Get Back Loretta

Attention, those trying to define the music of Get Back Loretta: Cease and desist. Give it up. Save yourself the trouble. The San Diego band defies categorization at every turn, deftly weaving elements of ‘60s garage rock, ‘70s soul and ‘90s Britpop into their songs. Your incredible journey begins with “Break Down”—a garage rock-soul revival with big, beautiful harmonies. Think Franz Ferdinand, if they were rubbed in the dirt a little. “Grown So Cold” is a jaunty, gypsy-inspired dance in the pale moonlight, while “Gotta Believe” is driving, adrenaline-fueled piano rock. And, though its name might lead you to believe it to be anesthetic, “Ketamine” swaggers with bluesy, almost theatrical, panache, while singer Steven Bradford delivers the punch with his killer croon. That’s the thing with this band—no song sounds like the next, but all of them are total knock-outs.

• Indie artists feuding the only way they know how: on Twitter.
• Confirmed to not be allowed at the Super Bowl: hydrangeas.
• Spain, we hope you got your hair done, because Franz Ferdinand is taking you out all over again.
• If only they could have gotten Steve Buscemi to do the “Lonely Boy” shuffle.
• Oh, so that’s why Charlie Watts is the best looking Rolling Stone.
• Johnny Marr won’t be driving in your car. At least for the next 56 days.
• Even T.I himself had the same reaction we did to his collaboration with Taylor Swift: (pleasantly) surprised and confused.
• We can already see this turning into a really depressing musician biopic.

In 2001, The Strokes released their landmark debut album, Is This It. Upon its release, the album was immediately successful and had a huge impact on popular music at the time. Coming after the grunge heyday of the ’90s, their simple no frills sound paved the way for other indie rock bands like The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys to achieve mainstream success. Their immediate success, both critically and commercially, proved that vintage rock sounds could still be successful in today’s music scene. Without The Strokes, many of the rock bands we know and love today may not have even got off the ground. Here at OurStage we have many great up-and-coming rock bands, but one band in particular, The Black Rabbits, have a sound that is quite similar to that of The Strokes.

OurStage's The Black Rabbits

The Strokes

Like The Strokes, The Black Rabbits have a sound that takes its influence from classic rock, but also has a modern touch which makes them unique. If you listen to their song “Hypno Switch,” you can hear some immediate similarity to The Strokes’ song “Trying Your Luck.” Both songs are recorded at about the same tempo and are based around slightly distorted guitar chords. Like The Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas, The Black Rabbits’ singer Jetson Black possesses a deep croon that is rough around the edges, but is still melodic and in tune. However, while “Trying Your Luck” has a relatively dark tone, “Hypno Switch” is a more upbeat affair with a really catchy wordless chorus. “Hurry, Hurry” is another track that is similar to the sound of The Strokes. With the guitar, bass and drums playing in almost rhythmic unison, the focus of the song is on Black’s vocals. The song is more somber than “Hypno Switch,” but Black’s deep voice still fit this style perfectly. “For Way Too Long Now” is another song in this vein, where simple guitar chords allow a catchy vocal melody to shine through. The chorus also finds Black using the kind of distorted growl in his vocals that Julian Casablancas has made famous.

Continue reading ‘The Black Rabbits Vs. The Strokes’

• Poor Boris Johnson. We’re pretty sure he was ready to go all Sherlock Holmes.
• Lykke Li, we know you just don’t want to alienate your hipster fanbase. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with us.
• What if we can play a mean harpsichord? Will that get us into M83?
• There’s now some doubt as to when No Doubt’s return is coming. Irony.
• Snoop Dogg really is the only person worthy of playing The Pope of Pimping.
• McCartney finally outs himself as a “business executive”.
• We guess Tori making songs about her shoes was shrugged off as a bad idea, but we don’t know why.
• If we were Troy Davis, we’d be pretty psyched. About being backed by Mogwai and Franz Ferdinand. Not the being executed thing.
• We’re kind of confused about the demographic Arctic Monkeys is going for with this: British biker-gang hicks?

Jenna Bryson isn’t your typical rising talent. You won’t find a long-winded backstory or moment of musical revelation in her bio—just Jenna, her songs and her humble personality. It’s these traits and more that helped the LA songwriter rise the ranks of the June “Artist Access” Premium Member Competition on OurStage, eventually landing her a mentoring session with one of the music industries most sought after resources—IMO president/ founder and former Sony Music and Columbia Records chief, Don Ienner.

