals....lemme refocus here...:

The Thermals, yet ANOTHER gift from Portland formed in 2002. Then they took off at indie speed! You ready? Ok, so they gave their demo to Ben Gibbard who gave it to Sub Pop Records, who IMMEDIATELY signed them and had the record mixed by Chris Walla! The record, More Parts Per Million, was released in March 2003. Then they lost a guitar player, gave the guitar to lead singer Hutch Harris and became a trio and recorded and released their second record Fuckin' A, in 2004. For some reason drummers are slippery, and The Thermals were no exception, flying through drummer after drummer. Good thing bassist Kathy Foster is also a drummer and recorded ALL drums for the band's last two records. Maybe even the last three, it's confusing apparently The Thermals have an unreleased LP called We Sleep In a Holy Bed, why unreleased? I have no idea, I'll get back to you on that one! At least we have The Body, The Blood, The Machine and Now We Can See to distract us from any "lost" or unreleased goodness we may wonder about.

What's great about The Thermals is their music is actually really simple. The arrangement in the songs are so simple and yet the lyrics are so powerful and sometimes that creates some complexity in the way you respond to it. When the music is overpowered by the lyrics it makes you pay attention to the words, whether you want to or not, then you have to deal with how that makes you feel.

Now I don't talk about many punk bands because I've only just discovered punk music. I had a preconceived idea of punk music being loud, screamo with no rhythm. I'm finding this to be very untrue! So starting with The Thermals, I'll be blogging about punk bands I now love.

Sick of Sarah!!!

Sick of Sarah is a pop/rock/punk-ish band based out of Minnesota (finally Mid-West represent bitch!!!). The band consists of:
Abisha Uhl: vocals & rhythm guitar Katie Murphy: guitar, vocals Jessie Farmer: guitar, vocals Brooke Svanes: drums Jamie Holm: bass, vocals

Jamie is the newest addition to the band, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the chemistry she has with the other members. Who are all hilarious by the way. If you love watching ridiculous Tegan & Sara stuff you'll love them, their "behind the scenes" stuff involves cigarettes and alcohol so...I can relate a little better! Tracks to check out, "Not Listening" and "Mr. Incredible".
This is Mr. Incredible....with pictures;-) oooo

O! One thing I forgot to mention, they're a queer band!!! I know, you knew it was coming!!!
And this is "Not Listening" LOVE THIS SONG!!!It's the theme song to Brunch With Bridget!!!

Fun times in the studio!!!:-)

BIG CHANGES FOR FALL TOUR

After a year and a half of touring The Con, Tegan & Sara have decided to finally make some serious changes to the setlist! For the legions of fans eagerly awaiting Tegan's much promised (and never carried out) performance of "Superstar", your (and my) time has come!!! What's better than Tegan performing "Superstar"??? TEGAN PERFORMING "THE FIRST"!!!!!!!!! I know, I know......I know, I've only just regained my shit....cuz I lost it!!! Sara's high ass has added a light show she can trip herself on..seriously wanna party with Sara! Other songs have been added but I'm not going to make embedding the video COMPLETELY pointless so...I won't go into that. However I will say that I hope one of the unreleased songs to be performed will include my new love "Give Chase"......
Tegan and Sara - US Fall Tour Announcement

Is it just me or do they look like holograms??? WTF???

WARNING!!!: THIS MUSIC IS RATED NE(NOT FOR EVERYONE)

Obi Best, or is it Colorforms??? I'm not sure all I know is that I LOVE them! I mean her, Alex Lilly:-) Ok honestly I don't know what's going on I promise unless you know alot about Alex Lilly already then you're going to be really confused by the information on the Myspace pages, the fact that you need read more than one is already confusing enough! I'm going to give you a snippet of Obi Best's Myspace page:

While Alex Lilly's sweet, girl-next-door vocals may have once backed fellow L.A. residents and pop-devouts the Bird and the Bee, her pipes take center stage for solo project Obi Best. And Capades, Lilly's debut album under the moniker, validates her step into the limelight. Under a sprightly, whimsical layer-cake of pianos, synths, and budget drum-machine skitters (provided by a slew of like-minded pals), Lilly's work takes on a circus-esque, twirling quality with its animated, bubbly instrumentation and varied lyrical topics, from lovers to gardens, and beyond. And tracks like the slower, twinkling ballad "Green and White Stripes" and the Stereolab-esque "Blooms Like Flowers" show Lilly's knack for both songwriting and setting an ethereal soundscape. -- SPIN.com

When she’s not moonlighting as back-up singer for acclaimed retro-pop group the Bird and the Bee , Alex Lilly is masterminding the fanciful pop of Obi Best. With a cadre of talented LA friends and a sensibility that’s as at home with Stereolab as it is with Prokofiev, Lilly conjures music that’s complex and catchy – think geometry, double-dutch, and animated spin art.

