Archive for March 2010
Music Review of Freedom Wind by the Explorers Club
“The Explorers Club” are a six-piece Sunshine Psychedelic (indie pop/rock) band from Charleston, South Carolina. Their music is almost entirely influenced by the vocal hormany styles of the then famous The Beach Boys and brings back the 60s and 70s atmosphere to their music. The Explorers Club are made up of Jason Brewer (Vocals, Guitar and Piano), James Faust (Vocals, Guitar, Piano and Harmonica), David Ellis (Vocals, 12 String Guitar and Accordian), Wally Reddington (Vocals and Bass), Stefan Rogenmoser (Keyboard, Organ and Synthesizers) and Neil Thomas (Drums). In an honourable way, the band also continues to carry on the style and sound of The Beach Boys. On Television, their music has been featured on TV shows such as The O.C. and How I Met Your Mother.
Freedom Wind by The Explorers Club is full of beautiful vocals and it’ll surround you with or even bring you back to the 60s and 70s pop/rock music. Think of their vocals, only vocals, there would be a perfect Acapella performance with you always if you let them to…
Freedom Wind by The Explorers Club awed us with the beautiful vocal “Forever”. The moment Jason sang, “She’s the kind of girl who’s in my thought, all night…”, along with James, David and Wally. It was really awesome! I can’t find the right word to describe it, but it was really good. The music in Forever was equally good as well, the organ, the guitar and the drums… It was like you were listening to the most beautiful and sweetest sound in the world. Throughout the whole track, the backing vocals done by The Explorers Club, if it’s not breathtaking, then i don’t know what else to day. Forever will definitely stay in my Ipod for a long long time to come.
“Honey, I Don’t Know Why” was at times funny and yet good. Sung in a husky and rough voice but backing by cute music and harmonized vocals. One can’t help but smile when this song comes up. I bet children will try to imitate the voice of Jason in Honey, I Don’t Know Why. Even myself tried to imitate his voice due to my curiousity of finding out how Jason did that rough voice. The Explorers Club did a very good job when the break came, they went, “Mmm Bap Baby…” and Jason was doing a solo singing in the background. Talk about harmony vocals? The Explorers Club got style!
“Don’t Forget The Sun” was another song made to show The Explorers Club’s talent and forte. Jason sang a few words, the rest of The Explorers Club follow suit, in an alternate way. Don’t Forget The Sun is definitely one of the best tracks on Freedon Wind. It has this beat and tempo that is just nice for everyone to enjoy and indulge, and it’s really catchy, infectious and soothing! The best part is when they went, “I wish that summer could stay on for one more hour, i wish that summer sun would last the whole year on..” It just so good! I’m beginning to imagine seeing them performing live at a beach. It would be a blast!
“Lost My Head” has a funny start to it. There was a guy saying, “You guys are ready to lay down some tracks?” in a somewhat drunken voice that some may find it to be amusing. Not only that, there were two parts in Lost My Head, one is slow where you can hear Jason’s and co’s voice, the other sounds like a banjo or some chinese intrument which is called pipa. When Jason and co sing, the banjo and pipa will follow. Lost My Head is rather quiet and not many musical instruments can be heard. But it doesn’t matter, The Explorers Club are able to leave us in awe again with their angelic vocals.
What can i say about “Do You Love Me?”. It’s really a track with some catchy backing vocals and great teamwork by displayed by The Explorers Club. Do You Love Me? is a very simple track, what catches our attention is the hormonized and lively vocals. An acapella version of this lovely song would definitely sounds as good as the recording version, or it might even be better. If you’re thinking of singing a song to your loved one with the help of your buddies, think no further than Do You Love Me? It’s such a fun and romantic song. There are some saxaphone elements in this song as well. Really awesome stuff by The Explorers Club.
“Summer Air” is pure instrumental and i got to say it’s really good as well. The organ can be heard playing in a variety of constant rhythm and beats. Not only that, the synthesizers were used to add in some soundscape to make if fuller, as if someone were singing in Summer Air. But the fact is, this song is just pure instrumental. Perhaps The Explorers Club are taking a short break from all the vocals that they were doing. Just kidding.
“If You Go” is romantic and at times, i can feel the sorrow in Jason’s voice. When Jason breaks the bassline and sings, “If you go now, i won’t shed a tear, cause maybe somehow, our love will reappear…” his voice sort of makes me squirm. It’s a broken heart love song and Jason did a very good job on the vocal. Take note at the break where a short session of deep guitar can be heard and followed by some soothing vocals, “I woke up, i thought i heard you called my name…”. It’s all like a dream…
“In The Country” is a slow cozy feeling classical pop tune. The vocals provided by The Explorers club are really good here. The chorus especially, which goes, “You’re my girl and i won’t let you go, cause all your loves are good for my soul…” All of them give a really good listen here. It’s like listening to a group of choir. Guess when you’re good at something, you’ll always be that good when doing it. In The Country has elements of country genre in it, reminding me of some great cowboy movies.
