Sisteray Q&A

Your name: 

Daniel Connolly (songwriter, lead guitar).

Where are you from?

London, England.

Name of band:

Sisteray.

Who else is in your band?

Niall Rowan (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Michael Hanrahan (bass) and Ryan Connolly (drums).

How would you describe yourselves?

A REAL rock 'n' roll band.

Who are your main influences musically?

Anything rock 'n' roll, blues, Mod revival, punk, 60's, Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Stone Roses, Oasis, The Jam/Paul Weller, The La's, The Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, Cream, Hendrix, Verve, Dr Feelgood.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To inspired others to pick up guitars and write real songs.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Selling out the O2 Academy was a great moment because so many great bands have played there, as well as the 100 Club, following in the footsteps of The Stones, McCartney, The Jam, Oasis, The Sex Pistols. Release of our debut was also a great moment, as was the launch night for it in Brighton.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

None so far, it's been a great year and a bit for the band.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Probably Take it Away, as it's a real upbeat rock 'n' roll song that could pass through generations.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/sisteray_music/sisteray-take-it-away-out-now

Where can we find out more about your music?

Website: www.sisteray.com

iTunes: tinyurl.com/p3ob6vw

Spotify: tinyurl.com/oqkzety
Amazon: tinyurl.com/psnb5za

Facebook. www.facebook.com/sisteraymusicldn

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sisteray1

SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/sisteray_music

YouTube: www.youtube.com/sisteraymusicldn

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

We are releasing a four-song EP early 2014, so keep an eye out ;)

X Suns Q&A

Name of band:

X SUNS (pronounced "TEN" Suns).

Where are you from? 

Seattle, Washington, USA.

Who is in your band? 

Trent McIntyre, Skippy King, Erick Hohnstein-Van Etten and Adam Tricoli.

How would you describe yourselves?

Erick: Atmospheric instrumental space-rock.

Skippy: Post-everything.

Trent: Space rock, post-whatever, stoner mathcore.

Who are your main influences musically?

Adam: Personally.. Hot Water Music, Fugazi, old hardcore, so many weird obscure bands to list, but I can always come back to HWM and Fugazi and it still never gets old to me.

Trent: Probably Don Caballero, Hum, and Zach Hill. 

Erick: Cave In, Isis, Bjork, Smashing Pumpkins.

Skippy: Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Skippy: Someone once said that our music made them levitate. That's what I want to do, make people levitate.

Erick: I've just always wanted to make music that is interesting to me; stuff I enjoy playing and would want to listen to myself.  I want to put on an interesting, engaging live show and connect with audiences.  Getting chills while you're playing live is always a good sign and something that I strive for at every show.  Being able to go on tours regularly without going broke would be amazing too. 

Trent: I hope to get famous enough to sleep with Olivia Wilde, or Megan Fox. And hopefully sell some records in the process.

Adam: Ideally, would like to be able to have the music we make fund the making of more music. So that we can keep doing it without having to pay for it ourselves. Will always be playing music though, even if it costs me financially, I can't imagine not playing music in some form.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Skippy: Playing with And So I Watch You From Afar on a Sargent House showcase to a club FULL of people who appreciate instrumental music.

Adam: My favorite show for X Suns was opening for a Sargent House tour at the Crocodile. Got to play with And So I Watch You From Afar, This Town Needs Guns and Mylets.

Trent: Yeah, that show, and playing with Junius was pretty awesome. They're one of my favorite bands.

Erick: I was previously in a hardcore band from Tacoma called Erode and I had a blast when we went on a tour of Canada one summer. The hardcore community there is incredibly supportive and I was blown away by their enthusiasm and hospitality.  It's also unbelievably beautiful up in the Canadian mountains. I thought we had some impressive forests in the Washington State, but damn, that was something else. I haven't been with X Suns very long, but so far my favorite experience with them was opening for And So I Watch You From Afar at the Crocodile. It was my first time playing at that venue and I've always wanted to ever since I was a kid seeing photos of all my grunge heroes playing there. 

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Trent: I don't really want to forget anything. It's all good experience.

Skippy: The time I got snuggle-raped.

