Taking Back Sunday
For Taking Back Sunday, the past few years have been as non-stop as the music on their latest album, Louder Now. The New York-based melodic hardcore quintet’s album was released on April 25, 2006 and skyrocketed to Number Two on Billboard’s Top 200 chart a week later, scanning more than 157,000 copies. Now gold-certified, Louder Now has led to multiple sold out U.S. headlining arena tours. Indeed, Kerrang! crowned Louder Now as the critics pick for Album Of The Year!
Ky-Mani Marley
Ky-mani is a fitting name for a charismatic artist whose East African name means Adventurous Traveler. The only child of table tennis champion Anita Belnavis and reggae icon Bob Marley, Ky-mani Marley is now working on his third album showcasing his growth as an individual and illustrating the duality of his personality: Ky-mani and Maestro. The result is an urban sound deeply rooted in the reggae and hip hop cultures.
www.myspace.com/kymanimarley
www.last.fm/music/Ky-Mani+Marley
Fishbone
Fishbone is a long-lived, influential band, self-described as jazzy ska-gospel-punk-raggae. Fishbone first gained attention with their unique live concerts, earning a reputation as one of the most original bands in the alternative genre. Their unique stew of different styles mixed with hectic energy and pounding rhythms were a huge influence on the funk/rock/metal/rap genre that would become popular in the 1990s.
http://www.last.fm/music/Fishbone
Sara Melson
Classically trained on the piano, Sara Melson taught herself the guitar. “I started on acoustic, and was itching to rock,” she says. “Pretty soon I had a really loud amp and a bunch of pedals, and began making lots of noise. I could only play the proverbial three chords at first, but was putting my words to music almost immediately. Interestingly, it was through discovering guitar that I realized I could actually write my own songs on the piano as well, instead of being wedded to reading off of sheet music. One of the best compliments I’ve ever received,” she says, “was when someone told me that I don’t sing like anybody else.”
http://www.last.fm/music/Sara+Melson
Juliette Lewis and the Licks
Juliette and the Licks released their first EP …Like a Bolt of Lightning, in 2004, which was shortly followed by the release of their debut album You’re Speaking My Language. The album spawned their most successful single “You’re Speaking My Language”, and the less successful, disco influenced “Got Love to Kill”. The released version of the second single was a remix of the original song, which had a more rock influence.
Shelby Lynne
The 20-year-plus career — and personal life — of the country artist Shelby Lynne has been a famously tumultuous one. As a child, she and her sister, country singer Alison Moorer, lost their parents to a murder/suicide. Lynne married once, briefly, at 18, though no discussion of that or any other romance has made it into the public sphere since then. As a teen, she was groomed to be a Nashville country-pop belle, though after a few albums she rebelled and released the critically acclaimed I am Shelby Lynne, the work that saw her signature rough-edged combination of confrontation and confession fully blossom.
Though a critic and fan favorite — and an artist who’s certainly stood the test of time — Lynne never managed, after multiple stops, starts and label switches, to land the hit record that seemed to dangle just out of reach. Now, she’s made the choice to take the rockier road again, recording an album of covers taken from the iconic 1969 Dusty Springfield LP Dusty in Memphis, an album most listeners would agree bears no messing with. “I’ve never done a cover record,” she says. “So I thought I might as well do an important one.”
She chose a difficult artist to take on — an artist whose own painful personal life is well known, and whose songs deal with the same topic. Although she’s no stranger to difficulty, Lynne’s reticent about sharing any personal details, saying only: “You have to pull the emotions out from somewhere. I don’t sing songs I don’t believe.”
Paula Cole
Her unapologetic, boldly personal manner of expression has nonetheless registered a sizable impact with an ever-growing audience. Although she is aware of skeptics who consider “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” nothing more than a one-off novelty hit and who speculate about whether they’ll ever hear from her again, Cole, of course, holds no such doubts. “Hopefully good art will appeal to many different people, and people will realize I’m not just about ‘Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?,’” she told Request magazine. “There’s a lasting artist here. In a decade, I think that will be pretty.”
Just Jinjer
Just Jinjer’s story began in 1996 when the band was formed and it quickly gained a reputation as an amazing live act. Their live chemistry translated well in the studio, which was captured on their debut album called All Comes Round. All Comes Round flew off the shelves, becoming the biggest selling rock album in South African history, with over 100,000 units sold, and the band experienced unheard of chart success. They suddenly found themselves drawing huge audiences, some in excess of 10,000 people.
