BrianLushRockwired2

We've stated before that we have a gentler side at ROCKWIRED and we don't mind letting people know about it when we come across an artist that ain't exactly one inspired by the heavier sounds of bands like BOBAFLEX or ZEROKING. Michigan-based singer-songwriter MARK REITENGA showcases a kinder, gentler and genteel style of of delivery and performance on his brand new EP UNSUNG but in no way does that mean that his music is benign. The opening bluesy, acoustic song DETROIT CITY BLUES speaks of a city in decay that deserves way more than the buzzard luck that it's been suffering in the past decade. ARE YOU WAITING is a whimsical ballad with a longing, yearning and anticipation that can be heard in every single note and ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME is probably one of the most joyous songs on the subject of divine intervention that we've heard since EURYTHMIC's THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) without all of the cloying sweetness or a bunch studio wizardry. UNSUNG is pure and simple in a time when everything is crass and complicated and it's a welcome surprise. If you hear this guy in a coffee shop you're going to want to stick around and listen.  CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT: http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles684.mp3

Lately the EP has been king in a musical environment where people want their music in easy to swallow snippets. Even some rather ambitious acts that have come ROCKWIRED's way have have been doing more with less by releasing EP's as opposed to LPs.  We're not ready to write off the LP as a dying art form and neither is the progressive rock band  LUCID FLY. After releasing a steady stream of EP's the band has released their first ever LP BUILDING CASTLES IN AIR.  The epic scope  and narrative that typifies progressive rock  has alwasy lent itself swell to the long play format and  LUCID FLY make excellent use of the time and space. The album's first single VISIONS OF GRANDEUR  sums up the trio's musical agenda with intricate guitar work. fevered yet measured drumming and multi-layered vocals artfully delivered by vocalist NIKKI LANE.   CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles683.mp3

What a difference three years and a couple of STAR WARS movies makes! Back in 2014 We first became acquainted with guitarist AARON ROBINSON when his band FORESHADOW was promoting their album STRANGER END OF DEATH. That band's take on death metal and old school thrash stood out by a mile or two from much of what gets called metal these days. At the very beginning of the promotion of their new album activity from the band seemed to lag and all of a sudden there was no FORESHADOW. From there AARON ROBINSON took it upon himself to become a little more ambitious with his music and find musicians who were committed to making the words and the motes on the page come to life and the resulting band is BLOOD OF ANGELS - a project that is determined to make heavy metal music and epic thing once again. We can hear and practically see the formation of something big on the band's debut EP RISE OF THE FALLEN GODS and the first single ODIN'S WRATH gives the band that glorious introduction that's going to have folks thinking and feeling that there is a new band out there that will propel heavy metal to the epic height once again. CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles682.mp3

When ROCKWIRED first became aware of the Mile High City blues rocker MICHAEL HORNBUCKLE it was through his brother BRIAN.  Back in 2014, the brothers HORNBUCKLE released a the album VICE AND VIRTUE which celebrated the blues rock know-how that has made them staples within the Denver music scene. Apparently the chance for these siblings to rock out together on a recording happens only once in a blue moon as the two are  often feverishly at work on solo projects. Now we find ourselves acquainted with brother MICHAEL whose blues rock delivery rocks just a little harder on his new solo release SOUL REPO. With the album's first single BABY ROCK, HORNBUCKLE shows he's got the sort of chops that made PAUL RODGERS a big deal in rock and the rest of the album is a fine showcase for a singer-songwriter and  ax-man  who is ready for a little more than regional fame.   CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT: http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles681.mp3

Rock bands with siblings are nothing new to ROCKWIRED but seldom do we come across a band where siblings make up the sum of the parts as they do with the Albuquerque-based trio CONSTANT HARMONY. Yes, we didn't have to look further than our own backyard for the subject of this latest edition of ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES and CONSTANT HARMONY - comprised of brother LEE and sisters JENNY and LEE SILLERY - prove they've got enough primal rock n roll angst to move beyond the confines of the very spot that BUGS BUNNY didn't have enough sense to make a left turn out of. All Duke City references aside, CONSTANT HARMONY have released their brand new album PHONOLOGICAL ASSIMILIATION and it's filled with all of the sort of head banging rabble rousing abandon that gets ignored in today's indie rock environment. These hellcats have claws and fangs and they ain't afraid drawing a little blood (EAT THE RICH) or or sell their soul for rock n roll in the most volatile way (BLOOD MOON). Better than what Albuquerque deserves.  CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT: http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles680.mp3

