California Lane Change: Interview

California Lane Change is a Canadian pop-rock band from Leduc/Edmonton, Alberta. The band has played shows all across Alberta, and played a show during this year’s Canada Day celebration. I got to interview California Lane Change after they finished their show. This is how my first interview went down.

Continuous Conversations: How was the band formed?

California Lane Change: We were formed by me and my brother and Kyle back in junior high, grade eight. Just started playing together and we had a band called the Underscored. Kevin was in a band that they called The White Stripes, which didn’t work out because of copyright. And then from there, we moved to Leduc. We then met Tyler, our drummer, and we met Steve, our other guitarist. Steve and Kevin played in another band, and then they came over here with us. And that’s how we formed.

Continuous Conversations: So how many band members is this comprised of?

California Lane Change: Five, and then the occasional triangle-player.  

Continuous Conversations: Do you guys get to travel much?

California Lane Change: We try to, but we get busy with school, and we get busy with work. So we haven’t left Alberta, but we’ve gone to Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, and here. So, basically within three or four hours distance.

Continuous Conversations: Do you guys all go to school?

California Lane Change: I’m the only one in school. That kind of holds us back from travelling. But the rest of them work, and  Kevin is an electrician, Steve is a millwright, Tyler works fire-protection, and Kyle does something.

Continuous Conversations: What’s the age range?

California Lane Change: I’m the youngest, as I’m 20. And then it goes up to 24.

Continuous Conversations: How long have you guys been a band for?

California Lane Change: Three or four years. In that area.

Continuous Conversations: What kind of genre would you put yourselves in?

California Lane Change: It started out pop-rock, and now we’ve done everything from pop-rock to 90’s, and we have some harder songs. We’re swinging over to the country-folk kind of thing.

Continuous Conversations: Are you guys signed to any label?

California Lane Change: No label. We’ve gotten attention from Universal Canada, and Gene Simmons gave us a call and wanted to come check us out. He said to give it a little while.

Continuous Conversations: How many albums/EPs do you have out right now?

California Lane Change: Our first EP was five songs, and the last album we’ve done is ten songs.

I strongly encourage everyone to check them out, as I have a good feeling that they will become a big success one day.

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California Lane Change Live Review

 

From Edmonton, Alberta comes a fresh pop-rock/punk band called California Lane Change. The members of this band are Joey Vos on vocals, Kevin Vos on bass guitar, Kyle Radzick on lead guitar, Steve Chwyl on rhythm, and Tyler Ennis on drums. This group of five young men created an energy-filled atmosphere with the lead singer’s tenor vocals, and the rowdy instrumentals from the rest of the band.

Unfortunately, this review will be quite short, as I showed up when the band only had three songs left. That was my fault.

            California Lane Change had grabbed my attention as soon as I walked in. Their ability to entertain and maintain their tight vocals and instruments was befuddling. The lead singer, Joey, had a stage presence that instantly attracted one’s attention, with his ability to have as much fun on stage as the audience did on the ground. Meanwhile, the instrumentalists played a consistently catchy rhythm that had every one in the mood for dancing. The band played a mixture of covers and original tracks, which made it easy to sing along to. The second from last song that they had performed was their cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle”. They added their own flavour to it while keeping the original feel to the song. The familiar track had many young adults singing along, and excited screams escaped many of the fans.

 

            With a familiar sound to early pop-punk bands, California Lane Change has what it takes to grab and hold individual’s attention, while maintaining their own unique sound.

 

Rating for California Lane Change: 9/10

 

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Friendly Savages - O, Joshua! Album Review

Genre: Indie Rock/Folk

Origin: Austin, Texas

Record Label: Unsigned

Band members: Josh Coulter, Scott Krenitski, John McDonald, Malcolm White, and Michael Summers

 

What do you get when you mix folk rock with four young men from Austin, Texas? You get the Friendly Savages and their new album O, Joshua! With quirky instruments, original lyrics and entertaining, talented male vocals, this band is gaining speed in the music industry. With a sixteen-track album brought to the table, this unsigned band has a lot to offer.

