Dead Levee is a 4-piece old-school, no-nonsense rock band comprised of members Tayler “Izzy” Morgan, “Sweet Baby” Ray Klapatiuk, Rylan “Buck” Dusyk, and Preston “Miami” Laschuk. Their aggressive, organic, and attitude-driven style harkens back to the high energy rock of the late 60s with the attitude of 90s rock.
The quartet’s live show features bold guitar solos, rippin’ vocals, and heart-pounding rhythm that revitalize the contagious energy of rock ‘n roll that the world fell in love with in a fresh new way.
Born from an impromptu jam on stage, “Shout” unleashes ‘the inner beast’ and signifies a sonic renaissance. Mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica) and mastered by Noah Mintz (Matt Mays, Arkells, Death From Above 1979), the new single delivers their signature big sound.
Niagara Falls-based country singer-songwriter, Ryan Langdon, is returning with his first new release since 2020’s Lit in the Sticks EP, the sexy and raw “Country Like You.”
The song’s story captures the experience of a guy meeting his perfect person, a woman who exemplified all the characteristics of how he defines “country.”
Fiddle and pedal steel complement Langdon’s emotive vocals and authentic country production to create a great mood-setting tune perfect for slow dancing under the midnight sky.
Star Goes Nova is the talented new face in the world of Electro Pop, Synth, and EDM. Showcasing a brilliant journey through a sonic starship, the artist spins moving epic stories with instrumental masterpieces. A trailblazer in the genre, Star Goes Nova dispenses cinematic masterpieces, creatively composed for the next generation of musical icons. With electrifying sounds, memorable beats, and pulsating bass lines, her music is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Swedish House Mafia, and The Glitch Mob.
She just released “Moonlight Beat with Sonic Butterfly,” a cinematic and fantasy synth and EDM single. Sonic Butterfly is a 26 string acoustic, chromatic, long-string harp designed and played by Andrea Brook. The strings are at minimum 60ft long and often strung over 200 feet long, and span out over the audience, transforming indoor and outdoor theaters, buildings, and natural environments into a stunning immersive musical instrument.
The technical incorporation of the unique giant harp into Star Goes Nova’s “Moonlight Beat” was an epic feat in itself with Grammy winning producer John Baffa tracking 16 microphones, mathematically distanced to achieve authentic echo/delay reverberations down the length of 60 foot harp strings. Star Goes Nova expertly wove in gorgeous piano, electronica and powerful growling dubstep beats. The effect is an epic tale of an astronaut discovering an ancient castle on a distant moon.
An imagination captured by the glitz and camp of late 70’s variety show offerings (think Cher) and then consumed by rock and roll, poetry and electronic music, Jane Jensen’s mind and music tend to wander in many directions but her love for industrial music is the thread that weaves it all together.
She just released two new singles, “Changeling” and “Revolution Maker,” with her album Changeling. In tandem, she also released the music video for “Changeling.” The song is about inner transformation and rebirth with an industrial alt rock backdrop. Visually speaking, the video has a 90’s style and visualizes change with glitching.
We spoke to Jane Jensen about the “Changeling” video in this edition of Video Voyager:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
The narrative for the song “Changeling” is simple. It focuses on a personal journey that leads to transformation. It’s reflective of past trauma and future possibilities. It’s about transmuting pain into power and figuring out what lessons need to be learned to move on and effect needed change in life. I wrote and worked on this song a lot during the pandemic – lots of time to be reflective.
What was the inspiration behind this video?
The video has a deep seated 90’s vibe and it began as a complete coincidence. I partnered with video director Sean Sweetman and we rented a photo studio for a couple hours to shoot some cool visuals. Initially, we planned to feature a lot of martial arts but we had some glitches on shoot day and weren’t able to get those shots. The studio had a wall of televisions which immediately indicated the 90’s aesthetic and direction for the rest of the shoot and aftereffects. Although Sean did mention early on that he wanted neon crosses like Baz Lehrman’s Romeo and Juliet, which is a 90’s film, so I guess we were steeped in 90’s nostalgia from the start. Also, the chair as a major focal feature is reminiscent of my video from the 90s More Than I Can and my favorite detail is the ms dos font that runs throughout the video. When Craig Kafton and I were working on my first album Comic Book Whore he used a Compaq computer for programming and sequencing. That green flashing font was at the core of every track on that album.
What was the process of making this video?
Sean and I had a pre-production phone meeting. We decided to shoot me with my guitar and a mic stand, rather than the whole band. Sean wanted to incorporate his newly acquired neon lights as neon crosses, and he had lots of photographic ideas that he wanted to capture with that kind of lighting. I like to preplan everything, and Sean is very comfortable just showing up and shooting whatever is available. We did both. There is also planning that goes into clothing, hair and make-up. I discovered Ukrainian brand MDNT:45 and was happy to show my support by wearing some of their clothing in the video. The hair and make-up were very subtle by Alexandra Bayless, and we had one mind-blowing dancer Jahlani Luv. She was really wonderful, and we wished we had more time to shoot her.
