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

Front of Resistance - Reclaim Your Mind EP

What is punk rock? I've spent a lot of years listening to a lot of music and going to hundreds of shows in houses, halls, and holes in the wall and to be perfectly honest, I couldn't tell you. It's cliched to say, but punk is probably the only musical genre that is completely subjective. You can ask five different people to define it and you'd get five different definitions (and one of them would probably punch you in the face because that's a really stupid question). I can only tell you what it means to me personally and that is: complete and utter fearlessness combined with a willingness to play anywhere just for the fun of it and an unparalleled passion for lyricism and music. If you meet those criteria, then you're punk enough for me.
So what is a punk band to me? The Front of Resistance embody what I feel punk should be if not necessarily what it currently is. This band have more guts as artists and musicians than I've seen in almost anyone else. Their ability to write songs in whatever genre seems to strike their fancy with no regard for developing a uniform sound and conforming to one niche is refreshing and exciting to listen to. You literally have no idea what you're going to get from one song to the next and it makes listening to their music genuinely fun.
Their lo-fi recordings demonstrate a gritty, beautiful sound that you would associate with the early 7 inch records from the DC hardcore scene in the 80's. There's a little Minor Threat and Rites of Spring, a lot of Against Me! and Anti-Flag, and even a healthy spoonful of Dashboard and The Get up Kids in almost all of their songs off their first EP as a full band (Reclaim Your Mind).
On the disc's opener "Help Me Fly" you can hear a great dynamic in the vocals between singers Amirit and Ron. On this song you hear the guitar playing the rhythm and the keyboard taking the leads, and at first I thought that I was hearing them set up a trend for their sound but I was wrong. On the very next song "Maybe Someday", a track that sounds a lot like Rancid in their ska days with Justin Sane singing, the guitar takes over and you can hear Ron's surprising chops as a lead guitarist.
All of the songs on the EP lace their varying melodies and style with the one common denominator; passionate and often politically charged lyrics. "Don't Think to Much" sounds like an old Get Up Kids tune with heart wrenching and passionate lyrics that almost shock you to hear delivered so intensely. The dueling piano and guitar solo in this song is a perfect illustration of the band's sounds colliding. "Outside Point of View" and "The Felt Presence of Direct Experience" both have their trademark lyricism with very different approaches. "Outside Point of View" has a very melodic, old school punk sound with some screaming and gang vocals. "The Felt Presence..." is an all acoustic affair with really soft, sweet vocals from Ron that hearken the sound of Bright Eyes or Neil Young.
































Keep your eyes on these guys.

http://www.myspace.com/frontofresistance

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.