Bands I'd Like to Hear More From In 2012

1. Trisorta: This is a band from Flint that are unbelievably good. Some of the best three piece rock music you will ever hear on any level, be it local, national, indie, or major. These guys know melody, they know passion, they're some of the best musicians I've ever seen. Unfortunately their music is little more than a back burner thing for them. They're all family men, working me, etc. They don't really have aspirations or pressure to get anything together beyond playing some shows here and there.

They DO however have a three song EP available for FREE (It's worth SOOOO much more) on their bandcamp so for the love of good music go to http://trisorta.bandcamp.com and download the hell out of it. Tell a friend to download it. Where it out in your speakers. I'm hopeful that they'll get a full length or at least more songs recorded in 2012 but not necearily optimistic. I'm not sure how active they are exactly. I know that Chris, their singer and guitarist, plays the occasional solo set around Flint. Maybe we could see some sort of EP out of that. Who knows. "Like" their Facebook page and write on their walls. Let them know you want more.

Likelihood: Slim to none

2. Allcoy: If you want to know more about this band then feel free to scroll down a bit and read the entire blog that I wrote about them. All that I can say is that after hearing the two new tunes they recorded with Nick Diener and their cover songs they released on Bandcamp I am psyched to hear another record or EP from these guys and it's likely that we'll get something from them. They're very savvy with keeping new material out there and they take their music seriously. In the mean time go get their full length "Loud Music For Quiet People" and their new two-song EP over on their Bandcamp page.

Likelihood: Almost certain

3. The Rival: The Rival are probably one of my single favorite bands coming up in mid-michigan right now. Everything about them is incredible. They're a group of amazing musicians who works incredibly together, play off each other's strengths, and really REALLY rock. I described them once as a "punk rock White Stripes on meth" and I stand by that description. Their sound is definitely a bit of an homage to the various music of Jack White but their spin on it is all their own. A live show that will leave the most jaded asshole screaming for more and an energy that I haven't seen in a band in a very long time.

All of that being said they have no merch and only word of mouth to spread their stuff. They've recorded a three song demo which you can download on their Facebook as well as a live in studio demo as well. I reccommend getting those and you can hear just a little bit of the pure energy and raw potential of what they can be. These guys NEED to get a proper EP or full length out! I'm practically salivating to hear ANYTHING from them.

Likelihood: Decent

4. The Patient Zeros: This one man band is the new project of Cj Kjolhede who formerly sang and wrote in Lansing folk rock band "Roll Over Radio". I haven't heard anything from him yet but anything he does is going to be great. Get in on it and show his facebook page some love.

Likelihood: Almost certain

Travis Valentine & Bryce Berry - Falling

This is a video of my friend Bryce and I performing a song that I wrote in High School. I tweaked it a little and added a new verse for Loren and I's third wedding anniversary and put this on a DVD compilation that I put together for her as part of her gift (full details of massive gift in an earlier entry) This is the first song that I ever wrote about her after we started dating.

I am by leaps and bounds NOT the greatest vocalist in the world but I try very hard and I like to think that what little I can do, comes from a very sincere place.

Destroy Nate Allen "Take It Easy"

Sometimes in life you make a friend that enters and leaves your life with little fanfare but that ephemeral visit leaves a mark so profound that you know you’ll never forget them. To me that friend is Nate Allen. A few months ago, Allen was in the midst of his six-month tour of the United States. He stopped by Flint, Michigan, where I was living at the time, to play some shows with a friend and mentor of mine, Jason Guitarstring. I had the privilege of playing a show with Allen and seeing him play live twice. Both shows were light-years beyond any live performance I’d ever seen.

The way that Allen performs his music is so visceral and honest that it completely disarms the listener. You watch him sing from a place in his gut that seems to produce the perfect solution of passion and candor and you can’t help but soak in every word he sings. Allen tells stories in his songs and he makes them not only his own but everyone in the room’s whether it’s him singing them in person or his voice filtering out of your stereo speakers.