Obi Best’s debut album due for release August 25th is a rich tapestry of piano, airy electronica, refined rock and panoramic beats deftly punctuated by bells and chirps and otherworldly sounds. Ranging from melodic and ethereal to rollicking and fun, the album inhabits a universe where fantasy and reality live side by side; here, Tokyo lies just around the block from Stockholm, youth and wisdom hold hands, magic seems to grow on trees. -Social Science Recordings

Well whether it be Colorforms, Obi Best or The Bird and the Bee (another Alex Lilly project) Alex Lilly is the common link throughout. I'm now content to just be a fan of hers until I'm clear on exactly what she's working on at the moment. Well I know that Obi Best's CD is set for release in January and a video of "It's Because Of People Like You" will be released sometime next week. However, I'm not clear on whether or not Alex Lilly is still singing back up for The Bird and the Bee.

Here's a video of my favorite Alex Lilly song, well Colorforms:
Colorforms "Nothing Can Come Between Us"

One noticeable difference between the groups is Babs, the drummer for Obi Best. She's quite hilarious and has her own Vlog series on Youtube. A "internet friend" of mine turned me on to the vlogs, as well as Obi Best:-) Thank You Kelsey!!!! This post's for you!!!

Shit Recently Placed On My Phone (which holds more than your ipod)!!!

After weeks of stress and other causes of insanity, I've found something inspiring to blog about: New Music!!!! Ok not really new music but music that's new to me and that you probably don't know about either so...yeah.

I had three people I wanted to focus on today. I debated on whether or not I should have three different posts...but I'm feeling a bit tired so I think I'll out do myself here with length and just make this one big ass post!:-)

The first person I want to talk about is L.P. L.P. is a singer based in New York. You might already know of her music and just be unaware of it like I was. If you watch "South of Nowhere" my friend then you know her, she sings the theme song...or rather her song is played as the theme. What's funny is I just recently downloaded that song by mistake cause someone had it listed as a Tegan & Sara song and I was like "wtf" this doesn't sound like T&S!!! lol Gotta love limewire:-P She's openly gay- guys I swear I didn't know that before I started listening to her! I'm just that gay! It's like the universe pulls me in these really homosexual directions: gay movies, gay actresses, gay singers, gay bands. I just stumble upon this shit! Anywho!She's got that androgyny thing that's really sexy in a female but is SUPER sexy in a female musician. She looks ALOT younger than she is too, which I can empathize with of course...she probably doesn't get the respect she deserves right of the bat. She has a really strong voice, it's heart-breaking. So far my favorite song by her is "Cling To Me" which you can her about 30sec of on her video for "Good With You", also an amazing track. She delivers unique vocals, seemingly very difficult to perform live, but that isn't so. She's an amazing live artist as well. She's very funny, witty and kinda sarcastic (I should ask her out). And she dares to have a style reminiscent of Alice Cooper but makes it really really hott.
Here's the video for "Good With You", trust, you will thank me for this:
L.P. "Good With You/Cling To Me" video

Next up, we have Uh Huh Her, which isn't new, but their CD is FINALLY about to come out next Tuesday! And what better time than right now for the label to FINALLY release a video. It's big production ya'll lol. I don't even have much to say on this note...I talk about them alot(not necessarily on here), if you don't got it by now, baby forget it! But if you need more convincing here's the video for "Not A Love Song"....I wouldn't be surprised if they opened up for T&S, that's all I'm gonna say...there are things that make me think that's going to happen shhh

And third The Veronicas!!! Yeah I actually don't have much to say about them except their twins and they make really catchy pop/(very little)rock music and I'm OBSESSED with their latest single "Untouched" and wanted to share it with you guys. Yes they're twins but don't worry they have nothing on T&S...except sexy Australian accents *swoon*. But you can't hear that when they sing so meh!

T & S Forever!!!!

I'm in love with two people, Tegan & Sara! Who isn't right? Actually I've always liked them, but I didn't love them...until a few days ago. A while ago they were mentioned Cathy Debuono's WYP and were said to be gay. This of course peaked my interest, especially considering they are identical twins. So initially my research (and they're SO open about their sexuality that it didn't take much) was just to find out if this was true. Along the way I discovered geniuses! As a true music fan one thing you need to see before you die is "The Con" dvd/documentary, as a music lover getting inside T & S's head was such a revealation. I mean watching them put each song together layer by layer, in EXTREME detail was unlike anything I'd seen before. They are in this CD, it's not some studio job, where they handed over the demos and just let go. In fact, the first thing you find out is that the tracks on the CD are SUPER tweaked demos that the girls had already put together. They just added the guitars, keyboards, and vocals first. Then took it to the producer and the drummer (both members of Death Cab for Cutie) to really make these tracks come to life. And on a side note: SUCH a turn on watching Tegan play some raw guitar lol. They're both professionals on the keyboard and the guitar. Tegan drums a little but it definitely isn't her strongest skill lol.

