Rockwired Radio Profiles #637 - Ray Goren

RAY GOREN has a musical talent that is beyond comprehension and beyond his sixteen years of life. At the age of three after tinkering away on an electronic keyboard he came to the realization that TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR and the ALPHABET SONG were the same bloody tune.  Almost immediately he was given the building blocks for playing and composing music. His early years (it sounds strange putting it that way) were marked by virtuosity on the piano but his love for the six string was stoked when he accidentally came upon a performance by the legendary BB KING on line. From there a love for blues, soul and rock n roll was cultivated as well an ear for whatever passes as new these days and all of it can be heard on his brand new EP SAVE MY SOUL. The guitar playing is seasoned, the vocal delivery is confidant and assured and the songwriting is brash but that can happen when one of your songwriting mentors is the legendary LEON RUSSELL. With songs such as the blistering title track, the irresistible pop rocker STOP and and pleading blues/gospel rocker RISE TOGETHER, GOREN proves that he is in this for the long haul and we are happy to be seeing this potentially legendary career unfold from the beginning.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles637.mp3

Rockwired Radio Profiles #636 - Sometimes Julie

You never think that anything good can come of doing karaoke but in the case of MONICA SORENSON the great American past time ended up changing her life. While singing what was more than likely an ALANIS MORRISETTE tune according to the press release, MONICA's voice and soulful phrasing caught the ear of guitarist RICK WALKER - a man whose musical past goes back to the halcyon days of the Chicago scene of the early nineties which was filled to the brim with artists such as LIZ PHAIR, SMASHING PUMPKINS, HUSKER DU and URGE OVERKILL. At this point int he story he was looking for words to put to his musical arrangements and it just turned out that the the woman singing karaoke not only had a voice but dabbled in a little bit of verse as well. Before long the two began swapping ideas and eventually songs were born and was the act they curiously dubbed SOMETIMES JULIE. By 2014 they made their presence known with their award-wining debut HEAD FIRST and now they're back with a brand new EP BRIGHT SIDE OF THE LINE. TO call a five song EP an emotional rollercoaster sounds like a bunch hyperbole but in this case it ain't hyperbole. SOMETIMES JULIE's songsmithing marries stomping grooves and funky, bluesy flourishes with dark and edgy subject matter that is given extra heft  thanks to SORENSON's  buoyant vocals and emotional delivery. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles636.mp3

Rock Is Red #21 - JUQ

Much of the music coming out of Indian Country these day is marked by entrepreneurship as well as musicality and in these D.I.Y. times those two things are going hand in hand more than ever. For years ROCKWIRED has gotten to know Yankton Sioux hip hop artist and entrepreneur BRANDIS KNUDSEN for his own series releases and the promotion of his own label DAKOTA SOUTH RECORDS. Now, we're excited to get to know one of the artists on his fledgling label. Oglala Lakota pop artist JACOB SCREAMING EAGLE goes by the moniker JUQ (pronounced "juke") and finds himself at a rather exciting junction in his life. This is the very beginning of his career as a recording artist with the release of his debut EP OGP.  On it, JUQ has swagger and groove to spare on this collection of slow burning R&B numbers of which the lead single CALLING BULL stands out by a mile. There is no doubt here that JUQ loves the Indian ladies and the track's clever mix of modern slow burn with  the sort of unabashed, positive message that elevates the tune above everything else that's out there. It's my sincerest hope that the girl mentioned in the song who is "so in touch with what our people should be" will look this guy's way. OGP is just a slice of things to come. Apparently a full length album will be dropping in the Fall of 2016 and we're all too anxious to hear how JUQ's musical journey plays out. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:

