Hollywood2You.TV's

"THE MUSIC ROOM © "
Reviews Music that WE feel really ROCKS in it's own Genre and needs to be heard.

ROCK POLKA

POLKA FLOYD - STATIC RECORDS - 2008

The POLKA FLOYD show is a  PINK FLOYD tribute band that does it Polka Style. Yes, I said Polka. I put on the CD, I started smiling, then chuckling, but had to walk to the back of the studio, suddenly I rushed back into the room... not to miss a single polka minute...am I crazy or what? It's strangely great listening for classic rock fans. Vocals & Guitar from Rocker Ken Haas combined with the Polka master group CRUSADE members Chris Zielinski & Frank Dramczky ( I hope I didn't miss any "Z's") deliver seven great cuts on this well put together CD.
Go Check these guys out it's STRANGELY GREAT FUN!

Official site: www.polkafloyd.com 
Myspace: www.myspace.com/polkafloyd
Label: http://www.staticrecords.com/main.htm
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BLUES, ROCK

ZOLA MOON - " Wildcats Under my Skin"

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

BUCK BROTHERS - "ME" (2008)

ROCK

JD PRIEST - FALLING FORWARD

JD Priest's CD "FALLING FORWARD" is an easy listening journey through the varied musical styles that JD has made his own. It's Pop, it's Rock & it's Country all together in an friendly meeting... no fightin' here. It's not a look-a-like Artist or CD, JD PRIEST stands on his own with his vaired musicality, sensitivity, and edgyness. Listen to this CD and then listen to this CD... and you'll enjoy it differently each time for different reasons.
You can check out all JD's songs on the CD for yourself on the CDBABY and you'll hear what's up with that... I mean.... what I'm saying.

CDBABY: http://cdbaby.com/cd/jdpriest

HOLLYWOOD2YOU.TV - John Reed
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RAWK DAWG - Raw Rock/Classic Rock


RAWK DAWG
Rock With An Attitude (2002)
We Only Came To Rock (2004)

This RAWK DAWG Rocks!  There's nothing really pretty about RAWK DAWG. The Vocals are rough, the Guitars are distorted, the Drums virtually attack your ears.... but the message here is that there's "Beauty in the Beast".  Rawk Dawg's concept is to have it’s members plug in and with no prior rehearsal – rip into some from-the-gut blues rock music until an “unpolished gem of rock” emerges. On the band’s second full-lengther, the results are right up any classic rock fan’s alley. Robin Trower, Bad Company, Steve Marriot and Grand Funk are all avidly channeled by these seasoned, hard-hitting musicians.  You can listen to their latest release We Only Came To Rock (2004) on CD BABYat this link: http://cdbaby.com/cd/rawkdawg2 Then you'll know what I'm talking about.  There next CD is due out any time now.

THE GREAT KAT
Extreme Guitar Shred - DVD

KAT is Jammin' with Bach and his cohorts.. or so it would seem. Kat is actually THE GREAT KAT, a shred guitarist playing classical music with lightning fast licks. She's got a new DVD "Extreme Guitar Shred" that combines her fevered music with the macabre. It you like guitar, blood and guts... and you have a macabre sense of humor..... then check it out. It's got 6 Super Shred Videos to keep you pumped!

Official site: http://www.greatkat.com/

HOLLYWOOD2YOU.TV 

ROCK
 
MOVING PICTURE SHOW
Frame By Frame (2006)
[Handful Records]

Moving Picture Show is one of the most exciting new artists to emerge out of Los Angeles. Named in part for the modern momentum and visual imagery their music projects, the group consists of four dynamic personalities: The sharp, mercurial intensity that is lead singer/guitarist Matt Kap; the kinetic Amy Oliver on keyboards and vocals. Rounding out the lineup is bassist Jeremy Nesse, a sophisticated New Yorker with a rock solid vibe to match; and Mark Nelson, a hard hitting drummer with classic pop sensibilities who, along with Nesse, is the rhythmic foundation and backbone of the group.

Moving Picture Show’s debut disc, Frame By Frame, has just been released to critical acclaim, gaining radio play on modern rock stations as well as considerable notice in the press. Featuring lyrics loaded with the human condition, Frame By Frame is a cohesive 10-song collection both seriously fun and affecting. The disc has plenty of color and sophistication as well. The sound is incisive, cosmopolitan, and in possession of a vintage meets modern sex appeal.

