Wednesday, 22 May 2013

ARTISTS WHO SUFFERED FOR THEIR MUSICAL SUCCESS #5

ARTISTS WHO SUFFERED FOR THEIR MUSICAL SUCCESS #5

"If you could see but were always taught."


A saint once said the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  For some artists - as we have seen with Jay Z - the road to financial independence is paved with hardwork, timely collaborations and most importantly; a dark sacrifice.

If you want to know what his dark sacrifice was ask Dame Dash or read Decoded.  But this isn't about him. This is about someone else, someone who represents something else entirely, but like him also made a dark sacrifice or life-affecting decision to get to become what they are.   

Take inspiration if you please from this artists path to fame, and the success they got. 

Clue: Petit, Atheist, and very very flashy. 




ARTISTS WHO SUFFERED FOR THEIR 
MUSICAL SUCCESS #5


Brief bio not in their words:


My view towards arts and music from day one has always been to do it yourself.

I moved several times through the US of A due to my Dad's line of work.

In one of these states my Mother took me to a speech by Gloria Steinem.

I took up feminism by the age of 9.

I decided to have an abortion at the age of 15. This drastically changed my worldview and everything that I have done since. 

I went to college to study photography.  While there contrary or complimentary to my views and needs I worked as a stripper to support myself.

 
"Your world has taught me nothing."

My first experience with authoritarian censorship was while in college when I set-up a photo exhibition that dealt with issues such as sexism, AIDS, and domestic violence.  All photos were taken down.

I used to participate in spoken word performances that dealt with above mentioned issues.

I would later volunteer two years of my life towards this organization.

In my impressionable years while I was still a spoken-wordsmith, my role model approached me to tell me that no one listens to spoken word anymore and that if I wanted to be heard I should get a band. I took her advice.

My role model who I followed once said: "I think it's really important to find out why people hurt you or try to oppose you or whatever."


I would use my skills from photography to collaborate with other like-minded bands at the time to form a punk zine that taught readers how to play music and put on shows. No! I am not Peaches.


guessed who I am yet?
Could you believe I use to be a teacher?

If I take off this mask, would I be a Tamil Tiger POW?

My magazine work was considered by critics to be a call to action, or second wave. I was before M.I.A

I was responsible for the incident which led to the title of the generation defining anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' by Nirvana.

In 1992 while many believed that Pop music would eat itself, I in front of thousands performed with the campaign banner in full broadcast view with the message to the then youth: 'TO KILL YOUR TV.'

I have been in three bands and have had four different music incarnations 

My band later disbanded but I still had dreams of working with a sampler and an 808, after all as Beastie Boys said on Super Disco Breaks: 'nothing sounds better.'

I have taught art at NYU grad school.

I am affiliated with a beastie.

My music inspired Pussy Riot, and their riot-act that one of my former band members called the most important band of 2012.

My videos of yesteryear are all on youtube, yet people still come up to me to know how it felt like to live at that time (early nineties), thinking what I thought and doing the things I did.


Art by Deviant ANTM



Monday, 20 May 2013

FEEDBACK AS REQUESTED: REVERBNATION BADASS BLUESROCK (BADGERSTATIC)

 FEEDBACK AS REQUESTED: REVERBNATION BAD ASS BLUESROCK (BADGERSTATIC)

Something like a Phenomena!



ARTIST: BADGERSTATIC
TRACKS: ANOTHER ONE FOR THE PILE, DIG DEEP, TELL IT TO THE RIVER,
PLATFORM: REVERBNATION
FANS: 21, 700
VIDS PLAYS: 3,900
TOTAL SONG PLAYS: 40,900
LABEL: INDEPENDENT
LOCATION: PENNSYLVANIA U.S
OTHERSITES: TWITTER PAGE
  [original artwork]

FAN FEEDBACK TO BADGERSTATIC 20/05/13:

The opening notes of DIG DEEP remind me of the start of the Alice In Chains track: No Excuses.  You did not mention on your fan bio page what your musical influences or similar sounding artists to you are.  But for me it wouldn't be too far a stretch to say that your singing at times reminds me of the late Alice in Chains frontman: Layne Stanely, and with good effect too. 

Furthermore why stop there with comparisons? I will be using tracks from the major label artists BECK (MELLOWGOLD), as well as KASABIAN (SELF-TITLED) - as templates to refer to while talking about tracks; DIG DEEP,  TELL IT TO THE RIVER,  and ANOTHER ONE FOR THE PILE - if you please. 

Everybody bent over twice...

From these three tracks I would say that your strength lies in your picturesque story telling techniques. So to the point that I can see all three tracks working as smoky juke-box bar-scene background music in films such as Heat, Killer Joe, Jade,  and the like. 

Your voice grunts remind me of Layne Stanley especially on the beginning of TELL IT TO THE RIVER, when you start with: When I was young.  At times sounding like a sage trying to purge themselves of the images they have seen at night or what not. That isn't to say that you sound like you are in pain, rather – as with NEVER BEEN TO NASHVILLE- you seem to be enjoying yourself.   

