Music FridayLive!

NYC-based alternative rock band The Kin returns to the US this November for their “Thick as Thieves” tour after. a 23-date tour in Australia and New Zealand. The band’s last EP Get On It reached gold in New Zealand.  They have also been featured on Conan and toured with major artists including Coldplay and PINK. The Kin are known for “Musical Robberies,” where they burst into a randomly chosen high-traffic public area and surprise on-lookers with an impromptu live performance. They will stop by Music FridayLive! at 2:05 ET for a chat, so be ready to call in.

Lorelei Carlson released her latest EP, Dopamine, on Oct. 21, 2014.  Written and co-produced by Carlson with her longtime collaborator, David Gielan, “Dopamine” features six new recordings, weaving themes of lust, obsession and tragedy over poignant and haunting melodies and her signature ethereal vocals and dreamlike arrangements. The daughter of a Swedish-American father and Peruvian mother, Carlson grew up moving around frequentlywith her diplomat parents; by 14, she had lived in seven countries and now resides in LA. Her music is stunning, etheral,  tough...and addictive. She will be with us at 2:30 pm ET this Friday.

Salme Dahlstrom, the Acid Cowgirl Licensing Queen returns with her electro pop dance music with a little supernatural touch for our Halloween show..  She is a  one-woman dynamo with mass appeal in radio ready songs like "Superstar Car Crash"  and  tracks like "C'Mon Y'All"  that are good sound and good fun. With songs on the Billboard Dance Chart and the Global Dance TraxTop 100, she never stops.  And she brings us her newest album Pop Propagana 2.   PP2 is full of hot summer music to keep your Halloween warm and maybe scare you a little with the high energy that only Salme can deliver.

Mallory Tunnel premieres her debut EP, Words on Music Friday this Halloween. She will release the unique piano infused electro pop album in two weeks and we have teh first first preview.  Mallory is a natural born songwriter who  did some profitable time in  Nashville and now  connects to her audience with punchy melodies and feel good declarations  that aren’t quite so feel good on closer listening.  She creates a sound that expertly mixes the two distinctly different aesthetics:  delicious mainstream pop  and introspective and sometimes really tough lyrics. This angelic looking songstress with a demonic side is scary fun and we get to talk with her on Halloween.

Aubrey Logan is an award-winning artist whose vocals range from deep and electric, to delicate and vulnerable. She breaks genre barriers by combining jazz vocals with R&B, neo-soul, pop and a touch of rock.  Winner of the 2009 Audience’s Choice and Jury’s First Place Awards at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland she rocks audiences in two continents.  A native of Seattle, Washington, Aubrey remains close to her Pacific Northwestern roots although she currently lives and records in Los Angele and will join us Friday.

We talk to Alex Nester,  fresh off of her concert Thursday night in Santa Monica's storied The Basement on Main. Nester brings back the art of music-making in original songs chronicling her trials and letdowns with the state of music business today and her bout with cancer as a teenager. A life of trial and triumph has shaped her unique sound filled with messages of love, faith, positivity, and healing while channeling the retro soul artists of the 60’s and 70’s. Her resume includes 12 albums, countless jingles, and over 25 theatrical productions, as well as working with established musicians such as Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Fifth Dimension, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. (This is a classic conversation,  pre-recorded in August).  

 

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Kat MCdowell was born in Japan and raised in New Zealand, allowing her mixed heritage to become a source of inspiration for the emotional connection she builds into every song she writes. After years of success in Japan with numerous EP's and full length albums, she hit the road, performing in over 1000 shows around the world, building a global fan base.  She's performed on high profile television ads in Japa, and toured Tsunami ravaged towns armed with music, hope and understanding. With inspirations like the Foo Fighters and Jason Maraz, her, newest single, "Human," is demonstrates her effortless exploration and songwriting style. And she tells her tales and plays her tunes this week on Music Friday.