 

O, Joshua! starts out with one short, beautiful piano instrumental called “To an Asteroid”. Although it has a more solemn tone, the rest of the album maintains a fairly upbeat, rock feel. The instrumental was followed by the song “Counted Lost”. While it started out with gentle guitars and piano, it gained urgency towards the final half of this brilliantly-written folk piece. The lyrics contain optimism in dark times, and convey a sense of sanguinity for the listener. Additionally, “The Hold of the Lord on my Sparrow” is also filled with a rustic sound, as well as emotional lyrics and a fantastic combination of ringing banjo strings and heart-rending acoustic guitar.

 

The album isn’t just filled with solemn instrumentals and half-sombre, half-cheerful lyrics. Songs such as “The Escape” and “I Have Your Ghost” are energetic, bright songs that are fun to rock out to. A surprising twist was when a lovely female vocalist joined the lead singer in “The Escape”. With faultless harmonies, these two conquered the song and gave it a certain unexpected edge. “Her Locket on a Chain” let the lead take charge and show off his gleaming vocal abilities, and showcased a more bluesy sound towards the end with the combination of instruments.

 

Overall, the album portrayed the highs and lows of life. It showed a viewpoint from someone who has loved, lost, and found who they are along the way. Furthermore, it gave one the sense of hope in complicated times, and paired that emotion with the happiness that one can find. The emotions were well-planned out, as it went in a story-like chronological order. “Gold and Silver (Love is Lost)” ended the heartbreaking part of the album, and “For Grace (Love is Found)” started the more contented side of the story.

 

With a fine mix of acapella, instrumental, glum, and cheerful tracks, O, Joshua! has found a home in my favourite album collection. With brilliantly-written lyrics, sensational harmonies, and a well-thought out story line, Friendly Savages delivered near-flawless songs. This album contains all that one needs to start and end their day. It is highly recommended to take a listen, and be prepared to have your ears and mind rejuvenated.

 

O, Joshua! : 9/10

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Gianna Lauren: On Personhood Review

Album: On Personhood
Date: April 22nd, 2013
Genre: Ambient/Indie
Label: Forward Music Group
Origin: Halifax, Nova Scotia

From Halifax, Nova Scotia is the up-and-coming indie artist, Gianna Lauren. This Canadian vocalist is paired with multi-instrumentalists J.J. Ipsen, Justin Nace, drummer Marshall Bureau, and engineer Andy Magoffin. These ambient-rock style musicians come together to share the new album: On Personhood. The obscurity within Lauren’s emotion-filled, smooth voice harmonizes with the serene guitars and soft drums to make this album dream-like.

This six-track album delivers melodic, captivating vocals with sassy lyrics that make this album enchanting. Starting off the album is the song “Trouble”. The darkness of the track is accompanied with gentle, yet sturdy vocals and an attractive bass guitar rhythm that balances the rest of the instruments, and keeps the song interesting. The song maintains the mysterious, edgy quality within Lauren’s voice, which allows the listener to become instantly compelled. While this song seemed to be original and light, “Thread” and “Bitches Brew” appeared to be cut from the same cloth as the aforementioned song.  With dark tones, soft instrumentals, and sassy lyrics, the repeated sound caused this album to be somewhat predictable.

A pleasurable twist in the fairly predictable album was a song called “Anchor Down”. While Lauren stood by her easy-going vocals, the instruments hummed against the grain with an up-beat, relaxing island feel. The repetitive lyrics created a catchier, laid-back atmosphere throughout the duration of the three-minute song. With most of the song lyrics pertaining to love and its complications, this was a breath of fresh, sun-filled air that provided a rest from the gloomy sounds for the listener. A song on the album with a similar sound was “Ghosts”. Both songs were more cheerful than the rest, and they brought a form of diversity to the album that wasn’t existent before. 

Lauren’s sweet, sincere resonance added emotions to each and every song, but I still felt fairly unsatisfied with the album as a whole. It seemed to be lacklustre at times, and it was also deficient in diversity. While each tune developed a new emotion, Lauren’s vocals scarcely showed range, which left me feeling unfulfilled.

With a striking, sensual ambience, Gianna Lauren took charge of the music presented on her newest album. From start to finish, though it felt predictable and not very original, the effort that was put in was admirable. Lauren’s genuine vocals and purring instruments provided a soft atmosphere, which will take the audience to a new destination. Overall it was a pretty good album, but Lauren should focus on diversity for her next one.

