Jax and Seth Anderson are a brother and sister indie pop duo with a somewhat unusual songwriting process.  For most of the year, the siblings live in different states collaborating back and forth via e-mail to produce their music. Jax handles melody, lyrics and vocals while Seth takes care of the backing music. They’ve named their ongoing project, Apples Trees & Tangerines. For this week’s “Liner Notes” edition, we asked songstress Jax about their peculiar track  “Orange”. Despite the upbeat sound, the lyrics reveal a much different story as the underlying theme speaks to the effects of alcoholism on personal relationships.

The song “Orange” was written about a very personal event in mine and Seth’s life. Over the years, a person very close to us had come to develop a drinking problem. Every time either of us would see them they would be nearly incomprehensible with the way they carried themselves. It got to the point where we could hardly stand to be around them. They would consistently make a fool out of themselves while the company we kept sat watching thinking it was hilarious. I felt helpless in the situation because it was as if Seth and I were the only ones who noticed how bad it had really gotten. I guess, in a way, this song was our method of calling them out. The line “When you’re gone” is a reference to what our friend was most of the past few years; drunk.

Every Friday on the OurStage blog, I’ll be featuring a great example of flow and lyricism in hip hop songs pulled from the OurStage ranks. I’ll get the artist’s thoughts on the song, as well as post the lyrics or best verse so fans can follow the flow themselves.

Our “Friday Flow” this week comes courtesy of Underground Realroad (and Mr. Bits). Bricc and DJ Drex know what it is like to be down and out, and have some great perspective about climbing their way from the bottom. With an addiction to rhyming and a passion for music, Underground Realroad do it for the love of the game. Here’s what the guys had to say about “Maybe”:

The song is about making the best out of all the negative situation life puts you in, optimism basically. It’s also about our love of music. We don’t make money of our stuff but we still sit down at least 2 or 3 times a week to write cause we enjoy it and we’ll keep going whether we blow up or never make a penny. I would have to say our favourite line is “Depression is what excels my expression,” it really sums up our entire project.

Verse 1:
I feel like I ain’t got nothing to loose
No girl, no car, no cash no jewels,
But I wanna put my my mama in a house with a pool.
I wana put my brother and my sister through school.
Music I use as a tool to get through my nights when life is cruel.
Life is a b****, but I smack that chick like Ike would do.
Killing n***** like I got a license to.
With the mics I bruise
Hip-Hop, this hop is the life I choose.
And who’s gonna stop me? Nobody!
Trying to get doe but i ain’t in it for the money.
I’m a reach my goals, I’m in it from the soul, not for the gold,
Or the platinum, action cameras role,
From the concrete, I’m a grow that rose.

Verse 2:
No matter what I have it never seems to be enough,
Been doin’ dirt, the time came to clean it up.
Dreams are achieved, I got cream and live it up.
But it will be a life I said I wouldn’t give it up.
I died to bring back the lives that I’ve lost
And to know they live on I’d pay any cost.
‘Cause that’s a hole in my heart I can’t fill
Look it don’t work, it’s a pain I can’t kill.
But still, I get by. I won’t lie I, try to stay high.
Keep a smile on my face almost at all times,
Picture and perfect because it’s all lies.
This is the type of feeling that never hides
Deep down inside is where it resides,
I can’t escape the fate bestowed upon me,
Makin’ it the best I can, rest on me.

Verse 3:
I used to have it all, on top ’cause I rocked at ball.
But no premonition could have stopped that fall.
So maybe one day I will not be sad,
‘Til then my friend it’s my pen and my pad.
I never had a role model keep me on track,
Except for my big ’cause but he sold crack.
taught to be a man by my mom, not my dad,
So when he dies, I’m not gon’ cry.
I don’t talk about money ’cause, I never had.
I’m grinding 9 to 5 to get cash.
Depression is what excels my expression,
Stressing lines that entail my life lessons.
rhymes that I’m blessed with help me get through.
times is hard and I don’t know what to do.
All I need is my family, rap, and my homies,
So why the f*** am I so sad and lonely.

