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Wednesday, May 12, 2010
News / Concert Announcement / Interviews OK, go see Robert Francis
Posted By Jason Younger on Wed, May 12, 2010 at 10:33 AM
When we first met Robert Francis, he was releasing his second album, Before Nightfall, his first major label release (Atlantic), and was hitting the road to support the album. Now, just a few short months later, he will make his first appearance in the Queen City in support of OK GO! (Visulite Theatre, tonight).
Since our last talk, Francis has been all over, mainly overseas. When I caught up with him a couple of weeks ago, he was in Paris, after just completing stops in Germany. “The tour is going great. Overseas is amazing. I’m really getting a ton of support over here” describes Francis, “every show is sold out! Packed!”
As far as stateside support for his new release – “It’s starting to come around back home. I’m primarily opening for other acts right now, but the idea is to soon headline and really give the audience my show.”
Friday, April 16, 2010
News / Jason Younger / Interviews Skillet — Not your mom and dad's Christian rock band
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 1:24 PM
Real quick – scroll down to the bottom of this post and check out the video. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Ok, got it? Rocks right? You might even say that it’s a damn fine, hard rock song. And you might be a bit surprised that a Christian rock band has churned out such a bangin’ hit.
Meet Skillet. A Christian rock band like few others. With a rock opera sound, this group won’t be confused with the Christian bands of old. They actually fit right in with the Shinedowns and Evanescences of the world. According to lead singer John Cooper, this is by design. “We want to sing hard rock songs that actually lift somebody up. Just because a song has a hard rock sound, doesn’t mean it can’t be a positive influence on someone.” And when Skillet brings their Awake and Alive tour to the "Bo-Round" on Sunday, you’ll get the chance to hear just that. Uplifting songs with rock your socks off music.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
News / Jason Younger / Interviews Need to see Needtobreathe
Posted By Jason Younger on Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 10:32 AM
If you’ve never heard of Possum Kingdom, S.C., you aren’t alone. It sounds like most Southern small towns. Quiet, isolated, maybe one stop light... But for the group NeedtoBreathe, this is home. Which might explain why the group decided to title their newest album The Outsiders.
“When we were recording the album, the theme developed over time," explains lead singer Bear Rinehart. "The title track became a perfect story of who we are. We are outsiders to the music industry, to music in general. There was no music scene where we grew up, and we felt a bit like we never fit in.”
But with the tracks on The Outsiders album, the band may have found their niche – great songwriting, power lyrics and perfectly sung by Bear’s grizzled Southern voice. If you haven’t heard them before, you’re missing out.
When the band brings its act to Charlotte this Friday (April 16), you’ll have the opportunity to see the band in its natural element. “It’s a big deal to see the small crowds our show used to draw get bigger and bigger. It’s really amazing,” says Bear, “Last year we played in front of 200 people in Chicago. This year, we sell out the House of Blues there and perform in front of 1,400. Absolutely amazing.”
And for good reason. I’ve written in this space many times that good albums are a thing of the past. Not with these guys. Each song sounds different, distinct, which provides for a great listening experience.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Interviews / News The Opening Act: Likeblood
Posted By Mike McCray on Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 3:09 PM
How does a fairly unknown group from Washington, D.C. end up opening for a New York hip-hop icon on his nationwide tour?
Likeblood’s Eric "Yung E" Mann will tell you “it's a little bit of politics and a little bit talent.” The Metro area trio is on the road with Raekwon for his “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II” Tour and admitted that it was a chance meeting with the Wu-Tang legend, that led to their relationship.
"It's crazy how the chips fall," said rapper Andre "Dre Strong" Strong. "Before we even talked any business with him, we met him on some real humble shit at Howard Homecoming, right on the block."
A brief conversation was all it took for the group to come away impressed by how receptive he was to them.
"We knew who he was, he ain't know who we were," Dre Strong said. "The nigga was so cool, [he] ain't switch up from the time when he ain't know us to the time when he figured out who we were. ... [he] was just so smooth with it and like the old saying goes, real recognize real and everything else is history."
