Ghost In The Willow centers around singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Gil Rodriguez based out of Phoenix, Arizona and backed by the talents of Sam Etling on guitar and vox, Ian Deal on bass and Sean Harris on drums. The track A Song For Alice, inspired by a friend's suicide is a heavy, chunky post punk affair with dark revelatory lyrics bolstered by surprising flourishes of sounds that remind me of sock hop punk. It is the double time chorus that is so moving as oooohs abound around lovely sentiments. It is then punctuated by this almost 60's (Girl Group) descending guitar notes that reminds me of bells, dah, dah, daaaaah. Brilliant and a beautiful tribute for a friend. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES: This song was written in the weeks after I lost my close friend, Alice. She was the first person of, sadly, many I lost to suicide. Trying to figure out the emotions that goes with such a sudden loss, I just wanted to get out the pain in my chest and this song just bounced and flopped right out. In many ways I consider this the first proper song I wrote that came from something that happened directly to me. I carried the song in my back pocket waiting for the right time and circumstances to record it properly and when we finally did, it just felt good to revisit the memory of my friend. What made it extra cool was our guitarist Sam Etling's backup vocals on the chorus's and Elijah Newman's wonderful job mixing out in Nashville.
FROM FACEBOOK:
When he’s not performing with AZ based punk rock trio The Combat Medic, singer/guitarist Gil Rodriguez performs his more intimate side as Ghost In The Willow. Sometimes backed by a few musicians and sometimes going it alone, performing songs in the key of heartache is what Ghost In The Willow does best.
Regarding the self titled and self released debut EP, Yab Yum Music & Arts writes “What makes this EP enjoyable is how true to form and accessible the songs are from the first go ’round.” Armed with a few chords and songs people can relate to, Ghost In The Willow aims to bring a little bit of hope to as many ears and hearts as possible through sincere performances and honest passion.
Stray Fossa hails from Charlottesville, Virginia and handcraft cool sounds often times with a chill wave of sounds and harmonies creating a dreamy, earnest aesthetic. The track These Days is no exception riding on chunky walking bass lines, a cool sort of rushing beat and effortless yearnng vox. All three members wrote this one within the span of one afternoon and collabed with Arielle Korman who features a beutiful violin piece featured on the outro. - Robb Donker
Fall Down by MNNQNS (pronounced mannequins) who originated in Rouen, France is a wonderfully jagged post punk song with heavy proto punk bones. The boys in the band say they hate rock and roll and while they do not have a conventional rock sound I would imagine a band who truly hates rock and roll would sound kind of Frank Zappa-ish and MNNQNS does not. Perusing some of their tracks on their Bandcamp page I feel the D.N.A of proto punk bands like Television and Human Sexual Response that have a controlled smart sound as well as the feral nature of modern cohorts like The Chats and the hyper realistic punk of bands like The Jungle Giants all kind of mixed together. However you want to describe MNNQNS doesn't really matter to me even though they undeniably fall under the large and ever expansive rock umbrella, I just am loving what I am hearing. Check out the Official video for Fall Down (with it's sort of dangerous alternative flick tone) and Desperation Moon (both) from their upcoming Body Negative full length. Cool. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES: "We're a rock band that hates rock 'n' roll," says MNNQNS (pronounced mannequins) frontman Adrian D'Epinay. That might sound like a contradictory or even slightly confusing statement to make but once you've spent time in the company of MNNQNS' debut album 'Body Negative' it soon makes perfect sense. On the surface the band might resemble a rock band: their music is stuffed with frenetic, jagged guitars that explode in frenzied bursts as pounding drums collide with intense vocals, all of which is carried forward with the charge of youthful spunk and propulsive energy. Yet plunge beneath that surface layer and MNNQNS are evidently a band exploring guitar music with much more depth and breadth than your average. "I like pop, punk or experimental electronic music a lot more than rock," D'Epinay says. "This is why there are these strange sounds and transitions that come in and out during the album: drones, ambience, drum machines etc." The album is a rare record that manages to be both fiery and textural. It combines the charge and speed of a record that resembles a car veering dangerously close to a cliff edge yet also manages to instil a confidence in the ability of the driver. MNNQNS exude a sense of controlled danger and chaos and this permeates throughout their debut. This feverish and unpredictable approach is also represented by the band's diverse musical tastes and inspirations. If you've ever wondered what a record would sound like that shares influences as eclectic as Deerhunter, Death Grips, the Beach Boys, Omni and the films of Jean-Jacques Beineix then wonder no more because MNNQNS debut is the answer. The band all met in their hometown of Rouen in France, united by a love of post-punk and going to the pub. However D'Epinay also spent some time in Cardiff when he went to study there, throwing himself into the local music and gig scene. This time opened him up to a wider variety of music, as well as impacting on his