If anything I think you could do with challenging your vocal range much like Beck did on tracks that started off as spoken-wordish (SOUL SUCKING JERK), but then ended up almost going ape-shit at times, and going high note at other parts in it. I think vocally you have so much more to offer but whether it will be in this band incarnation or your other band is one to ponder.   



Mad props to your keyboardist.  Melodic, memorable, timely and attention deserving I found them to be on tracks like DIG DEEP / TELL IT TO THE RIVER. And with the keyboard in the background as with other instruments I especially appreciate how you let these sounds be explored in solo mode at the final third or so of your track. Not so much as a formulaic gimmick but almost as a wind-down rest and gather or reflection of your lyrics for the audience.

As for me I just wanted my ears to bathe in the dripping and fresh sounding solos.   Your drums are laid down with much funk that fulfill your Blues Rock credo more than I expected. I actually found myself bopping to dig-deep much like I would to Kasabian and or Mellow Gold Beck.  But ultimately the sweetest sections to my ear is when you refrain from the traditional chorus shift in chords and notes and opt instead for a wordless and anticipating bridge-break that is uplifting and breathless much like Yeah Yeah Yeah ‘s Phenomena in a way.  


Hey! Wait! I gotta new complaint

The content of your stories, are not as witty as De La Soul, or as ironic as early Beck. Rather they impress me as - road to glory, he stands alone, see the world through my drifter eyes, triumph and wonder of man – line of lyrics.  


"I got lost downtown
Couldn't find a ride home
Sun went down I got frozen to the bone
'Til a hooker let me share"
BECK - SOUL SUCKING JERK  94


When I read the Reverbnation's pledge to make 2013 a breakout year for BADGERSTATIC I try to imagine what market/musical space they are trying to occupy.

I am then left with two main impressions. A part of me thinks BADGERSTATIC is the kind of band out of which specialists (in either vocals or instruments) will break up and emerge from. Another part of me thinks the band could discover more of where it fits and floats in today’s Itune downloading scene by the feedback and locations they choose to perform live.

OTHER DEMOS TO LISTEN TO:

JAZZ  - STEVE MOHACEY
PERCUSSION - NITUS
POP - JOHNNY REI

 Rae Burnz


Thursday, 16 May 2013

FEEDBACK ATTACK ARTISTSERVER: BLUES ROCK (V.I.P BY FALLING STAR)

FEEDBACK ATTACK ARTISTSERVER: BLUES ROCK (V.I.P BY FALLING STAR)

made in the 80s cruised in the 90s



ARTIST: FALLING STAR
TRACK: (Victory.In.Peace) VIP
GENRE: BLUES ROCK
PLATFORM: ARTIST SERVER
LABEL: INDEPENDENT
LENGTH: 4.23

ARTWORK:
[taken from soundcloud]
for the record, whats ur profession?




FEEDBACK TO FALLEN STAR:

I feel that you evoke the shoegazing sensations of 1992 Britain with this song.  Is it meant as an instrumental in its own right or in preparation for vocals to come later?  Judging by your upload catalog I would say it is a bit of both.  Can you hear how this sounds in Medicine’s Aruca? Or My Bloody Valentine’s Soon?  What kind of films that deal with throwback music from the 70's could you imagine this song layering to?  Dazed and Confused (1993)? Vanilla Sky (2002) or more recently the Runaways (2010)? 

Is it Punk? Or Alternative? 

Good work on the harmonica.  It is done as a solo you say?  It doesn’t seem restrained by traditional four beat bar timing and sounds to me like it should be performed live.  A bit like the harmonica in Tricky’s Sex Drive, it gathers steam, releases, comes back again, sounds like its going to die then shoves itself up once more.  How do you feel about adapting sequences of what I can only assume is your work from 30 years ago? 


"what you?
gonna do?
with your sex drive?"
Tricky

[other tunes with the instrumental uses found on VIP on SOUNCLOUD]:


 MY COMMENTS OF THE USE OF SAMPLE IN VIP:

"Fallen Star did something that blew my mind out of the water when I read it. They sampled their own work from 30 YEARS AGO (1983), and layered it with new instrumental arrangements (2013) to form an entirely new song. The song VICTORY IN PEACE to me channels a bit of Aruca's by Medicine or Soon by My Bloody Valentine in my humble opinion. It is an entirely instrumental experimental track and I hope that the artist keeps it on artistserver for long. To me the track is a story in itself, (we are informed by the artist that the 30 year old bass guitar was recorded live on a repaired tape cassette).  Falling Star is bringing back the dead, they are evoking a spirit of a different age for the new NME readers to step to. But it is their own work even before the aforementioned shoegazing tracks. Therein lies the soul in the track, in that the sound, the harrowing live guitar just cannot die, not in its age, not in this digital age, and Falling Star is proving there is yet something to do with their own work from ages ago. Or do you think EVIL DEAD is the only artwork that can successfully resurrect itself from 30 years ago? I haven't watched the remake so I can't answer that but from what I hear it is a matter of taste, alas I digress."  From FOUR SAMPLE HEAVY TRACKS BY INDEPENDENT ARTISTS


A TRICKY USE OF A LIVE HARMONICA SOLO LIKE VIP

                              


Rae Burnz (Leyman) 16/05