interview: eye alaska (aug. 29, 2008)

got the chance to catch eye alaska's set the other night. excellent live show. if you like the EP, they'll probably play the entire thing and you'll love every second. lead vocalist brandon wronski acts a little odd (don't ask) on stage, but i got the chance to talk with him about the band for a brief minute after the show. anyway, read the entire thing, so i could say i didn't transcribe the whole thing in vain.

Roshan Bhatt: What’s your name and position in Eye Alaska?
Brandon Wronski: My name is Brandon Wronski and I sing in Eye Alaska.

RB: Mind giving me a brief summary on how the band started?
BW: Cameron and I started when we were in middle school, and we played and toured with a band called Dead Letter Diaries, and then over time, we wanted to change the music and we wanted to change the name with that. So then we met up with the other guys and just started calling it Eye Alaska


RB: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard of your band before?
BW: We want to create a soundtrack to life. We call it ‘soundtrack-rock’ or ‘cinematic rock.” There’s a bunch of different genres on the EP, and each song plays with different genres. There are songs like “I Knew You’d Never Fly” and [inaudible] that have that cinematic feel to it, and then you have songs like “Roll Right Over” where it’s kinda R&B and pop, then there’s “Through Willows and Streams” that’s just more rock, and “Stop Me Now” is more hip-hop. You don’t go through life listening to one style of music, and we feel that making a record for everything and not limiting yourself to one genre is great.


RB: Typically, the influences question is kinda textbook and corny, but since you have a diverse sound, I have to ask.
BW: One of my main influence Han Williams and Hans Zimmer, I listen to that stuff all day long. Then old Motown, Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Eat World and the Jackson 5. I try to take something from every single artist.


RB: What are your favorite bands of the moment?
BW: Hard question. Who am I loving right now? Definitely The Dear Hunter and Lydia. We just got off of tour with them. Two great bands and I was just stoked to be on tour with those guys. And Anarbor, their new record just came out and I’m loving that right now.


RB: What are your plans for the next album as far as themes go, and will it be on Fearless?
BW: Yeah, it’s gonna be on Fearless in 2008. We’re keeping the same thing going, and we’re keeping it genre-less. It’s pretty much written already and it’s gonna be awesome.


RB: How did you sign to Fearless?
BW: We were talking to a bunch of labels at the time and Fearless approached us at one of our shows and they expressed interest in wanting to meet with us. We met with them and it instantly clicked. They are an awesome, hard working group of people. They know what they are doing. We knew it felt right.


RB: Weird question. Is Dustin Kensrue a fan of your band?
BW: Haha, I have no clue. I don’t even know if Thrice has heard our band. I love Thrice, but we’re not really affiliated with them.


RB: Who has been the best band you’ve toured with so far.
BW: Well this is pretty much still our first tour. We did one with the Summer set and Anarbor and then we just got off of the tour with Lydia and The Dear Hunter, and I have nothing but good things to say about them.


RB: When people ask me to describe your band, I point out the fact that if they like As Tall as Lions, they’ll probably love Eye Alaska.
BW: I love ATAL. The first show we played as Eye Alaska was with As Tall as Lions at Chain Reaction.


RB: If you were the opening act on a tour, who would the dream lineup be?
BW: I would straight up say Justin Timberlake. Or Radiohead.
RB: I’d see the Justin Timberlake tour working.
BW: (Laughs) Dude I feel it’d work great. Or the Goo Goo Dolls.

RB: And lastly, what the hell’s in the backpack?
BW: Haha, everyone asks that. It’s just a bunch of stuff that’s close to me to keep reminding me where I came from.

RB: Well, that pretty much wraps it up. Thanks a lot.
BW: No problem, dude. Thank you.

eye alaska on myspace.
buy the yellow and elephant ep

-grizzly

gym class heroes - don't tell me it's over f/ lil wayne and dre (2008)

anyone doubting the quilt is crazy. i can speak for jerome when i say that both me and him feel like the only ones diggin' on the new gym class, mainly because we like our hip-hop big and shining. travis takes a lot of shit, but goes in strong on this track. wayne's an unnecessary feature, and his 2 bars really didn't need to be on the track, but gym class probably doesn't mind. also, cool and dre have really put out some incredible beats this year. more people need to work with them.