TRACK 1: FLOAT LiKE A BUFFALO - DOCTOR'S ORDERS We're kicking the proceedings off with the band from Denver who happen to be ROCKWIRED.COM's ARTIST OF THE MONTH. The band's free-form alt-rock style mixed with touches of funk elevate FLOAT LIKE A BUFFALO to dizzying heights above anyone else in indie rock at the moment. They may not float like butterflies but they pack a sting like you wouldn't believe. TRACK 2: SCATTERED HAMLET - SWAMP REBEL MACHiNE We never said we were whizzes when it came to geography but isn't Pennsylvania above the Mason-Dixon Line? SCATTERED HAMLET's front man ADAM JOAD hails form there yet the band boasts some high voltage Southern rock mixed with a menacing metal sound. TRACK 3: CITY OF THE WEAK - CENSOR THiS The band and it's enigmatic front woman STEF WITH AN F have found their way onto the pages and the cover of the latest edition of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE. Their latest single CENSOR THIS has all of the bombast that we've come to expect from these pyromaniacal rockers but there is just enough pop sheen to suggest that these guys have bigger goals in mind for 2017. TRACK 4: SEASONS AFTER - FiGHTER This is a band that has had a  taste of the good life only to have it taken away because of a bunch record label bullshit. Now, after a regrouping they are back with an EP and a single that are all about a fighting spirit and keeping one's head held high. TRACK 5: TIM HOULIHAN - i GET LONESOME TOO A folk troubadour is probably the last thing you would expect to see and hear in the pages of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE but TIM HOULIHAN boasts a songwriting craft that is heartfelt and literate and it's proudly on display on his latest album ANOTHER ORION. Given the topsy turvy world that we're headed into with a new President, songs that convey the urgency of the human condition may be just what the doctor will be ordering in the next four years. TRACK 6: JAY KATANA - BLEEDiNG BOYFRiEND When we spoke to Russian-born JAY KATANA in a previous ediiton of ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES, we were relieved to learn that the general populace of Russia isn't out to get us but we were a great deal more fascinated with his music which mixes the fury of heavy metal guitars with frenetic dance beats and a stark, gritty comic book side show. In this podcast we're pleased to give you at least half of the story. TRACK 7: VYCES - DEVIL Fronted by DAVE NARUSZEWICZ, formerly of HEART SET SELF DESTRUCT, VYCES is a band with a sound that was made with a great deal of love and care and an eagerness to get the rock n roll dream right. DEVILS is a superb little EP and has us eagerly awaiting a full length release from these guys in the year to come. TRACK 8: WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES - THE BETTER FRiENDS The State of Oklahoma doesn't seem a likely locale for a high energy punk band and the fellas from WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES would agree with that  assessment. However these guys are committed to making the impossible possible with a blistering EP filled with equally blistering tracks. TRACK 9: ONE WAY RIDE - DEViL EYES The second band on our playlist to hail from Denver and they're grasp on rock n roll will have you feeling like you never heard of the genre before.Yes, there take is thatfresh. Their debut release is a celebration for sure and one htat we're betting will take them beyond the rocky borders of Colorado. TRACK 10: PEACH - LOVE-iTiS A certified blues mama if we ever saw one, PEACH has been a long time favorite here at ROCKWIRED. In 2007 she was the first to win our READER'S POLL AWARD for BEST FEMALE ARTIST  and now she is nominated in 2017 for the same category for her CD A NIGHT IN COPENHAGEN with THE ALMOST BLUES BAND. The lady has found herself musically and artistically in Europe and we're hoping for steadier output from here on out from one of our favorites gals. TRACK 11: CRAWL - MiNE Canada! Oh Canada! In the age of TRUMP  you are looking more enticing with each passing day.  Of course we here at ROCKWIRED have a