Thursday, November 5, 2009
News / Jason Younger / Interviews Robert Francis - new artist, old soul
Posted By Jason Younger on Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 3:32 PM
“I know that for some musicians, writing songs is like therapy and the way they get their emotions out,” says Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robert Francis. “But for me it’s more than an outlet — it’s a way to keep me from completely losing my mind.”
Meet Robert Francis. When reading the above quote you might think that this is just another artist trying to sound good in an interview. Not this time. I had the opportunity to speak with Francis before his show in support of Noah and the Whale in Pontiac, Mich., and one thing is for sure - Robert Francis puts everything he has into his music, and he does it well. When speaking with him, I learned that he had just gotten out of the van after driving for six hours to the Michigan show. From there he would be off to Toronto, and then make the drive over to New York City for a 3-day gig. Let’s just say that’s a whole lot of van time.
The first thing you notice when talking with Robert is his humble, down-to-earth view on life and his career. Throughout the interview he repeatedly thanked me for my time and for the praise I gave him for his album Before Nightfall. When I asked him about the theme of the album, looking back on a failed relationship, Francis said, “It’s all about being comfortable in one ’s self. Accepting reality as it is, especially when you’ve been haunted by something for so long. This record puts all that to rest.”
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Videos / Mike McCray / Interviews / News CL blogger losing in DJ Hero
Posted By Mike McCray on Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 10:35 AM
As promised, here's video from CL blogger Mike McCray losing to NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. in DJ Hero before Saturday's Bank of America 500. How does someone who's actually touched real turntables lose to a guy who's favorite group is Rage Against The Machine? The world may never know.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Interviews / News Four questions for N'Dambi
Posted By Carlton Hargro on Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Former indie soul songstress N’Dambi (who’s now signed to the legendary Stax label), is hitting Charlotte Sat., Oct. 17, to perform songs from her catalog of music — including cuts off her latest CD, Pink Elephant. We caught her on the phone recently and chatted her up about a number of topics — from music to her now-famous nude photos in Marc Baptiste’s coffee table book Beautiful. Check it out:
Creative Loafing: What prompted you — a long-standing independent artist — to make the move to a label like Stax?
N’Dambi: Well, I’ll be honest: I’ve never been an independent artist that always wanted to be independent. It has promise in doing it that way, but [being independent] is a hard road. I wanted to make music and get a deal at some point — always have. I wanted to find a label that I felt would be best suited for the interests that I had in making music — someone with a legacy that created good music on their own. And I could relate to [Stax] because they were from the South — that being where I’m from. And I liked the artists that the label had, such as the Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, The Emotions, The Barkays, Otis Redding … a cool list of people. I just wanted to be attached to something cool and leave some music that can be around after I’m gone. Being independent did not go in vain because all that information that I learned doing that actually helped me to be a better artist in this particular situation with a label. Because you don’t stop working. It just puts you ahead of the curve if you choose to be with a label.
How would you describe your new CD Pink Elephant?
Well, it’s a soul/pop/funk album — I guess that’s the best way I can describe it. The goal for me was to write an album that felt like a collection of short stories out of the lives of folk and gave people a window into someone’s life ... And I wanted to give people something to talk about.
Actually I went to Marc Baptiste to talk to him about [photographing] a cover for an album. At the time, I wanted to do something that was inspired by The Ohio Player’s cover for Honey. We took a bunch of pictures, but that didn’t work out. But Marc told me he was working on a book of nudes and wondered if I would be interested in him using the photos for that. I was like, “OK, that’s fine” … They actually chose my picture for the cover, and I was pleasantly surprised.
What kind of reaction did you get from doing the book?
A lot of people enjoyed the photos; they talked about them being tasteful. Now, I run into some people who’re like, “N’Dambi, you didn’t have to do all that!” And my mama hasn’t seen this book to date. I haven’t even mentioned it to my mother.
What can folks expect from your live show this Saturday?
In performances, I always like to give a lot of high energy … and incite the audience to respond in a way that gives the energy back to me. So, it’s kind of like reciprocity: We give each other energy and we both receive it from the whole experience.
Check out the video below to see N'Dambi in action. Then, take your ass to the show.
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Live review: Kings of Leon 21
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