Hodge Podge

Hello All

Hope you are not totally covered in snow right now or having to dig out of it. It has been a cold snowy winter for all of us this year. Thankfully Spring is on its way!

I thought I would continue in my series of posts about bands we have been listening to while making the new record. I thought today I would introduce you to several up and coming bands that you may or may not have heard of that we really like and have influenced us. All of these bands are from the UK, except one, which is from our own Nashville, Tennessee.

These bands all share a common theme to me. They are rock, punk, and dance rock all fused together, but each in their own unique way.The one thing I loved about all of these bands was the amount of energy you can feel while listening to them. Yeah some of them have a very raw feel, while others don't, but the energy they put off is intoxicating.

So let me introduce you to this hodge podge of bands in no particular order.

Here they are:

The View, Twisted Wheel, Those Darlins, Pigeon Detectives, The Answering Machine and Blood Red Shoes.

I owe a lot to a little tv show that once aired called bintune tv to introducing me to several of these bands. I may have to blog at some point about this show & why it was so good.

Listening to these bands is liking listening to many different styles and genres of music. Those Darlins are straight up old school country music from the 50's and 60's. The Answering Machine sounds like a rocked up version of Franz Ferdinand. The Blood Red Shoes are electronic pop with elements of well everything.

I really like the fact that they are all differnet from one another and much different from mainstream music we hear here in the States. Honestly I don't think you could get a radio station in the States to play any of these bands unless it was an underground or college station. Even then I doubt they have heard of them.

You never know where the next big thing in music is going to come from. I think all of these bands have something special about them. Could one of these bands be the next big thing, maybe given the chance. They do challenge you to think about popular music.

I'm proud to say I own all of their records

The Second Music Review: Kasabian

Hope everyone enjoyed my first post on bands we have been listening to while making the new record. I thought I would talk about another band that we have been listening to a good deal and that is Kasabian.

I had heard of Kasabian before but I was only familiar with one of their songs called 'Shoot the Runner'. I had caught them by accident on an episode of Abbey Road Live on the sundance channel performing the song.

I really owe listening to Kasabian to my friend Mike who has been a fan of theirs for awhile now. Although Jimi had a couple of there albums himself, he never really talked about them very much as an influnence. Anyway I got their newest release 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'. Let me just say I am gald I did too!

First off I want to say I chose this as my album of the year for 2009. No other record I heard in 2009 came close in my opinion to this record. Top to bottom it is just brilliant.

Imagine if you will that the Beatles had kept making music all of these years. I really believe they would have made an album that sounded like this. Pop melodies and structures over simple beats & riffs.

As a huge fan of the Beatles their influence on Kasabian is hard not to notice, but I think its the way they go about that is so unique.

Most electronic and looped based music lacks those types of melodies and harmonies. The music is more about the beat then anything else. Kasabian to me was able to take the melodic structure of the song and put the beats underneath it in a way I have never heard before.

It really inspired me to start thinking in that same way. How can we put these differents beats and sounds in our music but keep all of the pop structure.

This has lead to lots of experimenting and craziness in the studio! haha It has been a lot of fun to play with this idea of electronic music without it being electronic music. Confused yet, yeah me too, but it has inspired us to look past the ways we have made music in the past.

For that I am thankful.

Across the USA!

Just wanted to take a moment and let all of you know that on Monday our song 'Be Mine' went out to radio statios across the USA! We are very excited as you might guess. We want to thank everyone who helped make this possible. We want to thank all of YOU! Our fans and friends who continue to support us. So many of you have requested that your local station play our songs and many of them have because of you.

So now we are on the radio here in the USA & in France. Let's see if we can keep this going and get on the radio all around the World!

We Love You!
TGH

The First Music Review: KOL

Hello All

As promised in my last post I am going to talk about some records we have been listening to while making the new record. I thought I would start off with a band that when I first heard them I didn't like, but grew to not only appreciate but enjoy: Kings of Leon

To be honest the only thing I knew about the Kings of Leon was that I hated their singers voice! haha I think there are lots of people that feel that way, but I'm glad I got past it.

I really owe listening to KOL to Jimi. He has been a big fan of there's for awhile. He made me promise that no matter what I would give them a chance.

