Hi, my name is Alex and I'm a musician living in Arizona. I like to play in lots of bands. I was really excited when Ashley asked me to be a part of something so awesome, and I had a lot of fun making my mix, so I hope you enjoy it! First, here is a little about the music I'm currently doing:
Hello The Mind Control - HTMC has been around for some time now. I just recently joined the band on bass towards the end of 2010. Since then, we started recording a new full length album that's almost ready to be mixed, mastered, and shared with the masses! I'm really happy to be a part of it. We also recently shot a music video for the song "Clean" where we spoofed Eddie Murphy's music video for "
Party All The Time." You can watch it
here. The last album, Total War, can be streamed/purchased
here. A tour is also being planned for this summer in August.
Upcoming shows:
April 22nd-Hard Rock Cafe in Phoenix w/ KINCH
Rough Tough Dynamite - RTD is a rock n roll band that I play drums for that started in late 2009. We currently are working on an EP and some music videos to go a long with it. It should be done by The Real Coachella Festival. For more info, please visit
www.roughtoughdynamite.com Upcoming shows:
Dogbreth - DxBx is a pop punk band bassed out of Phoenix, and is lead by Tristan Jemsek. He writes really great fun and catchy jams. I have been a fan of his music for some time now and was stoked when he asked me to drums for the live band. Since I joined the group, there have been several line up changes, and the band is currently featuring Hello The Mind Control front man Tyler Broderick on bass. A full length album featuring the full band is going to be recorded sometime next month. For now, I suggest you check out some his acoustic jams, which can be downloaded for free
here. A tour is also being scheduled for this summer in August.
Upcoming shows:
April 2nd-House Show, Tucson AZ (see facbook page for more info)
Bicycle Voice- BV is a project that was started by Meg Webb, who lives in SLC Utah. I "met" Meg via the internet back in the days when myspace was still a relevant site for music. Since then, we have played some shows together and recorded an album she started that I helped finish by emailing tracks back and forth to each other. That album and be streamed/downloaded
here. It features a bonus track that we recorded in my bedroom when she visited AZ, and it is the only recorded song we have where we were both in the same room during the recording process. A possible upcoming show might be happening at Kilby Court in Utah on May 10th, and we might start recording the next album then and when she comes back down to AZ at the end of May.
MAN-CAT - MAN-CAT is a sampling/art based project. We take samples from songs and recycle them into new songs, using Top 40 song lyrics pushed multiple times through the Google translator. The live band features fellow RTD members Alex Benson on lead vocals and keys, Corey Dillier on guitar, and myself on bass. MAN-CAT is also very much a collaborative effort, and fellow musicians/artists are encouraged to help
contribute in whatever ways they can. An attempt to shut MAN-CAT down for its illegal use of sampling and copyright violations are being headed by the
AAI (Association for ARtistic integrity). More info on that can be found at
keepmusicsafe.org MAN-CAT also has a free EP which can be downloaded
here.
Upcoming shows:
That's about it for now, but it seems like a new project or something is always in the works. I'm also going to be involved with some music stuff in AZ with some of my favorite artists within the upcoming months. I'm excited to have more info about that to share soon. A website is being made to keep it all in some sort of order, but for now all the info can be found on my
twitter, or if you wanted to add me on
facebook that would be great!
But enough of that stuff, on to the mix! If you have made it all the way to this point, thanks for hanging in there with me. There is no particular theme to my mix. It is just a handful of some of my favorite artists and songs right now, some newer, some a bit older. My hope is that you might stubble across one or two that you have never heard of before! Enjoy!
1. Tennis - "Marathon"
Tennis is a really fun band to listen to. I got the chance to see them live recently at The Rhythm Room and they are amazing. I've had their album "Cape Dory" on repeat for the past 4 months or so. This is my favorite track of that album:
2. Pretty & Nice - "Piranha"
I first heard of Pretty & Nice a few years ago when Back Ted N-Ted opened for them at the Modified Arts. They have since become one of my all time favorite bands. Their album Get Young is still one I am constantly listening to. They are also an exciting band to see live. I've been fortunate enough to catch them the handful of times they have come back to AZ since I first saw them. I hope they come back soon. The song "Piranha" has an amazingly catchy chours with bass for days. I always find myself playing along to it at home.
