Music Scouting

Woahhh, long time no post! Been meaning to post a entry on this next band for some time now since I first experienced their utter awesomeness back in January 2011. Again, I must say thanks to the hyper-pop/rock band, Dot Dot Dot for helping me find out this band existed, and within the Chicago city limits, no less! Of course, the band I’m talking about is Cobalt and the Hired Guns. But Cobalt isn’t just any rock band, oh no! They are a new breed of rock n’ roll, combining Indie rock with Blues, some Punk and even pop styles! There’s something for everyone to enjoy when listening to some Cobalt! Hell! Even someone whose musical taste is mostly hard rock/heavy metal, finds Cobalt one of their new favorites!!! 

Part of their unique music style is not the typical instruments of a rock band, i.e. guitar, bass, drums, but it’s those extra instruments such as saxophone, trumpet, tambourine! Yup! A rock band with brass instruments, so you know they are legit awesome!

Just the energy the band members give off at their live shows are enough to make you fall in love with everything about them. On stage, they successfully  draw the crowd in for a straight up headbanging dance party with catchy as fuck songs that are guaranteed to make you be humming the songs long after the last song ends!

And then we  come to their energetic and overall friendly nature off the stage. These “Hired Guns” are so much fun to talk to and hang out with after the show, which is how hyper, energetic, and random people should be! There’s never a dull moment with Cobalt and the Hired Guns!!!  I remember seeing them for the first time at the Metro, in Chicago with Dot Dot Dot in January 2011, running into lead singer/guitarist, Tomlinson after the show, after we introduced each other and I said my, “You guys Rocked!” compliment, a friend of the band playfully adds, “Oh now, he’s gonna remember you every time!” And she couldn’t have been more right, Tom, as well as all members of Cobalt (Mike on bass/guitar/vox, Amanda on Sax/vox,  Jesse on drums/vox) are all super friendly and super energetic with everyone they meet.

I don’t know about you, but that alone is enough to be a fan!!!

Only negative I have about this band is that they are not more popular than they are! Proof that the music scene/industry has SERIOUS problems if such an overall Amazing band, like Cobalt and the Hired Guns is still underground, for the most part and not getting nearly enough recognition as they deserve(which is a buttload….they should be blowing up!!! Which is what led me to create a Facebook group called, “Operation: Cobalt Who? to COBALT…YEAHHH!!!” which pretty much is bringing together everyone who agrees that enough is enough and this band needs to get ridiculously famous/popular…AND FAST!!!

Currently, Cobalt is working on a new album, which should be released fairly soon (last I heard, they have 4 more songs left). Their first album, 2008’s Jump The Fence is available on Amazon MP3, Itunes and all those good places, as well as on their website, if you want the physical cd in your greedy hands. :)

I recommend you go on Spotify and stream “Boston and Alone” right now (it’s the only song that comes up for Cobalt). It is HI-LARIOUS!!! Easily my favorite song yet.

They also have a Double Single EP that includes their recent hits, “Last August”, “You Left Your Sweater” and “Of Summer” —- remember that Snowpocalypse of February 2011? Yeah, that was how the video for “Of Summer” came to be!!!

LINKS:

OFFICIAL: www.cobaltandthehiredguns.com

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/#!/cobaltandthehiredguns?sk=info

TWITTER: Lead singer, Tomlinson and Bass guitar, Mike both dabble in the Tweety Tweets:

@cobaltandthehgs

@mikecobalthgs

Tom tweets more often.

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/cobaltandtheHGs#p/a/u/0/WnkpLFfGURo

oh yeah…one more thing….You left your sweater in my room, come pick it up!

I just came across this badass band, called The Last Vegas, and they are from Chicago, WOOHOO!!! I have yet to see this band live, but just cruising their various inter-webbing websites was enough to turn me into a fan!

Seriously, this band is hardcore rock.

They are influenced by Aerosmith, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, KISS, Motely Crue, Sex Pistols,… So you know they stay true to the classic hard rock style, something the music scene has been lacking in lately (seriously, enough of the whiney overproduced pop punk annoyances)!