With the losses that we have suffered in music in the past year and a changing of the guard in terms of the U.S. Presidency, it is ROCKWIRED's theory that music with meaning will be making  comeback. That isn't to say that such music didn't exist. It was just slightly under the radar and featuring on the pages of this website if we may toot our own horn. We can hear such a music maker in singer songwriter MITCH HAYES on his latest album HEROES. While immersed in music as a youngster and as a young man playing in numerous bands, HAYES eventually took to the respectable route and sought a career in healthcare but the muse came calling at retirement age and HAYES has been chasing it ever since. HEROES marks a change in HAYES in a reach for wider recognition  and maybe even broader appeal. The song ALL FALL DOWN speaks of a society that has came undone by indifference and it's just one of the songs on this fine album that go form matters of the human condition to the intricacies of the human heart in a moment's notice.  CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles679.mp3

There is this school of thought out there that suggests that music these days is a visual experience and should appeal to the eyes as well as the ears. But that argument never meant much to a guy like JOEY STUCKEY. Blind since the age of two, STUCKEY got lost in a world of sound which led him to a career in sound, music production and eventually - his own music. With eight albums behind him, it is indeed a rich experience to see STUCKEY set his song BLIND MAN DRIVIN' to a music video and funny one at that. In it our protagonist is in a dilemma. He's got to get some place, his UBER ride (we're assuming) flakes on him and he has to to resort to carjacking an SUV and from there hijinx ensues. Personally, I think he the woman could've given the guy a ride. Apart from the video, BLIND MAN DRIVIN' and is a punchy, driving blues rocker and is just one of the gems to be heard and felt on STUCKEY's new EP SIX STRING SOLDIER. STUCKEY's musicality and songwriting chops are right on point and puts him on the level of JOHN BONAMASSA and JOHN HIATT, especially on the mood, jangly rocker 10,000 MILES.  CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles678.mp3

Musically and culturally we're due for music that uplifts in a blunt and honest way and if we add a strong, raw, sultry voice to the equation then I'd have to say it's a bout damned time. K.P. WOLFE is just full of surprises on her debut EP EXODUS and believe us when we say that both the music and it's chanteuse sound just as epic and biblical as the title. WOLFE's voice is of the bluesy, soulful variety with a bit of a rock n roll bite. JANIS JOPLIN maybe the obvious comparison but  the woman's tendency to stick up for herself and stick it to a man who has done her wrong has more in common with the approach that has been paved by the likes of PINK and PAT BENATAR. The glorious title track is a proud march toward independence with one's head held high and WOLFE's soulful wail floating effortlessly above the proceedings. The song TAKE BACK THE RING is a power ballad that doesn't go for sentimentality but for self preservation. A little girl power never hurt anyone. CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles677.mp3 

It's every band or artist's dream to be seen as something different and difficult to categorize but few acts - despite the seemingly infinite number of music acts that are out there - deserve to be seen in such a light as ALZARA & BROTHER SPELLBINDER. The unearthly combination of lead singer ALZARA GETZ's ethereal serenading and BROTHER SPELLBINDERS' acoustic charged folk-jazz approach is an alluring one. GETZ's musical tales of love, life and people in oh-so delicate stages and predicaments truly shine on the band's debut EP WHEN THE EARTH WAS STILL FLAT but then again such musicality on GETZ's part should come as no surprise given the fact that the woman was born into rock n roll. Her father - DAVE GETZ - was the drummer for BIG BAND AND THE HOLDING COMPANY. When you're a little girl who sleeps under "...her father's drum kit" as ALZARA said to us in our interview with her, then music clearly becomes something that you simply can't shake off. For years, ALZARA performed in a variety of bands in the Bay City Area  for years but eventually sense her own musical voice emerging. With the help of guitarist JAMIE WILSON to lend a little yang to GETZ's ying, BROTHER SPELLBINDER was born in 2012 and the band's artistry has been going strong ever since.  CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT: http://www.rockwired.com/temporarysite/rockwiredprofiles676.mp3