Liz Lawrence

Liz Lawrence is an acoustic singer/songwriter from London, England. Starting in the punk rock and ska scene, she has been able to show an edgy style to her music. 

She describes her music as, “bittersweet, romantic, melodic, honest, homemade and sentimental.” 

“I like to think I take the strength and emotion from the high octane records I grew myself up on and use that energy on stage,” Lawrence said.

Performing live has been the most enjoyable experience in her career, according to Lawrence.

“I love the studio process and the intricacies, I love production and arrangement and the control, but the product is totally different to what you get taking the song at face value and playing live,” Lawrence said. “On the tight-rope or the trapeze, live performance leaves nowhere to hide, it heightens your senses, it’s exhilarating and difficult and you will never play or see the same show twice.”

Lawrence’s latest album, “Bedroom Hero,” focuses on song writing. 

“I wanted to express the feelings of excitement, sacrifice and fragility that songwriters subject themselves to in order to create something important to people,” Lawrence said. “The album is personal but also universally aimed at the heart of the listener through the emotions of my 18- and 19-year-old self.”

Lawrence has been letting her music take her to new places.

“I’m just enjoying playing and writing at the moment and working out the plan for the album release too,” Lawrence said.

Her debut album was released on March 30^th in the Republic of Ireland.

http://www.lizlawrencemusic.com/

Bison

Bison is a seven piece alternative folk band from Chesapeake, Va. that has been focused on American history.

“We try to be forward thinking in our music while holding to some traditional roots,” lead singer and songwriter Benjamin Hardesty said. “Since the bison is an iconic symbol of this time period, I just latch on to it as a name for the band.”

“We call (our music) Mountain-Top Chamber music,” Hardesty said. “It combines alternative folk sounds with classical sensibilities.”

The band has been influenced by movie scores, old bluegrass, Allison Kraus with Union Station, Borodin’s String Quartets and Fleet Foxes.

With seven members in the band, each member has been able to give their own touch to the music.

“The sound, though guided by me, is definitely a blend of what each member brings to the mix,” Hardesty said. “We knew when we added the strings that we wanted them to maintain the classical feel that came with their training.”

Bison’s album, Quill was released in September of 2011, focusing on its live performances.

“We had been playing locally and gaining a following,” Hardesty said. “At every show people were asking for recorded music. We knew we wanted to capture our live sound. Switzerland was recorded in one take with the violin added the second day. It is very fulfilling when we are told that our album sounds like our live show.”

Live or in the studio, Bison has unique sound that many people will enjoy.

http://www.bisonfolk.com/

Eric Lives Here

Eric Lives Here is an unsigned pop rock band from Appleton, WI, who formed at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI, in 2006, consisting of Mike Thiel as songwriter and singer, Bill Glasheen on bass, and John Menn on drums.

“The band kind of started on a whim,” Thiel said. “I was working on some songs with my guitarist, Chris Schmitz, in my dorm room with the door open and a girl walked past and said, ‘Hey that sounds really good! I’m throwing an event in the dorms on Friday. Would you guys like to play?’ I looked at Chris and we were like, ‘Yeah, I think we can put a band together by then.’”

After that, the band made its first EP, called “Misplaced Mistakes,” and started performing. Eric Lives Here writes its music based off real life experiences.

After college, the band members started to go in different directions, but Thiel decided to continue to pursue music.

“I worked with a lot of musicians in Wisconsin and out-of-state, trying to rekindle that chemistry the band had, but besides a few glimpses of hope, it just wasn’t happening,” Thiel said. 

Thiel met with a friend who was a producer in California in 2011 and had the chance to start again.

“After a few more flights out to California, we eventually created ‘The Night is Young’ album, which we turned around pretty quickly, releasing it in December 2011. Being able to bring the band off of hiatus filled this massive void I’d been feeling for the prior two years,” Thiel said.

“The Night is Young” was a combination of songs written in Los Angeles and previous songs.

“I wrote the lyrics, drummed the songs and sang the songs, while my guitarist/producer Bruce Lawrence created the guitar and bass melodies,” Thiel said. 

“I can’t say I’ve never written from direct experience, but most of my music is written from a culmination of experiences,” Thiel said.  “I also find myself observing other people’s situations and writing about that. It’s really just about living life.”

In the future, the band hopes its music is heard by the public and enjoyed.

“I think for most musicians, the goal is always to get as many people to hear your music as possible,” Thiel said. “Whether that’s signing to a major label, getting on a TV show or playing 365 gigs a year is up to the musician. For me, playing live is a great way to express this music and radio play certainly wouldn’t hurt in today’s market.”

http://www.facebook.com/ericliveshere

Tally Hall

Tally Hall is an alternative rock band from Ann Arbor, Mich., known for its colorful ties and expressive music. The band’s latest album, “Good & Evil,” was released in June of 2011 with Quack! Media, featuring “You & Me” and “&.”

“’Good & Evil’ seemed to encapsulate the batch of songs we had for the album,” singer and keyboardist Andrew Horowitz said. “We recorded the album in Los Angeles with producer Tony Hoffer.”

The band’s expressive style is unique.

“A giant cloud made of cotton candy wherein a circus of magical creatures speak in poetry,” Horowitz said.

Tally Hall got its start during college.

“Sophomore year of college, I was introduced to Rob (Cantor, guitarist and vocalist) through a mutual friend,” Horowitz said. “From there, we added members one by one. It grew from a two-person jam session to a band within a couple months.”

With its unique style, the band felt the name Tally Hall suited it well.

“Tally Hall is named after a defunct mini-mall in the suburbs of Detroit,” Horowitz said. “It’s a place of nostalgia for the rest of my Michigan-based band. In Tally Hall, there were arcade oddities sprinkled throughout.”

