Subscribe…On the Heart [Wildlife]
By Paul on April 5th, 2013 in Album Review, On The Heart, Wildlife
Forgive us for becoming the Wildlife Channel recently. They’re just that amazing. A month ago today, they released a new album,…On The Heart. We also gave you a free song, Born to Ruin, in anticipation for that release. And ya know what? Dean and company later said I could give you another song! Of course I’ll have to oblige. This one is my personal favorite and was "Song of the Week" on the Canadian iTunes store. Hit the jump for the download, and to read about Wildlife’s new album.
Free Song Born to Ruin by Wildlife
By Paul on January 30th, 2013 in Free Music, Wildlife
Remember Wildlife? As in, the band that even today remains one of our favorites here at the Reverb Signal? Good, because they are about to release a new album, On The Heart, which will be available starting March 5. But why wait? Download their song Born To Ruin right here before the album is out. Free. Because we love you.
Enjoy!
Jamaican Queens at The Paperhaus on January 14
By Paul on January 9th, 2013 in Band Review, Free Music, Jamaican Queens, The Paperhaus, Upcoming Show
Back before I started getting into the indie scene, music for me was mostly "I like these songs I heard on the radio." These days, I can’t even think of the last time I turned the radio on when I could just play some indie music instead. This is all thanks to bands like Jamaican Queens — and venues like The Paperhaus — which continue to push the boundaries of what a dedicated group of musicians are able to accomplish. Jamaican Queens will be playing at The Paperhaus January 14. This exclusive concert isn’t even listed under their tour dates. This is about as cool as it gets. And did I mention that it’s also completely free?
Yukon Blonde – Tiger Talk
By Paul on November 26th, 2012 in Album Review, Band Review, Free Music, Yukon Blonde
Happy Cyber Monday, everybody! And do I ever have a gift for you! May I present to you Yukon Blonde, who played in D.C. fairly recently with the Jezabels (another magnificent band). Unfortunately I was unable to see them myself due to… reasons… but even so, these guys make some pretty amazing music.
When I discovered they were playing in town, the only reason I gave them a second look was because I wanted to see the Jezabels in concert. Up until then I hadn’t heard of Yukon Blonde, or maybe I once heard about them from the friend of a friend who overheard a hobo at a metro station or something. But whatever. I listened to Yukon Blonde and I was hooked.
Stop Screwing with Tuning!
By Paul on September 22nd, 2012 in Advice
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re in the mood to play guitar after hearing that song on the radio again, so you point your browser to your favorite guitar tab website. There are ten different versions available. You pick the version with the best user rating (probably version 1 or 2). The first thing you notice is that it’s in Drop D tuning, or maybe even Drop A or something even more bizarre, so you turn the pegs on your guitar to get it into tune and start playing. This terrible scenario described me a few years ago. Back when I wasn’t getting anywhere with guitar, I left that thing in Drop D by default. If only I had known then what I know now. By using alternate tunings, I was dooming myself to failure.
Musical Strength Training
By Paul on August 15th, 2012 in Advice, Practice
Recently, I have begun reading about Strength Training. It’s handy in daily life to be strong, and some people could really stand to bulk up. This is especially true if you are some kind of gangly terror beast like me… ol’ gangleblogger, they (probably never) call me. Interestingly, as musicians, we can learn a lot from the most unlikely places. As it turns out, strength training is surprisingly similar to music training. Find out how to begin your musical strength training after the break.
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The Humble Music Bundle
By Paul on July 30th, 2012 in Charity, Humble Bundle
I have been a fan of the Humble Bundle since it first started being a thing. But for those who are not yet aware of this magnificence, the premise is that you buy… what, like 5 or 6 amazing independent games for a total price of anything you want. And now, in a stroke of why-didn’t-they-do-this-sooner genius, they are offering a music bundle with songs from OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton, and more for the equally tantalizing price of whatever the hell you want.
Pick a Hero, Pick Again, and then Pick Nobody
By Paul on July 24th, 2012 in Advice, L2P, Practice
I’ll be honest; I started writing this post months ago, but somewhere in the process it just got lost in my hard drive. But how fortuitous! This is one of those posts that only improves with age. When I first started writing it, I wanted to tell you to pick a musical hero to emulate. Tons of sites tell you to do the same thing, it must be good advice! But now I have a slightly different message to give you.
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Alcoholic Faith Mission
By Paul on July 13th, 2012 in Band Review, Free Music
No matter how many indie bands we review, they always manage to surprise us. They’re always so different from each other, and they always bring interesting sounds that I never would have guessed I would enjoy. You’d think by now it would just be expected, but it ain’t happening. Certainly there’s new stuff to be heard and we all know it, but the fun part is that unexpected sounds are never… expected. No band so far has proven this more than Danish band Alcoholic Faith Mission.
Atherton [No Threat]
By Paul on June 20th, 2012 in Album Review, Band Review, Free Music
Have I ever told you about all the cool indie rappers out there? No? Well, shoot, let’s change that starting now! Hip hop is kind of a big thing, after all. But, just like any other genre, the artists with the most creative license are often not the ones on the radio; they’re the independent musicians. Take Canadian rapper Atherton, for example.
