Basic Vacation

They are young, inspired, passionate, and a little quirky. Contrary to what their name suggests, the guys of alternative- pop group Basic Vacation are not planning on relaxing their focus on their music any time soon.

Guitarist Jon Paul, drummer Mike Montalbano, and front man Chris Greatti have put school and other musical endeavors on hold, and they’re taking the time to focus all of their efforts on one thing. “…With opportunities like this, you just do it…” said Chris says.

Chris and Jon met through the indie-music scene in New York City, and started “throwing around ideas and songs,” according to Jon, “[We] realized that it could be kind of a fruitful thing for us to work together,” Chris says. They went on to develop the concept of the band, “Instead of going for a straight pop band, or something like that that a lot of our friends were doing, we wanted to do something with an alternative rock edge, while still having the pop foundation,” Chris says.

Twenty One Pilots: Album Review

Album: Vessel

A combination of poignant lyrics, intricate yet catchy beats, and an overwhelmingly upbeat and excited vibe has brought the duo Twenty One Pilots to the forefront of the up-and-coming music scene. Their first full-length release, Vessel, on pop/rock label Fueled By Ramen, is a 12-song album that shows the vast skill-set and liberties that the pair took during the creative process; not to mention, it rocks.

Moe Pope

By Alexandra Lane

Intrinsically motivated, quick-witted, Boston-based rapper Moe Pope has been in the game for the better part of the last decade, and is now releasing what is arguably his best work. It’s no surprise he just won the Boston Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Artist. Pope, who is known for his lyrical social commentary and casual persona, is creating old-school hip-hop in a new voice. Laying down rhymes on unique tracks of his own composition, Pope it upping the ante for up and coming hip-hop artists to not only talk about real issues, but to do it in an distinctive way. This month, we got the chance to talk with Pope about his upcoming album, his hometown influence, the music industry, and his creative process.

Aimee Bobruk

By Alexandra Lane

Aimee Bobruk, the artist behind the sultry, folk-rock album “baŸbrook” is not your average songwriter. Most of her recent music is the result of games, she tries not to include emotion, and she is a proponent of quantity over quality when it comes to songwriting.

Having studied music through the violin as a child, Bobruk was familiar with reading music but never had formal vocal training. In fact, following high school, she was following a totally different artistic path…as an actress.

Faris McReynolds: Shy, Natural, Brilliant.

By Alexandra Lane

Hes creating the art that comes naturally.

His approach to the creative process is “not looking for clues, not looking for answers, not looking to solve anything, and just going with it.” And as for production, “a lot of it is just pushing things with one finger.” That’s Faris McReynolds take on his aptly named projects Exdetectives and One Finger Riot.

Garrison Starr: Album Review

By Alexandra Lane

Album: Amateur

 

“Down-home Female Vocalist”

A strong but sweet voice, powerful lyrics, and a mixture of melodies, Garrison Starr has done it again with her seventh full-length release Amateur.  A strong female voice out of Memphis who has been in the industry for 15 years, Starr is no newbie to the music world, but her songs bring a fresh perspective on what it means to be folk.

Black Marble Spotlight

By Alexandra Lane

Ty Kube and Chris Stewart, the gents that create the synth inspired, Brooklyn based duo Black Marble, never thought they would be in a band together. Or at all.

The pair has only been playing together for a year, but has been good friends for the better part of a decade. Meeting by chance at a bar in the Lower East Side, Kube, who hails from Denver, CO and Stewart, from Woodbridge, VA became fast friends because of their mutual passion for the arts. A friendship, which developed into a musical partnership somewhat unexpectedly, because Kube says “Chris has never really done music before, I have only been in one other band, the fact that we are in a band together is kind of surprising…but good.”

Boston News Section: November ’12

Rock N’ Roll Rumble

By Alexandra Lane

Anngelle Wood is a need-to-know name if you are an independent artist from New England. Wood hosts the aptly named radio show ‘Boston Emissions’ whose sole purpose is to expose independent artists that hail from the Boston and New England area. She is also the mastermind behind the line-up for the annual Rock N’ Rumble independent artist showcase in Boston.