But it's not all about "The Con", actually I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that Con is their 5th record. Which means I've got a lot more T & S coming my way. Now I'm not an idiot, I was very much a fan by time "So Jealous" came out but I just liked the singles, but for some reason was never motivated to buy the CD. So this is the very beginning of my Tegan & Sara journey back in time (The Con came out over a year ago), I've got a long ways back to go. I just caught a rarity on youtube a song from a really old cd called "The First" well the CD is called "The Business of Art" and it's unlike anything I've EVER heard by T & S! Tegan, whose voice is the more high pitched between the two, leads this track with a rough hip-hop/r&b vocal that I didn't even know she was capable of. The funny thing about the video is I'm sure when people saw it, they assumed they were gay cause they look like little boys, but I don't care. When it comes to rockstars they do all sorts of weird things with their appearance that has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It's just an artist's need to be different from the pack. This theory is supported by the fact that this vid is like 6 years old and the girls have since had a more feminine appeal. As of late they have blended with their signature mullet, that NO ONE else can copy, cause they would look ridiculous, where as T & S look sexy. Here's the old vid, that everyone should check out, especially if you're some one who thought that all they could do was poppy high-pitched vocals....YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!!!!

In true "Then & Now", "Before & After" fashion I will put a video from the latest CD on here, but I have to give a little info first. Nothing much just some stand out tracks. My fave of the 14 on the disc are: The Con, Like O Like H, Knife Going In, Floorplan, Call It Off, Nineteen, Are You Ten Years Ago. And damn that's half the CD, the other tracks are great too, but the ones I listed are on repeat on my computer right now! So in conclusion Tegan & Sara are sexy and successful and musical geniuses! How successful, well I didn't check out the numbers for this disc yet, but "So Jealous" was one of the best selling CDs of 2004 when it was released. Not to mention you've heard their songs on every major mainstream primetime show...and more than a few movies! Making them industry favorites, and respected among their peers. So here's the video for "The Con", probably my favorite song by them, and I'm REALLY pissed this wasn't the first single!

The Cliks!!!!!!!

The Cliks! I'm excited! Are you? If you're a dyke you are cause you've heard their music now, officially on EVERY major lezzy show there is: Exes & Ohs, The L Word, and most recently Gimme Sugar. The whole band is made up of lesbians except Lucas who is a transman, and a gorgeous one at that. His (and for you straight people who don't get how this works, Lucas was born a female but never felt like one so she transitioned and is now a man)voice is AMAZING! I've never heard a voice a raw and raspy as his that was able to go so high. On their most popular cut "Oh Yeah" Lucas' voice is so painful and you feel his fury in the verses but then the pre-chorus is so light and his voice lifts and it's some vulnerability there that you weren't expecting. Then there's sexually charged (if only by the video) "Eyes In The Back of My Head" and he's whispering to you through the verses and then the chorus is like a chant, very engaging. Now "Complicated" is the most revealing of the three I think. And if you watch the video you kinda see why, I think this one really mirrors Lucas' pain and confusion about the his gender and what that pain was like. So here it is, the video for the three songs:
Oh Yeah

Complicated

Eyes In The Back of My Head

And a special treat: Cry Me A River & Irreplacable

Stax Hungry

So these interesting looking guys to the left are "Stax Hungry", pretty clever, dare i say it, hip-hop. But the sound is hardcore. I love the melody and I mean these guys can really shredd! The vocals are bit too hardcore for me but if your into punk/metal the 4 tracks on the Stax Hungry Myspace page are for you. They remind me of Rage Against the Machine but if the lead singer of Rage had a deeper voice.


I'm pretty new to Stax myself so I'm gonna hit cha with their about me section for their myspace:

Formed originally under the name Cracker Jack and the White Chocolates, Stax hungry brings thought provoking, conscious lyrics and blends them with high impact rock melodies. Stax Hungry, est. 2005, has been the at the forefront of the "funcore" movement and has had the pleasure of performing with well know bands such as- The Burning Cacti, Jefferson Golfcart, Awesome Core, Pauly Tomale and the magnets, Dog Latin, and From the Future. There is far more to come from Stax Hungry as they are preparing for the release of their first album (not yet titled) for the summer of 2008. Be prepared to enjoy yourself to death.

So check it out and judge for yourself, out of the 4 tracks on their Myspace page my favorite is "Blink Yellow", just because of the first minute or so alone, the music is on point, so here's a link to their Myspace:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=297415248