Living the Dream….Sublime Style

For last and sweetest blog post of the year, I will be talking about the musical styling of ska-punk band Sublime.

The members of Sublime come from Long Beach in southern California.  They are Eric Wilson, Bud Gaugh and Brad Nowell.  Their first gig wasin a small club on the fourth of July in 1988.  According to folk lore, the band started a riot that night, which led to seven arrests.

In 1992 they debuted their first album, 40 Oz. to Freedom.  The album had such hits as Smoke Two Joints and 40 Oz. to Freedom.

As the trio gained popularity in the So-Cal region, they were asked to play in the inaugural touring of Van’s Warped Tour.  It became obvious that Sublime was the most popular act on stage.  However, there were complications as the tour wore on.  The constant substance abuse of the band members was always an issue.  There were very few sober nights on that tour.  Additionally, the drummer (Bud Gaugh) was arrested on several occasions for possession of marijuana.  During performances, aside from the constant drug abuse, the band also liked to bring their dogs on stage.  This led to several instances of audience members being bitten.  Essentially, this popular act was the biggest liability that Vans could’ve asked for.  However, the public couldn’t get enough of them.

The band released their second album, Robbin’ the Hood in 1994 and then their final album in 1996.  The final album, called Sublime, was originally named Killin’ it.  However, shortly before the album’s release, Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose and the album’s name was changed out of respect.

This album included the hits, Santeria, Wrong Way, Caress Me Down and What I Got.

Sublime’s music is mellow and inspirational.  The message in most of their songs is one of patience and relaxing.  Even if life sucks, your attitude is the only thing that determines how you feel.  Just love the music and live the life you love.

Secret Lover = Paramore

This week I’ll be talking about the growing band, Paramore.

Paramore is an American rock band that formed in 2004.  The members are lead singer and keyboardist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Josh Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis and Zac Farro on the drums.  Hayley and the Farro brothers went to private school with each other where they met and began playing.

The name Paramore comes from the maiden name of one of the original band members, which was Paramour.  This is translated as “secret lover.”  Changing the spelling to look more American, the band was formed.  As always, enjoy the music!

In 2005 the band released their first album All We Know is Falling.  This album had such hits as All We Know, Pressure and Emergency.

Gaining popularity through touring and online music sharing, the band quickly became a hit.  Paramore solidified their success in the summer of 2007 with the release of their second album, Riot!  This album had such hits as Crushcrushcrush, Hallelujha, That’s What You Get and Misery Business.

I like Paramore for their upbeat music and powerful instrumentals.  Additionally, I believe that a great strength of the band lies in their vocals.  Female vocalists in the rock and roll world are too few and far between.  I’m not denying that there are other wonderful female vocalists out there.  But to see a rock band put a women up as the lead singer is a refreshing change.  This is especially true when listening to the way she dominates each song and makes it her own.

What’s Chili and Hot at the Same Time?

This week in music I’ll be talking about the incredibly talented Hannah Montana!

OK so I’m not really talking about Hannah Montana. Sorry if I got anyone’s hopes up.

This week I’ll actually be talking about an extremely talented rock band (also my personal favorite band of all time) The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Formed twenty five years ago in LA the Chili Peppers continue to gain fans at a staggering rate. This is why they’re my favorite band. Despite the fact that they began playing when most of our parents were our age, the Chili Peppers are appealing to anyone and everyone. Old or young, girl or boy, black or white, Catholic or Muslim; the fan base is completely non-discriminate.

Their music is described as an alternative rock sound that uses a lot of funk. So essentially, that means that, even though they’re playing rock music, each one of their songs is fun to dance to. Also, the Chili Peppers always put on an amazing show full of energy and fun.

Here’s a list of some of their most notable songs:

Under the Bridge

Snow

Can’t Stop

Aeroplane

By the Way

Californication

Dani California

There are so many more great songs that the Chili Peppers have made and most of them, unfortunately for my blog, don’t even have music videos on youtube that I can show you. However, if you’ve never taken the time to listen to this band I strongly recommend that you do. Not only as one of their biggest fans, but as someone who is truly in love with music.

As always, enjoy the music!

Shiny Things!!!

This week I’ll be talking about the band, Shiny Toy Guns.

This band is the newest of any band I’ve talked about so far. They were formed five years ago by the bassist/keyboardist Jeremy Dawson and Vocalist/Guitarist Chad Petree who were previously part of bands Cloud2Ground and Slyder. Both of these bands were known as American electronic/rock bands. After leaving Slyder, Jeremy and Chad began playing together and named themselves Shiny Toy Guns. They gained popularity on Myspace and by 2004 they picked up singer Carah Faye Charnow and drummer Mikey Martin.

In 2005, on the record label Southwest International, (I’ve never heard of them either) they released their first album We Are Pilots. After touring America, the album was re released more than once as the band switched record labels, finally landing with Universal Records.

The band hasn’t released a new album yet. However, the one that’s out right now is pretty sick (sick in a good way). They hold on to their rock influences, but the electronic sound makes any of their songs easy to dance to. But how about this. Instead of me talking about the music, why don’t you just listen to it. These are a few of their singles from their album. You Are the One, Le Disko and my personal favorite, Rainy Monday.

If you’re still interested in these guys, Here is their myspace page.

Enjoy the music!

How The West Was Won

This week I’ll be talking about the mid western group, Murder by Death.

Hailing from Indiana, this four person alternative rock band has caught the attention of a growing underground population. This group may sound like a hardcore, metal, head banging extravaganza. But don’t let the dark and sinister name fool you. The name, Murder by Death comes from a 1976 Robert Moore movie of the same name. The band uses the traditional instruments that any other rock band uses; including guitar, drums and bass. However, what gives the group their unique sound is an electric cello. Played by Sarah Balliet, the only girl of the group, the cello lends the band a western saloon style sound, which is being called “Americana noir” and is complimented perfectly by Adam Turla’s (lead guitarist and vocalist) deep, Johnny Cash like, vocals.

The group is infamous for creating concept albums. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an album that tells a story. The Who’s “Tommy” or Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” are examples of this. Since they began touring back in 2000, Murder by Death has released four albums. Like the Exorcist, But More Breakdancing, Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them?, In Bocca Al Lupo and their most recent (which came out just this March) Red of Tooth and Claw. Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them? is the story of the devil going to a town in New Mexico and the battle that ensues between him and the people of the village. The album has such hits as Killbot 2000 and Until Morale Improves the Beatings will Continue. In Bocca Al Lupo is also a concept album, which is translated from Italian as “in the mouth of the wolf.” However, instead of each song being part of a larger story, Adam Turla has said that it is more of an anthology of short stories, all of which are about guilt, redemption and sin. Some hits off of this album are Boy Decide, Dead Men and Sinners, Brother and Sometimes the Line Walks You.

If anyone is reading this on Wednesday (the day I’m posting it) Murder by Death is actually playing TONIGHT at Valentine’s on New Scotland Ave. Tickets should be no more than $12 if you’re interested. Enjoy the tunes!