At the risk of alienating all the Charlie Hunter fans out there, I have to ask, what's the big deal? Sure he plays a custom eight-string guitar, noodling both the bass and lead lines simultaneously, which is a superhuman feat for certain. Every time I listen to the Charlie Hunter Quintet, I can't help thinking that those bass lines would be more interesting (and maybe his leads would be too) if there were two players instead of just one. I like Hunter's musical style, as much as I like any other Jazz guitarist, I just don't think anyone would find the music remarkable if a six-piece outfit played it instead. For anyone enamored with Charlie Hunter's mad dexterity, his site offers some free MP3s and an album cover specifically designed for creating your own album of the audio.
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I can't remember who introduced me to Camper Van Beethoven back in high school. At the time, I had aspirations of being a metal drummer, but their first album, Telephone Free Landslide Victory grabbed my attention in a way that nothing in the metal world ever has. With the raw ambition of a garage band, coupled with a strange blend of ska and Eastern European folk music, CVB were most definitely in a class by themselves. The defining instrument of their sound being the disturbing violin tones of Jonathan Segel. Despite a strong following on the college radio circuit, the closest CVB ever came to mass acceptance was a remake of the Status Quo song, Pictures of Matchstick Men (although, I firmly believe that Take The Skinheads Bowling should have been a Top 40 smash). As the band evolved, David Lowrey, emerged as the frontman figure, which ultimately killed CVB at first, and Lowrey went on to succeed with Cracker. Around that time, I forgot about the existence of CVB, aside from occasionally playing old albums. Apparently they've been busy since I last checked in on the band; releasing some old material, recording some new material, going on tour, and generally doing all the things a working band does. Check out the old stuff to get a feel for what this band is about and then grow with them through their evolution.
With an upcoming trip to San Francisco almost upon me, I figured an exploration of the local music climate was distinctly in order. I'm a huge fan of a wide variety of genres and would love the opportunity to experience several local flavors while I'm there. I hate comparing one band to another, but I would tend to agree with a review posted to the sinombre site suggesting they sound similar to My Bloody Valentine, complete with the sensually melancholy vocals hovering above some seriously distorted pop guitar tracks. If you're a fan of the loosely defined genre of "noise rock" you'll probably dig this band (yes, I'm sure there are some who might term all rock to be "noise") If you live in the Bay area, sinombre seem to be regulars on the club scene.
http://www.justwilliammusic.com
Always on the lookout for good bands, especially ones from Iowa, Just William is a refreshing breath of air in a state dominated by blues, alt-country, and metal (I'm a fan of all three, but variety is refreshing). Based on the bio section that has each member giving their personal take on Christian music, I'm assuming that's what they consider themselves. Musically, they're a sometimes poppy, sometimes crunchy blend of genres, falling somewhere between BNL and Creed. Most of the songs seem to be about love, both lost and found. Regardless, it's refreshing to hear something from Iowa that isn't flirting with the cookie monster metal spawned in the wake of Slipknot's success.
Anyone questioning the validity of turntables as instruments needs to visit this site immediately. DJ Logic has worked with some of the most talented players in the modern jazz scene, including Medeski, Martin, & Wood, John Scofield, and Joshua Redman. Additional work with saxman Karl Denson hasn't hurt the DJ Logic evolution either. His latest project, with Vernon Reid, of Living Color fame, the Yohimbe Brothers, pairs his DJ styling with Reid's unique guitar sound for the first time since 1996. While the flash cartoon related to the Yohimbe Brothers is quite sophomoric (don't watch it at work), the music is quite out of the ordinary. You'll need RealPlayer for some of the content, but there's also some great Flash and MP3 stuff as well.