When he was in Michigan, Allen told the story about how his newest album, “Take It Easy” came to fruition. After a show he played in Indiana, not to long before he arrived in Michigan, a gentleman approached Allen and offered to record him that night. Allen explained that it was midnight and he was already running on an unhealthy shortage of sleep, but something made him agree to the gentleman’s offer. In his words “I thought it would be an opportunity to make a new friend and a new memory.” He went on to describe the sessions as being almost miraculous. The outcome, “Take It Easy”, is 11 tracks of music in its purest form. Allen blends elements of folk, rock, punk, and gospel to form his own unique sound. His gritty, melodic low tenor guides you through the tracks like the chapters of a book, each one revealing more about the protagonist as the story progresses.

Certain tracks stand out, like the brilliantly written “Arizona”, an apparent opus to the road. Other stand outs are “Glad Tidings” and “Stand By Me” both of which are double time numbers that have a distinctive feel to them that makes them addictively catchy. The tracks that really leave their mark, though, are ones like “Ambulance”, “On With the Show”, and “Let’s Get Together” that are slow burning folk songs that have a very soulful quality. They’re very profound and delivered in a fassion that drips with emotion but still with an incredible pop sensibility.

Nate Allen is an artist’s artist. He is the purest form of musicianship I’ve ever seen and I truly believe that his music is that of a lyrical intellect beyond his years. His album is free for download on him website, http://www.destroynateallen.com and I recommend getting it.

Empty Orchestra

By: Travis Valentine

As someone who has always loved listening to music and yammering on about it for days, I know that I’ve found a special group when it’s difficult for me to start talking about them or to tell someone about them. Empty Orchestra are the sort of musicians that you, simply from hearing or seeing them, have such an enormous amount of respect for that you can’t possibly explain how amazing they are. Stephen Wisniewski and his revolving cast of Flint music legends form a sound so eclectic and powerful that the cerebral hit of the beautifully potent lyrics and the soul wrenching musicianship are a one-two punch that will make almost anyone an instant fan.

The thing that first attracted me to Empty Orchestra was lead singer and songwriter, Stephen Wisniewski’s unusual voice and singing style, and moreover the fact that this particular voice was coming out of such a small guy. I’d heard his previous/other band Lingua Franca play live twice and own their split 7 inch with The Conquer Worm, and though Stephen’s voice was still powerful and made use of his unusual phrasing, it was no where near the gruff, visceral bellow that inhabits the voice part of Empty Orchestra. Stephen can go from the howl of a 70 year old bluegrass singer in a dive bar somewhere in Mississippi to a soft baritone, gently crooning an eerie tale at the drop of a hat and it’s only one of dozens of factors that make Empty Orchestra such a strong group of musicians.

The band’s new full length and second CD is called “Here Lies… Empty Orchestra”. The tracks on it blend elements of folk, rock, alt-country, and bluegrass with a grace that’s beyond their years. There is a very soulful quality to the record as well that gives you that gritty, deep soul sound with traces of rhythm and blues. Songs like “World on a String” have a dirty bluegrass quality with Stephen channeling the earthy croon of a 70 year-old man sitting in a smoky bar somewhere in the deep south. There really isn’t a song on the record that doesn’t stand out. The day after going to their CD release in Flint I was driving to Lansing with my wife, listening to the CD and every song I’d say “Turn it up, I love this one.” Tracks like “This Heart is a Monster” tell stories that keep you listening to every word as you follow the intricate musicianship through it’s various twists and turns. There’s a few more stripped down songs on the album (“Like Pianos”, “Lonesome”) as well that show you a more soulful, emotional side to the songwriting. If anything can be said of Stephen’s singing it’s that he has range. His ability to go from zero to sixty in three seconds flat is as admirable as his writing.

The final characteristic of this record that I’d like to draw attention to is the beautiful production. An enormous amount of credit should be given to Mark Michalik not only for his drumming but for his ability to record a beautifully glossy recording.

htttp://www.myspace.com/emptyorchestra