Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Rockwired Radio Profiles #567 - Kelakos

How many times do you go onto YOUTUBE to watch a  music video from a classic artist only to read one comment after the other basically stating that music sucks now and that back in the good old days  it was all about the music? You see it all the time and sometimes it takes a true blast from the past to agree with these oh so faceless, amateur social critics. KELAKOS was a pop rock band from the the mid to late seventies  that for this reason or that reason didn't reach the heights  of other seventies rockers that you might hear on constant rotation on this or that classic rock station. Recorded in an age when music making was indeed all about music  KELAKOS boasted a sound that  combined the expansiveness of THE BEATLES during their SGT. PEPPER era and the musicality of TODD RUNDGREN. Forty years later when musicality has seemingly been replaced by jiggling rear ends and pop psychological heartache, the decision was made to release the music of KELAKOS in a 15-song collection called UNCORKED: RARE TRACKS FROM A VINTAGE 70'S BAND - and we must say it was a  damned good decision. 

Monday, April 27, 2015

Rockwired Radio Profiles #566 - Kicking Harold

KICKING HAROLD are modern rock alchemists, and the operative word is "modern" - they synthesize hard rock, alternative, metal and dance-pop elements, and generate radio gold. Their new album - RED LIGHT DISTRICT - offers the perfect balance of classic and contemporary - the big riffs and dancier elements of new jacks like YOUNG THE GIANT and SHINY TOY GUNS, meshed with the melodic thunder of ageless grunge heroes like FOO FIGHTERS and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS. New album boasts 12 expertly-sequenced potential singles poised to erupt on multiple platforms. And every slugger in this murderers' row boasts a home run hook, from the supercharged strut of lead off track AMERICAN NITRO  to the passionate entreaty of the newly-resuscitated KILL YOU.
 

Rockwired Radio Profiles #565 - I Capture Castle

Accompanied by an array of strobe lights and synth, I CAPTURE CASTLE is much more than bone-shivering breakdowns, electrifying keys, and mesmerizing melodies. Having developed a reputation as one of the most divergent and explosive electronic hardcore acts to take the stage, the band is set to drop a slab of hard-hitting idiosyncrasy on the scene with their new EP DAYDREAMER. PAPER WALLS, the new single/video is an addictive first taste of what the group is up to on the new EP. Surrounded by a never-ending onslaught of more and more followers, and led by a determination and drive that is concrete, it is safe to say I CAPTURE CASTLE has earned their position as an upcoming leader in the world of heavy metal and hardcore. As they continue to progress and transcend expectation, the culmination of this group isn't even on the horizon yet. With plans for an upcoming mid-west tour, a highly anticipated full-length album, and much more, I CAPTURE CASTLE are aggressively setting the pace for their biggest year yet in 2015.  

Friday, April 24, 2015

Rock Is Red #5 - Innastate

Typically, a band that has only been together for a year doesn't have a whole lot to offer in the way of history but INNASTATE is a band with a past. The band's founder ADRIAN WALL - a world renowned Jemez Pueblo sculptor -  first flexed his musical muscle as the bass player of the band RED EARTH. During RED EARTH's tenure the band in almost single-handedly electrified their local Albuquerque scene and even generated a buzz throughout Indian Country with a sound that combined the groove of reggae and ska with the alternative rock posturing that was all the rage in the mid to late-nineties. After spending years away from music making WALL teamed with bassist and co-songwriter RYLAN KABOTIE and drummer LAWRENCE BAILON to form INNASTATE and the results of their labor in the studio can be heard on their self-titled EP. Not surprisingly WALL's inclination for that irresistible reggae groove is still as strong as ever but it's tempered by lyrics that are reflective and a delivery that is more earnest than RED EARTH's war whoop. JIR ANDERSON on lead guitar adds a roots rock touch to this very promising debut.   
 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Rock Is Red #4 - Dustin Harder of The Dusty Roads Band

Blues music and the Native experience are so intertwined that it was only a matter of time before ROCK IS RED turned our attention to a Native blues troubadour. Sure DUSTIN HARDER and his band THE DUSTY ROADS BAND have a musical palate that is wide and expansive but all of it can be traced back to the blues. Listeners first got a taste of the band's blues-based approach on the 2009 album SEARCHIN FOR A RIVER.  In the time since that album's release DUSTIN and the band has released a single here and a single there. Fans of the band's dexterity and versatility can now breathe a sigh of relief because HARDER is working on some songs for a upcoming album and the Metis troubadour promises that the sound and the songwriting will be cranked up a notch.  Given the man's track record thus far we can only assume that the music will most definitely rock - even if it is the blues that we're talking about.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/rockisred/rockisred4.mp3

