Posts Tagged ‘Grand Rapids’

Grand Rapids’ Kari Lynch at forefront of united country scene (WITH EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Published by Shawn Brennan on July 2nd, 2011 - in Band Features, Featured



Check out the exclusive video by Kari Lynch and her band below this story, recorded especially for NOISE! readers. Because, well, she loves you guys.

The question was as simple as it was imaginative — Who would win in a steel cage match between West Michigan’s country starlights Kari Lynch and Shelagh Brown.

“I can’t answer that,” said Lynch laughing.

We’ll call it a draw.

But after all, these two booming-voiced country crooners wouldn’t dream of even exchanging a negative word between each other, let alone lock up in the confines of a steel cage. That is a perfect picture of the unity and solidarity between local country artists. And it’s one that Lynch and her band are at the forefront of.

“It’s nice to be in a community like that,” said Lynch. “It’s different from the rock community or pop community — an no offense to either of those genres — but it’s always been about the music. …When we see another country artist or band having some success, that’s a good thing. All that’s going to do is turn attention to West Michigan country music and maybe people will check out what we have to offer.”

Lynch is doing plenty to shine that light on this region’s country music, taking stage at a boatload of high-profile shows while spreading the word on her latest self-titled EP, her first studio recording that features the rest of the band. Lynch has two previous recordings.

More of an old school country artist drawing influences from Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, her sounds has subtly bled into a number of additional genres fused in by her all-male back-up band that play a spectrum of styles from John Denver to classic rock.

The end result is what some might refer to as country pop, however, it’s that hugging to the old style sounds of the genre that sets Lynch and Co. apart from her cohorts, like a Shelagh Brown or Small Town Son that tote a little bit of a more modern sound.

“We definitely have a sound that falls somewhere in the middle of traditional country and contemporary,” Lynch said. “It just happens naturally.”

The latest EP, released in May, comes on the heels of her previous work “Don’t Talk Out Loud”. Lynch said the current EP is the clearest representation on her and her band’s live sound, therefore the summer’s agenda is dedicated to spreading the word on the album and getting it in the hands of people.

Lynch and her band will do this with a steady slate of shows, which include an Aug. 2 gig with The Band Perry at the Clare County Fair in Harrison, Mich.

“We really want to be playing shows every week,” said Lynch, who just recently shared the stage with Mat Kearney at The Intersection in Grand Rapids. “It’s nice every month to have a really big show that we’re stoked about but we’re still playing a lot of the smaller shows on the weekend, too.”

Lynch’s big-country voice and band might prove to be too big for Grand Rapids to contain. While building a strong fan base here on the home front, Lynch admits that the end game will likely entail a move to Nashville — for obvious reasons — while making frequent trips back to the Mitten.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
“Fly Fly Fly”
Music and lyrics written by Kari Lynch
Video by Dave Van Keulen
Featuring: Kari Lynch (lead vocals); Matthew Kok (acoustic guitar/back-up vocals); Sam Briggs (cajon); Ryder Jones (resonator guitar/back-up vocals)

Grand Rapids’ Cartography returns to the The Strutt, this time with Gun Lake and Noisewaves

Published by Brandon St. James on June 24th, 2011 - in Band Features, Featured



Cartography

On June 30, Cartography will return to the place they met that special someone.

A few months back, Grand Rapids’ Modest Mouse-esque post-punk act took stage at The Strutt, tacking Detroit’s Meadower on the bill at the last minute. A partnership in music was then born, and it has led up to a forthcoming split 7-inch featuring both Cartography and Meadower.

“It’s really great, because we help each other out on things for the east and west sides of the state,” said Cartography’s Dave Leins. “…It turned out they were planning on doing (a 7-inch) anyways, so a few months later, both bands had recorded their songs and it happened as natural as a rainbow after a thunderstorm.”

Beautiful imagery.

Cartography won’t have their BFFs in tow, but will return to The Strutt on June 30 to perform with Gun Lake (folk rock out of Ann Arbor) and Noisewaves (post rock/chip tune from Grand Rapids).

The upcoming split 7-inch will feature one song from each band on the physical copy along with a digital download for four songs — two from each band.

Cartography has been laboring on new material, including the single that will find its way on the 7-inch entitled “Rasputin”.

“The rest of the new songs have been a great step for us and will eventually end up on another EP or possibly a full-length record. We’re looking to let that release fly sometime in the late fall or winter.”

Noisewaves, a fascinating act that features a modified Nintendo, guitar and drums will join the mix in Kalamazoo.

“They create some seriously amazing sounds and compositions that get intense and are breath-taking and really fun to move to,” Leins said. “We’re a three-piece who plays loud and tight. The common thread between us and Noisewaves is that both bands play with tremendous passion. The music is what is important. It’s all 100 percent about the music.”

Cartography’s musical goals for 2011 remain ambitious. Their personal goals, meh, they’re pretty simple.

“We want to survive any further rapture scares there might be in the world, not fall into the earth’s crust from an earthquake and avoid most alien abductions.”

Assuming they are successful, check them out at The Strutt on June 30.

Review: “Gravity Wars” by Papa Vegas

Published by Brandon St. James on June 13th, 2011 - in Album reviews



When doing an album review, my mindset changes depending on if I’m listening to a band signed and produced by the resources of a major record label or a DIY local act. That’s what made spinning the new album “Gravity Wars” by Grand Rapids’ Papa Vegas both humbling and somewhat conflicting.