http://www.rockwired.com/rockisred/rockisred21.mp3

Rockwired Radio Profiles #635 - Love And A .38

When I lived in a Los Angeles years ago I couldn't find four musically inclined guys who weren't concerned with trends and obscure sub genres of music. Now that I'm far away from the City of Angels I've now become acquainted with LOVE AND A .38 - four guys who are all about keeping this rock n roll thing pure, simple and direct. In this day and age doing so almost comes off as a trailblazing effort and it's one that folks will get lost in when they play the band's new release NOMAD. The album is a testament to the staying power of rock n roll. We would've said anthemic rock n roll but that would've been a sub genre. Kind of. More importantly the album showcases LOVE AND A .38 as a leading force in what could very be the re-emergence of the very music and attitude that got us through the Cold War. The songs OH MY GOD and I WON'T WAIT crackle with the very urgency that made music of this kind "dangerous" when we was kids and the haunting ABRE LOS OJOS is the only thing close to a ballad on NOMAD but the track is guaranteed to hit home for just about anyone who longs for the days when ballads had balls. Over the years we've seen so many take on the mantle of bring rock n roll back to the forefront. Here's hoping that these lads can stay the course. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles635.mp3

Rockwired Radio Profiles #634 - Conquest

It's always great to welcome back a band that has been featured on the pages and the sound waves of ROCKWIRED and to see and hear what changes (if any) have taken place since the last time we got them on the phone. In the Spring of 2014 CONQUEST has just released their album THE WAR WE RAGE and had shown that after twenty six years of rocking out the band fronted by DERRICK BRUMLEY, the band showed no signs of middling or slowing down. Once rock n roll gets into the bloodstream it apparently sticks around. Two years later, the band is back with a brand new album but this time original compositions are put aside in favor of covers and do these guys have some covers for you! The aptly dubbed new album UNDER THE INFLUENCE is a band giving it up for the heavy metal architects that  gave DERRICK and the gang a baseline to work with back when CONQUEST was forming in 1988 and while the interpretations of anthems from the likes of JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD and BON JOVI (Yes, BON JOVI with a smoldering rendition of WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE) are performed with due reverence don't expect the proceedings to be all stuffy as it's only rock n roll. UNDER THE INFLUENCE is an unrelenting party to be turned up at full blast. In a time when rockers past a certain age look to the American Songbook for inspiration, it's great to see a band opening peoples eyes and ears to metal music's own deep well of classic performances. Nothing more inspired than that.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles634.mp3

Rockwired Radio Profiles #633 - Stewart Franke

I will first address the fact that BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN himself makes an appearance on the opening track of STEWART FRANCKE's self-titled EP. The song is SUMMER SOLDIER (HOLLER IF YOU HEAR ME) and if no one could imagine THE BOSS himself making some magic out of this gloriously stomping rocker on life on the pointlessness of war than I don't know what I can say to convince you but SPRINGSTEEN isn't the point. It's STEWART FRANCKE's lyrical narrative and parched delivery that anchor this SPRINGSTEEN-esque tale.  FRANCKE's self-titled EP is an eight song collection that truly tells a story of the Detroit singer songwriters own musical journey over the years. An informal greatest hits if you will where the FRANCKE and company sway with balladry, stomp with rockers such as KISS KISS BANG BANG and rolling to an R&B groove like he does on the HALL AND OATES-ish splendor of SAM COOKE'S ON THE RADIO.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles633.mp3

Rockwired Radio Profiles #633 - Stewart Francke

I will first address the fact that BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN himself makes an appearance on the opening track of STEWART FRANCKE's self-titled EP. The song is SUMMER SOLDIER (HOLLER IF YOU HEAR ME) and if no one could imagine THE BOSS himself making some magic out of this gloriously stomping rocker on life on the pointlessness of war than I don't know what I can say to convince you but SPRINGSTEEN isn't the point. It's STEWART FRANCKE's lyrical narrative and parched delivery that anchor this SPRINGSTEEN-esque tale.  FRANCKE's self-titled EP is an eight song collection that truly tells a story of the Detroit singer songwriters own musical journey over the years. An informal greatest hits if you will where the FRANCKE and company sway with balladry, stomp with rockers such as KISS KISS BANG BANG and rolling to an R&B groove like he does on the HALL AND OATES-ish splendor of SAM COOKE'S ON THE RADIO. 

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles633.mp3