Erick: Years ago, my band had a show booked that we were really excited about. There was some miscommunication between people involved in setting it up and there ended up being basically zero promotion for the show, so NOBODY came. The people who ran the venue were super pissed and chewed us out hard. Told us that we could "Play to the fucking wall or go home!". We went home. Also, one time I got too drunk and played an entire set in the wrong tuning. Pretty embarrassing!     

Adam: All of the shows where there were technical difficulties. A guitar is unplugged or an amp quit working. The first couple shows after Keith Furtado (previous guitar player) left the band, it was pretty rough as well.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

Adam: To the Bottom of the Sea (The Greys). The only song of ours that all previous and current members have played live and/or recorded on in some shape or form. I just think it's a really powerful song, full of emotion and feeling and best represents who we were and what we've become.

Trent: I'd say Jupitourist. It's our shortest song, and is probably the best representation of our music to a "new" listener. 

Where can we listen to it?

http://xsuns.bandcamp.com/track/to-the-bottom-of-the-sea-the-greys

http://xsuns.bandcamp.com/track/jupitourist

Where can we find out more about your music? 

http://xsuns.bandcamp.com/ 

http://soundcloud.com/xsuns

https://twitter.com/xsunsmusic

http://XSUNS.stereokiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/xsunsmusic 

https://play.spotify.com/artist/6nCgjVpQwIGR7Sxkwf1QFI

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-greys-single/id739945626

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

Adam: Our new EP "The Greys" was recently released on 10/31/13. It's available on bandcamp, itunes, amazon, & tons of different music streaming/downloading sites. We recorded it with Christiaan Morris and had it mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, ISIS, Minus the Bear, etc.) at the Red Room in Seattle, WA. It was mastered by Ed Brooks at RFI. Go buy it, only $3 for about 18 minutes of awesomeness!

Trent: We really want to release it on vinyl & cd too. We're currently seeking label support to help with that. 

Erick: We're working on new material and excited to hear how it turns out with the new line-up.  

New single from Harper

ALT-rockers Harper have released their new single Feel So Hollow.

The track is a follow-up to the East London four-piece's debut EP Drawing Blood Blues, which was released in the summer.

You can check out the single below and download it at harperband.bandcamp.com

To find out more about the band you can find them on Facebook, Twitter and their own site at harperband.co.uk and look out for a Q&A with the band on RealSoundsOK in the New Year.

New release from Winkie

ONE Day We Pretended To Be Ghosts is the latest album from Brooklyn electro-shoegaze outfit Winkie.

The husband and wife duo of Peter (bass) and Gina (vocals/keys) have been compared to The Cranes, My Bloody Valentine, Chapterhouse and Bleak.

You can check out the album below and download it from winkie.bandcamp.com

For more on the band, visit facebook.com/winkienyc or winkieonline.com

Nina Yasmineh Q&A

Your name: 

Nina Yasmineh.

Where are you from?

Originally from Minneapolis, MN and now living in Brooklyn.

How would you describe yourself?

A singer-songwriter who makes darkly romantic, ethereal indie pop.

Who are your main influences musically?

Hard to choose just a few but Florence + the Machine, Ellie Goulding and Corinne Bailey Rae have been pretty strong influences for me over the last couple of years.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I mean, I wouldn't mind winning a Grammy at some point down the road but mainly I just want to continue putting out music, to always be improving and moving forward and to have more and more people hear and like the music I'm making.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Probably making the Seven Years EP and having it receive such positive reviews- I wrote, recorded and produced the EP by myself without any real prior producing experience so to have it actually end up sounding the way I originally heard it in my head and to have so many people like it was very gratifying.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Well, I don't have any horror stories but there were a few rather embarrassing performance mishaps that happened earlier on when I was just starting out, dropped picks and things like that, that still occasionally make me cringe...

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

"Seven Years", the title track off the EP- It's sort of like my mission statement in terms of my vision for myself and my music and the heavy keyboard, mystical synth vibes are a good representation of the overall sound of the EP.

Where can we listen to it?

http://ninayasmineh.bandcamp.com/

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/NinaYasminehMusic

www.twitter.com/ninayasmineh

www.soundcloud.com/ninayasmineh

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/seven-years-ep/id688546284

No Room For Giants Q&A

Your name: 

Luke Parfitt.

Where are you from?

London, UK.

Name of band: 

No Room For Giants.

Who is in your band?

