“Amazing.”

It’s the word that Josh Jenkins, lead singer of Green River Ordinance, used to describe his experience to me aboard Sixthman’s The Rock Boat X last month.

Coincidentally, it’s also the same exactly word I would use to describe the last song performed at their show; a collaboration between Green River Ordinance and Sleeperstar. The group effort had the two bands covering Tom Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’ (you can find it embedded below). Props to both Josh and Sleeperstar’s Chris Pearson (vocals/guitar/piano) for their bonus verses.

I had first heard of Green River Ordinance when I went on The Rock Boat IX. I didn’t know anything about them prior to that, but after I saw them perform three or four times (not uncommon to see a band perform multiple times on that cruise) I was sold. The people in the crowd who were not won over by songs like ‘Goodbye LA’, ‘Out of My Hands’, and ‘Different (Anything at All)’, were surely won over by their cover of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).’

Club Cafe was a very intimate setting, with only about 40 people or so in attendance. Don’t let that small number fool you though – 40 people inside Club Cafe means that the place turns into a Standing Room Only venue, as I discovered when I walked in. In fact, Jamey Ice (guitarist) told me after the show that their show the following evening in Akron, Ohio, was sold out. The night before, in New York, they had played to 300+ people.

Unfortunately, I missed Sleeperstar’s set; but garnering the fan reaction after the show, it is definitely a band that anyone who likes Green River Ordinance and the alt/rock genre should check out. Fan after fan was coming up to the merch table, telling them how much they enjoyed their set, and buying their album, To Speak, To Love, To Listen.

All the guys in both of the bands are really cool – I had already met a few of the guys from Green River Ordinance because of the cruise – and are willing to talk to all their fans after the show and sign autographs/take pictures, etc.

The guys from Sleeperstar were kind enough to give me an autographed copy of To Speak, To Love, To Listen, so expect a review of them soon.

Here is a link to our previous Green River Ordinance Review.

There are a few more videos that I uploaded to the Outsider Vocals Facebook Fan Page, including an acoustic version of the band’s next single, ‘On Your Own’, and Josh performing the song he wrote for his friend’s wedding, ‘Endlessly.’ I also posted photos from the show on there as well.
***Note: You do not have to have a Facebook account to be able to browse that page and view the photos and videos.

For more information on Green River Ordinance, visit the Green River Ordinance Website and the Green River Ordinance MySpace page.

For more information on Sleeperstar, visit the Sleeperstar Website and the Sleeperstar MySpace Page.

Special thanks goes out to Opus One Productions for giving us tickets to the show.

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

Alright, so the title is an extremely cheesy play on words. Don’t hold it against me.

The Lives of Famous Men are a band that hail from Anchorage, Alaska. Keyboardist Jason Wahto sent me the groups 2007 EP, Modern Love, The Wooden Vehicle. Truthfully, before I put it on I thought it was going to be some post-hardcore type band -- maybe because of all the buzz around Rise Record’s band Of Mice & Men? Some kind of subliminal connection there that I made?

Obviously I was wrong.

I would classify them as indie-pop (is there such a genre? If not, I just created it). It’s not raw enough to be garage-rock style but also not quite poppy enough to be a band like A Rocket to the Moon.

According the bio on the Lives of Famous Men Facebook page, they describe themselves as “soulful indie rock built on the fundamentals of the ever-changing pop genre. The five, singer Daniel Hall, guitarist Ari Katcher, drummer Dylan Mandel, bassist Andrew Totemoff, and keyboardist Jason Wahto, boast not only a wealth of eclectic studio material, but more importantly an energetic and interactive live show that engages and captivates crowds.

That sounds right on point to me.

The band has been featured in Alternative Press magazine, and was also one of the Top 21 Unsigned Bands recently on PureVolume.com. The have over 4,000,000 plays on their MySpace page, and their video for ‘You’re Everything I Know Right Now’ has been played on MTVU.

In addition, Modern Love, The Wooden Vehicle debuted as one of the top 5 albums on SmartPunk.com after it was released, and in 2008 they played 5 dates at the South By Southwest music festival.

