I am normally not a gambling girl. I don’t like to do math while I’m enjoying myself, I don’t like to lose, and I’m pretty sure the house always wins. That being said, I recently spun the stay-at-a-venue-for-the-next-band wheel and won big on the band Friend Roulette.
William Fitzsimmons has no idea how many instruments he can play. “I’ve never sat down and counted,” says the mental illness counselor turned singer/songwriter. Born to two blind parents, music was an essential part of his childhood and was an alternate means of communication between Fitzsimmons and his parents. Fitzsimmons began playing the piano and trombone at a very young age, and learned the guitar somewhere along the way. “[My parents] wanted me to be pretty multi-lingual and be able to speak with a wide variety of instruments.” While continuing to pursue music as a side hobby, Fitzsimmons became a trained counselor and began working in the mental health field. Eventually, he began to see music as a better vessel for therapy and focused his fulltime efforts on crafting deep and meaningful songs.
In a recent interview with Fitzsimmons, we discussed, his 2008 album “The Sparrow and The Crow” serving as an apology to his ex-wife, his trademark beard, and why he gave up music snobbery.
The highly anticipated collaborative album by producer/musician Quantic (Will Holland) and Alice Russell has finally been released on Tru Thoughts Recordings. Although Quantic is most known for spinning his innovative blend of drum and bass Latin beats, the multicultural album intertwines soul, blues, gospel and folk, and is finally tied together by the Latin swing of the Combo Bárbaro band.
We kidnapped the two musicians to find out the history behind what led to their current project and where they are now as musicians.
Alexz Johnson has been singing for as long as she can remember, treating her family to living room concerts at the age of three. When she turned twelve, Johnson marched into a talent agency and belted out a song. Before long, she had earned a prominent role on Disney’s So Weird. In 2004, Johnson sent in audition tapes to the producers of Degrassi: The Next Generation and was cast as the lead role of Jude Harrison in their music-oriented Instant Star. She began to write original songs for the show’s soundtrack. Her singing career earned her a deal with Capitol Records and a stint with Epic Records, which eventually fell through after the label president was shifted to a different sector in 2009.
After her adventures with the corporate music world, Johnson has decided to take her music career into her own hands. “I feel stronger than ever because I’m doing it on my own terms, you’re so humble and it’s so about the music that there is nothing else to hide behind,” she explains. Johnson, who is planning a tour in support of her new EP, Skipping Stone, recently enlisted the help of fans to raise funds via a Kickstarter campaign. She asked for $30,000 and hit her entire goal… in one day!
ChinaShop sat down with Johnson to discuss writing Skipping Stone with her former boyfriend, collecting fan confessions on her Twitter, and plans for the upcoming tour.
DJ LayzeeBoy Heads to National Finals
Allston, MA – In the second Red Bull Thre3Style battle to hit Boston, over 400 attendees sold out the Brighton Music Hall Thursday to check out eight local DJ’s shooting for audience admiration and the chance to be named the champion. Each DJ put down one electrifying set after another, but it was DJ LayzeeBoy’s closing set that left the crowd cheering and the judges impressed.
Florence & the Machine drop their 3rd album and first live one, to rave reviews… Rolling Stones have a live 1975 concert remaster, L.A. Friday (released last week, my bad)… Happy speed-metalers Dragonforce release their first album with Marc Hudson… Space rockers Spiritualized give up their long-awaited follow-up to Songs in A&E, Sweet Heart, Sweet Light. Bye
Choir of Young Believers – Rhine Gold
Alex Winston – King Con
Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Lissy Trullie – Lissy Trullie
Graham Coxon – A+E
Silje Nergaard – Unclouded
Kal – CRF
Keaton Henson – Dear…
Amadou & Mariam – Folila
Rolling Stones – L.A. Friday
Dragonforce – The Power Within
Florence & the Machine – MTV Unplugged
Gemini – Fire Inside
Simone Felice – Simone Felice
M. Ward – A Wasteland Companion
Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
Bonnie Raitt – Slipstream
Black Dice – Mr. Impossible
D.B.S. Rule #1 – whenever possible, take the party to the people, take the party to the streets. That is exactly what Death by Stereo did in Austin this year during their Slidebar showcase at Darwin’s Pub on 6th Street; They took things outside.
The 5 piece O.C. hardcore punk outfit, who’ve been in the game since ’96 and weathered their fair share of lineup changes (judging by the color-coded line-graph members chart on their wiki page), are not afraid to cause a raucous and have a grand time, as was documented by the video and pictures from their recent SX performance (after the jump).
Cursive’s latest album, I Am Gemini is a 12-song journey through the trials and tribulations of two conjoined twins, Cassius and Pollock. The brothers, separated at birth, meet for the first time, and struggle through accepting their past as reality. Vocalist Tim Kasher explains that the vision for the band’s seventh studio album stemmed from an interest he’s had in exploring the idea of multiple personalities. The story then took on a life of it’s own and morphed into an album long musical centered upon the conflicted siblings.
Fresh into a headlining spring tour, Cursive recently performed at L.A.’s Troubadour, treating fans to a mixture of hits and tracks off of their latest studio masterpiece. Following the show, Kasher gave us the behind-the-scenes scoop on recording I Am Gemini. We also discussed his seduction techniques, appreciation for Top 40 radio, and what he’s currently writing on the side of Cursive.
Ad astra per aspera. Translated it means “to the stars, through difficulty,” and if you were born and raised in Kansas—where the Latin phrase is emblazoned around the perimeter of the state seal—you know the words well. For Shevy Smith, it’s become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the stars have seemed just out of reach for maybe a bit too long. A professional, published songwriter since the age of 14 and a graduate of Nashville’s musical academy of hard knocks, Smith has logged tens of thousands of miles on her truck and played more coffee houses in more US towns than most musicians twice her age. It’s fitting that she’s titled her latest full-length after the motto she’s become so familiar with.
Produced with her husband, Mike Bucher, Ad Astra features 13 songs that showcase the songwriting skills of someone who’s not only lived her lyrics, but persevered through their challenges. “Chemical Church” is a powerful pop ballad steeped in that classic Nashville style, while a track like “Narrow In The North” features just enough backsliding guitar and vocal processing to keep it off the straight and narrow. Then there’s the big time rock out on the title track, along with the Sunday drive bliss of “Truckee,” a live performance of which you can check out after the jump.
We put out a long distance call to Topanga Canyon—a noted California locale that so many famed West Coast singer/songwriters have called home —to talk with Smith about her new record, the “Girls With Guitars” program she developed, and what it’s like to wake up every morning next to your producer.
Fans of the dubstep and electronic dance music scene are itching to snag a piece of “Feed Me With Teeth,” the 2012 USA/Canada tour of DJ Feed Me (AKA Jon Gooch). Although English DJ/producer Gooch is more widely known for his successful drum and bass project known as Spor, Feed Me has already laid down several successful releases on Deadmau5’s renowned record label, Mau5trap. Mau5trap is lauded for having helped launch some of the best in electronic music within the past three years.