Buenvenidos a Miami

Sometimes a change of scenery is good for the mind. It opens you up to surroundings you wouldn't normally have encountered otherwise. The past few days me and eight friends from high school and college took a mini-vacation to Miami, a much needed break from working and interning that has encompassed our lives for the past few months.

Although mentally I was on a break from everything — working, the job search, even my blog — I still brought some CD's to review and couldn't help but take in the music and performances I stumbled upon each day, writing imaginary blog posts in my head. (I can't help it, music is in my blood.)

Miami is like another world entirely — the language, the culture, the music and I experienced all this each day. Whether it be the hip-hop and R&B music at club Opium Garden or the salsa music at Bongos, the Cuban restaurant we ate at our last night in Miami. We encountered many entertaining street musicians throughout the various outdoor malls we visited, even a rapper singing a Father's Day song to shoppers, who later stopped his performance to give some parents anti-bacterial hand gel for their son who was picking up rocks from the ground of a nearby tree. Who knew street musicians in Miami were so concerned with germs?

Man, to live on the beach . . . oh well, back to the grind. I have a bunch of album reviews (including Jakob Dylan and the next big thing Jessie Baylin), songs and interviews (Canadian sensation Serena Ryder and Howard Han, founder of Gig Maven, a new approach for artists booking gigs) to get up for you within the next few days. In the meantime, feel free to read past posts and if you haven't noticed, some of the titles of my blogs have an external link to my reviews posted on MTV's concert blog. You can check out my reviews of those here if you haven't yet.

Passenger Pleases New York Crowd in Third U.S. Show

Though it was only Passenger's third show in the U.S., you wouldn't have been able to tell. The UK-based band had Mercury Lounge filled Wednesday night to an impressive set of solid acoustic guitar playing and even better vocals. The night included a six-song acoustic set with an unexpected, but highly enjoyable cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella."

Frontman Mike Rosenberg introduced New Yorkers to his band by saying, "We are two of Passenger," before kicking off the night with "Things You've Never Done," a slower ballad with simple guitar strumming and soft vocals.

"It's been a crazy week and a half. Before now, we've been in Nashville and L.A. It's a different world down in Nashville. A lot of haircuts . . . or lack of them," Mike joked before beginning "What You Think," a song he wrote while in Nashville. With quirky lyrics like, "My girlfriend says I'm a mess/I should call her my ex-girlfriend I guess," he had the crowd laughing throughout Passenger's performance.

While some have compared his voice to that of David Gray and his songwriting reminiscent of Damien Rice in that you really have to listen closely to truly appreciate the lyrics and understand the story behind the song, whatever it is, Passenger's music is definitely catchy.

Although the majority of their 25-minute set featured mostly acoustic, slower numbers, Passenger's impressive "Umbrella" cover had the crowd erupting in claps and laughter. "I was trying to do the rap in there as well, but English people don't rap well," Mike joked. Throughout the slower, softer songs played during the evening the room was so quiet and attentive to the two men on acoustic guitars on the stage that you could almost hear a pin drop. "Thank you for being so quiet," Mike told the crowd.

Bandmate Steven's deeper voice accented perfectly with Mike's higher vocals while the two guitars blended well throughout each song, often assisting with the crescendos and decrescendos in Mike's singing. Four of the songs played can be expected on their upcoming full-length album, Wicked Man's Rest due out later this summer as well as a few on their EP due to hit stores June 24.

Perhaps crowd favorite of the night, a close tie with Rihanna's cover, was their final song of the evening, "Night Vision Binoculars." This song was the most upbeat of the night and you could tell Mike and Steven were having a blast onstage as the crowd thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Definitely a faster beat and quicker guitar playing and singing, the song ended the night on a high note.

Although this was Passenger's last U.S. show for a while, be sure to check out their MySpace or Website for when they'll be back!

Audio Interview with with Mike Rosenberg of Passenger

Here you go! This is my interview with Mike of Passenger for you to listen to and enjoy his lovely accent. I'm hoping to upload my concert review from tonight's show at Mercury Lounge tomorrow before I leave for vacation for a few days. This week will be a fun-filled week of Passenger coverage for you all! They're going back to the UK for a bunch of upcoming tour dates, but check out their MySpace if you haven't yet and their full-length album out later this summer! Below is a video if you want to put a face to the name and learn a little more about the band.



(Special thanks to my friend and former Jane intern Monica Perry for creating this awesome graphic for me! And the previous soundbite graphics for my blog!)

Q&A with Mike Rosenberg of Passenger

I chatted with singer-songwriter Mike Rosenberg of UK-based band Passenger a few weeks ago about their upcoming album and U.S. tour dates. Passenger's music is quite catchy, but the stories within each song are much deeper and even more intriguing. Take "Night Vision Binoculars," a song about a guy who has a stalker-like crush on his co-worker. "If you listen to the lyrics you realize it has quite a darker side to it. It's quite tongue and cheek," Mike said. Listen to "Night Vision Binoculars" here.