"tell em i can't rap, tell em' i dumb it down, and tell em' not to buy tickets whenever my band's in town."

and will this fucking album leak already?

gym class heroes - don't tell me it's over

-grizzly

stadium

H-TOWN REPRESENT.

first of all, with lyrics like i'm coming clean with myself/drinking the whiskey down seems to help, you're gonna score automatic points with alcoholics like roshan and myself.

rising from the ashes of wonderful houston bands the record time, little compass, and the belle curve, stadium are a shining example of music that's going unheard in texas by the rest of the world. i'd riyl them to fans of jimmy eat world, spitalfield, hot rod circuit, and the get up kids. impeccable duel harmonies, big guitars, and bigger hooks.

you can download their debut ep change of plans, we're coming home for 6 bucks on their wonderfully designed myspace page (joon photography/valentone media WHAT UP). in the meantime, here's two songs to get you started. cave in, cave in.

stadium on myspace.

download ground zero.
download coming clean.

-panda

the all new adventures of us

does anyone remember laughter?
does anyone remember love?

the all new adventures of us (or tanaou as they're commonly known) are easily one of the most exciting bands i've come across in a long time. the british seven piece play an anthemic, extremely well written brand of indie-pop that's both enthralling and exciting. top it off with captivating male/female vocals, and you've got something quite epic.

they've got a new lp coming out in october called best loved goodnight tales, which is an addicting collection of songs. it's really amazing hearing an album that flows as well as this one does, each song like a chapter in a novel you read from cover to cover in one go. download these two tracks from their upcoming full length, and add them on myspace, so you can join me in singing "i told you so!" when the rest of the world joins the adventure.

tanaou on myspace.

download the wide eyed led us home.
download the art of the high five.


- the all new adventures of panda

album review: the game - l.a.x. (2008)

Artist: The Game
Album: L.A.X.
Record Label: Geffen/Interscope
Release Date: August 26, 2008

Since the release of his first mixtape in 2002, Jayceon Taylor, better known as The Game, has made it his life’s calling to resurrect west coast rap and force feed it to the masses. Even during his stint with G-Unit, the 28-year-old rapper represented and remained loyal to Compton, like the greats Dr. Dre and Eazy-E.

Now, six years later, after months of being pushed back, The Game unleashes his third and supposed final album, L.A.X. In any case, if an artist is releasing their last album, his or her A-game needs to be brought (no pun intended). With L.A.X., The Game decided to pull out all the stops, reeling in some of the biggest artists and producers in hip-hop and R&B to collaborate on what ended up being one of the most ambitious projects in quite some time.

The Game has a known ear for beats, and the production on L.A.X. is close enough to some of the best production heard this year for mainstream releases. With beats from Cool & Dre, Kanye West, Nottz and Hi-Tek, it’s hard to notice that Dr. Dre doesn’t produce for The Game anymore. Furthermore, the cameos on this album are endless. Interscope must’ve spent a large sum on his behalf, bringing in Lil’ Wayne, Common, Ice Cube, Nas, and Ludacris, just to name a few. Almost every song that features any of this all-star line-up is a prospective hit, considering the singles he’s released thus far have already done well.

Lyrically, you won’t see much progression from The Game in comparison to previous albums. He continues to rhyme about his troubled past, which includes but is not limited to sex, drugs and violence, and the name-dropping still runs most of his songs. However, The Game has always had a certain way with words to keep the songs fresh. The name drops may turn some people away, but he manages to create new metaphors and similes that are both entertaining and clever, while managing to pay homage to those who have influenced his own style.

There are very few lulls when listening to the album, which is an impressive feat considering its 76 minute runtime. Aside from the abrasive Intro and Outro, both prayers by hip-hop hostile DMX, the only skip-worthy track is “Touchdown,” which might as well be one of the Game’s most trite tracks to date. L.A.X. has a very wide-range of sounds aside from the West Coast. From soulful jams like “Let Us Live” to club-bangers such as “Money” to the bedroom influenced faux balladry of “Gentleman’s Affair,” there are songs on L.A.X. that will reach a wide array of people.

