A Little Bit More - Rockwired Radio Profiles #695

On the dial between Country music and Americana, the music of A LITTLE BIT MORE leans closer to the country side of things but as the moniker of the duo suggests, there is "a bit more" to the story. JILL HAMLIN fell in love with the piano at age three and quickly developed into a musical prodigy which had culminated into studying music abroad and earning a degree in the not-so-prolific field of ethnomusicology. According to HAMLIN her degree "...is another way of saying you'll never have a real job." REED FIELDS honed his writing  and his rather fine voice in numerous country and rock bands over the years until a chance meeting with HAMLIN led to the formation of their musical partnership which sees the light of day on their glorious new release SILHOUETTES. FIELDS' rustic croon compliments the angel-in-flight vocals of HAMLIN over an inspired set of songs that celebrate the highs and lows of love and life. The songs GOOD HABIT, IF ONLY FOR A MOMENT and BEER BOTTLE only prove that this partnership knows what they're talking about when it comes ot matters of the heart but that doesn't mean they're afraid of taking on an issue like substance abuse as they do on the haunting WHERE I AM.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles695.mp3

A War Within - Rockwired Radio Profiles #694

It's no secret that bands these days have a rougher go at being able to maintain a lineup. One minute the chemistry is there and next it's gone. Singer NIKHIL RAO came in at the second act of the band A WAR WITHIN as they had begun putting together the ideas for what would become their latest album BELIEVE. If you ask us, there couldn't have been a better time to join a band such as this given the simple fact that BELIEVE is a fucking revelation. Boasting the aggressive power chording that makes metal metal and RAO's own vocal stamina which goes form plaintive to growling in a flash. A WAR WITHIN walks that thin red line between metal angst an melodic sophistication on an album that defies categorization. Is it progressive? Is it nu metal? Sounds like all of it to us. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles694.mp3

Remada - Rockwired Radio Profiles #693

The Chicago-based band REMADA is operating with the tag line "music heals". Being that we're a music publication we aren't going to deny that for a second but in the case of REMADA and it's front man MATT DANIELS, music doesn't just heal. It seems to be the only way to go. REMADA is the brainchild of singer and songwriter MATT DANIELS and in the beginning with no band to accompany him on the road DANIELS took matters into his own hands and REMADA go it's start as a solo hip hop project within the Chicago music scene. s the crowds grew and the music began to resonate with folks REMADA grew from a one man operation into a full fledged band with a fierce hard rock sound which ended up seeing the light of day on their previous album A REALITY TO CHOKE UPON. Now, DANIELS promises that a new sound has been forged with the release of an upcoming EP and our first taste of it comes in the form of their blistering new single A BETTER TOMORROW. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles693.mp3

Derek Davis - Rockwired Radio Profiles #692

Everyone wants drama in their rock n roll! That's natural. The story of a quick ascent, a record label signing and hopefully a hit song has to result in a fall because that's the way gravity works. BABYLON A.D. was a band that was signed to ARISTA (the late WHITNEY HOUSTON'S label) and had a bit of a hit with the single THE KID GOES WILD which was featured in the 1990 film ROBOCOP 2 and enjoyed heavy rotation on hard rock stations at the time. But one needs to remember that this was the late-eighties/early-nineties and grunge was just around the corner and the bombast of metal (or what some would call "hair metal") would soon be on the retreat. As would BABYLON A.D. But that didn't stop the band's charismatic front man DEREK DAVIS and in the long run time away form music helped BABYLON A.D. Not many bands from the past re-emerge with the original lineup intact. No drama here. Just music. And music is what is clearly what is first and foremost on the mind of DEREK DAVIS on his latest solo album REVOLUTIONARY SOUL which proves to be a significant departure from the sound created by BABYLON A.D. This time around DAVIS  kicks out a different kind of jam with a  full on R&B sound with touches of funk and hard rock. BABYLON A.D. may scratch their heads at first but this amazing set of songs (all produced and played by DAVIS himself)  will no doubt find a home on their i-pod shuffles. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles692.mp3