3. Pet Lions - "Propeller Plane"
I came across this band during one of my usual music blog searches which I so frequently do to find new music. Their Soft Right EP is simply fantastic and this is my favorite track off it:
4. The Spinto Band - "Summer Grof"
I have always been aware of these guys, but I didn't really fall in love with their music until after I saw them live. They are an incredible group of musicians and are now one of my favorite bands. Their album Nice and Nicely Done is definitely my favorite, but I chose this song of their album Moonwink because it is the one I have been jamming the most recently:
5. Kinch - "45 Minutes"
Kinch is hands down one of my favorite bands. I first heard of them a few years back while watching some late night local access music show. They said they had a free album up for free download and the rest is history. The best part about these guys is that they get better every single time I see them. That is a hard thing for any band to accomplish, but I have seen these guys live enough times over the years to know it's true. Their next full length album is going to be amazing, and this is my favorite song from it that they have been playing live. I recorded this at the Rhythm Room when they opened for The Thermals:
6. Andrew Jackson Jihad - "People II: The Reckoning"
I don't think it's possible for me to express just how much I love this band. Sean and Ben are two of the nicest people I have ever met and they are by far two of my all time favorite song writers. I love that it is really simplistic and straight forward, and also how truthful and honest the lyrics are. Some of my favorite shows I have ever played have been with this guys. With such a large and amazing discography, it was hard to just pick one song, but I keep coming back to this one as being one of my favorites by them:
7. Tugboat - "Ocean to Ocean"
Tugboat is another local AZ band that I just can't get enough of. I first heard of them back in 2008 when I played a show with them at The Modified Arts. Frontman Wayne Jones is one of my favorite song writers, I love how energetic his music is and how suddenly each song can change with little warning. I know Wayne is currently playing bass for KINCH, but I hope he takes Tugboat back into the studio soon to finish the bands upcoming full length album that I am dying to hear! This is the first recorded song I heard from them that kept me coming back for more:
8. Alvin Band - "Temple Pressure"
Alvin Band is the solo project of Miniature Tigers drummer Rick Schaier. Rick is an amazing song writer and musician. I just got to see him perform some of the songs live at the recent Miniature Tigers show in Phoenix. I'm really looking forward to his next album, but I still can't get enough of Mantis Preying. I'm still blown away that he recorded the entire thing using nothing but his mouth! This is my favorite song from that album, and the music video is simply fantastic:
9. Jukebox The Ghost - "Half Crazy"
I had never heard of this band until sometime in March of last year. I flew out to New York to see the Miniature Tigers play at The Bowery Ballroom. Jukebox The Ghost was one of the other bands on the bill, and they completely blew me away. I also got a chance to meet them and they are some of the nicest guys around. Ben Thornewill is one of the most talented piano players I have ever seen. They played this song "Half Crazy" and was hooked, I had it on repeat in my head for months after the show. I couldn't wait to hear it again on their album that they released a few months after the show:
10. Back Ted N-Ted - "Marry Me"
Back Ted N-Ted quickly become one of my favorite bands of all time over the last few years. I love Ryan Breen's songwriting, and I was really upset when I heard he was moving to New York. He is one of the nicest people I've ever meet, and I can't express how much I miss seeing him play live. I can't think of funner times I've had at shows then dancing along to his music. I'm not really sure what he is currently doing musically, but whatever it is, I will always be a fan. I hope he never stops doing music and will play a show in AZ soon! I find the lyrics of his songs extremly fun and often time relatable. This song "Marry Me" is one of my favorites of his, and the first two lines it are probably the best example of that. I've had them stuck on an infinite loop in my head recently. The version of the song I have here is off the first promotional copy of his full length CD, not the final version of The Mirror that went up on iTunes. Both sound great, but I feel that he did a better job of capturing his live sound and energy on this one, which is what I miss the most about this project:
