Tribute bands: “Not ______, But an Incredible Simulation.”

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https://youtu.be/tdxr0z3SZ74?t=28s

Tribute bands (cover bands) have been around since Elvis impersonators strolled across the Vegas stage. What starts off as a way for some friends to get together and celebrate the music of their favorite bands by playing their music has become an essential way of keeping that artists memory alive. Its a starting point for many up-and-coming musicians before launching their own careers. Hell, even at age 4, Bruno Mars started as the world’s youngest Elvis impersonator. While a few tribute acts are overzealous fans badly imitating their heroes, select tribute bands have enjoyed considerable fame.  Great examples include Marshall Crenshaw, who played John Lennon and Glen Burtnick who played Paul McCartney in the original Beatlemania.

As original band members pass on, the tribute band is there to keep the music experience fresh. We’ll review a select group of tribute bands in the near future. So stay tuned!

 

Friday Freebies: The Foreign Films, Exohxo, The McLovings and The Buzz

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The Foreign Films: The amazing talent of Bill Majoros is back! This is a special preview of 6 full songs from the upcoming double album The Record Collector (side 3). The full album should be out soon, but this taste tells me it could reach my top ten list this year. Enjoy!

Exohxo: a funny name but a great sound. Exohxo is a domesticated five-piece chamber rock band from Seattle that spent their their twenties in lets-take-over-the-world touring bands. Now scattered across their thirties with families, jobs, and mortgages, these seemingly well-adjusted and entirely approachable adults appear unwilling to finish growing up if that means surrendering the music and the camaraderie that has always been integral to their happiness.

The McLovings: I guess there are worse names than a character from the movie Superbad who is a nerd, but the man. The guys are from San Sebastián, Spain and the accents are heavy, but so is the rock.

The Buzz: Washington D.C.’s The Buzz sound a little rough, but the bass lead melodies and impressive musicianship keep this band afloat. I liked the anthem-like “Drunk and Cryin” and mid tempo “Pack it in, Girl” showcase this bands classic rock chops.

Identical Suns and Gordon Weiss

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Identical Suns “Identical Suns”

Like several other bands, songwriters Todd Stanton and Rene Rodriguez collaborated long distance on their debut album Identical Suns. Although the vocals are a little rough, “Baby I’m Down” has plenty of feeling and the spirit of Springsteen and The Raspberries are evident. “Nothing I Can Do” is a big standout, a rich warm composition very much like Stephen Lawrenson. The California styled pop of “Coulda Sent A Reminder” and “Yesterday Ended At Midnight” have the early ’70s as a main influence with easy strums and beautiful backing harmonies. The catchy “Common Ground” is another highlight with special guest star Christian Phillips of the Sonic Executive Sessions doing backing vocals.

The style changes on the hard rock of “E.M.I.L.Y.” and again on the piano melody “The Turn,” which sounds like Dennis Wilson playing for Golden Earring. It seems like the band is trying to see which style “sticks” best, and a few songs overstay their welcome (“Unraveled”). I liked the mellower compositions, including the sweet ballad “After The Lullaby.” These Suns do have some shining moments, so give them a chance to warm your heart.

CD Baby

Gordon Weiss “It’s About Time”

Connecticut musician Gordon Weiss delivers his sophomore album, and the energetic “The Ugly Side” is a catchy song about the state of political discourse when each side is perceived as “ugly.” Gordon then goes to “I’m Your Fan,” an inner monologue of a music nerd at a concert. The songs are mostly sparsely produced ( “Spinning Round” is the exception) and strongly composed.

The circular piano melody on “Sticky Thoughts” has a few Beatley moments, but Gordon doesn’t make this a primary focus. It’s the story and the lyrics that add depth and a bit more weight to the title track, “About Time.” This long song starts slowly about the anxieties of the past, and builds to a strong chorus that reminds me of Richard X. Heyman. But for all those with rock star dreams “The Great Imitator” is an epic saga of a musician who fears “If the melody’s catchy, would they say its’ too treacley? If I wrote Hey Jude, would they say it’s too Beatley?” This is an album that deserves to have its poetic stories listened to more than once.

CD Baby

Reno Bo “Lessons from a Shooting Star”

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Reno Bo “Lessons from a Shooting Star”

After spending most of his career performing and touring with the Mooney Suzuki, Albert Hammond Jr. (the Strokes), Caitlin Rose and Andrew Combs, Reno Bo decided to make this his breakout effort; doing almost everything on his own. Reno appeared on the power pop radar in 2010, but this year he’s blown away all expectations with his newest Lessons From A Shooting Star. From the pounding beat and swirling chords of “Sweetheart Deal” its chock full of catchy power pop.

Every song presents itself perfectly, on “How Do You Do” Bo is joined by guitarist Sadler Vaden for a single that is a bit of Dave Edmunds meets Jeff Lynne, and its completely irresistible. “Just Say Go” has the guitar riff lead the song at full speed, and then we slow down on “Strange Maps” to a Jackson Browne like mid-tempo gem with some impressive guitar breaks.

“And I Know She Did” is a shimmering Big Star like ballad and “The Brighter Side” co-written by Brendan Benson sounds like the best song Matthew Sweet didn’t write. “Sleeping Sun” is a standout piano based melody with a big pinch of Beatles, as well as the wondrous pysche-pop closer “Somewhere There’s Something.” In fact, each song is a home run and this album clearly hits the top of my top ten list this year. I don’t award an album a “10” rating lightly, but Reno Bo deserves it. Essential listening.

Amazon

Singles: Brandon Schott, The Well Wishers and The Sensibles

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Brandon Schott: Get ready for gorgeous melodies from Brandon, this song is an advance from his new album “Crayons and Angels” which is self-funded through Kickstarter here. This tune “Every Little Song” is full of neat little sonic details and also helped by having the talented Kelly Jones backing Brandon up. Soak it in and please invest in great music like this.

The Well Wishers: Well Wishers frontman Jeff Shelton is at it again. “Build A Life” here is an unmastered demo, but it sounds better than most bands finished singles. Keep making music Jeff, and we’ll keep on listening.

The Sensibles: This is an Italian band that keeps improving with each release, and this A-B single is full of guitar crunch and Stella’s accented delivery. “Bibi” is a fun punk pop romp, and “Little Girl” has an early ’60s girl group vibe (think Shangri-La’s) with its catchy chorus.