Donna Summer, known by many as the “Queen of Disco,” died this morning following a battle with cancer, TMZ reports. She was 63.

The 5-time Grammy winner was best known for her ‘70s and ‘80s hits “She Works Hard for the Money”, “Last Dance,” and “Hot Stuff,” among others. Her work with producer Giorgio Moroder helped shape the dance music of the era and proved influential on many artists, electronic and otherwise, who came after her.

She was reportedly working on a new album at the time of her death.

This is a developing story, and details remain unconfirmed by those close to the singer.

Since 1983, the Boston radio station marketed as “true alternative” has rocked the airwaves, but for the last few years it really hasn’t been the alternative to anything — it’s been the only game in town.

And now it’s gone.

Phoenix Media has sold 101.7 FM, the home of WFNX, to radio conglomerate Clear Channel.

Not the station, the frequency.

Phoenix Media, in a statement Wednesday, said the company will retain “the call letters, the archives, interviews, videos, etc.,” meaning that soon, the radio station 101.7 WFNX will cease to exist, and may only live on as an Internet or HD radio station.

The Phoenix, reporting on its own company, says that Clear Channel may have plans to turn 101.7 into either a country or a Spanish language station.

Bolstering that argument, the Boston Business Journal is reporting that longtime radio personalities Julie Kramer and Henry Santoro were laid off today.

The move will leave Boston without an alternative radio station and with only one option for FM rock music. WAAF (97.7 and 107.3) attracts a “harder” audience and does not share much of an audience with the indie-heavy FNX crowd.

Blast interviewed Santoro in 2009 in a lengthy a profile of the Sandbox morning show, which shut down just four months later.

Boston.com reported Wednesday afternoon that 15 other WFNX employees were laid off. The station, which started the week with 21 employees — 9 full-time and 12 part-time — is left with three full-timers and one part time employee, Boston.com reports, citing Boston Phoenix editor Peter Kadzis.

WFNX has struggled in ratings for years, even after longtime rock competitor WBCN went off the air when CBS Radio launched its 98.5 The Sports Hub sports talk channel and moved a top 40 station to WBCN’s 104.1 dial position.

“Because this is an emotional announcement to make, let me cut right to the chase. This morning I met with the staff of WFNX to announce the pending sale of the station to Clear Channel Communications,” Phoenix Media founder Stephen M. Mindich wrote in a memo to staff. “It was a great run and I will miss the station.”

Mindich cited the economic downturn as a contributing factor in the sale.

“Despite its celebrated history, its cutting edge programming, its tradition of breaking new music, its ardent fans among listeners and advertisers, for some time it has been difficult to sustain the station – especially since the start of the Great Recession,” he wrote.

WFNX will remain on the air during the time it takes to complete the FCC transfer process.

Mindich said that events and concerts like the Best Music Poll (June 13) and the Seaport Six (June 14) will go on as scheduled.

A video game lawsuit filed against Beyoncé has been given the go ahead by Manhattan judge Charles Ramos. The lawsuit, filed by Gate Five Studios last year, claims that the songstress broke her contract and backed out of a $20 million deal for a game called Starpower: Beyoncé after demanding more money.

This forced Gate Five to lay off 70 employees during the busy 2010 holiday season. Beyoncé’s legal team claims that Gate Five did not have enough funding for the game and it was in her rights to abandon the project. Judge Ramos, however, states that Beyoncé simply did not give enough notice.

“You continue to negotiate right up until the time you pull the plug. That is not going to work with me,” Ramos told Beyoncé’s lawyers, according to the New York Post.

Gate Five is hoping to recover $6.7 million in investment capital and over $100 million in potential profits for the game. The lawsuit will head to court later this year.

These claims were filed while Beyoncé was pregnant with her first child Blue Ivy, and this news now comes to the singer during her first Mother’s Day weekend. If Beyoncé had done a little research, she should have just gone ahead with the production of her video game. Dance games actually have a nice niche in the gaming market, and considering her mama’s Beyoncé, I’m sure Blue Ivy would have learned to dance along with the game way before she started walking.

Source: New York Post
Via: Gamasutra

On May 7, on the heels of a star-studded induction into Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Red Hot Chili Peppers brought their funk-rock live show to a sold out TD Garden. Following an opening set by indie rock duo Sleigh Bells, “RHCP” played an energized, 15-song set (and six-song encore) spanning their 29-year career, featuring songs from their latest full-length, I’m With You,  and many of their major hits.

The “I’m with You” Tour continues through North America until June 9, wrapping up with the Bonnaroo Festival, before the band heads over to Europe. The band will return to American soil with a headlining show at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago this August.

Several photos of the show can be seen below, courtesy of Blast photographers Lena Mirisola and Nick DiNatale.

Lead singer Tom Gabel of the rock band Against Me! came out as transgender to Rolling Stone Magazine on Tuesday.  Gabel plans to take the name Laura Jane Grace and will begin presenting herself as female while undergoing hormone and electrolysis treatments.

Gabel’s wife plans to stay with her through the transition, which Gabel revealed was her biggest fear about coming out.

“For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news,” says Gabel, according to Rolling Stone. “But she’s been super-amazing and understanding.”

Gabel is the first major rock star to transition, which has encouraged her to be open about the process.

“I’m going to have embarrassing moments,” Gabel told the magazine, “and that won’t be fun. But that’s part of what talking to you is about – is hoping people will understand, and hoping they’ll be fairly kind.”

A full article about Gabel’s transition and what that means for the future of Against Me! will appear in Rolling Stone on Friday, May 11.

French electroswing band Caravan Palace kicked off their European Summer Tour in Switzerland this month. The tour will run until August 26, finishing with a two-night finale in France.

After two years of hard work writing and recording, the band released their second album, “Panic”, in early March.  “Panic” is a lively album mixing together jazz, electropop and swing.

Caravan Palace first formed back in 2005 when guitarist Arnaud Vital, violinist Hugues Payen and double bass player Charles Delaporte met while creating a soundtrack for a silent pornographic film production company. Here they discovered their shared passion for electronic music.

The trio was soon would soon sought out by producer Loic Barrouk, who brought in electronics and trombone player DJ Antoine and lead singer Colotis Zoe to round out the group. Caravan Palace was now complete and made their live debut in 2007 at the Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival.

Their single “Dirty Side” has already been released and is available for download. The band is looking for their new album to be just as well received as their first self-titled album, which was released in 2008 and sold over 150,000 copies.

Now with their new tour underway and four shows under their belt, the quintet is gearing up for May 12 when they perform live at the Free Fest Troja in Prague.

Blast Magazine reached out to Caravan Palace’s Hugues Payen to talk about their tour and the upbeat and vibrant second album.

BLAST: What makes “Panic” different from your first album?

HUGHES PAYEN: For this album, we tried to find other ways to make our music. A lot of “electroswing” artists appeared this last four years, and we had [a] mind to show new aspects of that genre, experiment with things. Swing is not a monolithic kind of music, it offers a wide variety of tempo and moods, and we had to explore each one of them to extend our “playing field!”

BLAST Why choose the name “Panic”?:

HP: [If] you put us in a room with about 15 synths; you have . . . “Panic!” C
oncerning that name, it is also the title of a song in the album. A single word everyone can understand, worldwide, and a fabulous starting point for developing a whole universe. And it may refer to our unconscious fear towards the “second album syndrome”!

BLAST Your trademark is “electroswing.” How would you describe your sound to those who are not familiar with your music?:

HP: Basically, electroswing consists [of] mixing together swing music (from [the 1930s] to 50s) and modern electronic music. It results in a strange feeling of time traveling. When we began in 2005, there weren’t [many] artists to refer to, except G-Swing’s “Swing for Modern Clubbing”, Nicolas Repac’s “Swing Swing”, or “Get a Move On” from Mr Scruff. In Austria, another artist was working on the same material, Parov Stelar. And today, you can go and dance in electroswing parties in almost every big city in the world! It is an international network we are glad to be a part of!

BLAST: What is your single “Dirty Side” about?

HP: It is above all a wink to the jazz standard “On the Sunny Side of the Street”! In fact, we do not have a “literary” approach to the text. We expect it to swing, not to promote an idea, or not even to tell a story! Historically, swing is about love, jealousy, dance, singing, [and] not much [else]. Our singer, who writes the lyrics, is sometimes a little bit disappointed about that, but we ask her to be [as] concise [as] she can.

BLAST: How has the response to your new album been from your fans?

HP: We are aware that “Panic” is not the “easy” album some expected, but the real fans surely listened to it several times, and we are sure that they then discovered what the point of it is [and] what it has to offer. We are convinced that our fans prefer to enjoy a new album [rather] than something they already heard. Now is the time to play it, for music is never more accessible than on stage!!

BLAST: What is your creative process when writing your music? Do you all work together or is it individual?

HP: Both of it! We are four co-composers. Every song was born in one of our personal computers. Then, it is sent to the other members, and if everyone agrees, we keep on working on it. It’s quite a long process, because everyone has to “validate” the littlest detail! That’s why it is almost impossible for us to compose on tour for now!

BLAST: You recently kicked off your summer European tour. What is the best part about touring together?

HP: To make common memories! For better or for worse, we’re stuck in a bus, traveling together to unknown destinations, where we all meet, work and have fun with strangers, and we like it! For that tour, the technical team has changed, and we welcomed a new musician, Paul Marie, a talented vibraphonist and percussionist. It’s a great way to get to know each other, and sometimes, it’s surprising!

BLAST: Are there any venues you are especially looking forward to?

HP: In France, we’ll play at Jazz in Marciac, and Les Francofolies de La Rochelle, two important but very different festivals, where we already played and have especially good memories! Our European tour will surely be full of discoveries and surprises!

BLAST: What is the best part of being able to perform live and tour?

HP: Maybe to let the people hear our music “alive”, with real instruments and real bodies! As a project, nobody knows what we exactly look like, and when the public comes to our shows, they finally can “put faces” to the name, and maybe feel a little closer to our universe.

Adam Yauch, better known as “MCA” and 1/3 of the groundbreaking hip hop group the Beastie Boys, passed away today after battling cancer. He was 47.

Yauch had been undergoing treatment since 2009 following the discovery of a tumor in his salivary gland.

He co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz in 1979.  The group’s first major-label effort,   Licensed to Ill, topped the Billboard 200 charts after its release in 1986, making it the first hip hop LP to do so. It featured a number of successful singles including “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)”, “Brass Monkey”, and “No Sleep Til Brooklyn”.

The group’s success continued with later albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Their career boasts 40 million records sold, four #1 albums, three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award.

Yauch himself had a hand in organizing the Tibetan Freedom Concerts through his work with the nonprofit Milarepa Fund. Between 1996 and 2003, these concerts – featuring acts like Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rage Against the Machine –  raised money for Tibetan independence.

In 2002, he founded video production company Oscilloscope Laboratories, which would go on to release films like “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and the Banksy documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. Yauch, under a pseudonym, directed many of the Beastie Boys’ music videos, including ”So Whatcha Want,” “Intergalactic,”  ”Ch-Check It Out.”

Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland last month. Yauch was unable to attend, but band mates Ad-Rock and Mike D attended the ceremony and accepted the award, reading a letter that Yauch had written for the occasion.

Local band Cowgill has announced plans to release side one of their debut album “Planted” on May 17, holding a “Release Party” performance at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge.

Cowgill – vocalist/guitarist Paul Cowgill, Dan Weissman on trumpet and mandolin, keyboardist and trombone player Mike Truskowski, violinist Leeann Hacket, bassist Ryan Rivers, and drummer Joe Pess – combines indie rock, folk rock and a little bit of pop to create a unique sound all their own, described as a mash-up of Fleet Foxes, The Shins, and The Beatles.

The sextet came together in 2011 through a series of events where one member stumbled upon another. “I’ve lived with Mike for three years now and I met Dan through a friend of a friend,” recalls Cowgill. “We found our violinist on Craigslist and she knew the bassist who went to college with our new drummer.” The sextet has been working on material for their new album ever since.

Cowgillw’s members each have a unique background. Hacket, for example, is a Music Therapist for the elderly and blind children, while Rivers and Pess attend Berklee College of Music. Weissman is an architecture and design student who has always been involved in music. Ultimately it is music, and the influence that it has on their lives, that ties them all together.

Earlier this year they released their first single, “Plans”, and are happy with the response from their fan base. “I think it’s been really good; we’re new to this.  It’s just funny and hard because you don’t really have anything to compare it too,” says  We’ll know for sure once the whole [album] comes out,” says Paul. They would follow it with the release of their second single “Extra Gravity” on April 19^th.

With the release of the two singles, Cowgill aims to show off their eclectic sound and break the rigid lines of music genres.

“We are trying to straddle the line between indie and folk,” Cowgill explains. “…We’re really focused on cool lyrics and interesting structure like indie rock, but make it less mopey and take you through interesting soundscapes.”

They set themselves apart by incorporating a full drum set and brass section, unusual in the folk rock scene.  Some even consider Cowgill, with their lush sound,  to be more of a baroque pop band.

“When you just say indie and folk it doesn’t cover that we have a pop influence –  but not like a Katy Perry, Top 40 kind of thing,” Cowgill explains.  “The goal of our music is to make people happy, not depressed.”

Before the band considers their sound, they look into lyrics and structure.  “Usually I make up the structure of the chord changes and spend a few days thinking about mood, etc.,” explains Cowgill. “Then I bring it to the band and we think about arrangement together.”

Like the lyrics and composition of their songs, the title of their debut album also has a lot of meaning. “We spent a while thinking about that.  ‘Planted’ is one of the lyrics from the fourth song of the album called ‘Red Carpet’,” says Cowgill. “It had a lot of word play, which fits with the album. I think it’s a cool title for a debut album because the goal here is to break free of the rooted life style that we’re in.”

With their album production in full swing, the band plans to finish recording by September or October of this year.  In the meantime, the band is doing all they can to get their name out there. “We are trying to build up a name for ourselves in the local market but our goals are national and international even though it’s pretty early on,” says Cowgill.