And more proof of their badass ability to Rock, they have done some work with Nikki Sixx *Raises celebratory devil horns in the air*

I am quite determained to get another chance to see these guys play live  but now that the weather is getting nice and hot and Festival season is starting up in Chicago, I’m sure there will be more chances to see the awesome, AWESOME….did I say awesome?…. THE LAST VEGAS in concert in the great city of CHITOWNN.

So seriously happy rockin’ and I am off to go bask in badass rock&roll status via The Last Vegas videos/mp3’s

LINK YOURSELVES TO AWESOMENESS:

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/THELASTVEGAS

Band website: http://www.thelastvegas.com/

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/thelastvegasvideos

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thelastvegas

Alrighty, so this next band is evidence of what happens when you know the right people. Shout out to Dot Dot Dot’s new drummer, Marty Kane for plugging this next band to the Dot Dot Dot masses via the Facebook and Twitter. That dude is badass!

Without further adu, I introduce you to a band that will no doubt make you dance your ass off, THE DANCE PARTY (http://www.myspace.com/thedanceparty) is a Washington D.C/LA band that has very catchy rock/pop/dance songs that are very well suited to get some spin time in some hot nightclubs and bars.

Upon first listen, I was rockin’ to the beats and dancing in my seat. No doubt a band that will put on a pretty fun show! Once I started listening to the songs on their MySpace(remember MySpace?….yeah, me either!) I started to hear a resemblance to Dot Dot Dot —-very fitting that I got turned onto The Dance Party by a Dot member!

The Dance Party has that same sound and energy in their songs as Dot Dot Dot, a great match, touring wise. Which, by the way, the two bands are playing a show together in Libertyville, Illinois on September 10 at Austin’s, so looks like I’m not the only one who sees the similarity between the two bands…now if only The Dance Party were a Chicago band and their drummer was named Marty as well, then things would be getting Freaky to which I would respond with, HOLY SIMILAR!

The Dance Party has a new album coming out in stores and online September 28th, entitled, “TOUCH” 

Myspace : http://www.myspace.com/thedanceparty

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/thedanceparty?v=wall

Twitter: http://twitter.com/thedanceparty

and go tell Marty from Dot Dot Dot how badass his music taste is: http://twitter.com/martykane :) 

So this band is not exactly unknown, for the most part. This band has gotten it’s fair share of publicity from 2005-2009 and I guarentee you have found yourself humming one of their tunes or blasting the volume when one of their songs came on the radio.

The band is Cute Is What We Aim For:

I’ve always considered Cute one of my few absolute favorite bands going back to Warped Tour 2006 when I first heard “There’s a Class For This” on a demo mix CD someone was handing out during that Chicago Warped Tour day. After that, I have slowly been becoming more and more a fan of Cute Is What We Aim For, meaning to pick up their first album, Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch(2006) with hits like, “There’s a Class For This”, “Newport Living”, and “The Curse of Curves” to name a few.I would have finally gotten myself to get said CD after Alternative Press featured a story on them for the first (and only decent) AP Tour w/ Cute as headliners. 

Just goes to show you, Don’t throw away those Free CDs you get at Warped Tourrr! You’re new favorite band could have one of their songs on one of um’!!!

Now, Cute Is What We Aim For has gotten a lot of shit over the years for god knows what negative publicity or garbage people make up, It tears me up to hear so much hate on a band that is so effin’ brilliant! Lead Singer/founder of the band, Shaant Hacikyan has got a way with words. His songs are so catchy, so fun and his lyrics, when you actually take the time to decipher them, are pretty sexual which makes listening (and in turn, singing along with) all the more enjoyable!!! :P

Cute Is What We Aim For was signed onto Fueled By Ramen from 2005 until just this past April/May 2009 when the band announced a hiatus. Prior to the break, Cute has gone through numerous band members because of inter-band dramas. Shaant has had problems with alcohol in those days and fans have insulted him and spoken ill on his attitudes with fans after shows be it, a huge slap of “OMG, I’m A Rockstar”-itis’. Jeff Czum and Dave Minnillo left CIWWAF to start a new band, “Nocturnal Me”, which led to the hiatus and thereby allowed Shaant to re evaluate his life and get help with alcohol addiction (he just recently announced that he is  now 10 months sober).