What other artists does Moving Picture Show sound like? Truth be told, they don’t sound like any band save for themselves. Not satisfied with such a vague answer? Try this made-up equation in your head for kicks: You really love cutting edge post-punk era New York bands, such as Blondie, Talking Heads, and Television. You also like early-to-mid ‘70s Bowie, although nothing after Station To Station. Cross that taste with your penchant for Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, and U2; but oh….the older stuff you’ve run in the ground and the newer bands are played on the radio so often you don’t even want to hear your cds anymore. You need a new band with a new sound; you want Moving Picture Show.

Moving Picture Show is definitely an up-and-coming artist to watch. Their provocative live performances are a tight, one-two punch that leaves the audience wanting more.

No review can measure up to personal experience, though. Click on the graphic link for access to their myspace.com page where their upcoming shows are listed. You can also listen to a few songs and hear what this band is really about.

-- Greg Debonne
Band website:
www.themovingpictureshow.com

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DC4 - HARD ROCK

DC4
Volume One (2002)
[Rising Sun Records]

DC4 is some of the best new hard rock to come around in a long time. They sound like themselves. If you like Velvet Revolver, you’ll probably like this band. DC4 is heavier, but no less melodic. Pound for pound, their songs are deeper and have more feeling than Velvet Revolver. DC4 is genuinely hard rock, when you think of what that term means. They’re not alt. rock; they’re not so-called modern rock; they’re just hard. Better yet, it’s all very new sounding. No dated or retro leanings, their one and only FULL-LENGTH disc so far is the real deal. DC4 doesn’t sacrifice making good music in order to be ‘now.’ Here’s a band that cuts it both ways.

DC4 consists of Jeff Duncan (lead vox, guitar), Matt Duncan (bass/vox), Shawn Duncan (drums), and Hyland Church (guitars/fx). All three Duncans are brothers. Both Jeff and Shawn have been successful in music since the late ‘80s, dating back to the time they were in ODIN. Jeff Duncan went on to join the long-standing metal/hard rock group Armored Saint (of which he’s still a member). In fact, Volume One is produced by Joey Vera of that band.

If you’re expecting DC4 to sound like Armored Saint, you’re in for a surprise. They’re nothing alike. If Armored Saint is for the hard rock connoiseur, DC4 is probably more accessible to a wider audience, due in no small part to Duncan’s style of excellent songwriting.

What makes Duncan so effective are not only his melodies that stick in your head, but an ability to put himself on the line as a human being. The band matches his commitment. They’re one of the tightest, ballsiest rhythm sections in the genre. DC4 exemplifies deep emotions with what’s inside of themselves; not only as musicians, but as hard souls who know how to turn sensitivity into a cathartic experience. Volume One leaves an impression of a band that has lived, felt the pain of existence, and isn’t afraid to show it.

The opening cut, “Playing House,” rocks hard with a self-effacing tale of failure in romance. “Love and I/Never seem to get along/Tug and pry/Always try to right a wrong/Give and take/Suck it dry for all it’s worth/Crack and break/Pour the salt into the wound/And feel the hurt.” Then the chorus: “You and I/Never had a chance in hell/Playing house/You and I/Long ago heard the final bell/Ringing aloud/You and I/Face the music with open ears/A tragic symphony/Now we cry/Tears of a broken dream/For you and I.”

Duncan isn’t afraid to smear the blurred lines between “Love Or Misery,” either. One of the best tracks on the disc, “Love or Misery” is a bitter tale of infidelity and betrayal, sung against a tension-packed bed of tight guitars, bass, and drums that never compromise the natural ebb and flow of the song itself. Nor does “Love Or Misery” put up any walls to hide its profound sense of sadness. The song reflects the yin and yang of keeping it together in the face of provocative anger, humiliation, and hurt: “Where were you/Last night/I was calling you and all I got was that damned machine/Who is that man/I don’t wanna hear excuses/And don’t tell me he’s just a friend.” Just like in real life, the devastation extends to the unconscious part of ourselves: “Let me sing you a song I wrote/Especially for you from inside/I think you’ll love me even more/I wrote it last night in my sleep/I had a dream of you/But there was no me/Running through a field to I don’t know who/Listen up I need to talk to you!”

Volume One careens in and out of outright despair (“Playing House”), dangerous passion (“Love or Misery”), bellicosity (“.44”), lost souls (“Naïve Bree”), precious devotion (“Eyes On You”), abandonment (“Jack And Jill”), dissolution (“Marianne”), and bizarre, hard rock vaudeville (“Freak Show”). The record is unpredictable in an emotional sense, especially considering the genre at its core.

