It’s always nice for your site to be described by people as ‘a promising channel for potential exposure’, which is exactly what Eric Downs of Yours Truly described Outsider Vocals as.

Yours Truly describe themselves as ‘a progressive pop rock band…likened to an even blend between Incubus, Radiohead, and the Foo Fighters, and acclaimed for the “bigger-than-three” sound that they produce.

In April of 2010, Yours Truly released its debut EP, The Colorage…summoning influences ranging from Jeff Buckley to the Mars Volta and from The Police to Fall Out Boy.’

If I had to categorize Yours Truly, I would say that they are definitely an indie band, bringing together a lot of different styles in their music (as referenced above).

The beginning of ‘The Crown’ (embedded below) almost has an upbeat Arcade Fire vibe to it – it made me think of AF’s song ‘Rebellion.’

The third track, ‘She Taps for Tips’, slows it down a bit; followed by ‘In the Friscilating Dusklight’, which definitely shows the Incubus influence the band has. The song is structured/sung very much like Brandon Boyd would compose a song; having both the very mellow parts as well as the bigger choruses.

‘Don’t Look Down’ could definitely be a collaboration between The Police and Mars Volta – The Police taking care of the choruses and Mars Volta taking care of some of the guitar work in the verses.

Another part of the bio says that these are great songs for people who want something upbeat but are tired of being force-fed the songs that MTV has in constant rotation. I would definitely agree with that statement – the songs are catchy enough for mainstream airplay, but absolutely not anything that you would hear Miley Cyrus singing (luckily).

At the end of the bio sheet the band sent me, it says ‘So no matter who you are, go ahead – put “The Colorage” into your stereo and please…enjoy.’

We sure will.

For more information on Yours Truly, visit the Yours Truly MySpace Page.

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There is a blog post on Friends of Emmet’s (FoE) MySpace that says they will be featured on the upcoming Warped Tour 2010 Compilation, the album I am sure many of you are familiar with that’s released each year before Warped Tour begins.

That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t make much sense to me, as – from one can tell once the first 40 seconds of ‘Coming Apart’ have passed – FoE doesn’t really fit that bill at all. And I don’t mean in the Suicide Silence/Whitechapel not-fitting sense.

FoE’s Myspace bio says the following:

Friends of Emmet, (F.O.E), are a band from Dublin Ireland. Formed in late 2008 they are now based in Los Angeles, U.S.A.

The band have also collaborated with Daniel Ash from Bauhaus & Love & Rockets to do a remix of Young Americans. The idea of working together came about while both artists were recording in Swinghouse studios.

That probably doesn’t tell you a whole lot about FoE’s sound (despite the fact that they are from Dublin, they are definitely not the second coming of Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly).

The first track on Coming Apart – which happens to be the title track – sounds almost Clapton-ish. The next track, ‘No Surprise’, sounds like a cross between Augustana and Ocean Street.

If you needed any more ideas about their sound, their remake of ‘Young Americans’ sounds like they could have hired Robert Randolph and the Family Band to give them a hand, with the brass section used. ‘Amazed’, the fourth track on the EP, sounds like a slowed down song that The Fray could have released.

Basically, the bottom line here is this: if you are into the mellow alternative rock sound, definitely check these guys out – you will be a big fan. If you live on the West Coast, they could be coming your way soon; as they are hitting the road in that area starting in May.

For more information on Friends of Emmet, head over to the Friends of Emmet MySpace Page

Here is the aforementioned track ‘No Surprise’ from the Coming Apart EP

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.
04102010

It’s been a while since I covered an indie band, so here is Ellis Ashbrook to the rescue.

Ellis Ashbrook is comprised of John Barber (vocals, guitars), Jonathan Granoff (bass, sonic treatments), Natalie Lowe (vocals, keyboards), and Alex Major (drums, electronic percussion).

As per the description on the Ellis Ashbrook MySpace Page, Ellis Ashbrook generates ferocious sounds and swarming vibrations. Swim in a psychedelic pool of aquatic delays. Be moved by a band that has rocked audiences all over the Northeast. Their songwriting reverberates beauty and heaviness with respect for the Funk and love of unique grooves. These players and singers have the prowess, technique, and tenacity to play original music that transcends trend.

Quite a mouth-full, eh?

While the embedded video below for the song ‘Therefore However and So Forth’ has more of a 70′s rock-feel to it with the chugging riffs, a song like ‘Hard 2 B EZ’ is much mellower and highlights Natalie’s vocals as opposed to John’s. This dynamic offers a somewhat unique spin on their music.

Songs like ‘A Shot’ show why the band considers themselves to fall within the realm of experimental/psychedelic rock. It’s tracks like this and the following track on their MySpace page, ‘They Say’, which explain why I get the feeling that if someone handed me this band’s music and said ‘Hey, here is this band that never made it big back in 1976, take a listen”, I wouldn’t know any better than to believe them.

The band will be performing at Seton Hall University’s Spring Fling concert (located in New Jersey) at the end of April, so if you are in the area, swing by and check them out if the concert is also open to the public!

For more information on Ellis Ashbrook, and to see tour dates and hear their other songs, visit http://www.myspace.com/ellisashbrook

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.
03222010

“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.

02192010