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Denali: "Hold Your Breath" Video
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In a story that never suffers from its retelling, Denali formed in 2000 when an unheard of singer named Maura Davis asked her brother, Engine Down's Keeley Davis, if he wanted to start a band with her. One could only imagine his surprise. Not only had the then-19-year-old enchantress yet to write a proper song, but no one knew she had a voice in her as powerful and as compelling as the one that would easily exhale the band's first dozen songs-all of which would lead to the recruiting of fellow Richmond, VA scene vets Cam DiNunzio and Jonathan Fuller, who under the name Denali would quickly became one of the hardest sought after bands in the underground. Signing to Jade Tree a year later, the dramatic four piece has since taken on a chilly place in the indie rock landscape by writing truly cinematic and spacious pop songs, that come from behind you both softly and slowly. As if there were any other way.
The Somnambulants: "Take It On"
Stylistically, The Somnambulants are even more driven by cinematic influence, as evidenced in their lyrical imagery and spacious production. Joseph White built the first Somnambulants songs from music soundtrack pieces composed during his tenure as a film student. In fact, their name was taken from the somnambulist character Cesare - in the 1920 German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Its fitting, therefore, that the title track from their previous album, Evacuation, appeared in the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Half Nelson (Lakeshore Records).
Longtime musical collaborators Kyle Fischer (guitar, vocals) and William Kuehn (drums) began writing a new batch of songs in the late summer of 1995, thinking they lacked only a bassist. When they found Caithlin De Marrais (vocals, bass), they knew they had found a uniquely captivating voice to front the band as well. Fischer and Kuehn had met at all-ages shows in Madison, Wisconsin, where Kuehn was cajoled into replacing Fischer on the drums in Ezra Pound (with Matt Tennessen of Pele). Fischer switched to guitar, and the two departed together a year later in search of broader sonic horizons. Meanwhile, Fischer had met De Marrais in a University of Wisconsin poetry workshop where the two had organized extra evening sessions of the class and soon found they were the only ones attending. Here they wrote the poems that would later become songs on the band's first album. Rainer Maria's various releases began mapping their trajectory. The original demo cassette, a run of 350 now long out of print, documents the excited initial efforts of a band just 6 weeks old. Their debut self-titled EP appeared on Polyvinyl as a result of the experience of early tours, playing house shows or all ages "spaces" from Austin TX to Kent OH, even a double-wide house trailer in rural Mississippi packed with 100 melting kids. With the "New York, 1955" single, the band began experimenting with what happened when they turned the volume down. Past Worn Searching signaled the beginning of Rainer Maria as a full-time band. Recorded at the sweltering hot, now defunct Ghetto Love studios in Chicago during Summer 1997, Past Worn Searching and its stripped-down production ushered the full arrival of dueling vocals, sonic excess, and youthful exuberance. That fall, Rainer Maria toured the entire continental U.S. for the first time--more than 50 shows booked by Kuehn himself, including a west coast tour with Braid. The band?s second LP, Look Now Look Again, was released in April 1999 to the open arms of fans and critics alike. Look Now Look Again climbed to 19 on CMJ?s top 200 and spent 16 weeks on the charts. Stellar reviews and write-ups appeared in The New York Times, Alternative Press, Magnet, CMJ, and The Village Voice to name a few. Rainer Maria appeared in Spin three times in the latter half of 1999 and Look Now Look Again was named one of the magazine?s 20 best records of the year. The band would go on that year to record and release Atlantic, a three-song CDEP recorded at Pachyderm Studios (P.J. Harvey, In Utero) in August. Just days later, they band relocated to the East Coast. Rainer Maria then spent the better part of a year holed up in a converted cow barn, the previous home of Pepperidge Farm Bakery?s original dairy farmer. There, they wrote their third and most ambitious album, A Better Version of Me, which was released in January 2001. The album hit the #1 spot on CMJ and was supported by a relentless tour schedule of over 200 shows. Fall 2002 the band again returned the studio to record Long Knives Drawn, their fourth album. As a teaser, the Ears Ring EP appeared early November 2002 and was the band's first new material in over a year-and-a-half. Two months later Long Knives Drawn was released and the band embarked on a two month tour with Mates of State followed by a mini-tour in Canada, and then a tour with Denali. Next up for Rainer Maria is a three week tour with Coheed and Cambria in support of their newest release, Anyone in Love with You (Already Knows) , a DVD of their 3/11/03 Cat's Cradle show filmed by members of Bifocal Media (Braid Killing a Camera, Michigan Fest 2002) which includes a bonus audio CD featuring selected various live tracks the band has been accumulating over the years. Anyone in Love with You (Already Knows) will be released on March 9, 2004.