DC4 is one of the most genuine examples of hard rock in the early 21st century. Many new artists have elements of it in their sound, but either they’re more “alt. rock” or “modern rock” or any other tag you can come up with relative to a given group. With DC4, it is what it is: Undiluted and uncompromised. This record will still sound good years from now. That goes for the songs, the band, the production.

As late as December 2004, DC4 had reportedly been working on a follow-up to Volume One. The band’s myspace page reports them as having 5 new songs in the can. Currently, Jeff Duncan, in addition to his continued involvement with Armored Saint, is a member of an alternative/pop-punk group called The Thornbirds. The latter band is good, especially by the standards of today; but they’re an entirely different animal than DC4. It’s the difference between poison apples and radioactive oranges.

Let’s hope DC4 follows up this hard rock gem with a second volume.
Recommended listening from Volume One: “Playing House,” “Love Or Misery,” “.44,” “Naïve Bree.”

-- Greg Debonne

Band website: www.DC4online.com

MODERN POP/ ROCK
 
SOULAR

Amidst an ever-growing cacophony of sound-alike indie bands infiltrating the internet and clubs around the country, every once in a while there appears a beacon: A band so compelling, unique, polished, and sincere, who create such impactive music that as listeners, we’re snapped back into the realization that there are miraculous things still to be discovered. SOULAR is such a band.

Named in part after a reference in C.S. Lewis’ “The Space Trilogy”, SOULAR began as a musical collaboration between Marsh Shamburger (lead vocals, keys, guitar) and Jared Ashcraft (bass, vocals). Formed in supernatural Albuquerque, New Mexico, the band quickly took shape as they were joined by drummer and backing vocalist Ian Byrd in 2003. After a highly successful regional radio response to their self-titled debut and a string of acclaimed live performances, SOULAR traveled to Portland, OR to record their first EP, Time & Space. The disc ascended CMJ’s Radio 200 chart, receiving airplay on over 130 college stations nationwide.

SOULAR has credited the Time & Space sessions as being pivotal in cementing the sound and spirit of the band. In finding their own special niche, each member fully committed himself to making any personal sacrifices necessary to perpetuate the music SOULAR was creating.

And the music they create is special, indeed. At turns mystical and grounded, vaguely ominous yet calming, SOULAR’s lush, dreamy, and atmospheric sound incorporates the best of alternative rock with none of the angst. It has the structure of classic rock with none of the clichés; the charisma of stadium-filling bands with none of the posturing. Skillfully skirting and transcending the idea of genre, SOULAR fuses subtly hook-laden melodies over ethereal, almost orchestral, sonic landscapes. Each song is a picture in the listener’s mind; a touchstone to some vaguely familiar, otherworldly experience, or perhaps a new escape into that other world.

Having added guitarist Brian Lee in early 2005, the lineup was complete. With a well-developed sense of dynamics, the versatility of SOULAR shines through each well-crafted tune; whether it be the folk-inspired “You Taste You Feel” (from Waiting for Tomorrow, 2006), the powerful and anthemic “Time & Space,” or the upbeat and hopeful pop/rock love song, “Coming Around”.

With over 10,000 copies sold of their first two releases, SOULAR has toured incessantly for the past three years while garnering legions of new listeners, releasing their highly-anticipated new album, Waiting for Tomorrow, in the US and UK on April 25, 2006. Waiting for Tomorrow picks up the thread of Time & Space, while showcasing the expansion of SOULAR’s musical horizons…..this sophisticated disc is a solid testimony to their cohesive musical integrity. In an often fickle music industry environment, Waiting For Tomorrow breaks through as a strong indication of SOULAR’s potential for growth and longevity.

-- Liz Pereira

Official Website: http://www.soular.us

MODERN POP/ROCK

Michael McCarthy & The Beautiful Fools

Already a local Rock legend, Michael McCarthy & The Beautiful Fools are known to put on one of best live shows in Hollywood. With the kind of effusive showmanship not seen since Rock's halcyon years of the `60s, `70s, and very early `80s, McCarthy is a rare breed of artist in pop music who manages to consistently deliver a rockstar-caliber performance.

A five-piece band, Michael McCarthy & The Beautiful Fools have a chemistry that goes beyond the professional and into the realm of genuine artistry, passion, and conviction. On the strength of McCarthy's superlative talents as a songwriter, the group plays with an intensity of searing guitars, vintage keyboards, and a powerhouse rhythm section of bass and drums. The sound is at once classic and modern. McCarthy's songs have a melodic and structural definition reminiscent of the quality one experiences from such artists as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and others. Yet McCarthy has an originality all his own. No retro johnny-come-lately, his music is distinctly American with the accent on what one might call the new California sound..