songwriting. This unusual hybrid exploration of French and Welsh culture is one of the elements that makes MNNQNS so unique and their music so intent to eschew lazy categorisation. "Many of the things I like in music now come from bands I saw there at that time," D'Epinay says of his time in Wales. "There were many psych and pop bands, experimental acts, and weird punk music. It impacted on me both musically and visually. I found myself much more at home in Wales than in France. I also learned to enjoy writing alone at that time, which was something new for me." Perhaps the exposure to such an eclectic amount of music combined with the environment of Wales stayed with D'Epinay and carried with him into the making of the band's debut album, which saw them decamp to the French countryside. "It was so great to be able to go out after a few takes and just be surrounded by trees and sheep," D'Epinay recalls. "You can really focus on the record instead of ending up at the nearest pub every night." Such a sense of determination and focus is apparent on the record throughout; whether it's the post-punk assault of "Wire (Down to The)", the harmony-soaked pop swing of "NotWhatYouThoughtYouKnew", the deeply textural explorations of "Stagnant Pools" - which combines seamless melody with an urgency that resembles This Heat - or the kick-down-your-front-door charge of "Urinals". This duality of harmony and discordance that exists on the record is something that D'Epinay feels when he reflects on the recording process. "Some tracks make me want to go out and dance whilst others remind me of being totally alone in the countryside. Listening to the record is like being pushed away from the city and then dragged back in." Despite only releasing their last EP in 2018, the sense of evolution, growth and identity that exists on their debut feels distinct. "We took advantage of the format," D'Epinay says of their album. "An LP means that you can take the listener into deeper parts of your music than an EP. I mean you still have to grab people's attention but if you have it then it's up to you to build something around it. The music has changed from our last EP in the way that we've found our tools by incorporating jangly 12-string guitars, dry drum sounds, tape manipulation, strange DIY pedals and sometimes monophonic synths." This newfound sense of focus, harmony and firing on all cylinders also comes from the band finding a groove amongst their personnel. "There has been many line-up changes since I started this band," says D'Epinay. However, the now rock-solid group also featuring Gregoire Mainot (drums), Felix Ramaen (bass) and Marc Lebreuilly (guitar), are helping bring to life the simple but potent vision D'Epinay has always had for MNNQNS. "They really share my love for writing pop songs and experimenting with new sounds and textures." And of course they are also a rock band that hates rock 'n' roll.
It's been years since I had strange neighbors and it was ok as long as NO eye contact was made. If only those strange neighbors were the Strange Neighbors (band) based out of New York, I would be gleefully bringing the beer and begging to sit in on the jam sessions that I imagine would be in their garage or living room. Their track Pink Flamingo from their full length "How To Human" is a jagged little pill of a song full of drama, the bad kind. It is about a toxic relationship and friendship and getting sucked into someone's bad, bad sitcom of a life. The song feels at times purposefully disjointed and emotionally rung out only to come together in big indie rock eruptions. The bass stuff is slippery and cool as are the 50's sock hop punkish guitar lines. The aesthetic has a proto punk theatrical tone which works so well with the tortured vox. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Every once in a while, a band comes along that changes the world. But, shit, that’s a lot of responsibility. Strange Neighbors combines the talents of Aidan (vocals), Tracey (drums), Dana (bass) and Zach (guitar) to make noise about things that matter, things that don’t, and things that lie somewhere in between. Some songs are quiet, some are loud, but at least they’re all honest – rock ’n’ roll that makes your ears feel nice.
Strange Neighbors released their debut EP in March and have starting making rounds in the New York DIY music scene. The song “B.B.B.G.G.G.” aired on AT Radio in the UK, and the band has plans to put out a new single, “Ghost,” in April. They have tour dates lined up around the city this summer.
Catch up with Strange Neighbors on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Spotify for new releases and local performance Full length album "How to Human" is out now.
There is so much measurable amounts of cool in the song The Heat by Picsel (from Swansea,UK) that it is hard not to join in the rock and roll sway. Musically there are a fair amount of musical tropes mined from iconic indie rock sounds. I mean I can't help but think about a tiny touch of the Pixies and slightly bigger touch of Blink 182 and maybe a larger touch of Weezer but that only makes the song sort of comfortable and easy to wrap your arms around right away. Add equally cool lyrics that you can relate to and sing with atop a cool rock ennui vocal performance and this song is indie rock certifiable that quickly gets under your skin and in your head. I have been singing it to myself in public for days, it is that kind of song. The ooooh, ooooooh background during the chorus is brilliant. It is a youth anthem of sorts and there are never too many good ones, especially these days. From the upcoming album "Modern Life Discovery" - (oooh, oooooh, oohhhhh).
- Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM- PRESS NOTES:
PICSEL is a side project of Broken Fires. In their own words:
We started writing the BF second album. We wrote a lot of songs. Some great ones. We have thirteen wonderful and epic demos we are currently shaping and working on for the next full length record. It is going to be a banger.
HOWEVER… By accident we also managed to write 9 songs that don’t quite fit with the BF sound. The type of songs your mum definitely won’t enjoy. They are great! So, we started a side project. It is called PICSEL.
PICSEL has recorded a full-length album and will be playing some LOUD shows this Autumn to go along with this release.
"Jolt of colourful noise electricity" - Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales
Donator are Morgan Brandon and Nick Merrick from Burbank, California who create lo-fi indie electro synth pop with soft and hard edges. Dog of the Year (from the "Year of the Dog" album) spins on cyclical synth chords and washed out dirty vox. The sound, the aesthetic here is like a sine wave pulsating with waves of distortion and even though the formula is simple these waves run high on passion. - Robb Donker
Straw Man by Mother Sun is an upbeat, yet decidedly chill (and cool) sort of surf punkish rock ballad with a folk rock heart. After the gospel organ beginning, the lead lines and guitar upswings frame a self effacing vocal performance that feels self assured, cool and friendly. I like the grit at the back of the throat when he wails and the musical break with the dramatic downbeats. This track makes me think of 4 footers lined up at San Clemente. Sweet. Straw Man is from the upcoming record "Caramel Clouds." - Robb Donker
Hawkholm by Sweetcreem begins with droning sounds like a Gothic hymn and then those wildly provocative words are sung, sadly strung together with a deadly patina: Hey there... My closest enemy... You know lotsa things...But you can't know me This is a postcard to Hell... And it's cute you're doing well... But you oughta know you don't have much longer
You have kidnapped our gods... Made them into your dogs... But now without them we've grown stronger
This is our war for peace... Our fucking for virginity... Riot for solemnity... You can't take everything from me... Where do I begin. After the mood is set, it is the words that absolutely floored me immediately. The very sad melody descend even more with such poetic words. There is something about the "postcard to hell" and then the word "cute' not far behind. Such an interesting counter position of emotions. The multi-dimensional concept of "kidnapping gods" whether it is meant literally or metaphorical, whether actual or possessing the religiosity from someone or a culture it is just so out there. Listening to the song, Sweetcreem "a singer-songwriter vagabond turned singer-songwriter producer from Boston, Massachusetts" has created a sort of musical mythology as a fire burnt diorama for her feelings. Love this. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM- PRESS NOTES: Sweetcreem is a singer-songwriter vagabond turned singer-songwriter producer from Boston, MA, USA with friends all over the place. She takes deep enjoyment from hip hop/trip hop beats, vital punk riffs, unique synths, sweet harmonies, and soulful grooves and vocals. She wants to take you out for milk and cookies.
all music and lyrics by sweetcreem engineered and mixed by Miranda Serra G. @ Zippah Recording Studios, Boston, MA mastered by MJC @ FilthyBroke Recordings art by Zach Havas (zhavas@gmail.com)
for Michael Love, who made lightning strike one place twice and feared no evil
Soft Streak is the singer songwriter duo of Tori Michelle and Colton Toy based out of Los Angeles and their track Wallow is a beautiful chill sleeper of a song. If it were playing in the background at a club it might, at first, just poke on your shoulder like a mellow indie pop song as pleasant background fodder. As it seeps into your psyche you will feel its full embrace. It does have an almost light jazz pop vibe but as the song moves along Michelle's vocals punctuated with bouncy melodic waterfalls also feels torn and bruised and then, surprisingly, the song shifts into an ending crescendo that shifts gears with shades of harder indie (pop) rock before ending. That tone shift leaves you wanting more. Wallow is part of a two song project including Oranges and you can hear both below. From Soft Streak: "Both Wallow and Oranges are about dealing with your emotions in reference to relationships at different stages. While Wallow is about unrequited love and reveling in sorrow/self-pity, Oranges is about admitting to yourself that maybe your relationship with a loved one has taken its course. Both songs are about being alone with your unresolved emotions and generally feeling alone". (Both songs are up on Spotify) - Robb Donker
London's Useless Cities with their dour post punk tones on the track How To Feel are able to float a sonic shroud of sadness around you. Staccato guitar lines, piano notes in the air propelled by thumping bass, a plodding beat and emotionally vox that vacillates between low monotone male sounds and forlorn passionate female vox. These guys make Thom Yorke sound hopeful. I thought of a blend of The National and Savages pushed through Gothic rock filters. Beautiful in a haunting way but it ends all too soon. Like me, you might find yourself listening five times in a row. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
London-based indie misrerabilists Useless Cities return with new track How To Feel. Following a spate of shoegazey releases, this song is more on the alternative/indie side of the musical spectrum. It is produced by Paul Tipler (Placebo/The Horrors/Idlewild).
