MicControl Blog

"A Different World" by Sober

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:19:37 PST

Originally hailing from Memphis, Sober brings a unique sound to the table combining R&B with hip hop, creating entertaining, upbeat music. Sober has a very unique sound that has a very familiar side to it.

Sober brings a certain sound and style that makes me think of Outkast's entire career thus far compressed and packed into one album. BackPack Allen's R&B verses sound very similar to Andre 3000's work on The Love Below and various tracks from that time period, while J. Skywalka's sound resembles Big Boi's earlier work with Outkast. Sober's overall persona seems very Outkast-esque as well with the intro track's overall sound and each song displaying their unique personalities.

The duo's entire album displays a very down to earth feel and doesn't have the feeling that a lot of rap albums do where an artist is trying too hard to be something they're not. The songs on "A Different World" all seem to revolve around their interactions and experiences with women from more romantic songs such as "A Different World" to more entertaining tracks such as "Judy," my personal favorite on the album.

The hook says it all with "Her name is big booty Judy." The song talks about a certain love interest by the name of Judy (she's got a big ole booty) but even deeper it shows how the duo can create a very humorous song that also shows off their talent. Both artists have great flow and charisma in this song and I personally think it's the best track on the album to display what the combo is capable of.

The production shouldn't go unnoticed either. The whole album is filled with catchy, upbeat tracks and even some unique samples, my favorite being a sample used from "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The production includes a wide variety of songs and no two songs sound very similar, a feat which you don't see often from hip hop artists working on a non-major label budget.

Overall, the album was very entertaining and the rest of their work is very similar in terms of their unique sound and style. For more on Sober check out their MicControl profile and their YouTube channel.

Austin Haynes: Evening Light – A Shared Experience.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:26:15 PST

I think of music as falling in a range. On one end of that range is the most packaged, over-produced pablum. At the extreme other end of the spectrum are sounds as primitive as rain hitting leaves on trees in a forest. The early days of the music that appeared in the background of video games would have been close to this end of the range, but low and behold, as the technology for the games themselves advanced from Pong to games like Final Fantasy 3, the music advanced along with it. The latter game containing an original composition by Nobuo Uematsu, one of the best known and most respected video game composers.

That score made a significant impression on Austin Haynes, a young Los Angeles based musician studying piano, whose take away from this genre was music that mentally and emotionally takes the listener to another place.

Haynes takes this approach on his new release “Evening Light”. The album unfolds like the Jim Jarmusch film “Mystery Train” in which different groups of people, caught up in unrelated events share an experience that’s tied together by the same seedy hotel, The Elvis Presley song “Blue Moon”, and a gunshot. Haynes attempts to create the different emotional experiences people might have while off doing there own thing, yet at the same point in time, individually sharing the advent of a stunning sunset.

And he hits it.

Each track is connected to the next, the experience familiar, yet still its own. The tracks share a theme while being enhanced by different instrumentation each with its own pulse. You will hear this on the album’s first three cuts:

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Austin Haynes plays the electric guitar over samples sequenced on the Cubase 5, a digital audio workstation developed by the Steinberg Company. The result is a musical suite that can help soothe the soul or be drawn upon for inspiration. Check out Austin on MicControl.com

Transatlantic Flight: Unique, Yet Familiar

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:29:08 PST

Switzerland-based Transatlantic Flight is a young group with high aspirations. At only 16-17 years of age, the group has a very clear direction for their music, which they hope will modernize 60's British Invasion rock n' roll. While the 'Brit-Rock' influences are clear, it is the outside influences of more recent generations that help to give their latest track, {attachment_1}, a more interesting sound- 70's punk vocals and rhythm guitar attack, 80's, U2-style melodic layering of the lead-guitar and bass, and 90's grunge drumming (Dave Grohl during the Nirvana-era).

While there is no shortage of influences that can be found throughout Unique, the songwriting is fresh and benefits from an organic flow, which helps Transatlantic Flight to come into their own instead of sounding like a mash-up of old tunes. The track really uses rhythm changes to its advantage, by adding some extra texture to the verse, which, again similar to the 70's punk vocal style, doesn't ever drift far off the path of a single melodic line. The song builds nicely to a climactic outro where an upward key shift grants the group the ability to link up the vocals with reoccurring lead guitar line. It all happens very quickly, but the key shift allows the song to end on a lighter, tighter note than it begins.

Cover Bands, In!!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:24:56 PST

We’ve broached the topic of covering another artist’s music in this blog, but that was from the angle of covering the one-off song. Plenty of artists have used this approach to break out of obscurity. The American Idol franchise is built on this premise. It’s obvious to anyone paying attention that the performance is far more important to audiences than the author.

In some cases, the author has admirably recorded the song while another artist has delivered the definitive version of the tune. Jimi Hendrix’ take on Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”, Jeff Buckley’s haunting version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Aretha Franklin’s performance of the Otis Redding classic “Respect” all come to mind.

Leonard Cohen

Jeff Buckley

Cover songs have been a staple of the music biz for decades, but how about cover bands? Years ago they weren’t taken seriously and were relegated to playing bars for small stakes. Now cover bands are a legitimate segment of the music business and quite popular, often playing large clubs or even several thousand seat theatres. Today’s The cover bands still have much in common with those of yesteryear. In some cases the artists being covered had faded into history like Elvis or The Beatles. In others, the originals were still actively recording and touring.

