Marianas Trench- Bogarts-Cincinnati, OH

What kind of band would you expect with a name like Marianas Trench? Go ahead and throw that away cause unless you are intimately familiar with them I can just about guarantee that you are wrong. I had this same experience this past week.  I went in not entirely knowing what to expect, outside of streaming a few songs the week before. The band had been highly recommended to me by Thomas Nassiff on the Encore podcast which of which I am a devout weekly listener.  A lot of my tastes align with his both being huge Yellowcard and Rise Against fans a different points in our lives. 

However, I digress, after arriving fashionably late to the show I settled in towards the back of the room due to my giant stature.  (I'm 6'-5" and am often asked if I play basketball, which I do.) 

The opening act was Mainland, hailing from New York City was a energetic bunch of guys in their twenty's, which they felt the need to share with the crowd at one point in the show.  Their repetitious pop hooks often lead into guitar solos by the lead singer.  At times the solos were a little belabored and drawn out.  The vocals were reminiscent of the Strokes and easy to follow along and understand. The most notable song was Outcast which is also their most well known song.  But overall the band was an enjoyable pop rock band that I could see myself coming back to.   

The intermission built up the suspense of the unknown of what was to come with Marianas Trench.  The interlude songs featured some lighter fare such as Michael Jackson which I rarely heard between sets at most concerts I frequent.  

Once the stage was set the lights went down and the dramatic ensemble began. At first you could barely make out the large drumset perched higher up on a platform in the middle of the stage. Out comes the band with much dramatic flare and lights.  The lead singer had some type of hood or scarf over his head at first.  I thought this was different but figured that it was more for dramatic effect and wrote it off as being showy.  Once the music began and the lights came up a little I could more clearly make out the band and how they were dressed.  Lets just say some of the guys showed a little more skin than most.  But that was just the beginning.  They opened with their new track Astoria which is the title track for their new album.  The hooks Marianas Trench writes are unparalleled and absolutely catchy.  Many of the early tracks are a nod to the music of the 1980's and inspired by Michael Jackson.  Josh Ramsay's vocal range was impressive and often stayed in the higher octaves through out much of the show.  He was engaging between songs and had a great sense of stage presence in that regard and really knew how to talk to the crowd.  

One of the really unique attributes of Marianas Trench was their ability to harmonize vocals thorugh out the entire night.  Many artists can pull this off in the studio but it is an absolutely different animal to perform those on stage during a live show.  One song that really stood out to me was Fallout, I would even go as far as to say that it sounded better live than it does recorded.  This was a strong motif through the performance and really speaks highly to the the vocal abilities of the Matt and Mike who were often harmonizing behind Josh's lead vocals.  

One of the final songs was Pop 101 which is a nod to Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe which Josh co-wrote. In Pop 101 he, at times comically, breaks down the structure of a pop song and inspires the fact that it really wasn't that hard and that modern pop can be very formulaic and cookie cutter.  A statement which I would not disagree with.  

The encore did not fail to disappoint as Josh performed an acoustic version of Good to You and was followed up with Haven't Had Enough. The final number culminated with a very quick flashing of lights so much so that it was seizure inducing to a poor girl that was standing near me who went into epileptic shock during this display.  Bogart's professional staff was quickly on the situation and a squad car was there within an matter of minutes.  Her health is definitely in my thoughts and prayers as we left before she recovered.  

Returning to the concert, Marianas Trench provided me with a very entertaining evening of powerful pop hooks and wonderfully harmonized vocals.  Their stage presence was top notch as they incorporated dress, lights, movement and the crowd into their whole performance.  It was definitely worth it to check out the show especially since they shattered my expectations of a generic or slightly better than average pop rock group.  I would highly recommend checking them out if given the chance.  They are a critically acclaimed band in their home country of Canada and it is only a matter of time before the US catches on and they become even bigger.  