The song is powered with a rugged, reverb-soaked guitar line and ethereal male/female vocals. The atmosphere slowly builds before entering a heavier breakdown section which builds to a crescendo of piano and post-punk guitar riffs.
Veering between indie, post-rock and post-punk elements, the bands influences of The Cranberries, The National and Interpol are apparent.
Tom (singer) has said "It is about the beginning of a new relationship, when you are trying to engage the feeling part of your heart. The thought of it all working out, despite reservations is a nice dream. Well, we all need to have hope..."
Find My Way is the title track off of The Common Chase's debut full length and it is a jammy slice of kind of proggy power pop rock. Lead hooks abound and never far from the rhythm. The vox preen like late 70's glam rock (Nick Gilder and Sweet) and the lead break slices and dices. The Common Chase hail from Toronto, Canada - Robb Donker
FROM THE BAND: "This is our brand new single, also the title track off of our upcoming first full length album 'Find My Way'. We are four friends from Toronto, Canada wanting to make music our careers. " This song is kind of about us as a band in a way and also about anyone who is struggling with finding what they want to do and be in life. Struggling with the day in and day out routines that we all follow. It's also about just reminding yourself that everything is going to be ok, just take things day by day and you will eventually find your way through life.
Save Me by Paragon Cause based out of Ottawa, Canada feels at once fresh and yet comfortable. Not comfortable as chill but as in old friends comfortable. Their sound is big, lush and passionate but classic too with 80's and 90's synth tones. Michelle Opthof's vocal performance is tender, a bit broken and carries the song in a big way as does the overall driving, churning sound. The crunchy guitars and heavy beat is big, vast and dramatic with an almost 60's melodramatic tortured pop sound (I also thought of Union City Blues a bit too - by Blondie). This will be on some future playlist. Cool. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Paragon Cause is an indie-electronica band based in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, with a penchant for making music that is enigmatic, darkly mysterious, but also wondrously compelling.
Bringing together a lush electronic, almost industrial sound with indie vocals and strong melodic compositional sensibilities, Paragon Cause has crafted a collection of songs that are infused with the lo-fi intensity and rawness of a garage band, embellished with superior vocal and musical hooks that pull the listener in to each one of the band’s compositions.
Comprised of guitarist/songwriter Jay Bonaparte and vocalist/keyboardist Michelle Opthof, the duo is set to release their latest EP, Lies Between Us in September 2019. It is the first of what will be a series of releases leading up to a full-length album, expected in 2020.
The EP, and the the forthcoming album, were produced by one of their musical heroes - Sune Rose Wagner of Danish pop/alternative sensations, The Raveonettes. And it happened in the craziest way. Jay sent Wagner a tweet mentioning he would love to work with him on their next project. He never imagined Wagner would actually reply – but he did, and the two soon began a correspondence which led to Wagner traveling up from New York City to Ottawa to work alongside Paragon Cause.
“We didn’t know what we were getting into and we just went with the flow. We spent 10 days recording 8 songs in my basement studio. Two weeks later he called saying ‘what are you doing for New Years?’ and he drove back from New York to Ottawa and we spent another week recording another seven songs. It was all very, very spontaneous” Jay said.
“He did all the drum programming and added some synthesizer on a number of the tracks. But his role as producer was integral to the final product. We all worked so well together. There really wasn’t much that we had to do as everything happened so naturally. It was very strange in a good way, and we all had an amazing time.”
Although they have only collaborated musically for a couple of years, Jay and Michelle have developed a powerful symbiotic connection, feeding off one another’s ideas to create original songs of remarkable uniqueness and depth of meaning. “Sometimes I will come up with a guitar idea or Michelle will come up with a vocal idea or a lyric and we will sit down at the piano and jam it out. It’s very organic. It’s pretty amazing how connected we are when we’re writing music together,” said Jay. This is evidenced by the music being created alongside Sune Rose Wagner for ‘Lies Between Us’.
The first single from the EP, Drop Me In, takes the listener on both a musical and lyrical journey, in this case of someone coming back from the brink of psychological oblivion. The song’s composition becomes increasingly upbeat in tone as the emotional tenor of the lyrics also turns the corner to a more positive outcome.
“It’s a song I wrote when some friends were going through a depression and the idea was to say there are people around you that can help” said Michelle. “I’m saying drop me into the situation, I can help, I have some understanding from my own struggles’ It’s about helping pull them through this and how that person that you knew went away for a while but now you can see them coming back. And that’s when the song itself transitions to a happier sound.”
Save Me, slated to be the second single from the EP, is a strikingly powerful song, both musically and especially lyrically. Musically, the song came together very quickly after producer Wagner challenged Paragon Cause to write a punk rock song, replete with the ragged energy punk is known for, as well as with a strong political message.