Passenger's first show as a band was back in March at the South By Southwest festival in Texas and their first New York date is Wednesday, June 11 at Mercury Lounge. Their debut EP, Night Vision Binoculars, is due out in America June 24 before their full-length hits stores in August. For more about Mike's writing process and some of the stories behind his songs read the interview below and check out their music. If you like what you hear, catch a show when they're around. Feel free to listen to the audio of this interview here and enjoy his lovely accent.

Tell me a little about Passenger. Did you grow up always wanting to be in a band?
Yeah. I’ve always played guitar since I was little really. It was just one of the things that I felt I was good at. Well, one of the only things I felt I was good at. It’s always been a dream really. I started writing songs when I was about 15 and they were really terrible and I hope they got a bit better. I met Andrew, my songwriting partner, about five years ago and we just hit it off and we started writing together and that’s about it. Then we recorded the album and got the band up and running.

I just got a chance to listen to your debut album, Wicked Man’s Rest and it deals a lot with heartbreak and unrequited love. Did you go into the studio having a certain concept for it or was there an overlying theme to the album?
I don’t know really. What I try to do in my songs is just to tell stories, stories from all sorts of different walks of life. Whether it’s an old man in a pub or a guy who can’t get a girl, or a stray dog or whoever it is. There wasn’t really a concept behind the album, it’s just trying to be as honest as possible about everyday situations and they can be really heartbreaking.

Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Oh, I hate them all now [laughs]. Favorite song, I like “For You” it’s the little quiet one. It just takes me back. I was in Mexico when I wrote it. It’s a really lovely time in my life. It takes me back there a little bit.

I wanted to ask you about the title track. There are clips of Allen Ginsberg talking throughout the song, how did you come up with that idea?
That song took a long time to write, and sort of get right. There were a couple of different versions; it’s such a complicated track. The other songs are much more natural really and they seem to just fall out. I don’t know really. I always explain it as, you know when you’re lying in bed and you can’t sleep, and you’ve got billions of things running around in your head and the later it gets the worse you feel? It kind of reminds me of that really. That part of you that grows with anxiety. I think Ginsberg, there’s just something about the tone of his voice and what he is saying it’s so massive, it’s so poetic and it works in the song.

I really liked “Things You’ve Never Done,” especially that one line “The only failure is never to try.” What inspired the song or what were you thinking when you wrote it?
From personal experience I guess. I think we’ve all made decisions in our lives that we regret, and I think most of those regrets comes from not doing things rather than trying something and failing. I think it’s a very simple concept and a very simple line but it seems to really affect people and really ring true of it. There’s something sad about growing old and not fulfilling everything you wanted to do. I think everyone can relate to that.

How would you explain your music to someone who has never heard it before?
That’s a difficult one. To be honest, I usually try and get the storytelling aspect of it across. It gets the hat of people like Neil Young and Bob Dylan, but also with the production and the band side of it, it’s kind of more elements of massive attack and that whole sort of thing. It’s a really difficult question and after five years I still haven’t gotten it figured out. Lots of local harmonies, lyrically-based kind of country-pop music I guess.

What can we expect from your EP being released in the U.S. later this month?
Our EP, the title is Night Vision Binoculars. You can expect a quirky song in “Night Vision Binoculars.” It’s quite tongue and cheek. It’s about a guy who falls in love with one of his co-workers and she doesn’t know he exists. He ends up hiding up in a tree outside of her house. The idea behind the song is people listen to it and sort of start singing along and only the third or fourth time of hearing it, if you listen to the lyrics you realize it has quite a darker side to it.

So how many songs are going to be on the EP?
I believe, I’m not actually sure exactly, but I think four. I think there’s an acoustic version of one of our songs and possibly some live ones as well. I think its a little taste of what’s to come really.

What do you feel makes your band different from other bands?
I think the subject matter of our songs is different. A lot of modern day pop music all revolves around the person's girlfriend or boyfriend or whatever. I’ve tried to broaden that a bit. [Going] back to Bob Dylan and country and folk music when storytelling was a common thing and now it’s not so much. We just try and be slightly different, the production is slightly different and hopefully my voice is different.

What inspires your music? Do you have a certain writing process?
When I’m walking along, I don’t know if it’s the blood flow or whatever, I get a lot of ideas when I’m out and about. I use my mobile phone, which is a picture phone, when I get ideas. It can come at any point. You can go two months without writing a song and I wrote five last week. I don’t understand it at all, but I love the process. For another listen, here's Passenger's song "Do What You Like."
If that's not enough for you, visit them on MySpace and check out a show when they're in town.

