Greg Laswell
Originally from Long Beach, CA, singer/songwriter Greg Laswell moved to San Diego to attend college, where he soon became involved in the local music scene. He played in the band Shillglen and founded All the Rest Records, which went out of business in 2004, after which he started 20 Inch Records, where he worked as producer. In 2003, Laswell released his first solo album, Good Move, which garnered critical local acclaim, and three years later his Vanguard debut, Through Toledo, written after his wife left him, came out.
Dave Barnes
As singer/songwriter Dave Barnes tells it, he had a Harry Potter moment while in college. Like the poor, misunderstood boy living under the stairs with his Uncle and Aunt, Barnes also belonged to a magical tribe, but up to that point hadn’t realized it. “I was thinking I was weird, or something was wrong with me. But when I found the magazine Performing Songwriter, I thought, ‘you mean there’s a group of people who relate to this? Who have a hard time talking when there is a melody in their head or will run off and call their voicemail so they can remember how this one lyric goes?’”
Born in South Carolina, Barnes grew up in rural Mississippi, first gravitating to the hip-hop popular with his classmates (first CD: Young MC), then latching on to the soul, blues and soulful rock favored by his Jackson-born mother and Clarksdale-born father. “We listened to so much Motown and old school R&B. That was just completely normal for Dad, growing up in that world. He’s told me so many stories of being in Clarksdale, going down to the City Hall and seeing these amazing bands playing.”
Newly arrived in Nashville, armed with just his acoustic guitar, Barnes gravitated to the folk scene. After playing his fair share of solo acoustic shows, though, Dave made has way back to his roots, and found himself looking for music with both depth and groove. This lead Barnes to embrace Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and seemingly everything in between. “I’ve been on a massive Toto kick lately,” he shares, gleefully, just after communicating his affection for Phil Collins’ melodies in Invisible Touch-era Genesis.
Despite Nashville’s reputation as a cutthroat industry town, best known for commercial country and Christian music, a group of young, pop-oriented singer/songwriters is simultaneously thriving. Barnes counts locals like Matt Wertz (with whom he’s toured), sometime-McCartney keyboardist Gabe Dixon and Mat Kearney as friends and peers. It’s a non-competitive, supportive community, he says, but the peer pressure is definitely there.
Strangely enough, Barnes never made a conscious decision to arrive where he is today. As he puts it, one thing just led to another, without much of a master plan. “I am thankful that many young singer/songwriters ask me, ‘dude, how did you do it? Give me the roadmap.’ But the truth is,’ I don’t know.’ I can’t tell you that I’ve ever planned anything. And I like that, because it must mean I am meant to do this. Right?”
Undoubtedly, Barnes’ enthusiastic audience agrees.
Mumford & Sons
Since they formed in December 2007, the members of Mumford & Sons have shared a common purpose: to make music that matters, without taking themselves too seriously. Four young men from West London in their early twenties, they have fire in their bellies, romance in their hearts, and rapture in their masterful, melancholy voices. They are staunch friends - Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane - who bring their music to us with the passion and pride of an old-fashioned, much-cherished, family business. They create a gutsy, old-time sound that marries the magic of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with the might of Kings Of Leon, and their incredible energy draws us in quickly to their circle of songs, to the warmth of their stories, and to their magical community of misty-eyed men.
Mumford & Sons’ live reputation goes before them, and now their incredible debut reveals the extent of their magic and majesty on record. Feel the fire in your belly and the romance in your heart as you listen, let your voice break into rapture - and you too sigh no more.
http://www.mumfordandsons.com/
Alpha Rev - " New Morning "
Seven-piece Texan group Alpha Rev meld classical instrumentation with rock. They were formed in 2005 by singer-songwriter Casey McPherson after the break-up of his previous band Endochine. The band also comprises Derek Dunivan (guitar), Tommy Roalson (drums), Dave Wiley (cello), Alex Dunlap (bass), Brian Lewis Batch (violin) and Derek Morris (keyboards)
Frontman Casey McPherson’s gripping, emotional songwriting dares others to search out hope in the bleakest of circumstances and the unique instrumentation pays homage to the classical music that gave him his love for the art. While McPherson’s songwriting and rock-inspired vocals form the core of Alpha Rev’s music, he is supported by a unique cast of musicians that fill Alpha Rev’s songs with as much classical beauty as American rock. In addition to the typical guitar, keyboard, bass, and drums, Alpha Rev boasts a violin and cello that add brilliantly to the band’s sound. Together, Alpha Rev offers up layered, orchestral, melody-driven masterpieces able to turn strangers to super fans in a single listen.
MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS - " Oh No! "
Marina Lambrini Diamandis, better known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer-songwriter of Greek descent from Abergavenny, Wales, United Kingdom. She rose to fame after reaching number two on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list. Despite the name, Marina is a solo act, with the “Diamonds” being what she refers to as her fans. Marina released her first single, (a double A-side single ‘Obsessions / Mowgli’s Road’) through Neon Gold Records on Valentines Day, 2009, closely followed by “The Crown Jewels EP” in June 2009. Now signed to 679 Recordings, she released her debut full-length studio album, “The Family Jewels” on 22nd February 2010, followed by her debut American release, “The American Jewels EP”, on May 25th 2010.
