Archive for Singer/Songwriter
The Alchemist and The Arsonist Prove to be the Perfect Combination for Streamline
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It’s always really exciting for me to find a new great band (crowd: “Thank you, Captain Obvious!”).
It’s even more exciting when that band has one of your friends in it. This is the case with Streamline.
Mike Hogan, the guitarist and lead singer for Streamline, has been a friend of mine for about five years now. I first met him at college, since we were both Business majors and in the same classes. I could get into a long backstory about how he is a super nice guy and, while he possesses a ridiculous amount of talent, is very humble. But let’s talk music here:
The band, which formed in Rochester, NY, had been playing a decent amount of shows in the area between Rochester and Erie, Pennsylvania, since their inception; but it was around 2005 when things really started to pick up. Around that time, they cut the song ‘All I Need’ and were subsequently listened to by Sony Records.
If you’ve haven’t heard of Streamline previously, here is an idea of their talent: TheAbumProject.net named their EP, Streamline, the best EP of 2007. They have had the “Most Played Artist of the Day” on MySpace five times (they also have almost 800,000 plays on their MySpace music player). Oh, and last but not least, you may have heard of a little band called Something Corporate? Their drummer, Brian Ireland, is now Streamline’s drummer.
They have played shows at numerous colleges across the United States, including Cal Berkeley, Tulane, LSU, Louisville, and Notre Dame.
I think the best comparison is the one to Matchbox Twenty. I hear a lot of Rob Thomas’ influence in the inflection Mike uses when he sings.
I still remember in one of our Marketing classes when we had to raise money for the American Heart Association. Each group was to come up with a different technique. The group that raised the most money would win the competition. Mike’s group decided to have him put on an acoustic performance in the Student Union.
They won. By a lot.
When I threw their new EP, The Alchemist & The Arsonist, in my home theater system, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I wanted to believe that their skills had improved since the last EP, but I wasn’t sure. After all, Streamline has never come to Pittsburgh (what the hell guys?!?! C’mon!).
Once ‘Arson & Alchemy’ started, not only were my hopes met, they were exceeded a hundred fold. Every aspect of these songs is far beyond what their debut EP offered. That’s not to say their debut wasn’t good – i loved it – this one just blew me away that much.
From the funky sound of ‘Let Go’ to the ballad-esque ‘Thick & Thin’, these songs are just extremely well crafted. One of my favorite earlier Streamline songs was ‘Flicker’, and the song ‘Ghost’ on The Alchemist & The Arsonist seems to be focused around that same type of subject matter – the trials and tribulations of trying to believe in someone and your future with them.
On a related final note, I had always wondered why Mike and the boys hadn’t just taken the URL streamline.com instead of streamlineworld.com. Ironically enough, I found that out last night in my Information Systems class.
So in case you were wondering as well, apparently streamline.com was a failed attempt at an online grocery store. It was too new and revolutionary for it’s time; and – if you shop like I do – you never know what you need until you walk by it anyways.
Moral of the story is: if you run out of eggs…go to streamline.com. If you want to hear some great tunes, streamlineworld.com is your destination.
If these guys don’t break it big, it is simply further proof as to how much unbelievable talent is passed by in favor of the next cookie-cutter one hit wonder. I seriously cannot think of enough good things to say about this group and this record, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I know Mike.
If you are a fan of this genre and there is only one album you buy all year, make it this one. Hands down.
To purchase the Streamline EP and The Alchemist & The Arsonist from iTunes, click the album artwork below:
Listen to my favorite track off The Alchemist & The Arsonist, ‘Thick and Thin’:
Streamline is: Mike Hogan (vocals/guitars), Brian Ireland (drums/vocals), Jon Scholl (keyboards/vocals), Brad Ourso (guitars), and John Viavattine (bass)
For more information on Streamline, visit www.streamlineworld.com and www.myspace.com/streamlineny.
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Jammin Jay Morton Lives Up to His Namesake
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For the first review via artist submission I chose ‘Jammin’ Jay Morton. The bio on his site says that he draws large influence from both traditional blues and classic southern rock. Listeners will notice he can switch from one vocal style to the other on the fly, as demonstrated in ‘So Into You’ from Coffee JamZ.
The two albums he sent to me were Rockin’ The National and Coffee JamZ.
Rockin The National, as described it to me is ‘delta blues inspired with all songs done on my Style O National Resonator. The theme of this CD is to take the influence of the great Son House Delta Blues and put it to some modern Rock songs done interpretively. For instance, Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog, CCR’s Born on the Bayou, and ZZ Top’s Cheap Sunglasses. The others are original: Desert Cries, Depot Man, Blues in My Bottle, and Shake Em on Down.’
The songs on Coffee JamZ had a different spin: ‘This album was covering songs interpretively to be something you would hear on a station such as ‘Coffee House’ on XM and Sirius.’
Whichever album you pick, his songs are all very minimalistic, which in many aspects makes the songs more challenging because there aren’t a bunch of computerized, overproduced parts to each of them. There is nowhere to hide, as the saying goes.
The only other people you will find on the records are John Dubuc, who can be heard playing the harmonica, and a tambourine player. Interestingly enough, the tambourine is actually played by Jay. With his foot. He also does this in his live shows. On ‘So Into You’, and on the entire Rockin’ the National album, John Hall plays a traditional Washboard. This adds a great blues/folk rock groove reminiscent of the early delta juke tunes.
Coffee JamZ is very reminiscent of Josh Kelley’s debut, For the Ride Home. For me, that is a hell of a comparison, as I can still listen to that album from the first track to the last and I credit it as being the disc that got me into this whole acoustic/singer/songwriter genre.
His voice is perfect for the Simple Man cover (which was also covered in the past few years by Shinedown). While Shinedown’s version was really not that good in my opinion (I didn’t think the lead singer’s voice fit the song at all), this one with Jay turned out awesome. The soulfulness in his voice fits the song perfectly.
I am also a big fan of his cover of Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance.’ His vocal tone is a perfect accompaniment to songs that have a soulful side to them. It’s no surprise that the majority of the track listings fit that bill.
Check out this YouTube video of the Freddie King song ‘Big Legged Woman’, which can be found on Coffee JamZ. The jam session features Michael Somma on the electric guitar, which adds an extra element not found on the album. Definitely a sweet jam session, check it out:
Jammin’ Jay Morton & Michael Somma – Big Legged Woman
For the latest news on Jay Morton – including merchandise, tour dates, photo galleries, and streaming songs from these two albums – visit www.JayJamZ.com.
Become Jay’s friend on Facebook HERE and while you are at it, don’t forget to become a Fan of Outsider Vocals!
All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.
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