“I talked about recording for years, but couldn’t make it happen until I made some important changes. I guess I hid in that studio,” Vince admits. For years, Vince Vanguard owned and ran a recording studio and ran his own production company. He had always wanted to create and release his own music, but couldn’t quite take that step, so helped others release theirs. However, his overindulgent lifestyle was his downfall.
Today, he’s set to release his debut folk rock and americana album, Spirit Blues. “These songs were written and recorded for me. I wasn’t trying to be commercially successful, or catch a certain group’s attention. They’re all just my pain and existential rumination, and the need for their cathartic release.”
His latest release, “Just So You Know,” is a gripping country song inspired by his recovery from alcohol and is a eulogy to the relationship he had with it. He wrote it in the early days of his journey to getting help and reflects the power that alcohol had on him, singing “Just so you know/I’m letting you go/to find a better life on the other side.”
“Just So You Know” utilizes a pedal steel to give the signature twang sound in the song. His voice is very familiar, almost like Jackson Brown, and the country sound he presents is kind of like a Garth Brooks or a George Strait with a contemporary and hint of soft rock feeling.
Listen here:
Keep an eye out on his album, out in October 2022.
New Potato Caboose has released a long awaited new album, It Ain´t a Thing.
With their signature Americana jamband musical style, New Potato Caboose go all the way back to the very beginning of the jam scene having played with the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, and Widespread Panic. They were the first band to ever play at the Wetlands venue in New York City, and played over 200 performance dates a year throughout the 1990´s.
It is no surprise, then, that fans have been waiting patiently for this album.
It Ain´t a Thing manages to seamlessly capture the history and sound of New Potato Caboose together with a fresh and up to date perspective. Classic songs include ¨Brave New World¨ and the punchy rock song “New Potato Stew.” Brand new songs to the mix include southern love song “Georgia Angel” and ethereal “The Whisper.”
Listen here:
It Ain´t a Thing is the result of a crowd-funding campaign, and is entirely independently produced.
New Potato Caboose are Doug Pritchett (acoustic guitar and vocals), Don Laux (rhythm guitar and vocals), John “Red” Redling (keyboards and vocals), Tim Pruitt (lead guitar and vocals), Mike Mahoney on bass, and John Trupp and John McConnell on drums.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Grey has released her catchy new single “Idiot,” available on all music streaming platforms today. The indie pop songstress’ latest track describes the trials and tribulations of a rocky, dysfunctional relationship in the modern age as she realizes she’s better off post break-up. Last month, Taylor released her first single in 2 years, “Ever Knew Me,” as she continues to lead up to plans for a fuller release later this year.
Immediately drawn into the edginess of the song’s pop rock rhythms in combination with bold riffs of the electric guitar that align perfectly to her emotive and empowering lyrics, listeners can deeply sense the raw feelings and sensitivities behind “Idiot.” The song starts with a steady pop rhythm, accompanied by Grey’s lyrics of “guessing” what the truth really means in her relationship. As the intensity of her words build, so does the song’s indie pop rock styled energy that ascends with her lyrical expressions. Her words perfectly capture the passion of experiencing a relationship with flawed love; one which turns down a bumpy road before you realize you have the strength to move on as you take your power back.
“Idiot is about leaving a relationship and that person in turn gaslighting you and weaponizing your past – especially your mental health – against you; insisting that you would be crazy to leave, that no one else could love you,” says Grey. This song basically says, “Okay, I would rather be every single name you call me than be with you.” If it‘s “stupid” to leave you, I guess I’m just an idiot, was my take.
The accompanying music video for “Idiot” visualizes situations that capture the meaning behind Grey’s emphasis on anything being better than her past relationships. The inspiration for this video strongly models the moody angst of a young relationship in the early adult years, but uses scenes embodying the words described in her lyrics to share her sense of frustration, sensitivity and hope for brighter days ahead. The final scene of “Idiot” encapsulates the unfiltered emotions throughout the song with a dark, rainy street setting as Taylor walks into the middle of the scene and lets the rain wash away the pain of her past and looks towards her future.
In 2017, Taylor released her first studio album Space Case via her standing relationship with Kobalt Music Group and won two Independent Music Awards. The 12-track release featured a notable collaboration with The Vamps’ Brad Simpson. The same year Taylor revealed the Indie-Ballad single “Poison,” which further showcased the playful yet meaningful side of her writing and on-stage presence. A gifted songwriter and talented performer, she provides pristinely produced tracks with enrapturing vocals that surround each piece. Taylor’s 2018 project, her self-titled EP GREY, was produced by Oliver “Oligee” Goldstein (Foster the People, Ellie Goulding) with executive producer Josh Abraham (Thirty Seconds to Mars, Weezer, P!nk). The release was featured on Official Spotify playlists, and supported by Just Jared, iHeartRadio, among other high profile outlets.
Taylor has toured internationally with Why Don’t We in late 2019, and has shared the stage with Walk the Moon, Fall Out Boy, Sabrina Carpenter, The Vamps, Flo Rida, Jake Miller, and more. Driven by an intricate sound that is vibrant, seductive, classy, and distinctive, Taylor is quickly paving her way in the music industry. With several releases slated for the upcoming months, she’s going full-steam ahead in her musical endeavors with 2022 gearing up to be Taylor’s biggest year yet.