More recently, The Lives of Famous Men released the Sunshine EP in 2009.

The songs on Modern Love, The Wooden Vehicle -- ‘Annie Taylor’, ‘Notes From a Cult Classic’, and ‘Chandeliers and Piano Keys’ -- are all songs that can easily take you away from bitter cold weather or provide a great soundtrack for driving around on a beautiful summer day.

For more information on The Lives of Famous Men, visit The Lives of Famous Men Myspace page

Check out the video for ‘You’re Everything I Know Right Now’, from the Rehearsal EP:

The Lives of Famous Men -- You’re Everything I Know Right Now

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

You won’t be able to tell by the sound of his EP’s, but The Body Rampant is just that -- a single person. His first EP, ‘Beast’, had others playing on it, but the more recent one, ‘Framework’, has Jon Mathew Lopez -- aka The Body Rampant -- doing all the instrumentation by himself.

These type of acts have been popping up all over the place lately, and I am constantly impressed with the quality of the music. To me, it seems like being able to play all the different instruments -- proficiently -- would be quite a challenge but these acts make it look easy.

His songs are sometimes more rock inspired (most of ‘Framework’, which ironically is supposed to be the more stripped down EP), but there are also definite elements of indie music, like parts of ‘Artax Please!’, ‘Static Hands’, and ‘O Mos Definitely Samoans Are the Strongest’. The first minute-and-a-half of the latter track is all just an interlude.

When it comes to the song ‘Static Hands’, the first thing it reminded me of was a more rock/less pop and electronic version of Owl City. It’s a pretty mellow song overall, but then it does have it’s moments during the chorus where it picks up the tempo. ‘1x1x1′ also has this feel to it, but it is pretty low-key throughout.

‘Beast’ is definitely the more experimental record out of the two, as it has a lot more indie elements to it. ‘Framework’ has the more straightforward rock songs it.

I have both ‘Artax Please!’ and ‘1x1x1′ embedded below so you can get a feel for just what each style sounds like.

Bottom line is that you have absolutely nothing to lose by checking out The Body Rampant, especially because they are giving away both of these EP’s for free through their MySpace.

Head over to The Body Rampant’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/thebodyrampantmusic to download Beast and Framework for FREE.

The Body Rampant -- Artax, Please!

The Body Rampant -- 1x1x1

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

“Some bands rely on gimmicks or novelties to win an audience. The Color Truth rely on making great music. In their relatively short time together, the Milwaukee based quartet has won an ever increasing audience with their remarkable brand of straight from the heart rock; a blend of unforgettable melodies, intelligent lyrics and powerful music that has made converts of those who have heard them. Their current, debut EP, Proof Of Life, is evidence of the band becoming one of the best emerging acts from the midwest.”

Now, I’m not from Milwaukee, but I do believe that last statement. Comparing these guys to Augustana (in their less piano-driven songs) would be a very fair match-up. Augustana is the band that has two semi-big hits with ‘Boston’ and ‘Sweet and Low’ (Any guy out there who has a girl in his life should definitely check out the second song…).

In my eyes, the two standout tracks here are ‘If’ and ‘Fall Apart (On Me).’ If you have read my other reviews (you should have!) then you will have noticed that I have a bad habit of hearing a song that floors me, and then just listening to it over and over again.

Proof of Life, released in 2008, is an EP. It has just six songs. And it still took me a couple hours to get through because I just kept going back to those two songs over and over again.

In the bio on LikeZEBRA.com, Zach is quoted as saying, “We’ve barely scratched the surface of what we’re capable of.”

If that proves to be true, you can thank me later for introducing you all to these guys.

Look for plenty more reviews on artists featured at LikeZEBRA in the future, as their A&R Director, Jon, has been funneling me plenty of artists that you should know about.

For more information on The Color Truth and to check out what LikeZEBRA has to offer, visit http://www.likezebra.com/thecolortruth

Also check out The Color Truth’s MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/thecolortruth

The Color Truth -- Fall Apart (On Me)

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.