To listen to the latest single from The Plea, “Wild One” is to listen to a pair of songwriters that really know how to take their life experiences and transcribe them into lush, meaningful musical memories. Just check out our review HERE to find out. And now we get to talk to one of those musical minds and get a glimpse of the story behind the artists, Denny Doherty. Denny, along with his brother Dermot, Paul Toland on Bass, and Gerry Strawbridge on drums, create a solid formation of a band that is in tune with their surroundings, both sonically and emotionally.
Check out today’s interview with Denny of The Plea and take note. This is a lesson in songwriting.
Check out The Plea’s latest song “Wild One” on Amazon, iTunes, & Spotify.
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/thepleaofficial
https://twitter.com/ThePleaOfficial
http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePleaOfficial
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Swansea Sound – Live at Rough Trade East
Swansea Sound has given us the absolute privilege of premiering what this world so desperately needs at this very moment: a live show! What makes this show so very, very special is the fact that this is purely from the perspective of the audience. Capturing every moment from the perspective of those in the crowd. Each song captured in it’s own unique live environment, as they were meant to be heard. And what makes this such a breath of fresh air is that this not only gives me that tingly feeling when I see a great band live, but it fills my heart with hope. We are leaving the pandemic behind. No matter what you hear or see on the news. Life is going on. And, people are enjoying it. They are into that sound. That live sound. That Swansea Sound!
About The Show…
Swansea Sound play six songs from their debut album ‘Live At The Rum Puncheon’, live at Rough Trade East, London, 10 December 2021.
Filming was by audience members. On their phones, for their own personal use. They didn’t know we would ask them to send in their snippets, or that they would be used in this way.
The film is scruffy, witty, anti-corporate fun. Just like the band itself.
Swansea Sound live are: Hue Williams, Ian Button, Rob Pursey, Robert Rotifer and Amelia Fletcher. They are playing more shows in 2022:
- Friday 4th February – Bristol, Zed Alley
- Saturday 5th February – Newport, Le Pub
- Friday 18th February – St Leonards, The Piper
- Saturday 19th February – London, Hope and Anchor
- Friday 4th March – Manchester, The Talleyrand
- Saturday 5th March – Leicester, Firebug
The album was released on 19th November 2021 by:
SKEP WAX (Vinyl, CD, Bandcamp)
LAVENDER SWEEP (Cassette)In North America, it is released by:
HHBTM (Vinyl, CD)
AUSTIN TOWN HALL (Cassette)In Indonesia, it is released by:
SHINY HAPPY RECORDS (Cassette)In Japan, it is released by:
HAYABUSA LANDINGS (CD)The album will not be released on streaming sites.
You can buy the album here: https://linktr.ee/skepwax or www.swanseasound.bandcamp.com.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/swanseasound
https://swanseasound.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/soundswansea
https://twitter.com/SoundSwansea -
Lazaris Pit Premieres ‘You Don’t Tag Me in Memes Anymore’ & ‘Cloudsculpting’ Singles (The Week in #Indie Segment)
Lazaris Pit drops their new single titled ‘You Don’t Tag Me in Memes Anymore’ plus the B-Side ‘Cloudsculpting’. This is the perfect ‘capture the band in the moment’ moment. We get that garage-perfect sound with that quirky attitude and tight-yet-loose feeling in the vein of Dinasaur Jr. and the like but all Lazaris Pit in execution and scope.
With ‘Cloudsculpting’ we get the same side of a different coin with an adventurous song climbing to the top with varied guitar chord progressions and a hypnotic varied beat with that lovely feeling of falling apart at the seams while sticking together tightly in that true alt-rock sound at its purest.
‘You Don’t Tag Me In Memes Anymore’ is available everywhere digitally, including Spotify and Apple Music. The full ‘Coniphers’ album will be released on May 22.
Watch the full episode of The Week in #Indie HERE.
