A Musical Quad Review

by Arley Owens

MICHAELA

NU-JAZZ / JAZZ / POP

Micheala's love of music manifested itself at an early age where at eleven, she used to stand in front of a mirror and belt out tunes into a hair brush, pretending it was a microphone. Influenced by such artists as Sinatra, Jobim, Nina Simone, and Tony Bennett, Michaele spent most of her free time haunting local cafes and jazz clubs in Manhattan where she moved after high school. The Jazz-Fusion scene served as fertile ground for nurturing her style and after she met Hoshea David Estrada, now her executive producer, the two started writing songs together.

In 2007 Michaele released her debut album, Incantation, which contains my favorite of the six songs uploaded on her site, Cry Baby Blue, featuring the fantastic saxophonist, Marion Meadows. Somewhat reminiscent of Peggy Lee, her beautiful, mellow voice always has a touch of hypnotizing melancholia. The lyrics on all her songs merge magically with the music of a group of fabulous musicians.

Whether you’re into Classic or Nu Jazz, you’ll love Michaele! Visit her Myspace at and her artist Website.

KEROSENE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACOUSTIC / ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC / AMBIENT

Kerosene Trewthe is an author and musician named John Arthur Pegg who resides in Michigan. I met John on Edit Red back in 2007 and have been entertained by his humor on the forum there, impressed by his writing talent, and because the artist that had previously occupied this spot canceled her site, will now share two sensitive songs of his that will move you: Beautiful Failure and Seven. Hopefully he'll upload more in the near future.

My pal has no idea that I'm doing this. I had planned to review him in the next issue since I had completed this article before he set up his site on MySpace. He sings from his heart in a voice that's somewhat reminiscent of Al Wilson and as I've already told him, my only crit is the effects are a mite too stout. The two songs are very inspired and will haunt you.

"Beautiful Failure," starts with sweet acoustic guitar and excellent backing, and when you hear John sing "and I try . . . to kill my mind" you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. His acoustic lead really accentuates the mood of the song and makes the listener reflect back on the lyrics. Seven starts with a play on the Biblical "This is a day that the Lord hath made" altered into "This is the day that I made . . ." and pulls the listener right in.

Do yourself a big favor and give these two songs a listen.

EVERTHEORY

ALTERNATIVE / ROCK / MELODRAMATIC POPULAR SONG

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In their own words Evertheory formed in 2007 as "an experiment in music". The four piece group is comprised of Jae (vocals), Sharon Prudencio (guitar), Tim Peterson (bass), and Josh Barbosa (drums). The first two tracks of their uploaded six are live and extremely ill-mixed, making it hard on the listener. I had to get past an initial reaction that they were just a lousy band before noticing Jae’s voice is quite good and the instrumentation is spirited. The third track, Rain, sounds much better than the first two.

This is a group in mid development and if they stay together, I’d like to see what they sound like a year from now. Presently I’d like to see them pull the live songs and replace them with studio versions to help their potential fans better understand their efforts to "push the creative direction of the band forward with each new song."

You can check them out @ their MySpace or visit their Website

Young adults

MELODRAMATIC-POPULAR SONG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nikki Shapiro lists the Band Members as "People" and I had to get his name from the web link as nothing else is said on the site. The music is piano centered like Elton John and Billy Joel, though Shapiro sounds like neither. His voice and style are heavily influenced by another piano man, Barry Manilow, which is especially evident on No Time For Goodbyes.

Though a bit moody, the four tunes are enjoyable listening, and Shapiro sings with conviction. I’d recommend Young Adults to anyone who likes Barry Manilow.

You’ll find Young Adults at Myspace and on their website

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