Doc Fell & Co - Rockwired Radio Profiles #691

Modern music is full of self-professed doctors or "docs". But in the case DOCFELL & CO, the title is more than mere clever moniker. You seem the band's front man JOHN FELL is a real doctor - a general practitioner based where Cherokee country meets the Ozark mountains in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Given his locale, it's hardly surprising the he and his band have taken up the pursuit of music which combines the rustic charms of Americana, Country and blues yet manages to sound contemporary as opposed to quaint. The band's latest EP DUST BOWL HEART is fueled by the very emptiness, loneliness and heartache that makes music of this sort resonate. LONESOMEVILLE opens like a depression era country-gospel recording yet finds it's footing as a country stomper that exhibits all of the lyrical characteristics of country music when you play it either forwards or backwards. In our humble opinion THE LESS I KNOW is the sort of thing that ought to be topping the Country music charts instead of whoever is at the top of it now. If you can get a bunch of active rock fans like us rooting for an outfit like DOCFELL & CO, then you've really done something.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles691.mp3

Chino XL and Rama Duke - Rockwired Radio Profiles #690

During my talk with hip hop artists CHINO XL and rocker RAMA DUKE, I got to thinking about the shaky relationship between rock n roll and hip hop and how we don't hear much of the cross pollination of the two genres of music anymore. Therefore it's been a delight to hear both CHINO and RAMA come together and generate some serious sparks with their take on the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS mainstay UNDER THE BRIDGE. It's hard for me to believe that it was 25 years ago that ANTHONY and FLEA and the rest of the CHILI PEPPERS dropped the somber ditty about alienation and finding one's sense of self in a world that has gone mad. Inspired by KIEDIS' battle with heroin addiction, UNDER THE BRIDGE has managed to stroke a broader meaning with listeners over the years and now CHINO and RAMA with the assist of GRAMMY winning producer JARED LEE GOSSELIN have molded this classic into a hard rocking, hip hop tour de force. Yes, new life has been blown into a classic that has hardly grown tiresome or trite with age but the real story for us is the coming together of these two formidable musical forces. In our interview with both CHINO and RAMA we were excited to learned that the chemistry between the two of them is still there. In fact the two of them, along with producer GOSSELIN, are currently working on a additional material for a new joint project called A BAD DAY FOR SORRY. In a time where rock and hip hop need each other more than ever, we've got to hand it to this dynamic duo for taking a stab at unity and putting out  a positive message. Not even our current president can claim that. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles690.mp3

The Rockwired Mixtape Show #2

ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE is pleased to announce the second edition of THE ROCKWIRED MIXTAPE SHOW featuring new music that has come out way from artists and bands from throughout North America. This edition features music from:

EDGE OF PARADISE - ALIVE

MIKE HORNBUCKLE - BABY ROCK
LUCID FLY - VISIONS OF GRANDEUR

CONSTANT HARMONY - EAT THE RICH
MAYVE - CRUEL INTENTIONS

DISTRICT AVENUE - REVIVAL

DAPHNE WILLIS - FREAKS LIKE ME 

RACE TO NEPTUNE - IRON SATIRE

BLOOD OF ANGELS - ODIN'S WRATH
MAMMOTH SEED - YEAH MAMA
SIGNALS OF BEDLAM - MASS APPEAL

REMADA - A BETTER TOMORROW

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/mixtape2.mp3

Jason Andrew Brown - Rockwired Radio Profiles #689

Indianapolis-based singer-songwriter JASON ANDREW BROWN has just released his self-titled debut EP and it's a fantastic introduction to both the man and the artist but you must understand that this guy comes with one hell of a musical background. His tenure as a solo artist was begun in a coffee shop back in 2014 but before that he proved to be a formidable front man in the band PUSH DOWN & TURN in which he toured the country relentlessly and shared stages with the likes of COUNTING CROWS, BUSH, WIDESPREAD PANIC and THE BO DEANS. The band even had the opportunity to play on the H.O.R.D.E TOUR. When BROWN had gotten his fill of nonstop touring he turned his attention to forming his own band with fellow songwriter JAMES WESTON. That band was SEDNA and they carried on with BROWN int he command seat until 2014 where the fateful decision to do a solo set was made.  JASON ANDREW BROWN - the songwriter and performer both come to life on this shimmering debut EP where BROWN proves that he deft at conveying unbridled joy and abandoned without getting all sugary on the EP's opener SHINE SUN SHINE. At another turn he can paint a sorrowful, moving picture as he does on EMPTINESS IS FOREVER which deals with a friends suicide and on the final track ICARUS he gives us the chill off a lifetime as the song explores the last moments of a man jumping from the World Trade Center on 9/11. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles689.mp3