Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based Power Pop / Alternative Rockers Paul Johnson and The About Last Nights have released the Official Video cover of the classic John Waite hit single “Missing You.”
Paul Johnson & The About Last Nights may be from Mississippi, but this isn’t your traditional “southern rock. Singer/Songwriter Paul Johnson and Drummer Zack Lewis had a vision in mind, which was to play songs people want to sing, a kind of “Power Pop”, with the emphasis on “Power.” They unified on the principle of a “song first, honest music” mentality. High-energy rock n’ roll that draws from their influences like Cheap Trick and the Foo Fighters and at times the band recalls the performances of Weezer and Sloan in full-on rock mode, but never neglecting the art of the power ballad. This is a band with a purpose, which is to make great music and have fun doing it and their live show prove that with reviews like:
“Potent AC/DC-ish riffage kept aloft by crisp Tom Petty-ish harmonies, a passel of radio-ready rock songs built to appeal to everyone from fans of Pyromania-era Def Leppard, the anthemic paces of Smashing Pumpkins as well as the music that erupts from Active Rock radio today .”
— Mik Davis,The Chronical“Passion, the new music, and Live show are an example of that! I look forward to seeing/hearing people’s reaction to this great music from this great Rock n’ Roll band!”
– Kevin Mckay, WKSM.COM, 99ROCK“Really, it’s adolescence. Being young, bored and hopeful that one day things will be whatever we make it, but right now is all that matters. Looking back as adults, we sometimes see that maybe those were the best times of our lives. Getting through those years feels like an eternity, but in the grand scheme of things, it is only a moment.”
– Paul Johnson
Their Debut Album\EP Give Up The Ghost is on the way. Their new single and music video “Burn It Down” will be released March 2017. Recorded in Atlanta, Georgia at RCRD Recording Studios and engineered by Dan Dixon (Pls Pls, The dropSonic) with 1st engineer Patrick McConkey, and produced by Tuk Smith of The Biters. The band’s debut video and first single, “Burn It Down” was directed by Rahim aka “Video Rahim”, with videographers Chance White, Matthew Hurley 2nd, and Ashley Simpson as Producer. Special effects makeup and creature by Shane Morton from Silver Scream FX Lab.
LINKS:
http://www.pauljohnsonmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/pauljohnsonandtheaboutlastnights
https://twitter.com/pauljohnsonsolo
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3tvdcn5j6zn3r9A-tOm_rg
https://www.instagram.com/theaboutlastnights
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The Body Politic – Parasoul
Canadian progressive metal outfit The Body Politic has premiered a new music video for the single, “Parasoul”. The song comes from their 2017 contr:addiction EP, which broke the progressive metal mold and revealed the most sophisticated songwriting the band has accomplished to date.
“’Parasoul’ is a song about pain. Our director Mike perfectly captured the bitterness, sadness, and anger in the song with his treatment of the video. Our latest album explores the world of addiction, and how substance abuse only temporarily masks pain,” commented drummer, Spencer Bowman. “A parallel can be drawn to the video for ‘Parasoul’ as it illustrates how vengeance is unsatisfying, and only masks the damage that motivates it. If revenge is used as the antidote, the pain remains.”
Twisting energetic chaos with melodic soulful solos, the band aims to bring something new to the metal world.
About The Body Politic:
Originating on Vancouver Island, The Body Politic is a six-piece powerhouse of poly-metric grooves, aggressive screams, and soaring vocal melodies, pushing the boundaries of modern metal music. The members honed their craft in post-secondary music programs while recording their first full-length release All Too Human (2011). The album and the subsequent touring put them on the map in Canadian progressive metal and led them to open spots for bands like Tesseract, Protest The Hero, and Scale The Summit.The Body Politic solidified their position as one of Canada’s most vibrant independent metal acts with their second release Egressor (2014). This album was a leap forward in both technical musicianship and raw, honest emotion. The video for the lead single titled ‘All Hands’ was supported by Much Music and premiered on Much.ca. The extensive tour cycle that followed this release propelled the band to new heights in the Canadian music scene, and due to the press that this album generated, the band gained dedicated fans in Europe and the United States.
In 2017, The Body Politic released their most anticipated album thus far. contr:addiction (2017) deals with the most personal and emotional subject matter to date. With this album, The Body Politic breaks the progressive metal mold. Mixed by Adam “Nolly” Getgood – a process completely funded by fans via an IndieGoGo campaign – these songs reconceive what progressive metal can be, and reveal the most sophisticated songwriting the band has ever accomplished.
