The Witches of Endor Drop ‘Moonquake’

Beginning in 2019, the duo The Witches of Endor forged an unholy alliance to begin work on what would eventually become their debut album, Moonquake.

Witches Of Endor blends and pulls from many different musical genres, bending and twisting “the very fabric of space and time like a cosmic saltwater taffy of METAL” the duo’s guitarist/drummer/vocalist/songwriter David Mayne says.

Together with his partner, guitarist/drummer/songwriter Jason Critoria, the duo founded Witches of Endor.

Mayne and Critoria are influenced by Type O Negative, Metallica, Ghost, Korn, Alice In Chains, and Silverchair.

King Whisker Drops the Strangely Raucous ‘Television’ Ahead of Debut LP

 

kingwhiskerThe offbeat, punk-fueled single “Television” from San Diego alt. band King Whisker is a weirded-out, scrappy riff that sounds like a blender mix of Devo, The Talking Heads and Weezer.

The single is set to appear on King Whisker’s upcoming 2021 debut album. The band is DIY’ing the project from top to bottom – recording, producing, and distributing it on their own, and by their own terms.

Recording in a 10 by 12-foot tiny room, the track is a nod to the BLM movement that swept across the United States in 202o.

Recorded by diverse artists that include members who are gay, non-binary, multi-racial, female, bi-polar, and autistic, the recording features hand-made and hand-modified instruments, cables, and pedals.

Frontman Charlie Rohlfs says that rather than waiting out the pandemic to do anything, the band took online classes from Berklee, scraped together funds and whatever gear and equipment they could muster, and hit the ground tearing.

The other band members are Jeremy Houtz (drums); Alex Warton (guitar); Ash Busse (keyboards) and Kevin Reith (bass). Their influences ranged from Pixies, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Police, Queens of the Stone Age, and more.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingwhisker/

 

The New “Deep Blue” from Santa Cruz Trio Day Trip

day-trip

Dear Friends: Life during a pandemic is fk’ing weird, exhausting and surreal for us all. This was supposed to be the time we had a break from it but apparently covid doesn’t slow down in heat and humidity as other viruses do. That’s not good. In fact, the pandemic is now an epidemic in the U.S. and maybe Brazil. It’s embarrassing to the rest of the world that we cannot do this nationwide like some of the New England states have figured out. Come on America! Please wear masks.

Possibly a musical metaphor of the down and up rollacoaster we’ve all been doing for five months now, the lo-fi, slow-burning, funky and heavily melodic track from Santa Cruz indie band Day Trip fuses sparse arrangements and catchy, complex instrumentals with wispy vocals and driving rhythms.

The band’s music fills the room with more sound than one may expect from these three sweet peas: Jillian “Bean” White (bass, vocals), Franky Kohn (guitar, synth), and Lauren DiQuattro (drums).

This is the Day Trip’s first single released on San Francisco-based, female-run, independent record label Honeydew Records.

Day Trip met during their time in college at UC Santa Cruz, starting out with two members and an electronic drummer. Once the third member in the trio joined the project, they “fired the robot drummer and never looked back.”

The band has opened for many other indie bands including Crumb, Video Age, Foliage, galpal, Douse, Taleen Kali, and Cathedral Bells with main
influences like Warpaint, The Smiths, and The Cure.

https://www.facebook.com/tripOfTheDay/

Note: Although a part-time resident of Santa Cruz, this author has not yet seen them live.

New Single from Pennan Brae Embraces Retro-80’s Sounds

Right from the opening notes, you know that the track, “Strut” off of Vancouver recording artist Pennan Brae‘s newest non-instrumental album, Gravity, is going to be a trip. By the end, with the wheels still smoking, it may be one of your top new DIY tracks this week.

Computerized sound effects from the 1980s along with Prince-like guitar riffs and Brae’s confident vocal work make the core of the track.

But it’s the wild whip-snapping, attitude-rearing percussions that drive the track together with sophisticated and outrageous instrumentation, mixing and that occasionally give way to Peter Gabriel- like bongo drums.

“The music of the 1980s is a major influence and ‘Strut-1980s’ seeks to emulate the musical stylings of that decade,” Brae says.

