JOJO[music]BLOG

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Update Okay

Boys Like Girls. Take THAT Good Charlotte (Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money - but Boys Like Girls). But seriously. I got my pre-ordered Boys Like Girls CD on Tuesday and it's amazing. It's really really great preppy pop punk. Thunder is one of my favorite songs now. The lyrics are incredible: "Your voice was the soundtrack to my summer, do you know you're unlike any other? You'll always be my thunder." Ah. Amazing. I'm loving it.

Also, a new band I found, Karate High School rules. It's fun post hardcore rock. It's kinda hard to categorized, but I like it. :D Give them a listen, it's good stuff.

And now I'm going to take a nap. I'll update when I wake up (or whenever I feel like it). Haha.

Listen To: Chiodos

I made a new song.

I recently made a new song called "Her Umbrella", and uploaded it onto my PureVOLUME page. Give it a listen, and please let me know what you think. :D

I will give whoever guesses the relevance of the name $5. :)

Listen To: The Ataris

Friday, August 11, 2006

The List

For this post, I'm just gonna focus on some unsigned(or just not as well known) talent. Just a list of bands that I feel deserve more attention then they are getting now. Off we go!

  • Brightwood - First band that came to mind was Brightwood, the young and talented group from Portland. Their singer has an incredible voice and is full of passion. The music is energetic, intelligent and catchy. I adore this band. :D
  • Rushmore Academy - So, I've pimped this band a fair amount but I still feel they need more. It's amazing pop-punk with an awesome synthesizer. It's amazing to me how they are still unsigned. Really fun band.
  • Deas Vail - Really neat stuff. This indie rock band knows exactly what their doing, and it sounds beautiful. Probably one of the best voices I've ever heard coming from such a young group. Give them a listen and expect their new EP to be released soon.
  • Racing Kites - Let me just say this: On their new CD coming out Will, from Cartel, is doing guest vocals. Give them a listen. Amazing pop-punk.
  • Blane - There's something in the water in Seattle, I swear. This band has some amazing potential for sure.
  • Best Interest - The band has been broken up for a while, and they've all gone their seperate ways, but the music they made while they were together was incredible. Jeff now sings for Morning Call on Drive-Thru Records (which is another band to watch).
  • The Real You - Some really good piano driven rock. There's a nice energy to the album and it's fun to listen to. :D
  • Making April - Some INCREDIBLE acoustic/piano/emo rock. It's really beautfiul stuff.
  • Swingset Champion - Really good stuff. The song 'Reaching For The Aspirin' is one of my favorite songs.
Well, that's good for a while. :P

Listen To: New Found Glory (Heck yeah, man)

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Update #a billion? (seriously?)

So I think I've mentioned this band a few times before, but if you still haven't given A Hero From A Thousand Paces a listen, what are you waiting for? A five buck incentive? Cause I'd give it to you. Actually, I wouldn't, but seriously go and listen. Their song Philidelphia is stunning. I'm really looking forward to their debut full-length, which will be released on the fairly new label 1x1 Music. They'll make New Jersey (even more) proud.

I just realized that I never gave a report on Warped Tour. Well, here it goes:


Warped Tour: Fact or Fiction?

Salt Lake City, UT - I got there a bit late due to some circumstances out of my control, so I missed Hellogoodbye and Moneen. First band I went to see was Emery. I only stayed for 3 songs, but from what I saw and experienced in the crowd, they blew me away. I always love when bands can reproduce their sound live and aren't just studio bands (I'm looking at you Fall Out Boy. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Fall Out Boy, they just don't do it for me live). From there I left to go watch the last half of Mute Math's set. Every time I see this band, I come back with a fuller appreciation of music in general. They love what they do, and they do it well.

Following Mute Math, I went back and watched the last two songs of The Academy Is.... Absolutely LOVE TAI live. :D Third times a charm. After a few songs, I left to go catch all of Cartel's set. I was slightly dissapointed the last time I saw them (I think Will was a bit sick...), so I was excited for them to redeem themselves - and holy crap did they redeem themselves. Will was SPOT on the entire set. Nothing left to say, really, they left me speechless.

From there I went to go watch The Stiletto Formal. Unfortunately, I had to watch the last song from Aiden before The Stiletto Formal could play. Awful, awful band. They just come off as so... fake. But, anyways, The Stiletto Formal was INCREDIBLE. Their singer was AMAZING! I didn't think he'd be able to pull it off live, but he sure did. It was really neat to watch their cello player bust it out and their keyboardist is really cute (but more importantly TALENTED, amen). After The Stiletto Formal, I went back to where Cartel played and watched one of my favorite bands play - Sherwood. ALWAYS fun to see them play, and we helped them pack up their stuff afterwards. They played two new songs, and they sounded sooooooo awesome, I'm really looking forward to their newest offering.

After Sherwood, we went and hung out with Moneen and Sherwood at their tents for a while. I went to the The Militia Group and talked with the nice ladies there, and they hooked me up with a promo copy of the new Umbrellas CD, which I used to review for Leakmob. After chilling for a while, we caught the last song from The Early November, a few songs from Evaline, and we were out.

Conclusion: FACT


Okay, now that THAT'S out of the way, let me tell you about the Houston Calls concert on the 8th. Holy... Crap. Best concert I've ever been to. No joke. Hanging out with Chitty, Kenny, Okie, Jarret, and Josh couldn't have been more fun. The first band that played, The Trademark, surprised me. Very "Just Surrender-esque", except Just Surrender's bassist doesn't lick his bass. :| The next band, The Summer Obsession, was pretty fun, but nothing too amazing. THEN the party REALLY started when Self Against City came out. "Ready and Willing" is one of my favorite songs. <3

Quietdrive. Wow. Their singer has an incredible stage presence! Lots of energy, and some great music. When he busted out the violin, I thought it was pretty cool, but the way he mixed it into the song was genious. Incredible band.

And, of course, Houston Calls. I was really happy that the crowd received them the way they did, and the band performed perfectly. Such a fun band. I <3 Houston Calls sooo much. :D Hanging out with them after the show was a blast, and seeing them at the 7-11 was hilarious. Josh is such a prick to cashiers, haha.

I realize I still haven't given a list of all the CD's I've picked up recently, so I'll do that sometime soon.

Listen To: Sherwood

Monday, August 07, 2006

Rules Of Shotgun

Heya, kids. Me and my roommates, my roommates and I, and us the roommates, all recorded a song with one of my favorite persons ever, Mike! We think it sounds pretty good so far, for only using one $30 mic. Let us know what you think! It would mean a whole lot! PureVOLUME

Listen To: Hidden In Plain View