The French Semester * Open Letter to the Disappeared

Let me set up the scenario. It’s 9:00 Saturday morning and I’m grumpy and fried because I made 48 crème brûlée last night, and ate five of them. I’m also wired on espresso. I don’t know if this all affects my ears or objectivity, but fuck objectivity anyway.

Sunny sounding indy-pop? Yes, it is. Endearingly homemade sounding? Yup. Catchy? Uh-huh. Plus-the lyrics that I managed to catch sounded pretty cool. I also heard phantom harmonies where, on second listen, there were none. Implied parts that fool you into hearing things within the space of the song that don’t exist are always good. Sort of like how Hemingway says things by not saying them. I suppose that’s the point of minimalism. So far, so good.

The tunes made this cold Canadian morning slightly warmer, tricked my ears, and helped the bad mood a bit.

– Review by Biff of The Woodrunners

Sugartune Review
I dig the 60s influence. Your Master Plan struts like Day Tripper with the bass and guitar duplicating the main riff. The Blue Distance sounds like it belongs on ‘Hollywood Dream’ by Thunderclap Newman. Lots of open space between the instruments with simple interplay throughout driven by naive, stutter step drumming. Engaging, charming pop fare served up lo-fi. Might very well sound like Brian Wilson’s brain, back in the day, as he awoke from the sandbox before the neurons started to compose the vocal harmonies and orchestra parts.

Feeding from the trough of: Big Star, Guided By Voices, Thunderclap Newman

Play MP3: Arrowheadings

Play MP3: Your Master Plan

MySpace: www.myspace.com/thefrenchsemester

Joe Pug * Nation of Heat EP

Singer/Songwriters are as abundant as clouds across an overcast sky. They tend to blend together without distinction. Every so often, however, there is a break from which the sun shines. The effect is beautiful, heavenly and inspiring. 23 year old Joe Pug’s Nation of Heat EP is such a ray of light. The songs are stripped down, naked; guitar, vocal, harmonica and banjo. Pug’s lyrics are immediate without the obtuseness or camouflage typically associated with the genre. On Hymn #101, universal reflection of one’s own merit is posed with frank eloquence “I’ve come here to get high, to do more than just get by; I’ve come to test the timbre of my heart”. I Do My Father’s Drugs sees through the distinctions claimed my all generations and focuses on the common themes of each. “You will see me at the protest, but you’ll notice that I drag. I burn my father’s flag.” Lots of thinking stuff here; wrapped in accessible tunes that demand repeat listening.

If Pug continues to grow and evolve from this initial brilliant offering, he may very well turn into pure light by the time his kids start doing his drugs.

Feeding from the trough of: Bob Dylan, John Prine, Jesse Winchester

Play MP3: I Do My Father’s Drugs

WWW: joepugmusic.com

Look Ma Joe Pug’s Nation of Heat EP!

Blossom Toes * Blossom Toes & If Only For A Moment

Thanks to the fine folks at Sunbeam two rare, much-overlooked psychedelic treasures are once again available for all to enjoy. To be sure, Blossom Toes is a band you will never hear too much about, but after listening to these two albums you will wonder why the band’s name isn’t on everyone’s lips. The band has the distinction of putting out a psychedelic album as good as anything The Beatles, Small Faces or The Kinks had done, and then follow it up with an album so heavy Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin could have stolen ideas from it (and probably did).

Unfortunately, the band put out their whimsical, slightly-twee psych-rock album when there was a glut of like-minded music flooding the market and put out their heavier record before the taste of the public had moved towards heavier rock music. Much revered by fans of late ’60’s psych, these two Blossom Toes albums have been much sought after for years by collectors and music zealots who swear Blossom Toes were putting out some of the best music of the ’60’s.

Take a few listens and find out for yourself how right they were!

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BMZ * Live at The Winchester

Cleveland band BMZ came together as a group because the members of the band were all looking to do something musically and had nowhere to turn to fill that desire. With Jim Bacha on bass guitar and vocals, Michael Misiak on drums and vocals, and Jerry Zsigo on guitar and vocals, the musicians have created a solid rock band.

The band decided to take their best material and attack the songs in a live setting and record the resulting show for future release. That resulting show took place on March 10th, 2007 at the Cleveland, Ohio concert venue, The Winchester. The band has taken the recorded show and put it out on a double CD album, entitled BMZ Live at The Winchester.

Previous to the date of the concert recording, the band had recorded and released two albums as a four-piece outfit. The new CD features the band in its current three-piece power trio line-up. The difference is definitely noticeable; and it’s a change for the better. As a trio, the band is tighter and the songs rock harder. Having recorded the first two albums in the studio, BMZ Live at The Winchester shows that the real magic happens onstage.

