Band Weblogs

VIRGINIA COALITION
Andrew Poliakoff: lead vocals, guitar, percussion
Jarrett Nicolay: guitar, bass guitar, banjo, vocals
Paul Ottinger: guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, percussion, vocals
John Patrick: drums, vocals

Listen to “That’s What You Said”
Listen to “Gates of Wisdom”
“Yes, we feel like gettin’ it on!”
– 1,300 VACO fans, chanting on Live at the 9:30 Club
It was the day after New Year’s, 2006, […]

Angela Ortiz has an album titled All About You and it serves as a very descriptive lead in to what is inside the CD sleeve. This recording seems to be a biographical and storytelling adventure. I suppose its all in the perception of the listener as it would be with any album. It is hard […]

Even in the world of classical, where the music and listeners are well educated and refined, you can find some humor in a serious world. Laurel Zucker (flute) and Marc Shapiro have united once again to record compositions that look at the darker side of music on The Dark Side of the Flute (a play […]

Matthew Fogg & Nicole Hajj had a history before this album came together. They met and found a mutual admiration and respect for one thing, the art form of jazz.
It is unusual to release a debut album as a live recording, but the duo decided this was the best way to present their music at […]

Honest Touch is from across the pond in Athens Greece. The duo of Samy Elgazzar (composer, keyboards) and Fofi Maniadaki (acoustic piano) combine their talents to record Memories From A Dream. Some fine talent backs them as well on the recording. A five-piece band and the Amadeus Orchestra add their special touch to give […]

Pete Teo plants a seed then it steadily germinates with the warmth of his music, just like the sun and the rain help a flower to grow. This is the best way to explain how this music made me feel. I loved Rustic Living For Urbanites, Teo’s previous release that came out in 2004, […]

The Bassman’s band led by virtuoso jazz bassplayer Colin D’Cruz, features some of the hottest local as well as international talent. The band has been signed on by the Taj Landsend hotel on a resident contract and will perform at the Atrium Lounge Tuesdays to Sundays, 7.30pm to 11.30pm. Friday and Saturday nights will feature […]

Very often the key to getting tracks to sit well in the mix or be heard without over powering the other parts lies in the playing and not the tone, effects, gain, etc…Color your roots.
It isnt always necessary to play full chords. Very often you muddy the mix by doubling the bass part. When working […]

When is the last time you heard a band from Norway that sounded like the Jimi Hendrix Experience playing blues-rock as if they came from suburban America? Nickles & Dimes is that band. The have released albums every three to four years since 1993. So they do have a record of accomplishment as […]

Artist: Patrick Yandall
Title: Samoa Soul
Genre: Instrumental Jazz
Label: Zangi Records
CD Baby Link
Patrick Yandall’s Website
Patrick Yandall continues to improve with each successive release. Samoa Soul is his seventh album. Yandall is talented in many ways musically however his instinct for applying the rudiments of jazz outweighs everything else. That is the one most important aspect of […]

Colorado-based Jazz chanteuse Mellani Day announced the release of her first full-length, genre-breaking album ‘Mostly True’, co-produced by renowned jazz pianist Eric Gunnison. The original vocal jazz-centric tunes feature a rich mix of genres from smooth jazz & blues to reggae & calypso, as well as a bluesy version of Huey Lewis’ hit, “I Want […]

Livingroom entertainment certainly has evolved over the years. From singing around the piano, to sitting on the floor listening to the radio, then came TV, karaoke and now you guessed it: huddled around the computer watching videos on youtube.
And that’s exactly what we did when we got home late on Saturday night. Rather than turn […]

Artist: Magenta
Title: Home (Special Edition 2 Disc)
Genre: Progressive Rock
Label: F2 Music
Magenta’s Website
Magenta reminds me of one my favorite progressive rock bands, Mostly Autumn. They have a great female lead singer backed by fine musicianship. Christina Booth leads the band with her warm dreamy vocals and every track comes delivered to your ears via […]

Artist: Foxy Moon Baby
Title: Dreamer
Genre: Jazz-Rock-Fusion
Label: Bigway Productions
Foxy Moon Baby Website
CD Baby Link
Foxy Moon Baby kicks off their new album Dreamer with the title track, an upbeat jazz mover that focuses on their instrumental prowess. Then no sooner, you are in the instrumental frame of mind and the next track “Velma in the Shade” […]

Brazilian music is as deep and as wide as the nation itself. The traditions and styles of their musical heritage include concert forms like choro, which features violins, woodwinds and piano; samba drumming, which is the melding of the European marching drum corps and African drumming; and jazz music that blends samba rhythms […]

Artist: Halie Loren
Title: Full Circle
Genre: Jazz-Rock-Pop
Label: White Moon Productions
Website
CD Baby Link
I often wonder how such beautiful women, both with voice and physical presence, can sing cut-to-the-bone lyrics, and mean it with every fiber of their being. Even after all these years of listening and writing reviews, it still catches me off guard. My […]

Artist: Sue Merchant
Title: Fool
Genre: Folk
Label: Bandit Records
Website
CD Baby Link
Sue Merchant has released an acoustic folk masterpiece called Fool. The simplicity of the instrumentation, beautiful melodies (notably on the opening title track) and Merchant’s clear and atmospheric voice, at times classically influenced with a definitive English accent, along with her descriptive and thoughtful lyrics, […]

Artist: Stream Of Passion (Featuring Ayreon)
Title: Live In The Real World
Format: DVD
Genre: Progressive Rock
Label: Inside Out
Website
Stream Of Passion felt they needed to silence their critics by releasing a live performance of their new music. Some people thought that the band was suspect because the first studio release Embrace The Storm came together by […]