In a voice characterized by damage and resilience, McCarthy sings about life, love, sex, death, and the darker side of human disconnect in the urban landscape that is Los Angeles. His music is a quintissential southern California soundtrack that plays against a backdrop of sunshine and pain, darkness amidst an attraction to city lights, desolation, and fragile camaraderie. Performing a reckless brand of modern rock that doesn't forego restraint, McCarthy walks the line between aggression and the spiritual grace recognizable in every soul. The songs embrace our necessary experiences of loss, heartache, transgression, and redemption; double dealing in cathartic revelations of the spirit - all in the name of Rock n' Roll bent on a certain freedom everyone of us wants.

With a debut, four-song ep under their belt, Michael McCarthy & The Beautiful Fools are recording a full-length disc. A demanding schedule of live dates is planned in support of the upcoming release.

-- Greg Debonne

Band website: www.myspace.com/michaelmccarthymusic

POP/ROCK


ADAM MARSLAND & HIS CHAOS BAND
You Don’t Know Me (2004)
[Karma Frog]

The Chaos Band is: Adam Marsland (lead vox/gtr./keys), the legendary Evie Sands (gtr./vox), John Perry (keys/vox), Teresa Cowles (bass/vox), and Kurt Medlin (drums).

Listen to the debut release in full by Adam Marsland & His Chaos Band, aptly titled You Don’t Know Me, and you’ll most likely draw the conclusion that this artist embodies no singular facet of Rock; nor is the music on this exceptional disc indicative of any one era in the genre. That’s because Adam Marsland is the rare artist of today who utilizes classic pop elements not so much to emulate what has already been done, but rather to create a powerful amalgamation of influences injected with his own vision, turning them into an original sound of his own devise.

Given the broad stylistic range and unusual palettes of instrumentation that traverse the musical landscape from song to song, You Don’t Know Me uncannily retains its cohesion as an overall record. The Chaos Band is multi-generational, and so is their sound. It’s American music in the pop/rock vein that can’t accept a label. Marsland’s songs match and even exceed that of the best artists in Rock history, yet with a hip realism that knows no time nor sacrifices the aesthetic of his work. They’re packed with the sort of definition that makes this record a killer now and 20 years down the road. There is something both vintage and modern about the music on You Don’t Know Me that defies any sense of demographic appeal, which is what the best pop music should be. It’s melodic, classic, visual, and rockin’ with a pacing of beautiful momentum.

Set against a backdrop of wild performance reined in just enough to retain its focus, You Don’t Know Me has a sense of immediacy from start to finish. The songs reveal the human condition to us as we experience it, capturing all the vulnerable subtleties within ourselves we can’t help but recognize as our own. Marsland’s songs often possess the most instinctual of human desires; and those desires belong to the audience, hitting hard where it counts. Marsland doesn’t try to be hip, just real.

The songs are passionate. Passion has its darker edge; it has its brighter mood, too. It can be dangerously unbridled, or it can be beautifully restrained. It has its softer side; it has its louder side. You Don’t Know Me represents all of those contrasts and complexities as they exist in every one of us. That essence comes through loud and clear whether you’re 16 or 60.

Adam Marsland & His Chaos Band are known for their regular, extensive touring across the country. They’re a visual motley crew whose rock-solid chemistry belies such an image. Few independent artists work on the road as the Chaos Band does. They’re very hardcore in that way, often planning a grueling schedule of dates a lot of bands couldn’t handle.

If you’ve got diverse tastes and you like ‘70s Elton John, The Beach Boys, Harry Nilsson, Ben Folds, Graham Parker & The Rumour, early to late ‘70s incarnations of Fleetwood Mac, and a host of other artists probably in your record collection, you’ll love Adam Marsland & His Chaos Band. He doesn’t sound like any of the above, but his music is just as good.

Hollywood2You has reviewed You Don’t Know Me because it’s a prime example of what happens to a great album without the benefit of major distribution and promotion: It doesn’t achieve its full potential in the marketplace.

You Don’t Know Me is available at Tower Records, Apple’s online iTunes Music Store, amazon.com, towerrecords.com, cdbaby.com, and the artist’s own web-site at www.adammarsland.com

-- Greg Debonne

Band website: www.adammarsland.com