Dec 31 : "Wine on the Line" - Fascinator (New York)

(Speeding Through Oct Nov Dec / Part 4)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Posted (This Month!)

Playing right after Second Still's show at Palisades was New York music outfit "Fascinator", in some places known as "Lord Fascinator". Some surprising stylings in the performance at Palisades. They played around with some of the song structures, making them sound different than what's on their page.

And that was coupled with some really freaky costuming for which they should get an award! :)

They have quite a range of songs on their web pages. One I like especially is "Wine on the Line", which is playing right here :::

To hear more of Fascinator's music, here is the click for ::: (Lord) Fascniator on Soundcloud , and here is the click for ::: Fascinator on Facebook

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On a personal note, I just got through a couple very busy work months, which is why I'm way behind in posting about the music I've heard. Am "catching up". :)

Dec 28 : "7/4" - Second Still (New York)

(Speeding Through Oct Nov Dec / Part 3)

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Posted

"On, no, not again!" I thought as I walked into Palisades while the first band had just started to play. This was my second visit to Palisades / the first time I came on the wrong night. Did I misread the calendar again? This band didn't sound anything like any of the band web pages I previewed before I came.

As it turned out, no, I didn't misread the calendar. I was in the right place at the right time. The band I was hearing was "Second Still" which was actually the band scheduled. But it sounded quite different from it's web page. Almost like another band. I could now almost do a copy and paste of some of the ideas from my previous posting about "Enemy Planes", which also seemed to have two personae. But Second Still was taking it to a higher level: "two bands" on steroids.

While the instrumentals in their web presence are all nice and neat, clean and trim, the instrumentals in the show were fuzzier, fuller, and dirtier. Enveloping yet with a slight feeling of being out of control. I felt like I was in a sea of haze. Wow! Never to be one to complain about that, I have to say that I definitely like the live version I heard at Palisades last month.

But back to the web. They do have a few music samples on their Soundcloud page, all posted recently. This is "7/4", posted only a few months ago.

At the moment, Second Still doesn't have any other shows listed on their agenda, but you can keep tabs on them by checking their Facebook page Second Still on Facebook (CLICK HERE), or their Soundcloud page Second Still on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE).

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On a personal note, I just got through a couple very busy work months, which is why I'm way behind in posting about the music I've heard. Am "catching up". :)

Dec 16 : "No Strings" - Enemy Planes (Minneapolis)

(Speeding Through Oct Nov / Part 2)

Headlining that night was Minneapolis band "Enemy Planes", whose music, compared to the external focus of Ray Bradley in the previous posting, takes a closer look at the intricacies and uncertainties of personal relationships. They do this not only through their lyrics but also through their haunting melodic backgrounds. Right off I could see why Nicole had raved about them and had invited me to go.

That being said, I have to say that another initial reaction I had when they first took the stage was "These are two bands!" Every once in a while I see a band that sounds so different on stage as compared to what I had listened to on their web page, that it seems like they are actually two different outfits!"

While the same melodic lines were similar in both, there was a marked difference in the style of delivery. The live show had much more haze and gaze, which of course I like, no complaints about that!"

But those melodic lines, evident in both Band A and Band B, are what do set the band apart from a lot of others. Unfortunately right now there are only a few samples on their web page, just a few teasers. Their pages are promising a new album to be out next month, titled, "Beta Lowdown". In the meantime here is a sample of one of their songs. This is "No Strings" :::

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6/27/20 UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Looks like the band removed this song from their page!

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Having just completed a big tour, Enemy Planes' website doesn't show that they have any shows in our area soon. However, you can keep up with them by checking their Facebook page ::: Enemy Planes on Facebook (CLICK HERE), or on Soundcloud Enemy Planes on Soundcloud (CLICK HERE)

Dec 12 : "Diamond Street (Wishin' We Were Where We Wish We Were)" - Ray Bradley (Philly)

(Speeding Through Oct Nov / Part 1)

Philly Music!

A few weeks ago I got invited to Milkboy when my friend, Nicole, told me some music friends of hers were coming into town to do a show. So on that night I met Nicole and Sam at Milkboy, but not just to see her friends, who were headlining, but early enough to see all the bands.

First up that evening was the amazing Ray Bradley and his band. Outstanding guitar and instrumentals, at the junction where classic rock, garage, and blues all seem to meet. Nice!

There's not a lot of rock music written specifically about North Philly; Ray Bradley features one of these rare songs on his page. His song touches on a number of issues. Sometimes musicians can get points across most succinctly. ... Playing below is "Diamond Street (Wishin' We Were Where We Wish We Were)" :::

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6/27/20 UPDATE! ::: OOPS! Looks like the band removed this song from their page!

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Ray Bradley doesn't have a lot of information about his individual songs out there, and I've not heard any response back from emailing, but I wonder about when this song was written, and if he ever played "The IHOP Estate", which was a diy house venue located right on Diamond Street (that closed or disappeared just a couple years ago). I have good memories of hearing music in their basement! :)

12/27/14 ::: (updated) You can keep an eye on his plans by looking at his pages on Ray Bradley's web page, and Ray Bradley on Reverbnation (CLICK HERE) and Ray Bradley on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

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7/5/20 UPDATE! ::: SORRY! Looks like only the Facebook link seems to be functioning!

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