In the nearly forty years of working in the music industry, Ienner has helped further the careers of legends like Springsteen, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd and has guided the passage of talents like John Mayer, Dixie Chicks, Alice in Chains, Jeff Buckley, Beyoncé, Matisyahu, Franz Ferdinand, Nas, Lauren Hill, Cypress Hill and many, many more.

Bryson and Ienner recently sat down for a chat in NYC and, well, we’ll let her tell you all about it herself. Check out Jenna’s video below—featuring a performance of her winnings song “Happy” and a personal recount of her mentoring session with Don Ienner. Want a mentoring session with industry powerhouse Rob Stevenson? Sign up for OurStage Premium Membership and enter the August “Artist Access” Competition now!

When it comes to the music business, Don Ienner is a name synonymous with success. His priceless advice and guidance has furthered the careers of legends like Billy Joel and Pink Floyd and guided the passage of modern stars such as The Dixie Chicks, Franz Ferdinand, Nas and Lauren Hill.

In this month’s “Artist Access” Premium Member Competition, OurStage is giving Premium Members the chance to win a mentoring session with Ienner—only you can help them get there. Judge in the “Artist Access” Competition by June 30, 2011 and help make a big difference in one artist’s career. For some top tracks from the competition, listen to the playlist below.

The Good

Record Store Day has banner day in sales

Record Store Day began in 2007 to both celebrate and breathe a little life into the independently-owned record stores still in existence. The event takes place the third Saturday of April every year. Artists from all over the world release limited edition material to drum up sales. This year’s participating acts included Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Franz Ferdinand, Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Decemberists. According to Nielsen SoundScan, independent stores album sales rose 39% last week due to the event. Last year’s Record Store Day resulted in a boost of only 3%. Great news for indie record stores and their tatted and bespectacled clerks in Yo La Tengo t-shirts who get to keep the dream alive a little longer.

Coachella, Coachella, Coachella. Oh—and Coachella.

Much of this week’s music coverage consisted of round-ups of the many artists taking the stage at the Coachella Music Festival. We’ll distill it down to the finer points for you. Cee Lo got pissed when he was forced off the stage after running over the allotted time, making his performance of his hit, “F— You,” entirely a propos. Kanye West did right by his fans and delivered a galvanizing, 140-minute set that covered all his hits. Arcade Fire delighted Rihanna and thousands more with their performance, which ended with glowing bouncy balls being dropped over the audience while the band sang their hit, “Wake Up.” Check out the video clip below.

The Bad

TV On The Radio mourn loss of Gerard Smith

TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith passed away this week after battling lung cancer. The band canceled five shows and released a statement on their Web site that read, “We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly.” R.I.P.

Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga release album covers

We’re just curious as to which one is your favorite: Lady Gaga as half woman, half bike, or Lil Wayne as half kindergartener, half gangsta.

The Ugly

Beyoncé releases “Girls (Who Run The World)”

Beyoncé released her new single, “Girls (Who Run The World),” this week and for some the jury’s still out. The track is an ambitious, sprawling jam that samples Major Lazer’s “Pon De Floor.” We’re not sure if the word “hook” applies here, but give it a listen down below and decide for yourselves. Oh, and if you want to see two guys seriously displeased with the latest offering from Sasha Fierce, click here. A word to the wise—when you’re recording a show for YouTube, don’t leave to take a phone call from your sister in the middle of it.

The Game detained in Canada

The Game was en route to Nova Scotia from LA for a show at the Halifax Forum when he was detained by customs agents in Canada. The rapper will either be deported or jailed for violating Canada’s immigration entry laws. (Apparently jerks aren’t allowed to enter Canada. Folks!)

Miscellany

• Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake to appear on SNL season finale
• Foo Fighters score first Number 1 album
• The National plan Grateful Dead tribute album for charity
• Lykke Li hurts back, postpones shows
• U2 and Muse play surprise set in bar after São Paolo concert
• Listen to Death Cab for Cutie’s “Some Boys”
• Lada Gaga gives Weird Al Yankovic the go for “Born This Way” parody
• Bon Iver announces new album
• The apocalypse cometh: Rebecca Black is recording an album

Q: If a Tweet falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

A: Who cares.