The band started an internet show a couple years ago called THIS, which featured 10 mini episodes of sketch-comedy.

“The Tally Hall Internet Show was a natural progression from the short clips we were posting online,” Horowitz said. “The short films spilled over to Tally Hall, and we consciously opened up Tally Hall to all forms of creative expression.”

The most important thing that keeps Tally Hall’s music going is themselves and to make something worthwhile.

 “Our hope to create an alternative to the plethora of crap shoved into the public’s minds.”

 

Band members include:

Rob Cantor - Guitar, vocals

Joe Hawley - Guitar, vocals

Ross Federman - Drums

Zubin Sedghi - Bass, vocals

Andrew Horowitz - Keyboards, vocals

SPEAK

SPEAK is an up and coming pop rock band from Austin, Texas. The band released its debut album, “I Believe In Everything,” with Modern Art records this past September featuring the hit “Carrie.”

“We recorded the album with our great friend Frenchie Smith here in Austin. It’s the result of years of songwriting, recording, mixing, and mastering,” Troupe Gammage, lead singer of the band, said.

The band was presented with “Best New Band” from the Talking Heads, one of the band’s biggest influences, at the Austin Music Awards after the release of its debut EP, “Hear Here.”

“We got to meet the Talking Heads a few years ago, which was obviously a huge deal for us,” Gammage said. “It seems no one of our generation isn’t a Talking Heads fan.”

Other influences include Lamount Dozier, Prince and David Bowie. Influences they’ve met on the road are Tigercity, Cage the Elephant, Tally Hall and Passion Pit.

Gammage  got his start in music at an early age.

“Both my parents were musicians, so I grew up around music,” Gammage said. “I started composing soundtracks for video games I was making in elementary school and have been writing music on computers ever since.”

Gammage met the rest of his band in high school and college.

“I first met Nick (Hurt, guitarist) and Jake (Stewart, drummer) when we were in junior high/early high school. Nick introduced us to Joey (Delahoussaye, bassist) when they were at the University of Texas classical guitar program together,” Gammage said.

The band found Modern Art records later on.

“Our manager had been talking to Ben Collins from Modern Art for a couple years before we signed to the label,” Gammage said. “I have no idea how he met Ben, but we’re glad he did.”

The writing process for the band’s music has been a collaborative project.

“We all write, and the process changes song to song,” Gammage said. “Some songs are incredibly collaborative, some are more personal, but we all have a voice in the arrangements and the production, which is really important to us.”

 

The music video for “Carrie,” was produced by Danger Films in Austin, TX.

Thirteen Senses

Thirteen Senses is an alternative rock band that formed in Cornwall, England. 

 

“We started the band in 2001 and played small pub gigs locally,” lead singer and guitarist Will South said. “We recorded a number of demos and our break came after we sent one out to some record companies, who were kind enough to offer us a deal.”

 

Since its start, the band’s music has been continuing to be known, featuring on shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Bones.

 

“It gave us a platform to deliver our music to the American audience,” South said. “Our albums have never been given a proper release over there, so it’s great to have the music out there in this way.”

 

For Thirteen Senses, music is like a piece of art and expression of oneself.

 

“It’s a desire to create and express ourselves,” South said. “I think any artist, whether you’re a painter, poet or musician, must have a mysterious force behind them that needs to be expressed in a different form. As a band, when we are all together creating a new piece of music, it’s where we feel most comfortable.”

 

The band’s recent album, “Crystal Sounds,” was self-produced after being on a major recording label.

 

“It marked a slight change in direction and gave us a new injection of energy,” South said. “We started writing it as soon as the second album, Campaign, came to an end. Most of the songs were actually written and demoed by the beginning of 2008. The album wasn’t completed until the end of 2009 before finally being released the next year. We recorded most of it in our own studio.”

 

Thirteen Senses’ biggest success has been continuing its career.

 

“Our biggest success is that we’re still here making music,” South said. “We’re just in the process of finishing album four, so our future will, at the moment, involve getting that released and heard by as many people as possible.”

 

The band has been grateful for its fans support and hopes to release its next album soon.

 

“Just a big thank you for listening and supporting us,” South said. “That’s all really and we can’t wait for you to hear the new tracks, which hopefully won’t be too long a wait.”

 

  

Locksley

Locksley is a rock and roll band who originally formed in Madison, Wis., during high school. The band moved to New York shortly after to spread its upbeat music.

The band has been influenced by many artists and have been able to perform with them as well.

“We’ve gotten to perform with Graham Smith, Fountains of Wayne, Ray Davies and The Hives,” Jesse Laz, singer and guitarist said.

Unlike many bands, Locksley has many voices, not just one main song writer.

“There are three songwriters in the band, all with different inspiration,” Laz said. “This album was mostly various romantic experiences but there are a few songs about growing up on there.”

Locksley has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

“Jimmy Kimmel was much more relaxed, more like a normal show,” Laz said. “Conan was very professional. The timing they had on that program was unbelievable. Everything was timed and executed so tightly that after we finished I thought I might have forgotten to play guitar.”

The band recently released its self-titled album this past summer.

“It’s really like a Greatest Hits, so it was recorded over years at different times but all at a studio called The Space in lower Manhattan,” Laz said.

One of the most memorable performances the band had was performing the national anthem.

“We sang the national anthem at a memorial for one of the navy seals who died in that Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan,” Laz said. “Maybe interesting isn’t the word, but it certainly felt more moving than anything else we’ve done.”

In the future, the band hopes to make more music and continuing its career.

“We have a lot of new music that we’re trying to figure out release plans for,” Laz said. “One thing I can promise is that after the next album comes out, there will be very frequent releases until the end of our career.”