Your Career is Not an Instant Download

Life is the continuous accumulation of experiences and the application of these experiences when you are faced with new challenges. I am quickly learning this at my new job. I am not going to become a principal owner in one month, not one year and not even five years. In order to more fully develop and become proficient in a trade or profession you must work at it daily.
In this digital age of instant downloads, automatic paring, and seamless connections we have to take time to develop other aspects of our mind and skill set. 
It can be so tempting to quickly hop from one task to the next trying to check items off your to do list. However if the time is never taken to learn how to do them correctly the first time around you may never be able to progress in your knowledge base for that particular subject. We must ask questions of ourselves, of the process and even of our mentors. Maybe the procedure can be improved upon, maybe they were taught incorrectly, maybe you still don't understand fundamental concepts upon which your major was based. And that's okay, if you never ask then you will never know and you will never improve.
I challenge you to ask questions in your job. It may be seemingly mundane or simple or very engaging and complex but you will never get better if you do not ask:  Why?

Living Life in the Present

Embrace the moment.
You only live once.
Live your life.
...
The list goes on and on of all the cliche sayings that we may experience on a daily basis. Advertising media promotes and claims a freeing and individualized experience by buying or using their product. So many of us may succumb to this desire to live to the fullest and more fully connect with those around us whether they are celebrities who don't even know your name or your next door neighbor who has known your family for twenty years.

 We have made such great advanced in technology in the last few years that we are at the point where we can instantly queue up any number of social media websites and get an update from five hundred of your closest friends.  In concept it sounds great and in many ways it can be great.  For example, my dad's family has spread out across the country and email and social media are great for quickly connecting with them or sending them a message that can be read at their convenience even though they are three time zones behind us. Social media can be great at uniting us in that concept, however just as equally strong it can divide us from those same people. We may get together with them one or two times a year depending on the occasion. At those family gatherings when there is a lull in the conversation or a moment that you may find dis-interesting you may be tempted to whip out your phone and feel like you are connecting with someone by keeping up with their news feed. Even though the people you are clicking on and liking their photos are people you see more often than the distant family you feel connected to someone.

I challenge you to be present in the moment in which you are in.  You may think it sounds easy but in this new interconnected age we too often find ourselves living our lives though a five inch phone screen.  We are losing the ability to interact with those around us and it is disturbing.  The people in your life are only around you for a limited amount of time, you are only around for a limited amount of time.  The next time you find yourself tempted to catch up on social media ask yourself, who do I have right here with me that I should be catching up with.  Think of how much better people would know their co-workers, their friends, and even their immediate family.

Being present doesn't have to be hard, just be observant and engaged. Imagine if you had something you felt important to share with someone, wouldn't you want their full and undivided attention or would you rather they be nodding halfheartedly while they stare at the three hundred dollar device they constantly have on their person.  Your notifications will be there waiting for you, the other person may not.  Try putting down your phone and being present in the environment you are in, you may be surprised what you don't know about those closest to you.

Don't blame the radio, blame the record companies

Just because a song is on the radio does not mean it is good. There can be many factors that lead to radio play.
The first is obvious, availability, I could write the greatest song of all time and if I hid it in my sock drawer, it would not get played on the radio.  The same applies to this blog, I could write the most perceptive reviews of music but never publish them and they would never go viral.  Availability is manifested in several ways:

Commercials
TV Shows
Movies
Retail
Radio
Radio
Radio
...Everywhere

"Radio, one of the original mass mediums, continues to play a big part in the lives of Americans everywhere—with 243 million Americans listening weekly. That means more than 91% of Americans (age 12 or older) are tuning in each week." 

From: STATE OF THE MEDIA: AUDIO TODAY—HOW AMERICA LISTENS on Nielsen.com

Think about this too, in the internet age especially, the music industry is one of the most popular art forms on the planet.  There is a quick dollar to be made in the music industry.

$till someone with the money needs to think its a good idea if we are going to be surrounded by this song everyday.

The song may be pushed to the radio by a bigger record label that gets a nice cut of profits if the song is a hit.  Though it is illegal to directly do this, I have no doubt that there are 'incentives' between the radio station and record company.

In the words of the American ska band Reel Big Fish, "radio plays what they want you to hear." I always find it funny that was the one song that really got big for them and it was about selling out as artists and the payola scandals that were going on in the early 90's.