Of their live show, Cowgill says “It’s kind of all over the place. Some things that will come through in our live shows are our crazy use of horns, and covering songs like Paranoid Android from Radiohead.”

Cowgill is trying to plan a three-week tour in August and will be looking to their growing fan base for support. Starting on May 8, fans can create and promote a campaign on www.gigfunder.com for Cowgill to earn monetary support for a tour.

Following the release of their latest single “Headlong Flight”, prog-rock group Rush will embark on a North American Tour in support of the upcoming album “Clockwork Angels”, Live Nation announced today.

The band will hit 33 cities starting with in Manchester, NH on September 7 and and wrapping up December 2 in Houston, TX with a Boston stop scheduled for October 24.

“Clockwork Angels” will be the groups first original release in over five years. 2007’s “Snakes and Arrows” debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, (their eleventh top 10 album in the U.S.), featuring the single “Far Cry” that made the top 5 in the mainstream rock charts. Spanning their entire career, launched in 1974 with their self-titled album, Rush boasts a number of gold/platinum studio releases that ranks them behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Tickets for all shows go on sale April 27 in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Citi credit card holders will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi’s Private Pass Program starting April 23 in select markets.

The past few months have been awfully busy for indie-folk trio The Lumineers.

They released their debut album at the beginning of April, shot their first official music video and performed on national television for the first time on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”. They performed at South by Southwest last month and are currently selling out shows around the country.

All the while they’ve received critical praise, finding themselves compared to popular indie bands like Mumford and Sons.

While it seems that The Lumineers have come out of nowhere to great success, the truth is that they have been working hard for a long time to earn it.

“I’ve been at this for a while, and I know what it’s like to not have success, so it feels really good,” says lead singer and guitarist Wes Schulz. “But I’m definitely taking it in stride, because it’s been a slow climb,” he adds with a laugh.

Like many musical acts before them, The Lumineers were brought together by tragedy. Schultz and his friend Jeremiah Fraites started the group back in 2002 after Fraites’s brother – who was also Schultz’s good friend – died of an overdose. They began writing and performing to cope with their grief.

Eventually Schultz became frustrated; he was working long hours to pay the rent and felt that he had less and less time to devote to music. “I got to the point where I saw I either had to move somewhere where I could afford this or just stop,” he says.

Ultimately they chose the former, deciding to move to Denver with friends who could who could offer them practice space and a place to stay. They packed up their things and headed for an adventure out west.

Denver turned out to be the perfect place for the band, as the music scene there welcomed them with open arms. Schultz and Fraites found contacts, received advice from fellow musicians and even found another band member. They placed an ad on Craigslist for a cellist, and, soon enough, classically trained Neyla Pekarek joined the group.

“It’s a community that prides itself on helping each other out, as opposed to the constant competitive dog-eat-dog mentality of New York,” Schultz says

The group really started gaining momentum in December when their single, “Ho Hey,” was featured in an episode of the CW Network’s “Hart of Dixie”. The band and crew expected the song to just play in the background, and looked at it as a way to get some money for a new van.

Instead, the song was featured rather extensively at the end of an episode. A quick Tumblr search after the episode found a slew of fans of the show’s star, Rachel Bilson, demanding more information about the song. “It kind of all took off from there,” says Schulz. “We just shook our heads in disbelief.”

Two months later, the band members themselves could not believe their growing popularity; their Facebook page added 7,000 fans between December and February. This newfound fan base did not have long to wait for new material. The self-titled debut album three years in the making finally dropped in April, to Schultz’s relief.

“It just feels really good, because we were really waiting and anticipating for that album to come out for a long time,” he says. “It’s like a secret you want to tell everyone. You want to have everyone listen to it, but you can’t have everyone listen to it, and you just wait and wring your hands in anticipation.”

The band wrote something like 50 songs, but settled on the 11 that they thought would work best for their live shows. “There might be some that are good for driving, but they’re not good to watch,” Schultz explained.

In fact, the band’s live show is receiving as much praise as the album. It’s obvious even from a simple YouTube clip that the group easily breaks down the wall between the performers and audience, persuading fans to sing and dance along.

“We spent years trying to write complicated stuff, and put our heads down, and powered through a gig,” Schulz recalls.  “And [we] played the best we could, and thought that would be what people wanted. Neither us nor the audience really enjoyed that much.”

They experimented with several different styles before they found  the stomping, rollicking sound heard on the album. “We liken it to a bunch of sailors on a ship, arm-in-arm. It’s very primal,” says Schulz.

Right now, Schultz is just glad to have bigger crowds to perform to. “That’s really exciting, because there have been a lot of empty rooms too,” he says. “If you have too much show and not good music, then that’s just a schtick. When you have just good music, that’s not going to be very engaging. So we’re just trying to marry the two.”

In the end, Schultz and his band mates are just thankful to see their hard work starting to pay off at last. “It’s all very, very surreal,” he says. “Bob Dylan said ‘There’s no success like failure and that failure’s no success at all.’ That’s what I’m thinking right now.”

Boston native Victor Pontes-Macedo, better known by fans and bandmates as MC Exposition or “Expo” and frontman of Long Beach-based hip-hop group Audible Mainframe, died of stomach cancer on Thursday. He was 31.

As noted on the band’s official website, Pontes-Macedo’s career with the six-member hip-hop group Audible Mainframe began in Boston in 2003. The group performed with many big name groups including LMFAO, Damian Marley, Slick Rick and Biz Markie. Their first album reached 14 on the college charts. Pontes-Macedo himself was a two-time Boston M.I.C. Award winner (Best Underground Artist and Best Underground Hip Hop Band).

Before the group migrated to Los Angeles in 2006, they had collected a number of awards, including the 2006 Mass Industry Award for “Best Underground Act” and (for Pontes-Macedo) “Best Underground Emcee”. They won both the 2004 “Battle of the Bands” competition hosted by Boston’s 107.3 FM WAAF and another in California, put on by Long Beach’s The District Weekly.

Born and raised in Boston, Pontes-Macedo returned to his home in Medford following his diagnosis of stomach cancer. In a blog post on the band’s official website, in August, he wrote about his decision: “I have been greeted by the warm embrace of my loving family. It seems weird to say I feel lucky, but if I have to be in this situation, I feel lucky to be surrounded by so many loving, caring people.”

His formal obituary, published in the Boston Globe, notes that he was surrounded by friends and family.

“Last night the world lost a legend. And we lost our friend, brother and leader,” read a post on Audible Mainframe’s Facebook page. “Words can’t even begin to describe how much he will be missed. Vic, you’ve got your wings on, ready to fly…onto that bicycle path up in the sky. Rest In Peace, Comrade.”

Pontes-Macedo is survived by his parents, Goretti Pontes-Macedo and Jose Macedo, and his brother  Daniel.

Visiting hours will be held tonight from 4-8 p.m. at the Rogers Funeral Home in Cambridge. A celebration of his life will be held at the funeral home tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Indie up-and-comers Good Old War – Keith Goodwin (vocals, guitar, keys), Tim Arnold (drums, keys, accordion, vocals) and Dan Schwartz (guitar and vocals) – released their third album, Come Back As Rain, in March, and watched as it soured to number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. Now they’re on the road, headlining a 40-city tour through the United States and Canada with opening acts The Belle Brigade and Family Of The Year.

Good Old War (Left to right): Tim Arnold, Keith Goodwin, Dan Schwartz. (Credit/blogrockingbeats.com)

The band began its  journey back home in Pennsylvania four years ago, when Goodwin and Arnold’s original band, Days Away, went on hiatus. They picked up Schwartz, who was then a member of the band Unlikely Cowboy, and from there the band now known as Good Old War began recording their first album. They collaborated with Anthony Green, the current lead singer of Circa Survive, for a nationwide tour in 2008. Their second self-titled album, released in June 2010, hit number 150 on the Billboard 200.

In anticipation of their show at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club on April 26, Blast Magazine got the chance to check in with Schwartz before the band made an appearance on Conan on TBS last Thursday.

BLAST: This is your third album to be released since you formed the band in 2008. How as the response been from your fans so far?”

DAN SCHWARTZ: “It seems to be almost 100% positive. You sit in the studio in your own little world and when you release it, it can either get trashed or loved.  But all the things that have been negative, we’ve been able to laugh off.”

BLAST: What makes the album Come Back As Rain stand out from previous albums?

DS: “It is by far the most collaborative thing we have done. We were able to take our time. All around it was a more classic album making experience then we’ve ever had before.”

BLAST: What was the experience like for all of you when this new album hit number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart?

DS: “My first question really was ‘What is the Heatseekers Chart?’, because I don’t really pay attention to that stuff.  I think we’re just always surprised and when that does happen. Some high fives go around.”

BLAST: How has the tour been going for the band so far?

DS: “It’s been amazing. Every single show has had a great response. Everybody’s been coming out and singing along with us. We are very lucky.”

BLAST: What is it like touring with The Belle Brigade and Family Of The Year?

DS: “It’s so great. You pick bands, and you know that they sound good, but you hope that they’re good people as well. For us, not only do they sound great, but they are awesome people.”

BLAST: How do you, Keith and Tim work together to write your music?

DS: “Most of the time songs start with one of us bringing in an idea and then we flesh it out together.”

BLAST: In April 2011, My Own Sinking Ship was released, followed by Calling Me Names in December. What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

DS: “I’m really looking forward to the release of ‘Amazing Eyes’. We just finished making the music video, and it looks really cool.”

Good Old War tours the US this month, with local shows in Northampton, at Pearl Street, on April 24, New York, at Bowery Ballroom April 25, and Paradise Rock Club in Boston on April 26. Purchase tickets here.

Swedish pop singer Sophia Somajo, better known as Soso, is releasing her debut album on April 6 – a whole month ahead of schedule.

This has caused some controversy, but Soso –  with her a fast-paced and impulsive approach to music – feels that the album is ready. One of the songs on the record, she says, took her two hours to put together.

“I’ve had this record in my head for a year and a half,” she says. “The songs that I wrote a year and a half ago I’m already over, because they are not relevant to me anymore.”

Despite its quick construction, her latest record That Time I Dug So Deep I Ended Up In China has a lot of meaning for her.

A self-described “manic” personality, she focuses in on one subject and learns it inside and out. She was obsessed with all things China for a time, which she says is reflected in the style of the record. “This one time [my dad] bought me this Chinese pop music on a cassette,” Soso recalls. “I carried it everywhere.  I found it again two years ago and bought a cassette player to listen to it. The melodies are so foreign and so inspiring I decided to base the album on it.”

Her upbringing also had an effect on the development of her musical style.  Growing up, her father introduced her to the world of rock ‘n roll with bands like Black Sabbath while her mother pushed the pop mega stars like Prince.  Eventually, Soso says, she grew to dislike both in her teenage years, causing her to delve into hip-hop.  This musical mash-up caused Soso to find her own style.

The record’s title, too, comes from her childhood, from memories of digging in the in the dirt looking for “cat gold” (a type of blue clay) and her mother’s warning that if she dug too deep she would end up in China.

“My own music is very autobiographical,” she says. “It always comes out like a diary. I literally come up with the lyrics as I record. It’s basically my life and what I’m experiencing. I have a lot of songs where I tell people stuff that I wouldn’t have the balls to say in person.”

She produced, wrote, and edited the album from her home in Sweden.

“It probably limits me because it will not sound as clean,” she admits. “For this record I have a microphone and a mini keyboard. I think that for me having no help or tools kind of forces me to be creative. … I’m so happy that I found a way to make myself 100% independent to make a record.”

For a woman who seems to know music making inside and out, she admits that she is somewhat limited: she can’t read music. She says that sometimes it can be more challenging to get her ideas down on paper, but there is no right or wrong way to make music.

“I’m very much into machines,” she says.  “I don’t even really like to have a live band.  I’m into pushing buttons. I couldn’t play an instrument on stage, I just couldn’t identify with that,” explains Soso.

More than anything, she embraces this as a creative advantage: “If you have no idea what the hell you are doing anything can happen,” she says. “It’s not my ambition to make things that are well done, I think that’s boring.”

As a result, Soso admits that she cannot classify her music into a specific genre. “Even calling it my music makes me feel uncomfortable,” she says. “I can explain it for hours but never classify it.”

Her do-it-yourself approach extends beyond the record itself. After releasing a music video for her single “Who’s Gonna Love Me,” she filmed one for Cody ChestnuTT’s  power pop single “My Women My Guitars.” It was filmed by her boyfriend and shot in her own bedroom – in it, she and other musicians can be seen jumping around on her bed. At the time of this interview, she was simultaneously editing a video for the project.

While she does not usually think about how people will identify with her music, she does hope that it will influence young people to find their true selves.

“I would literally be so humbled [by] anyone that listens and responds to my music,” she says.

Doc J in the studio (Credit: themusebox.net)

Hip-Hop artist Doc J — or, as he’s known to his patients, Dr. Lewis Jassey – has been balancing two successful careers for over two decades. He performs his own music for crowds of up to 50,000 and runs a pediatrics practice on Long Island.  His self-titled EP will be released on April 3.

Even with his love for music, since grade school Doc J had been fascinated with the thought of becoming a doctor. He had to find a way to make both ambitions a reality.

“I try not to jam the whole doctor thing down peoples’ throats,” said Doc J.  “I want them to look at me as a musician when I’m behind the mic.  I’m very proud of being a doctor, but I have found a way to blend both of my loves.”

He first began to take his music ambitions seriously in college, after a spring break trip to Acapulco, Mexico.  On a dare, Doc J went up on stage one night to perform and brought the house down.

A man in the music industry approached him after his performance to ask what record label he had signed with, and Doc J explained that he had never performed before. “He told me that if I [went] home and [didn’t] do anything about my talent to entertain a crowd, it would be a waste,” said Doc J.

When he returned from Acapulco, Doc J contacted his friends that were also musicians and formed a rock group, recording the type of music that bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park perform today. He then went on to form Philosophic Hardcore Dimension (PHD) with artist MC-AWAL.  Eventually both artists would go off into solo careers.