Diamandis’ musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo new wave-style songs with full band backing.She has cited a wide-range of influences such as Daniel Johnston,Kate Bush, Blondie, Patti Smith, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton and Madonna.
http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com
Broken Bells "High Road from Broken Bells.
Though Broken Bells featured two of the bigger names in indie and alternative music --The Shins inger/guitarist James Mercer and producer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse-- the duo managed to keep their project secret for a relatively long time. The pair were inspired to collaborate when they met at 2004’s Roskilde music festival in Denmark, where they discovered they were fans of each others’ work. However, they didn’t start writing and recording together as a band until March 2008, when Mercer holed up in Burton's home studio in Los Angeles. The duo took a different approach to their work together than they had with their other projects: Burton avoided the sample-heavy style he used on The Grey Album and Beck's Modern Guilt and played only live instruments, while Mercer broadened his vocal style to include falsettos and deeper registers. Mercer and Burton announced they were Broken Bells in fall 2009, and late that year they released their debut single, "The High Road." Their self-titled debut album arrived in spring 2010.
Jakob Dylan has a new record!
Recorded in Los Angeles in May of 2009 and produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett, Women and Country marks Dylan's second solo effort. He says he was pleased to enlist Burnett, both because the two have a longstanding friendship and because Dylan describes the producer as a musical "historian" with an unparalleled depth and breadth of knowledge when it comes to blues, folk and rock 'n' roll. "I knew that there wasn't going to be great amount of frustration making the record with him," Dylan says. "Believe it or not, this many years later, it still seems like you're trying to get around other people's ideas. I knew that wasn't going to be the issue here. That allowed me to bite off something fairly large."
The album also features backup vocals by Neko Case and Kelly Hogan, whose help Dylan enlisted to enrich the album with a different personality on 8 of its 11 tracks. (For his upcoming tour, Dylan will be accompanied by Case's backing band; Case will appear on select dates as well.) Among their notable harmonies are those on "Everybody's Hurting," "Holy Rollers for Love" and the elegiac country of "We Don't Live Here Anymore," which Dylan begins with cinematic description ("Left turn off a county road / weathervane is to the north / in the shade of sycamore / is the house where you were born") before ratcheting up the anxiety ("We're off the script / we're off the lease / we can't catch any decent sleep / we don't live here anymore"). The female voices on the chorus provide an ethereal counterpart to Dylan's earthier tones.
Check out the new album, in stores now!
The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You" from I and Love and You.
The Avett Brothers have been playing music all their lives, but didn't become the band by that name until 2000. They spent the late 1990s playing in a rock band called Nemo, although they spent their spare time drinking whiskey with their friends and singing country and folk music.
This gathering eventually evolved into a trio that would perform on occasion. It was 2002, though, before the Avett Brothers in their current incarnation emerged. Their debut album, Country Was, was released early that year and since then, the Avett Brothers have toured religiously, building a solid following wherever they go. In all, they've released nine recordings since their inception and have become a favorite at festivals. They were nominated for several Americana Music Awards in 2007.
http://www.theavettbrothers.com/
One Eskimo "Kandi" from One Eskimo.
An alternative rock band led by British singer/songwriter Kristian Leontiou hailing from London. Leontiou began his recording career as a solo artist. After signing with Polydor, he made his full-length solo album debut in 2004 with Some Day Soon. The album spawned a Top 10 UK single, "Story of My Life." Leontiou was unhappy with the direction of his solo career, however, and adopted the One eskimO moniker for a guest feature on the song "Hope & Glory" from the Faithless album To All New Arrivals (2006). In time, One eskimO expanded to become a quartet comprised of Pete Rinaldi (guitar), Jamie Sefton (bass, horns), and Adam Falkner (drums), and Leontiou (vocals). One eskimO made their commercial recording debut in 2007 with the single "Hometime." Released on the Little Polar Records label, "Hometime" was licensed for use in a Toyota Prius commercial. The band released "Kandi" in 2009. One eskimO toured the U.S. opening for Tori Amos. One Eskimo is available now. http://www.oneeskimo.com/
Hockey "Song Away", from Mind Chaos
Merging the studied cool of the new wave revivalist movement with the sleek textures and commanding rhythm of electronic pop, Hockey burst out of the Portland, OR music scene in 2009 to become cult favorites in the United Kingdom on the strength of a handful of live appearances and a self-produced demo EP. Vocalist and guitarist Ben Grubin and bassist Jeremy Reynolds formed Hockey in 2007 while they were both students at Southern California's Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, a free-form college affiliated with the University of Redlands. Check out their new album .
Overshine’s songs are an organic hook-based brand of pop rock. This five piece band formed of veteran Boston musicians crafts melodic rock with a focus on one thing: good songs. Front man Dan Macmillan and crew create sounds that sizzle with reluctant optimism, most often found in their harmonies. Overshine’s music feels like long dusty road trips to exotic and dangerously worthwhile destinations. Pick up their new album Armed With Only the Light and let your summer begin......visit there website here
