Praise For Wallflower.com | Indie Music Blog

Humble readers and followers of PraiseForWallflower.com, we apologize for the unexpected delay in the launching of PFW 2.0. Rest assured however, it is still on the way! We were planning on having the new and improved PraiseForWallflower.com 2.0 live by now. However, designer and co-founder Joey is experiencing finals week of his senior year in College. Additionally, co-founder Keenan fell down a flight of stairs this past week, broke his jaw in half, dislocated his shoulder and broke just about every bone on the right side of his face. So, as you can imagine, it's been pretty difficult to put the final touches on PFW 2.0 and get all the gears running. It will, however, still be happening! Keep an eye out for early January, sometime shortly after the New Year perhaps. We will continue to keep you updated. And, as always, thank you for your support!

My life has been an absolute whirlwind the past few months, and I have found myself so inundated with work that I have not seen nearly as many shows as I would have liked to. I miss the energy of the crowd and watching the organic performances and new sounds that can emerge from bands as they play.

The only thing that has been getting me through this dry spell is the collection of live recordings I have been hoarding on my iPod from Daytrotter.com. Daytrotter is a recording studio in Rock Island, ILL. where bands are invited to come and play their music with whatever instruments and knick knacks happen to by lying around the studio that day.

The result? New spins on your old favorites and amazing raw recordings that make you feel like you're watching an intimate, live performance. Even better is that all the music produced during these sessions is completely free to download. Daytrotter's writers and artists also put together a sketch or drawing of the band, so that it imports as your iTunes album art for the download. Your iTunes has never looked so sweet.

Recently featured is the band The Antlers, reviewed by PFW's Alyssa just last week. Check out their session, along with the extensive session archive of all your favorite groups at daytrotter.com.

Death Cab For Cutie
"A Movie Script Ending" off of Day Trotter Sessions


Ra Ra Riot
"Oh La" off of Day Trotter Session


Blind Pilot
"The Story I Heard" off of Day Trotter Session

I guess sometimes we need reminding that this is a blog. Yes, today we're taking a day off from the daily toil, and hope you've found some groups that interest you this past month. If you haven't, please check out our Feature of the Month, on Mr. Michael Alvarado.

We've all been very busy lately. Keenan, Andrew, Chris, and I have formed a musical band and are very busy in the studio, and we have been since before August. You can go here and listen to some demos, but there's nothing earth shattering to listen to just yet. Also, Chris has his own project that's been eating a lot of time, too. You can check that out, here - it's quite good, and he's got an album on the way, too.

Anyway, we're taking a day off because we need one. But, tomorrow it's right back to the music, so be sure to come back because we have a truly excellent feature lined up for tomorrow. But, I can't say what, or you won't visit. In the meantime, you could always download this GEM* and enjoy it endlessly.

Best,
Joey

* About 7 years ago, PFW's Andrew and I started a rock band. We were 13 years old. I just found our first CD (actually Keenan found it in his basement). We made it on 4-track cassette player. It's hilarious and terribly bad.

WEBSITE: http://deastroband.blogspot.com/
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/deastro

I did a feature on Deastro back in May when Randolph Chabot, the man behind Deastro, put out the album Moondagger. He doesn't waste any time apparently. It's only a few months later and he has yet another album finished entitled Orange Swimmer Red Summer. A bit shorter than his last release of 14 tracks, this one only has nine. And unlike Moondagger, which featured a whole band, Orange Swimmer Red Summer is a collection of songs just from Chabot.

I don't have much to say about Orange Swimmer Red Summer. I don't like it as much as his last release, but you can make your own opinion of it. You can download it for FREE on his blog, courtesy of the artist himself. An official release should be coming soon.

Remember Band of Skulls from a few weeks back? I was hanging out on vimeo.com (youtube's sleeker cousin), and stumbled on this really sick video. Band of skulls discusses the making of their record to some extent, while imagery of their live performance mingles with some great urban imagery of the band on the town. Hopefully you'll enjoy this as much as I did. To me, this band is a melting pot of a lot of different genres, and they do it with with some very obvious talent, something a lot of other wannabees seem to forget when forming their new band.

WEBSITE: http://www.toothandnail.com/fuel/
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/toothandnail

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THE SKINNY: Well, this is sick. Solid State and Tooth & Nail Records (which are more or less the same company) have their own music magazine, Fuel. The mag, obviously, only consists of the labels' respective artists, so if you don't care for their roster, this magazine and mp3 sampler may not interest you.

