I love receiving CDs in the mail from new artists (or at least artists that I have yet to hear of) and then finding out that I do know the artist or band because of unknowingly hearing one of their songs. That was just the situation with the British musician Michael Lee. Not knowing the name, I put on his new CD entitled Face Forward and pressed play. It was at that point that I heard the now-familiar song of “Despite” coming out of my headphones. As I already knew and liked “Despite,” I was ready to hear if the other tracks lived up to that first bit of personal exposure to Michael Lee’s music. I was not disappointed.

The 2009 release from Michael Lee is a strong representation of his talent, as Lee played most of the instrumental parts. The only exception is the drumming provided by Will Gates, keys by Christopher Lever, and background vocals from fellow singer-songwriter Martyn Drabik.

Along with being multi-talented, Lee writes songs that have mass appeal. Face Forward features eleven songs that are varied in style. With the different directions that Lee takes with his music, you can hear rock songs featuring Lee on guitar, piano-driven pop, and even an instrumental track.

The CD begins with “Land of Change” and “Trust”. Both of these tracks could easily find their way onto Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) radio stations. The next two songs, “Despite” and “Tired”, have enough commercial feel to them that they can may end up on Adult Contemporary stations, with “Despite” also being a good AOR contender as well.

Next, “Nature of Life” has a retro, easy-paced sound that may easily belongs back in the seventies and a feel reminiscent of American singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song gives a nice change of pace to the heavier sounds of the first four tracks.

Staying with the influential sounds, “Youth” has a flavor of another American singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik. While Sheik is known for having songs that fit on Top 40 radio, a few of his songs would fit better on Hot A/C radio stations. “Youth” contains a harder Adult Contemporary sound, and would fit onto Hot A/C radio.

One of the most interesting songs on the album is “Distant Future”. While the majority of the songs on the album are in the rock vein, it is on this song that Lee decides to take a different approach with an acoustic, folk-flavored song that allows the listener to hear another side to his work.

With the second to last song, Lee changes pace once again, showing off his composing skills with an instrumental piece. The song is a piano-driven tune that also includes Lee playing every instrument on the track. You might even consider the title track of the album to be the song that really showcases Lee’s skills as a musician.

Face Forward closes with the song “That Day”, the music and the lyrics of which bring to mind Nick Heyward’s post-Haircut 100 writing. Having the different styles of music and intensities in the deliveries of the songs on the album, “That Day” seems to be a great way to bring the album to a close.

Having known some of Michael Lee’s music before hearing the entire album, it was a great joy to hear that the rest of the album was just as good as the first song that I had heard from the musician. With the many different styles to the music, Lee keeps the music fresh throughout the release. It is not often you hear an artist take different approaches to his writing, but Face Forward proves that he has the talent.

Review by Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Face Forward, Michael Lee

Somewhere between their first and second album, the band named Three-Fourths Down decided to change their name. The band decided on the new moniker of Man Called Noon. Man Called Noon is made up of Tony Giamichael on lead vocals and guitar, Brian Sonnek on lead guitar and harmony, Mike Burns on drums, bass and harmony, Zach Finch on live drums, and Katie Dingle on cello and harmony. It is this group of musicians that have released their sophomore release of Broke And Beaten Down.

Man Called Noon’s Broke And Beaten Down begins with a track entitled “Burn And Grow,” a song about a man who lost his job and has to come to terms with the fact that things just happen sometimes. The song is a great way to start the album off, as it has a strong beat that keeps the listener interested.

While the next two songs on the album are also strong, it’s the fourth song on the release that caught my attention. “Saturday” is by far the best song and most commercial and radio-friendly song on the album. With the song’s beginning guitar riff, it could instantly become a fan favorite. One has to wonder why the band placed the song in the middle of the album instead of leading off with it.

While most of the album features the entire band, the songs “Dying For My Passion” and “Another Ghost” feature only Tony Giamichael in a man-and-his-guitar setting. The songs stand out from the rest, as they sound somewhat incomplete. However, “Another Ghost” sounds more nature as an acoustic song than “Dying For My Passion” does.