Elvis impersonator, Fortuno

Beatles tribute band, Imagine

Today, some of the cover bands have transitioned from idol adorers, playing the music of their favorite artists, artists who were around when they got started, but have since either ended the run or died off. The Queen, Led Zeppelin and Grateful Dead tribute bands fall here. The cover artists are still just playing the music they love. So what’s changed?

It’s the audiences. There are two main drivers of today’s acceptance, hence success of cover bands. The first, the audience wants to hear the music they grew up with and the original artists are gone. The second is purely economic. Today it’s common to find face value ticket prices in the hundreds of dollars to see the original performers. On the secondary market those same tickets can fetch thousands. Today’s cover bands can recreate the original experience note for note with excellent sound for about a $20 door. Add to that, that at a cover band show you can be close enough to the stage to actually see the performance, versus sitting half a mile away in some stadium to see the originals, all the while having to fork over $10 for a beer, and the whole cover band concept becomes quite compelling.

As for the artists, they can make a sweet living on the circuit. The Sublime cover band Badfish grossed more than $1 million last year. This band also creatively makes itself the opening act at its own shows. Badfish will play a set of original tunes, exposing the audience to their own music, and then they’ll come back on stage as Sublime giving the people what they want. It’s brilliant!

And you can’t rule out the long-shot chance that a musician in a cover band might find himself on stage with his heroes some day, a la the movie “Rock Star”. In fact the odds are improving as the original age or find themselves at an extend stay in re-hab. After experiencing a revolving door of lead singers, Journey has tapped Arnel Pineda from the Journey cover band The Zoo., Further (Grateful Dead original members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir) have recruited Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra’s John Kadlecic for duty on lead guitar and vocals. Close your eyes and the sounds of the late Jerry Garcia do come to mind. In fact, Dark Star Orchestra not only covers the Dead, but recreates individual shows song for song. Kadlecic continues to perform with the DSO even while playing in Further.

Further with John Kadlecic, far right

As the gulf between Aerosmith and Steven Tyler widened and the band stated publicly it was looking for a new lead singer, I’ll bet even the big lipped one had to take pause at the idea he might be replaced by a younger, less brittle version of himself that could do a yeoman’s job scatting out the band’s greatest hits.

Alas, I’ve been holding out. There is a third reason for the recent popularity of cover bands. The music industry is getting further come-uppance for its practice of feeding the public garbage. It’s the same reason independent labels thrive today at the expense of the big boys. When talented artists are able to break through and establish audiences, original music performances thrive. In a shout out to Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah!

The Monster EP by The Outer Vibe

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:30:00 PST

The Outer Vibe is a pop-infused rock n' roll group from Grand Rapids, Michigan who are self-proclaimed 'revivalists' of the high-energy power and free spirit of the classic rock greats such as Led Zeppelin and Queen. The group is known to be quite a touring act, with a hefty schedule of 60-80 shows per year, but is no stranger to the studio, as in 2009 The Outer Vibe released their third studio album entitled 'The Monster EP'.

While I applaud The Outer Vibe for taking on such a mission, reviving the high-energy power and spirit of classic rock, I think it is actually the pop aspects, and not that of rock n' roll that makes this group so great (though the rockin' out doesn't hurt). The songs are excellent- very well written, organically performed, upbeat and powerful, yet not afraid to really go for the power pop hook. And boy does it pay off, as this four track powerhouse EP is non-stop energy from start to finish. Each song maintains an entirely original feel, never repeating similar melodic styles or rhythmic motifs, yet the sound and vision of the group is consistent and clear.

There is a lot about this band that rocks- the guitar riffs, the powerful solos, the heavy handed yet intricate drums, and without question the badass, yet borderline cheesy lyrics- 'we've got weapons to blow the earth into galactic dust/ fire them only if we're forced to/ in god we trust'. But there is no doubting the very heavy pop influences that run rampant on 'The Monster EP'. The style of vocalist Sean Zuidgeest is more that pop than rock, using accents of vibrato and his exceptional vocal range and presence to really hit, and more importantly hold the big notes, the ones that matter for the harmonies during the hook. This really gives the chorus that little extra something that takes it from catchy to impossible to get out of your head. The music itself also has elements of pop in the heavy keyboard/ bass syncopation style of the verse in {attachment_1} and the overall electronic style of {attachment_2}. And the inclusion of the keyboards and trumpet, which by the way, both come from multi-instrumentalist Lisa Kacos (who also adds quite a bit to the vocal harmonies as well), do a hell of a lot to spice up the sound from being 'just another rock group' to becoming The Outer Vibe.

For a four track album, the originality and versatility of The Outer Vibe is really, quite obvious and is showcased wonderfully. There is never really a moment of pure rock or pop, rather a well developed hybrid of the two. Ultimately, it really does feel as though this band is going for a revivalist direction, using styles that are similar to other groups, but is very clearly adding their own spin on the music we have all grown up listening to.

FOR MORE INFO ON THE OUTER VIBE, CHECK OUT THEIR MICCONTROL PAGE