“Safe Distance” is an acoustic song, almost appearing in Acapella version. The Explorers Club displayed their great talent again with their vocal harmonies. The music in this song is mostly created by the vocals. From the lyrics, i can only guess that Safe Distance tells the story of protecting someone from harm and danger. Great work as a band!
“Hold Me Tight” starts off slow with Jason leading the vocal and the rest of The Explorers Club add in some beautiful moans and hums. When the chorus comes, the whole song suddenly jumps into a new gear, from the second gear to the fourth gear. The tempo picks up and the beat sounds faster and richer. You can hear Jason goes, “I just wanna hold you tight, hold you walk through the night… Love nobody…” Hold Me Tight is a happy and romantic pop rock tune! You got to love it!
“Last Kiss” reminds me of Elvis Presley’s rock and roll! You can have fun and dance to Last Kiss in a party. Jason and his co take turn to sing in this soft version of rock and roll. “If i remember our first kiss (last kiss) forever…”, when Jason sings this chorus, it’s like his second voice is taking over. He sounded like a girl, and it’s really good. Bear in mind, it’s not easy to do so.
The title track, “Freedom Wind” produces an anthemic closing to this album. This is the first time on the album that Jason did the singing almost all by himself. The rest of The Explorers Club only focus more on the music.. Organs, guitars, drums.. Like all other anthems, it ended on a strong note, before fading into utter silence. Freedom Wind brings me back to the past and the organ in Freedom Wind reminds me of Fastball’s “The Way”. There are just some resemblance in it. It proves that The Explorers Club’s Jason also can be a stand-alone frontman if he wishes to, he’s got the voice.
Rating: Freedom Wind proved to be a success and 60s pop/rock music has never sounded so good. The Explorers Club has finally found a sound of their own and create magic with it. Impressing people with their layers of harmony vocals, i feel peace when listening to The Explorers Club. I feel good now and then, and the ability of bringing me back to the 60s and 70s, plus a couple of beautiful composed and sung love songs, the modern love songs nowadays are in a serious threat. It’s a matter of time before the new generation will start to notice The Explorers Club. I have noticed them, spin their record, being awed by them, tell my friends about them and many more. Freedom Wind is really good, i’m really looking forward to their next album. I’d give them 7.0 out of 10.
Stand-Out Tracks (My Picks): Forever, Don’t Forget The Sun, Do You Love Me?, If You Go, Hold Me Tight and Last Kiss. Cheers! Darren Tan Indiesurf.com
Darren Tan
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/music-review-of-freedom-wind-by-the-explorers-club-713706.html
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Guitar Lessons Can Help Anyone Learn
Picking up a guitar and expecting to instantly play like Jimi Hendrix isn’t realistic. But, picking up a guitar, taking basic lessons and learning the ropes and building on them is.
The fact of the matter is a guitar isn’t the easiest instrument in the world to learn, or there’d be thousands and thousands of Jimi Hendrix knock offs out there. However, good guitar lessons can really help anyone learn to play with a basic proficiency.
So, how do you determine a good guitar lesson from a bad one?
That’s going to depend a lot on your proficiency going in. If you’re just starting out, you’ll want guitar lessons that teach you:
* The basics of the instrument. This means the different parts, what they are and how they work.
* Basic fingering techniques. Playing the guitar is all in the fingers. If you don’t know where to put them or how hard to apply pressure and so on, you will never sound like Jimi!
* Basic cords, tabs and so on. You need the fundaments down to build on to become proficient in playing.
* Theory and music fundamentals. You don’t need to be an expert in music theory, but good guitar lessons will give you a minor run down and will begin to expose you to reading music so you can move on by yourself in between lessons or once you complete them.
* Exercises. Going back to that fingering techniques statement, the only way to really get them down is to practice. Good exercises that help the mind, fingers and ears work together are always smart. Great guitar players instinctively know where their fingers need to go on the neck, and they learned by practicing and through exercises.
* Baby steps for learning. It’s all fine and well to understand the notes, the fingering positions and build up speed and accuracy, but if you aren’t learning at least very basic songs, you won’t feel like your accomplishing anything. Good guitar lessons begin giving you “something to take home” as quickly as possible while still working to instill the basics.
* Repetition. It’s not a word most people relish hearing, but when it comes to guitar lessons, repetition can be important. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.
Now that you know what to look for in guitar lessons, it’s time to figure out where to get them. A lot of people enjoy taking lessons in person, but others would rather learn a little on their own.
Courses can be had in local music stores, through books and even online through downloadable programs. Any of these can teach you the basics and do it well, but remember, it’s up to you to apply what you learn.
Good guitar lessons can only go so far in teaching, the real proof in the pudding, so to say, will come from the player him or herself. Practice, patience and a desire to learn the steps and build on them will separate the real players from those who simply know the ropes.