Taking a look at the information that is included in the packaging of the album, one of the things that stand out is the fact that the album of Broke And Beaten Down was recorded and produced with the help of multi-talented band member Mike Burns. One has to wonder what Broke And Beaten Down would have sounded like had there been an outside opinion involved in the process. A good guess would be that some, if not all, of the tracks that feature only Tony Giamichael would have been fleshed-out giving the songs more depth.

Broke And Beaten Down also includes a hidden track. The song “Love You” also features Tony Giamichael creating the song with a basic man-and-his-guitar set-up, and Katie Dingle adding a little texture with her cello and vocals. But when the hidden track happens to be stronger than some of the featured material on the release, you end up wondering what the band saw (or “didn’t see”) in the song.

Without hearing the first release from the band, Broke And Beaten Down is a nice place to start when discovering Man Called Noon. However, a strong decision from Giamichael about whether he wants a band sound or a solo acoustic sound would make the next release that much stronger.

Review by Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Broke and Beaten Down, Man Called Noon

If you end up in a musical city such as Nashville, Chicago, Cleveland…. you’ll likely end up becoming influenced by the music found in those cities. That influence may end up becoming part of the style of music you are writing while living there.

The musician Johnny Dean ended up moving to the city of Austin, Texas and it’s there that he started composing his music. Soon enough, Dean ended up forming a group to perform the music he was composing. The group goes under the moniker of “Johnny Austin,” a nickname Dean ended up receiving from a friend and fellow musician. The band named for Dean is still a relative newcomer to the music scene in the state of Texas, having only recently been formed. Aside from Dean as frontman, the band consists of: David “Davey H” Henry on lead guitar, bassist Suzanne “Suzy Q” Staton and drummer Joseph “Joey K” Kraft. Although only being together for a relatively short amount of time, “Johnny Austin” released their first album of “One of a Kind” in 2008.When listening to “One of a Kind” by the band Johnny Austin, you notice something a little weird right at the beginning of the album: programmed drums. While the group features Joey K on drums for live performances, Johnny Dean decided to use programming for the recording process. It makes me wonder two things: 1. What does the band sound like live? And 2. Why had Dean decided to go this route for the recording of this album? The obviously fake drums take away a lot from the music, as they are a big distraction.

And then, there is the situation with the bassist “Suzy Q:” While her vocals appear on the CD, her skills as a musician must also be experienced live in concert, as Dean also plays the bass parts on the CD.

When talking about the songs themselves, the fifteen songs on “One of a Kind” by Johnny Austin are very easy on the ears. When Dean was writing the songs, he took a lot of different influences including those from the area of Austin and added them into his style; the results being an album with songs that could be very commercial in nature. The music on the album could find its way onto the radio, especially “She’s So Sunshine,” and the title track of “One of a Kind”.

While fourteen of the tracks on the album were recorded in the studio, the album’s last track of “Freely Falling” is different from the others. That track was recorded in concert. The track features only Johnny Dean on vocals and guitar. This track gives the listener a chance to hear Dean’s talent as both a singer and guitarist, since it is just Dean live in concert. This is a good chance to hear what Dean can really do.

Although Johnny Dean and the rest of his band of Johnny Austin would have been better served if they had released a live album showing the listening public the talent of each member of the band, maybe it was Dean’s intention to let the people hear the music on the album and use the CD as a way to get the people to go out and see the band live. If that was the intention, the album by Johnny Austin should do the trick. As a stand-alone release, however, the songs on “One of a Kind” make for a good album.

To find the band of Johnny Austin, check out their website at www.johnnyaustin.ws. You can also find them on MySpace at www.myspace.com/JohnnyAustinMusic.

 Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Johny Austin, One of A Kind

While I am a fan of all types of music, I usually stay in the genre of rock. And while I like to “rock out” to the bands that like to write harder songs, once in a while, I like to just sit back and enjoy an album that features some great writing while the songs stay in a mellower mood. So when I received the CD of “The Nightbirds Revolt” from Dylan Kight, I took it as a chance to sit back and relax to the music.