The Enemy Surf Band: "The Ballad of Enemy Surf"
The first ever song/video release from The Enemy Surf Band. Shot on location over six weekends on Adelaides southern beaches, summer 2002. Thanks to all the cast and crew and everyone who supports independent song writing and filmmaking.
"Strip away all the fluff. Does the song still speak the same way when performed with just a voice and a single piano or single guitar?? This is Copeland?s test of a well written song. Lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Aaron Marsh was bred in the diverse Florida music scene where he started the band with his close friend, bassist James Likeness. During their search to finish off the line-up, Aaron found a kindred spirit in Maryland native guitarist Bryan Laurenson, with a mutual appreciation of quality pop melodies to push his writing to new levels. With a concerted effort to weave memorable melodies with insightful lyrics, the band began crafting their intelligent brand of anthemic pop songs in 2000. Atlanta producer, Matt Goldman engineered Copeland?s first release in late 2000. This split EP with glam pop band Pacifico, not only earned Copeland some music industry attention, but also their first national audience in the form of a half dozen small East Coast US tours. For that first year, the band excitedly played in any venue that would have them, for whoever wanted to listen. This deep appreciation for their supporters has stuck with them as they?ve begun to see bigger tours. In the summer of 2002, Copeland signed a record deal with So-Cal independent label The Militia Group and started making plans to focus on the band full time. The band felt it was in need of a fresh start in a new scene. They relocated to Atlanta in the fall. This location seemed more conducive to full time touring and closer to producer Matt Goldman?s studio where they would start a 2 month recording session for their debut full length album. The fruit of those two months was their acclaimed opus entitled ?Beneath Medicine Tree.? Tragically beautiful, and emotionally charged with themes of love, loss, and hope, the album delighted Copeland?s small existing following and earned the band a quickly growing audience. Copeland hit the road with a rigorous tour schedule, hopping from one tour to another with the likes of Switchfoot, The Juliana Theory, The Early November, Hopesfall, Mae, and countless others. They stayed on tour for an exhausting 15 months, playing over 400 shows in that time, but not just playing music every night. Every different city became a chance to meet a new group of kids at the show. Whether playing 4-square in front of the venue, eating dinner after the show, or hanging out at the merchandise table talking about music, Copeland was always excited to turn their fans into their friends. In December of 2003, during a short break from the road, Copeland took a week to record a covers EP to be released before they begin work on their follow-up to ?Beneath Medicine Tree.? Aaron said about the EP, ?We wanted to give our supporters something to listen to while we worked on another record. We knew it might take us a while and we didn?t want everyone to forget about us. These were all songs that we grew up listening to that we thought we could bring something new to.? The EP, entitled ?Know Nothing Stays the Same,? features Copeland?s renditions of songs by Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Phil Collins, Berlin, and Billy Joel. Copeland released their second full-length album, "In Motion", in March of 2005. It was produced by Matt Goldman and Aaron Marsh. Ken Andrews mixed the album. The band has been touring around the world in support of the record. This fall, they will be touring in England and all over the United States. Look for them in other continents in the coming months.
