Zebra Cage

Rock Still Alive in Candlebox

zebracage — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:51:08 +0000

Where is the ROCK in new rock n’ roll? Where is the base of all these other genres and is rock n’ roll as a descriptor sill used? There are so many categories: hardcore, post-hardcore, post-grunge, nu-metal, and yes journalists such as myself are the biggest culprits in using them, but maybe for good reason. Variety in music caters to our schizophrenic emotions as a listener. But listeners still need roots – music with the basics in tact – passionate guitar, vocals and a deeper meaning.

Welcome back Candlebox.

Originally, I went to see Candlebox in December because I wanted to support any national act coming to Syracuse and “Cover Me” twists my insides around. However, what resulted mentally from my attendance was a stream of consciousness that was both a pleasant surprise and a discouragement. I finally realized the true void in the industry – the lack of bands that know where they came from but know how to evolve with their own creativity without the need to sell out to trends. More bands like Candlebox are desperately needed.

Candlebox is absolutely amazing in concert-lyrically, vocally, all around, a solid rock show bursting with musicianship. They bring elements of a blues style with a classic rock floor to the listener and flare it up by the vocal angst of grunge. The performance was everything I’ve been thirsting for in shows since the fall, but something I didn’t realize was missing until it was in my face again.

The band’s new album, Into The Sun, (at once difficult to find I might add-but that’s a different blog about record companies entirely) debuts new tracks like “Stand.” Live, this song made me do the concert dance; that small little head bang hip swing that doesn’t look cool but just happens because you are moved, similar to the blues trance. This song put me in a jive and made me angry simultaneously – because of the lyrical content, a politically aware song on consumption and our actions as a nation.

Wait..I’m hearing it…the elements of true rock songs. Seeing them again in Vegas four months later, after really spending time with the album, “Stand” jolted me even more. Other songs like “Miss You” stood out, and not just for the accompanied commentary by lead singer, Kevin Martin paying tribute to his father storming the beaches at Normandy. Timelessness, consistency, and emotional climaxes projected from the stage – all elements of a true rock outfit.

All elements that provided stark contrast to a show representative of what labels are pushing now. Bands now geared towards college kids don’t involve as much awareness as the rebelliousness of the rock that fostered the genre. During a show at a university not long after the Candlebox show in December, I viewed a disappointing “alternative rock” show. Many attendees didn’t know the band performing but the merch people working for them couldn’t get over the number of t-shirts that were selling. However, this has become an increasingly relevant phenomenon. As I interview up-and-coming bands, some of their theories are literally, if you have a cool t-shirt, people will think your band is cool. Thus the band will sell records, thus make money, thus the “type” explodes. Cool hair and t-shirts are all you need. Meanwhile they are the only threads holding together the entire structure of an art form.

My advice, to a rock lover who really wants to feel more than the generic tang of screen-printed cotton, go see Candlebox. Their music will rejuvenate and hopefully outrage. Rock n’ roll’s future depends on you yearning for its presence.

Bands to consider as their hold-steady partners: Kings of Leon, The Airborne Toxic Event, TV on the Radio, The Mars Volta, Chevelle, Seether, The White Stripes, The Raconteurs

The Magnetic Pull

zebracage — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:46:40 +0000

The Magnetic Pull

by Tiffany Bentley

(Sounds of Syracuse, Table Hopping Magazine)

The “magnetic pull” of the ocean always hypnotized their friend. This same friend’s early death has inspired a stream of consciousness created in their music. The original electronic assembly, The Magnetic Pull, borrowed their name from a poem penned by Trish Taylor, the girlfriend of Kris Campbell, a close friend who passed away at an early age in a drowning accident. The Syracuse trio creates a euphoric, yet mindful experience with their music while honoring a friend in the name of the project.

The music is anything but pop, but has the same strange appeal that a pop song might have. Individual songs are only discerned in transitions that are as seamless as water, and unpredictable and captivating as the ocean. Digital manipulation and sound sampling by Jake LaManna, accompanied by Jordan Glaski’s keyboarding technique maintain a melodic flow that is susceptible to variance at any moment.

The group formed in 2005, and added live drummer Brady Dembroske in 2008. Prior to Brady’s emergence, drum beats were only produced electronically by Jake. Jake now jokes that he is really not needed anymore for digital percussion, and feels that he should be able to sit down during certain sets because the rest of the group gets to sit down at their instruments.

However, like all good DJs, he stands stoically at his table. Jake’s sampling adds the uniqueness that sets aside the music from just random play. From the voice sets of Howard Stern character Riley Martin to exact length orgasm sound clips from Meg Ryan’s performance on When Harry Met Sally, any sound is game for Jake’s exploitation.
“I thought this was a family show,” an audience member once commented to Jake after hearing the lengthy screaming montage. “Well the movie was rated PG-13,” he answered.

Despite the lack of lyrics in their songs, the Magnetic Pull is a verbally-oriented bunch. Jordan constantly conjures up different quirky word strings for song titles that usually have nothing to do with the song itself. The rest of the band credits him with witty song names like the Silence and the Space and Demon Song (Demo Song with an N added). They in fact jest that they often get texts from Jordan at random times with new title ideas. For example, during the monumental six overtime Syracuse basketball game, Brady received a text from Jordan stating a possible song name as “Boeheim’s Breaking.”

