Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts

Ourafter: A Solid Alternative Rock Band


Since I haven't done the "Band/Artist of The Week (that you might not have heard of)" spot in a while. I figured I would sort of kill two birds with one stone here and feature this band not only because a lot of people may not know of them, but also because the band is from my hometown and I happen to know the lead singer AND have a feeling they might just be going somewhere.

So, I give you... OURAFTER

The band has been around since 2006, but John "Guido" Phillips has been writing and playing music for a number of years, both by himself as well as a member of the cover/party band UUU.

The rest of the group is comprised of Steve Husted on lead and rhythm guitar and backup vocals, Aaron Bruch on bass, Mike Dudley on lead, rhythm guitar, and the Chapman Stick (an instrument that is essentially the neck of an electric guitar played only by finger-tapping) and finally Chad Szeliga on drums and percussion. By the way, Chad is also the current drummer for the little band by the name of Breaking Benjamin.

Because the group includes 5 members (and 3 guitars), Ourafter's music is extremely full sounding, as each individual member contributes their own element to the band's sound as a cohesive whole. Drawing from alternative, post-punk, ambient, and current mainstream rock, their melodies, rhythms, lyrics, and songs as a whole are both passionate and heartfelt as well as powerful and catchy. I'll be the first to admit that their music might not be exactly "my scene", but I'll also be the first to admit that I honestly think this band is extremely talented and is certainly on to something. I'm not surprised that they have already opened for such national acts as: Flyleaf, 10 Years, Red, MAE, Yellowcard, Saving Abel, Rev Theory, Smile Empty Soul, The Exies, Everclear, Boy Hits Car, Johnny Lives, Eve to Adam, The Ataris, and Cage 9.

If they continue to create as good music as they have been, I feel there is nowhere to go but up for this band. Just give them a LISTEN and you'll understand what I mean. (a few personal favorites are : Push the Pill, Candles, Karma and Circles). If you are on the East coast around PA, New York, Maryland, or Virginia be sure to check these guys out. You won't be disappointed.

Good luck fellas.




(featuring old drummer and bassist)

Band of the Week (that you MIGHT not have heard of)



I give you...KICKSVILLE.

(From their website) Because I can't really even describe them

Kicksville. Population at last count: 58 and growing fast. Founded as a creative vacation resort by Mayor Mike Stehr and Commissioner Conrad St. Clair, it's grown into a musical collective, artistic movement, and a virtual community. Everything is created from scratch by Kicksville's citizens, a team of musicians, artists, writers, and tech geeks who commute to Kicksville from twelve different cities on three continents and who've worked with a dizzying range of other artists ranging from Laurie Anderson to Van Halen and dozens of others, including Queen, BB King, King Crimson and members of the Grateful Dead.

The music of Kicksville ranges from the Malian blues of Kalamaya to the surrealist funk of Dumfukistan to the dark industrial throttle of Krankypants. Incorporating improvisation, painstaking programming, melodic sensibility, bizarre sound effects, and award-winning poetry, genre-defying is a lame cliche that doesn't even come close to describing Kicksville.

I first heard of these guys about 2 or 3 years ago at All Good Music Festival. I happened to be wandering around on either the second or third day of the festival when I heard some interesting sounds off in the distance. I made my way to where the sounds were coming from, which happened to be the Ropeadope sidestage and subsequently, from the band Kicksville. I had never and still to this day haven't ever (as far as I can remember) seen or heard anything like this before. From their thumping bass, 19-something speech samples, electronic experimentations, and pounding rhythms; this band is well, somehow enjoyable. They have since released three albums, Enter the Flavor Hut, The Results of a Higher Mission, and lastly Kicksville The Singles- Season 1, which is a collection of weekly single "episodes" of sonic ambition that were released over a 13 week period. They have also released quite a number of episodes for Kicksville- Season 2 as well. Check em out HERE. Buy their music. See some videos HERE', you know the routine.

Safety



Find more music like this on Kicksville

March to May Concert Schedule




Here are a bunch of upcoming concerts from March throughout the end of May.

03/19/09:: Thursday

Keller Williams
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

03/20/09 :: Friday
Future Rock
Push
The Green Light Society
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

Wynton Marsalis
The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts Philadelphia

Eliot Lipp
Codename
Zot Bar & Cafe Philadelphia

03/21/09 :: Saturday

That 1 Guy
World Cafe Live Philadelphia

The Saw Doctors
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

Bloc Party
Longwave
Electric Factory Philadelphia

03/25/09 :: Wednesday

White Lies
Friendly Fires
The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims)
First Unitarian Church Philadelphia

03/26/09 :: Thursday

EOTO
The M Room Philadelphia

The South Philly Experiment
Connie's Ric Rac Philadelphia


03/27/09 :: Friday

Les Claypool
O'Death
Saul Williams
Secret Chiefs 3
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Blue Method
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

03/28/09 :: Saturday

Levon Helm
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Bad Plus
Chris' Jazz Cafe Philadelphia

