Tag Archive for '3oh!3'

50 STATES IN 50 WEEKS…WEEK 13: COLORADO

OS_50 States_CO

Home of: Amy Adams, Jello Biafra, Jessica Biel, DeVotchKa, 3OH!3, The Apples In Stereo, The Fray, OneRepublic, Lon Chaney, the String Cheese Incident, Cephalic Carnage, Dressy Bessy

Fun Facts: State flower; Rocky Mountain columbine, state song; “Where the Columbines Grow,” state animal; Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep

The Venues: This September 12th and 13th, over 50 artists will take over Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the 2009 Monolith Festival. This year’s lineup features Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Mars Volta, Method Man & Redman, Of Montreal, Doom and Chromeo, with local DJs spinning between sets. Named “Best Live Music Venue in North America” by Pollstar, Red Rocks is a geologically formed Amphitheater that has been hosting performances for over 100 years.

The Larimer Lounge is a dive bar in the best sense of the term that showcases indie up-and-comers like Great Lake Swimmers, A Place To Bury Strangers and French Horn Rebellion.

The Music:

m_56e18a2064bd420d91b26b10de1fa498The Haunted Windchimes – The Haunted Windchime’s country-tinged folk has lead them to share the stage with bands like DeVotchKa and Magnolia Electric Co.Leaving Here” showcases the band’s trademark harmony vocals. This fall, The Haunted Windchimes will be playing a string of shows, including the Monolith Festival, with fellow OurStage artist Caitlin Rose.

Rojos CalientesRojos Calientes – Rojos Calientes combine Andean musical traditions with bluegrass, country and a little bit of gypsy jazz to create their own genre, “Latingrass.” The first track from their 2009 release Corazon, “Tantos Anos” earned the band a Top 10 finish in the July 2009 World Channel. Check out AidanR’s Q&A with Rojos Calientes here.

Odd SquaadOdd Squaad- You may recognize Odd Squaad MC H2 from 2001’s Hard Knock Life Tour DVD: His backstage freestyle earned him fist-bumps and handshakes from Jay-Z and DMX. H2 and the rest of the Squaad use their wit and talent to combine hip-hop and country on “Half of Y’all.”

RenegadesRenegades – Friends since highschool, the two members of Renegades (RNGDS) make synth-laden, 80s-inspired dance music. The band has played with Hollywood Undead, The Chain Gang of 1974, and 3oh!3, whose Sean Foreman used to play keyboards for Renegades gigs. “Dawn Rider” is a must-listen for fans of Walter Meego and Justice.

Who are your favorite OurStage Coloradans? Where do you like to see live music in Colorado? Let us know in the comments!

HEY! YOU GOT ELECTRONICA IN MY ROCK MUSIC!

Artists listing laptops as members of their group; bands inducing genre-tags such as “nintendocore” – what could have possibly led to this? You may not believe it, but today’s electronica started back in the day. Here’s an extremely brief history of these events leading up to the current state of the genre:

  1. Rock bands with questionable color palettes decide to start to using electric organs (yes you, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple).
  2. The glorious keytar of the 80’s (bi-product of the hair metal plague) and delightful 80’s synth-pop becomes huge hits with the kids.
  3. Scratching records and intricate sampling, as well as industrial music (Static-X, Nine Inch Nails) becomes the new “in” thing to do.

This leads up to the turn of the new millenium, when HORSE the Band released their first full length album, Secret Rhythm of the Universe. HORSE the band is straight up Hardcore + Synths (8-Bit sounds; think old school Mario Bros. games) for the most part. Previously, this combination of music was largely unexplored but as HORSE the band’s following grew, and bands like Sky Eats Airplane and Enter Shikari formed, the musical boundaries stretched even further. Sky Eats Airplane recorded their first album with not much more than a Mac, Reason 3, Adobe Audition and a guitar (which undeniably influenced the band’s sound), and Enter Shikari are heavy on trance synthesizers (their song “Mothership” being a prime example).

Where does that leave us? Who knows. It all depends on what the kids latch onto next. It sure seems like things similar to scrunk and modern synth-rock could continue to gather steam and make it in the mainstream (check Bethany Leavey’s post to learn more about “scrunk”). Heck, OurStage band 3OH!3 is making waves in the mainstream with their new breed of pop-rock-electronica-hip-hop (assuming being in the Top 5 on the Billboard charts means you made it in the mainstream).

Check out some OurStage artist that have been pushing the genre boundaries in their own ways:

ENERGY-DRIVEN MUSIC FOR YOUR NEXT DRIVE

You get in your car, check the side mirrors, buckle your seat belt and put the key in the ignition. Just as you’re about to hit the road, you reach a disappointing realization: The mix you made last night—the one you just couldn’t wait to listen to on your way to work— is still inside. Some people may just flip on the radio and drive off (you are late for work after all). Others—like myself— realize the importance of the perfect “commute mix,” and will immediately hop out of the car in order to grab the coveted disk. In fact, my commute involves a carefully-realized flow of events that is appropriately complimented by a perfect order of songs.