11. The Cast Members - "Main Street U.S.A."
The Cast Members is a project started by HTMC front man Tyler Broderick and fellow AZ artist Matt Kimball. Tyler is notorious for his love of Disneyland, and they two recently recorded an entire album based on that fact. Unfortunately, Matt moved away in February and the Cast Members played their first and only show at his farewell show. However, if you dig what you hear, the album is going to be made available for free download hopefully very soon:
12. Little Brother Mojo - "Underwater Complex"
Little Brother Mojo is another local band out of AZ that i wish more people were aware of. They are an incredible group of musicians. All three members are currently taking recording classes at MCC and they do all their recording themselves. I don't think anyone is a bigger fan of what they are doing than me, but I feel it's time more people started listening to these guys! This is a song of a recent split they did with a band called Instructions:
13. Active Child - "I'm In Your Church at Night"
I only recently discovered Active Child, but I can't get enough of it. It's really relaxing stuff, and reminds me a lot of Animal Collective. This is my favorite song, and this music video is just amazing:
14. ROAR - "Christmas Kids"
Those familiar with local AZ might remember Owen Evans from the band Asleep in the Sea, or from his appearances on the Andrew Jackson Jihad albums on banjo or drums. His new project ROAR is the best band out of Arizona right now that you probably haven't heard of. He has an EP our right now called I Can't Handle Change and it is based on the lives of Phil and Ronnie Spector. My hands down favorite song of all time right now is "Christmas Kids." It is super catchy and danceable, but is supper depressing lyrically. I think that is what I like most about it, that happy sound, covered in something really dark and sad.
15. The Californian - "NaNaNA"
Like most people, I was really sad when I heard Phantom Planet was on "hiatus". I was super excited though to learn that PP guitarist Darren Robinson was going to be playing guitar for Miniature Tigers. I got the chance to meet him back when I was helping out at the old Modern Art office in Phoenix however and whenever I could. I was pretty bummed again when he left Mini T's, but I was excited to hear about his new group The Californian. They came to AZ a little while ago and I got a chance to catch up with Darren for the first time in years. I was blown away that he remembered who I was and my full name to boot. He is seriously a class act and an incredibly talented musician. The Californian's EP has only 4 songs, but they are all so good, it was hard to pick just one! They are all full of great surf rock vibes and great vocal harmonies. I'm really looking forward to a longer release from these guys. I choose this song cause I love the drum part, and the chorus is really catchy, it's hard not to sing along to it every time!
16. The Kris Special - "Poor Boy In A Field"
I had never heard of this band until last June when I played a show with them at The Trunk Space. They have since become one of my favorite bands, and their album Alone Feels like a Hotel Room is one of my all time favorites for sure. I highly recommend you check it out. Their drummer Nick Schutz is an incredibly talented musician, he is amazing to watch live. As a drummer, I hope to one day have half the the creativity he displays every time he gets behind the kit. Nick and fellow bandmate Anne Pointer are two of the nicest people I've ever met, and I hope to play many more shows with these guys in the future! Nick says the next album is going to be a million times better, and that makes waiting to hear with what they have in store for us even harder!
17. The Paddle Boat - "One Legs"
I was lucky enough to get to play a show with The Paddle Boat and Andrew Jackson Jihad in January of 2010. They put on a truly amazing set. Their album I Wonder if the Water Ever Tires of the Sea has still been holding up as one of my favorites of all time. I heard they have been working on a new album that I can't wait to hear. I'm sure it's going to be just as amazing.
18. Miniature Tigers - "Annie Oakley"
If you have ever met me, you probably already know just how much I really love this band. I can't get enough of their unique sound and ear pleasing vocal harmonies/melodies. Their debut full length album Tell It To The Volcano will forever be one of my favorites. Frontman Charlie Brand is without a doubt one of my all time favorite song writers. My favorite part though of Brand's writing is his lyrics. I feel like I have never truly connected to another persons words on so many levels since Weezer's Blue album. He often finds the simplest way to express things I think in ways I never would have imagined. I think this song is the best example of that, the chorus always seems to be on repeat in my head.
Well, that's it, hope you had as much fun listening to my mix as I did making it. I hope I can do another one soon! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ajcardwe@asu.edu
-alex
Hello fellow music lovers,