Justin Black Shines Through With The Devil Tree EP

By

The Singer/Songwriter genre is the one genre on the site that has been greatly underrepresented (Singer/Songwriters, there is your cue to submit some material). That being said, here is another addition to that genre, in the form of Justin Black.

here is a little background on Justin, taken from Justin Black’s Myspace:

What happens when you have an artist who has battled
throat cancer, a removed lung and was told countless
times he may never sing again? The answer: passion,
determination and conviction. Now team him up with an
explosive band and you end up with something real,
something epic, something that could start self revolutions
and inspire hope in people everywhere.

JBLACK believes the purpose of music is to stimulate your mind, heart and soul. This is a philosophy he lives by. The sound modern classic, The influences range from Neil Young, Ben Harper, Dylan, Fiona Apple, Led Zeppelin, U2, Jeff Buckley, Pink Floyd, Beatles to PJ Harvey, Terry Reid, Black Crowes, Temple of the Dog and The Soundtrack Of Our Lives.

JBLACK is ready to bring a revolution, and with a story like
this and the songs to match he is here to make
positives out of negatives with a sound that is
worthy of your attention.

So, the first thing that can be said from that is that Justin should have all of our admiration for overcoming such huge obstacles. Second, the range of influences is very interesting but seems accurate.

The songs Justin sent to me were from his The Devil Tree EP. The title track channels Gavin DeGraw right from the start. As soon as the song starts, just by the inflection in Justin’s voice, you can hear the influence coming through (I said the same thing about a previous artist featured, Brett Mitchell, so if you like this sound be sure to check out our Brett Mitchell review).

A song like ‘Don’t Think’, on the other hand, has almost a Dave Matthews Band feel to it because of the brass section. However, it is definitely less ‘jammy’ than a DMB song.

I embedded a YouTube video of ‘Don’t Think’ below, but I highly recommend that you visit Justin Black’s website, http://www.justinblack.net/mp3/, because there are about another dozen and a half there.

Also, to anyone in the Texas area, Justin will be playing at the South By Southwest Festival this year – something I have ALWAYS wanted to go to – so be sure to check that out as well. For the specific dates and where he will be performing at, check Justin Black’s Myspace.

Justin Black – Don’t Think

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

02042010

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Categories : Singer/Songwriter

2 Comments

1

likin’ his sound

2

Saw JB at SXSW, played some real nice tunes

Leave a Comment

saving lives never sounded so good.