Local Boston band The Needy Visions opened the show. Astutely described by OurStage’s Sam C. as “Dr. Dog without the folk,” The Needy Visions play pop rock informed by the 1960s psychedelic and garage movements. Features two guitars, bass, keyboard, drums and ambitious five part vocals harmonies, the band managed to sound full without being overpowering. While their harmonies weren’t always spot on, the audience didn’t seem to mind: heads were nodding and toes were tapping all over Great Scott. The Needy Visions are definitely a band to watch.

Jake Orrall of JEFF The Brotherhood

Back in 2006, Jamin Orral left buzz band (and Thurston Moore favorite) Be Your Own Pet at what might have been the height of their popularity. One of the main reasons he gave for his departure was his desire to focus on JEFF The Brotherhood, his band with brother Jake Orral, also formerly of Be Your Own Pet. While some may have questioned his decision at the time, it’s clear now that Jamin knew exactly what he was doing. JEFF The Brotherhood delivers both live and on record. Somewhere between a punk and a rock place,  they play straightforward rock music with a punk attitude and a touch of psychedelic guitar experimentation.  Whatever you want call their music, it is fast and it is loud. Drummer Jamin was pounding away so hard on his kit that he knocked over his floor tom. He quickly assessed the situation and righted his drum without missing a beat. The band is currently touring behind their October 2009 album Heavy Days, released on their own label Infinity Cat.

Naoko reaches into the crowd during 'Giant Kitty'

Shonen Knife walked out on stage in matching tunic and pants ensembles to an almost full house and a barrage of applause. Together as a band for over 20 years, their audience runs the gamut from college students in their late teens and early 20s to aging ponytailed rockers in their 40s. After giving a shout-out to Allston, MA, the band got right down to business by kicking off the show with a blistering version of their usual opener “Konichiwa,” urging the audience to “Have a good time tonight,” and asking “Are you ready to rock?”

One person who was more than ready to rock was bassist Ritsuko Taneda. While Ritsuko  joined the band as a support bassist in 2007 when founding member Atsuko Yamano retired, this was her first tour as an official member of Shonen Knife. Her bass sound—reminiscent of early Green Day—and her unbridled enthusiasm, manifested itself in spontaneous headbanging and jumping up and down which made for a great performance.

Ritsuko and Naoko show Allston how to rock

Shonen Knife adeptly mixed material from their new album Supergroup, released on Good Charamel records, in with older material like “Bear Up Bison,” “I Like Choco Bars,” and “Devil House.” The band seemed genuinely surprised to hear audience members shouting for their favorite songs, telling the crowd that they didn’t think so many people were familiar with their material. One crowd pleaser from Supergroup that seems destined to become a fan favorite is “BBQ Party.” Guitarist Naoko Yamano joked about this latest addition to Shonen Knife’s large catalog of songs about food: “We like to eat,” she told the audience, “In America, barbecue is so delicious, so we wrote a song about it.” The pogo-inducing chorus of ‘Pig Out! Pig Out! Pig Out” was one of the show’s highlights.

Their new album also sees Shonen Knife experimenting with heavier styles of music. Naoko explained that Supergroup track “Muddy Bubbles Hell” is her attempt at writing a heavy metal song. Her admission that she was inspired after listening to 70s British rockers like Judas Priest & Black Sabbath drew cheers and “devil horns” hand gestures from the crowd.

'Pyramid Power' with Ritsuko, Atsuko and Naoko

For the encore, the Allston crowd got a special treat: The band invited former bassist/drummer and founding member Atsuko Yamano, who happened to be in attendance, up on stage. To the delight of the audience, Atsuko and the band performed  “Fruits & Vegetables” from their 1997 record Brand New Knife. After Atsuko left the stage, the current members of Shonen Knife closed out the show with one of their most popular songs, “Twist Barbie.”

Shonen Knife will be heading back to Japan for their SPACE bootleg Xmas TOUR 2009 this December.