As the driving force behind Onelindrawing, Jonah Matranga had spent years handcrafting his confessional pop songs-often recording them at home and selling his records on his website-until Jade Tree signed the 34-year-old songwriter as not only a solo act, but as the leader of the now defunct rock band New End Original. He had some chops, too, but it seemed just a bit off as his visions on love both lost and found sounded best in small basements, not huge arenas. Personal to the touch, it's not difficult to see why Matranga has ammassed a cult following that includes everyone from Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba to Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, playing his songs like they were touching letters he creased in small squares before passing them along to his adoring fans. Listen closely: the story of your life may be buried in the folds.
Onelinedrawing: "We Had a Deal"
As the driving force behind Onelindrawing, Jonah Matranga had spent years handcrafting his confessional pop songs-often recording them at home and selling his records on his website-until Jade Tree signed the 34-year-old songwriter as not only a solo act, but as the leader of the now defunct rock band New End Original. He had some chops, too, but it seemed just a bit off as his visions on love both lost and found sounded best in small basements, not huge arenas. Personal to the touch, it's not difficult to see why Matranga has ammassed a cult following that includes everyone from Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba to Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, playing his songs like they were touching letters he creased in small squares before passing them along to his adoring fans. Listen closely: the story of your life may be buried in the folds.
Niveus Media Center Denali Edition
The Denali is for a select audience that's willing to pay a premium for design and DVR muscle and also willing to sacrifice some performance.
With the desire to express yet another facet of his musical persona, one that would explore with density the boundaries between jazz, rock, pop and world music, it was decided to record with guitarist/arranger Thor Madsen, drummer Jochen Rueckert, bassist Jesse Murphy and songstress Marla Turner . These, with Ilhan on tenor and keyboard would be the latest incarnation of a continuing project known as Wax Poetic. The pun intended, Wax Poetic was both to go vinyl and to be an armature on which to drape the mnemosonic and dreamy cinematic soundscapes that ilhan sought. Think Dance of the Penguins. Earlier incarnations of the project including a then?unknown Norah Jones, N'dea Davennport and Saul Williams. Skating on glass, dancing on twigs, exploring crisp edges of dub and electronica, this version of the band continues in a tradition begun some 6 years ago. Characteristic of Wax Poetic's web of voice and the effusive persuasion of Thor's and Ilhan's electronic meanderings through levels of the band's id are the pulsating bass of Murphy and the chugging, rock steady backbeats of Rueckert. Says singer Marla Turner, "I don't want to sound like anybody else. I just want to do what I'm doing. That's why I'm with Wax Poetic." In response to comparisons to bands like Thievery Corporation or tenor riffs that conjure those of John Coltraine on electronics, Ilhan has said "There are always going to be influences. You hear them, you reconfigure them and you arrive at something new. That is what I want to do with all my bands, and particularly with Wax Poetic. I wanted a vocally?led situation - you know, songs - and a little improvisation with the emphasis on sound rather than on solos. In fact there is actually not that much saxophone except as obligato behind the band and Marla. It's mostly keyboards with Thor's guitar and beats added to Jochen's, with Jesse's bass. If we happen to sound like somebody or remind you of somebody, maybe we meant that to happen and maybe we didn't. I guess that is the price of being contemporary, you hear things and you accept them or reject them in accordance with what you intend to project. Sometimes it's not what you intended, but I think - insofar as I even do think about it - that that is what makes it art."
Visiter by San Francisco band The Dodos is their second full length and first for Frenchkiss. Originally formed in 2006 under the moniker Dodobird as a one man acoustic act, Meric Long would gig around SF playing folky guitar w/ a combination of loops and ambient keyboards. Having already studied West African Ewe drumming, Meric got turned onto country blues fingerpicking and sought to create a band where the drumming could be a center role and help bring out the syncopated rhythms coming out of the acoustic guitar. Through a chance introduction by a roommate, Meric met Santa Cruz transplant Logan Kroeber, who had also been experimenting with drumming, but in the area of progressive metal. Eventually the band changed their name to the Dodos, through constant harrowing from first tourmates Peter and the Wolf, and got a rehearsal studio where they'd spend long hours improvising the music that would become their first record Beware of the Maniacs. The band quit their day jobs as a line cook and a printer and hit the road in Oct. 2006.