The band entered the studio to record their second album titled Something For Now, which went gold in 3 weeks in South Africa, providing numerous chart topping radio singles. Just Jinjer focused their efforts on touring extensively within their home country and abroad (Germany, Australia, Canada, New York and the UK) with acts such as U2, Crash Test Dummies, Toto, Elvis Costello and co-headlined with Hootie and the Blowfish, Skunk Anansie, Stevie Wonder, Spice Girls, Chaka Khan and many more.
DJ Dieselboy with MC Messinian
The most recognized face and sound in American drum & bass belong to Dieselboy. An icon for American d&b for over a decade, he has become an international symbol of this volatile underground dance music movement. America’s best-selling d&b artist by far, Dieselboy was the first American to be voted into the UK-based Drum & Bass Arena Top 10 DJs 2004 online poll.
As a DJ, Dieselboy, born Damian Higgins, was an original pioneer in the early ‘90s spreading d&b in North America, first in Pittsburgh, then from Philadelphia, growing in popularity until he was criss-crossing the continent virtually nonstop. His popular mix-tapes and mix-CDs have been the gateway for countless fans to the high energy, futuristic, science fiction sound of d&b. Dieselboy’s style is characterized by flawless execution, meticulous pulse-quickening programming that not only excels at showcasing individual tracks but also creates an intense and epic cinematic atmosphere.
Based now in Brooklyn, Dieselboy is the most in-demand American d&b DJ on the international club, rave and festival circuits including the United Kingdom (home of d&b), Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South Americas. Beyond the scene, Dieselboy, sponsored by DC Shoes, has played rock festivals and X-treme sports exhibitions. Few d&b artists can claim as hardcore a global cult following as Dieselboy’s.
Albino! Heavy Heavy Afrobeat
The SF Music Award-winning ALBINO! is a 12-piece Afrobeat ensemble that honors the fiery legacy of Nigerian musical revolutionary Fela Kuti. ALBINO’s high-energy grooves and explosive stage show thick with hypnotic percussion, a heavy horn section, African dance, outrageous costumes, and infectious group choreography have established the band as the West Coast’s premier Afrobeat act.
West Indian Girl
While their music isn’t derivative of a hard rocking Los Angeles sound, it carries a sun drenched optimism that is inherently West Coast, as heavily reverbed guitar licks and modest electronic music expressions shimmer atop acoustic rhythms and steady drums.
For the members of West Indian Girl, the band and its music is an extreme source of happiness. “Performing is one of the only things in life that validates my existence,” says Mariqueen. “It makes my soul shine when I’m singing the music that this band has created.”
Mates of State
Mates of State is the organ and drums, vocal-laden duo of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel. The band essentially began in 1997. After a few months in the midwest, they high-tailed it out to a new home in San Francisco. California greeted them with sunshine, pop sounds, and a great music community.
Their long-standing motto of “Play anywhere, anytime” allowed them to play everywhere from Oakland parties to venues up and down the west coast. Kori (organ, vox) and Jason (drums, vox) quit their day jobs as a teacher and cancer researcher in 2001, got married, and hit the road bringing their love to the rest of the world. They’ve toured the US, Europe and Japan and by the looks of it, won’t stop any time soon.
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Simply put, the past few years have been nothing short of amazing for STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9). The band released a live concert DVD titled Live As Time Changes, a 1320 Records MIX-TAPE featuring STS9 and a grip of other artists as well as two albums… Artifact & Artifact : Perspectives. All of which were released under their self-owned independent label (1320 Records) to critical acclaim and commercial success including being named in iTunes Best of 2005. On the touring front, ticket sales for the bands undeniably stellar live shows increased dramatically and earned the band a spot on Pollstar Magazines PULSE charts as the number 29 touring artist in the country for their Artifact tour and number 30 for their Perspectives tour while consistantly ranking in the top 50 touring acts in the USA for years. The band has played hundreds of shows including appearances at Austin City Limits Festival, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Winter Music Conference, Vegoose Festival and headlined a sold out Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado returning this year to play TWO nights at the famed venue in front of 12,000 fans. The band also hosted their own festival in North Carolina dubbed RE:Generation bringing over a dozen acts to the sold out weekend.
The Mystical Arts of Tibet
In recent years The Mystical Arts of Tibet tours, featuring the famed multiphonic singers of Drepung Loseling monastery, have taken the world by storm. Endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a means of promoting world peace and healing through sacred performing art. They have performed in many of America’s greatest theaters and music halls.
Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque
New Monsoon
San Francisco’s rock quintet, New Monsoon, has been transforming audiences across the country into dedicated fans with a relentless touring schedule. Their exhilarating marriage of acoustic and electric instruments comes together in an irresistible blend of sophisticated songcraft, inventive musical exploration and down home rock-n-roll.