Why debate philosophical malarkey while Justin Bieber is out there hogging 3% of our Twitter servers, and Lady Gaga gets to be the belle of the MTV ball by wearing a meat dress?

The point is, marketing methods that were formerly described as DIY (social media, shock frocks) are being deployed by artists who don’t need to focus on frugality, and that makes the playing field that much more crowded for unsigned acts. What’s an indie band to do to get attention on a budget? Kick out the jams.

Songify covering 'Double Rainbow'

The latest marketing trend is… music. Yes, the actual music. Bands seem to be crafting and curating songs for maximum rock ‘n’ roll attention. That could mean anything from writing novelty lyrics (meme mentions, news-du-jour references, sentimental stalker ditties) to strategically chosen cover songs. One blog suggests doing away with a song’s bridge to get more chorus-verse-chorus pop power. Tribute songs about the “Double Rainbow” dude are charting on iTunes, we swear. Apparently, there’s a little “Weird” Al Yankovich in most every burgeoning beat group.

“Now, all to often, I’ll see an artist puttering around in something like Twitter, diligently tweeting into a fan-less void,” lamented Mike, author of a recent post at the blog GarageSpin. “Making a splash in the music industry requires a lot of hype, and a lot of artistry. Hype drives awareness. Great music creates fans.”

The indie rock/jazz duo Pomplamoose has built buzz by putting its unique musical stamp on covers of pop staples. Multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn are not known for playing live, but Pomplamoose has garnered a huge fanbase on their YouTube channel, about 3.8 million as of October 2010.

Pomplamoose from 'Telephone' video

Join 5.3 million others and check out Pomplamoose’s cover of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” on YouTube . The band’s take on the Michael Jackson classic “Beat It” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” are also crowd pleasers.

“Cover songs are popular for a reason — familiarity attracts fans of the original work, and can breed new fans,” says Mike at the blog Garagespin.  “If you can produce a creative spin or meme from an existing popular concept or creative work, you may attract attention and fans.”  Perhaps this explains burgeoning indie rockers, The Beatles‘ rush to cover Gaga’s “Telephone” as well.

Whether you’re Joan Jett, Run DMC, Franz Ferdinand, Johnny Cash or a member of Glee’s New Directions, it helps to know the basic decision chart you will need to plot out to master the perfect cover song. There are no right or wrong answers, of course. Do you choose a crowd pleaser or an under-appreciated gem that your group can own? Pick a song you truly love or one that you loathe for fun? Perform it by-the-numbers or give it a full makeover? Another option to consider: whether the song’s lyrics, artist or any other element have special relevance now or to some event in the near future.

Up and coming Detroit duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott) have gotten a bit of attention for their moody and thoughtful cover of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” OK, so they also perform in dorky NASCAR-style jumpsuits plastered with the logos of Cheerios, Lysol, Hamburger Helper and other brand “sponsors,” but sometimes a band likes to make an ironic lowbrow fashion statement to contrast with its arty intellectual music.

Take that, Gaga!

[Editor's Note: Check out these great covers by OurStage artists! ]

By Becky Ebenkamp

Becky Ebenkamp is a pop cultural anthropologist and former West Coast Bureau Chief for Adweek Media. Becky has a radio show called “Bubblegum & Other Delights” that airs 7 to 9 PM PST every other Tuesday on www.killradio.org

When Tim Burton announced he would be directing Alice in Wonderland, fans everywhere rejoiced. Burton’s wonderfully creepy style combined with the classic Lewis Carroll story is a perfect match. Then the track listing for the accompanying soundtrack was released. Many were comforted to find Danny Elfman on board to do the score however critics immediately questioned the Top 40 lineup.  Did the Almost Alice music supervisors take a cue from the Mad Hatter when making the final choices for the compilation?  I gave the album a listen to decide for myself.

The first track, “Alice (Underground)” by Avril Lavigne is a powerful track that sounds different than her usual pop rock fare. While you can’t deny Lavigne’s catchy pop allure, the song doesn’t really hit home as much as it should. Boasting a softer sound, All American Rejects’s decent track, “The Poison” follows Lavigne.  Then Owl City and Metro Station appear to quickly remind listeners of the album’s Top-40 sensibilities. Unfortunately, their contributions,“The Technicolor Phase” and “Where’s My Angel” lack quality.  Shinedown manages to pull off some evocative vocals, but sounds as run-of-the-mill as their predecessors.

