Midterms Playlist

For many students midterms are upon them. One of the most stressful times of the semester. Test, projects, other random assignments, on top of making sure you have time to look at cat memes on Tumblr. One of the things that gets me through stressful times, including midterms, is making a playlist on Spotify. Here is my Spring 2013 Midterms Playlist of some of my favorite songs from Midwest bands.

Home by Paradise Fears:

I love this song, its one of my main go to songs when I am stressed out. It's all about trying to get back home to the place that is most comfortable to us, but we are being pulled in so many other directions. Feeling lost, a feeling that I think a lot of college students can relate to.

Shooting Star by Owl City 

A great song to get away from everything. A great song to close your eyes to  and dream of being whoever you want to be.

Oxygen by We Are Leo 

A great song for when you are feeling alone and don't know what direction to go.

Party, Fun, Love and Radio by We The Kings

While not from the Midwest, We The Kings more often than not have at least one song on my playlists. Party, Fun, Love and Radio is the perfect song for when all the stress is finally gone and you can forget about school...at least for a little while.

Fun fact about this video, I am in one of the pictures around the 60 sec mark! 

Can you spot me?

What are some of your go to songs? Let me know below in the comments.

Maiken

 I recently became aware of a new band from Kansas City called Maiken, a three piece band composed of Bryan Gwin, Josiah Walker, and Ahna Borck .  Bryan and Josiah are childhood friends who grew up in California together. After completing high school the two were in a touring pop band, after this band ended Josh moved to Kansas City, while Bryan moved to Nashville to pursue music separately. Bryan says that in the back of his mind he always knew that they would somehow end up creating music together again: "In my head I had a distant thought we would end up doing some sort of music together because we have always had a comfort when it comes to writing and both grew up with similar taste, however, the thought had not crossed my mind or Josiah's mind too much." After a few years in Tennessee Bryan moved to  Kansas City, shortly after moving there Bryan and Josiah met Ahna. Ahna who is from a small town in Minnesota grew up singing in Church and with her sisters for fun. Bryan and Josiah were blown away by her voice. In a last effort to in Kansas City Josiah asked Bryan if he would be interested creating music with her. While hesitant at first, Bryan agreed. From the first time the three of them sat down together  they knew they had something special: "It was as if something inside of us had come alive for the first time."  They are currently pursing the band full time at the moment and expect to be keep releasing music quickly. 

Below you can find more of my interview with Bryan.

What is the story behind the name of the band?

 Maiken is a Danish name.  In english it translates to Mary.  Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ.  "The church, like Mary, is a womb called to give birth to a tangible expression of Christ in the earth."  That is our goal with our music.  To give a tangible expression of Jesus.  Many people have a very false view of Jesus Christ and believe he is an angry guy with a list of rules to follow and just wants to change us.  This is however quite opposite of who he is.  Jesus loved everyone he encountered and love them just as they were.  He gave hope to the broken.  He restored lives.  He gave life where there was death.  We want to make powerful music, tour and love as many people as we possibly can on our journey.

How would you describe your music?

I would say our music is very epic and emotional while maintaing a unique sound.  It will stir up thoughts and emotions in listeners that give them a euphoric feeling of hope and love.   Our music is something that can be felt, not just heard.

How does your song writing process usually go?

Usually one of us will have an idea whether it is just a chorus or a maybe a verse and chorus or a catchy hook.  We then demo out a rough idea in the studio and build upon that.  We sort of write and produce our music simultaneously.  It is a bit of a different approach from a lot of bands, but it works out well for us.  This approach sets us up for trying out many different ideas and melodies within one song.  Often the final result of a song will end up sounding nothing like how it sounded at its original state.  As for the lyrics, so far we have all written the lyrics together.   

Any plans for new songs being released in the near future?

Absolutely.  We have several songs in the works right now and plan on releasing an EP this summer and then we will start performing live.  We will constantly be releasing new music.  The beauty of doing everything ourselves is that we don't have to wait on a producer or a studio.  We can constantly be putting out new music.

Do you have any plans for shows or touring this summer?

We plan on playing live as soon as we release our EP this summer.  Not sure if we will be touring this summer but we will most likely be playing locally in Kansas City.

Where can people go to find out more about you?

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube would probably be the best places to keep up to date on what is going on with us.
www.facebook.com/maikenofficial
www.twitter.com/maikenband
www.youtube.com/maikenband


What's the best way people can support you if they like what they hear?

If you like what you hear you can get our first single "Graveyard" for free at www.noisetrade.com/maiken

I think most bands/artists would agree that the best way to support us is to spread our music around.  Like our youtube videos, leave us comments, like our Facebook page, follow us on twitter, etc. And the other best way to support us would be financially.  You can donate to us at www.noisetrade.com/maiken

I have enjoyed getting to know more about Maiken over the past few weeks, and I am looking forward to  hearing new music from them soon! Have you taken a listen? What are your thoughts on the song "Graveyard"? 