Emily Pickering – Singer

Rami Chabarek – Guitarist 

Robert Storey – Keys/Organ,

Jack Purbrick – Drums, 

Luke Parfitt – Bass

How would you describe yourselves?

I guess you could say we're a mixture between rock, pop and alternative punk. A lot of us have our own different tastes and style, so when we collaborate it doesn't exactly fit under one specific genre. We can leave that up to the people who listen really! And having a female singer and keyboard player also adds a different dynamic.

Who are your main influences musically?

We have a broad range of influence between us, mixed with the common interests in artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Gaslight Anthem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Smashing Pumpkins. I think this lets us try and develop our own sound.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Ultimately we would love to have this as our full time careers, I guess like a lot of people in our position we have had a taste of what its like to perform regularly, record, and work together, and so to do nothing else would be the dream really.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

We have so many, but I think what stands out for all of us would be the first times we experienced things that make it means to be in band, like the first time we played on stage together, which was an incredible opportunity to play at the Isle of Wight festival in 2010. The first time we recorded in a studio together was also a great experience and a lot of fun.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I suppose those moments that so many bands have when you start out, like playing to practically an empty room or when some of us have had a bit too much to drink before playing... Having said that, those experiences are all part of the process that everyone goes through, and I guess we have learnt from them.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

I think our title track off our first EP Senor Swings, best represents our overall style, but we aimed for the whole EP to give a good example of our sound so if you like the first track please give it a listen!

Where can we listen to it?

Right here - https://soundcloud.com/no-room-for-giants/se-or-swings

Where can we find out more about your music?

We use Facebook, (https://www.facebook.com/noroomforgiants), Twitter (@noroomforgiants) and Soundcloud, (www.soundcloud.com/no_room_for_giants) mainly. We attempt to use tumblr here and there when we remember that we have it as well! Also any questions, music related or just for a casual chat, we have our email – noroomforgiants@gmail.com

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

Just that if anyone likes what they hear, then firstly, thank you for listening, and secondly we would really appreciate a follow on twitter or a like on facebook!  

Idle Cinema Q&A

Your name: 
Jim Young (Drums, back vocals).

Where are you from?: 
Toronto, ON, Canada.

Name of band: 
Idle Cinema.

Who else is in your band?
Michael Shea (Guitar, back vocals), Clayton Blake (Vocals) and Brock Aitchison (Bass).

How would you describe yourselves?: 
We are a modern rock group, a blend of hard rock with some punk attitude thrown in.

Who are your main influences musically?:
Blink-182, RUSH, Billy Talent, the Police, The Who.

What do you hope to achieve in music?:
As long as our music can reach one person and connect with them or make them happy that's enough for us.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?: 
Playing the MOD CLUB in Toronto. Largest venue/audience/crowd reaction and it was also broadcast worldwide on a live web feed. The following day we got offers for airplay.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?: 
Playing ALL STARS in Brampton, ON, where our vocals cut out halfway through the set.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?: 
Run Me Off The Tracks. It's got the energy that we all feel as misunderstood youth and deals with suppression and people telling you "you'll never get anywhere."

Where can we listen to it? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsyt171hVJo

Where can we find out more about your music?: 
facebook.com/IdleCinema
twitter.com/idlecinema

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?: 
Headphones always provide a more juicy cinematic experience.

Startled by Silence Q&A

Your name:

Joost Meijerink - Guitar.

Where are you from?

Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Name of band:

Startled by Silence.

Who else is in your band?

Misha de Haan - Clean vocals

Peter Rebel - Scream vocals

Tijmen Compagnie - Guitar

Chris Kuiper - Bass

Justin Plug - Drums

How would you describe yourselves?

We're a metalcore band.

Who are your main influences musically?

August Burns Red, Bury Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada, Paramore and many more.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

For now to tour Europe, after that North America and then we'll take over the world.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

A German festival called Freakstock, our first international show with an amazing audience.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

The way we parted with our first bass player, that should have been done a better way.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

'Panic is Way too Expensive These Days'

Where can we listen to it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9HtxZMQPwg

Where can we find out more about your music?

http://startledbysilence.bandcamp.com

http://www.facebook.com/startledbysilence

New full-length from crashfaster

ELECTRO outfit crashfaster have released their second full-length album further.