When I pull out of the driveway, for example, there needs to be something upbeat and poppy. By the time I reach the highway, I need a driving beat to get me up to speed. And as I reach my destination, the playlist should wind down as if giving me a sense of closure. It may sound silly but trust me. The first time you pass a car on the left as your favorite chorus kicks in, you’ll understand why having a commute playlist is as important as having gas in your car. Give this mix a shot. I’ve given it my “road-worthy” stamp of approval.

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[playlist artist_name="New City Lions" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/newcitylions" song_name="Never Too Soon" song_url="http://www.ourstage.com/play/track/GPUSRDITBGAI-never-too-soon"]
Sunshine Girlby:The Naomi Star
[playlist artist_name="3OH!3" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/3oh3" song_name="I CAN'T DO IT ALONE" song_url="http://www.ourstage.com/play/track/DQLHQKMCMXPK?autoplay=false"]
Liesby:fORMER
[playlist artist_name="Plushgun" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/plushgun" song_name="How We Roll" song_url="http://www.ourstage.com/play/track/NBPAZPWGUMRX-how-we-roll"]
By The Wayby:Vices I Admire
[playlist artist_name="That Was Something" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/thatwassomething" song_name="For The Fame" song_url="http://www.ourstage.com/play/track/IUODTONKTZAX-for-the-fame"]
Thundercloudsby:The Whatnot
[playlistend]

OURSTAGE ARTISTS INCLUDED IN THE TAP TAP REVENGE CATALOG

The OurStage Community is full of fans of  Tap Tap Revenge, an iPhone game that lets you test your musical and rhythmic skills against your favorite music, all while on the bus, or waiting for class to start, or during class or… doing just about anything on the go! And now, you can tap along to some of the best music found on OurStage. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

 
Tap Tap Revenge is only one game in a list of uber-successful iPhone applications from the developer, Tapulous. Only 3 weeks after launching the original game, they were boasting over 1 million users and grew to over 6 million in less than a year after that. They’ve launched special versions for NIN, Coldplay and Weezer and have over 160 artists listed in their Catalog ranging from the indies to the majors. Now, after launching the second version in March ‘09, they already have 2.7 million new people tapping away… that’s huge exposure for any independent artist! So how did all these great OurStage bands find themselves in the favor of such a popular mobile game? We caught up with Tapulous’ Tim O’Brien to find out.

 

As Tapulous puts it, Tim is “the guy who gets the songs,” and “is the Rosetta Stone of Tapulous, able to translate the tech talk into the grunts and screams the music world understands.” His deep background in the music industry from street team development to tour management has helped him give Tapulous the street cred it needs to stay constantly fresh and engaging in the ever-evolving music community. His past experiences in the music world also led him to develop a huge amount of respect for the bands and musicians that aren’t afraid of a little hard work. Those are the bands that find their way onto the iPhone screens of millions of music fans.

‘Bands choose their own fate,’ he says. Bands find Tim and pitch him with their story and music. He offers up top placement for the bands who are willing to work for it and the fruit of their labor is the millions of fans who will get, ‘turned on to new music in a really engaging environment. They will listen all the way through and many times over if they really like the song.’

90% of the game’s catalog is independent music and the company is looking for ways to continue in that direction by working with indie artists, labels and publishers (They are already pulling from the catalogs of INgrooves and OurStage partner, DashGo). Tim says he is even considering building a special indie track of the week, pushing one lucky band’s music to millions of inboxes and generating even more exposure. Speaking of the track of the week, if you don’t already have the game, be sure to download Tap Tap Revenge this week because the featured artist is long-time OurStage supporter, Matt Nathanson.

THE INDIE PROM PLAYLIST

imagesSpring is here and for many teens its time to go shopping for gowns and tuxes. Get ready for this night-to-remember by rocking out to our heat-seeking playlist. We’ve got OurStage dance hits and slow jams to practice all your moves for the big night thanks to resident DJ Bethany aka Chickadee.

 

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[playlist artist_name="capstin pole" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/capstinpole" song_name="In the way you move"]
To The Discoby:The Turf
[playlist artist_name="Annya Li" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/annyali" song_name="One Night"]
Love Struckby:V Factory
[playlist artist_name="3OH!3" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/3oh3" song_name="Don't Trust Me"]
Red Lightby:Nate James
[playlist artist_name="The Shys" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/theshys" song_name="Call In The Cavalry"]
Dirty Loversby:Televandals
[playlist artist_name="Untitled" artist_url="http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/untitlednuera" song_name="All I Need"]
In The Endby:Kate Tucker & The Sons Of Sweden
[playlistend]