It is a bold statement of individuality and the importance of freedom of thought, with searingly honest words penned by Michelle, which strikes out at the nature of domination and control exercised by many churches over their flocks, by European colonizers over the indigenous people they conquer, and by men over women in many facets of society.
It’s a multi-layered lyric that also talks about the freedom of realizing that you can’t fix everything and everyone, and that sometimes people can’t be saved.
“It’s about people exerting control because they think they’re better, that they’re superior to someone else. It’s two ideas: the religious side of things says you can save them all but at the same time we look at it saying you actually cannot save them all, meaning you cannot save them from themselves. And for myself I grew up in an environment governed by a very strict church, that has its own school system and completely controls everyone’s lives, including what they are to think and believe,” explained Michelle.
“In our own history the Europeans came here and thought they could control and convert all the indigenous people and how they thought they were so much better. But there’s another, deeper layer to the song where I came to the conclusion that you can’t save everyone, you can’t win every battle, and that for your own peace of mind, to avoid being overwhelmed and despairing, sometimes you have to just admit that you can’t save them all.”
Lies Between Us feels deeper and more emotionally complex with each listen, which is how it’s been designed. Bonaparte and Opthof have brought together a mix of music styles that would seem conflicting and dissonant, but they make it work. Incorporating 1980s synth sounds with jangly 1950s guitar runs, laced with jazz piano chords, hip hop backbeat, the EP is as atmospheric as it is interesting.
Poppyseed by Perfect Blue has this particular sound that I love. Everyone listens to music from their own reference points depending on their lifes' path, their age and a myriad of experiences. For me, Perfect Blue inhabits this super organic and fruitful slice of musical creativity circa early 80's to early 90's. Their aesthetic feels like garden rock (my name for earthy hippie rock) fueled by intoxicating visions with long haired abandon making sounds so ahead of the slick commercial rockers that it would only exist on College radio. College radio is always the best. The super shiny world of bands like R.E.M, Mazzy Star and the Cocteau Twins. Poppyseed, steeped in a kind of psychedelic folk orchestration, is the 2nd single from Perfect Blue's debut self titled EP (self recorded and produced) released August 26th, 2019. Mastered by Sarah Register (Depeche Mode,Sia,The Shins, Asobi Seksu). Rad. - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM- PRESS NOTES: Perfect Blue is a six-piece band from Chicago, IL. Perfect Blue was formed out of a desire to see something a little different in the Chicago music scene. Armed with synthesizers, vintage drum machines, dozens of guitar pedals, and saxophones, Perfect Blue draws from all over the musical palette to create a mirage of textures all backed by captivating songs.
Early this morning as I was track reviewing "Don't Save Me" by San Diego based Glass Spells and writing about how this song felt like it should be in a soundtrack for the Duffer brother's hit series Stranger Things and then it literally became an inspiration for a Season 3 Playlist. It is such a blast curating music for the blog, for our AP Podcast and for Spotify Playlists. After taking a mental and heartful note of Season 3 (No Spoilers Here) and flowing from artist to artists and genres to genres I have created a collection of songs that feels perfect to me. The songs reflect the many flavors of emotions from the show and runs the gamut from the crushing romance of youth reflected tonally in Desperate Journalist's "Cedars" and even "Endless and Artificial" by City Girl or the dark, scary, past meets future horror and desperation reflected in the sound of the Autobahn (UK) song "The Moral Crossing" (the title track of the band's 2017 album), the overall askew aesthetic reflected in the angular (Television meets Pavement) sounds of Atlanta's Omni and even the light love drenched in the show "Happy Sad" by The Derelicts from Kochi, India. Other artists include, Operators (from Quebec), Seb Wildblood, Twin Ritual and Priestgate. Enjoy and if you like, please share and most of all, please have a listen to more of the amazing artists that whose music poplulates this playlist. Cheers Robb
GLASS SPELLS- Electronic punk and Hybrid Disco feels like a Dream from the Future
And it still holds true and in a strong way, the allure of their sound has grown exponentially since then as the culture has been enamored with retro proto-punk / new wave tones and retro-esque visions like Stranger Things, Sense 8, Altered Carbon, Ascension and Black Mirror (just to name a few). It is not like people are suddenly dreaming the body electric. This is not a renaissance, the future and Sci-Fi as it's medium has always been here, it is just with streaming forms of media growing every year there is more of it to be enjoyed and chewed on.
