If Domino Saints prove anything, it’s that a lot of sound can come from just a few people. The duo, comprised of singer Giselle Ojeda and percussionist David Leal, infuse their dance music with contemporary trends and vintage textures that span several cultures. Nothing is off limits in this melting pot. Expect anything from time-honored Latin traditions like bomba and plena to island music like reggae and dancehall, old school funk and soul and new school reggaeton.
Domino Saints’ Puerto Rican heritage is never more apparent than in their single, “Buenos Dias San Juan,” which won a Billboard World Songwriting Contest award and was featured as an iTunes single of the week. The song opens with guitars that nod to Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” and a burping horn section that leads into a raw bomba groove. Sung in Spanish, the lyrics may be obscured to Gringos, but the message comes through loud and clear—standing still is not an option. On the subversive, darker funk track “Machiavelic,” Ojeda sings, “I’ve got a plan to take over the world / I’m gonna do it with music.” Let’s hope Domino Saints follow though on the threat.
The Submarines are widely recognizable for their jangling pop single,”You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie,” used in the recent iPhone 3G commercial. Others may know them as the artist-turned-producer and singer-songwriter from Boston who fell in love while working on an album, moved to California and started a band. The love story of Jack Dragonetti (a.k.a Jack Drag) and Blake Hazard (a.k.a. great grand daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald) is really the bittersweet muse of The Submarines. The story goes that the couple broke up shortly after moving out West but Blake continued to record in Dragonetti’s home studio. The duo soon realized that the new songs that they were each writing were filled with sadness and longing for one another. They decided to rekindle their musical relationship which lead to The Submarines and eventually to marriage. Continue reading ‘Q To The A With The Submarines & Jay Sweet’
In 2008 musicians Kristen Wagner and Josh Shapiro met in a West Hollywood cafe and decided they needed a change. Frustrated with their former bands, they chose to join forces as musical partners. It proved to be a songwriting match made in heaven with Kristen taking care of lyrics and vocals while Josh pounds out the electro-rock fused backings. Under the moniker Bullet & Snowfox, the duo is heating up the L.A. scene with infectious tracks like “Bad Days” that display a punk at heart attitude and a new wave finish. The handful of the band’s songs circling the web demonstrate a common theme: these kids are determined to make fans dance their feet off and have fun while doing it. Bullet & Snowfox is currently working on new material amid word of the possible involvement of the best DJ/Producers in the biz, Baron von Luxxury. We suggest you bite the bullet and check out the rest of their tracks available on OurStage.
Brisbane, Australia’s Sarah Thomas and Steve Robin form the slick indie pop duo Emerald. A flair for latin conga rhythms and shimmery guitars in conjunction with Sarah’s silky smooth vocals give this band a beautiful and unique sound. Emerald bring something organic to Pop music’s table in a world dominated by auto-tuning and crazy synth patches. Their track “Shine” won the hearts of fans in the OurStage Pop Channel last spring, earning them a Top 10 placement in April. Currently the two are promoting their recently recorded EP and gigging around their home turf in Oz. There’s no place like home, but with any luck, Emerald will bring the green to the United States soon.
The Chicago power pop trio known as Gidgets Ga Ga is offering all the singalong choruses and jangly guitars you’ve been missing since the Gin Blossoms broke up. The band’s guitarist and songwriter Michael Flores has been the stalwart behind the band’s DIY work ethic; heavily promoting and managing the band on his own via online means such as OurStage. Despite lacking an overdone, expensive production value the band’s LP The Big Bong Fiasco is straightforward “no nonsense” pop that shows off the group’s raw talent. This week’s free track “Beki” is bound to get stuck in your head the same way you can’t forget the the lyrics to the theme song from Friends. Sometimes a little nostalgia goes a long way.