Amie Miriello Tells All at Intimate NYC Show

Singer-songwriter Amie Miriello is an intriguing storyteller. She seemingly effortlessly peaks curiosity leading up to each song with her onstage banter with the audience.

Before playing “Beauty of Goodbye” to a packed crowd at Pianos Tuesday night, she explained the song as being about “that beautiful moment when you realize you’re over someone and the second you stop thinking about him, he’ll start thinking of you. It’s tragic but it’s true.” Another song, “Grey” she told the crowd is about her fear of becoming an old lady singing at night clubs. With her debut album, I Came Around being released later this year, I don’t foresee that happening for Amie.

The night included a 40-minute, 9-song set, many of which will be released on her upcoming album as well as a solid cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Disarmed." While her voice seems somewhat familiar, possibly best described as being reminiscent of a mix between Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge and Alanis Morissette, Amie definitely has her own style. Whether it’s more of an up-tempo number with intricate guitar picking or a slower ballad-like feature, each song sounded entirely different from the previous. For most of the night both Amie and friend Jay Dmuchowski played acoustic guitars with Amie taking a break mid-show to sing guitarless.


Amie's voice was powerful and soulful, almost folk-like at times when she sang with vibrato throughout certain parts of each song. Possibly the strongest song of the night was title track of her album, "I Came Around." Definitely a catchy number, the chorus is one of those that stick in your head long after it's over. "Brand New" was a bit of an edgier song with opening lyrics and guitar playing that definitely draw the listener into the rest of the song. She sings, "You look like the kind of a person who could have a conversation without making a sound/You look like the kind of a person instigating bad behavior when we're hanging around/You look like the kind of a person who would take me to a party on the wrong side of town/You look like the kind of a person that's down."

Ballads "Snow," a song about being on the road and touring, and "Cold Front" slowed the night down for a bit, but not too long as Amie's quirky stories about her brothers and band dynamic with best friend of 10 years Jay, lightened the mood. "Snow" in particular is a softer song for Amie, emphasizing her strong singing ability and a voice that sounds much older and more sophisticated.

With her debut album out later this year and having been the opener for Teddy Geiger, Gavin DeGraw and Nick Lachey on previous tours, I'm certain that Amie won’t be the opening act for too much longer.

Get to know Amie as she talks about her new album and watch some of her performances.



For more on Amie and to listen to her music, check her out on MySpace or her Website.

Audio Interview with Jacob Rolleston of Paper Rival

As promised yesterday, here is my phone interview with Jacob from Paper Rival. Listen to him talk about changing their band name, the new album and what inspired some of their songs. Enjoy! Be sure to check them out on MySpace and if you like what you hear, pick up their new album, Dialog, in stores June 3.

Q&A with Jacob Rolleston of Paper Rival

I chatted with frontman Jacob Rolleston the day after Paper Rival’s Bamboozle performance at Giant's Stadium in New Jersey. He filled me in on how the band began, their debut full-length album due in stores June 3, and the stories behind some of his songs, one of which came from a box of old letters between his great grandparents when his great grandfather was stationed in Germany during WWII. Read on for more of the interview and check back in a few days for the audio format of the interview. Be sure to check out Paper Rival on MySpace and if you like what you hear, go pick up a copy of their album Tuesday!

Tell me a little bit about Paper Rival. I read that you guys started as two separate bands at first.
Yeah. The guitar players, Patrick and Brent were in a band together in Nashville, a prominent local band, and I was in a band in Chattanooga. My band from Chattanooga went to Nashville and Patrick actually recorded my former band’s C.D. We just weren’t super happy with what we were doing and the timing just worked and Patrick and Brent came to where I worked with our old drummer and said, “Hey, do you maybe want to start a project.” And I said, “Yeah.” And that’s pretty much it. It wasn’t really too out of the ordinary from a lot of band’s experiences, just taking members from several bands and kind of adding.

And you guys have a new record coming out soon.
Yes we do. Dialog, June 3.

How was it recording Dialog? Did you go into the studio having a concept for it?
You know, there wasn’t really a concept, necessarily. It was actually everything but that. We learned that we had to change our band name as we went into the studio last year in March. We actually went into the studio in February and started recording and then we did South by Southwest in ’07 and we had to change our band name there. When we came back we got a lot more focused and were thinking that by changing our band name it would make it easier for us to change the style of music and our writing. It actually made us a lot happier, so recording was anything but a concept. We just we went in and luckily everything came to be how it is and we’re really excited about it.