Click HERE to watch Season 6 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 5 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 4 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 3 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 2 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 1 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.ABOUT LAZARIS PIT
Raleigh-based rock outfit Lazaris Pit have announced they will release their new ‘Coniphers’ album. Ahead of that, they present the lead single ‘You Don’t Tag Me In Memes Anymore’, a modern-day break-up song, often detached from the moments that make life worth living and musing on the deeper workings of it all with the grim reality that someone important has moved on. They also present a video rendition of this single, live in Athens, Georgia.
The B-side ‘Cloudsculpting’ showcases another facet of this album, evoking the image of spending a dreamy tranquil day, gazing up at the clouds and imagining what it might be like to live peacefully high up in the fluff and blue sky.
Formed in June 2017, this self-named “pack of cosmic dogs” consists of Ely “Salted Sweet Cream” Yarbrough (guitar and lead vocals), Cameron “Sugarfoot” Preston (bass) and Jon “Dok Tok” Castro (drums and backing vocals).
‘Our album ‘Coniphers’ is named after a brother of ours lost along the way. Included are 8 tracks of the good stuff, heady grooves and sweet pop tunes, funk breakdowns to zero gravity ambiance…. 42 minutes of rock n roll,” says Cameron Preston.
“Lead track ‘You Don’t Tag Me In Memes Anymore’ is a microcosm of the album as a whole, embodying our familiar Lazaris Pit sound. Is ‘Memes’ a pop song with a punk twist or is it a shoegaze song with some pep in its step? We aren’t quite sure what to call it, but we know it has been lighting up faces whenever mentioned and burning down dance floors when played live,” says Ely Yarbrough.
‘Coniphers’ was recorded live in-studio from November 2019 to January 2020, showcasing a band playing like a pack of hungry dogs, sinking their teeth into a meaty T-bone for the first time in ages. Recorded and mixed by Artem Smirnov at Common Thread Studios in Raleigh with additional engineering and creative input from Michael Graziano and Matt Graham, this album was mastered by Alexander Kretov at Ummagma Studio.
Lazaris Pit freely improvises a dreamy blend of punk, funk, soul, psychedelia, reggae, jazz, noise, and ambiance into a one-of-a-kind dance party. The result: a mind-meld of musical tapestries that take the listener on an emotional journey through time and space, and ourselves in the process.
They’ve brought their unique brand of rock-n-roll far and wide, having played shows up and down the east coast and southeast from Philly to Atlanta and New York to New Orleans, their sound filling large festival fields, historic college campuses, and the most intimate of dive bars and clubs.
Noting music aesthetic and sound inspirations in the sense of a launchpad rather than as blueprints, Lazaris Pit’ counts Fugazi and Grateful Dead among their inspirations, as well as classic R&B, Phish, Curtis Mayfield, Cream, Pink Floyd, Ween, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Primus, Flaming Lips, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, and Yo La Tengo.
Featured image by Travis Merchant.
LINKS:
https://www.lazarispit.com
https://lazarispit.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/lazarispit
https://twitter.com/themLPboys
https://www.instagram.com/lazarispit
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_mbHlwbaZgIBhb56ybbiAg -
R.A. The Rugged Man Exclusive Interview (The Week in #Indie Segment)
R.A. The Rugged Man is one of those artists who remains humble despite having a career that has not only spanned decades but has crossed genres and included the likes of Ice-T, Ghostface Killah, Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, and many others as well as spanning music and film. But what really impresses me is that he remains both humbled and grateful for what he has worked for. And that, to me, is the mark of a true artist. Someone who not only remembers his roots but holds on to them with reverence.
And it is that reverence that shines throughout his latest album titled ‘All My Heroes Are Dead’ released April 17, 2020, via Nature Sounds Records.
In this interview, we talk with R.A. about his beginnings as well as the new album and how it further advances his evolution of revolution that is his music and much, much more.
Check out our other articles about R.A. The Rugged Man HERE.
Watch the full episode of The Week in #Indie HERE.
Click HERE to watch Season 6 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 5 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 4 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 3 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 2 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.