On a more personal connection for me, Dylan Kight reminds me of a musician that originally comes from Ohio- a musician by the name of Tim Easton. Kight’s writing and playing style along with the twang in his vocal quality immediately brought to mind Easton for me when I first put the album on. It didn’t really surprise me that Kight had opened for Easton at one point in his musical career.

While Dylan Kight had the musical ability to have created “The Nightbirds Revolt” by himself, he took a different approach: To help Kight create this strong album of music, he had some help putting the music together. Along with multi-instrumentalist Kight on guitars, keys, bass, percussion and vocals, Robbie Smith, Ryan Blasingame, and Evan Kinney also added their touches to the album to give it some depth.

The music for the songs by Dylan Kight is easy to enjoy as the singer-songwriter stays away from complex patterns and just allows the songs to exist with simplicity. And while Kight keeps the music simple, he also keeps the music from getting boring. Some of the songs on “The Nightbirds Revolt” can actually make you want to get up and dance. The song “Daydream Deferred” is one of the best and most rockin’ tunes on the release. And “Ocean Room” could easily end up on Top 40 radio, as the song has the potential to grab your attention with its commercial appeal.

The music of Dylan Kight definitely fits into the Americana music genre; not completely straight-out rock, some of the songs on “The Nightbirds Revolt” are a combination of folk and rock-n-roll. With that combination, Dylan Kight would fit alongside that other musician with Dylan in his name. In fact, Dylan Kight seems to have been influenced by Robert Dylan Zimmerman at one time in his life or another, as the sound of Kight’s music and even his lyrics bring to mind that famous folk rocker. At other times, the music has a country flare, as on the song “Ballad Of Clarence Marshall”. And still other times, like on the song “Ocean Room,” the singer-songwriter seems to have added just a little New Wave flavor to his sound.

The 14 tracks that make up “The Nightbirds Revolt,” the latest release from Dylan Kight, are nicely varied from song to song and help to keep the listener drawn into the music. Whether you are a fan of straight-out rock, or you like a little variety with your rock, either way, the newest album from Dylan Kight should give you some listening enjoyment.

To find out more about Dylan Kight, you can find him online at www.dylankight.com. 

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Dylan Kight, Nightbirds Revolt

Kevin Coyle, Tyler Todd, Bobby Hausenfluck, and Luke Gefell have known each other for more than 8 years. With the fact that they were friends and all knew how to play music, it was almost a sure thing that they would join together because of those bonds and create a band. Kevin Coyle plays guitar and sings, Tyler Todd plays bass and sings, Bobby Hausenfluck plays guitar, and Luke Gefell plays drums in the band. When the four musician friends formed a band, the four Virginians decided to call themselves the Virginia Gentlemen after the whiskey. But after some time, the band name was shortened to The Gentlemen. 

Matheson Kamin, Reviews The Gentlemen

It seems that, more and more, the singer/songwriter is becoming a lost art in the music industry. As most writers want to write songs in a certain musical vein, the ability to write songs in various styles is all but disappearing in the music world. So when someone like Shane Lamb comes along with his new CD of “Disengage,” it reminds us all that there are still writers who want to create an album of music and not just put together songs that fill a certain style.

With “Disengage,” Shane Lamb has created an album of music that allows the listener to hear the many different facets of the singer/songwriter. Throughout the twelve tracks of the new CD, the songwriter’s different feelings and emotions become apparent. And the musical ability of the musician side to him also shines through, as the musical approach also changes from track to track.

The emotional side to Lamb becomes clear in songs like “Dream Tonight”. “Dream Tonight” makes the listener aware of some of the desires that run through Lamb’s mind. In fact, the ideas of wishing and dreaming are recurring themes throughout the album.

For this album, Shane Lamb tapped into many of the things that were going on in his life during the time that the album was being created. Because of that creative decision, Lamb’s “Disengage” release has a very intimate feel to it.