Ben Jaimen was born in Germany to bilingual parents who had him trilingual and on the piano in grammar school. He started songwriting as a teenager living in France but it was American and British artists, such as The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, Elton John and Bob Dylan, plus growing up in trendy Berlin, that provided the perfect real-world music primary education. He has put that education to work playing for 1 million people in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and writing and performing dozens of songs in close to a dozen countries.  A true world citizen, he is a hit in Europe and is now in Los Angeles, the music capital of the world with a debut EP, Through the Universe. And best of all, he joins us this Friday on Music Friday.

New Orleans based, indie dance rock artist Ryan Gray, aka Luxley,is releasing his debut album and has recently joined the Bombay Bicycle Club and Milo Greene’s Fall 2014 North American Tour.  Luxley’s Spirit debut EP marks the return of co-producer and former Passion Pit member Ayad Al-Adhamy to the world of catchy, synth-pop hooks from his guitar driven, punk rock anthem slinging project Team Spirit and production of Black Bell Records. Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, The Strokes) lends his ear as engineer and mixer, helping to draw out the indie, pop, and timeless dance synth-centric elements.

After moving back home from  Nashville and a promising career in medicine, Luxley reconnected with the local NOLA scene and old friend (now manager and founder of Rude Fox Records) Sky McElroy, and began recording his new music. Luxley is currently on a North American tour through with the 2014 Mercury Prize Finalist Bombay Bicycle Club and cinematic pop quintet Milo Greene. But he is stopping by for a conversation with us at Music FridayLive!.

Rain Perry is an award-winning songwriter. Her song “Beautiful Tree” was the theme for the CW Network’s Life Unexpected,  on which she also had the surreal pleasure of playing herself alongside Ben Lee and Sarah McLachlan. In addition to releasing four albums on her own Precipitous Records, Rain is the author of the autobiographical play Cinderblock Bookshelves: A Guide for Children of Fame-Obsessed Bohemian Nomads. She is currently producing the film, The Shopkeeper, about the demise of the independent recording studio. We will play her tunes and talk about the film this Friday.

Jack Kovac's debut EP, "The State Line" is an expansive and introspective look into the mind of a growing, prolific songwriter. On each track, he inhabits the in-between spaces that separate musical expression from private rumination, giving artistic vision to every word and riff throughout. A Los Angeles transplant, Jack left the City of Broad Shoulders for the City of Angeles to study guitar performance at the University of Southern California. It was in the midst of musical learning and discovery that his world was opened up to the art of songwriting, He brings stories to life in music with an experimental edge that makes beautiful use of arrangement and dynamics, effortlessly pulling inspiration from the singer/songwriters of the 1970's and today. And he joins us this Friday with some of the new songs from his album, due for release Oct. 27, 2014.

Sa’ra Charismata is a musical muse born to Eritrean parents, raised in Stockholm, Sweden, and most recently residing in New York City. This tri-national millennial writes and co-produces songs of the yearning for freedom around the world and destruction caused by a culture of greed. In her process, she seems driven by forces beyond herself and the music puts you under the spell of those forces, which is why she was Nominated "Rookie Artist of the Year" at the 2014 Denniz Pop Awards. Sa’ra possesses that uncanny knack for drawing in a listener with triumphantly beautiful melodies and trippy beats while cleverly addressing the critical questions of her generation. We preview cuts from her debut album due out this fall and hear her inspiring story this Friday.

Seattle-based Ransom and the Subset are set to release their debut album “No Time to Lose” on October 7, 2014. Fronted by RanDair Porter, Ransom and the Subset are an alternative rock band full of harmonies, magnetic power-pop chords, and soaring keyboard riffs that build arrangements that keep listeners coming back. When Porter assembled the band, he picked the best musicians he knew; producer and multi-instrumentalist Brian E. King (Guitar/Bass/Keys) and Grammy-winning engineer Ducky Carlisle (Drums/Background Vocals). Together they deliver a dynamic blend of heightened pop sensibilities and modern rock influences that appeal to all audiences.