Doc J grew up learning to play instruments, including the guitar and even the accordion.  He listened to rock bands like Van Halen and Bon Jovi at first, and then began exploring hip-hop through artists like the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.  All of these factors play into how he creates his music today.

“My music has a lot of substance to it. Rappers, more than any other musicians, need to exploit the power of word.  We rely less on melody, and it’s important for a good MC to exploit that,” said Doc J.

He has recorded and catalogued over 250 songs, featuring various artists like Nyche, Jason BlackRose and Jae Tips, R&B singer Samantha Alexandra, and even 2011 American Idol contestant Alessandra Guereil.

“Music is all about chemistry,” he said.  If you have good chemistry popping off in a room, you go with it.  If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.  I’ve been fortunate that with just about everyone I’ve worked with, we have had great chemistry.”

Chemistry is also important when pursuing both of your lifelong dreams at full throttle – but Doc J doesn’t believe that he has to separate his life as a doctor from his life as a musician.

He first found a way to combine his talents while treating children in inner city Brooklyn hospitals.  “I would go into rooms with really angry inner city kids who didn’t want to be examined,” Doc J recalls.  “I would tell them I would battle them, and if I won the rap battle I could examine them.”

The patients would agree, and Doc J played his part, pretending to have no prior experience.  He would let his patient go first, and, when it was his turn, he would start off slow, letting the patient think they had won. Then, suddenly, Doc J would blow them away with an unbelievable sound.  After that, the kids could relate to him and would let him examine them without hesitation.

“I’m cognizant of the fact that kids look for role models. It would be a travesty to not dig deep and move people [with my music],” said Doc J. His own music focuses on sending a positive message that is both relatable and meaningful, in his own unique style – so when you hear it, you know it’s part of the “Doc J Movement.”

It is not just for his patients’ wellbeing that Doc J performs – he loves being on stage.  “It’s one of the most comfortable places that I can be in the world,” he said. “My adrenaline isn’t driven by anxiety; it’s the desire to connect with my audience.”

He has played for countless charity events, benefitting causes like Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Autism research, and headlined a benefit in Central Park for the American Cancer Society. When an earthquake devastated eastern Japan in March of 2011, he teamed up again with Alessandra Guereil to release a new track, with money going to aid those affected.

“You are always [made] most effective as an artist by things that fuel your fire. … when you bury your dad, or you have a patient who gets a diagnosis that could potentially affect their life forever from cancer, something clicks inside you, and makes you want to move people,” Doc J said.

The bottom line about Doc J is that he stays true to who he is. “There are a lot of different dimensions to me as a person,” he said.  “There are a lot of things inside of me that I want to share with people.”

At 10 minutes to show time, almost every band on the bill was present and accounted for. The doorman was still missing, but he was probably just running late. Outside, a patch of lousy smarch weather dampened the dirty sidewalk.

The circumstances at O’Brien’s Pub last weekend, through no fault of the venue, were not exactly conducive to a rowdy rock and roll show. It was Sunday, too, and barely the afternoon. Allston seemed busy nursing its hangover.

The crowd inside could accurately be called a crowd: 40 or so people, more than half of O’Brien’s room capacity. They were well into their first Sunday beers. No coffee or brunch on this menu. The video golf machine in the corner? Dead, unplugged. Al the sound guy had the Descendents on the PA. He untangled cables and tried to reach the doorman on his cell phone. There was change to make, and a lot of hands to mark. No answer.

Enter Ryan Agate. Oh, he’ll take the door for now, no problem. After all, Ryan The Terrible—as he’s known on flyers—booked this show, the fourth in a weekly series of Sunday matinees that he’s aptly named “Day-Drunk Pop-Punk”.

Ryan Agate (Credit Christina Atturio)

“This [series] has been surprisingly successful,” he says, sipping a Miller High Life kept cool by a koozie brought from home. “We usually get 30 or 40 people. It helps I made a catchy name.”

Along with his ability to alliterate, um, alluringly, Agate is a rock promoter who can juggle the duties of talent buyer, graphic designer, band mother, ringleader, heckler, and, yes, even doorman. He’s almost too cheery to be drinking this early. His upbeat attitude can seem a little at odds with that of the “older, jaded punk rock bands” he tends to support, but someone has to keep the show on schedule – even if its theme is three-chord tunes and, well, drinking early.

Agate is only one of many Boston promoters trying to do one thing: set up the kinds of shows they wish they could attend. It’s not always easy, especially for younger bands who try to do it themselves. The city has a reputation for being an absolute haven for new music, and boy, is it ever. Yet very few Boston-bred artists get more than a dollop of national attention before they fizzle out, or relocate to New York to fizzle out.

Chalk it up to a problem of logistics. That’s where promoters come in. Will Mayo, who organizes noise, psych, and other self-proclaimed “weird” shows, understands that the prime directive of any artist is to find a place to showcase their work.

“The hardest part [about Boston] is the lack of venues and the city’s lack of support for the non-commercial elements of the art and music scenes” Mayo says. “That issue is compounded by the fact that people tend to leave Boston shortly after they’re done with school.”

Those very kids make up much of the target demographic for small club shows, and so they remain small, as if by design. This is far from a destructive force, but it does have a crowding effect. In a city full of smart, creative folks, there is an awful lot of good music to take in, on a variety of scales. It can be daunting to a fan and unforgiving to an artist.

Wolfie Burns plays Day-Drunk Pop-Punk (Credit Jonathan Meyer)

A vast network of bands, movements, scenes, collectives, venues, clubs, and promoters all compete for attention. And they change rapidly about every four years. The hyper-specificity of Agate’s Sunday shows isn’t just a cute gimmick; it’s a rallying cry to the music’s base.

“One of the things that I try to do is to be the voice for those smaller bands,” Agate says. “Get them into a real venue so they can play for people they wouldn’t normally play for. And it’s worked out really well for some of those bands.”

Boston has a wealth of those “smaller bands,” and they find places to play even if the corporate-owned venues on Lansdowne Street aren’t offering opener slots (national booking agents generally pick those). Throughout the week, dozens of houses and basements around town operate under the radar.

Spaces like the Democracy Center and Lorem Ipsum Books also open their doors for all-ages shows. Neighborhood bars like P.A.’s Lounge and the Midway Cafe give way to mid-sized clubs like the Middle East and Great Scott.Agate and Mayo have booked pretty much all of them at one time or another, and they’ve been at it for nearly a decade, first in service to artists they like.

A principled approach like this begs for red tape. Most music venues, even non-profit spaces and event halls, require room costs. Some bars will have to make a certain amount of money in drink sales before the bands can see any of it. Most promoters are no strangers to having to pay their bands out of pocket at times. The age restrictions at bars pose an even weightier issue: why book a band at a place many of its fans aren’t allowed to enter?

The Democracy Center in Harvard Square solves this problem with three rules: shows must admit all ages, be booze-free, and end by 11. Kimberly Jane, who works part-time at the non-profit, also books hardcore shows in its ballroom. They’ve caused a few broken windows here and there, but have done well enough lately for Jane to start a fund for such incidental repairs.

“It’s really important to me that everybody who wants to see a show can,” she says. “When people are shut out because of age, it’s very clearly a nod to alcohol sales. I go to shows because I want to hear the music. If you want to drink, there are bars around, and there’s a river you can walk to and drink at. Just because a space is alcohol-free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to shows there.”

The Democracy Center challenges more than a lack of all-ages shows. The venue hosted part of last weekend’s Smash It Dead Fest, a three-day event featuring more than 25 bands benefiting the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Jane was part of a collective that raised more than $4,000 for the center.

Kimberly Jane (bottom left) and the Smash It Dead Collective (Credit Rachel Atcheson)

But big charitable festivals simply can’t happen every weekend. Smash It Dead required months of planning, and went smoothly thanks to lessons learned from the previous year’s effort, when a slew of last-minute venue changes nearly derailed the event.

Agate has had some time to learn tricks of the trade, too, if on a smaller scale: work with people and places you like, book shows in all sorts of spaces, see what works for what kind of gig, avoid shows in January.

He says the hardest part about booking shows in Boston is trying to make the bands happy. He’s a guy who knows his audience because he is his audience, often no more or less than a friend of the band. For his purposes, all-ages shows aren’t a necessity.

“Of course there are disadvantages to doing shows in bars,” Agate says. “Certain people won’t attend age-restricted shows, even if they’re of age, on principle, and that’s a valid point. But it makes my job easy to have a sound guy and a bartender at a place like O’Brien’s. If I can make 10 people come through the door, I can pay the bands.”

Three blocks from O’Brien’s, though, starts a spread of lofts and basements that take care of their bands in a different way: they’re usually absolutely bonkers. “I mainly appreciate working with bars for the simple fact that they’re reliable,” admits Will Mayo. “Of course, the wild energy of the basement is hard to capture elsewhere.”

One such Allston space sprouted up last year thanks to the efforts of Nate Richardson and Ben Henry. They’re nothing more than two brazen knuckleheads who “sling food poorly” for work and strive to put on good shows for their friends’ bands. Though they admit to “stealing the business model” from Somerville’s famed studio/space Starlab, “they’re way better than us,” says Henry. “They drink less during shows, book better shows, and are much nicer guys.”

“Yeah,” says Richardson. “They probably use a calendar.”

These two dudes pay for their room themselves, though. Even if the show doesn’t go so well (i.e.: graffiti, fireworks, windows kicked out, people thrown down stairs), the band on tour is usually compensated, and the local acts will get to play for their friends and maybe make some new ones.

“You can’t always get the band more money at a bar,” says Richardson. “Sometimes you can’t get the band any money. A bar is going to be pretty strict on their room cost. We try to be strict on ours, but if the band’s not getting paid, we’d rather pay the band than take the room fee.”

Nate Richardson (left) and Ben Henry (Credit Jonathan Meyer)

Richardson’s option to forgo his own room fee is not one afforded to legitimate venues. Unlisted, donation-driven shows, where the floor is as shaky as the legality, are asking to be shut down. For all the righteousness, a nagging struggle over money remains. Touring bands are likely to be assertive about how the money at a gig gets handled. Booking agents are more likely to make unreasonable demands far before the date is ever set. Both The Terrible Agate and the Democracy Center’s Jane admit to simply crossing off much of a band’s tour rider. It’s never out of spite – again, it’s a problem of logistics.

“Apparently there’s a lot of money in show-booking that I don’t know about,” says Agate, who prefers to pay out with a divided percentage of the door. “I know what the bands make. I know what the shows make. I don’t make anything. A lot of bands and venues don’t make anything. Where’s the money in this? A lot of people wrongfully assume that bars are making hundreds of thousands of dollars. A perfect example is a Monday night at Charlie’s [Kitchen in Cambridge]: if we make 300 bucks at the bar we’re doing all right.”

For the moment at least, so is Boston’s music scene. Its promoters are its unsung heroes, sacrificing time, money and windows. Bands and venues will come and go. Trends will sparkle and fade. Students will graduate and move back home. Yet against all odds, there’s still always something going on, if you know where to look.

Boston-based music site OurStage.com is partnering with the 2012 Vans Warped Tour to sponsor a stage for 22 festival dates – and is offering up-and-coming bands the chance to play it.

22 bands will be chosen to play one day of the festival, and one will be chosen for a 22-city tour – food & bus included. Selected bands will receive promotional support on the tour.

National submissions will be accepted until April 10 and regional submissions will be open until the end of April. Bands from all genres will be considered, and can enter on the Facebook national entry page (here) or the OurStage Warped Tour Page (here).

Five fans who log in to judge the contest will be entered to win two tickets to Warped Tour and a $500 travel stipend.

11 bands featured by OurStage.com have already earned slots on the Vans Warped tour: Twin Atlantic, The Constellations, Stepdad, Lost in Society, IWrestledABearOnce, I Fight Dragons, Ballyhoo!, Hyro Da Hero, A Loss For Words, Sick of Sarah, and Champagne Champagne.

These artists and more can be found on the official Warped Tour lineup.

The recently released documentary “No Room for Rockstars” is an attempt to broadly characterize the Vans Warped Tour by following the adventures of vocalist Mitch Lucker of Suicide Silence, Chris Drew of Never Shout Never, Mike Posner, tour founder Kevin Lyman, and Joe Candelaria of Forever Came Calling during the summer of 2010. As the documentary’s website claims, “a historical retrospective or concert film this is not.” So if it is not that, what is it?

During the summer of 2010, the Warped Tour hosted 600,000 fans and featured 200 bands. They reached 43 different cities across America in only 52 days, claims “No Room for Rockstars,” travelling close to an astounding 17,000 miles. The tour has been a career stepping-stone for everyone from Sublime to Pennywise to Blink 182 and is in many ways America’s summer home for misfits and outsiders. The tour is not for the faint of heart.

The documentary weaves several lives together by following their divergent paths during the Warped Tour. Vocalist Mitch of Suicide Silence and Chris of Never Shout Never are intentionally juxtaposed. The doc begins on the first day of the tour where Mitch walks onto the stage and screams “get violent!” It shortly after cuts to Chris of Never Shout Never in which he states, “now this first song is about everybody in the whole wide world falling in love with each other. I hope to see some peace signs out there.” The crowd immediately throws their two fingers into the air.

The self-aware Mike Posner is the odd man out as a pop singer on an otherwise countercultural tour. We watch his quick rise in popularity as the summer progresses. Posner is juxtaposed with Forever Came Calling – an independent band following the Warped Tour trying to make a name for themselves by selling CDs to the people in line outside the gates. While Posner quickly rises to fame, singer Chris and his group spiral into the increasingly grim reality of being a band on the road with no money and little support.

The legendary Kevin Lyman, the leader and creator of the tour, is also profiled in the doc. He is mythically known as the egalitarian blue-collar leader who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He will listen to anyone’s demo and is always giving jobs to hard working people. He is a man’s man who barbeques and drinks beer. But during one date midway through the tour, the show gets delayed by storms. When a manager confronts Lyman about why his band is not playing that day, Lyman tries to fix the problem. But when he can’t fix it, he gets frustrated, curses, and storms out of the makeshift office. It is a rare glimpse into a moment of a man’s life that goes against his myth.