The Maryland-based visual artist turned singer/songwriter Slim Sly Slender is a powerful creative mind who has been part of the art world for as long as he can remember. His work has been featured in countless group and solo exhibits and was inspired to start his music career after experiencing a warehouse jam session. His musical style is brit-pop inspired pop rock with a vibrance in style you won’t find anywhere else.
He just released his new single “Black Charger” from his upcoming album Pay to Play. It’s an interesting mash up between folk, hip-hop, and pop-rock. It’s almost like a Beastie Boys meets George Benson with the horns and the fast lyrics and upbeat tone and like Macklemore in the dynamic lyrics and playfulness.
“I wrote that while driving—every time I would see an angry and aggressive driver, they were always driving a black Charger,” shares Slim. The song is anything but aggressive, however. It’s more fun and playful, bringing some light to a frustrating situation. It’s a light song that brings some happiness to your day.
Listen here:
“I do this because I love it,” he says. “Music is unlike visual art because when a person buys a painting, they put it on a wall, and only they and their friends can enjoy the piece of art. Music is for everybody. I love sharing it, and I’m excited to get this album out there in front of more people.”
Nature Loves Courage takes the bounds of genre and blurs the lines, creating sounds with instrumentation and electronic elements. After years spent solo, bassist Jacob Bergman and drummer Garrett Smith join McKenna as LA-based Nature Loves Courage, the electronic art-rock group bending entire genres to their will. Out summer ’22, their self-titled debut confronts the absurdities of the digital age, proposing a brave return to humanity’s fabled roots atop McKenna’s multifaceted sound.
Their latest single “Dark Horse” and the accompanying video is going to be what makes their mark. It’s mysterious and aids in the story of the song. The red lighting with the horse imagery and the band coming in and out of frame helps create this space that’s unknown and intriguing.
We got a chance to speak with McKenna Rowe, the band’s front woman, about the video for “Dark Horse”:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
This song was inspired by friends of mine exploring the polyamory scene and their stories about their experiences. The arrangement and feel to this song is dark and mysterious, as if it could serve as the soundtrack in a movie with a scene with a swingers’ club or party. For the video, we chose not to literally depict such a scene, due to the complexity of hiring so many extras, and with the goal of not being quite so literal. Instead, we decided to allow some more room for interpretation on the part of the viewer, depicting the band going into a “dream state” or “surreal dimension” when the song kicks off.
What was the inspiration behind this video?
The biggest influences behind the video concept are David Lynch and graphic novels. I have always loved how David Lynch depicts different dimensions of existence or timelines his characters move through. In nods to Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, our video shows the discovery of a mysterious object that then “sucks” you into dream-like dimension, where the band appears to be trapped, eventually “spinning out of control” until the “escape” at the end…although we don’t really know if the ending is a return to “normalcy” or a teleportation into yet another strange dimension. The blacked out background and intense red color on subjects are also influenced a lot by Lynch’s choice of cinematography and lighting, and how we framed my face in many shots was influenced by how you might see a story depicted in comic book panels.
What was the process of making this video?
A big thank you to director Alyssa of Holy Smoke Photography (and assistant Claire!), who was able to take some tricky abstract ideas and translate into the finished product! She and I met before the shoot to discuss concepts…I made it clear that creating a mood was more important to me than telling a literal story with start-middle-end. Alyssa put together a shot list which is extremely helpful for a band to have…we had a good idea of how the day would go and what to expect. We used Peerspace (shout out!) to rent out a stage in Boyle Heights that had the blackout capability we needed to be able to achieve the surreal, red look to everything. Another thing we did was shoot some of the video performing the song at 150% speed, so that when it was slowed down to match the normal speed of the song, our motions themselves would seem more surreal. Alyssa also sometimes used a prism in front of the camera lens to create interesting transitions/effects. We went through about 3 revisions of edits to the video until we reached our final. I think it turned out very well considering the limited time, budget and resources and the fact that this was our first time making a music video. Personally, I learned a lot from the experience… have lots of ideas for the next video and how to set up shots so that I photograph best.
Jeff Hilliard is an award winning video producer and director who’s newest work, “Abandon,” is a visual and musical marvel. His vision for the song couldn’t have been done without a video. This metal ballad and heavy rock song is catchy and easily gets stuck in your head. The video is one that you watch many times to not just listen to the song, but try and find new things with each viewing.
We got a chance to speak with Jeff about his video. Let’s dive in:
Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
Well I wanted to do an 80’s metal ballad, I thought it would be funny to tell the story of Dwight a 49 year old Uber driver that still holding onto his 80’s metal fantasy while living at home with his mother. He has a one stand with a married lady and he can’t let it go. While writing the song I knew I had to make a music videos for it, it’s just too good. The only way I good see the video was to make it verbatim to the song.
What was the inspiration behind this video?
I wanted to stick with the classic 80’s metal music video except my hero was not the cool guy.
What was the process of making this video?
They are all pretty much the same… I tell my team it’s time to do another and we set out and make it happen. I work with a brilliant cinematographer John Orphan and editor Bobby Hewitt. We work very well together and have a lot of fun making them.
Modern Mystery 
You must be logged in to post a comment.