Author Archive
Barrington Levy
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Barrington Levy
It’s the music you put on when you are homesick for Jamaica, when you want to feel the flava of the Caribbean, or when you are having a Jamaican themed party and need reggae in the background.
read comments (1)Music for Headphones
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Music for Headphones
1 July 2008—By chance, I stumbled upon ‘Music For headphones” a psychedelic/ shoegaze/ experimental band out of Philadelphia, PA. This is a very creative and unique sounding band for people who want innovative and modern music.
Bret Michaels at House of Blues
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
June 24, 2008: The vox from Poison; like Bon Jovi, he is another former 80’s glam rocker turned Pop-country-southern rock. I went to hear the Poison songs, and to tolerate the Southern rock- Americana- country-rock newer stuff (which he didn’t play too much of—which made me happy). Read the rest of this entry »
Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky
June 17, 2008- Keith Kenny is a band that instills new respect for music’s ability to expand one’s horizons and way of viewing the world. Aptly titled, “Limit is the Sky,” Keith Kenny’s first CD (http://keithkenny.net/) is a celebration of classic blues rock combined with country influences, skilled musicianship and demanding instrumental part writing.
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Editor’s Picks from Jersey Stock
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
June 10, 2008: Last week was my last post as a blogger for Prex. This week is my first post as one of the newly appointed Editors of the Blog, making this my first Letter from the Editor. A response from a reader stated, “I for one am interested in learning about new and upcoming acts, I’m just interested in those that are a little off the edges of typical American pop music.” These are the Editor’s Picks from Jersey Stock 2008 (‘Jersey’s version of Bamboozle): 5 reviews of up and coming local ‘Jersey bands.
Sherazada: Honest, Epic, Solid
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Alternative Rock/Post-Hardcore brings back solid alternative rock, honest musicianship, epic-romantic lyrics, and a quality stage show
June 3, 2008: Sherazada (Bergen County, NJ) was still in its forming stages when I met Stephen Nahorniak, lead singer of Sherazada, at a party at The College of New Jersey in December 2006. Six months later, he sent me an invite to the Sherazada Facebook group. I first saw them perform at the Bogota VFW in September 2007: I blew off tailgating at a TCNJ football game to drive an hour and 45 minutes to see them perform a short set on a small stage. On May 28, 2008, I was listening to “Let it Go” downstairs, my brother heard the song, came down from upstairs and asked, ‘what band is that?’ I said, ‘Sherazada.’ He said, ‘I know the lead guitarist.’ I said, ‘I know the singer.’ My brother and I never agree on anything; but on that Wednesday, we agreed that Sherazada should have played Bamboozle 2008.
Keith Kenny: Part 1
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
May 27, 2008: I first met Keith Kenny when they performed at The College of New Jersey on Friday April 26th, 2008. Self-named after the lead singer, the band members are Keith Kenny- lead/vocal/guitar; Jonathan Luberecki- bass, and Tyler Chiara- drums. They’ve put out 2 EPs on the internet, and their first album is out June 14th, 2008, which will be reviewed in a separate blog at that time. Musically, you’re listening to mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, mixed major and minor key tonality. Basically: a hybrid of blues rock, classic hard rock, a little bit of Eric Clapton (when he did blues) and Led Zeppelin.
Concert Review: The Morning Of
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Newcomer to Bamboozle Rocked it
May 20, 2008—The Morning Of—Newburgh, NY—played at Bamboozle 2008 for the first time on May 3rd, 2008. This is a happy, energetic band that is also very talented. Their new Indie pop-punk album is “The World As We know it” (Tragic Hero Records). For a newcomer to Bamboozle, their confidence and stage presence looked as though they were returning artists. In between songs, the guitarist said, “Two years ago I stood in the stands and thought, ‘wow, wouldn’t it be cool to play at Bamboozle,’” which made me wonder, where will they be two years from now?
Album Review: Schoolyard Heroes, ‘Abominations’
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
May 13, 2008—I was driving in my car in January when I first heard Killswitch Engage’s pathetic cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.” I have never been so enraged and offended at a band– ever. The first song I heard by Schoolyard Heroes was “Children of the Night” and I thought, thank God the spirit of Dio lives on. Doing a background check on Schoolyard Heroes revealed that purevolume.com removed their song “Dude Where’s my skin” after a day—despite the fact that it was the fastest downloaded song in the history of purevolume.com. The fact that KsE disgraced Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ is more offensive than the horror-punk sounds of Schoolyard Heroes. But because they are “disturbing” and “morbid” they get taken off purevolume? I think 1988 called and they want their Reagan era religious-right’s control of free expression back. Their most recent album is ‘Abominations–’ and it combines skilled guitar riffing with melodic lyrics and a haunting message. Read the rest of this entry »
Spaces for Morning
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
A New Day in Indie Rock-experimental: ‘Spaces for Morning’
May 6, 2008 – Classified as Indie-Rock-Experimental, Spaces for Morning— Philadelphia PA —has a new album coming out. Members are John, Deven, Eric, Pete, and Mike. They started two years ago, and one year ago they changed the name from The Hummingbirds for stylistic reasons and because of the arrival of new members. They have not been signed and their album will be out mid-to-late June. They need bookings for D.C. Richmond, Charleston , Cleveland , Pittsburgh , New York , Atlantic City , and Connecticut for the month of July. Read the rest of this entry »
Rock-pop-folk rock group brings hope back to the music scene
April 29, 2008– On a sunny Friday afternoon outside his house in Ewing, I sat at a black wrought iron patio table with Patrick Llewellyn, founder and lead singer of Patrick Llewellyn and His Band—a folk/pop/folk-rock group out of Stanhope, New Jersey. He began by saying, “Thank you for doing a piece on me, this is great exposure.” But by the end of the interview, I felt I should be thanking him for his profound insights. To date, this interview put me in my place; and opened myself up to a whole world of thinking about music, identity and insights into the music industry that was very humbling and inspiring. Read the rest of this entry »
[bands to watch] ‘Throw me the Statue’ – Seattle, Washington
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
[bands to watch]: Throw me the Statue
Seattle-based Indie Pop makes a believer out of the cynical.
Indie rock at its worst is esoteric lyrics with an emo twist, overly done up instrumentation, and excessive bridges instead of skilled solo’s which leave the listener with a feeling of emptiness. The fact that I was going to observe Throw me the Statue at The College of New Jersey’s on-campus bar/restaurant the Rattskeller, which is dank, dingy, in need of massive redecorations and intense cleaning didn’t help. Throw Me the Statue is the total opposite of my worst misconceptions of indie rock. The combination of basic rock structures, electronica influences, vocal centric aesthetic, major key tonality, and a mix of acoustic and electric rhythm guitars was simply amazing. Read the rest of this entry »