On stage and in the studio, The Body Politic brings a new kind of energy to progressive metal. They challenge the status quo. They innovate. They redefine.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/thebodypolitic
https://www.instagram.com/thebodypolitic
https://thebodypolitic.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/album/4fgOyPgHwqOC0QNszPcCXX -
Celso – Someday (ft Jessica Totaro)
Celso has just dropped his new video for the track titled ‘Someday’ featuring Jessica Totaro. Enchanted by the groove and mesmerized by the rhyme, ‘Someday’ lays low and lows down on the beat with a laid back homage to the healing time gives with a breathtaking glimpse of creativity overcoming grief. This is a testament to music as medicine. Thank you, Celso.
ABOUT ‘SOMEDAY’
Tragedy can be a tough mountain to climb over. Some are left hopelessly wishing the door to pain will close and never reopen.
Others, like Celso, use the pain caused by a passing loved one to fuel their creative outlet. How many of us wished we could remember our last conversation with someone we cared about? or be able to listen to it on repeat just to get back the essence of the person’s existence?
Celso was able to do this for himself on this Mydus produced melodic journey called ‘Someday’, also featuring the dulcet tones of singer Jessica Totaro.
After the passing of his friend/little brother due to a drug overdose, Someday recalls the worries that plagued Celso’s fallen comrade and his attempt to seek advice to improve himself and his circumstances.
With lines like “Remember what you’re doing and the dreams you are pursuing, remember that the sun is always up for your viewing” it’s clear that while dark times may hover over us if you look out into the distance, a better day will undoubtedly come…Someday!
LINKS:
https://facebook.com/CelsoMusic
https://instagram.com/maloneybrando
https://twitter.com/Celso_Music_
https://instagram.com/mydus
https://twitter.com/Mydus
https://instagram.com/jessitotes
https://twitter.com/JessiTotes -
State of Illusion – Blind
Life is often comprised of our reactions. Often, negatives can be turned into positives through the way we look at situations or how hard we are willing to work for what we love. At least, that’s the philosophy that Greenville, SC-based rock band State of Illusion has adopted.
Though the rock act has had many successes, including memorable performances with artists such as Staind (hand-selected by vocalist Aaron Lewis), Chevelle, Flaw, Smile Empty Soul, Austin John Winkler (ex-Hinder vocalist), Like a Storm, Failure Anthem, and Stitched Up Heart, along with functions for Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, Lacuna Coil, etc., State of Illusion has faced more than its fair share of adversity.
After releasing their most recent studio album, Aphelion (self-produced, self-engineered, and self-released), State of Illusion took another dose of their well-documented bad luck (see the documentary One More Song – A Decade of State of Illusion from their brand new DVD, State of Illusion – Live) through the loss of core-members. Though beautifully crafting Aphelion with only two members (Jacob Porter on vocals, guitar, piano, pedal steel, engineering, and editing and Josh Breland on bass, drums, guitar, and piano) and seeing a top 100 worldwide rock chart release, the immediate post-Aphelion lineup was not meant to be.
What began as a rag-tag group of hired-guns pulled from other local acts to fill in on an opening show for an early musical influence in the band Flaw, a mixture of hard work, dedication, positive outlooks, and a love for the music turned bad luck into the strongest line-up State of Illusion has ever had. Former guitarist Cameron Price, drummer Bryce Chism, and Solarist vocalist/guitarist Tom Carden on bass stepped up to help Porter when State of Illusion needed it most.
This line-up continued to assist State of Illusion throughout 2017 as, one by one, these temporary members dedicated themselves as permanent members of the band. While filling in admirably, Carden knew that he needed set his focus back on Solarist and allow room for a permanent bassist to cement themselves into the lineup. His parting gift was former Solarist bassist Brandon Rodgers.
Once the 4 piece was solidified, State of Illusion sought the creative minds of Silent Flight Productions’ director Erez Bader (The Contortionist, Veil of Maya, The Dear Hunter) and VFX supervisor and producer Casey Crescenzo (vocalist of The Dear Hunter) to bring a visual representation of their single “Blind” (remixed by Greg Macklin of Ordinance) to life. The moody result is a perfect fresh start for State of Illusion, who plan to use this opportunity to introduce Aphelion to a new set of listeners they couldn’t reach before.
Aphelion stands out amongst its contemporaries. The album is complete, in every sense of the word, with its many textures and range of sonic landscapes. With soaring anthems, such as the radio-ready singles, “Blind” and “Find Yourself,” to heavy-yet-melodic tracks, “Over” and “The Price You Pay,” to quiet moments, highlighted in the reflective “Reach the End,” Aphelion covers a full spectrum of emotion.
State of Illusion, seasoned with experience, a solid and energetic line-up, a reinvigorated approach, and having met success on the road for the past two years, have just released their first DVD, State of Illusion – Live, and are hard at work writing the highly-anticipated follow-up to Aphelion.
LINKS:
http://www.stateofillusionmusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/StateofIllusion
http://www.twitter.com/stateofillusio1
https://www.instagram.com/stateofillusionmusic