Recommended if you like: Tool, Dream Theater, Dredg
Recommended tracks: “Blow Wind! Bring Forth Storm!”, “State of Decay”

American Hollow, with their debut album Whisper Campaign, represents a genre and attitude that is underrepresented on Linescratchers as well as in modern music. With a somewhat aggressive and complex musical approach, coupled with soaring vocal passages and dense lyrical topics, American Hollow delivers atmospheric metal for the thinking rocker. Read the rest of this entry »

ROCK/SPACE ROCK

Some bands “explode” onto the local music scene; others are merely on the verge of “blowing up”. And some bands let the kinetic energy of their music speak for itself. Provo band Fictionist eschews such metaphorical pyrotechnics, focusing instead on honesty within the creative process, as well as creating a sense of community within the 6-member band. Read the rest of this entry »

American Hollow, a progressive rock/metal band from my beloved Eastern Kentucky, has been causing quite a stir in the Salt Lake City area. After leaving Kentucky for greener musical (but not literal) pastures, they found themselves in the Wasatch Front, looking for a new singer. They found one in Jimmy Holman, Latter-day Saint born and raised in Mississippi. A convert to the Church, Jim brought a broad swath of personal influences to American Hollow, including Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, and Bil Bev Devoe, as well as grunge bands such as Nirvana, Alice and Chains, and Soundgarden. Jimmy is an enthusiastic front-man and lyricist, and brings his spiritual nature to a complex and experimental band. Read the rest of this entry »

Retribution Gospel Choir – 2

Recommended if you like: Low, garage rock, awesome drum skillz

Recommended tracks: “Hide it Away,” “Poor Man’s Daughter,” “Bless Us All”

Click here to buy the album!

Last week I was waiting around on campus for my wife to pick me up, when I decided to step into a local CD shop, promising to myself that I wouldn’t spend any money we didn’t have. I’m sure you can all guess how that turned out. I walked out of the shop carrying a shiny new copy of Retribution Gospel Choir’s latest album, simply entitled 2.

I hadn’t heard any Retribution Gospel Choir, though I’m a big Low fan, and so the powerful, raw, and in-your-face tone came as a shock, really. I was pleasantly surprised. Read the rest of this entry »

The Steelwells have been nominated for three 2010 OC Music Awards (awards for artists living in Orange Country, California). They have been nominated for:

Best New Artist
Best Indie
Best Song for “El Capitan”

The winners will be announced on March 6th, 2010.

Linescratchers welcomes Gregg Hale, a new writer/reviewer from Salt Lake City. Gregg is a producer, engineer, songwriter, guitarist of Our Dark Horse and Last Response, and former guitarist of the band Spiritualized. He owns Handsome Rob Records and Lincoln Street Sound Studio in Salt Lake. – Syphax

Citizen Fate – Cranked To Overkill

Recommended if you like: depends on the song, but the album gave me thoughts of LA Guns and Oasis, with hints of Ocean Colour Scene, The Jam, and The Kinks.

The first two members of Citizen Fate that I met were lead guitar player Greg Fetzer and Drummer Johnathan Nay. After talking to them for a few minutes, I met bass player Mike Sharp. I could tell they were probably around 18 or 19, and it soon came to light that they were all in the same ward, and were getting ready to go on missions. The trio were soon joined by two other gentlemen who turned out to be Young Mens leaders in their ward. I thought it was nice that they had that type of support from their church leaders… I was only half right.

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Earl Kramer, hailing from Berkeley, CA, got together a few years ago with a friend and some acoustic guitars.  Since then their light-hearted but still complex folk has expanded into a full band, with an edge of rock infused with wit and charm.  Lime Colony released a long EP entitled The Advantage Of Getting There First, and is now busy recording another one.  Earl speaks in his interview about his conversion, the history of the band, and the songwriting process.

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Over the last two decades, the centerpiece and poster children of faithful Latter-day Saints in the world of Rock music have arguably been Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Minnesota Indie band Low. It’s hard to overestimate their influence on our culture and musicians. Living proof that the Church and a career in music aren’t mutually exclusive, Alan and Mimi have had their share of critical and fan acclaim, inspiring many Latter-day Saints, non-members, and even our very own Linescratchers itself.