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Rockwired Radio Profiles #564 - Chainflower

You don't get more decadent than the LA rock scene with it's flare for the dramatic power chord and in some cases some serious eyeliner. For years guitarist KELLY WHEELER has been entrenched in the scene starting out in a band with PERRY FARRELL called PSI COM. When FARRELL moved onto for JANES ADDICTION, WHEELER kept busy in the scene and eventually founded his band SEXTAPES with lead singer CHRIS PITTMAN (who was also a member of AXL ROSE's "GUNS & ROSES" during the the release and the promotion of CHINESE DEMOCRACY.) With SEXTAPES on a bit of hiatus WHEELER was on the verge of launching a new band but finding the right frontman proved elusive. Sometimes it takes a woman to do a man's job. Singer ERIKA RENEE auditioned for WHEELER and the rest was history. Well not quite - but a new band nicked CHAINFLOWER has been formed and their self-titled, two-song debut EP effin' rocks. The band's SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES meets LED ZEPPELIN approach is evident. on the songs THE FEVER and DISSOLVE IN THE SKY and ERIKA RENEE's  growl  sends the material soaring.  

Rockwired Radio Profiles #563 - Paula Tozer

When we first became acquainted with singer-songwriter PAULA TOZER in 2014 she was relatively new to the process of songwriting but that didn't stop her from releasing her stellar debut EP BLUE MUSE. Despite the brevity of that set the musical range that was spanned in that finite number of songs was tremendous - from the celtic elegance of a song like FIDDLE PLAYERS LOVE to an epic hard rock stomper like WINTERSLEEP. Now TOZER has returned with her three-song follow up EP CAIN'S REGRET where she explores darker themes such as regret (namely the EP's moody title track) and the price that one pays for getting what they truly want (PERDITION'S TOLL). Offering assistance this time around in the songwriting department is co-writer CHRIS MERCER.  With producer DON CHAPMAN behind the recording console CAIN'S REGRET is another fine addition to PAULA TOZER's ever-growing catalog of music that walks the line between ethereal and down right earthy.   

Friday, April 3, 2015

Rockwired Radio Profiles #562 - Lazy J and the Dirty Shuffle

It's a good long while since we've covered a blues artist/band here at ROCKWIRED  and we couldn't think of  a better way to get our groove back on than with  the Austin, Texas based trio LAZY J AND THE DIRTY SHUFFLE  who have jsut released their latest self titled EP a whopping seven years after the release of their 2008 debut album  BONE TO PICK. Front man and guitarist J GROVER  takes centerstage on the reggafied first single TIL THE DEVIL KNOWS YOUR DEAD (recalling early J GEILS BAND) and the ballad  LETS LET LOVE. As a lead guitar player he truly shines on the instrumental DOUBLE DOWN BOOGIE and the band proves that they ain't slouches.  

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Rockwired Radio Profiles #561 - Jace Pawlak

Remember songwriters? With so much emphasis being put on voices and image these days, it's easy to forget that there are people still writing music. JACE PAWLAK is a fellow who grew up listening to music and developing a keen interest in the machinery behind some of his favorite artists.  Looking to pop scribes like DESMOND CHILD and DIANE WARREN for inspiration he threw himself into songwriting with complete abandon and has now issued his third album PERSPECTIVE - a catalog of ten songs that show off PAWLAK's range and versatility from the opening rocker  CRY to the jazz pop twist of DON'T TALK TO ME.  In a time where many pop artists have five producers and about five different co-writers per song on an album it is most refreshing to see and hear that adventurous and versatile sounding music can come from one single, passionate source.   

Rockwired Radio Profiles #560 - Seek Irony

Rock n roll is full of brother acts but we haven't heard one quite like SEEK IRONY before. Founded by vocalist and guitarist KFIR GOV and his brother  ROM on drums SEEK IRONY got it's start as your basic four-to-the-floor rock band  but eventually the two became enraptured by the throbbing pulse of EDM. After some success in their native Israel, the brothers GOV set their sights on the States - specifically Austin, Texas - where their notoriety and their electronic rock alchemy has continued to evolve. That evolution can be heard on the band's latest release TECH N ROLL and the name cleverly says it all. However nothing is more clever than the music which flawlessly combines the grit of rock n roll with the  pulsating rhythm of electronica.  Nowhere on the album does this sonic mixture com together more seamlessly than on the lead single DEVIL IN ME.