Talk to the Mano: Domino Saints

If Domino Saints prove anything, it’s that a lot of sound can come from just a few people. The duo, comprised of singer Giselle Ojeda and percussionist David Leal, infuse their dance music with contemporary trends and vintage textures that span several cultures. Nothing is off limits in this melting pot. Expect anything from time-honored Latin traditions like bomba and plena to island music like reggae and dancehall, old school funk and soul and new school reggaeton.

Domino Saints’ Puerto Rican heritage is never more apparent than in their single, “Buenos Dias San Juan,” which won a Billboard World Songwriting Contest award and was featured as an iTunes single of the week. The song opens with guitars that nod to Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” and a burping horn section that leads into a raw bomba groove. Sung in Spanish, the lyrics may be obscured to Gringos, but the message comes through loud and clear—standing still is not an option. On the subversive, darker funk track “Machiavelic,” Ojeda sings, “I’ve got a plan to take over the world / I’m gonna do it with music.” Let’s hope Domino Saints follow though on the threat.

In Head-to-Head judging you compare two songs side by side then gauge which song you like more.

Head to Head Judging Mode

To change Head-to Head judging  to Sort 4, all you have to do is click on the Sort 4 button in the Judging Influence box. In Sort 4 judging you listen to four songs then rank them in the order you like them. With this option it helps to hover over the media player and keep track of the songs you like or dislike by thumbing them.

Sort 4 Judging Mode

Of course you still need to earn the title of best predictor to win most grand prizes for judging, such as Cakewalk’s mobile studio package. So don’t forget to judge insightfully! To be eligible, you have to judge at least 25 Sort 4 battles or 100 Head-to-Head battles. And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for; this week’s Judging Power Hours!

1. Thursday, November 19th, 8PM – 9PM (US EST):

Cakewalk “Your Music Anytime, Anyplace”: Urban

2. Monday, November 23rd, 9PM – 10 PM (US EST):

Cakewalk “Your Music Anytime, Anyplace”: Rock

Hey Rock and Urban artists! The deadline for entering your songs into Converse’s Get Out of the Garage contest is coming up. Don’t miss your chance to open for Flying Machines at The Levi’s/FADER Fort in Austin this March! That’s right, two high ranking acts from the Rock and Urban “Get Out of the Garage” Contest Channels are going to be selected to open one of the hottest industry showcases of the year! And as if a career-changing gig wasn’t enough, the two grand prize winners will also receive a $1000 gift card from Guitar Center along with $1000 in cash from OurStage. Enter before November 22nd and get your fans to judge the “Get Out of the Garage” Contest Channels.

Don’t forget to judge often! Journeys is still doing daily giveaways of $10 gift certificates to lucky judges picked at random. The judge who’s named best predictor of the final rankings will be eligible to win a trip for two to Austin to see the show at The Levi’s/FADER Fort for themselves!

Here’s what’s popular with the fans on OurStage in the “Get Out of the Garage” competition right now. Agree? Disagree? You have the power to let your voice be heard! Keep judging the channels through the rest of November for your chance to win big too.

Names like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and a young Bob Dylan are synonymous with the origins of folk music. In particular, Dylan and Baez are heralded as folk icons of the 1960s and will forever go down in the books as musical heroes and purveyors of the sound. However, there existed another man whose unabashedly direct songs became the under-appreciated anthems for the anti-war movement during the decade. Phil Ochs was his name, and he fought battles of racial inequality, war, the draft and corruption with only a guitar and pen in hand.

Wait a second, Phil Who?? Existing on the fringe of the high pedestal where Dylan and Baez stand, Ochs is a man who used his journalistic nature to craft modern day folk songs meant to incite and inspire individuals to open their eyes. He was a writer who saw injustice paraded in front of everyone’s faces and who vocalized his outrage. He was also a man that succumbed to serious mental instability and suffered through depression, addiction and delusion in his later years, ultimately taking his own life.