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Whether you like Tooth & Nail's catalog or not, they're offering Issue #5, their Summer '09 Issue, as a free PDF Download - so, click hear to snag it (it's got some absolutely amazing visual design, at the very least.)

Now, the real treat is the free MP3 Sampler that the magazine is offering: 25 songs from the mag's band and artist roster. It's free, download it, listen to the songs, and look deeper into the tracks you like. Enjoy!

WEBSITE: http://lala.com | www.sfoutsidelands.com/
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/outsidelands
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/sfoutsidelands

LaLa and the Outside Lands Music Festival have teamed up to give away a compilation of tunes from Outside Lands artists completely for free for entering to win 2 tickets to the festival, taking place in San Francisco August 28-30. Just click the link below to enter and begin listening!

Link: http://linktrack.info/2b5a0d4

AND Check out the artist list...

THE SKINNY: A personal favorite group of mine, Marching Band (responsible for some very simple and intelligent pop music over in Sweden) appear to have some type of personal relationship with vocalist / audio engineer / band "Bodi Bill" - Bodi Bill have remixed and toyed around with one of Marching Band's tracks, so I thought I'd forward the coolness to you.

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WEBSITE: http://bodibill.de
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/bodibill
PURCHASE: iTunes

When PFW was a little baby just a year ago, we covered a band called "Marching Band." Around that time, last August, the band released their first record, entitled "Spark Large." Since then, I've gotten familiar with "Bodi Bill," a German act responsible for some very un-club techno and electronica. Check out this cover/remix of Marching Band's "Back in Time" by Bodi Bill.

What I like most about the remix is that the chord progression is entirely different, as is the general feel and nature of the song.Why tamper with an already great song, unless you have a different vision for it?

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On Bodi Bill's Original Stuff: How cool is it that this electronic project is so vocally driven, and by such a talented singer? This guy could easily be doing an acoustic project with equal success. Check out the video below for a better understanding of what I mean. Its nice to see a totally synthetic piece of audio fronted by an unblemished, untouched, organic, human voice.

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FAVORITE TRACK: "One or Two Ghosts" & "10 in 1 No More Wars"
FOR FANS OF: Dntel, soulful, dark, and raw singing

MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/abandonkansas
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/abandonkansas
PURCHASE: Amazon MP3

Abandon Kansas are a 4-piece out of...Kansas. They're currently in transition, having just completed their next record and awaiting its public release. My interest was initially sparked when I listened to one of their recent EPs, The Earth Falls Asleep, Which is an entirely acoustic release (while still full band), a big change from the band's main sound which is a rather familiar indie pop thing reminiscent of Panic At The Disco, Lady Radiator, and plenty of other sing-along bands that have a focus on dancy beats.

"You Build a Wall" off of The Earth Falls Asleep


Drummer, Brian Sheideman and bassist, Nick Patrick stick out to me, however, and provide some great groove for Jeremy Spring to sing approachable indie pop melodies over. Brad Foster completes the outfit and proves he's capable of interesting guitar writing, with a heavy emphasis on tone, effects, and ambience. With that, its safe to say Abandon Kansas are offering a familiar sound with a bit more depth than we're used to in a saturated genre.

Abandon Kansas, unsigned, are announcing "BIG NEWS" on their Myspace, TODAY. It's so secret that even we don't know what they're hiding. So if you're interested, go read up.

EDIT: Abandon Kansas have signed to Gotee Records and their forthcoming record, We're All Going Somewhere, will be available on September 8th of this year.

WEBSITE: http://5090.fawm.org

Though two weeks delayed, this is a good opportunity to talk about a songwriting challenge that's been eating a lot of my time recently. Thought it began on July 4th, just a few weeks back, the 50/90 Songwriting Challenge, hosted by fawm.org, rages on. The concept is this: A site member (attempts to) write 50 songs in 90 days. The competition ends in early October, and there is no penalty or shame in joining even right now.

The reward for having written 50 songs is just that - the reward of having written 50 songs. Most other members browse the site's catalogue and provide feedback - this makes the whole process a little more fulfilling. I'll admit, it gets harder daily. But it's been a good experience so far, so, if you make music, give this a shot. You'll surely be the better for it when all is said and done.

MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/beautifulsmallmachines
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/themachines
PURCHASE: iTunes

Beautiful Small Machines are a pop duo that emerged out of vocalist Bree Sharp's recent "messy breakup" - she and Don Dilego had been writing songs together for nearly a decade before they decided to materialize Beautiful Small Machines. Their first EP is called Robots in Love and it'll probably appeal to fans of radio-pop-female-vox type of stuff, with an electronic edge. If you like what you hear, check out these upcoming shows and make an appearance.