While the lyrics of the songs on “disengage” were influenced by Lamb’s day-to-day life, the music for those songs had a different origin. Sometimes, the area you call home can greatly influence your writing or playing style. With Shane Lamb calling the city of Nashville home, he is naturally surrounded by some of the country’s most talented musicians. And with the ability to meet and befriend some of these musicians, Lamb was able to put together a group of players that were more than capable of helping him in the process of putting together his album with an ever-changing feel to it. Among the players on the release is Casey Wood on drums, Tim Marks on bass, Eric Holt on electric piano, plus several others.

Shane Lamb’s ability to write songs of various topics plus the musical ability of Lamb and the musicians who appear on the release give the release that feeling of variety that you seldom get from today’s releases. And while some singer/songwriters will branch out into many different musical genres on one release, Shane Lamb is content with staying within the rock genre of music. And though Lamb has chosen that path of staying within one genre, he keeps his album of “Disengage” interesting by changing the pace of the music throughout the twelve songs that make up the album. From the opening track of “Free” which has a easy rock beat, to the harder track of “Dreams,” to the rock ballad of “Until You,” that finishes out the CD, the songs on “Disengage” keep the listener interested for the entire length of the CD.

To hear Shane Lamb’s new release of “Disengage,” or to find out more about the musician himself, go to his website at www.shanelambmusic.com. You can also find him on MySpace at www.myspace.com/shanelambmusic.

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Disengage, Shane Lamb

There are two things that immediately come to mind when you first press play on the new “4th St.” album by Booze Monkey: Number 1, This is way too good to have been created by one guy. And Number 2, There is no way that the band name of ‘Booze Monkey’ had once belonged to a band that was acoustically based. However, those ARE the facts; at least, according to the history that came in the mail with the CD.

“4th. St.” is an album that was created by a musician that calls himself Blue Ajay. The release is the first time that Blue Ajay actually released an album under the moniker of Booze Monkey without the second half of the duo, Josh Ludwig. But when Joel decided to leave the act, Blue Ajay decided to continue on by himself. What that led to was a complete makeover on what the band was.

With Joel Ludwig, Blue Ajay created music that had a very simple acoustic blues sound. But with homemade instruments added to the simple guitar and standup bass, the duo started with a unique sound and feel and just evolved their sound from there. After the two had created three releases of uniquely original material, Joel said goodbye to the project and left Blue Ajay to carry on by himself.

After a short break to compose a soundtrack for the movie South Mountain Magic, Blue Ajay decided to revive the Booze Monkey moniker; but this time, he took the music to places it had never been before. What eventually resulted was Blue Ajay’s fourth release under the Booze Monkey moniker, ‘4th St.’ There are two ways it can go when a single musician decides to create an album all by himself: The first way (and the way it usually ends up) is an album that ends up sounding like one person who can play a ton of instruments, but none of them very well. The resulting album leaves much to be desired.  The second way it can go when a single musician decides to record by himself is what happened when Blue Ajay sat down to create the 4^th St. album. With no one to curb his creativity, a true piece of art was produced, musically speaking.

Without Joel Ludwig as his partner to help shape the music, Blue Ajay did create an album that contained several bluesy tracks, like Solitaire (The Old Way) and Jane’s Song. But tracks like Dick Frankenstein’s Night Out and Tellin’ You set themselves apart from those bluesy numbers. And if someone came up to me after I had heard the track Hope from this album told me that this group was once an acoustic blues duo, there would have been no way that I would have believed it. Hope contains large amounts of techno and ambient sounds while approaching something that might have been created by Nine Inch Nails.

Blue Ajay created acoustically based blues when he was teamed up with his former partner, Joel Ludwig. However, 4^th St, the first solo album Blue Ajay created under the Booze Monkey moniker, proves he is much more than just a blues musician; he is a musician that can produce any type of music if given the chance.

With rock, blues, techno, and ambient music running throughout the release, 4^th St. by Booze Monkey is definitely an album that is wonderfully unique. If you’re looking for something that is not your everyday music, then 4^th St. by Booze Monkey is what you’re looking for.

You can find Booze Monkey on MySpace at www.myspace.com/8ces.