Ochs’ first two LPs for Elektra Records, All The News That’s Fit To Sing (1964) and I Ain’t Marching Anymore (1965), are absolutely stunning acoustic recordings that feature only a guitar and a voice that is pleasant to hear yet lyrics that are jarring, yet motivating, once comprehended. Songs about racism, labor unions, socialism, Marxism and protest all exist cohesively alongside two songs in poetic verse. Wherein Dylan and Baez leaned more heavily on poetic song structure, Phil was much more blunt with his writing and therefore stood out from his counterparts. His earlier Elektra recordings are very topical in nature due in part to his background as a journalist and writer at Ohio State University. Ochs had a knack for picking up the newspaper and crafting compelling songs about domestic and international affairs; songs that could make one laugh, sing in chorus or contemplate the blatant atrocities being committed.

Here’s to the people of Mississippi
Who say the folks up north, they just don’t understand
And they tremble in their shadows at the thunder of the Klan
The sweating of their souls can’t wash the blood from off their hands
They smile and shrug their shoulders at the murder of a man
Oh, here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
-From the song “Here’s To The State Of Mississippi”

While folk superstars Dylan and Baez escalated into household names, Ochs failed to reach the notoriety gained by his fellow musicians. Since both Ochs and Dylan called Greenwich Village  home, it was known that they shared an on again/off again friendship. Tensions between the two reached a breaking point when Dylan infamously kicked Ochs out of a limousine and declared “You’re not a folksinger. You’re a journalist.” By the later half of 1965, changes in the folk circuit affected the music industry as a whole. That summer, Dylan left his mark by premiering his electric sound at the Newport Folk Festival, and soon after released the seminal Highway 61 Revisited. This innovative disc, which featured a cast of incredible musicians like Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield, broke new ground and influenced an aspiring generation of musicians to amplify their sound therefore distinguishing themselves from the acoustic folk movement. NYC was no longer the legendary bastion for folk musicians as rock and psychedelia began to grow stronger roots.

By 1967, Ochs left Elektra Records and the struggling NYC folk scene, and signed to A&M Records in Los Angeles where he recorded a few albums—most notably Pleasures of the Harbor. It was there he opened up his writing to include more instrumentation and arrangements coupled with personal, reflective songs that distanced his sound from the folkies. He tried to appeal to a more pop-oriented crowd on some tracks, like “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends,” yet also retained some of his characteristic song writing from his Elektra years. As he continued to record for A&M though, his songwriting began to hint at signs of oncoming depression, death and despair. The riots and brutality surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where Ochs performed, also had a profound effect on his life and his role as a political troubadour as evidenced by the cover for his 1969 release Rehearsals for Retirement which depicted his own tombstone with the date and place of death being Chicago 1968. Many critics said that this was the death of Phil Ochs as a political folk singer and in some part this was true for the scant material he recorded and performed in 1970 and beyond took on interesting rock and roll flair, modeled after the likes of Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.

The 1970s were a grim period for the commercial appeal of Ochs’ music and his personal life. Leading up to his death in 1976, Phil traveled throughout the world, becoming politically involved in Chile in the early 1970s and spending some time in Africa in 1972 where he performed with local musicians. Battling depression, alcoholism and drug addiction, he continued down a dark and lonely road where he no longer wrote or recorded any new material. Though the Vietnam War continued to rage throughout the early 1970s, interest in anti-war folk songs and their artists had waned dramatically. By 1975, the war was officially declared over but Ochs had already mentally checked out and in 1976, he committed suicide by hanging himself.

Hello, hello, hello
Is there anybody home?
I’ve only called to say
I’m sorry.
The drums are in the dawn,
and all the voices gone.
And it seems that there are no more songs.
-From the song “No More Songs”

Pete Seeger, Dylan and Joan Baez all continued their careers as musicians. Seeger and Baez, in particular, are still very outspoken regarding political rights and injustice throughout the world. As for Phil, though his music has lived on through staunch supporters and contemporary bands paying homage to his songs, his name has been on the fringe of remembrance. But for those who desire to dig deeper through the commercial history of the folk movement and get to the meat and bones of what the 1960s Greenwich scene was all about, should pick up some Phil Ochs vinyl or the comprehensive, highly recommended CD boxset Farewells and Fantasies from Rhino Records.