Glass Spells track Don't Save Me is so fun to chew on and swallow. I have always liked Glass Spells because they keep their sound incredibly potent but also allow it to breath within the space they create. They don't muddle it up with too much. It is perfectly crafted. The beat is incredibly infectious and the vox blend elements of art rock and proto punk. Robotic, organic, rad. Glass Spells hub has always been So Cal based, mainly in the San Diego / Baja California area and at the core Anthony Ramirez has fueled the aesthetic with others. He also has an association with the former hybrid dance punk outfits and the current Twin Ritual that is in a similar vein with some more lush leanings.
Anthony : The process of writing the music for "Don't Save Me" was inspired from melody ideas that I had in mind. Sometimes I imagine how a melody will sound and start crafting a synth patch. I put the pieces together from bass synth to lead synths, additional sounds and drum beats. I always try to come with new sounds and ideas to keep it fresh and new but also like to keep the analog sounds. I try to make a catchy hook to make people dance to our music. Another thing that inspires me is watching Sci Fi shows like DARK and Stranger Things.
Tania :
"Don't Save Me" The lyrics were inspired by today's current dating scene and how manipulative and hurtful those relationships can end up sometimes. Oftentimes, people find themselves in a relationship that seems to be going well, until they realize that their partner hides things from them, ghosts them, and come back and haunt them all over again after the damage has already been done. The song is about being sick of the manipulation, saying you've had enough and you don't need them to come back into your life.
Yes... GLASS SPELLS- Electronic punk and Hybrid Disco still feels like a Dream from the Future.
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Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Glass Spells, the energetic band from Southern California. Bringing their mosaic arrangement of funky bass lines, dance beats and piercing synths in tow with the inclusion of infectious female vocals.Glass spells have won the attention of many by it's characteristic sound which incorporates several elements from post punk,disco and funk to create rhythms that will not get out of your head.Mentioned as the best new band by San Diego uptown news in 2015. Glass Spells have released an EP in 2014 and a self-titled LP in 2016.
After the debut release in 2014, Glass Spells have been featured on radio stations in San Diego (91x, FM949 ) and also other college radio stations like KCRW and KXLU .The buzz around Glass Spells has led to shows in Los Angeles and Mexico, in addition to performing at San Diego's premiere venues ( Casbah, Soda Bar) showcasing at the San Diego Music Thing in late 2014, as well as Festival Antes in Mexico City .
Their new single " Rebellion " was released and premiered by BuzzBands L.A .Their debut album Self Titled was released August 25th premiere on NBC San Diego and featured in various national/global blogs and publications.
Glass Spells have supported bands like PRAYERS, Moving Units for their Damage With Care Tour ,Van She (Modular AUS), The Growlers, Burger Records, White Mystery, IamBlakeMiller (dim mak), Gigamesh, Punks jump up, . Played for KROQ Los Angeles. Played for 91x san diego, Stateside Presents, Phoenix AZ, Listen SD, The Local Pyle San Diego Fm 94.9, San Diego Music Thing, Mexicali Music and Arts Festival. The Casbah presents, Festival Ajusco 2015 ( the sxsw of Mexico CIty ) .
"Should Glass Spells’ disco-punk continue to catch on, it would recall another genre-fusing movement that came from Baja California some 12 years ago, when Tijuana artists launched Nortec. Artists like Bostich+Fussible created dance music using samples of tubas, clarinets, and snare drums from Mexico’s norteño street bands.
But unlike Nortec, which was born in the studio, Glass Spells’ disco-punk is known for its live shows. " - San Diego Reader
Pretend Collective centers around singer songwriter Mike Reilly's visions. As a musical world builder when you listen to the utterly evocative Alphabet City you see images almost instantly. It feels like a story unfolding and wisely Reilly amassed an alphabet of talented players to provide the brick and mortar, flesh and blood to create his musical universe. As a drummer and band member of a number of bands and artists in Philadelphia and New York and a veteran of touring, his skills allowed a multitude of networking and collabs with talented folks who shared his vision and as such, Pretend Collective as a collective is a fluid artistic project with ever changing contributors. The debut record includes the electric guitar work of Aurélien Budynek (Marky Ramone, Cindy Blackman Santana); Jaron Olevsky and David Streim (Amos Lee) on Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes and piano, melodious upright and electric bass by Jonathan Davenport (Dirty Projectors, Buried Beds) and Bryan Percivall’s (Britney Spears) on bass guitar, just to name a few. Alphabet City sounds so art rockish and cinematic that if feels like part of a rock opera. I am wondering, maybe hoping... yes hoping that the self titled debut record is a concept album and this song is just one scene. This track is beautiful and vast and will (I know) inspire other forms of art in the future. "In addition to the digital release the Pretend Collective debut will be available on limited-edition (500 units), gold-foil numbered vinyl fromThe Giving Groove, with half of all proceeds benefiting Nuçi’s Space, a charity who envisions ending the epidemic of suicide and inspiring a culture free of the stigma attached to brain illnesses and its sufferers by supporting a community-wide effort that focuses on education, prevention and access to appropriate treatment." Pretend Collective's self titled debut album drops September 23rd (2019). - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM- PRESS NOTES:
Pretend Collective’s eponymous debut opens with unison pianos populating a great depth of space. A vivid sonic ecosystem gradually reveals itself as rich, organic tones unfurl from the far reaches of the mix. The groove kicks in and a chorus of unearthly voices provide the scenery for the record’s ethereal thesis statement: Higher Than a Flying Cloud Castle Made of White Light. Thus Pretend Collective’s debut sets its own heady tone. This music is worthy of a long walk with a good pair of headphones. It goes to work on the deep, quiet places within you - to listen along is to feel your place in an ever-changing landscape.
