HONESTLY
UK POP SINGER KRIS SEARLE
TALKS TO ROCKWIRED
HIS DEBUT CD 'SLOWLY DIABOLICAL'
GETTING THE NAME OUT THERE
AND BRIEFLY PONDERS THE POSSIBILITY
OF AN OASIS BOY BAND

There is something about KRIS SEARLE that brings me back to the music of my youth - namely, the British pop music of the 1980's. Much like a lot of the new wave/new romance sounds that filled the airwaves at that time, with the likes of DURAN DURAN, late-PRETENDERS, or even SPANDAU BALLET (the one song I remember), singer songwriter KRIS SEARLE is a pop prince with pretty eyes, gorgeous hair, and a heart on his sleeve. His debut CD 'SLOWLY DIABOLICAL' is everything that a great pop album should be, from the pop psychological heartache of the title track, to an anthem on picking up the proverbial pieces ('MOVING ON') and the earnest relationship gone-bad-song ('YOUR DIVIDE') - and it's all done with the most adorable British accent this side of DAVY JONES of THE MONKEES. KRIS has a voice that sounds pitch-perfect for musicals. However, it is easy to hear that he gives it his all in this very memorable first outing as a pop rock performer. In case there was a question of any sort of AMERICAN IDOL (or in his case POP IDOL) puppetry here, SEARLE has written all of the tracks himself.  (READ MORE)

A ROCKWIRED UPDATE

(ANAHEIM, CA) Anyone listening to ROCKWIRED LIVE in the past few weeks has noticed a new voice on the show. It is that of radio announcer/actress SINE (pronounced SHEENA) DOHERTY bringing an heir of effervescence to host BRIAN LUSH's earthy drone. " It all happened by accident!" says LUSH in regard to how Ms. DOHERTY became the official co-host for ROCKWIRED LIVE. " I've actually known SINE through KTST-FM for years, but one day , I invited her into the studio. Usually when people sit in on a show, I usually insist that they only watch and I talk to them when a commercial is running, but for some reason, I found it easy to strike up a conversation with her and thought that it felt right."(READ MORE)

JUNE 11, 2008

'MY VOICE - LIVING THE DREAM is the debut CD of jazz saxophonist SAMMIE ROBERTS, yet it feels like his eleventh or twelfth. Mixing clever re-interpretations of jazz classics and a couple of original compositions, the CD is the perfect background music for an evening by the pool with a glass of merlot. It's not easy to recall an instance where just five songs took you someplace wonderful. The moody interpretation of DUKE ELLINGTON's 'COME SUNDAY, the bossa nova rhythm of CHARLIE PARKER's 'MY LITTLE SUEDE SHOES', and a most irresistable take on SUMMERTIME will have anyone sinking comfortably into their pool chair. Balancing out these re-workings are 'TELL ME WHY MONICA' with it's frantic, insistent percussion and the positively swinging 'COURTNEY'S BOUNCE'. The only thing that disappoints is the CD's brevity. (READ MORE)

JUNE 2, 2008

The CHERRY POPPIN' DADDIES scored a hit in 1998 with 'ZOOT SUIT RIOT', an ode to debauchery and living it up. At the time, I was in my last year of college and because of the grind of school and work, I missed out on the swing movement of the late nineties. I only knew there was such a movement from hearing the BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA, SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS, and BIG BAD VOODOO DADDIES on the radio from the STARBUCKS at the University bookstore, where I worked. By the time 'ZOOT SUIT RIOT' was a hit, it seemed like it had shown up a little too late. Afterwards, there were a few DOCKERS commercials with folks swinging in their Khakis, and before you knew it - the "movement" was over and replaced by BRITTNEY SPEARS." If you think about it - that that (The Swing Movement) happened at all was very strange." says Cherry Poppin' Daddy STEVE PERRY - the band's lead singer. "It was very weird and then it was gone." (READ MORE)
MAY 28, 2008

