Monday
08Mar2010

gomez kicks off spring tour in chicago!

With Spring comes warm weather and the start of countless US concert tours.  Last week, the English indie rock band Gomez kicked off their Spring tour in Chicago at the Vic theatre.  With six studio albums, the guys has a plethora of hits to show off including “See The World” which was featured in an episode of the Fox show House. As with every Gomez live performance, the guys always put on an entertaining show.  To keep fans on their toes, Gomez fires off their hits with not just one vocalist, but three.  No matter who is singing, the music comes off playful, energetic, and free-wheeling.  As an encore, the band came back out to perform my two personal favorites – “How We Operate” and “Airstream Driver”.  Gomez will continue their Spring tour through the rest of March with supporting acts One Eskimo and The Little Ones.  Be sure to check them out live and at www.gomeztheband.com

Enjoy these two great shots from the show taken by our friend Brendan Shanley.



Friday
05Mar2010

one eskimo captivates crowd

Last night, Chicago’s Vic Theatre played host to two excellent bands – Gomez and One Eskimo.  For those who do not know of One Eskimo, they are a four piece indie rock band from London, England.  Lead by the beautiful vocals of Kristian Leontiou and backed by a raw acoustic guitar and driving drum beats, One Eskimo produces some of the most soothing ambient acoustic music out there. To further the experience, an animated cartoon series called “The Adventures of One Eskimo” is played on a huge screen above the band.  Never before have I been so mesmerized at a concert like this.  With the music playing soundtrack to the animated love story of One Eskimo tracking down his mate Little Feather, I was completely engaged and captivated.  Songs like “Kandi” and “Hometime” are standouts, but all are arranged so beautifully.  If you ever see One Eskimo coming to your city, I highly recommend taking part in this magical experience.  www.oneeskimo.com

Enjoy this trailer for “The Adventures of One Eskimo”. 

 

 

Friday
05Mar2010

the rock band network music store is now open! vervelife lends a helping hand

Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, announced that the Rock Band Network Music Store opens to the public today, giving Rock Band fans and music lovers a new avenue to discover music and providing musicians and labels the opportunity to produce and promote tracks for the Rock Band platform. The Rock Band Network, announced in July, is a ground-breaking initiative that gives musicians, publishers and record labels the ability to author their original recordings into gameplay files to promote and sell their music as playable Rock Band tracks through the Rock Band Network Music Store (RBN Store).
 
“The Rock Band Network Music Store gives artists at any level the opportunity to reach new fans through our deeply engaging interactive platform,” said Paul DeGooyer, senior vice president of Electronic Games and Music for MTV Networks Music Group. “This new pathway for discovery is a huge win for passionate music fans, as well as an opportunity for artists to promote themselves while positively impacting their bottom line.”
 
Artists who submit songs for the Rock Band Network Music Store are able to choose from multiple pricing tiers for individual tracks and receive a royalty of 30 percent of the retail selling price (excluding tax) for every track purchased through the RBN Store. There are currently more than 100 songs available for purchase in the Rock Band Network Music Store from artists including The Shins, The Hold Steady, The Main Drag, Bang Camaro, of Montreal, Jonathan Coulton, Skeleton Witch, 3 Inches of Blood, Lacuna Coil, Stroke 9, and Steve Vai*. There are more than 300 artists in the RBN pipeline, with additional tracks already on the way from Flight of the Conchords, The Smashing Pumpkins, Twin Atlantic, All That Remains, Clutch, Prong, The Gaslight Anthem and many more coming soon.
 
With more than 1,100 tracks available to date in the original Rock Band platform, the Rock Band Network Music Store will immediately boost the number of available songs, further securing MTV Games and Harmonix’s position as the leading provider of downloadable content for music-based video games.
 
VerveLife helped with the launch of the RBN Music Store by authoring six tracks:
 
          Breathe Carolina – Hello Fascination
 
          Chiodos – Lexington
 
          Of Montreal – An Eluardian Instance
 
          Otep – Smash The Control Machine
 
          Revolting Cocks- Robo Banditos
 
          Sarah VonderHaar – All Mine
 
Be sure to visit the new store and play some of these new tracks.

Tuesday
02Mar2010

pallen's pick - bob schneider - lovely creatures

With SXSW coming up, I thought it would be fitting to pick an album from one of Austin, Texas’ finest, Bob Schneider.  Although the CD has been out for a few months, I finally got a chance to listen to it several times this past weekend, and truly dug everything about it.  Lovely Creatures, which is Bob’s eleventh solo album, is an eclectic mix of music styles that have made Schneider a popular and successful musician over the years.  In addition to including one of his live classic hits “Tarantula”, this album also features the smooth and catchy “40 Dogs (like Romeo and Juliet)” and the melancholy duet “Changing Your Mind” with folk legend Patty Griffin.  Be sure to give Lovely Creatures a listen and if you get the chance, be sure to see Bob live.  He puts on a killer show for his audience.  To learn more about Bob Schneider, please visit www.bobschneidermusic.com

Tuesday
23Feb2010

alex band visits the vervelife office

Alex Band, former lead singer/founder/songwriter for The Calling which released the #1 Adult Pop Song of the Decade “Wherever You Will Go”, stopped by the VerveLife office yesterday.  After leaving his label over 5 years ago, Band bought back his album and started his own label AMB Records.  Throughout 2010, Band will be traveling the world performing and promoting songs from his debut solo album “We’ve All Been There” as well as all of the old favorites from The Calling.  While in the office, Band and his guitarist performed “Wherever You Will Go”, “Why Don’t You and I” which he originally did with Carlos Santana, “Adrienne”, and his new single “Tonight”.  Be sure to check out the video of Band signing the VerveLife Wall-o-Fame and performing “Tonight”.

To learn more about Band and his upcoming schedule, please visit www.alexband.net.