He gave me a copy of their first record Youth & Young Manhood to listen to. At first listen I liked the rock n roll sound and the style of music. The lyrics and melodies to the music, or lack of melody depending on your back ground, were quite different to most of the music I listen to. I'll have to say it took me several listen throughs before I started to understand why so many like this band.

I think it was the raw nature of their music that caught my attention. It's simple but well put together. The song that really got me interested was a song called 'Trani'. If you have never heard the song it is a slow building jam/ballad style song that ends in pure rock n roll bliss. I think the ability to create such a tune really earned my respect for them as musicians.

It wasn't long before I was asking for more of their records to listen to. Each one seemed to really develop far past the former and take full steps forward in songwriting and musicianship.

Their latest release 'Only By the Night' really grabbed me. The use of thier instruments as tools more then anything caught my ear. Be it a simple bassline with only a snare to accompany a vocal line or a collage of sounds, the thought they put into everything they do and how it is played is very inspiring.

I think that's what I have taken away from KOL more then anything, the simplicity in which they use everything they do to help mold & shape a tune into a great song.

Since discovering them it has made me think a lot about how we use all of the instruments we use and their placement in songs. Do we really need a crazy bassline or brutal guitar attack to get a point across? Could we just use a kick drum and shaker along with a vocal line to do it better.

All in all the Kings of Leon have made me approach music creation with a different view. A much more defined view. I hesitate to call it simplistic. Their music is anything but that. Maybe a more natural way of listening to music without all of the baggage so many bands try to throw in.

I Should Leave This Blank

I am starting to really like the blank messages.
I have begun to send them myself.
We get lots of them now from everyone.
Maybe this is a new fad myspace is trying to start.
Before long people will send blank emals & texts.
Then the whole world will watch blank tv screens.
Books will be sold with blank pages.
Everywhere you go you will see blank billboards and advertisements.
Soon road signs will be blank too.
Magazines, fliers, newspaper and print will all be blank.
Maybe we will walk around with blank looks on our faces.
Soon blank will become the new bling.

I left the above line blank.
It will be so wonderful!

Music Blog

As with the new year come new resolutions and ideas. For us comes a new record or two this year as well. All of this newness got me to thinking. As we are making our new records we have been listening to a serious amount of new and old music alike. Some we becuase we like it and it inspires us. Other becuase we don't like it but we for some reason lots of people do. Whatever the case, lets just say our ipods are on overload. I thought why not share with you what we have been listening to and what we think about. We have always been band that has loved outside input and opinions. Why stop now?

I would start today by listing just the records I've heard this past week, but I think I better get my thoughts together and have them alittle more focused. If I start to ramble or talk to long about one thing or one band you will stop reading and that will miss the whole point.

I don't know how much or how often to update either but I guess i will do as my thoughts come together and I have something interesting to say.

Please let us know what you think too. If you hate what we are listening to let us know. If you have suggestions you think thyat would be good, let us know that too.

When it comes down to it, we just really love music. Good music, bad music and everything in between. I have been inspired lately by artists I would never have dreamed of before. Thats the power of music you know. One day you hate a song, the next, it's your favorite for the rest of your life!

Until then....

Happy New Year!

Is it really 2010? Hard to believe. Seems like 2009 had just gotten started.

Another year has come to an end and another one is just starting. We all get a fresh start to do whatever and be whatever we want. Some of us have finally become who we want to be and some of us don't even recognize ourselves anymore. Maybe we've given our hearts to the wrong people or maybe we're running from the ones that love us most. Whatever the case, it's never too late for change.

Don't be afraid of change. Sometimes change is a good thing. Sometimes change will save your life. Embrace good change and turn into that beautiful thing that has been hiding just below the surface. Learn from the mistakes you have made. Learn from the mistakes of others. Always keep stepping forward in a postive direction.

If nothing else, in the past year I have learned 2 things: Don't take life for granted and don't take love for granted. Both are the most valuable things you will ever encounter. Follow your heart and when you find love, embrace it. Fall in love and hold nothing back.

Walk around with joy in your heart. Love everyone you pass. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Shine brighter than you ever have. View the world through different eyes,through eyes of love, not eyes of hate. Be thankful for each breath you take and be thankful for each other.

I'm thankful that I'm alive. I'm thankful I have a God that loves me. I'm thankful for all of you. You all make the world go around.

Let's make this best eyar of our lives!