“Producers Kirk Kelsey and Eric Alexandrakis did such a great job producing the track; it’s a time portal for me to the ’80s. Film director Tim Cash and I then sought to make a music video for the song which incorporated visual aspects of the Eighties such as fashion & theme.”

Brae, who also records as The Astronot, just released an album of instrumentals called 2 Below 0, available via his official websiteofficial website.

CT Duo Tate & Silas Pay Homage on New Single, “Rock and Roll”

tate-silas

Influenced by rock legends like Chuck Berry and Johnny Thunders, Connecticut, lo-fi indie/alt. rock duo Tate & Silas wrote and recorded a homage to their heroes and to the classics with their own new track, “Rock and Roll.”

The duo – featuring Tate Brooks and Silas Lourenco-Lang – recorded the track live in a shed in Branford, giving it an extra dose of DIY authenticity and cred.

On “Rock and Roll” Brooks commands the guitar parts while Lourenco-Lang bangs out percussions on bass and a kick drum. The duo’s skills and talents, as well as the feeling they put into their music, comes rocking through on every second of the track. Additionally, they use their many influences and styles intelligently.

They insist that their “line-up was born out of necessity” bordering on destiny perhaps. Originally a trio, the rambunctious duo’s drummer backed out before their first show at a music festival.

Not wanting to let down fans, Tate & Silas went on and inadvertently ‘found’ their sound pulling from the knowledge and influences of their classic rock heroes.

Before the era of Covid-19, the duo had developed a reputation for controversial, energetic, and genuine live shows.

While playing shows throughout the tri-state area in support of their previous record last year, Brooks was gifted a Gibson Les Paul for his birthday. This, along with some new recording equipment, inspired the duo to move in a new direction.

Therefore, they put their DIY recording skills to the test, meticulously setting up mics, and adjusting tones until the sound was just how they wanted it.

The core tracks – rhythm guitar, bass, and kick drum – were recorded live in Brook’s shed. They took those recordings to a computer to overdub vocals, bongos, and lead guitars and finalized the new track.

The duo has released three LPs and one EP via the Tate & Silas Bandcamp page.

https://www.facebook.com/tateandsilas/



San Diego Band The Mulroys Drop New Single, “The Signs”

TheMulroys

California indie rock band The Mulroys (formerly Rollers) are back with a new advanced single, “The Signs,” from their upcoming debut album.

The track, the opening song on the album, features a big rock guitar intro, a driving beat, an anthemic vibe, and a harmony-filled chorus. Vocalist and guitarist Erik Mullin likes to think of it as “a mix of Sun Volt and Tom Petty.”

But that is not the only influence that informs the structure and style of the track.

“I have always been a fan of early rock and roll Chuck Berry, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Eddie Cochran, and also The Beatles, Dylan, Grateful Dead, and Rolling Stones,” he says. “It all boils down to 50’s and 60’s classic rock.”

The musical duo features Mullin and guitarist T.J. Royer grew up together on Long Island New York, eventually moving out to their new home base of San Diego a few years back.

In California, they became entrenched in the music scene and made a name for themselves within the soCal music sphere.

After a brief hiatus, and while playing in different bands, Mullin and Royer decided to reunite to work on recording new songs and going out to play gigs.

Their blend of spirited rock and roll is mixed with elements of country, reggae, and blues, wrapped up in a relatable pop sound. In 2017 they released the debut E.P. Somewhere Along The Way. It was produced by Christian Cummings (Cage The Elephant, Black Lips).

Over the past couple of years, The Mulroys have toured up and down the California coast performing as an acoustic duo and backed by a live band. They hope to do the same soon for Splitsville. They also enlisted good friend and veteran rocker Mark Maiggard (Louis XIV) on drums and Michigan musician Chris Diener on bass.

“For this album, we took our time and put ourselves out there emotionally, we just went with how we felt. We both had some personal hardships and experiences that we were going through at the time that couldn’t but be reflected in the writing,” Mullin adds.

“‘Splitsville’ came out of the overall concept about heartache, change, and struggling with life events beyond your control but it’s also about finding closure and moving on.”

https://www.facebook.com/themulroys