 

On Personhood: 7.5/10

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Passion Pit: Gossamer Album Review

Genre: Electropop/indie pop/indie rock

Origin: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Record Label: Frenchkiss/Columbia

Band members: Michael Angelakos, Ian Hultquist, Xander Singh, Jeff Apruzzese, and Nate Donmoyer.

Passion Pit was formed in 2007, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The band’s name is slang for how romantic drive-in movie theatres are for teenagers. The band is composed of the lead singer Michael Angelakos, keyboardist/guitarist Ian Hultquist, synthesizer Xander Singh, bassist Jeff Apruzzese, and drummer Nate Donmoyer.  

In July of 2012, the band had released their sophomore album, “Gossamer". The album featured twelve up-beat and catchy songs. At first listen, I found each song to be very joyous and lively. However, I later found out that although the songs may seem cheerful, they actually have a much deeper, darker meaning behind them. Angelakos has struggled with bipolar disorder ever since he was seventeen years old, as well as many suicide attempts. These issues became major themes in the album. Some of the other themes involved are financial hardship, heartbreak, sorrow, drug abuse and abusing others.

The first track of the album, “Take a Walk", became successful shortly after it was released, and was named the 3rd best song of 2012 by Rolling Stone. Other songs, such as “I’ll Be Alright", “Constant Conversations", and “Carried Away", have also become successful singles. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200.

Gossamer is unique with its mixture of captivating lyrics and high-energy beats, and it is definitely worth the listen.

Gossamer: 8.8/10

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Youngblood Hawke: Self-Titled EP

Genre: Indie rock/Maximalist pop

Origin: Los Angeles, California

Record Label: Universal Republic

Band Members: Nik Hughes, Alice Katz, Simon Katz, Sam Martin, and Tasso Smith.

Youngblood Hawke is an American indie pop-rock band from Los Angeles, California. This up-and-coming band is composed of drummer Nik Hughes, backing vocalist and percussionist Alice Katz, guitarist Simon Katz, vocalist Sam Martin, and bassist Tasso Smith. The band’s name derives from the 1961 Herman Wouk novel of the same name.

The band has released their first self-titled EP in 2012. The four-track EP contains the single, “We Come Running", which was featured on MTV. In a 20 questions (www.popmatters.com) interview with Sam Martin, he had described the band’s music as a “narration of their lives". They are currently on tour with Passion Pit.

"We Come Running": "We Come Running" is the first track on this four-song EP. The song features a crescendo in to heavier pop beat at the chorus, and a children’s choir. This song has catchy lyrics, a fun beat to dance to, and a strong tenor voice leading the way. The theme of the song is about taking chances, and not waiting any longer. And the music video is shot in the ocean with sharks, which is always fantastic ;D.

"Stars (Hold On)": "Stars (Hold On)" is the next track on this EP. This song starts off with some orchestral strings, and that element is laced throughout the entirety of the song. Once again, the children’s choir sings at the chorus, as well as other parts of the song. The theme of the song is to not give up, and that things will get better. While I really enjoyed this song, I am starting to notice a trend with the beat and chorus styles.

"Forever": "Forever" is the third song on Youngblood Hawke’s EP. The song includes guitars, bass, synthesizers and drums. It is one of two songs on the EP that doesn’t include the children’s choir. This song is a little different than the last two songs, as its verses are catchier than the chorus. The theme of this song is love, as well as not leaving someone. This song was used as the Starbucks Pick of the Week in September.

"Rootless": "Rootless" is the final track on the band’s debut EP. The song starts out with normal band instruments, including bass guitar and drums. This song also doesn’t include the children’s choir. The lyrics are filled with fun imagery and similes that make this song unique. The theme of the song is freedom, but also being pulled towards someone.

The Youngblood Hawke EP is filled with well-written lyrics, a fantastic children’s choir, sensational male vocals, and fun instruments that leave you wanting more. The full-length album is scheduled to be released this year, and I can already tell that it will be successful.

Youngblood Hawke EP: 9.6/10