“No Room for Rockstars” takes on the momentous task of following several different artists and individuals, while trying to tell their stories within a two hour run time. This is where the documentary struggles; instead of complete characterizations, we only get incomplete snippets of life on the road. There are many moments where the doc appears to set up a theme or tension, only for it to go unexplored. In one case, the documentary introduces that the bands Anarbor and Fake Problems have to share a bus with Mike Posner in order to save costs while touring. The idea is set: what happens when two bands and a pop star with contrasting lifestyles are forced to live together on a cramped bus? This is never answered. We never see Anarbor or Posner interact; we never see footage of them trying to live together or the struggles of living with people they don’t know.  We are only presented with the idea of it.

But despite this, there are pleasurable moments in the film as well. When getting to understand Mitch of Suicide Silence, we learn why he works so hard; he is a family man. As a tatted up metal vocalist who writes songs about aggression and inciting violence, Mitch is also a father of a young daughter. He explains that touring is his way of putting food on the table for his family, creating the heart wrenching dichotomy that to be away from his family is the best way to help them. But even this wonderful characterization falls prey to the documentary trying to take on too much. We never see Mitch struggle with not seeing his family; we only get a sense of it through a quick interview, a photo, and some footage of his daughter on stage. It is all tell and no show.

With this in mind, it is difficult to pinpoint who this film is for. I don’t feel comfortable recommending it to the Warped Tour crowd simply because most of the themes that the documentary discusses are already widely known. It is not a secret that Kevin Lyman is a blue-collar iconoclast, or that it gets hot on tour, or that it is all about the DIY and EIY ethic. Anyone that has gone to the tour knows these things; it is all on display when you get there. And it does not go far enough behind the scenes to offer up anything new.

And despite the website’s claims “No Room for Rockstars is meaningful insight into current state of rock and roll and the zeitgeist of youth culture,” the film does not provide enough depth to be engaging to someone unfamiliar with the Warped Tour. Hype! – a documentary that discussed the grunge scene – appealed to a broader audience because it discussed political economy and commercialization of grunge, broadening the scope beyond being just a rock doc. In “No Room for Rockstars,” Chris of Never Shout Never comes to the conclusion near the end that the Warped Tour is just as commercial a tour as any other, despite its roots in a punk scene. It is a counter to the other sentiments of the doc that present the tour as an amazing unforgettable experience. But this sentiment does not come into the film until well after an hour. If “No Room for Rockstars” were to discuss throughout the commoditization of the tour versus the opportunities it provides, it could appeal to broader interests. But it doesn’t; it falls in the cracks between being for fans and for people interested in the “zeitgeist of youth culture.”

With that said, it is still a well-crafted documentary. Sure, there is no Altamont-style incident, but it does provide different perspectives on the same subject. Forever Came Calling’s narrative arc is rewarding and the characterization of Mike Posner is dynamic and evolves throughout the film. If you have a passing interest in Rock and Roll or the Vans Warped Tour, than “No Room for Rockstars” is for you.

Yesterday was the finale of Comedy Central’s show “Key & Peele,” but clips from the show are already available to watch on YouTube.

Starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the show is a mixture of filmed sketch comedy and live stage performances. It will return for a second season in the fall.

The official soundtrack for “The Huger Games” film is available to listen to for free on Rdio.

“The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond” was released by Universal Records on Tuesday and the film will hit theaters on Friday.

The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and features Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire, Kid Cudi and Maroon 5. The 16 songs on the album range from indie to country. The diverse soundtrack will appeal to many audiences just as the film is expected to do.

I can still picture my 15-year-old self perfectly: decked out in too-tight skinny jeans held up by a studded belt, paired with a black Misfits hoodie, listening to the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album. Fast-forward to me now– a flower in my pony-tail, rolling up the sleeves of my jean jacket, singing along to the same music as I did then. The difference now is I dress more like a pretentious douche bag rather than an emo kid.

Why do I still like emo? Well, I don’t. I guess you could say, I like what most people consider to be called emo, but I don’t like to associate the music I listen to with that term. Take my coworker, for example. After a few minutes of friendly conversation he asks me what sort of music I like. I tell him, “My favorite bands are My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, and Fall Out Boy.” I already knew what was coming next; I get the same reaction every time. “You like that emo shit? Start listening to some real music.” With the word “Emo” comes a certain stereotype of people, as do many others.

My 15-year-old self fit the stereotype to a tee. To be perfectly honest, a part of me sort of liked being called “that emo chick”, because that meant it was obvious what sort of music I listened to, and I was proud of that. Then you had the people who called themselves “Emo”… no comment. Chances are, if you listened to bands like Hawthorn Heights, Metro Station, The Used, or even All-American Rejects, you were fighting off accusations of being an “emo kid” (or accepting them).

But, I digress. Why do I still like the music I liked back in middle school? Well, it’s sort of like hanging out with a really good old friend, that always has my back. I remember the first time I saw the music video for “Helena”. It was a couple weeks after the death of a close family member. As high up on the sappy level this is going to be, it really felt like Gerard Way was explaining how I felt through song. I found the latest issue of SPIN at the time laying around in my mother’s room, and who else but My Chemical Romance was on the cover. I like to think of it as fate (no seriously). “Rocks New Super Heroes” was captioned beneath a pale-faced, black-haired Way, accompanied by his band of misfit superheroes. From then on, they became friends of mine. Well, in fan fictions and in my mind, but such is the life of a fangirl.

One other thing I love about this genre is the fan-base. Everyone shares a love for music that is so personal, you almost feel as if they’re family. Online communities such as Tumblr, or Live Journal are perfect for meeting these fans, and sharing your experiences with those people. Most fans are accepting, and understanding, but a lot of people associate the word “Emo” with self-harm, and violence, but the purpose of the music is for us to relate to the emotions, and bring us all together.

So to answer the question, I still like emo because I like singing along to songs that I know all the words to. I like the excitement of waiting for my favorite band’s new album to come out. I like to feel good, and ironically enough, lines like “If they knew how misery loved me” do just that.

If you close your eyes, you just might recognize them. The Beelzebubs, Tufts University’s all-male a cappella group, are the real voices behind the Dalton Warbles on Fox’s hit television show, “Glee.” But they do not fly to LA every week to sing, you can actually find them a few blocks from Tufts in a recording studio in Somerville, MA.

In 2010, when the group, nicknamed “The Bubs,” recorded a cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” their first song for “Glee,” they could not have imagined that it would be so successful. Now, with about a dozen songs recorded for the show, it doesn’t look like the “dream” is going to end anytime soon.

“Teenage Dream” was recorded in a studio in New York, but once additional songs were requested, the Bubs began recording in Somerville. During the season, the group was only given a day or two advance notice for a new song, so each person went to the studio in between classes to record his portion, according to Michael Grant, Bubs member and business manager.

The group sound that you hear on the show is the result of music recording software. “We all record[ed] separately,” says Grant. “The finished product, we often didn’t hear until we saw it with everyone else online or on TV, which is surreal.”

Typically ranging between 11 and 15 members, this year’s group is composed of 14 singers, with half of them being first-year students. “That presents a lot of opportunities and challenges,” says Grant, who has been with the group two years. “[But] what’s great is that the common thread [of the group] is maintained throughout, which has been really cool to see.”

Founded in 1962, the Bubs are still very relevant today. They have recorded 30 albums and were even runners up on the popular NBC show “The Sing-Off” in 2009. Their most recent album “Battle” was released in 2011 and includes covers of R. Kelly’s “Bump N Grind,” Cee Lo Green’s “Closet Freak” and U2’s “Running to Stand Still.

The Bubs will be performing a variety of songs from their repertoire at the First Parish Church in Norwell, MA this Saturday. Songs range from a Will Smith mashup to a hit by Florence and the Machine.

The sold-out event, presented by the James Library and Center for the Arts, is one of the many performances that the Bubs have locally and globally. The group typically has three or four main shows at Tufts during the course of the year, but 70 to 80 percent of their performances are elsewhere, according to Grant.

They have traveled all over New England and even abroad to perform in places like Thailand, Argentina and France. “Performing for a foreign audience is very exciting in different ways,” says Grant. “But, I would say, with the recent traveling, it’s been even more important for us to come home and perform for our root audience.”

But whether you hear them at a concert, on television or on one of their albums, you will definitely notice that the Bubs’ energy is contagious. Fifty years after the group was founded, they are still having a good time and upholding their motto: Fun through Song.

Rising music artist, Simon Spire is celebrating the recent release of his new EP “No Solid Ground.” The New Zealand native released this five-song EP on January 31 to give listeners a taste of what is to come in his album “Four-Letter Words,” tentatively being released this summer.

The song “Liberate Your Love” was a success in 2011 and will be the album’s lead single. Spire felt it was a little nerve-racking to have his music critiqued by the public, but ultimately a very exciting experience. “I am grateful that people have been listening and responding to it. I hope to get it out to more people,” he says.

When he first came to the US, Simon lived in various places such as Los Angeles, Washington and Arizona with an artist development organization fine-tuning his artistic sound. Finally he settled in New York and has been residing there for the past four years, writing and spreading his music. Recently, Spire has been hard at work in recording studios preparing this album teaser.

Some fans wondered why Spire only released a small portion of the album. “I think part of it is to build momentum gradually rather than releasing the album too early,” says Spire. He went on to say that the album is still not completely finished. More mixing is still being done in order to give fans the best album possible.

Many have commented on the style of Spire’s music calling it a combination of indie and pop or just alternative. “Self-inquiring indie pop” is how he likes to describe his music. “It’s buoyant in the beat, but there are more spacious and somber songs. The emphasis is not on being edgy,” says Spire.

This anticipated album would never have been possible were it not for Simon’s introduction to music at a young age. Spire’s first instrument was the piano where he was classically trained. But he first became “obsessed” with music at age 13 when he heard one of his fellow classmates’ acoustic performance of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are.”

“Don’t play the stupid game ’cause I’m a different kind of girl, every record sounds the same, you’ve got to step into my world,” sings pop icon Madonna in her new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” from her latest album entitled ”MDNA.” In the song’s pep rally-inspired music video, which premiered Feb. 3, Madonna is dressed in sexy, skimpy, provocative clothing. Doll-faced cheerleaders dance around and helmet-wearing players tackle. The song features British rapper/songwriter M.I.A. and Pink Friday Barbie, Nicki Minaj. The three stars capture their audience representing creativity, diversity and individuality.

When watching the outré video, one can’t help but acknowledge that some of its visuals have been seen elsewhere before. In one scene, Madonna pushes a baby stroller, and in another, she cradles a baby doll at her breast, finally throwing the doll off to the side. This visual resembles some of the uncensored provocative visuals Lady Gaga has displayed in her past videos. In another scene, Madonna falls into the hands of a group of football players while wearing a big cross around her neck, resembling Gaga’s fall while portraying a nun wearing a white robe with red crosses in her video for “Alejandro.”

Madonna, though, said in a recent interview with ABC’s Cynthia McFadden that when she heard Gaga’s 2011 single “Born This Way,” she thought it sounded “very familiar,” and much like Madge’s 1989 “Express Yourself.”

“It feels reductive,” said Madonna. When asked by McFadden if that’s a good thing, Madonna responded coyly, “Look it up.”

First was the passive-aggressive interview, now the music video? Is it just a coincidence or could the Queen of Pop be throwing competitive subliminals at the “Fame Monster” icon? You decide.

After his success with British boy bands, Simon Cowell has decided to form a similar group in the states.

“Simon is really excited to form a group of guys from America. He’s done such a fine job with British boys, so he’s ready to try his hand in America. He’s looking for the right people to team up with and create their sound,” a source told Just Jared.

Cowell’s projects, One Direction, which was formed through his British “The X Factor”, and Il Divo, an opera quartet, are both signed to his Syco label.

The first time I heard an entire Enter Shikari album, it was during a particularly long drive to Las Vegas with no air conditioning and the driver was going exactly 55 miles per hour. It was their first album, “Take to the Skies.”

We had heard about a UK hardcore-ish band that included techno beats and had the synth on the front lines of their song writing; as opposed to the bands we were used to—Underoath, Chiodos to name a few—that had the synth merely as a backup, sometimes so quiet you could barely hear it. During that six-hour drive, we were introduced to songs like “Mothership” and “Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour.” Suddenly we no longer cared that our driver was going unusually slow.

On our third loop through the album, while screaming out the lyrics, we realized we were hooked, and we’d never look back. We gobbled up everything they put out. Went to all the shows, followed their past, their present and their future.

When you’re truly obsessed with a band, there is always a slight suspicion that their next album won’t be as good as their first and, just like every other band, will become just another corporate Avenged Sevenfold type, selling out amphitheatres and opening up for a monster truck rally.

Enter Shikari (translated: Enter the Hunter) then dropped their second album, “Common Dreads,” broadening our horizons with heavy tracks such as “Solidarity” and “Step Up,” and showing that they can keep us on our toes with songs like “The Jester” and “Juggernauts.”

We listened to that one over the phone, commenting on the album’s unpredictability and their balls out approach—no track sounding like the other.

It’s present day and Enter Shikari just released their third album, “A Flash Flood of Colour.” Before we could even begin the question “Have they peaked?” we were hit with the opening track “System…” where lead vocalist Rou Reynolds shows he isn’t just a typical screaming/singing front man. He gracefully spouts a poem, seemingly about the connection between our inevitable downfall as a human race and a house on the side of an eroding cliff. “There was a house in a field on the side of a cliff, and the waves crashing below were just said to be a myth. So they ignored the warnings from the ships in the docks, now the house on the cliff is the wreckage on the rocks.”

As per Enter Shikari’s usual, each track blends together, and “…Meltdown” hits, building an enormous synth breakdown, promising us “This is gonna change everything” and by the time the chorus hits and you hear “Fuck all borders and fuck all boundaries. Fuck all flags and fuck nationalities” you realize they fulfilled that promise.