7/14/09 CD Release Party: Le Poisson Rouge, New York NY
7/17/09 Barnes & Noble: Princeton, NC

"Robots In Love" off of Robots in Love EP

WEBSITE: www.arts-crafts.ca/stilllifestill
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/stilllifestill

Still Life Still, a member of the Arts & Crafts crew, is set to release their much hyped album entitled "Girls Come Too" (how quaint.) The band is based in Canada like a lot of their A&C sisters, but if you happen to be in the area, this is their upcoming show schedule...

Upcoming dates:
6/26/09 – London, ON @ Blackshire Pub
6/27/09 – Brantford, ON @ The Ford Plant w/ Spiral Beach
6/28/09 – St. Catherines, ON @ Scenefest

SLS's first record, "Pastel EP" is available now.

WEBSITE: http://alull.com
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/alullmusic
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/alull
PURCHASE: Online Store, iTunes

Lujo Records are quickly becoming a favorite of mine, challenging Arts & Crafts for top spot in the "Sickest Indie Labels" category. A Lull, a Chicago based quasi-folk-tet, and newly signed Lujo family member have released a short and great record, Ice Cream Bones EP. A Lull has provided a free mp3 download off said album that will hopefully wet your whistle - I love it.

Download it straight from the band, here. And/or if you're so inclined, watch the music video for "Skinny Fingers" off of A Lull's Ice Cream Bones EP, below...

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MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/lesliemendelson
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/missleslie88
PURCHASE: iTunes

Leslie Mendelson's music is eclectic and very old school - She gives this style a certain youth, however, so fans of the yester-years of music needn't feel trapped in the era. For a full bio and further details, check this out.

She's got a few upcoming events, one of which is lined up as her CD Release show - June 30th at the Backroom in NYC: a middle-class friendly bar in the city's lower east side. For more details on her CD Release show, check out the flyer.

http://passionpitmusic.com
http://myspace.com/passionpitjams
The Skinny	Passion Pit's new release, Manners, could very well be a commercial fluke, sustaining a frenzy of media attention until its inevitable crash - but, there's no denying the album's life-loving, dancy happiness that even the hardest of hearts are falling for.
Favorite Track	Little Secrets, The Reeling
For Fans Of	Indie Electronica-type stuff w/ High pitched Singing

If you are a music junkie or tend to surf the Internet a lot, and if you're reading this chances are you do, then you've probably heard of the group Passion Pit within the past month or two. Their first full-length release, Manners, came out in May and in the blink of an eye these guys have already gathered a huge following. It's not surprising either - Manners is an incredibly catchy album and I can see why people, including myself, are falling in love with them.

Their first release was the EP Chunk of Change, and its strongest track, "Sleepyhead," has easily become their most popular song. The EP was made as lead-singer Michael Angelakos' Valentine's Day gift to his girlfriend. The EP received some attention and showed their potential for future releases.

Since then, there's been a tremendous amount of hype on the web surrounding the release of Manners. Not that they don't deserve the recognition, but sometimes too much hype is a bad thing, and can lead to disappointment. Hopefully all of it won't backfire like it did on Vampire Weekend, who bloggers were donning best of the year's titles early on, then months later started calling them overrated.

Standout tracks on Manners include "Little Secrets" and "The Reeling," both feature a children's choir, as well as "Make Light" and "Moth's Wings." There is also a remixed version of "Sleepyhead" towards the end of the CD. The album is bit different than the EP, which was more electro-pop. Manners is still electronic but was written with the intent to translate easier and produce a better live performance. For those few who have not heard of Passion Pit, Angelakos has an insanely high falsetto that might be a bit overwhelming at first. But like most, you'll probably find yourself trying to match the notes while singing along - good luck.


"Little Secrets" off of Manners

WEBSITE: http://www.broadjam.com/6pack/
BLOG: http://www.broadjam.com/blog/the-6-pack-blog

Broadjam.com has announced and begun it's 5th annual songwriting contest - it goes by the name "6 pack" due to the six progressively more difficult stages of the challenge. Each of the six parts require that different composition rules be followed - such as write the best love song, or write an instrumental song. The contest will continue until November 15th, so you've got some time to get your schtick together.

Broadjam.com is offering up $85,000 in prizes, so hop to it, and don't waste any more time. Remember, the contest is not going to be riddled with celebrity, ultra-popular acts. Contestants are generally independent musicians so give it your best: you've got as good a chance as any.

"6-Pack" is open to any and everyone, all you have to do is sign up for a free broadjam.com account which requires nothing more than an email address.