Carly Rae Jepsen

Lets take Carly Rae Jepsen for example.  Backed by, Justin Beiber, the the most notorious Canadian pop star since Celine Dion.  All it took for her to blow up was for Beiber and his manager to think that making her into a megastar was a good idea.

There is research that suggests that people may experience a Musical Stockholm Syndrome  of sorts.  Basically you become so familiar with the song that you start to associate different experiences to it and become to think there is a correlation between your enjoyment and that song.

The next factor is whether the band had previously written well received (not necessarily good) songs. After a band makes its breakthrough to radio, it may be pressured by their label or managers to top their last single and write another successful song.  Creativity does not usually flourish when it is forced and this becomes apparent when bands are pressured to crank out hits.

Another common occurrence is the poppy-ness that some bands can adopt once they start getting radioplay or hits.  I am not saying that pop music is bad music, I am saying that dumbing down your music and making your lyrics generic is not usually a well received transition by most music critics.  I know I may be coming off as hipster supreme, but before just remember that we are all entitled to like what we want and dislike what we want for whatever reasons we choose, that is the beauty and curse of being an American.

In closing I'd like to thank Tom over at Music.Mic for giving me a lot of ideas to discuss in this blog.

2015.2.24-Silverstein-Bogarts-Cincinnati, OH

2015.2.24-Silverstein-Bogarts-Cincinnati, OH

Silverstein is now wrapping up their 10 year anniversary tour of Discovering the Waterfront (DTW). They brought along Major League, My Iron Lung, Beartooth, and Hands Like Houses (HLH).  Silverstein really does know whats up and wanted to do their best to promote current artists rather than those who they may have toured with ten years ago when DTW first came out.  Shane explained that through the Vans Warped Tour they became good friends with the guys from HLH.  For those of you who don't know HLH is a Post-Hardcore from Canberra, Australia.  Trenton Woodley's vocals were near studio quality when experienced in person. The guitars were flawless and they really got the crowd into it.  Crowd surfing and punch dancing frequently occurred and really primed the crowd for the headlining act.
It was actually my first chance to see Silverstein live and in concert.  The setlist was very well thought out. They started off with about 8 of their more recent and popular songs such as Massachusetts, Vices, and Stand Amid the Roar.  They also worked in A Midwestern State of Emergency which is off their new album that is set to be released in May 2015.  Midwestern State of Emergency is my personal favorite of the two singles that have been released to date.  The other being Milestone.

Milestone features more screams and less cleans, however it is unique from much of Silversteins collection in the sense that it takes a look back at their development as a band and their importance in the lives of their fans.  Shane routinely screams, "I am alive in everything I touch." Although I can appreciate where they are as a band and that they know the importance and role they play in the lives of their fans, I do not think that this will be one of my favorite tracks from their upcoming release. 

One of the most surprising things from seeing Silverstein was watching the energy of their Rhythm Guitarist Josh.  First of all, he is not the stereotypical looking rock guitarist.  No joke, he looked a lot like Mario. 

Above: Mario of the SuperMario Brothers

Above: Josh Bradford of Silverstein 

                     

All due respect to Josh, he backed up the crazy mustache with energy that I have never ever seen before out of a guitarist (excluding guitarists that are also lead singers i.e. Josh Scogin of The '68).  Bradford was constantly moving around, not in an ADD way but in an excited, I'm really amped up and having fun and I want you to have fun too kind of way.  His passion was obvious in the way he poured his heart into the show and got people excited in a way you often don't see out of a guitarist. We actually had the honor of meeting him after the show and couldn't express enough the appreciation that we had for his energetic performance.  

Above: Josh Scogin of '68 flying through the air

Returning our focus to the concert, once they played the newer hits, they then played DTW in its entirety ending with Call it Karma.  They did something that I have really come to enjoy with this last song too.  First they vacated the stage (as many bands do, although everyone knew it wasn't over without the one more song, one more song, one more song, one more song... you get the point.) Then Shane came out with an acoustic guitar and played the first half of the song on that.  The rest of the band eventually joined him onstage with their electrified instruments and finished off the song strong.  

Although I had to return to Louisville after the show, I knew it was well worth it to make the trek up to Cincinnati for this memorable experience.