Each track unveils more and more of Shikari’s belief system that we’re purposefully divided, flawed and scarred as a society, searching for answers in history books, which they say are “just regurgitated lies” written by the corrupt, the pigs, the snakes. Each track goes deep in the crevices of their belief that we can save the world by becoming a unified planet, becoming one. The opening two tracks end with the line: “Fear starts to vanish when we realize, that countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick.”

“Sssnakepit” lets up little, sticking to their old tricks with a ripping two-step verse, a gang sing-along chorus and a stomping breakdown. ‘”You’re not gonna believe this, you can’t perceive this…this is like nothing you’ve seen before,” once again, a promise left fulfilled.

The general consensus after a full, straight-through review of “A Flash Flood of Colour”? Everything got better. The band reaches monumental heights in this album. Guitarist Rory C, rips it up with unconventional, sweeping riffs, running the gamut from heavy Pantera-like sounds in “Search Party,” to grindcore-style sweeps in “Gandhi Mate, Gandhi.” And if that’s not convincing enough, just listen to “Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here” where he puts his heart and soul into a two-minute-long solo of sorts where…well, I won’t give away the ending.

Drummer Rob Rolfe, my personal favorite member for his stage antics, makes sure no one doubts his abilities as he serves up blast beats in “Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide.” His best song without a doubt is “Arguing with Thermometers” where he doesn’t skimp on the crash cymbal during the breakdowns, and keeps it jazzy during the chorus while Rou tells us “We’re all addicted to the most abusive and destructive drug of all time.” And he’s not talking about Class A’s…“That business is miniscule when compared.”

Bassist and backup vocalist Chris Batten rounds everything out as usual. Making sure the breakdowns are heavy, and the melodies stay sharp and catchy. He has a backup vocal in just about every song (My personal favorite is “It’s not too late, it’s not too late” on “…Meltdown”).

Each song can be pointed to as the best song they’ve made to date, each one being so fiercely different than the next. From the mellow sing-alongs in “Search Party,” to the fast paced technicality of “Pack of Thieves,” the band never lets us breathe until the end of the album. In their final song, “Constellations,”—which is part poem, part symphony—they encourage us to break all norms and boundaries until we can “explore space…together, forever.”

The album immediately shot to #1 album in the UK when released. Yes, #1 album in the UK. Not #1 independent album (though that’s also true), not #1 rock album (also true), but #1 album. Straight up. On their website, www.entershikari.com, Rou Reynolds writes (in regards to whether they’ll stay at #1 for any amount of time): “I don’t know whether we’ll be holding strong by Sunday when the end of the week run down happens. In fact I’m sure Adele or Bruno Mars will have crept back up on us by then and achieve their 50th week at number one or whatever they’re on. But we’ll have had our nice brisk trot in the limelight, and big up all those that contributed.”

Which seems, again, like they fulfilled the promise they set in “Pack of Thieves”: “Don’t be fooled into thinking that a small group of friends cannot change the world.” 

LL Cool J will host the 54th Annual Grammy Awards taking place tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Diana Ross will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and performances include: Rihanna, Tony Bennett, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Adele and more.

To honor Grammy-Award winning singer Whitney Houston, who died yesterday, Jennifer Hudson is expected to sing a medley of her hits. Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt will  pay tribute to Etta James.

Kanye West has seven nominations, topping Adele, Bruno Mars and Foo Fighters who each have six. Lil Wayne and Skrillex follow with five nominations.

8:00 p.m. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band open the show. Bruce asks: “America, are you alive out there?”

8:04 p.m. LL Cool J, host of this year’s Grammy Awards, begins the show by addressing Whitney Houston’s death and saying a prayer.

8:07 p.m. A clip of Whitney Houston singing her hit song “I Will Always Love You” is played.

8:11 p.m. Bruno Mars performs in the style of James Brown.

8:20 p.m. Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt sing “A Sunday Kind of Love” in tribute to Etta James.

Adele accepts her first Grammy of the night

8:24 p.m. The first award of the night for Best Pop Solo Performance goes to Adele for “Someone Like You.”

8:25 p.m. Chris Brown takes the stage performing “Turn Up the Music” and “Beautiful People.”

8:36 p.m. Fergie  and Marc Anthony announce Jay-Z and Kanye West as the winners of the Best Rap Performance category for their song “Otis.” Both rappers are not in attendance.

8:37 p.m. Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson perform “Don’t You Wanna Stay.”

8:47 p.m. Foo Fighters perform outside the Staples Center. The group has already won four Grammys tonight.

8:56 p.m. Rihanna sings “We Found Love” then joins Coldplay to sing  ”Princess of China.” Coldplay then performs their hit song “Paradise.”

9:12 p.m. The Grammy for Best Rock Performance goes to Foo Fighters for “Walk.” Lead singer Dave Grohl said they made the record in his garage with a microphone and tape recorder.

Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine joins The Beach Boys on stage

9:16 p.m. Maroon 5 leads the celebration of the Beach Boys with “Surfer Girl.” Foster the People sings the next song “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”

9:21 p.m. The Beach Boys reunite on their 50th anniversary and sing “Good Vibrations.” Maroon 5 and Foster the People join for the second half of the song.

9:30 p.m. This year’s Trustees Awards were given to Dave  Bartholomew, Steve Jobs and Rudy Van Gelder.

9:31 p.m. Stevie Wonder receives a standing ovation as he comes out to announce the next performer. Plays harmonica and sings as he introduces Paul McCartney.

9:32 p.m. Paul McCartney sings “My Valentine” sitting on a stool with an orchestra playing behind him.

9:36 p.m. Common and Taraji P. Henson honor the deceased Gil Scott-Heron and present the Grammy for Best R&B Album to Chris Brown.

9:38 p.m. The Civil Wars come out and say “We would like to thank all of our opening acts.” Jokes!

Taylor Swift plays the banjo while performing "Mean"

9:40 p.m. Taylor Swift embraces her country side while performing “Mean.” She plays a banjo and dresses like she is in “Little House on the Prairie.”

9:50 p.m. Neil Patrick Harris presents the Grammy for Best Song of the Year to Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth for “Rolling in Deep.” That was definitely one award most will agree on.

9:52 p.m. Katy Perry performs “E.T.” and dresses like a superhero for “Part of Me.”

9:57 p.m. Best Country Album is awarded to Lady Antebellum for “Own the Night.”

10:05 p.m. Adele begins her much anticipated performance singing “Rolling in the Deep.” So effortless and beautiful. We are all glad her voice is back. The show allows time for the standing ovation to go uninterrupted.

10:16 p.m. Taylor Swift announces the Glen Campbell tribute with The Band Perry and Blake Shelton.

10:21 p.m. Glen Campbell takes the stage singing “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

10:24 p.m. Glen Campbell is one of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. Other recipients include: Allman Brothers Band, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Memphis Horns, George Jones and Diana Ross.

10:30 p.m. Carrie Underwood asks Tony Bennett to join her on stage to sing the duet “It Had To Be You.”

10:33 p.m.  The Grammy for Best New Artist goes to Bon Iver. He is so tall! The mic is definitely too low for him.

10:38 p.m. In Memorium video tribute honors those lost this past year including: Amy Winehouse, Nick Ashford, Steve Jobs, Heavy D, Johnny Otis, Marv Tarplin, Whitney Houston and many more.

Jennifer Hudson sings "I Will Always Love You" without crying

10:42 p.m. Jennifer Hudson sings “I Will Always Love You” in tribute to Whitney Houston. Such a sentimental performance. She ends with “Whitney, we love you.”

10:50 p.m.  Salute to today’s dance music takes place outside the Staples Center at L.A. Live with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, David Guetta, Deadmau5 and Foo Fighters.

11:04 p.m. Drake introduces Nicki Minaj and calls her “intelligent, beautiful and driven.” Nicki titles her performance “The Exorcism of the Roman” and begins with a video parody of “The Exorcist.” She truly puts on a show while singing her song “Roman Holiday.”

11:10 p.m. Lady Antebellum presents the Grammy for Record of the Year to Adele for “Rolling in the Deep.” No surprise there!

11:18 p.m. Diana Ross joins LL Cool J to announce Album of the Year. The Grammy goes to Adele for “21.” She cries as she gives her thank you speech. Said the album was inspired by a “rubbish relationship.” Adele really cleaned up tonight but her wins were certainly well deserved.

11:23 p.m. Paul McCartney closes out the show with “Carry that Weight” and “The Love We Make.”

Whitney Houston, music legend and pop icon, has died according to a statement from Houston’s publicist to the Associated Press.

Houston’s success began in the 1980s with such hits as “How Will I Know” and “Saving All My Love For You.” Yet it wasn’t until the singer chose to cover Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” for the 1992 movie, “The Bodyguard” that her musical career hit the stratosphere as an international icon.

Unfortunately, Houston’s music would eventually be overshadowed by her public battles with drugs, and her tumultuous relationship with Bobby Brown. Her addiction would also ravage her voice, once recognized as among the best in the world.

Only 48 years old, Houston’s official cause of death has not been released, and details remain unclear at the moment.

It must be difficult for anyone making a career decision to move to another country, let alone to make the decision when you’re thirteen. Cody Simpson — a cute blonde Australian boy — posted a couple videos of himself singing and playing guitar on youtube at the tender age of 13. Before he knew it, he was contacted by record producer Shawn Campbell and moved from Australia to Los Angeles to make an album with Atlantic Records.

His accomplishments seem boundless since: he has received over 110 million youtube views and well over 2 million facebook likes. His single, “On My Mind,” off of his second e.p. “Coast to Coast” reached #1 on Radio Disney and he has been on a myriad of television shows from the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” to “Live! With Regis and Kelly.” He is quickly becoming the next digital generation phenomenon.

Now at the age of 15, Cody is continuing to work hard in order to maintain his success.

When asked if there was a girl in his life – as his music mainly discusses relationships and love – Cody replied, “No, there isn’t at the moment. If the girl you’re talking about is named ‘Music’ then sure, I’m dating her. But really I am just focusing on my career at the moment. I’m a pretty focused kid and I am definitely very self motivated. And I think once I get everything established to where I want to be, than there is time for all that.  I got a while. I love to hang out with girls, but relationships are real hard for me at the moment. I have a lot of good friends, but nothing too serious.”

Cody is mature for his age. As a rising star, he is often compared to Justin Bieber. When asked what he thinks of being compared to Justin, Cody said, “I think a lot of people like to put things in boxes and say, ‘okay, he was discovered on YouTube and he sings and he is a teenager, so that means he is a new Justin Bieber.’ What? Like hold on a second…”

But despite the comparisons, Cody revealed, “Justin and I were just in the studio, like yesterday working together. Obviously I’m still at the more beginning stages of my career. But its cool to work with Justin and people like him. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the music and the creation of that. He is working on his next album and I am working on my debut. I think that this generation is definitely doing it big.”

On being a young artist, Cody said, “I think there are many disadvantages of being young and being a teenager. There are only certain things you can say musically and certain things you can do. I’m never really going to say anything risky or explicit in my songs. I definitely am more mature for my age. But I think as my fans grew up and as I grew up with my fans, we had to just create the music for them. A lot of people definitely expect a certain thing from a teen artist. But I think with my album, with the single, and the video, and this tour that I’m doing, I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I am really excited for the coming year. And I will see how it goes. I am definitely doing things that no one is expecting.”

A great example of Cody’s artistic and unexpected side is his cover of Drake’s “Marvin’s Room” — a song about drunk texting lost romances. But since the song is widely inappropriate for younger audiences, Cody decided to “re-imagine” it.

“I’m a big Drake fan in general. I love that song and I wanted to re-imagine it and create a version of the song I think my fans could listen to and they could relate to,” he said. “JoJo did the female side of things of that story, and then I wanted to create a story for my younger fans.”

So what is Cody doing when he is not recording, going on tour, or making music videos?

“I go to school in the morning usually. My tutor travels with me when I’m on the road. I think it’s important to stay in school,” he said.

But what about during his time off?

“I love to go surfing. I love to play golf. Golf is always relaxing when you have a day off. I love just being out in the ocean and I love just being out on the golf course.”

Now living in Los Angeles, golf and surf is easily available to him, though the surf is better “back home in Australia,” according to Cody. When asked about his life before fame, Cody misses “that time to chill with friends. I have friends back home that I am very close to that I still talk to every single day. We don’t really get to hang out too much. I miss them and my family and my lifestyle a little bit. I love writing music and [Los Angeles] is where you have to be for that.”

The future is promising. “I am creating my own album right now,” Cody said. “My single is coming out in the next few weeks. For right now, I am focusing on the tour.”

When asked where he would like to be in five years from now, he said, “I’ll be 20 years old, hopefully still making music as a respected artist and someone that has inspired a lot of people and has made some great music. That is all I really want to do.  I want to inspire my fans. I want to do work for charity in the next five years, definitely.  There is a lot of stuff happening to me and I want to make sure I am giving back to my fans and people less fortunate than me.”

Cody is currently touring the country. His tour dates can be seen here.

In almost every article or interview of Jack’s Mannequin, two details about Andrew McMahon — Jack’s front man — are always mentioned: (1) he was in Something Corporate and (2) he has lymphoblastic leukemia. But with Jack’s Mannequin now on their third full length album and his leukemia in remission for the past six years, it is safe to say Andrew McMahon is now in a different headspace.

“People and Things” — an all-encompassing title — is Jack’s Mannequin’s third album, which was released back in October of 2011.  It debuted at number one on Billboard’s alternative rock album chart and has received warm reviews from critics. The songs on the album range from the radio-friendly “My Racing Thoughts” to the anthemic “Release Me” to the piano ballad “Platform Fire.” Andrew has stated that the album in many ways is about love, relationships, and his marriage: his goal to write songs that offered less flowery language exposing the more honest underbelly of relationships. The song, “Television,” exemplifies this idea about Andrew’s literal inability to fall asleep without a television on; but the idea is extended to explain the intimate state of uneasiness in his relationship. Jack’s Mannequin is currently on tour in support of “People and Things.”