“I had come to rely on my favorite music as a form of transportation,” says Pretend Collective vocalist and songwriter Mike Reilly. “It took a long time to realize that the way to make the listener feel like a traveler in space is to create musical space for the listener to travel through.”
Before Pretend Collective, Reilly made a name for himself as drummer and band member with Hoots & Hellmouth, Ha Ha Tonka, The Spring Standards, and a long list of artists based out of Philadelphia and New York. A veteran of the national club and festival circuit, he became known in growing circles as a songwriters’ drummer, exploring hybrid setups and employing a wide variety of percussion in his performances, delivering unique character to each project. His resume includes extensive work in the theatre world: offstage in pit-orchestras, on-stage in new and old works alike, and even originating the role of the villain, Jessup McElroy, in Red Roses, Green Gold, the 2017 Off-Broadway jukebox musical featuring the music of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. In the fleeting off-hours between international touring, making records, and theatrical work, Reilly holed up in his home studio and crafted exhaustive demos of the songs that would comprise Pretend Collective’s first full-length album, slated for release on September 13, 2019 through The Giving Groove.
There is a pervasive symmetry at work here - motifs are established and revisited. Titles reprise themselves as lyrics re-colored. Side B repeatedly echoes Side A as it arcs thematically toward conceptual culmination. Reilly stops short of calling his debut a concept record: “We’ve assembled something here which nods in that direction, but it’s a little scrappier than all that. If there’s a concept at work, it’s the cultivation of vibe and flow.”
Pretend Collective is a fluid entity. “It depends on who’s in the room. It’s sort of a post--band position to take, but we like making new friends,” says Reilly of the evolving lineup. The collective first presented itself to the world during a yearlong residency at Greenwich Village’s famed venue The Bitter End, where he organized and ran a bi-weekly, late-night, invited jam session. Here, Reilly’s original material was unveiled and shaped by some of New York’s best young players.
The recorded ensemble consists primarily of working Philadelphia and New York musicians, many of whom tour globally, play on Broadway, and collaborate with some of the biggest names in music. The album features the soulful, searing electric guitar work of Aurélien Budynek (Marky Ramone, Cindy Blackman Santana); the virtuosic flavor and atmospheric precision of Jaron Olevsky and David Streim (Amos Lee) on Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes and piano; melodious upright and electric bass by Jonathan Davenport (Dirty Projectors, Buried Beds); Bryan Percivall’s (Britney Spears) vintage sensibilities on bass guitar.
One source of particular excitement is the soaring lead guitar work by Tom Deis (Uni Ika Ai, Via Audio) on the album’s first single, “Hello, Lonely Road.” “The tune is a sort of love letter to the cyclical process of romantic entanglement and estrangement, which becomes a stand-in for the peaks and valleys that comprise life,” Reilly says of the record’s distinctive centerpiece. “A lot of the feedback is that it’s Beatles-y, but I know what that’s really about; people like to say that about a song that goes a few interesting places harmonically. That’s what I’m in it for: a harmonic journey.” Individual accomplishments aside, Reilly proudly holds each of his collaborators in the highest musical esteem:
“If you want people to love what’s coming through the speakers, you’ve got to love what you’re laying down, what you’ve discovered together. I love these players and I love what they have brought to this music. Enthusiasm for this record was really shared across the board. Imagine what we can do together. That’s what we mean by Pretend Collective.”
“Making a record like this is not for the faint of heart,” says co-producer and engineer Matt Teacher (Bon Jovi, Boyz II Men, mewithoutYou). “It took over two years to find all the right musicians, to test ideas out, to fearlessly throw ideas away and start again. At the beginning of this project I knew we were onto something good, but I could only see the individual puzzle pieces being put into place as Mike presented them. At times I wasn’t sure how they all would fit together, but by placing complete faith in his vision and holding on for the ride, the grand landscape was slowly revealed and I sat back in awe as the individual pieces—each individual’s contribution—came together to create something wonderful, strange, and captivating.”