After the shoot was complete, Sean started the editing process and presented a rough-cut followed by a few more finessed cuts until we got the one we both were happy with. Then I took the final cut to add some additional 90’s effects and the ms-dos font that is featured throughout the video. The best advice I can give to an artist who is producing their own music video would be not to do it under a strict time constraint. That kind of pressure can lead you to cut corners or not get a visual you are totally satisfied with, because you feel the pressure to stay with the timeline and keep moving forward, even if you are not happy – SO, give yourself plenty of time! And just as important, be satisfied with the quality of the visual. If you don’t love it, you won’t want to share it and if you are an indie artist, you are calling the shots so keep working on it until you love it – even if you have to push back release dates.
Celia Berk is an award-winning vocalist whose recordings have attracted listeners around the world. She has made memorable appearances at Carnegie Hall, Jazz At Lincoln Center, Birdland Theater, The Town Hall and the National Arts Club. Celia has been praised by some of the most prominent champions of The Great American Songbook.
She just released of her widely anticipated third album, Now That I Have Everything. Arranger/pianist Tedd Firth brings a Nat King Cole Trio feel to the recording, which explores the ways we try – successfully and unsuccessfully – to connect our heart to someone else’s. Co-Produced by Tony and Grammy Award-winning sound designer Scott Lehrer, it features the kinds of hidden gems by great songwriters that are Celia’s trademark. Many of those songs were featured in COMES LOVE, a 2019 show Celia created with pianist Sean Gough.
In his Liner Notes, author and journalist Will Friedwald writes, “Celia Berk makes us realize, in a way few singers can, that love is, in fact, never ever the same.”
When asked about the album, Celia says, “The story of this album really begins and ends with my friend Debbi Bush Whiting, daughter of Margaret Whiting and granddaughter of Richard Whiting. She had given me recordings of her mother’s appearances on a radio show, including Irving Berlin’s NOW IT CAN BE TOLD. The premise of that song is that the real story of a great romance has yet to be written. As I listened, I asked myself, ‘So what exactly can now be told?’ And then I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to do an album about love!’ So I set out to find songs about the ways we try – successfully and unsuccessfully – to connect our heart to someone else’s.”
The songs cascade from a jazz silhouette of toe tapping to rain on a rooftop. This album is like sipping a nice cup of tea on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It encompasses the Broadway jazz element all the way down to songs reminiscent of Moon River. “Boum!” Is a fun loving dance number that incorporates feelings from your head to your heart and personifies the emotions. “Right as the Rain” brings a melancholy and somber feeling that captivates the whole body. The title track “Now That I Have Everything” dances on the piano keys and takes the center stage of the whole album in this show stopping number.
Listen here:
Celia debuted her new cabaret show, ON MY WAY TO YOU: Improbable Stories That Inspired An Unlikely Path, directed by Mark Nadler with music direction by Tedd Firth. Marilyn Lester of Theater Pizzazz called it “An enchanting show, executed with abundant smarts, humor and grace, and terrific choices of music known and unknown.”
Celia’s accolades include the album MANHATTAN SERENADE in which she received the 2017 LaMott Friedman Award. It was arranged and conducted by Alex Rybeck and co-produced by Scott Lehrer, the team behind her debut album YOU CAN’T RUSH SPRING. Lyricist David Zippel (whose “The Broadway Song” written with Cy Coleman received its first commercial recording) wrote in the album notes, “A tribute to her hometown, this collection is anything but renditions of the obvious New York songs. MANHATTAN SERENADE is curated: a connoisseur’s compilation of one exquisite, undiscovered musical gem after another.” YOU CAN’T RUSH SPRING and Celia’s solo cabaret debut, directed by Jeff Harnar, earned Celia a 2015 Bistro Award: Vocalist; 2015 MAC Award: New York Debut – Female; 2015 BroadwayWorld Award for Best New York Cabaret Debut; and The 2015 Margaret Whiting Award.
We have no doubt that “Now That I Have Everything” will follow suit brining about awards and notoriety to the ever so talented soul that is Celia Berk.
AP Tobler has released their new single “Claustrophobia” and it’s accompanying video, an alt rock grunge song reminiscent of Green Day meets Weezer.
The song is about how uncomfortable they are in their own skin and is translated into their video. The whole thing is quick frames of a variety of different shots, consisting of AP in several different positions and outfits, the empty coach, and the empty coach with just their guitar. The many different ways they orient themselves is a perfect representation of trying to find comfort with yourself.
We spoke with AP about their video. Check out what they had to share about the “Claustrophobia” music video:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
Claustrophobia is about feeling trapped and uncomfortable in your body. I wrote this song at a point of severe discomfort with myself. I was also just getting out of a spell of writer’s block and it took me quite a while to bring the song to completion. In the video, I wear all sorts of different clothes. The line, “You can’t become a new person every day,” inspired these outfit changes that show my futile attempts to renew myself.
What was the inspiration behind this video?
The video features myself singing the song while sitting on a desolate sofa. My outfit and position changes often in the video. These outfit changes represent that no matter what external things I change, I am still the same at the core, even if I don’t want to be.
What was the process of making this video?
The process of making the video was super easy and quick. The shoot consisted of myself singing along to the track in varying outfits and positions. The video was different from my others as we used a single camera angle for all the shots. We shot in my house which helped us prepare test shots and make sure we would get what we wanted. I did multiple sing throughs in each outfit and my dad did the editing. The tv frame and glitches represent changing the channel on an old television. While the concept is simple it is one of my favorites.
Modern Mystery 
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