BLAST: How is the tour going so far?

ANDREW MCMAHON:The tour has been excellent. We’re on our fifth or six show. All the shows have been, truthfully, better than I expected. It has been a fun run. I’m in Chicago tonight actually, just pacing around the House of Blues.

BLAST: How is it there?

AM: It’s great. I love Chicago. I actually spent a little bit of time growing up here when I was a kid. I certainly feel at home when I make my way out here.

BLAST: You moved around a lot as a kid?

AM: Yeah. I actually lived outside of Boston too. (Andrew chuckles)

BLAST: Are you excited to return? Do you ever feel nostalgic for the east coast?

AM: I do. A lot of my nostalgia probably comes from my early travels with Something Corporate just because I was so young when I lived out there. I was in Massachusetts for my first few years of life and then Jersey for the following three. So I don’t have tons of memories from the east coast. But I think there is a sort of feeling of home when you go to places that you’re from and have lived. I definitely feel a kinship to the east coast. No doubt.

BLAST: Are you still doing yoga on tour?

AM: Oh yes, yeah, it is a big part of my life on and off the road now. When I’m on the road, I get a good three or four days of yoga per week. But it got a little tricky with all the show days and the record coming out and doing press and things like that. So I do it every other day, including my days off. It keeps me feeling pretty good.

BLAST: What else do you do to fill your time on the road?

AM: There is not a ton of free time on the road when you’re promoting a record. A lot of it will be sneaking around to radio stations or doing phone interviews. When I do have time, I try and read. And when I am on the bus, I try and put on a good movie and get myself to sleep. But I’m pretty busy out here.

BLAST: You have said before that you are a fan of Billy Joel, so does your song “Television” have any relationship to Joel’s “Sleeping with the Television On”?

AM: It’s so funny that you should say that because truthfully there was no relationship to it. Actually, as I was finishing that song, I was going through a bunch of old vinyl and I came across the Joel album. I forgot what record it was on. So I saw on the back of it and I was like, ‘Oh my God are you kidding me?’ So it is hard to say whether or not it had any subconscious influence on me. As a kid, I don’t remember ever listening to the song. I remember listening to his Greatest Hits volume one, while I was growing up as a Joel fan.  But yeah, I was definitely surprised to see the song title when I came across it.

BLAST: What television show do you usually fall asleep to?

AM: Truthfully for me, it is usually movies. I try to put in movies that I’ve seen like a million times, so that I can kind of zone out. It is usually The Big Lebowski, Super Troopers, usually a funny movie. But that tends to be my prescription before bed.

BLAST: Jack’s Mannequin’s bio by Warner Brothers Records says that People and Things “delves into the joys and conflicts of the first years of marriage” and you have stated that the album is about love and relationships. What does your significant other think of the album?

AM: (He chuckles) I think she likes it.  Yeah I hope so. I don’t think she would tell me otherwise. But I think in a lot of ways it’s kind of our album as well. I think it’s tricky for anybody in my life who ends up being the subject of the songs that I write. In my wife’s case, we’ve been together for the better part of ten years and [she] knows that it kind of comes with the territory. But as far as I understand, this is her favorite of the Jack’s records. I think I did alright by her.

BLAST: What music do you listen to that you wouldn’t normally tell anyone about? What’s your guilty pleasure music?

AM: I don’t know. I don’t normally subscribe to like the guilty pleasures thing. I like lots of different types of music and I tend to be pretty okay with that. I can’t really think of the type of example that I wouldn’t be so proud to share. You got me stumped on that one.

BLAST: That’s okay. You have said before that you love to explore other mediums of art. What kind of other art are you working on?

AM: Personally, in a hobby sort of way, I have been taking a lot of pictures. I got a new camera over the summer that I have been experimenting with and have a lot of fun with that. I used to do that a lot with my Polaroid, but it is a little bit more difficult to get the kind of film that I need for my old camera. I also do quite a bit of writing on the side, none of which has really come out, other than in the forms of blogs.

BLAST: How many tattoos do you have? Do you have a favorite?

AM: Let me count here: one, two, three, four, five. Five! So five. You know, I am pretty close to all of them. The cool thing about my tattoos is that they all represent a different time in my life. There’s the Starry Night on my left arm, which I am very close to. So I will go with that for now.

BLAST: Who would your perfect collaboration project be with?

AM: I’ve definitely been digging Danger Mouse. I like a lot of what he has been up to, something in that vein. I like the thing he did with Broken Bells; I thought that was really cool. There is certainly a lot of great stuff that he has been attached to.

BLAST: What’s the Dear Jack Foundation?

AM: It’s something that I started after my own experience with cancer. We do our best to raise money for organizations that are fighting leukemia and young adult cancer. It’s what we have been up to for the better part of six years. We help raise money for research. We try things with initiatives for young adults like sending kids to camp who are sick.

BLAST: Anything else you want to tell the Blast Magazine readers?

AM: Thanks for listening. And I hope to see you at one of the shows in the next few weeks.

Jack’s Mannequin will be in Boston on February 3 at House of Blues. The list of tour dates can be seen here.

Amory Sivertson — a piano playing folksy pop singer-songwriter reminiscent of Sara Bareilles and Feist – recently released her third album titled “Human.” The song of the same name begins with the line, “sometimes I do things that could either win me a medal or land me in jail.” Amory stated that investing in making music is her favorite high stakes activity that could fit this dichotomy. “I think it is what could make me the happiest in life and support me. But it is also the thing that could lead me to invest a lot of money in a project that may not come to fruition, could bankrupt me, could lead me to the poor house. That fills that kind of binary, I suppose.”

Her goal is to become “a self-sustaining musician. That music is how I feed myself and clothe myself and buy Christmas presents for the people I love,” Sivertson said.

This goal is deeply entrenched within the songwriter. Her father is a drummer and music teacher. Playing music has always been a part of her upbringing. As a child, Amory’s father “would make little dorky songs on the spot all the time like when he was doing dishes.” Once Amory began playing piano, music theory became a form of communication between her and her father. “We could converse in that way, in a new shared language,” said Amory.

She continues to speak this language. “The end goal was always to be a professional musician,” said Amory. But after realizing that she didn’t have the Hollywood connections to make it into the Mickey Mouse Club, her path changed. She began playing open-mics, going on tour, and pushing beyond her comfort zone. She believed that “if you want to be a rock-star, you can’t go to college.”

So after entering Emerson College, her idea of attaining success changed again. Being around other creative types and becoming entrenched in a new audience, only “fueled the fire” for Amory. Her belief switched to getting discovered and dropping out. But now as a recent graduate, “I have had to redefine the road to getting there,” once again.

“How do I pay the loans and not completely bankrupt myself and still keep moving forward with music?” asked Amory.

The idea of financial priority makes its way into her music as well. On “Human,” the song, “Put It in the Bank,” is an upbeat romp reflecting on the value of money with a catchy hook featuring the staccato syllabic line, “p-p-p-put it in the bank,” as the title suggests. In regards to the song, Amory stated, “I hope that people know that the bank isn’t necessarily your own personal bank account. It’s putting your money where you think it can do the most good. And if that’s your bank account, than sure put it in your bank account… [But] we should become more conscious of where we are putting our dollar because the dollar you drop could earn you a medal or land you in jail.”

“We created money and we created the problems that go with the money. So we have to know what were doing with it,” according to Amory. Her ideas that run throughout the album are complex and meditative, yet succinct.

“I think the essence of Human that runs through the material is flaws and uncertainty. Learning the balance between… the tremendous potential we have as a species with our brain power and whatnot, and our very primal instincts… It’s the balance between the wonderful things we are capable of and the terrible things we are capable of. And the great potential we supposedly have and the very primal instincts that we have to just eat, sleep, have sex. That’s it.” She chuckled after deducing the human experience to three things.

The cover of Human features a collage of patterned textiles in the shape of an anatomical heart. When asked about the theme of humanity, Amory responded, “any album ever could be called human as that what art supposedly is… Trying to share with people a piece of what it means to be alive. Whether song, painting, poem, sculpture, autobiographical or whether its completely made up, it is all supposed to be sharing a piece of this human connection and human experience. So really any work of art can be titled human, because that is the way it is supposed to make us feel.”

“The Tour Song” represents just that. Amory stated, “the song really tells the story of Mike and I on the road. The story of two people finding happiness in what they are doing together… two people together for 40 days, 24 hours a day…enjoying each other’s company.”

The song was written before the summer tour that Mike and Amory went on together. But after closing every concert with the song, it became titled the “Tour Song.” It is loosely inspired by “Away We Go” – a film about the misadventure of a couple (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) travelling to different cities in search of a new home. The song expresses “the idea of settling down and being satisfied as just being two people together. And then becomes what if we can’t do what we want to do together,” said Amory.

Mike is Amory’s boyfriend. A large part of the album was recorded at the Office, a recording studio in North Andover that Mike runs. “Ever since Mike and I have been together, we have been making music together,” said Amory. Their relationship is beautifully on display from the first song, “Wrap My Arms,” to the last song on Human, “The Tour Song.”

Amory’s album can be heard and purchased here.

Grammy Award-winning singers Monica and Brandy have recorded another song together. “It All Belongs to Me” will be released February 6 on RCA Records.

The single will also be available on Monica’s new album “New Life,” which goes on sale March 6 and Brandy’s forthcoming album, which becomes available in the spring.

The last duo that the two singers recorded together was the very successful single “The Boy Is Mine” in 1998. The song was #1 on the Hot 100 Chart and won a Grammy for R&B Performance by A Duo or Group.

Tony Iommi, guitarist in the legendary Black Sabbath, was diagnosed with cancer, made public as of Monday. According to a statement released on his website, he “has been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma,” but “Iommi is currently working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan–the “IRON MAN” of Rock & Roll remains upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery.”

Iommi’s bandmates have been supportive, asking everyone to “send positive vibes to the guitarist at this time”, and are joining Iommi in the UK.

The band announced in November the plans for their summer world tour and the September release of their first album together since 1978′s “Never Say Die!”

Iommi released a message on Friday expressing his gratitude for the support he has received, adding on a positive note “Well it’s not what I wanted for Christmas, that’s for sure, but now I can’t wait for the test results to come in and get going with the treatment.”

The long-anticipated list of artists appearing at Coachella was finally released on Monday, revealing more than one hundred artists who will perform at the two-weekend festival.

The outdoor festival is headlined by the Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Other artists performing include Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, Florence and the Machine, Beirut, Neon Indian, Arctic Monkeys, and Other Lives.

This is the first year the festival, which takes place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley, will occur over two weekends, April 13-15 and April 20-22.

Tickets begin selling on Friday at 10 a.m., pacific standard time.

For the full lineup, see coachella.com.

In the music video, “Till the DJs Gone,” Boston native Juma – a mysterious figure oft shaded by dark sunglasses who at first acts as a pensive observer – navigates a contemporary milieu under the spell of a corporate subconscious controller. Men and women stare at ipads and cell phones, brainwashed by the messages of greed and consumerism propagated by the digital screens set before them. Juma breaks the communication by hacking into the mass system that disseminates the pervasive messages in order to send out his own message. The song and video transform into a commentary on the state of commercial music as Juma states, “We’re being force fed radio/transmitting garbage/the corporate media monsters.” He ultimately asks us, the listener, to take control and reshape the face of music. Juma creates a meta-narrative of the independent artist rallying against a commercialized cultural system through his music.

The purpose of the song is “to heighten awareness and to help people to start thinking twice and three times about why certain things are valued,” according to Juma.

He jokingly calls himself a “conspiracy theorist.” Juma is a rather upbeat and humorous person, but he holds fast to his beliefs. “The lyrics of the song are talking about mass media and using radio as a point object. What I wanted to visually get across with the video was, the core of the song, the story of awakening. So it’s really about making people aware of agenda setting, which is a communication theory that posits that news media and media systems may not be able to tell us what to think, but certainly what to think about,” says Juma, who makes sure to fleck his statements with academic language.

“We are all being bombarded with these messages that effect who we are. And the intent of these things is to trigger a particular consumer behavior. I tend to feel like there are capitalistic forces at work in the world,” he continues. “The prospect to monetize human existence – in a sense is kind of crazy – is antithetical to why we’re here. It totally devalues who we are as human beings.”

The single, “Till the DJs Gone,” is off his upcoming sophomore album, Fall of the Giants, which is set to be released on January 31st. The title track of the forthcoming album, “Giants Fall,” had a video release during the summer of 2010. But unlike his most recent video, the “Giants Fall” full-length music video has a run time just under eight minutes. The video follows a struggling alcoholic, played by Juma, who grapples with deep seeded issues of witnessing his mother being abused by his father as a child.

“Domestic violence is the backdrop to this guys present day…. He is really in dire straits psychologically,” says Juma. The character creates an imaginary psychologist to help him sort out his twisted memories as he spirals deeper into a suicidal depression. A force emanates from a bible in the house – of which the character is reaching for – which transports him into a spirit world, “where he fights his giants in the form of these demonic smoke projectiles.”

This David and Goliath theme runs not only through the two singles, but the entirety of the album. “The whole album is about winning, overcoming, its about freedom, fear, and limitation. Whether its personal fear that holds people back from being the best that they can be. Whether it be societal limitations that keep people from coming together or keep people from excelling in society,” states Juma. His strength in his music stems from his ability to take a macro-perspective. “It speaks to overcoming any and all forms of obstacles, may it be emotional, spiritual, intellectual, societal. It speaks to the celebration of those giants falling.”

“I am a man of many giants,” states Juma. His album, though having political and cultural meanings, is rooted in a personal narrative. “What inspired me to come up with an album was my own personal giants in my own life. And that change to victory made me want to share it.”