Alan has more recently explored new sonic territory with The Black-Eyed Snakes and Retribution Gospel Choir. Alan was gracious enough to take time out of his schedule to be interviewed in this Linescratchers Exclusive, answering certain questions about being LDS in the music world for the first time.

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Listeners of our podcast (especially my Dad) have raved about an epic band from Southern California, and their song Bellyfish.  The band is Checkpoint Charley, and there’s plenty more where that came from.  Kevin Packard is the guitarist and singer from Checkpoint Charley, and he’s agreed to answer some questions for us about his faith and the new Checkpoint Charley album slated for next year. He talks frankly about the state of the world today and the state of LDS music.  You’ll find their songs are indeed epic, and as noted in the interview and our podcast, they draw from such diverse and bombastic influences as Weezer, Jellyfish, the Beach Boys, and Queen.  Sounds too good to be true?  Check them out. Featuring Ian Fowles and Kristin Lawrence.

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ROCKABILLY

Portland is blossoming like a rose with LDS talent.  It takes a special place to be able to support great LDS artists like Lindsey Pool, Canoe, KaRyn Daley, and the very retro and impeccably stylish Fossil Fools, and one need look no further than the 5th Friday Open Mic to see that Portland isn’t your ordinary LDS community.  Mark Simnitt is responsible for both Fossil Fools and the 5th Friday Open Mic, but don’t worry- just because he’s smarter and more talented than everyone doesn’t mean he’s not humble, because he is.  He said so himself.

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INDIE

In the musically fruitful land of Southern California (Fullerton to be exact), The Steelwells rock and work equally hard.  Being in the music industry isn’t child’s play.  Joey Winter, an avid blogger himself, recently had a conversation with Linescratchers about Indie rock, trying to balance music and faith, and making money.  The Steelwells blend influences from across the grand swath of the modern Indie world (and add personality of their own), but Joey stresses that the important thing is the symbiotic relationship between the lyrics and the music, and above all, the communication to the listener.

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PROG METAL

Rarely do we at Linescratchers get the chance to feature good prog from the LDS community. It seems like a rare genre nowadays, with its long instrumental passages, difficult technical pyrotechnics, and odd time signatures, and yet there is still a large and extremely loyal market for prog in the United States and Europe. This is why our interview with Brick Williams from Utah-based prog metal band Hourglass is such a treat. Brick is a full-time guitar instructor in the Salt Lake area (with somewhere between 55 and 60 students a week!) and a full-time songwriter, guitarist, and lyricist for Hourglass. It’s a tough job, but we’re glad somebody’s doing it.

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ROCK/POP

Most conversations about popular LDS musicians in the West nowadays seem to always land on Cary Judd.  Originally from Southern California but now living in the wilderness of Wyoming, Cary’s cerebral yet always accessible tunes satisfy the prog fan and pop fan alike.  His newest album is Goodnight Human, but to really experience Cary Judd, you need to see a live show.  For those deep in the Mission Field, he’s also released a live (free) downloadable album from his MySpace.  His website is www.caryjudd.com, and you might take notice that he’s worked with Linescratcher Scot Alexander from Dishwalla.

To find Cary Judd on iTunes, click here.

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INDIE/ROCK/DARK POP

Steve Brown tries to make things not sound horrible. He certainly knows his way around a bass, and has had quite a career playing with several bands including Pinchpoint, Chigger, and The Arrogants. He currently owns and operates a small recording studio while playing bass for The Northern Labour Party. They have a sound that is familiar yet foreign, and have an EP coming out very soon. Steve has several things to say about touring, kids, and the great monetary rewards of being a recording engineer (and he’s only been thrown out of ONE band for being Mormon).

To find The Northern Labour Party on iTunes, click here.

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ALTERNATIVE/ROCK/ACOUSTIC

Annelise LeCheminant brings an eclectic musical landscape to the table. She definitely doesn’t fall into her own ruts like many musicians- she is constantly experimenting with new sounds and new ideas. Her music is mature and universal, and the listener is benefited through her self-discovery. There truly is “a song for everyone” in her catalog. She will be having a CD release party for her new album Driven on January 10th, so go see what the fuss is about. It will be held at:

The Leona Wagner Black Box
(Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center)
138 West 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT
Admission: $15 General Admission
With Special Guest: Scott Foster

Tickets are available at www.arttix.org, all ArtTix locations, or by calling 801-355-ARTS.
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