Aspiring Musicains Page This page is dedicated to artists that are: 1) either from the Nashville/Murfreesboro Tennessee area 2) artists who have a Myspace page and are trying to make it in the real world 3) any of the above who ask me to review their album     My purpose with this page is to expose people all over the world to the unique sound of my town. I love Nashville, and plan to really build upon the music scene here (with my own band, Transcenders). There is a lot of talent not only in Nashville, but all over the world. So people keep sending me albums to review and I'll do what I can to explore this area over the years. So send me you tired, your poor, your huddled masses, anything! Just be open to criticism when you do, and remember - each person has an opinion, mine is only as valid as you want it to be..... I will rate the following artist like this: 1 - not so good but don't give up. Go back and rethink some of these ideas 2 - pretty good, but could use some more work to find a more unique sound 3 - solid listen, considerable strengths and some considerable weaknesses 4 - good listen, build on this some more and go for the gold! 5 - so good that it should be in every home in America, not a struggling act      I can't rate these kinds of artists the same way as the rest of my site, for the most part in today's world it is harder to "make it" then a long time ago. Sure, some artist on the internet could be as good as a big name right now, but needs of exposure and distribution are different these days. In short a different, less negative approach is what I am trying.
		Album Reviews Ascent of Everest - How Lonley Sits the City (self released - 2006) 5/5    Considering post-rock is a vauge term used far too often, I will not use it to describe this band. Ascent of Everest is a band out of Murfreesboro, TN. They are made up of about seven different instrumentalists including cello (Casey Kaufman), drums (Michael Thurmon), bass (Drew Binkley), guitar and lead vocals (Devin Lamp), guitar (Kevin McDivitt), piano and alternative percussion (Chris Click) , and violin (Dillon Smith). I first caught them live back in the Fall of 2006 and boy was I impressed! They had all the elements of an interesting live acts with all of the musicians, but as good as everyone is at their playing, the MUSIC itself is first rate. All of the songs are over ten minutes except one, which is seven, but it all flows by on an altogether too short 54 minutes. It has the dynamics of Dirty Three combined with majestic vocals that are out of this world. Singer Devin Lamp out does any comparisons I could make with his otherworldly attack.    Opener "Alas, Alas! The Breath of Life" sets the mood right and gets better as it flows along. For a mostly instrumental song, it gets more right then so many other rock bands of its time, marking the territory that this band should be huge someday. "As the City Burned We Trembled" ups the ante in the first couple of seconds, feeling very natural and just as majestic. This song changes pace a couple of times, mixing a driving drumbeat with a canopy of sound that envelops the listener like a trip through the Earth's atmosphere. "Molotov" is the perfect centerpiece, building to a flaming cresendo halfway through and then projecting an emotional aftermath for the other half. "A Threnody for the Victims of November Second", using a speech about the state of the country from an 80's Democratic convention, has a narrator at the beginning telling a gloomy tale a la Godspeed You Black Emperor but again transcends influence and creates what might be the most powerful track with it's chant towards the end (which could have been brought up more in the mix). To sum it all up, "If I Could Move Mountains" builds to the most psychedelic track and fades away calmly, with strings and vocals bringing it all to a close. Each of the five songs deserve their length and involves the listener, so one cannot help but be moved by the record. This is their first stab at an album but it has the perfection of something that was endlessly calculated and worked on and much like the band's spectacular live show, there is so much beauty to behold it outdoes any band of its day - Nashville, TN or otherwise. This is a life changing band and one to watch out for in the future. - Trevor e.y. Learn more about Ascent of Everest: www.myspace.com/theascentofeverest The Longships - The French Revolution (self released - 2003) 4/5    I've known Cody Gaisser for most of my life and he is pretty much my best bud! But I really am listening this to an open mind, years after the fact. Certain parts have grown on me and certain parts have not. For instance, Gaisser writes six songs and keyboardist Adam McConnaughey writes four, and while the two different style do mesh to some extent, it is obvious that Gaisser