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews 4th Street, Booze Monkey

Seattle, Washington is home to a talented musician. That musician is guitarist Robert Charles. Robert Charles has been making music for many years now. And after making music for some of those years, Charles decided he was ready to make the next move and record some of the music that he had created on his own.

With that thought in mind, Robert Charles went into the studio in 1997 to complete his five-song self-titled EP. The self-titled EP by Charles is a release that features five original compositions. The CD showcased the talent of the musician by focusing on, not just his composing, but also his guitar playing. When the CD was released, it was met with rave reviews as critics enjoyed his playing style and his ability to be able to play any style of music, whether it is jazz, blues, or rock.

Since that time in 1997, however, Robert Charles has not released a CD. His time has been taken up by his live performances. But Robert knew it was only a matter of time before he would enter the studio again to record his next release.  Earlier this year, Robert Charles once again entered the studio to create a new CD. This time around however, the musician took not only his own compositions, but also a few standards to help create the new release. That release is called Everything I Say.  Everything I Say, the new release by guitarist Robert Charles, splits its time between original compositions and jazz standards. The standards that are performed by Charles on this album include: I Fall To Pieces, the song written by Hank Cochran and Harlin Howard, made famous by Patsy Cline; All Of Me, the song written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons, made famous by Dinah Washington; and Moon River, the song written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini, with the most famous version of the song being done by Andy Williams.  The standards part of the new self-titled release by Robert Charles is where Charles shines. He takes these songs that everyone should know and makes them his own. With his style of playing, Robert breathes new life into these songs that have been around for years.   Along with the three standard tunes that Robert Charles chose for his new EP, the release also comes with three new compositions written by Charles. The three songs written by Robert Charles once again showcase his talent for writing. The three songs are split between one jazz composition with Didn’t Even Rain, and two blues compositions with Dexter’s Song and the title track of Everything I Say.

Didn’t Even Rain comes across as having been created in the studio as part of a jam session. With the loose feeling of the musicianship of the players that helped make the album, the song has a very genuine jazz feel to it.  Dexter’s Song and Everything I Say are very good blues compositions. They really allow Robert to show off on his fingering techniques. The only drawback to the album comes on Everything I Say when Robert sings the lyrics to the song. The musician has a fine voice. And THAT is the problem, in my opinion: His tenor voice is too clear and too high for the blues. If his voice were a little raspier, the song would sound a little more believable as a blues number. Aside from that opinion, his playing on the tracks lives up to the rest of the release.

Robert Charles may not be very prolific when it comes to putting out new releases, but when he does put out a release, it contains the right amount of talent and showmanship to make people want to stop and listen. The new self-titled release by Robert Charles is worth the time to check out.

To find out more on Robert Charles, go to his website at www.robertcharlesmusic.com. He can also be found on MySpace  at www.myspace.com/robertcharlesmusic.com.

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Robert Charles

I received the new album from The Black Doves entitled Moments of Clarity recently and was rather pleased. I had seen the CD in the local library but had yet to pick it up. So when the CD was delivered to me, I immediately put it on.

I had known their song “I Wonder If She Knows” from hearing it on the one of the Muzak stations that a business near me uses for their background music. But I never actually knew who did the song. When I saw that the CD by The Black Doves actually contained that song, and then the song started playing in my CD player, I knew that is had to be fate that the CD came to me.

The Black Doves is a band that can be described as part rock band and part pop band. The band’s sound is very listener friendly and several of the songs on the band’s CD could make their way onto commercial radio. Steve Wilson, a man who has spent a large part of his life as a musician, fronts the band. Steve made a name for himself in certain circles for the acoustic rock music that he used to write. With The Black Doves, his acoustic sound has been transformed into something a little harder, as the rest of the band help to turn his songs into full-fledged rock songs. Along with Steve Wilson on Vocals and both Acoustic and Electric Guitar, the rest of The Black Doves consists of Brent Matthews on Drums, Danny Trevino on Lead Guitar, and Frank Rodriguez on Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals.

Since Steve Wilson had started as a songwriter writing songs that were in the folk genre, it makes some sense that some of the songs on Moments of Clarity have a folk-rock feel. The song “I Wonder If She Knows” is one of the moments on the album that still contains that folk feeling to it. “Like I Do” is another song that captures that folk feeling.

