Monday, October 24, 2016

One Way Ride - Rockwired Radio Profiles #667

What's made us nervous about this whole "indie" rock business is it's need to go the acoustic path and throw in an accordion and foot stomping and hand clapping in lieu of drums. We don't understand the apprehension that exists within the scene to crank up the guitars or to find a fellow to get behind a drum kit and neither do the guys and gal from ONE WAY RIDE. The Colorado-based band has eschewed the very delicate sensibility of much of what indie rock has to offer these days in favor of a heavy guitar sound, heavy percussion and a soulful groove and listeners can hear this in abundance on the band's debut album PUT ME ON.  Chemistry is everything when it comes to keeping a band together and the line up for ONE WAY RIDE almost seems feels as if it were written in the stars. It goes all the way back the time that lead singer LYLE WORK and guitarist MARVIN BRAKES got onstage and performed a rough rendition of SWEET CHILD O' MINE for a high school talent show. PUT ME ON is a satisfying listen punctuated by such bombastic moments as the unrelenting groove rockers DEVIL EYES and LIE TO ME and the epic ballad WAITING.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles667.mp3

Peach & The Almost Blues Band - Rockwired Radio Profiles #666

Ten years ago, when ROCKWIRED.COM was in it's infancy, blues artist PEACH made one hell of an impression upon us with the release of her album THE REAL THING. Any woman who picks up an electric guitar is cool with us and this was the case with PEACH who not only knew her way around the six string but could also navigate her way around matters of the heart on that fine debut recording featuring well crafted and well played songs plus a guest appearance by the legendary TAJ MAHAL. THE REAL THING went on to earn PEACH some serious accolades (not to mention the first ever ROCKWIRED READER'S POLL AWARD for BEST FEMALE ARTIST back in 2006) and one would've believed that this was one hell of a starting point for an artist. Unfortunately, THE REAL THING was the only offering from PEACH for many years, until now. PEACH has found her muse and "the performer" that was always inside of her in Copenhagen of all places as well as a band of merry men known as THE ALMOST BLUES BAND. The two forces have come together for an intimate and raw live recording entitled A NIGHT IN COPENHAGEN. The singer and guitarist is at the top of her game with her heartfelt performances of both her original material and some choice covers (with the stand out being LOVE-ITIS). PEACH's power as a live performer can not be denied. We can't wait to see this blues treasure return to recording in a bigger way. 



Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Crawl - Rockwired Radio Profiles #665

Much like DALI VAN GOGH on the previous edition of ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES, CRAWL is another Canadian hard rock band that has come back with a fine new release but the story here is one that spans decades and some startling changes in the music industry. In the early nineties CRAWL hit it big in Canada with the release of two albums 300 YARDS OF FACE and FEED which featured singles STORM, DRY and NOT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. The first of these two singles ended up earning nominations for the MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARD ( Canada's version of the MTV MUSIC AWARDS) for BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE in 1994 and 1995 respectively. When ROCKWIRED took notice of these guys, the band had reformed with bassist SCOTT CLARK, guitarist STUART GREEN and drummer TOM GRONDIN taking over the creative reins while new vocalist MICHAEL DAVID WOLF was front and center on the 2014 EP release ANTICIPATE THE FALL. Now the band is back with THE CROCKFORD FILES - a five song collection of the sort of blistering rock n roll that we've come to expect from CRAWL as evidenced by the tracks MINE and DEAD.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

Dali Van Gogh - Rockwired Radio Profiles #664

Over four years ago, DALI VAN GOGH was one of the first bands to be featured in the pages of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE. The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based hard rock band had endeared themselves to us with their D.I.Y. ethic, their ability to create a beautiful noise while being far away from anything that one would consider "music industry" and guitarist and founder ISAAC KENT's drive to stick with the dream of rock n roll glory despite DALI VAN GOGH's numerous line up changes up to that point. Eventually the band had come apart due to the usual things that keep a band apart and ISAAC KENT unopened up a recording studio and launched a record label also nicked DALI VAN GOGH and turned his attention toward being a producer and music entrepreneur.  His DALI VAN GOGH label went on to sign numerous artists and KENT's  road to being a musical giant seemed like it had survived those initial shaky steps until a fire had destroyed both his home, studio and livelihood. Losing everything in the fire forced KENT to take a long hard look at his life and where it needed to go next and making DALI VAN GOGH a band once again. Now, ISAAC KENT and DALI VAN GOGH are back. Even if the all of the members - with the exception of KENT - are new there is something incredibly familiar while being new at the same time. Like the old FORD slogan went "The Pride is Back!" and you can hear it loud and clear on the bands glorious new single GOD HELP ME (I LIKE IT) released on their own HOUSE FIRE RECORDS (get it?). This is more than mere brand recognition or a comeback of sorts. This is a band that has found it's way home and we can't wait to hear more.