The San Francisco four-piece was born from the ashes of Discarded Technology and the album was produced by Patrick Brown (Toro Y Moi, The Frail) and engineered by Sean Paulson.

Further "pushes the ban's sound in new directions" and is available now in digital and CD formats, with a limited edition vinyl release planned for the New Year.

You can stream the album below and it can be downloaded from crashfaster.bandcamp.com

For more information on the band, visit crashfaster.com or facebook.com/crashfaster

New EP from 1957 Tail-Fin Fiasco

THIS is The Cruise Control EP - the new release from pop rockers The 1957 Tail-Fin Fiasco.

The band from Essex, England, liken themselves - and have been likened by others - to Steely Dan, Squeeze, The Band and others. But have a listen for yourself.

And if you want to find out more about the band, you can pester them via their official site at the1957tail-finfiasco.com

Ben McKenzie returns with solo EP

AFTER stepping away from music, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Ben McKenzie is back with his first solo EP, Stand Down Son.

He told RealSoundsOK: "I was on an indefinite hiatus from the scene. I had done the tours, the records, and made that lifestyle a priority above everything, but I needed a break. I needed to find that initial excitement again.

"There’s an authenticity that made me first fall in love with punk music, and as I got older I realized that the same aesthetic could be found in the music of my childhood. It’s Petty, Springsteen and Young – but with my own history, my roots."

You can check out the EP below and download the first single, 1994, for free at benmckenzie.bandcamp.com

And for more information on the chap, visit facebook.com/BenMcKenzieMusic

Nina Van Horn Q&A

Votre nom: 

Nina Van Horn.

Où êtes-vous? 

Paris, France.

Qui d'autre est dans votre group?

Masahiro Todani (japon) guitare / Antonio Martin (Espagne) batterie/Cedric Christophe (FR) claviers/ Denis Aigret (fr) basse.

Comment pourriez-vous vous décrire?

Née en France et élevée au Texas, à cheval sur les 2 cultures, danseuse de base puis chanteuse country et maintenant dans le Blues jusqu’au cou ...sur scène depuis l’age de 14 ans, addict de la scène et du public !!!sincère et passionnée

Qui sont vos principales influences musicales?

Toute la musique des années 70, aussi le rythm and blues

Qu'est-ce que vous espérez réaliser dans la musique?

Après la danse coninuer à être sur scène dans un premier temps puis vivre de ma musique et conitnuer à me liberer en écrivant mes chansons

Quel a été le point culminant de votre carrière jusqu'à présent, et pourquoi?

Mon prochain concert ! beaucoup de merveilleux souvenirs, particulièrement quand je faisais les premières parties de Bette Midler, ma rencontre avec Dan Akroyd qui m’a conseiller d’aller vers le blues, un concert à Montreal devant plus de 20000 personnes, le formidable accueil des Chinois cette année, la liste serait longue !

Et quel est le moment où vous voulez oublier?

Je les garde tous en moi et j’en tire les conséquences mais honnêtement y’en a pas vraiment !

Si vous deviez choisir une seule de vos chansons pour représenter votre musique, quel serait-il et pourquoi?

Walk on the wild side parceque j’ai souvent marché au bord et de l’autre côté

Où peut-on écouter?

www.ninavanhorn.com

Où pouvons-nous en savoir plus au sujet de votre musique?

www.ninavanhorn.com/ www.facebook.com/nina.vanhorn/ http://www.reverbnation.com/ninavanhorn/https://twitter.com/NINAVANHORN1/https://itunes.apple.com/fr/artist/nina-van-horn/id219909285/

http://www.deezer.com/artist/57952 

Autre chose que vous aimeriez dire à propos de votre groupe que j'ai oublié de demander?

La belle energie de tous, j’aime le côté plusieurs nationalité car chacun apporte un peu de son pays dans sa manière de jouer et je me sens de plus en plus citoyenne du monde à force de voyager et de partager avec lui ...

Phillip Foxley Q&A

Your name: 

Phillip Foxley.

Where are you from? 

Born in Urmston, Manchester, but home for many years is Conwy, North Wales.

Name of band:

Just me – solo artist

How would you describe yourself?: 

Well, I’m a basically a blues rock songwriter and guitarist with a passion for writing original music mainly aimed at film licensing opportunities.

Who are your main influences musically?