Humbling in the fact Papa Vegas has been there, done that and already cemented itself as one of the finest in Grand Rapids and conflicting in how do you critique something that the masses have already thrown a thumbs up to?

Reforming after hitting it big with single “Bombshell” in 1997 and releasing full-length “Hello Vertigo” on RCA in 1999, the band now has the freedom to write what they want, record it how they want and basically play by their own rules. In short, with their accomplishments already in the books, they’re out of the rat race, and that creativity soars on the latest album.

With those acknowledgments aside, here is what I thought of the new, eight-track album “Gravity Wars”. I blared the album from beginning to end careening down I-94 toward Detroit and it packed enough energy to make me drum on my steering wheel (but not nearly a well as Scott Stefanski) and the alternative rockers placed plenty of hooks throughout the work to give a listener something to latch on to (see “She’s Made Of Stone”, my fav). Compared to straight-up rock bands, this release is a bit mellower, but sports some impressive texture from going to those subtle to points of intensity.

The opener, “Comfort”, kicked in with some spacey synth undertones, a sound I expected to hear with a work like “Gravity Wars”, which sports what I interpreted as an intergalactic feel on the cover art. These themes returned in the very favorable fifth track, an instrumental called “Battle Hymn of the Fearless Yard Gnome”, which brought upon comparisons by my passenger to King Crimson.

That sort of sums of the album right there — a cornucopia of sounds from electro elements to jammy type movements in the guitar solo of “Drained”. Papa Vegas gives a taste of just about anything under the sun, and while that offers a change in audio scenery, it also suggests the album wanders a bit.

The only element that takes away from many of the songs are vocals that under power what are tight and strong instrumentals. At times, they suck out the energy. A listener can catch a glimpse of the type of energy they could pack into the vocals when vocalist Joel Ferguson pushes his range to wail at the end of “She’s Made Of Stone”.

The band’s savvy shows through in the fact the album was recorded, engineered and mixed by front man Joel Ferguson, who wrote all songs but the instrumental.

All together, “Gravity Wars” was a fitting welcome back to one of the bands that has long since been a pride of Grand Rapids. In addition, it ushers in the new era of Papa Vegas, while keeping all the things that made the band great a success intact.

ALBUM RATING (0-10)
7.0

Wires and Lights bringing show to Paw Paw, raising money for album recording

Published by Brandon St. James on June 8th, 2011 - in Band Features, Featured



The Southwest Michigan town of Paw Paw might lack a conventional music venue.

So this band is creating one for a single night.

Kalamazoo-based acoustic rock/alternative band Wires and Lights will stage a show June 17 in the banquet room of LaCantina Italian Ristorante in Paw Paw. The show, which also features area musician Chris Brill opening, is being used to raise money for the recording of Wires and Lights’ debut studio EP.

“After we decided that we were going to be putting on an EP fundraiser show, we thought that Paw Paw would be the most logical place to have it,” W&Ls singer Kathryn Tapper said. “Both (drummer) Paul (Bauer) and I grew up in Paw Paw and we have a strong family and friend draw there.”

“As far as choosing LaCantina, Paw Paw doesn’t really have a traditional venue, only bars with music on the weekend. So, we decided to have the show in the basement of LaCantina. Although it’s not a traditional venue, everyone from the area knows and likes LaCantina.”

Playing a steady slate of shows in both West Michigan and Chicago since late 2010, finally getting a studio recording down seemed to be the next logical step. The band currently has a recording of a live set performed at the Elbo Room in Chicago, which is available for free at shows.

“I wouldn’t say that (not having a studio EP) holds us back, if anything, it is just keeps us at bay,” Tapper said. “Once we have an official EP, we will have some solid merch and we will be excited to share it with our friends and fans. We are still a pretty new band, so recording just seems like the next step for us.”

Wires and Lights aims to have the EP recorded by the end of July to hold a series of release shows.

They’ll stay busy in the process, hitting The Crofoot in Pontiac on June 12 before the fundraiser show. The band will also appear at Relay For Life in Three Rivers (June 25), Fest Fest 3 in Muskegon (July 23) and Dog Days of Summer local music festival in Kalamazoo (July 30). The band will also appear with Ryan Cabrera on Sept. 14 at MXTP in Grand Rapids.

“All I can say is that we are very excited about it,” Tapper said.

Roll Call: Another October

Published by NOISE! Staff on May 30th, 2011 - in Featured, Roll Call



The West Michigan NOISE! Roll Call is a feature where we highlight a diverse sampling of bands who are mixing it up in the local music scene. To be considered for Roll Call, e-mail us at westmichigannoise@gmail.com with information on your favorite band.

ANOTHER OCTOBER
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Members: Alex Schaub (keyboards/vocals); Chen Flakes (vocals/guitar); Chris Campbell (bass/vocals); Cody Wray (lead guitar); Trevor Williams (drums/programming).

Sounds like: Hit The Lights, Sparks the Rescue

Web site: http://facebook.com/AnotherOctober; http://twitter/anotheroctober

Upcoming shows: June 17 at MXTP in Grand Rapids with The Millionares and Breathe Electric

The skinny: Loaded with five ultra-dedicated young chaps, Another October is another band in a surging pop rock scene in West Michigan. What sets them apart from their powerpop and happycore brethren is the elements of keyboard and programming. Serving as key local support at MXTP for national touring bands, including June 17′s show with The Millionares, Another October’s stock is on the rise in some circles.

© West Michigan NOISE! LLC
CyberChimps WordPress Themes