Jocelyn "Storyline" CD Release Show Pictures

On February 7th native Iowa City, Iowa band Jocelyn released their newest CD Storyline. While still a "young band" the Blue Moose, Iowa City was filled with fans from across the country for the CD release show on February 8th. Other bands who played that night included The Strive and Clear Skies, both newer bands from Missouri. The night was full of excitement and crowd energy was high form the first band to the last.

Created with flickr slideshow.
Find out more and keep up-to-date with all the bands:

The Strive:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thestrive?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wearethestrive
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DrUMK1nG

Clear Skies:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClearSkiesMo?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClearSkiesMo
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/clearskiesmo?feature=mhee

Jocelyn: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreJocelyn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeAreJocelyn
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/WeAreJocelyn

I'm Crazy Over You!

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm not a person who is huge into celebrating this day, but I thought it was only appropriate to post one of my favorite love songs today.  While there are thousands of love songs out there, one of my favorites has to be Crazy Over You by  Love Out Loud; a pop band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

What I like most about this song is how different it is from all the other love songs that are out there. It is light, fun and up beat. It's the perfect song if you are deeply in love or dreaming of that perfect someone. Take a listen to the song below!

What are some of your favorite love songs? 

 Find more out more about Love Out Loud from the links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveoutloudmusic

Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/loveoutloudmusic\

YouTube :http://www.youtube.com/user/LoveOutLoudOfficial

Clear Skies

I recently had  the chance to interview a new and upcoming Pop/Rock band, Clear Skies from Missouri. Clear Skies played  their first show as a band at the Blue Moose as a part of the release show for Iowa City native band, Jocelyn. Jake the lead singer of Clear Skies describes their music as "bouncy" and "fun". I had so much fun with this interview, check it out!

Find out more about Clear Skies:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClearSkiesMo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClearSkiesMo
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/clearskiesmo

Dead Turquoise

Dead Turquoise is a one man band from Ohio, but get all the preconceived notions of one man bands out of your head right now. This is definitely not the guy you see roaming the streets with the big drum on his back, and guitar in his hands.   Ted, the guy behind the band describes his music as “Dreamy, Sludgy, Surf-Punk”.  A mix of punk, heavy metal and dreamy reverby music, this project started as a result of wanting to combine both.  When asked about the name behind this one man band project, Ted explained the meaning first started out as a way of incorporating both the metal punk sound (Dead), and the more laid back surf sound (Turquoise). After Googling the name, Ted found a deeper meaning in it; through a story about living and dead turquoise. Living Turquoise is the bright healthy looking color; whereas dead turquoise is dull and has a white or black look to it.  Ted at the time was going through a rough part in his life, going to school out of state and eventually dropping out. He made the decision that he can choose to either be the dead dull turquoise or be the living turquoise. Describing it further as we can choose to let things in life get us down or we can choose to defeat what lies in front of us.

"There also exists as well the concept of living and dead turquoise. Living turquoise has a healthy blue color, whereas dead turquoise has turned either white or black. In the natural aging process of turquoise, exposure to light and body oils darkens the color, eventually turning it black. Tibetans compare this to human aging and death.”

https://www.facebook.com/deadturquoise?fref=ts 

Dead Turquoise is still in the early stages of development; however, you can go check out the music at http://deadturquoise.bandcamp.com/ . You can also be on the lookout for a full length album, which Ted hopes to have released sometime in the next year.  If you would like to support Ted and the work he is doing with Dead Turquoise he says the best way is through word of mouth: “ If you like it tell your friends, show your friends and if you like it enough buy a t-shirt”.

Find out more and keep up-to-date with Dead Turquoise by checking out the links below:

Tumblr: http://deadturquoise.tumblr.com/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/deadturquoise

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/deadturquoise?fref=ts

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/deadturquoise

SoundCloud : https://soundcloud.com/dead_turquoise
Buy Merch: http://deadturquoise.bigcartel.com/

GOLDHOUSE

Genre: Electric Pop

Home Town: Chicago

I had the chance to meet up with the Chicago native Grant Harris, better known as GOLDHOUSE on the Minneapolis stop of the Action Item Resolution Tour. I interviewed Grant and the other members of GOLDHOUSE about up coming tours and new music. Take a listen to this electric, techno, pop  music at http://www.youtube.com/user/iamgoldhouse . Check out the interview below!

Check out GOLDHOUSE on Vans Warped Tour all summer long! Tickets can be found at: http://www.vanswarpedtour.com/dates/index

You can find out more about GOLDHOUSE by going to www.iamgoldhouse.com to find links to  Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and more!