The audience that showed up that night for the recording helps make the live experience come through for the audience listening at home. And the band answers back with a great instrumental entitled Let It Happen that seems to convey the message that the band is happy for the audience’s support.

Throughout the 2-hour concert of high-voltage power rock, BMZ shows that with time comes experience, and with experience comes talent. Jim Bacha, Mike Misiak, and Jerry Zsigo have the experience and the talent, as BMZ Live at The Winchester definitely shows.

If you like power rock, this album is a MUST for your music collection. This is not only a great live album, it’s a great album all the way around.
To hear the music, purchase the album, or for more information on the band, go to www.bmzmusic.com.

The Armed Forces * Modern Gospel For Modern Men & Modern Women

The thing I love about rock and roll is the wide sonic pallet that it encompasses. That is why I never get bogged down in genres, but sometimes I do feel myself listening a bit too much to one style or other so it’s nice to have a band come along and kind of smack me upside the head and change my sense of direction.

The Armed Forces are from Nashville, Tennessee and at first listen of their CD Modern Gospel For Modern Men & Modern Women I knew there was something there that I liked, I just wasn’t sure what it was. But as with all of my favourite CDs, multiple listening revealed to me a great band that had a definite, modern twist to their powerpop hook. The song that got to me first was The Runaways. The finger clicking and female back up vocals clinched it for me and made me hungry for more. In The Free World was next and everything else on this 5 song CD followed quickly thereafter. I won’t insult you by comparing them to somebody since you will probably email me to tell me that I am out of my tree because they sound more like THIS band but I will toss out moder, hooky, angry at times and volume knob worthy.

Check them out at their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/thearmedforce and listen to them on an upcoming edition of the Rock and Roll Report Podcast and Rock and Roll Report Radio. Good stuff!

APG * This Brutal Addiction

When a popular band decides to call it a day, usually the followers of that band are left with an empty feeling of never being able to see that band again. And if it happens that two bands decide to call it a day at the same time, twice as many people have the same empty feeling.

This is what happened when Cleveland-based band hard rock band Another Path and heavy metal band Gatlin decided that it was time to move on. However, when members of both bands heard of the other’s demise, a new partnership began between the lead singer of Another Path and the remaining members of Gatlin.

The new project became known as A Passion Greater, now known simply as APG. The lead singer, Dave Hudec, picked up where he left off in Another Path by writing songs for his new band, and his new band mates helped turn the new songs into something real, something different than what either band was playing before they broke apart. Along with Dave Hudec on vocals, the rest of the band consists of Jon Drake on bass/vocals, Don DeBiase on guitar, John Marshall on guitar, and Tony Castillo on drums.

The members of APG merged their two styles together into a melodic hard rock band. Taking the best of both worlds and combining them into one makes APG a band with a sound that would fit on any modern day rock statio

Once the band was together, they went into the studio to record their debut album, This Brutal Addiction. Engineered by Brandon Youngs, the 2007 album gives the listener their money’s worth, as the album clocks in at just under an hour.

One of the best hard rock albums of 2007, This Brutal Addiction definitely is an album for rock music fans. The band has been nominated Best Hard Rock Band at the 2008 Free Times Music Awards in Cleveland. This is the perfect time to check out this Cleveland group and their music.

For more information, go to www.myspace.com/apg. Also check them out at www.purevolume.com/apg.

Joal Rush * Imagination

Just when you start thinking that no one is making good rock-n-roll music anymore, you find someone who amazes you with their style of straight-out rock music. One such musician that is currently making that style of straight-out rock that is sadly all-too-uncommon is Joal Rush.
In 2004, Joal Rush released his debut EP, Delightful Things. With that release, Joal started making a name for himself. The reason for that is the CD started receiving critical acclaim from those who reviewed the release. Along with praise from the critics, Joal started gaining a following from his fans.

Since releasing Delightful Things , Joal has enjoyed a bit of success as good things started happening. The Atlanta, GA musician has shared then stage with the likes of Edwin McCain, Will Hoge and Styx; Joal has had his music added to XM Radio’s Unsigned channel 52 where it has become a fixture of the station; and he has had his song Carry On put on the Awarestore.com Ear Snacks Vol. 6 compilation.

After having success with Delightful Things and receiving all of the accolades that have come with it, Joal Rush is back with his second release, Imagination. With this new EP, Joal has taken his writing style and improved upon it, giving the songs on Imagination more power than before.
The new EP contains 6 great songs. The best tracks on the release are, in my opinion, Imagination, Living a Lie, and Bleed. The CD even comes with a ballad, You Are, that helps to wrap up the release.