It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can’t expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That’s morality, that’s religion. That’s art. That’s life.

-From the liner notes of The Broadside Tapes 1 on Folkways Records

Check out this playlist for a sampling of outspoken OurStage artists who carry the torch and stand up against injustice through their music. Though not all are in the style of Ochs, their message helps keep the spirit of the 1960s folk movement alive.

Keep Digging!
-Gregorious-

The OurStage Marketplace connects artists looking for gigs with venues looking for new talent. With amazing opportunities both around the USA and the world, the OurStage Marketplace is the place to be for up-and-coming artists!

This week, we’re spotlighting some new gigs in the OurStage Marketplace as well as some gigs with fast-approaching application deadlines. Take a look at the gigs below and find one that’s right for you! Keep checking the OurStage Marketplace, accessible via the “Marketplace” button on the main navigation bar, for the most up-to-date gig listings. Don’t see any gigs in your area? Tell your favorite venue about the OurStage Marketplace.

Gigs Closing Soon

Location: Ground Zero, Allenstown, NH

Opportunity: Live Performance

Gig Date: November 20, 2009

Application Deadline: November 13, 2009

Gig Info: All ages venue in NH looking for five bands. All genres welcome! If you’re interested and have other bands that you are friends with to support the bill, leave a note when you apply. Be sure to include links to the other bands’ website. Submit your EPK HERE.

Location: Ground Zero, Allenstown, NH

Opportunity: Live Performance

Gig Date: November 27, 2009

Application Deadline: November 20, 2009

Gig Info: All ages venue in NH looking for five bands. All genres welcome! If you’re interested and have other bands that you are friends with to support the bill, leave a note when you apply. Be sure to include links to the other bands’ website. Submit your EPK HERE.

Location: Ground Zero, Allenstown, NH

Opportunity: Live Performance

Gig Date: November 28, 2009

Application Deadline: November 20, 2009

Gig Info: All Ages venue in New Hampshire looking for four more local heavy rock bands for a rock show with Self Made Soul. Submit your EPK HERE.

For more info about Ground Zero, click here.

For more info about the OurStage Marketplace, check out the Marketplace FAQ section.

This week we’re bringing you a handful of October winners who secured the top spot in a few of our different Channels—just in case you didn’t hear.

INDIE ROCK: Everybody Lies by Jarrod Gollihare

Just enough synth-rock mixed with addictive vocals. Turn it up loud.

JAZZ: Venus Atmosphere by Alexis Baro

A unique, rocking intro that leads into more excitement than you know what to do with.

FUNK: Trigger Happy (I Need Something) by Charmaine Bingwa

Funky and fresh, leaving nothing to be desired except more, more, more!

SOFT ROCK: The Beauty Has Come by The Season

The Season has had a number of Top 10 finishes, but this is their first win!

MODERN ROCK: On My Own by Sofia

Driving, radio-friendly rock with 3 (or… more?) distinct vocalists running the show. Love it!

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The artist deadline to enter Cakewalk’s “Your Music. Anytime, Anyplace.” Songwriting Contest is coming up but the contest is far from over! Artists wanting to compete in either of Cakewalk’s Rock or Urban “Anytime, Anyplace” Contest Channels have to enter their song before November 22nd for a chance to win a mobile studio. But don’t forget to tell fans to judge the competition. The best fan predictor from each channel will win an Intel Core i7 laptop plus other goodies from Cakewalk!

Three high ranking artists from each “Anytime, Anyplace” Channel will be selected to win top of the line mobile studios from Cakewalk featuring an Intel Core i7 laptop, Cakewalk’s new V-Studio 100 recording interface and top of the line Cakewalk recording software! To sweeten the deal, the six grand prize winners will be announced at Winter NAMM 2010!

Here’s what’s popular with the fans so far in both “Anytime, Anyplace” Channels. Don’t agree? There’s only one way to let your opinion really be heard: judge now!