is the better writer at this point. The perfect songs are mostly his: "Pale Ale" has enough tricks up its sleeve that it is surprising that it is the catchiest song on the record; "Crucify My Lord" has a stellar bridge and speaks openly about religion which is becoming a rare thing these days; "Risen into Dust" floats by with a blissful melody; "The Object Lesson" is a perfect closer and McConnaughey's most psychedelic track. Many other songs work as well including the jerky "The Inscription", the R.E.M. throwback "Not Really Sorry", the revealing "Seven Days", and the sometimes too gut-wrenching "A Leaflet". Most tracks work on French Revolution, it builds to an interesting climax, and the playing is superhuman on all accounts - I haven't even mentioned the phenomenal drumming of Daniel Claytor who holds all of this together with subtle ferocity. So if some things are worth picking over (production problems, intrusive synthesizer), in all it is a fun listen and it shows a band that is on its way to the top. Sidenote: The band is currently working on a new record that should be reviewed here before too long. I've heard it, it's great! Learn more about The Longships: www.myspace.com/thelongships Monkey Power Trio - House of the Mechanical Sun (released by Pocahontas Swamp Machine Records - 2007) 2/5    When I received a copy of this record, it was encased in a morphed up Hall and Oates record, which really made my day. Listening to the record, you can see the kind of people that would think that was funny (which is a good thing). It sounds like the boys in Monkey Power Trio are listening to a lot of lo-fidelity records and obviously enjoy themselves with instruments like recorders and....crumhorns. Basically it is a joke band full of humorous songs, and the jokes are probably better than the music at this point. Still, every song is listenable (if only because 3 minutes would be an epic length for these guys) and several of them work. See, the first side of the record was recorded a year prior to the second and it is very noticeable - the songs on side 2 beat side one any day. On the first side, "Hop on the Monkey Bus" is the only real keeper, kind of a hodgepodge of joke band sing-a-longs that holds it's own against any of its genre. Side 2 contains the albums best songs, "Mechanical Sun" (with lyrics about luring a female out to live with the main man because he'll have a chicken, so they'll have eggs) and "Panic Attack", which both point that this band has a great potential. From this record, I hope to hear more form these guys. They have a silly style humor that points that even though they say they are a trio, there just might be five members or that say they recorded in Minnesota and Oregon, they just might be lying. The record is maybe...17 minutes long or something, so it is just a start and it gets the point across that the band can definitely go places. If they can obtain an attention span of more than 5 minutes that is.... Learn more about Monkey Power Trio: www.monkeypowertrio.com Records Night - self titled (self released - 2003) 4/5      The fast pace stories & strumming of Willy Cardin sets a good standard for music in Nashville. Usually when you see one guy up there with a guitar and he strums in a fast manner, you are in for not much of an involving evening, at least that is my experience with it. But every once in a while, you get a person that can actually write songs and it sucks you into their world, and lo and behold, here is one of them! With great songs like "Hospice" and "Poster Boy for Conformity", this band shows a lot of promise for emotional music of any kind. The former song has an Ian MacKaye kind of pattern to it, albeit in a lighter tone, a worthy homage to the Fugazi master. The latter song succeeds with both lyrics and music, making a stand on following one's own path: "Don't criticize and idea you can't grasp. Choose to fight, not follow, there is nothing wrong with it...except in your eyes." Great lyrics like that really define the record, and the strength of the words show on certain songs that succeed on the lyrics like "Making Amends" and "Heartaches and Heroes". There is much more to love on the record such as the adolescent love story in "80's Love Song", and when vocalist Lindsey McMullen adds flavor by singing on a cover of The Wednesday's "December" and the album's best track, the moody "52". This song sounds like a Native American hymn mixed with 80's dream-pop vibe, and it pushes the group forward as its most enchanting track. This record may only be 7 songs, but it sticks with you and really leaves you wanting more, which is what all great records should do. Anyone who doesn't know Records Night should buy this record and catch the band when they play live. - Trevor e.y. Learn more about Records Night: www.myspace.com/recordsnight