The album reaches its emotional peak with “These Harder Days,” a deeply personal sentiment penned by Reilly in the difficult period following the devastating loss of a childhood friend to suicide. It’s the only track on the record to feature additional voices—nearly thirty of them—hometown friends and families spanning three generations who gathered one evening in 2018 for a very special recording session to commemorate a son, brother, friend, and immense musical talent. The record winds down as the lyric concludes: “We find each other singing in the clear.”
In addition to the digital release the Pretend Collective debut will be available on limited-edition (500 units), gold-foil numbered vinyl fromThe Giving Groove, with half of all proceeds benefiting Nuçi’s Space, a charity who envisions ending the epidemic of suicide and inspiring a culture free of the stigma attached to brain illnesses and its sufferers by supporting a community-wide effort that focuses on education, prevention and access to appropriate treatment.
I've never had a talk with God, never even tried but that line stuck with me as I listened to Ryan Cassata's blisteringly truthful song Bamboo Plants where his story often times told in wistful admonitions of his life about people in his life will touch you in deceptively deep ways. The ratable aspects are many but what pulls at my heartstrings so fucking hard is the tenor of his feeling about life and surviving it's many trials and tribulations. Life is fucking hard. It just is and this beautiful kind or road worn, part country, part folk, part Americana is filled with a lot of loving acceptance of people and the shit they are going through and I guess we all just have to (as the refrain says) "figure it out." Beautiful words. Cassata offers: "We recorded this to tape with a full band. It was so awesome to work with the tape machine in a studio that only runs on analog. I really wanted to dive into a more classic rock / lo-fi sound and I feel like we were really able to accomplish that here while capturing all the emotion behind every note. I love this recording because it's exactly the way we sound. There's no auto tune, there's no note fixes or punch in's. It's exactly how we sound at a live show." - Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Ryan Cassata is an award winning singer-songwriter, actor, performer, writer, LGBTQ activist & motivational speaker based in Los Angeles. With features in Rolling Stone, Billboard Magazine, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The NY Daily News, Ryan has made the most of his career, which started when he was just 13.
As a musician with over 600 performances touring across the United States and internationally, including being the first openly trans performer at the Vans Warped Tour, along with performing at SXSW and the world’s biggest pride festivals, Ryan has been praised by The Advocate Magazine- calling him a “Transgender singing sensation.” Paper Magazine put him on their "50 LGBTQ Musicians You Should Prioritize" list, and LOGO’s New Now Next included Ryan on the “9 Trans Musicians You Need To Get Into” list. Billboard Magazine put him on the "11 Transgender & Non-Binary Musicians You Need to Know" list and premiered his award winning music video "Daughter" which has been viewed over half a million times. He has also been heard on Sirius XM Radio, BBC Radio 4 and other radio stations around the world. Ryan Cassata currently performs and records with a full band in Los Angeles.
Ryan was the focus of the award winning documentary film “Songs for Alexis” which screened at Frameline SF, Raindance in the UK, Toronto Hot Docs, DOC NYC and more. He co-starred in the indie film "Collective: Unconscious," which premiered at SXSW, and received praise from Rolling Stone Magazine & The New York Times. Ryan was awarded with "Best Breakout Performance" by the Victoria Independent Film Festival in 2016. Ryan has also been featured in several musical theatre productions including a workshop production at New York Stage & Film's Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar. Ryan was a recurring guest-star on the Facebook show "Turnt", and has appeared in several commercials and print ads. Cassata has modeled for brands such as Lids, Bonobos, Lull, and was the official face of TomboyX’s Trans Pride Underwear line in 2019 which he modeled in The Style Section of The New York Times.
Ryan began his work as an activist at age 13 after joining "The Safe Schools Team" and giving dozens of public speeches near his hometown on Long Island, and became the youngest ever keynote speaker at the Philadelphia Trans Heath conference. He continues to give speeches at middle and high schools as well as universities all over the USA to share his story and teach students about the problems of bullying, and to help communities with their journey towards trans inclusivity. He is the first recipient of the Harvey Milk Memorial Award, and has made appearances on several news networks, notably, CNN and TV shows including The Larry King Live Show, and The Tyra Banks Show.
Ryan Cassata has written original journalism pieces (about LGBT issues, current events, and music) that have been published in The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Original Plumbing Magazine, Indie Music Bus, IndieWire, Strange Fire Music Blog, Rock The Pigeon Music Blog, and many more!
Currently, Ryan is in the final stages of editing his memoir and spending time in the studio with his band-recording a new album of original music which follows his most recent full-band production album SHINE.
Committed to educating the global community through music, film, print, tv and in-person speeches, Ryan sheds light on his experience of being transgender and the adversity he has faced as a man. Ryan continues to share his inspiring message of hope & acceptance via his social media platforms and at venues across the nation.