Just this past May 2010, after a year and a half of mums the word from Shaant, he announces that he is starting Cute Is What We Aim For up again!

Basically, thus far, Cute Is what We Aim For was reincarnated into a “The Rocket Summer” or “Never Shout Never” or “Young Love” type band. The type of band that has touring members but only one guy is in press photos and featured in interviews and whatnot.

Currently Cute Is What We Aim For just finished his first cross country tour back from the hiatus. I was lucky enough to hit up the Chicago date at Reggies Rock Club. I was pleasantly surprised, after seeing Cute 3 times b/f the hiatus, this return to the stage was the best. Shaant is so much happier, friendlier, and more down to earth then he ever used to be. It’s amazing and makes for such a great show! I am still smiling wide whenever I reminisce in the events of that night. If you ever had a sour impression of him in the past, don’t hate, he’s a phoenix reborn, give him a second chance. 

If you ever have the opportunity to see Cute in concert….GO! 

********

Before Cute’s hiatus, the original band lineup(or somewhat original lineup), released their second and most current album, ROTATION (2008) with hits like, “Practice Makes Perfect”, and “Doctor” to name a few.

While “Same Old Blood Rush…..” was the best, in my opinion, with more summer anthems and danceable songs, “Rotation” didn’t steer too fair away from that feel of the first album. Rotation is a little more reserved from the first album, more sobering but amazing, none the less (with an amazingly random bonus song at the end that consists of just Shaant singing a few lines while you hear scissors cutting in the background…I call it the Scissors song b/c there is no name).

A band is only as good as it’s lead singer, you can take away the bassist, the guitarist, and the drummer but if you get rid of the lead singer…that band is fucked. As long as it’s still the same guy singing for the band, Why stop calling yourself a fan?!  It’s about the music, not about the looks of the band…somewhere down the line, music fans forgot that. Don’t Hate, Cute Is What We Aim For is still awesome, embrace the band’s higher level of awesome in this, the year of the tiger(2010).

LINK CUTE:

myspace: www.myspace.com/cuteiswhatweaimfor

twitter: www.twitter.com/shaantastic

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/cuteiswhatweaimfor

www.cuteiswhatweaimfor.com

Once upon a time I started this little music blog and the first band I HAD to feature was The Pink Spiders, the band that started it all, for me. The band that got me into the current music scene and introduced me to so many other bands. Warped Tour 2006 was more then just a festival for me, it introduced me to my favorite band. I’ve had great great times at Pink Spiders shows since then.

I mentioned in the original post that The Pink Spiders called it quits after two of the founding members left the band, leaving lead singer, Matt Friction to carry on the band until he was able to release the album, “Sweat It Out” that the band was in the process of completing at the time of the split. After  March 2009, Matt announced that he was to put The Pink Spiders on hiatus while he worked on other creative projects(Matt Friction and the Cheap Shots and The Dozen Dimes).

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL PINK SPIDERS POST: http://musicscout.tumblr.com/post/327416189/the-start-of-amazingness

I am happy to announce that The Pink Spiders ARE BACK. The original three members, Matt Friction, Jon Decious, and Bob Ferrari recently announced via facebook, twitter, and myspace that they are back as a band!!!

Rock and Roll died for a year and a half, but you know what they say, Rock and Roll never dies…it just takes a few hiatus’ every so often!

So far The Pink Spiders are scheduled to play a private show in California in the coming months and do not know what the future will hold for them at this point, hopefully there is going to be a U.S. tour in their near future.

If the Pink Spiders DO go on tour again soon and they are coming to your city, i strongly urge you to go to the show! For a good time, you know you gotta call the Pink Spiders! Rock and Roll at it’s finest.

Fan them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pinkspidersband

Twitter them: www.twitter.com/pinkspidersband or www.twitter.com/mattfriction

MySpace: www.myspace.com/thepinkspiders

and Pick up a copy of their album(s) “Teenage Graffiti”*, “Sweat It Out”, “Hot Pink”, and if you can find it, “The Pink Spiders are taking over” EP

*Teenage Graffiti is an amazing CD to pop into your car stereo and rock out too with your windows down on a hot and sticky summer day!

From now on I will update this blog with updates about the existing bands or tell you about a new band, like I have been doing thus far…