Joal has put out a great rock release. His style would belong with groups who were around before there were styles of rock called Alternative or Grunge. His music seems a little out of place with what is on the airwaves right now, but that is because the majority of the groups out there right now follow whatever trends are big at the time and refuse to veer away from the mainstream. It takes courageous musicians like Joal Rush to take a chance at releasing music that is not pigeon-holed by today’s radio formats.

If you like pre-Alternative rock music, Joal Rush is making music just for you. You can check out Joal Rush and his music at www.joalrush.com and at www.MySpace.com/joalrush.

Trance Halo * Bender

Milwaukee, WI band Trance Halo is currently promoting their 2007 EP entitled Bender. Having only been together for about one year. the quartet is still young as a band goes. However, the new debut CD sounds like it was made by a band that has a lot more time under it’s belt. Part of the reason for the maturity in their sound comes from the songwriting of the band’s guitarist/vocalist London J.

The five well-crafted songs contained within the Bender EP hit hard and never let go. From the title track to the last song on the CD entitled Pool, this is a very solid effort. Take equal parts Foo Fighters, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins while adding technology in the form of phase shifters, filters and fuzzes and you get some idea of what the band’s sound is like. The band promises to take modern rock music and launch it into another dimension. Take a listen and you can tell that they are serious about that.

Along with London J, the band is made of 3 talented musicians that help shape the sound of their music. The other members of the band are lead guitarist Johnny W, bassist Belle, and Jim B who played the drums on the CD though the band plays live with an ever-changing line-up of drummers.

Together as a unit, the four musicians create a sound with a noticeable difference. One of the main things that makes Trance Halo’s sound different from most of the acts there is London J’s large collection of effect pedals for his guitar. In fact, with London J, Belle AND Johnny W all using pedals, the band aspires to be known as “the band with the most pedals”.

If you are interested in finding something different from your everyday alternative rock band that you hear on the radio, then you need to check out the band Trance Halo and their CD, Bender.

Visit the band’s website at www.trancehalo.com for more information.

Susan Weber * Monet’s Orbit

Susan Weber has been a part of the music scene here in the Cleveland area for several years. Susan got her start as a singer-songwriter after hearing material from people like John Prine and Joni Mitchell. And her start as a guitar player started with the help of Michele Temple of Cleveland noise-rock band, Pere Ubu. Susan took her influences and combined them in her style of songwriting that is present on Monet’s Orbit.
It’s been a decade since Susan released her last album. The time between the last album and this release was filled with several different projects, but no released material surfaced as a result of those projects.

Susan’s new album, Monet’s Orbit, features her band that is known by the same name. Along with Susan on Guitar and vocals, the band also includes Walt Campbell on bass and vocals, and Trees Mausser on drums. Along with the main members of the group, Susan is also joined on the album by lead guitarists John Grail and Jay Bentoff, Chris Solt on percussion and keyboards, and Spencer Kohan on saxophone.

The album features 11 tracks written by Susan. The sound of the album has been described as being influenced by the likes of Jefferson Airplane to Bob Dylan. Her vocal style is somewhere between Janis Joplin and Mick Jagger. The songs are Rock-N-Roll in its purist form. If you’ve been missing straight-out Rock-N-Roll, here is an album that should make you happy.

Susan has had her share of notoriety in the Cleveland area and beyond. She has been named Best Female Singer-Songwriter in the Free Times Music Awards. She has also received the honor of winning awards including the Great American Song Contest Honor Award.
After a decade of not releasing new material, Susan has made a very strong comeback with a rock album that is sure to please the hardest critics. If you like straight-out rock, add Susan Weber and Monet’s Orbit to your list of things that need to be heard.

You can learn more about Susan Weber and her music, plus find out about her bandmates, by going to www.susanweber.com. You can also check out Susan’s myspace account @ www.myspace.com/susanweber.

Watts * One Below The All Time Low

Named after possibly one of the coolest cats in rock and roll, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Watts is a very cool four-piece from Boston who manage to let their classic rock and roll influences like The Stones and the Cars mutate with the sounds of the Strokes and the Clash for a wonderfully rough but harmonic blast of rock and roll.

With 14 tracks on their 2007 release One Below The All Time Low they cover a lot of musical ground which makes it very difficult for me to decide what I want to play which is a true compliment (at least in my books!). Excellent stuff, modern with a nuanced nod to rock’s past and definitely a keeper. Have a listen to the tracks posted to their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/wattsrock

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