What was the whole thing with your name change? Did some other band have it?
Yeah, there was a Canadian band that had the name. They weren’t jerks to us really. We would get mixed up in press and they made it to iTunes first and that’s such a huge market that we couldn’t really afford to not be on iTunes. It was just kind of like, “Let’s just change our name now. We don’t have a full length out; we can afford to do it right now.” It was a decision on our part and to make it a little easier for everybody.

I read that “The Kettle Black” was based on letters from your grandparents. How did you go about finding those and writing that song?
Yeah. They were letters from my great grandfather to my great grandmother from World War II when he was stationed in Germany. He was in the air force. I was looking for inspiration. A long time ago, when I was 11 or 12 and my great grandmother was getting older, I kind of knew she was going to be put into a nursing home. I understood, I guess, that families fight about certain things they want from their great grandmother’s house, like family heirlooms and things like that. So I just took everything I thought that I would want in the future, that my family would want. A shoebox of letters was one of the things.

I was looking for inspiration and the whole theme of the album was building around this family/friends type of vibe, the lyrics I was writing anyway. I just kind of went into that old shoebox full of letters and was amazed at how the problems that they had when he was gone in a war, which I can’t even imagine, are some of the same problems that I’m having today. He’s in a war and he understands what he’s doing and I’m out touring and I understand what I’m doing, but none of my family and friends really. They’re like, “Why are you doing this? Come home, hang out, get a job.” And it’s the same. My great grandmother is saying then, “Come home. Why are you over there, fighting all the time?” It’s all the same problems, just having to deal with it while you’re gone. It’s kind of that mentality.

Did you write all the lyrics on the album or is it a group effort?
Pretty much. There are a couple of songs where Patrick had guitar and lyrics to and there were some that just fit and I didn’t want to change. Sometimes you’ll get a singer that’s kind of selfish and wants to write all his own words and I tried to fight that because I think anyone is really partial to what they’re saying all the time. You kind of feel like you want to be the only lyric writer, so I just fight that because I know that a lot of times what somebody is saying is sometimes better than how I can say it. So I try to see it that way. So sometimes Patrick will write something and I may write a little bit or change it to make it sound like it’s from me and sometimes I’ll have words and Patrick will say, “That doesn’t sound like you” and change it.

Do you have a favorite song on the album?
My personal favorite is probably “Bluebird.” I like the arrangement and the old music in the song is really good. I like the way the song came about, how randomly the song came about. In my opinion it’s the most beautiful song on the record.

I really like the lyrics and musical accompaniment in “An Easy Belief.” What was the inspiration behind that song?
I know in my family, there’s a lot of self medicating on both sides. On my dad’s side there’s this whole thing about living forever and wanting to go into some type of heaven forever, an eternity. On my mom’s side, she just self medicates and doesn’t necessarily believe she’s going to live forever. Why do we as humans do tons of the bad things we do and think we deserve to live forever? There’s so many other species on the planet that deserve to live longer than we do and it’s basically saying that.

How would you describe your music to someone that’s never heard it before?
I heard Patrick say in another interview that it’s like 90’s alternative rock indie music with a folk twist. There’s definitely an organic element about it that isn’t just rock and isn’t just indie or isn’t just alternative music that keeps the music grounded.

What are your hopes for the next few years?
Personally, I’d love to take small steps. I like that we’re on a label and we’re surrounded by people that believe in us and people that understand that it takes time if you really want to do what you’re doing and do what you love. Sometimes it just takes time to get there and that’s better. We want to really have a nice fan base and care about our fans and care about people who come to see us. We want to take small steps towards hopefully a big future and a long future and a long career. That’s my hope, just to continue doing what we’re doing.

I read that “Keep Us In” was inspired by an election in Nashville on the gay rights/marriage issue. Obviously it affected you a lot.
It’s just like, what year is it? I think for all of us in the band, and tons of people in the city and surrounding areas, a lot of people felt the same way. Its 2007, you know? Now it’s 2008, but it happened in 2007. It’s totally people who are living based on what their grandparents and great grandparents thought and not living and creating their own opinions and how embarrassed I am of people like that, just on any subject. Be a progressive thinker, don’t just sit and muddle in your old grandparents opinions, just closed-minded opinions. That’s kind of where that song came from. The core of it was definitely was that, but it’s more universal, just about people in general, self-centered, and close-minded people.

How do you feel Paper Rival is different than the other upcoming bands out there? What will make people want to come and see you?
Well, that’s what we are. We’re just people. We’re not doing anything, we’re playing the music that we want to play and that, I think, is different. There are bands that play the music they want to play and love what they do and there are bands that don’t play the music they want to play and love what they do. I think we’re different in the way that we’re the same person before we get on the stage as we are when we get on the stage and after we’re off the stage. We love being in the crowd and talking to people and really, all of us, love engaging the crowd and people that like our music.

For more on Paper Rival check them out on MySpace.