The Unsigned

UPDATE

2011-08-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

The Unsigned is now located at http://theunsignedsounds.com!

There, you can check out new episodes, submit your own music, start your own music blog/podcast, and join our social network.

Ep. 13: Evazan

2011-05-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Evazan has been winning battle of the bands competitions around the Hudson Valley, NY for the last few years. Their sound heralds back to Incubus at the turn of the century, when they got on the radio and went multi-platinum. Full of well-articulated lyrics and ripping guitar solos, Evazan rocks and rolls through clubs and bars, collecting fans every step of the way. If Evazan's music isn't your bag, you still have to admit that they're fun, talented, and great performers.

I was never a big Incubus fan, but I really appreciated their very early recordings because they were eager to experiment with varied time signatures and radical shifts in genre within the same track. Their radio hits never excited me because they went from radical experimentation to playing it safe. The influence of turn of the century Incubus on Evazan's sound is undeniable; so, If Evazan is playing it safe, I'd urge them to cut loose. The songs are well structured and well performed. They have the musical talent to pave their own path through the rock genre; but, for the time being, I have to admit that I'm waiting for them to develop their own, unique sound. It really is only a matter of time, though, because their musicianship is at such a high level that, eventually, they'll shed their influences once they build up the confidence and fan-base they deserve.

There's a reason Evazan wins battle of the band competitions and I have every bit of confidence that you'll be hearing more about them soon. Right now, Evazan is climbing to their peak and they will blow you away once they reach that high point together.

Click here to view Evazan's Facebook profile and to listen to more tracks.

Ep. 12: Mayflower

2011-04-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Mayflower's first album 'Second Best Sunsets' is the result of a sudden burst of musical creativity from the lead singer, Ted Casper. Already a creative guy, he picked up a guitar a few years ago and began belting out raw, clever, and catchy tunes.

'Second Best Sunsets' relates to the rumor that our mutual home town, Oswego, has the world's second most impressive sunsets. The first is some town in Japan that may not even be there anymore. The connection is radioactive. Our nuclear power plant pumps clouds into the atmosphere, which collect over lake Ontario and provide impressive filters for the sunlight at dusk. This toxic beauty is shared by much of the music in Oswego, which ranges from sullen hippie to raging hipster.

Mayflower is expected to release another album soon. If you want to be sure to hear some of it, vote for Mayflower and get your friends to subscribe, join, and vote for them too! The poll is located on the right hand side of this site.

Mayflower's Bandcamp page.

Ep. 11: Harry Wilson, Adam Baker, Circinus

2011-04-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

Adam Baker

Harry Wilson

Circinus

Harry Wilson consists of two musicians from upstate NY named Mike and Adam. Adam also has a solo project and participates in another band named Circinus with brothers Erik and Richard. Harry Wilson mixes emo with a country sensibility and romantic motivations, whereas Adam's solo project is reminicent of Brandtson, Appleseed Cast, and other bands of the late 90's Deep Elm Records days.

Circinus, whose music I could not get from their myspace page, but who you can listen to by clicking here, is also very emotionally driven, though it features more vocal harmonies and seems almost influence by renaissance music or baroque. If you really dig lyre's and lyrics about knights' conquests of land and women, you may be disappointed; they play guitars and sing about hippier times.

Ep. 10: Last Shot Fired

2011-04-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last Shot Fired is a punk band from New York, NY. They have a ska influence, but I still dig 'em. Check out their site or reverbnation.com page.

Punk lends itself to our current political, economic, and cultural climate. Classic punk bands from the UK chronicled the decline of their industrial and imperial system, which once dominated the globe. They were hard and crusty whereas the punk bands in the U.S. were sardonic and relatively playful. Not anymore.

Ep. 9: The Doctors Fox

2011-04-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Doctors Fox are an amalgam of eclectic taste, huge talent, and space-alien spermatozoa. Half unknown extraterrestrial and half They Might Be Giants/Frank Zappa fanboys, they reverse-engineer rhythm and melody to produce an original, intergalactic sound. Through their deconstruction of diverse musical structures they create hybrid standards for what has to be considered a post-genre age.

Their first album, Plural Non-Possessive, is available FREE to download from their bandcamp page.

Also, be sure to support the podcast by signing up for audible.com's free trial & free audiobook here. You can also buy the gear you need through us by clicking on the zzounds.com link and making your purchase from that page.

Ep. 8: Michelle and the New Spielbergs

2011-04-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

Michelle and the New Spielbergs are a group from Madrid, Spain. Abandoning the sullen sound of American indie-pop, Michelle and the New Spielbergs sacrifice self-loathing for genuine good times with friends. Their music is refreshing in that it is sarcastic without being sardonic.

'On The Roof' is the album and you can get it here or listen to more and contact the band from the links listed below:

Michelle and the New Spielbergs' website

Michelle and the New Spielbergs on Facebook

Michelle and the New Spielbergs on Myspace

en español

(using Google translate)

Michelle y el nuevo Spielberg son un grupo de Madrid, España. Abandonarel sonido sombrío de indie-pop estadounidense, Michelle y el SpielbergNueva sacrificio auto-odio con una versión genuina buenos momentos conamigos. Su música es refrescante, ya que es irónico sin ser sarcástico.

'On The Roof ' es el álbum y se puede llegar o escuchar más y ponerte en contacto con la banda de los enlaces que figuran a continuación:

Michelle and the New Spielbergs' website

Michelle and the New Spielbergs on Facebook

Michelle and the New Spielbergs on Myspace

Ep. 7: David Bixby

2011-03-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

This is best viewed in iTunes as an enhanced podcast with more pictures and links.
Subscribe with the button on the right! ----->

David Bixby went from pothead to folk-legend, from cult member to free-thinker, from sailor to shipwreck-survivor, and from rebel to revolutionary war re-enactor. Through all these superficial changes, he's remained true to his nature. Now, 40 years after his independent music career began, he's a legend among acid folk fans. Yet, he's just getting started.