Kerli

Kerli, a great addition to the album, lends her her eerie style to two songs.  “Strange,” performed with Tokio Hotel, doesn’t show off the singer’s creepy side enough while the overwhelming dance beat on her solo song, “Tea Party” doesn’t quite fit the film’s mood.  3OH!3’s track, “Follow Me Down,” isn’t as blatantly obnoxious as their previous hits.  In fact, Neon Hitch lends her soothing voice to the track, making it pretty memorable. An odd follow-up to 3OH!3 is Robert Smith’s “Very Good Advice.” The song is more weird than enjoyable, but still manages to capture Alice.

3Oh!3

The long-awaited collaboration from Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz, “In Transit” is underwhelming — a boring, droning song when compared to the rest of the album (perhaps that’s why it’s placed between two slower tracks). The Plain White T’s manage to steal Hoppus and Wentz’s thunder with a stripped tune, “Welcome to Mystery.” Franz Ferdinand follows with something a slower, vaudeville-influenced tune,“The Lobster Quadrille.”  “Running Out Of Time,” from Motion City Soundtrack lightens the mood with a light, airy sound that the soundtrack needs more of. Then Wolfmother’s “Fell Down A Hole” booms in, loud and rocking. A great track on it’s own, the harder rock sounds doesn’t necessarily vibe with the rest of the album. The refreshing “White Rabbit” by Grace Potter and the Nocturals is the album’s true gem. A cover of the Jefferson Airplane hit, the vocals are strong and loud with a balance of hard and airy guitar backing.  The album concludes with They Might Be Giants and “You Are Old, Father William,” a silly tune based on the poem by Lewis Carrol but a fantastic close to an otherwise flat album.

Overall, the album has a few hits and a lot of misses. The songs that shine do so brightly and the ones that severely lack quality are, at least, terribly catchy. As a compliment to Burton’s film, most tracks fail in comparison to Danny Elfman’s score. His work, as well as the actual film, is generating far more excitement. As a whole, I’ll just say this soundtrack won’t be fielding any GRAMMY nominations soon.

Here’s the full track listing:

1. “Alice (Underground)” performed by Avril Lavigne
2. “The Poison” performed by The All American Rejects
3. “The Technicolor Phase” performed by Owl City
4. “Her Name Is Alice” performed by Shinedown
5. “Painting Flowers” performed by All Time Low
6. “Where’s My Angel” performed by Metro Station
7. “Strange” performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. “Follow Me Down” performed by 3Oh!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith
10. “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. “Welcome to Mystery” performed by Plain White T’s
12. “Tea Party” performed by Kerli
13. “The Lobster Quadrille” performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. “Running Out of Time” performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. “Fell Down a Hole” performed by Wolfmother
16. “White Rabbit” performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

17. “You Are Old, Father William” performed by They Might Be Giants

In the early days of the music industry, a leak was as simple as a radio DJ copying an advance release and giving it to a friend. Today within minutes of someone sharing an album online, it’s available to anyone with an internet connection (and sufficient knowledge of where to obtain these files). It has become a daily habit of publications such as Digital Music News to announce leaks and add exposure to the growing leak issues in the industry. These recent leaks include hot shots such as Green Day, Eminem, Wilco and Franz Ferdinand.

Recently there has been a new front to this leak battle; Independent artists are starting to see the same issues as their Major label counterparts. One such example: Tori Amos’ latest album leaked on May 11th, it was due to hit stores only 8 days later.

Luckily, artists are fighting back with other promotions to promote buying their album. Those who pre-ordered Tori’s album on iTunes received a password to order tickets for her summer tour before the general public. The album also came with a DVD video; items like this are not usually included in prerelease leaks giving fans a reason to pick up the album. Artists like Tori also have another thing going for them: a loyal fan base who may download a leak but will still purchase the album for the extras and in support of the artist.

The industry is changing.  The classic music industry tactics are futile.  Labels must embrace change and adjust tactics for success as independent artists have, or they will soon fall to dust.