The Coming of Tan, a book by Riley Martin, voiceover for “The Silence and the Space,” discusses alien abductions and the afterlife, topics discussed on Riley’s radio bit for Hoard Stern. Riley is now a Magnetic Pull fan since the group confronted him for work to add alien presence to their songs.
“According to him,” Brady says, “We’ll be the only band rocking out on the mother ship.” Riley has given them limited edition tokens that guarantee their place in the afterlife when the whole thing goes down. Before that happens, however, you can catch them physically at The Dewitt Shire April 11th and during impromptu visits at Mac’s Bad Art Bar open mic nights on Thursdays in Mattydale.

Merit

zebracage — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:37:26 +0000

This article appeared in the March issue of Table Hopping Magazine, Syracuse

Sounds of Syracuse:
Merit

by Tiffany Bentley

Music journalists are always trying to compare new bands with old bands or more familiar bands as a way to provide a frame of reference for the new listener. While this is helpful to the audience, sometimes artists feel pigeonholed by it.

Listening to Merit, one could be reminded of popular alt rock band Paramore, whether all Merit members agree with this comparison or not.

“Until Paramore, who would you have picked out and said Merit sounds like x?” commented lead singer Brenna Merritt. “Especially in a male dominated industry. When you’re a female-fronted band, you’re kind of lacking as far as bands to be compared to because it’s such a male dominated world.”

While male members may think that the band sounds nothing like Paramore, the band has offered their new album, “Arson is for Lovers,” on their website, gomeritgo.com as a free download, so music fans can decide for themselves.

Merit members came together at Syracuse University and decided to all stay in the area to work on music together. Under the direction of Ulf Oesterle of Aux Records, the group produced their first two albums. While Ulf has decided to still mentor them, the band decided to go Indie with their third release, “Arson is for Lovers.”

With this release, Merit has finally come into their own sound. Band members agree that the first album may have been a bit schizophrenic, but that their later compilations are a bit more refined to a specific sound.

While playing live in Syracuse has been somewhat of a challenge, as far as bookings and getting the CD promoted, elsewhere the band is receiving love and selling downloads like crazy. The band agrees that the Syracuse scene has been hard to break into because of the local hype that the area is only into hardcore rock music and cover bands.

But this has not stopped this energetic group. Made up of members Brenna Merritt, Hal Appleby, Will Mecum, and Jeff Nelson, they stay close-knit and regularly practiced. A downtown studio remains their practice home and Aux Records one of their faithful gathering places. With no plans of a specific tour as of yet, Merit has set up some local dates. They will perform at Empire Brewery on March 20th and co-headline the Aux Records Fifth Anniversary party at Funk ‘N Waffles April 18th in celebration of their latest CD release.

Tracks to note from “Arson is for Lovers:” “Cut and Run,” “Arson is for Lovers,” and “Bring Us the Sun”
The full album is available for free at gomeritgo.com.

“You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense”

zebracage — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:46:19 +0000

The best way to explain my lull in writing and needing to come back to it can be summed up by the poem I randomly opened to by one of my favorite poets, Charles Bukowski. This drop of fate and the words of a friend have inspired me to get the ball rolling again. Here’s the poem…

when I was a starving writer i used to read the major writers
in the
major magazines (in the library, of course) and it made me feel very bad because-being a student of the word and the way, I
realized
that they were faking it: I could sense each false emotion, each
utter pretense, it made me feel that the editors had their
heads up their asses – or were being publicized into publishing
in-groups of power
but
I just kept writing and not eating very much- went down
from 197 pounds
to 137-but- got very much practice typing and reading
printed rejection
slips.

it was when I reached 137 pounds that I said, to hell with it,
quit
typing and concentrated on drinking and the streets and the l
ladies of
the streets – at least those prople didn’t read Harper’s, The Atlantic or
Poetry, a magazine of verse.

and frankly, it was a fair and refreshing ten year lay-off

then I came back and tried it again to find that the editors still
had
their heads up their asses and/or etc.
but I was up to 225 pounds
rested
and full of background music-

ready to give it another shot in the
dark.

Two more Seether shows

zebracage — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:42:26 +0000

I’m addicted. I swear I’m addicted. And it feels so damn good. Honestly kids, I haven’t really been in to a band for awhile and I feel alive.

It’s really been since grunge hit that I’ve had this real passion for music. Theoretically, this makes total sense because Seether is most definitely influenced by the passion that grunge brought back to life in rock music. Lyrics, check. Hard-grinding guitar, check. Emotion-filled vocals- check.

Ere goes my dilemma. When I am writing about bands I am supposed to be diplomatic and coy, but how can I not jump and stand up and yes – at the show in Albany I actually cried. What is wrong with me? Am I actually feeling the reason again that I started to write about music in the first place?

But yes, I feel great about this. The last two shows in Albany, NY and Baltimore, MD were very different – audience and emotion wise. However, the emotions were there – even though different vibes came from the stage each time, vibes came. Everyone was bang on, and this will be possibly the fifth time I’ve seen the band and this has never changed. They’ve never faltered, despite the criticism that Morgan has received over sobriety and girlfriend accusations, blah blah blah. Powerful music, powerful shows. It’s what I’ve been waiting for and it’s here and getting better and bigger every second. If you haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon, it’s worth the trip.

Krockathon 13

zebracage — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:40:01 +0000

Seether, Three Days Grace, Shinedown, Luna Halo, seriously, how can you go wrong? These bands, all together, at one venue, in Central New York, and listeners responded. They showed up in droves – a crowd of 12,000, but you hear nothing of it. No press – no newspaper coverage, no news coverage, nothing, nada. Central New York has a huge modern rock scene, but no one in the area recognizes and supports it, because it is just written off as music for kids that don’t mean anything. Well… I guess we proved them wrong.