Many and varied but when I think back ... Gary Moore, Johnny Winter, Zal Cleminson (Alex Harvey Band), Leslie West (Mountain) etc.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Well, to land a soundtrack to an A-list film would be considered the greatest achievement.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

No real highlights to be honest, I just enjoy playing and recording music in my own way and I do get a real buzz when someone takes the time to email me to tell me they like the songs.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

When my trusty old amp blew up in flames halfway through a set in the middle of a long instrumental. The gig was the biggest we had ever played and local tv crew were filming us at the time. Suffice to say the recoding was never aired. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Tricky this one because ‘Demon Lover’ is a firm favourite and it’s origin goes back many years, but I think the new ‘work in progress’ track called ‘Racing Thru Time’ is the one because the song was written in about an hour and just fell together exactly as I wanted. Also, it’s all about spending time with my lovely wife D’ (Dawn). Trouble is, every new song is the current favourite. 

Where can we listen to it? 

http://www.reverbnation.com/phillipfoxley/song/19228686-racing-thru-time-wip

Learn how to get a song on itunes at ReverbNation.com

Where can we find out more about your music?

http://www.reverbnation.com/phillipfoxley

http:/www.facebook.com/phillipfoxley

http://www.twitter.com/foxleyinfo (@foxleyinfo)

http://www.ptfoxley.co.uk

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?:

Well I’d just like to say that because I can’t sing, I’ve always had trouble with finding the right vocals for my songs, to such an extent that I have a huge library of as yet unreleased material. However, recently, I’ve bumped into a couple of US and Canadian session vocalists that have really nailed my new stuff and I’m really excited about this.

You can hear these vocal tracks on my Reverbnation website e.g. ‘Demon Lover’ and the piano version of ‘Promises’ are by a US session team called O!k!Team and the acoustic version of ‘Promises’ is by a Canadian artist called Eve – or 3v3Sound as she likes to be called. These songs were actually written some years ago and have been around as guitar instrumentals since Nov 2011. However, these new vocal versions sound exactly how I imagined they should be and I’m very grateful to the girls for breathing life and character into what are essentially very simple songs.

Btw, all these tracks will be mastered and included on my new EP scheduled for release around February 2014.

Wax Ersatz Q&A

Band name:

Wax Ersatz.

Where are you from?

London, England.

Who is in your band?

Stuart (Vocals/Guitar), Matt (Guitar/Backing Vocals), Adam (Bass/Backing Vocals) and Steve (Drums).

  

How would you describe yourselves?

Simple songs with a strong chorus and a catchy melody - indie.

Who are your main influences musically?

It varies really depending on which member of the band you ask but as a general overview we all listen to a huge range of music, from the modern day contemporary rock bands like Foo Fighters and Chili Peppers to the legendary British classics like The Smiths, Dexys Midnight Runners and The Clash, even Oasis if you put them in that category. In terms of song writing there are even essences of electronic music in there like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. Too many bands to name really but to be perfectly honest we try not to get too drawn into one band or artist when writing songs otherwise you end up sounding  exactly like them which is a recipe for disaster.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To be able to play music, and make some sort of a living out of it, not having to worry about any real, “credible” career, and to be able to play music to people that appreciate us, and want to hear us.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

The first time we played at the 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street (in London) was pretty memorable, we went down really well in there and had a great time.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Playing at The Rescue Rooms in Nottingham, the sound engineer was more interested in playing on his phone during our set than actually doing the sound, we sounded terrible and couldn’t hear ourselves at all, it was counterproductive and making us look bad so we played two songs and walked out....the engineer was still playing on his phone while we were walking off. The people in there were nice enough though.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

The Song ‘It's Not That I'm Bored’. Good chorus, good guitar solo, good lyrics, simple chords. It's a belter.

Where can we listen to it?

http://www.reverbnation.com/waxersatz/songs

Learn how to get your music noticed at ReverbNation.com

Where can we find out more about your music?

facebook.com/waxersatz is our main page.

Twitter is @WaxErsatz

reverbnation.com/waxersatz to listen to our songs

soundcloud.com/Wax_Ersatz

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

Not really, just something worth noting is that all our songs are currently acoustic recordings, we are due to re record some of them as a 4 piece band by the end of the year so keep a look out for those versions as well.