His ideas work as thematic motifs and ubiquitous narrative arcs. The political bent on the album can also be applied to the music industry, something that Juma has a strong opinion about. “In celebrating the fall of giants, it absolutely connects to the deconstruction of the old model, institutions, and the old music industry… an institution that we now realize was in need of deconstruction, and now reconstruction.” Juma is a completely independent artist who often produces his work on his own. Furthermore, Fall of the Giants – like his first album – will be released on his own record label, Inniss Entertainment.

Juma’s opinions on the music industry are steeped in experience, as he is no newcomer to the rap game. His debut album, Blast Music, features the song “Pray 4 U” with guest vocals from Grammy winner John Legend. Juma befriended Legend back in 2001 when they were both working at a Boston management consultant firm. This was a time when Legend was still relatively unknown, slowly gaining popularity. After trading mixtapes, Legend and Juma decided to collaborate, creating a song about having faith in the face of adversity.

“Music has always been a part of my life,” explains Juma. He has opened for Fat Joe, Amanda Diva, The X-ecutioners, Kirk Franklin, and many others. When asked about why he makes music, Juma jokes, “the heavens didn’t open up, and a voice didn’t come down and say ‘Juma, do an album,’” the omniscient voice stated with a deep rumble. For him, music is just a given; it is a piece of his life.

With his upcoming release, the sister single of “Till the DJs Gone, “We Don’t Really Care,” is available as a free download on his soundcloud page. And further information about Juma can be found at facebook.com/JumaMusic.

So what’s next for Juma? After watching a TV show on the apocalyptic Mayan predictions for 2012, Juma jokingly mentioned that he is “reshaping [his] plans for the year.” But it is more likely that his future parallels his opinion on the music industry; we are moving back to “where it should be, back into the hands of the curators. With the digital age and the ability to record and release music at no cost has empowered artists.” And Juma is doing just that – exactly what his own music suggests – which is to defy the corporate music giants.

Precisely four decades after their founding in 1972, Van Halen will be hitting the road and releasing their first new album since 1998.

The band will this year consist of brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen on guitar and drums, respectively, Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, on bass, and David Lee Roth as their vocalist.

The band announced the tour on their website through a video, adding that tickets will begin selling on January 10. However, locations and dates have not yet been released.

The traditional music business is hemorrhaging cash, so record labels are increasingly finding themselves turning to an old money-making stalwart: the box set. The latter half of 2011 saw a seemingly never-ending parade of “Special,” “Deluxe,” “Super Deluxe,” and other superlative-laden collections from a variety of artists, often including re-recordings, never-before-heard songs, behind-the-scenes supplements, and of course, vinyl. You know, the kind of features that leave diehard fans salivating as they gaze longingly through the window of a record store (remember those?!?). Here, we break down some of the best offerings for the music fan on your Christmas list*.

AC/DC — Backtracks Collectors Box Set ($189)

This updated version of the band’s 2009 box set wins the award for coolest design, hands down. Why? Its contents (including three CDs, two DVDs, one LP and a hardcover photo book) are housed in A WORKING GUITAR AMPLIFIER. No joke. The recordings capture live and/or rare versions of AC/DC’s signature hits, and the DVDs include music videos and live performances up through 2009. But let’s face it — nothing can top flipping through concert photos from the band’s earliest tour dates while you plug in and jam out to “Highway to Hell,” no assembly required.

Beach Boys — The Smile Sessions Box Set ($140)

This treasure chest of the Beach Boys’ Album That Never Was contains five CDs, two LPs, two 7″ singles, dozens of unreleased photos, a 60-page book with input from the original band members as well as members of their entourage, and more. The CDs document the recording sessions in 1966 and 1967 for Smile, the follow-up album to Pet Sounds which was never released. (Vocalist Brian Wilson put out solo versions of the songs on his 2004 record of the same name.) Though it’s available in a significantly cheaper two-disc format, the “Good Vibrations” disc alone makes the expansive box set worth the extra dough: nearly 90 minutes documenting the piece-by-piece assemblage of the band’s classic single, with Wilson’s perfectionist genius on full display.

Also Available: 2-CD Deluxe Edition ($24); 2-LP Vinyl Edition ($26)

Elvis Presley — Young Man with the Big Beat ($104)

The five discs in this collector’s must-have are loaded with live versions and alternate takes of classics like “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog,” plus interviews with Presley and two discs of digitally remastered original recordings. An 80-page book highlights rare photos and documents, and the set even includes replicas of ’50s and ’60s memorabilia such as ticket stubs and promotional posters. It’s a box set fit for a King.

Nirvana — Nevermind Super Deluxe Edition (Price varies)

Good luck with this one. In their infinite wisdom, the marketing team at Geffen Records decided to release only 10,000 copies of the “Super Deluxe Edition” (containing four CDs, a DVD and a 90-page book) in the U.S. in October, and 30,000 for the rest of the world. So, fans who didn’t jump on it right away are out of luck (although, private sellers are currently advertising the set through Amazon for as little as $115). Those who opt for the cheaper 2-CD “Deluxe Edition” of Nevermind ($18) will get the original album, enhanced by B-sides, live versions and rehearsal takes. Vinyl enthusiasts who are willing to shell out $71 for the 4-LP “Deluxe Edition (Vinyl)” will be treated to the original album, plus alternate recordings. A word to the wise though: so far, buyer consensus on the vinyl version is that the remastered versions are less than stellar.

Pearl Jam

Not a box set per se, but grunge fans can put together their own Pearl Jam bundle in celebration of the band’s 20th anniversary. In 2011 alone, the Seattle rockers put out a coffee table book ($40), a DVD ($18) and a soundtrack ($19) to accompany the illuminating Cameron Crowe-directed documentary Pearl Jam: Twenty. In addition, completists will want to pick up the new live album Live on Ten Legs ($15), as well as a three-CD package containing deluxe editions of the band’s second and third albums, vs. and Vitalogy, as well as a live recording at Boston’s Orpheum Theater ($29).

Pink Floyd — Discovery Box Set: The Complete Studio Recordings ($180); Dark Side of the Moon: Immersion Box Set ($120); Wish You Were Here: Immersion Box Set ($120)

Zone out in your bedroom and fire up a … ahem, blacklight, as these sweet psychedelic sounds take you back to the 1960s and ’70s. The comprehensive Discovery collection includes a whopping 16 discs of remastered versions of the group’s 14 albums, complete with new packaging and lyric booklets for each. The set also includes a 60-page book of artwork. Floyd is also rolling out “Immersion Box Sets” of its most beloved albums (probably a better bet for more casual fans), which feature the original recordings, plus remixed and remastered versions, demos and live recordings. Both the Dark Side and Wish You Were Here special editions also include memorabilia such as coasters, a scarf and ticket/backstage pass replicas from the original tours. But be sure to save some money as you shop — the Immersion Box Set of The Wall is due out in February.

The Smiths – The Smiths Complete ($64); The Smiths Complete (vinyl) ($245)

The limited-edition (only 3,000 copies!) Super Deluxe box set is more or less off the market (selling for upwards of $650 by private sellers), and there’s no wonder it got snapped up so quickly. A wet dream for any diehard Morrissey/Marr fan, the set included CD and vinyl versions of all eight Smiths albums, plus 25 7″ singles, a poster, prints of the original album sleeves, and a DVD of the band’s music videos. Procrastinators will have to settle for one of two still-available but less cool versions. The $64 CD set (a steal) includes digitally remastered versions of all eight albums, while the pricier vinyl set contains the digital remasters in CD and vinyl form, as well as a booklet and poster.

U2 — Achtung Baby: Super Deluxe Edition ($140); Achtung Baby: Uber Deluxe Edition ($439)

This 10-disc (six CDs, four DVDs) set is essentially two box sets for the price of one — fans get remastered versions of the Irish quartet’s 1991 album Achtung Baby, as well as the follow-up, 1993′s Zooropa, plus B-sides and remixes. But the best inclusion is the “Kindergarten” disc, which features “baby” versions (aw) of the tracks on Achtung Baby. (“One” is a standout). The DVDs include music videos, live performances and bonus footage. The set also comes with a hardback book and 16 art prints. Uber fans may opt for the … well, “Uber Deluxe” limited edition (whose job is it to name these things?), which includes all of the above, plus five 7″ singles, badges, stickers and — wait for it — a pair of Bono’s “The Fly” sunglasses. Housed in a magnetic tile box, it’ll set you back a mere $440.

Also available: 2-CD “Deluxe Edition” ($30); Achtung Baby Vinyl Box ($132)

Opening the Doors of Perception for Open Sourcing

By Rebecca Camarda

BROOKLINE — Rock and roll has always been linked to drug culture, with notoriously strung out musicians causing anxiety and frustration for many sound engineers and producers when they bring their habit into the studio.

At David Cardona’s studio in a Brookline apartment, drugs are key to the experience.

In this studio, filled with batik tapestries, drums from India, Africa, and South America, several guitars and a keyboard, and the aroma of Nag Champa, the recording begins when the acid kicks in.

On a recent visit I was included in a circle of musicians sharing a joint.  One had a guitar in hand, the other a hang drum.

Photo Credit: Gig Masters

“We’ve already started,” David said.

Perhaps he was referring to the LSD, or the recording, or maybe both

This recording is part of a larger project entitled In Bloom, the goal of which is to create a library of music that musicians can sample and incorporate freely.

Slowly, the three musicians begin to complement each other and the cacophony of different sounds merge into one and begin to blossom into what sounds like a rock ‘n’ roll tribal hymn.  They play on until they each naturally die out, the last being David as he tinkers out the final notes of his melody.

He turns to me and says, “And that is In Bloom.”

“In Bloom is an invitation to people with musical skills, musical talents, musical interests—and generally any kind of artistic orientation—to an environment where they can explore their creative intuition by manifesting their artistic selves through music in real time,” the musician originally from Bogota, Colombia explains.

Taking a drag from the joint, he continues, “There are no instrumentalist labels implied, you choose your instrument, even non musicians.  The point is that they may not know how to play any particular instrument but they may have an inclination at that very moment to utilize a flute or something else to manifest ideas, ideas that are manifested by listening to everything else that is happening—so, in real time.”

Another goal of this experiment for David is to allow creative people to trust their own intuition, and to help facilitate this, he enlists the help of psychedelics.

“I’m on LSD right now,” he said, once again passing me a joint, which may or may not be the third he’s passed me since my arrival.  Part of an ongoing tradition of artistic projects involving hallucinogens, In Bloom will always at least involve marijuana, but the artist is open to using LSD, mushrooms, salvia, peyote, even datura, a tropical flower that is stronger than LSD.

David said, “For being able to manifest the spiritual being or at least relax and let it happen, a good catalyst is any kind of mind altering substance just because it’s new to you.”

He adds, “It’s kind of like a playground. It destroys the walls of reality and lets you revel in the fleeting moments in which we exist.  There is nothing besides the moment you are in, and if you play a ‘wrong note,’ who cares? The moment and the note are gone.”

David cleared his throat and leaned in closer to me and almost in a whisper, said “You rely on your intuition because you have nothing besides yourself at any given moment.”  It’s as if his LSD trip has made him into a neo-hippie shaman.

Hallucinogens and improvisation are not the primary motivations of this project, though.  David finds the beauty of In Bloom in the recording process.  “It isn’t so much about the aesthetics of the recording or a final outcome that is very polished and clean. The idea is just to be able to keep a record of ideas that people are expressing. Musical ideas, new musical ideas.”

David passionately speaks about his frustrations with the music industry, especially in its current state.  “I want to create a flow of musical ideas that may be utilized by musicians.  I feel we’ve gotten to a point where the material that we have has been recycled so much that everything sounds the same. I want to provide a collection of ideas coming from whoever wishes to express them.”

Everything produced during the In Bloom sessions will be posted on the internet, with no claim to ownership.  He hopes to encourage sampling by other artists and musicians.

“I’m trying to create a library of new ideas, made by anybody who feels so inclined, that anybody may listen to and will have the fucking right to use.”

Blast intern Morgan Lawrence followed the Foo Fighters from Washington, to New York, to Newark and back home to Boston. This is part four of her four-part series.

I sat on the bus from Newark to Boston, writing in my journal for the entirety of the ride even as I admired the fall scenery that passed. I listened to “Word Forward”, a bonus track from the Foos’ Greatest Hits album, for a solid 4 hours of that trip. With its lyrics of “Years that I’ve wasted/These IOU’s/They’re just fuckin’ words”, that song had been one of many that had motivated to take the leap that was this tour and dive in for all I was worth. On this occasion it felt more like I was clinging onto something, or was hoping for reassurance. Even as I headed off into another city, preparing for another show, I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was leaving something behind that I wasn’t quite ready to.

Fittingly, I suppose, the experience of the Boston show was different in nearly every way. First of all, I had actually slept in my own bed – something that felt foreign even after a relatively short time. Second, I was already familiar with every way to get where I needed to go, and where to get coffee before setting out on our journey in the early hours of the morning. Third, I didn’t have to find someone with a car so that I could store my bag. That in itself was a whole new relief to which I was unaccustomed on this tour.

Despite the shared anxiety between my line buddy and myself about maybe, just maybe, not being first in line (we’d overslept past my ridiculously early alarm by about 45 minutes), we unquestionably were. To a frustrating extent, in fact: we found ourselves making laps around the outside of the TD Garden, and even through North Station itself, trying to make sure we were lined up in the proper place. Soon a construction crew there to repair the West entrance came up to meet us, engaging in some snarky back-and-forth before agreeing to ask security if we were in the right place. Thankfully, we were, and two other people soon came to join the short stub of a line that had begun to form.

Within about two hours – essentially nothing, for those familiar with my line sagas thus far – we were met by event staff who told us, essentially, to go home. They handed out numbered wristbands, told us to be back by 5 pm, and sent us on our way.

It was 9 am. My friend and I looked at each other in bewilderment – we’d written off the entire day, ready for the long haul. What were we supposed to do now?