David Bixby's album, 'Ode to Quetzalcoatl', was self-released in 1969. David began his career in the Michigan folk scene of the late 60's, which, evidently, strived to step outside midwestern morality and taste the heady hedonism of the west coast. After diving straight into drugs, divinity dawned upon David. Feeling free for the first time in years, David sang songs of joy and remorse straight from the heart. Recording independently and drenching his soulful soliloquies in tape-delay, David Bixby begot 'Ode to Quetzalcoatl'.

Though David's songs emanate from a newly found sense of love, they reverberate off of his overpowering regret over his past behavior. It's deeply personal in much the same way that hardcore and punk rock is, though drastically different aesthetically.

Ep. 6: Freak Mummy

2011-03-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

Freak Mummy hails from Madrid, Spain. Their new album, Ombre Chinoise, twists and stretches from the intimate to the rock-tastic. There's a passion to their music that alerts me in ways that would embarrass a lesser man :-p

I hear an element of Portishead in the vocals and some guitar parts, but Freak Mummy is nothing if not original, eclectic, and unique.

Please visit FreakMummy.com to buy their album from iTunes and befriend them on Facebook or Twitter. We've entered the age when independent bands can reach further than many signed bands could just a decade ago, let's revel in it!

en español

(using Google translate)

Freak Mummy proviene de Madrid, España. Su nuevo álbum,Ombre Chinoise, giros y se extiende desde lo íntimo a laroca-tastic. Hay una pasión por su música que me alerta de manera que avergonzarían a un hombre menor ;-p

Oigo un elemento de Portishead en las voces y algunas partes de guitarra, pero Freak Mummy es nada si no original, ecléctico yúnico.

Por favor, visite FreakMummy.com para comprar su álbum de iTunes y hacerse amigo de ellos en Facebook o Twitter. Hemosentrado en la edad en que las bandas independientes puedenllegar más lejos que muchas bandas contratadas podríanapenas una década atrás, vamos a deleitarse en ella!

Ep. 5: Daniel Harris

2011-02-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

Screw you, folk-rock; Daniel Harris is taking no prisoners. His self-proclaimed "anti-folk" album, 32 bits isn't really 8 bits better, promises to dismantle the overly-litteral alliterative axioms of classic folk music. It's stripped down orchestration that sounds HUGE (especially through headphones). It's catchy; you'll find yourself humming the tunes in the shower and, in doing so, cursing the ground that Joni Mitchell paved through history.

This album can be found at Daniel's bandcamp page ($7 CD, $5 digital download).

You can find his visual art here.

Listen to his band, The Doctors Fox, here.

Subscribe to the podcast through iTunes; it's free and you'll hear tons of new, interesting bands. ----->

Ep. 4: Karyn Patridge

2011-02-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Karyn Patridge is a singer/songwriter from Portland, Oregon. Originally from Oswego, NY, Karyn has migrated her beautiful voice and guitar picking sensibilities to the cafes and bars of the northwest.

Karyn blends folk, country, blues, and soul into a concoction synthesized by her own introspection. Her voice takes her shy personality and beats you over the head with it. Undeniably powerful, she can draw you in with a sweet, soft melody and then bowl you over with a thunderous roar.

More of Karyn's music can be found here. If you're in Portland, check out her reverbnation.com site to see if she's performing!

Ep. 3: Rusted Hero

2011-02-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

Every now and then a band comes along that isn't afraid to resurrect the ghost of rock and roll. Big bands like Queens of the Stone Age aren't afraid to assume the wide-legged rock-stance, wrap the mic cable around their fist, swirl around a drum stick or two and cut loose. Rarely, however, do we see an underground band take on the same attitude and succeed. Rusted Hero is that rarity.

Rusted Hero is bringing rock & roll back to the bars and clubs of New York City. When they crank their amps to 11, all the 110lb hipster boys in girl jeans go scrambling for their binky. While the boys make out with each other in the corner, Rusted Hero is aurally fucking their girlfriends from the stage. Run, all you scenester fashionistas; run, and take your sarcastic use of the sampler with you. All your Moog are belong to us!

Rusted Hero:

Ep. 2: subPixel

2011-02-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

Episode 2 features subPixel's most recent release, Birthdays. This cd offers 15 of the most interesting, unique music you'll likely hear for a long, long time.

Each song is a birthday gift given to a friend of subPixel's from 2008 to 2010. If you visit his bandcamp site, you'll be able to purchase this cd for an astoundingly low $5 or purchase the high-quality, digital format for a whopping $2.

If you decide to go all out and buy the cd, you'll own one of only 150 copies. This limited release was hand-created by the artist, who screen printed the cases and constructed them by hand. A sweet birthday cupcake sticker and insert is also included in each cd.

Please subscribe to the podcast and enjoy the advanced features of the enhanced podcast! Subscription information is available on the right-hand side of this page.

Ep. 1: Derrick Hart

2011-02-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

Episode 1 features Derrick Hart's new album, The Shock You Experience At The Sudden Recollection Of The Moment You Were Conceived.

Derrick's been working on this masterpiece for three years and is only selling it for $10 ($12 with shipping). Buy it here.

What I love about this album is that there are 20 tracks and not a single one of them is filler. Derrick sends beautiful melodies careening into sometimes sardonic lyrics, blasting out a wave of pleasingly pernicious sound particles from deep inside a distant star. He's spiritually connected to your aural soul and you don't even know it yet.