Although some of the other songs on Moments of Clarity can also be described as “folk-y,” the album really cannot be described as a folk release. Wilson and the rest of The Black Doves deliver the songs with enough energy that the album never slips into a laid-back feel that most folk rock often seems to have.

In fact, there are a few tracks on this album that cannot be described as “folk” at all. “Give It Some Thought” is one such song. The track is one of the songs on the album that help to bring up the energy level. Other songs that can also be described as straight-out rock include “Learn To Live,” and “Ask Me To,” a song that could be described as a “power ballad”.

Steve Wilson and the rest of The Black Doves have shown with this release that they possess the talent to create a very solid album such as this. Each song on the 2008 release by The Black Doves entitled Moments of Clarity makes the album an enjoyable listening experience.

Unaware of just how good it was, I had ignored this album for almost two months. But getting it in the mail gave me a reason to discover what I had passed by. I suggest everyone take the time to discover this album by one of the best new rock bands that is currently making their way from unknown band to superstars.

To discover Moments of Clarity, the new CD from Steve Wilson and his band The Black Doves for yourself, go to their MySpace account at www.myspace.com/theblackdovesusa.

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Moment Of Clarity, The Black Doves

There have always been those musicians that have started to learn an instrument after being inspired by someone else. Whether it was to play as good as the person that inspired them, or to produce music in the style of that influence, there are many reasons for someone to pick an instrument.

English musician Kevin Curtis is one such musician that started playing after being influenced by someone else. He picked up the guitar after hearing guitarists like Jeff Beck and David Gilmour playing their music. After he learned to play the guitar, Kevin began to develop his own musical style.

Soon, Kevin was looking for more influences to add to his style of performance. It was at this point that he discovered the playing of instrumental guitarists like Joe Satriani. Having listened to guitarists like Satriani and others, Kevin started developing a desire to compose his own music.

Taking these influences, Kevin ended up creating two albums, 1994’s Living in 10 City, and 1996’s Union. With these releases, Kevin shows that he knows how to rock. But after releasing these two CDs, it would be a while before Kevin would create another one.

After a decade since the release of his last album, Kevin Curtis has finally released a new album. This new release is called Lighter Shades. The newest release by Curtis is a little different than his other albums in that the new album was created over a long period, with Kevin Curtis having composed each track on the release one song at a time. Taking the time to compose each song as its own entity gave Curtis the ability to create an album that lacked the monotony that a lot of instrumental rock albums seem to have.

Another thing that sets Lighter Shades apart from the previous releases by Kevin Curtis is that, while the new compositions still show that he knows how to write music, they also show that he can write in different styles. Each song on this release gives the listener a slightly different perspective on Kevin and his way of writing.

The songs on this album are not all in the rock vein. Some of the songs, like Those Before, are more about the melody than they are about Curtis’ ability to rock out. Those Before is a ballad-like song that brings to mind a moment of remembering. The song features Kevin in a very relaxed state of playing, letting the song itself take center stage.

While most of the album is very laid back in style and playing, there are some instances where Curtis’ ability to play is very evident. On the song Texan Man, Kevin gives the tune a very hard rockin’ quality and allows himself the chance to show the world what he can actually do with the instrument. And on Ebb and Flow, the musician slows down the pace but still proves that he can definitely hang with the best guitarists out there.

The other thing that comes across when listening to this album is the fact that Kevin Curtis is more than just a fine guitarist, he is also a fine musician that can play many different instruments. While having composed the songs on guitar, the album was fleshed out by Kevin as he also played bass, drums, and keyboards that helped add dimension to the release.

If you like instrumental rock, or instrumental music in general, Lighter Shades by Kevin Curtis is an album you need to check out. To find Kevin Curtis and his Lighter Shades album, as well as his other releases, go to his website at www.theaxemancometh.co.uk.

Reviewed By Matheson Kamin

Matheson Kamin, Reviews Kevin Curtis, Lighter Shades