Heartless Bastards
The Gaslight Anthem
Good Old War
The Trocadero Philadelphia

04/02/09 :: Thursday

B.B. King
Keswick Theater Glenside, PA

Digable Planets
Common Market
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia

The New Deal
The Passage Project
Motion Potion
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia


04/03/09:: Friday

Splintered Sunlight
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Univ. of Penn - Hill House Philadelphia

04/04/09 :: Saturday
Kool Keith
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia

Deadmau5
Late of the Pier
The Whip
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

04/05/09 :: Sunday

Charlie Hunter
Girlyman
World Café Live Philadelphia

04/08/09 :: Wednesday
Jeff Beck
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Telepath
Pretty Lights
Eliot Lipp
World Cafe Live Philadelphia

04/09/09 :: Thursday

The Tallest Man On Earth
Red Cortez
Haverford College Haverford

Grimace Federation
Manhattan Room Philadelphia

Dub Trio
The M Room Philadelphia

04/10/09 :: Friday

Toumani Diabate
Bela Fleck
Casey Driessen
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia

Beirut
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Swift Technique
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

MSTRKRFT
Felix Cartal \
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

04/11/09 :: Saturday

North Mississippi Allstars
Hill Country Revue
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

04/16/09 :: Thursday

The Felice Brothers
The Trocadero Philadelphia

Seth Glier
Toubab Krewe
World Cafe Live Philadelphia

04/17/09::
The Disco Biscuits
Electric Factory Philadelphia

04/18/09 :: Saturday

Flight of the Conchords
Tower Theater Upper Darby, PA

The Disco Biscuits
Electric Factory Philadelphia

04/24/09 :: Friday
The Presidents of the United States of America
The Trocadero Philadelphia

04/25/09::

Grimace Federation
Mile High Club Philadelphia

04/26/09 :: Sunday

Chick Corea
John McLaughlin
Five Peace Band
Keswick Theater Glenside, PA

Kings of Leon
The Walkmen
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

04/28/09:: Tuesday
Bruce Springsteen
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

04/29/09:: Wednesday

Bruce Springsteen
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

04/30/09:: Thursday

Bloodhound Gang
Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)Philadelphia

05/01/09 :: Friday
The Dead
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

05/02/09 :: Saturday
The Dead Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia


05/03/09:: Sunday
Garaj Mahal
Downstairs Live @ World Cafe Live Philadelphia

Adele
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Del Tha Funky Homosapien
First Unitarian Church Philadelphia

05/06/09 :: Wednesday

Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings
Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA

Franz Ferdinand
Born Ruffians
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Barbary Philadelphia

05/08/09 :: Friday
The Killers
Susquehanna Bank Center Camden, NJ

The Indobox
The Heavy Pets
Buzz Universe
Awesometown Music Festival Morrisville, PA

05/12/09 :: Tuesday
Animal Collective
Grouper
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Pomegranates
Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia

Leonard Cohen
The Academy of Music Philadelphia

05/13/09 :: Wednesday
Marco Benevento Trio
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia

05/14/09 :: Thursday
Spinal Tap
Keswick Theatre Glenside

Pepper
Pennywise
Big B
The Supervillains
Authority Zero
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Atmosphere
Attracted To Gods
Brother Ali
The Trocadero Philadelphia

05/29/09 :: Friday

The Derek Trucks Band
Ruthie Foster
Keswick Theater Glenside

05/30/09 :: Saturday

Dark Star Orchestra
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Avett Brothers
The Trocadero Philadelphia

Tea Leaf Green
Theatre of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

05/31/09 :: Sunday

Buckethead
Theatre of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

South Philly Experiment



It's that time of the month again ! (ew no NOT that time)

Ropeadope Presents the South Philly Experiment

Thursday, March 26, 2009
8:00pm - 11:00pm
$10.00 - $6 if you're from Temple U. (bring your id)

Connie's Ric-Rac

1132 South 9th Street

Buy advance tickets HERE

BRING YOUR OWN BEER AND ALCHOL

FEATURING
The South Philly Experiment House Band:
Chuck Treece - Drums
Nick Bockrath - Guitar
Leon Jordan - Trumpet
Corey Riker - Sax, Ewie
Tom Spiker - Bass

WITH
Kuf Knotz serving as the Master of Ceremonies

Paul Green's School of Rock presenting: Dope Sick Girls

DJ Statik and the Illvibe Collecive

Come on out !

Simple-ly, A Good Time



This past Friday evening I had the pleasure of seeing the Phish tribute band Simple. I've sadly never had the opportunity to actually see Phish themselves perform, but I must say, hearing their songs being played live by a very solid group of musicians was a true treat. The small crowd, and setting of the Draught Horse made for a warm refuge from the freezing weather outside. Not to mention, the great tunes kept us all warm from the uncontrollable dancing that ensued throughout the whole show.

This may actually be the entire setlist, but some highlights for me were: NICU, Maze, Theme from the Bottom, Down with the Disease, Sparkle, and Weekapaug Groove. After the show was over I got the chance to talk to the band a little bit and thank them for the fun time. Although I still have yet to see Phish, Simple was a nice substitute for the time being. I will definitely check these guys out again.