Accompanied by a 21-piece band, Rory Partin is spreading his  genuine passion for entertaining and making great music people can enjoy and most important, dance to. Having traveled to and performed in places such as Brussels, Paris, Prague, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Toronto, London, Helsinki, and many more, Partin plays standards, new songs, long-time favorites, and Cajun music from his home state Louisiana.  There is nothing like Partin out there today.  He can move from standards, to love songs to pop with ease and joy.  And he has a new album of all of the above out.  And he is with us this Friday to tell us how he does it.

We are the West,LA-based alt rocks and just plain fun band seen in secret underground concerts.  The band is three people who somehow manage to sound like an entire orchestra.  They play rock and alt rock,  and maybe country,  and maybe new age but whatever they play, they  play it in storm drains and shipping containers, sheep farms and in abandoned convents and who knows where else.  And everything they play is absolutely wonderful. As a plus, they sometimes play their great music at a concert series they host in the underground parking garage of an office building the Saturday before each full moon.Regardless of where they play we are joined today by John Kibler, Brett Hool, the founders of We Are the West.

 

Britany Brochard, beautiful voice behind the Jonny Californio Project.. BRITTNEY BOCHARD IS KNOWN IN THE LA MUSIC  AND TV COMMUNITY FOR HER EXCELLENT SONG WRITING,  BUT HER FANS FOR POP SONGS, VIDEOS AND HER STUNNING BEAUTY.    THE WOMAN WHO MOUNTED THE STAGE THAT NIGHT AND INTRODUCED HERSELF NOT AT BRITTNEY BOUCHARD, BUT AS THE JONNY CALIFORNIA BAND, WAS NOT THERE  TO DISPLAY BEAUTY – STUNNING OR OTHERWISE ;  SHE WAS THERE TO BLOW US AWAY WITH UNBELIEVABLE MUSIC AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT SHE DID. I STILL CAN’T GET THE FIRST SONG OF THE SET, VOLCANO, OUT OF MY HEAD. FORTUNATELY, I DON’T HAVE TO BECAUSE I CAN STREAM IT FROM REVERBNATION, ALONG WITH THE SONGS FROM HER NEW EP, I WILL BE YOURS.  AND EVEN BETTER , SHE IS HERE WITH US RIGHT NOW.

We Are the West band is three people who somehow manage to sound like an entire orchestra.  They play rock and alt rock, or maybe country,or maybe new age but whatever they play, it is absolutely wonderful. And they  play it in storm drains and shipping containers, sheep farms and in abandoned convents and who knows where else. Plus they sometimes play their great music at a concert series they host in the underground parking garage of an office building the Saturday before each full moon. .Regardless of where they play, I love it and we we are joined today by John Kibler and Brett Hool, the founders of We Are the West.

Britany Bouchard is known in the L.A. music and TV community for excellent songwriting.  But her fans know her for pop songs, videos, and stunning beauty.  However, in some circles, including many clubs these days, she is known as the Jonny California Project, a band that does great rock thta is unique and addictive.  The music isn't out there yet - none of Jonny California's songs have been relased, but we have one we can play for you today,and we have the woman herself, Brittney Bouchard to tell us all about it.

Jasiri X's  Hip-Hop is incisive social commentary and his videos have been featured on diverse sites such as Allhiphop.com,  The Huffington Post and BET Rap City, among others. Jasiri X’s hit song “Free The Jena 6” was played on more than 100 radio stations and named Hip-hop Political Song of the Year. His debut album, American History X, was named Album of the Year at the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards. And he joins us on Music Friday Live!

 Lose Control’s roots are Black Sabbath and Guns N Roses, but they have added their own contemporary twist of world class guitar shred virtuosity that reminds people that hard rock is far from dead.They released their first studio LP, Let If Be Known, in April with their signature "dual lead" guitar sound, strong vocal melodies, and a heavy metal backbone. The band has  shared the stage with Unwritten Law, Shiny Toy Guns, and Authority Zero and is now wrapping up a summer of tour in support of Let It Be Known. Jeff Nisen, co founder and guitarist for Lose Control joins us at Music FridayLive!.