Click HERE to watch Season 1 of Jammerzine’s ‘The Week in #Indie’.ABOUT R.A. THE RUGGED MAN
R.A. The Rugged Man is one of the most fascinating figures in hip-hop history. His career spans decades and defies simple narratives. The Rugged Man has been an up-and-coming star, an industry outcast banished and forgotten, an underground cult hero, an independent success story, and an influential master of the art form. He can obliterate rappers with ferocious battle rhymes, craft heartfelt personal songs fans can relate to, offend sensitive listeners with shocking vulgarity, challenge corrupt politicians and corporations, paint pictures with captivating storytelling, and deliver jaw-dropping flows that prove his lyrical skills are unmatched.
He’s also worked with a staggering number of hip-hop’s most respected artists, including legends like The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang, Tech N9ne, Rakim, Mobb Deep, Talib Kweli, Kool G Rap, Public Enemy, Brother Ali, and many more. And while others struggle to maintain a foothold in the ever-changing rap landscape, R.A. The Rugged Man is the rare artist who has become more relevant with time, with each new album more compelling than the last.
Originally from Long Island’s Suffolk County, R.A. was raised by his father, a Vietnam veteran whose exposure to Agent Orange left two of R.A.’s siblings with severe disabilities. After building a reputation as one of the most talented unsigned MCs on the scene, he sparked a bidding war between several major labels. R.A. eventually signed to Jive Records, but his outspoken defiance and reckless behavior spelled the end of that deal and left him banned from venues, labels, and recording studios. The Rugged Man re-emerged in the late 90s, pioneering the indie rap hustle by pressing up against his own 12” singles and contributing to compilations from the celebrated Rawkus Records.
He earned his first Gold record for his work on the WWE Aggression album, and his music was featured on the hit video game Tony Hawk’s Underground, which sold millions of copies. R.A. then unleashed his seminal independent album Die, Rugged Man, Die, along with the critically acclaimed compilation Legendary Classics. The latter included show-stealing collaborations and many of the storied tracks that fueled his rise, including the Jedi Mind Tricks song “Uncommon Valor”, on which the Rugged Man delivers what is widely recognized as one of the greatest verses in rap history. By the time his last album Legends Never Die debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, R.A. was thoroughly established as an independent hip-hop icon, playing sold-out shows across the world and drawing widespread praise for his undeniable contributions to the culture.
Now, R.A. The Rugged Man is back with All My Heroes Are Dead, a brand new album that stands as his best work to date. “So many of the greats are gone, and the legends who made it out alive are cast aside,” R.A. says. “Society left our heroes and their culture for dead. We have to dig that greatness out of its grave, and bring it back with an angry vengeance.” While Legends Never Die was dedicated to the memory of his father, All My Heroes Are Dead is R.A.’s first album since becoming a father of two himself. “When you have children, that’s a whole other level of joy and pain and emotion,” he describes. “It opens the whole entire universes with the pen.” The music covers a wide range of moods and transcends hip-hop cliches. “I didn’t want to make a whole album of just destroying rappers and rapping better than everyone.” the Rugged Man explains. “There’s a lot of places my albums take you, and there’s way more storytelling on this one. I love to bring listeners into different worlds.”
Now available worldwide, All My Heroes Are Dead features an all-star cast of hip-hop heavyweights, including Chuck D, Slug of Atmosphere, Ghostface Killah, Immortal Technique, Vinnie Paz, Ice-T, M.O.P., Kool G Rap, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Onyx, Brand Nubian, Chris Rivers, Inspectah Deck, A-F-R-O, Masta Killa, and more. The highly-anticipated album showcases the full scope of R.A. The Rugged Man’s considerable talent, making it a powerful statement from an unforgettable artist.
LINKS:
https://ratheruggedman.net
https://twitter.com/ratheruggedman
https://facebook.com/RATheRuggedMan
https://www.instagram.com/ratheruggedmanofficial
https://www.youtube.com/user/RAtheRuggedManTV