April 24, 2007
GMA.3
On Monday I interviewed NeedToBreathe for the HM Magazine Podcast. It was a good conversation about art, their performance, and their new album. It sounds like they have some cool new songs. One is about the divine beauty of God's design.
At 2pm I held a press conference about the new online edition of HM Magazine. We're going to put the entire issue online each time -- mirroring the print magazine with all the articles and ads. The pages feature live active links where there are urls or email addresses on any page, which will open a new window browser or email form. It's password protected and subscribers to the print magazine will get a free digital subscription. Individual "copies" will be sold for $1.99. The password will allow the user to view the digital edition on three different computers (work, home, notebook). That went well. It felt good to get it over, as the rest of the week now feels more like fun than work.
Spoken played a nice and rowdy set at the Tooth & Nail showcase. They've got a new album coming out around August, and they played a new song. Matt's really singing loud and carrying on the super melodic vocal hooks. Their last song, which cried about "chasing your fears away," ended with an ode to Michael Jackson's "Beat It."
Falling Up had some cool keyboard layers of sound amid some nice melodies and almost pouting vocals. There was lots of bouncing and guitar snapping and clap-alongs. They really had the crowd singing along to the "Go now's" in a chorus.
Project 86 came out with their trademark heaviness, singing with the crowd about murder. They played a new song that featured lots of start/stop singing and shouting. Pretty cool. The second new song they played was kind of a snarling and gritty metal song. The third new song is called "Evil: A Chorus Of Resistence." In the last song of the 25-minute set Andrew stage dived and sang a verse atop hands and arms.
Demon Hunter came on after TFK, striding on stage to the sample of the epic choral piece that begins The Triptych. Second they launched into the uber melodic "Heart Strings Come Undone." They played "1,000 Apologies" and ended with "Undying." While the sound mix was slightly distorted, being part of a tightly packed crowd and hearing great tunes kind of makes up for it. The familiarity of the songs in your head kind of compensate for what lacks in the live sound -- kind of like how your brain takes an incomplete circle (like the letter "C") and closes it to make the circle whole. Maybe. I dunno. It's only rock and roll.
Luminate, from Tyler, TX, played a closing set over at 12th & Porter, using two chiming guitars and building crescendo to create a quick brooding atmospheric vibe. "No One To Blame" and "Fallen Walls" showcased the bands cool sound, featuring some great guitar tone and a good moody piano that reminded me of that Hammond organ type sound felt in those "spider" bits on the last mewithoutYou album. The lead vocalist, Sam Hancock, has a good voice and he and the band seem to be on their way to finding their own sound.