'JAZZ AVIARY' is the third release from jazz vocalist/actress SUSAN KREBS. This sixteen track collection of jazzed up renditions of american pop compositions  is an inspired dedication to man's feathered friends; the birds.  With KREBS' partners-in-crime, THE SOARING SEXTET, providing the perfect backdrop for KREBS' unmistakable voice, 'JAZZ AVIARY' is a CD that truly soars. "The major intent  is to introduce people ot the wonder of birds and the universal music that we share." says KREBS. "I would like for people to awaken their ears to hear the birds because right now, the population of birds has plummetted because of loss of habitat and the climate change. We've taken them for granted and we are so out of balance. Everything is out of balance, and I hope the project and the CD will help educate people and raise consciousness about these magnificent creatures, but I would also like for it to entertain people." (READ MORE)


I must say that PAST LIFE CRASHING is a shimmering collection of songs that speak to the lost and the disconnected. All of the press for PAST LIFE CRASHING has paid lip service to the tremendous difficulty that HERRING faced in getting the album produced and the personal turmoils that engulfed this soft-spoken, alt-country troubadour. "I went through a hard time. All of that is kind of behind me now and now it's a really creative time for me. During the recording of the old record, I was writing the entire time and going through a hard time and coming out of that and writng more and now I have a stock pile of all of these new songs that I'm finally able to record. It's kind of exciting." (READ MORE)


I've made a resolution to stop writing about young, eager-beaver rock bands like FIXER "...chasing that rock n' roll dream". When you consider that rock n' roll entails spending months on the road, being in a different town every night, and living off of Dorrito's and beer, one can deduce that rock n' roll is certainly no "dream" or a "fantasy". It's just life. "It's very hard on the road, and very hard for all of us and some people just aren't cut out for it." says FIXER's lead singer EVAN R. SAFFER. "...the label (RIKER HILL RECORDS) wants to keep us on the road, and we want to be on the road. That's how this is going to happen! (READ MORE)

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
EVREN GOKNAR OF EVIL MARIA
TALKS TO ROCKWIRED
ABOUT THE BANDS' DEBUT CD
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NAME
AND DOING IT YOURSELF

While it sounds like news of an exciting debut album from an equally exciting new band, it isn't. the CD 'EVIL MARIA' (SPILL RECORDS)is the fourth studio release from singer/songwriter EVREN GOKNAR, but this time, he has chosen to let bassist JUNE KATO and drummer PETE FINESTONE in on the action and nick this garage rock threesome EVIL MARIA."It's easier to promote the project with a cool name, as opposed to my name." says GOKNAR.   "I've decided to move forward that way."

The bands name is inspired by the 1927 FRITZ LANG silent film 'METROPOLIS' - a tale of a dystopian future (the year 2026) where society is divided between the 'planners' who live in the massive skyscrapers of METROPOLIS, and the 'workers' who live beneath the city,toiling to maintain the privileged lifestyle of those who 'plan'. However, things change when a robot, disguised as a leader of the 'the workers' named MARIA, leads the people into a state of rebellion, destroying the machines that run METROPOLIS and in effect, destroying themselves.  "I was watching it with a friend of mine and at one point, I was thinking that that cyborg EVIL MARIA, would be a cool name for a band." says GOKNAR.  "It grew from there and I decided to name the band that and move forward."(READ MORE)

A WORLD WITHOUT JOY
NEVERWONDER IS COMING BACK FOR MORE
WITH A NEW LEAD SINGER, AND A NEW LEASE ON LIFE:
A ROCKWIRED EXCLUSIVE

It hardly seems like news anymore (especially for ROCKWIRED), but the band NEVERWONDER is putting the finishing touches on their follow-up to their self-titled deut CD with ex-AMERICAN IDOL contestant MEGAN BOBO up front and center. While the band's former lead singer JOY PEARSON left in late 2007 to explore a solo career and a softer sound, NEVERWONDER has been exploring a new sound of their own; one that is more groove-oriented. "I think having MEGAN in the band is moving us in a direction that I don't think that NEVERWONDER has ever gone. I'm really excited about the sounds that we're creating now, and the ideas that are flowing." says drummer DRE RAMOS. "I really enjoy it because vocally, it's more challenging and the music is a little more soulful and a little more groove oriented and as a drummer- I like that. It's a different animal and I really enjoy what we're about to put out."(READ MORE)