A real passion, too, doesn’t hurt in defining the best of the best. It all, however, starts with solid guitar lessons.
Ray La Foy
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/guitar-lessons-can-help-anyone-learn-84189.html
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Saga Electric Guitar Kit Review
This was in contrast to the lute and other similar stringed instruments of early musical development.
Saga Electric Guitar Kit Review
Although it may seem that guitars are fairly new, similar instruments which fit the definition have been around, and been very popular, for at least five thousand years. The classical Guitar we know today, with its six strings, was developed in Spain originally, although it has a long and diverse history itself, and like many instruments, has a mixed heritage, borrowing as it does from various similar musical trends in instrumentation.
Much of the origin of the Spanish six stringed Guitar can be traced back to the Middle East, and in particular central Asia and India, where the sitar and other similar stringed instruments were very popular. In addition to the sitar, which is still popular today and has a very distinctive sound which almost immediately conjured up images of India, the guitar has a heritage which can be traced back to such instruments as the tanbur and the setar which both originate from Iran.
Play EXISTING riffs and patterns with speed and accuracy click here
However, these historical origins can be predated still further, and we can take the history of the development of the guitar back to a record which is well over three thousand years old. There is a carving of a Hittite bard holding a stringed instrument which cannot be mistaken for anything other than an early form of a guitar like instrument, which shows that the instrument had already gained a popular role within society. The word sitar and guitar seem very similar, and this is because they both share the same ancestry.
The word guitar comes from the Latin word cithara meaning stringed instrument, and this word in turn comes from Greek heritage. The Greek word, kithara is thought to come from the Persian word sitar, which is where the words guitar and sitar share a lexical ancestor.
The word cithara, the Latin word from which guitar is derived, refers to an ancestor of the modern six string guitar, and was a popular instrument in Roman times, although rather than strummed, it appears to have been plucked, generating a fairly distinctive sound, and one fairly dissimilar to the traditional sound we associate today. In fact, the sound was more likely to be more similar to the Indian or Persian sitar sound quality than the European sound we hear today. The Romans brought their cithara with them to Spain, or Hispania as it was called, sometime in the first century AD, and was later adapted to incorporate some of the style and developments of another stringed instrument, the oud, which was brought by the Moors over six hundred years later. It was at this same time that the lute, popular in Scandinavian countries, was becoming very popular.
The lute has more in common with the six stringed guitar, as it too had the same six strings, although the back of the lute was curved, generating a different acoustic sound. The very well known Viking hero, Gunther, is depicted with a lute, as the Vikings took to the Scandinavian instrument very well, and it has been depicted in many carvings of that era. The oud and the cathira both developed into two guitar like instruments, but with different sounds, resulting in the Moorish guitar which was popular in around the 13th century, and the Latin guitar, which is the one which most closely resembles the guitar we think of today.
CREATE patterns and riffs anytime of the day or night Click here
Vanessa A. Doctor
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Avenged Sevenfold
Name: Avenged Sevenfold
Nationality: Huntington Beach, California, United States
Website: http://www.AvengedSevenfold.com
Genre(s):
Heavy metal
Hard rock
Metalcore (early)
Members;
M. Shadows – lead vocals, piano (1999–present)
Synyster Gates – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1999–present)
Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
Johnny Christ – bass, backing vocals (2002–present)
The Rev – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999–present)
Ex-members;
Justin Meacham – Bass (1999–2001)
Daemon Ash – Bass (2001–2002)
Albums:
Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)
Waking the Fallen (2003)
City of Evil (2005)
Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
Extract from their main website;
“
Avenged Sevenfold, the album, is a self-produced effort. While the band shared co-production credit on 2005’s million-selling City Of Evil with Mudrock, this new album is solely their responsibility — and they’re primed to accept it.
But attaining such stature didn’t arrive in an overnight jaunt. To the contrary, Avenged Sevenfold had been an integral part of the independent, underground rock scene years before breaking through on commercial radio. In fact, the Orange County, California-based act launched its career several years ago (they were barely out of high school) with the release of its debut in July 2001 of Sounding The Seventh Trumpet.
Miles of van touring ensued, performing in tightly packed clubs, and sweating shoulder-to-shoulder on both national and international levels. Despite the truly D.I.Y. affair (which still found the fledgling act putting on an eye-opening, elaborate stage show), Avenged Sevenfold never offered anything less than a full-throttle set. The band released its second independent full-length in August 2003, Waking The Fallen, a couple years later, greatly expanding on its metal-based foundation and giving us a not-so-subtle nudge that something exciting was in the imminent forecast.”
At Ozzfest 2006, Avenged Sevenfold shared the main stage with DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed, Disturbed, and System of a Down.
Their fame and influence hit it’s biggest upturn when they youred with Iron Maiden mid 2008!
Liam Hayman
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/avenged-sevenfold-740940.html
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Music Man Big Al Bass Guitar Bass – Review by BassCentral.com
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