As it turned out…not much of anything. It’s actually funny how it works out: you spend your entire day in line, with no idea what’s going to happen (Will they open four doors instead of one? Will people cut? Were you at the wrong entrance the entire time?) and you get nervous. Apparently, though, when you’re not going through the usual motions, sitting in your designated spot for hours on end because you’re guaranteed your spot when you return to line, that doesn’t help at all. Hell, in our case, it just made us even more nervous. We resigned ourselves to drinking copious amounts of coffee in a nearby café and wandering the North End of Boston a bit, all without straying too far from the TD Garden. We kept this resolution despite the rain and the cold, both of which increased in intensity through the day, just in case.

It did have some payoffs. We ran into a few familiar techs, even some that I’d had no idea would remember me from my tour so far. It was an interesting feeling, being recognizable as a fan rather than just a face in the crowd. Being on the other side of it, though, I understood. For every new city I traveled to not knowing exactly what to expect, and all of the thousands of anonymous people I encountered once I got there, it was really nice to see one or two familiar faces. I really enjoyed the conversation that my friend and I had with one tech in particular that evening, hiding from the rain near the venue’s back entrance. This was going to make ending tour all the more difficult, I realized: no longer seeing these people, with whom I could relate about something as amazing as the Foo Fighters, every other day (or, sometimes, every day). Everything was about to go back to normal, technically speaking, but after everything that had happened, that reality felt….different.

This theme continued throughout the entire show. Well, that is, after we’d stood in line in the cold and driving rain for about an hour, only to have to frantically explain that we were first in line and should therefore be let in before people with #50 wristbands. That was par for the course. As was, wonderfully, my right side corner spot on the barricade. Fitting, I thought, that it should end where it all began – in more ways than one.

Actually, this is something I should probably address. This show, for lack of a better phrase, felt so very different because it was all so familiar. I stood in the same place, staring at the same lights, listening to the same pre-show mix – all things that had been there through all of my travels. For everything new that I had experienced thus far, once I passed through the arena doors and made that final stretch to the barricade, it was as if I hadn’t left the previous show, the previous city, in the first place. Of course it goes without saying that every show was a totally unique and wonderful experience. I cannot stress that enough; none of it felt run-of-the-mill in the least. It had, though, come to feel familiar.

It was strange, then, watching The Joy Formidable perform with an air of finality. Being an opening band, I was accustomed to their set feeling like just the beginning of everything – starting the process of growing anticipation – the communal kind of excitement that builds to bursting before the main act walks onstage. While they took very little time away from their set to commemorate the end of the tour, that reality was still very present through it all. They took it in stride, though, and for that I give them a lot of credit. They performed with even more enthusiasm than I could remember. “Whirring” aside, drummer Matt Thomas’ intro into “Cradle” was always enough to give me pause. I may have a bit of a drummer bias, but he truly stole the show during this number – his quick, loud, and slightly syncopated rhythm taking the spotlight before the rest of the band joined in. It’s always a great feeling when a musician, or a band as a whole, is able to arrest the attention of the audience based on show of skill alone, and this was definitely one of those moments. Still, within a short time, it seemed, they walked offstage as quickly and purposefully as ever when it all came to a distortion-and-feedback-filled close.

And then, of course, was Social Distortion. As usual, guitarist/vocalist Mike Ness poked fun at the band’s longevity from the get-go, greeting the crowd with “This definitely isn’t our first time in the Boston area.” There’s a reason they’ve lasted so long: every night I’d seen them so far on tour they’d delivered a seamless performance, and this was no exception. They sailed through the set list they’d apparently settled on in Newark, Ness and guitarist Johnny “2 Bags” Wickersham trading places sidling toward the edges of the stage, leaning over as if suddenly weighed down by the guitars on their shoulders as they traded solos. Mike Ness maintained his unique rapport with the audience, all swagger and swears, as he recounted the roots of one of rock’s most famous covers: their rendition of “Ring of Fire”. “I remember in 1989 I decided that Social Distortion was gonna record a Johnny Cash song,” he began. He paused briefly, throwing out his wrist and the microphone with it, as if unable to keep still. “I remember some people were like ‘Whaaaat?’, and I said ‘That’s right, motherfucker, I’m gonna record a Johnny Cash song!’.” He tilted his head at the microphone, the smirk undoubtedly on his face evident, even, in his voice. “‘Why are you gonna do that?’ ‘Because I fuckin’ want to!’”. I doubt a single soul in the audience questioned that this was exactly how any conversation of the kind had gone.

And then it was the main attraction, the end-all-and-be-all, the crowd-hysteria-inducing Foo Fighters. “Bridge Burning” started it all off as it always did, flashing lights and a whirl of noise engulfing the arena as it did. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: the first line of this song absolutely captivated me when I first heard the album, and continues to no matter how many times I hear it. Live, of course, it’s another experience entirely, with Dave Grohl’s signature scream sounding from mere feet away. The thing is, though, that when the instruments drop out and it’s just Dave and the microphone, there is something else at work: all of the force that the crowd is feeding back to him. This occasion was no exception. As the lights went up and he rushed the edge of the stage – clutching the mic, his guitar swinging across his chest from the momentum – his voice was but one joining the thousands of others that rose up with it. It was as if all of the pent up energy of the day, of the hours spent inside the arena during set changes wondering idly when the band would come on, had finally found its release valve. I’d always thought that few forces in the world could match the raw power of Dave Grohl when he digs deep and screams a line, but this came pretty damn close.

Of course, as the leading man would soon reassure us in his own special way, there was a lot more to come. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve been on tour all fuckin’ year long, playing these scorching one hour and thirty minute sets,” he teased, unable to continue as the booing of the crowd drowned him out. The Foos’ tradition of marathon sets seemed to be anything but a well-kept secret. The front man continued unaffected, though, drawing out this inside joke for as long as he could. “It’s fuckin’ killing me. BUT,” he said, holding up a hand as if to silence an entire stadium with a wave, “because this show fuckin’ sold out faster than any other show in America, I figure….” he paused dramatically, the cheers of the crowd drowning him out before he managed to deadpan “….we’ll play an hour and forty-five.” And up went the roar again. For the next few minutes he played auctioneer, daring the crowd to ask, via cheers, for more time. Two hours? Two and a half? No, this show was going to be three hours. “Why you gotta make me work so fuckin’ hard?”, he huffed.

He kind of had a point – but the clear joy on the faces of Grohl and his bandmates throughout the, as promised, 3-hour set that followed made it look like the easiest thing in the world. Let me put it this way: I hope that one day I can throw myself into my work with the same kind of energy, enthusiasm, and happiness that this band exhibited night after night, including this one. At any given moment Grohl was back to his normal antics of sprinting across the stage, dancing side to side at the microphone, or jogging down the runway that ran the length of the floor. Drummer Taylor Hawkins was never still for more than a few seconds, proving there was more than a little truth behind the running joke that drummer’s “0% body fat” was, as Hawkins himself put it, “because you [Dave] make me play for 3 hours!”. The Grohl-Shiflett solo-off was as fiery and impressive as ever, the lead guitarist hamming it up and engaging the crowd on his brief stops around the stage. As someone who had been battling a creeping exhaustion for the past few days, my own participation involving a mere fraction of the energy they were putting into their shows, I was definitely impressed. Sure, maybe they hadn’t gotten up at 5 am for days running, but they’d gone on every night to play a hell of a show. You can’t command an entire arena without putting something out there, and these guys went above and beyond.

Sheer quality aside, there were a few things that made this performance just a little different from the others. During band introductions, Dave enthusiastically noted that keyboard player Rami Jaffee finally got his first sign of the tour, held up by a fan to my right. He rushed over and grabbed it, giving it to Jaffee, who feigned being moved despite the grin on his face. In terms of the set list, as the front man had mentioned in Newark (which I had secretly hoped would turn out not to be true), the previous night’s show had been the last stop for Bob Mould. “Dear Rosemary” still held its spot, however, which gave me the unforeseen opportunity to hear the song sans Mould for the first time. I’ll first mention that I adore that song, and hearing it live is wonderful and emotional and all of that stuff. But I will say that hearing both versions (and knowing what it sounds like on the record) made me realize what a fantastic choice it was to have Mould on that track. He adds something to it that’s difficult to explain, or that perhaps doesn’t have a technical term attached to its meaning at all. At the expense of repeating myself, this version wasn’t better or worse than any other. It was just, somehow, different.

Of course, though, there are some things that never change. Perhaps that’s what was most remarkable about this show after all: you put these guys on a stage and they’re going to play a set list, jam to their hearts’ content, and make fun of each other in front of thousands of people. That’s their show, and, last show or not, that’s exactly what happened. Grohl explained, for instance, that Nate Mendel couldn’t show prove how much of a “badass” he was that night because “bass solos were outlawed, like, 10 years ago”. About the aforementioned Rami sign, he once again chided the fan who held it, saying “It’s nice to see you put so much fuckin’ effort into it, too. Obviously, Rami, you’re very appreciated here.” He followed this with “Can I keep this?….Thanks,” tossing the piece of poster board carelessly over his shoulder before he picked it up and gave it to his rightful owner. Hawkins whittled down his usually wordy introduction of the leading man, keeping his heart in it nonetheless, calling Grohl “the greatest musician of our time, and the greatest friend of my time.” The front man replied “I love you too….but I really hate the attention…being a rock star totally sucks. I want to go back to making pizza at Shaky’s, like I used to.” He effortlessly and inexplicably went on to describe how criminal it was for Shaky’s to cook fried chicken and pizza in one place (“it’s, like, a kosher rule,”) before launching the band into Hawkin’s lead-vocals track “Cold Day in the Sun”. All of this within about fifteen seconds, and before we in the audience really knew what was going on. That was kind of their style, after all.

I guess it makes sense, then, that this show seemed to pass in a whirlwind. Of course there were several moments that stick out to me – personal ones, sure, and utterly unique. During the band’s cover of Pink Floyd’s “In The Flesh?”, for example – a song I’d spent a portion of my idle time that day learning – Hawkins always takes the lead vocals when the guitars drop out, and Grohl scans the audience for someone singing along and points them out. On this occasion, as Hawkins (and those of us in the crowd who knew it) sang the lyrics “If you want to find out what’s behind these cold eyes/you’ll have to claw your way through this disguise,” that person was me. Grohl walked purposely toward me, mouth open in a half-grin, half silent yell as he charged away at his guitar once more. And finally, at the end of the show, when “Everlong” had ended and the feedback of Grohl’s guitar and the screams of the audience filled the stadium to bursting, Pat Smear walked to the edge of the stage and mouthed “Australia?!”. I shook my head (regrettably), thought for a second, and shouted back “But maybe Japan?” “Japan,” he mouthed back, and laughed.

And then…it was all over. The show, my tour, everything. My friend and I hung back by the stage but were soon shooed out by security, before we could even say goodbye to the techs we’d grown to know. When we headed out into the rain and, finally, into the crowded underground T stop, I held a used Taylor Hawkins drum stick in my hand and was kind of wondering what had just happened – or, rather, what was going to happen next.

It’s hard to explain how time stretches out when you’re traveling, or when you’re living every day with a purpose. It felt like those past few days – just shy of a week – had lasted a month at least, and I knew that going back to “normal life” was going to be an incredible adjustment. Post-concert depression was surely on the horizon, as was all of the work I had to catch up on from my days spent off-campus. I was now almost thoroughly broke, and without something to look forward to months, weeks, days ahead as I had since I’d planned this journey. Yeah, it was going to be rough.

But now, with the privilege of a little time distancing me from that first night back in my dorm with “real life” just hours away, I can say that gratitude and happiness definitely override all of those things. I can turn on my computer and see a picture of the crowd at Madison Square Garden and myself in the front row, cheering and smiling under the stage lights. I can open my desk drawer and see my “general admission” bracelet from that show or any of three others. If I’m so inclined, I can open my Ticket Stub Diary and see the guitar picks that once belonged to Pat Smear, Dave Grohl, and Johnny “2 Bags” Wickersham. Perched next to my desk lamp, just below the rows of photos tacked to my wall, are Taylor Hawkins’ drum sticks. I’ve kept up with the friends I made at every stop. And most importantly, I walked away from it all with the hope that I can do this all again.

And at some point – even if it’s not this March, and even if I’m not sure when – I know that I will.

The music video for “Rain Over You”, Brandyn Burnette’s new single, has been released. The song is a mashup of Gavin Degraw’s “Not Over You” and Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain.”

The 20-year old Burnette is an artist for Warner Brothers Records, and is known for his other covers for Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper” and Lil Wayne’s “How to Love.” His debut album is set to be released next year, though the exact date is unknown. Burnette has been involved in music since he was 7-years old.

“Whatever” is an appropriate title for Hot Chelle Rae’s generic second album. The Nashville-based quartet’s style of dance-pop/wannabe-rock has been done before, and it certainly has been done better by more talented pop-punk acts. Each track is basically just a slight variation on the last, the lyrics are clichéd and often cringe-worthy, and the vocals are decent at best. Yet despite the fact that there is nothing particularly good or original about the album, these choruses will indubitably get stuck in your head. They are just so catchy. Ultimately though, it’s fluff — enjoyable enough for a tween party or getting down on the dance floor, but not an album that is going to have any sort of lasting influence.

Hot Chelle Rae released their debut (“Lovesick Electric”) in 2009, but it wasn’t until the obnoxious yet also strangely infectious “Tonight Tonight” off of “Whatever” started blowing up the radio airwaves this year that they really gained popularity. An actual sample of lyrics from this song: “I woke up with a strange tattoo / Not sure how I got it, not a dollar in my pocket / And it kinda looks just like you / Mixed with Zach Galifianakis / La la la, whatever, la la la.” You’ll probably be rolling your eyes at least a few times in every song, but then the hooks will start back up and suck you in again. It’s a vicious cycle.

Somehow, the band managed to win the New Artist of the Year Award at the American Music Awards last month. Snide comments about what this says about today’s music scene aside, Hot Chelle Rae is by no means the worst thing on the radio right now. The glossy pop is certainly a guilty pleasure, and perfect for those who don’t look much further than Katy Perry and Lady Gaga for their music collection. But if you’re looking for a creative and inspiring new record to listen to, “Whatever” is definitely not it.