Considering the state of the music industry, there is very little chance that this album will be as commercially successful as its predecessors The Documentary and Doctor’s Advocate. Despite the sales difference, L.A.X. will go down as The Game’s crowning achievement, and will hopefully stand the test of time. If this is indeed his last album, Jayceon Taylor will be content with the fact that he dropped out of the game while he was still shining.

Grade: B+

the game on myspace.

-grizzly

charles hamilton - outside looking (2008)

i hit up a few tracks from charles hamilton after reading a blog about him over at 2dopeboyz, so naturally i'm biting their steez. anyway, i'm liking what i hear. here are two tracks and the link to his mixtape if you're interested. fresh.

download:

brooklyn girls
windows media player

and grab his mixtape produced/presented by dj green lantern:



-grizzly

the game - l.a.x. b-sides (2008)

the game's album dropped today, and a bunch of solid cuts didn't make the album. here's four of them. all of them are as good as anything on LAX, especially superman. i would've dropped "touchdown" and replaced it with superman. enjoy. review will be posted soon.

download:

superman
camera phone f. ne-yo
spanglish
ain't fuckin' with you

-the grizz

t.i. - swagger like us (feat. kanye west, jay-z, and lil wayne) (2008)

take one M.I.A. sample and add four of the hottest rappers (if not THE four hottest) in the game, and there's no way you won't get one of the rawest tracks of the year.


download swagger like us.

- swagger like panda

the cool kids - delivery man (2008)

new track from the duo. also, this is a spiteful post for jerome, who got to the cool kids show too late and couldn't see it. be sure to slap him in the mouth when you see him for showing up late and "having a job." tool.

download:

the cool kids - delivery man

-grizzly

music video: ne-yo - miss independent (2008)

fly ass video from the gentleman of the year (ha ha see wut i did there?). first single off of his upcoming album, year of the gentleman, due out september 16.

download:

ne-yo - miss independent

-mister grizzly

deas vail - white lights (2008)

deas vail plays the least tough music around. it's odd that my last post was about one of west coast's toughest faces, and in comparison, these guys look, feel and sound like exotic rainforest butterflies. yes, i went there. their debut LP, all the houses look the same was one of my favorite albums last year. the lead singer has a great set of pipes. he reminds me of the singer of copeland, except deas vail doesn't bore me to death. anyway, the group has a new EP out for a full stream over at absolutepunk so be sure to listen to it. in the meantime, be sure to grab these two tracks off of white lights.

deas vail on myspace

download:

white lights

from priests to thieves

-grizzly

r.i.p. muxtape (2008)

so we had a good two month run with this new feature of ours. turns out the motherfuckin riaa got to one of our youngest children, and from the looks of it, it looks like this little dispute won't last too long, and muxtape will be visiting the farm pretty soon.

we'll pour one out for lil' homie. sorry to disappoint all 11 of you who listened to it.

-weworemasks

the game - documentary (2005)

very few people realize it now, but after the death (both figuratively and literally) of west coast rap, hip-hop got kinda soft. fast forward to 2005, and the game comes out swinging (even though it was as 50 cent's prodigy.) sure, his first two big singles had 50 cent features, but he had to get his name out there somehow. after the comparisons to 50 cent and g-unit's "revolution," i finally sat down with the game's debut and was floored. everything on this album hits hard. the majority of it is produced by dr. dre, so you know there is some incredible stuff on it. either way, the game's new album l.a.x. drops next tuesday, and in honor of it, i'm posting the documentary.

l.a.x. is HIGHLY recommended. be sure to keep a look out for the review.

download:



-grizzly

dj khaled - go hard (ft. kanye west and t-pain) (2008)

new banger from dj khaled's new album. more kanye vocoder. t-pain bringing the high notes to the hook. get on it. and sign my petition to make khaled stop yelling so much.

download go hard.

- panda wishes someone would actually start said petition.

music video: the game - my life f/ lil' wayne (2008)

one of the better videos to come out in a long time. if you haven't heard l.a.x. yet, do yourself a favor and get your hands on it. game came back strong for album number three. i think i stumbled on two songs that i didn't feel out of the nineteen. with wayne on this track, there's no doubt that this will be a huge single.

-grizzly