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Artists Worth Checking Out Awards Monday Mashup Theatre

Monday Mashup 2017: Vol 7

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone in love.  Thought we ‘d kick off this week’s Monday Mashup with the latest music video from our friends at Redhead Express.  This original song was written by lead singer Kendra and features her husband Kelly and their son in a simply beautiful homage to love.  Check it out and share it.  If you love what they’re doing, please consider becoming one of their Patreon supporters.

INDIE ARTIST MAKES HISTORY AT GRAMMY AWARDS

Chance the Rapper, an unsigned independent artist who has never recorded a physical album, took home three Grammys last night from his seven nominations.  He won for best rap album for Coloring Book, best rap performance for “No Problem,” and best new artist.  What sets him further apart is the fact that this award winning album is only available through streaming.  Way to set the bar high, Chance.  Here’s to the future of the music industry!

Speaking of the Grammys – huge shout out to a couple of indie artists who performed at the show.  Adrienne Woods played her cello during John Legend’s performance, while indie triple threat actress Tiffany Phillips was a part of the Beyoncé performance.  Way to go!

BALCONY TV HOSTS STREETS OF LAREDO

We introduced you to the amazing sound of Streets of Laredo back in October 2016.  Balcony TV recently hosted them and filmed a music video for their hit single “99.9%,” which they released today.  Check it out.

MORE MUSIC VIDEOS

Two more indie artists recently released music videos.  First up is the amazing Shannon Hurley, who released a stunning Max Headroom-esq video of her forthcoming single “Someday.”

Our second video is a premiere from a new artist we were recently introduced to.  We like what we see so far – please let us know your opinion.  His name is Dario and his tune is called “Good Morning World.”

Enjoy your week!

 

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out

Artists worth checking out: Streets of Laredo

Hot on the heels of their first two singles, “99.9%” and “Silly Bones,” indie folk rock band Streets of Laredo plan to release their sophomore album, Wild, on Friday, October 21.   Before we publish our review of what we think is an amazing effort, we thought their fans might like to learn more about them.  Please enjoy our interview with Dan and Sarahjane Gibson, two of the founding members of the band.  We’ll be back on Friday with our review.

IVB:   How long  have you been performing as a band?  How long for each member individually?

Dan:  Dave, Sarah and I started the band in 2011 back in New Zealand.  We recorded a five-track demo, played one show as a three-piece, then packed our bags and moved to New York City.  Since moving to Brooklyn, we’ve added band members along the way.  Andrew McGovern and Sean McMahon joined the band in 2013, and Cameron Deyell joined us in 2014, so now we’re a six-piece.
Sarahjane:   All told, about five 5 years – just a little longer than we’ve been in New York City.   After we moved here, we started playing every dive bar and house party you could throw a stick at.  Cam is a long time friend who played with Dave in a bunch of previous projects, including their first ever band in high school, superbly named “strider.”  Cam arrived in NYC with no idea about Streets of Laredo and played his first show with us a few days later.
IVB:   Who do you consider to be your influences?
Dan:  I really like John Lennon’s solo effort after the Beatles.  He’s definitely been my guy for the last little while.  I have a lot of siblings, so there was always a lot of records laying around the house, like Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Radiohead’s The Bends and Cat Stevens’ Teaser and the Fire Cat, to name a few.  I remember those albums were laying around when I was growing up and they still influence us today.  Sonically, two records from Talking Heads really inspired us, especially on the new record.  Those albums were Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues.
IVB:  What makes your new release so special?
Dan:  Tracking at the magnificent Dreamland Studio upstate, then mixing it through the Neve at the Magic Shop makes this record special.  It was our first time working with John Agnello as well.  He pushed us sonically and he brings a real X factor to our sound.
Sarahjane:  Part of what makes this album so special is that it was a true collaboration.  There are  four songwriters in the band and the heart and soul of each of us is on this record.  It’s the age old story of being more that the sum of your parts.  I think we really believed that going into the album, and as a result, brought the best out in each other and made something really unique.
 
IVB:  What are your future plans?
Sarahjane:  World domination.
Dan:  We’re heading out on tour with Nick Valensi’s new Band CRX in November, which we’re excited about.  Since our record comes out October 21st, it’s going to be good to get out on the road right after the record comes out and play the new songs.
IVB:  Do you have any stories you want to share about your band – touring, recording, or fan interaction?
Dan:  I sold my 1992 basketball dream t-shirt for $200 to a fan in Houston.  He wanted it so bad he got the money out in cash and just handed it to me after the show.  I couldn’t say no.
 
IVB:  What types of social media do you use?
Dan:  All the usual culprits:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.