Song Of The Week: 6/15/14

Song: "Shit Outta Luck"

Artist: The Real McKenzies

Album: "Oot & Aboot"

Year: 2003



"Shit Outta Luck" is a song that appears to be about finding yourself in a situation that you can't get out of. It's a tongue in cheek kind of song about maybe being in a drunken stupor then waking up in the morning and finding yourself in a compromising position. It's a definite, "what the fuck did I do?" type of song where in the end, well, you're "shit outta luck"!! The Real McKenzies formed as a band back in 1992, hailing from Vancouver, Canada. Though the band gets lumped in with fellow celtic punk bands such as the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, they are, in fact, a Scottish punk band. In 1995, the band dropped their self titled debut album, "The Real McKenzies". This album featured several covers of traditional Scottish songs such as "Loch Lomond", "Skye Boat Song" and "My Bonnie". In 1998, the band released "Clash Of The Tartans" featuring the single "Mainland" as well as Scot cover songs, "Scots Wha' Ha'e" and "Auld Lang Syne". 2001 saw the band release their third album, "Loch'd & Loaded". In 2002, The Real McKenzies released their very first live album entitled "Pissed Tae Th' Gills". In 2003, "Oot & Aboot" was released featuring a cover of the traditional Scot song "Ye Banks And Braes". By 2005, The Real McKenzies signed up with legendary punk rock label Fat Wreck Chords and released "10,000 Shots". This album featured the Scottish cover "Farewell To Nova Scotia" as well as the song "Pour Decisions", one of the band's more popular songs. "Pour Decisions" is based on the same melody line as the famous Monty Python comedy sketch "The Lumberjack Song". In 2008, the band released "Off The Leash" which featured the singles "Chip" and "Drink Some More". 2010 saw The Real McKenzies release their second live album called "Shine Not Burn". This was an acoustic show that was recorded in a pub in Germany. In 2012, The Real McKenzies dropped their latest album, "Westwinds". This album featured the song "The Tempest" and "Barrett's Privateers", the latter which is basically a modern Canadian drinking song. Currently, as of December of 2013, The Real McKenzies have finished recording all the music for a new album and it is ready to be mixed and mastered so most likely, a new album should be on it's way either by the end of summer or the fall of 2014. There is a little misconception out there about The Real McKenzies that they jumped on the coattails of other Celtic punk bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys but the fact is that The Real McKenzies were a band some four or five years before those other to bands existed plus, as I said earlier, where the Dropkicks and Flogging Molly celebrate their Irish roots, The Real McKenzies wear their Scottish roots on their sleeves. Either way, if you are looking for a band to set the mood for having a great time, soaking up some brews in a local pub with your friends, well, The Real McKenzies can surely provide that soundtrack for you.

Song Of The Week: 6/8/14

Song: "No Regrets"

Artist: Ignite

Album: "A Place Called Home"

Year: 2000



"No Regrets". I'm not sure if Ignite frontman Zoli Teglas has children, but "No Regrets" seems to be a song about him feeling that he has missed too much, or not given enough of himself to them. He battles with this fact and vows to change. It seems like he doesn't want to have regrets in future years when he could have made the changes to himself which would prevent them from happening. Ignite formed as a band back in 1993, hailing from Orange County, California. The band was initially signed by Lost & Found Records and in 1994 released their debut album, "Scarred For Life". In 1995, the band released the EP "In My Time". This year also saw the band release "Family", which would later be distributed by Conversion Records under the new title, "Call On My Brothers". In 1996, Ignite released a split EP with Good Riddance. A compilation called "Straight Ahead" was also released that year and basically featured all of "In My Time" and select tracks from "Scarred For Life". Later in '96, the band released "Past Our Means", an EP through Revelation Records. 2000 saw Ignite have their biggest breakthrough commercially with the release of "A Place Called Home". Already having a melodic hardcore cult following, this album spread the band's appeal to a wider audience. 2006 saw the band release "Our Darkest Days" through Abacus Recordings. This album featured the single "Bleeding" as well as a cover of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday". In the ten years between 2000 and 2010, recording and touring was a bit sporadic for Ignite, having only released two albums in that decade. In 2010, Zoli Teglas agreed to join legendary punk icons Pennywise after their lead singer Jim Lindberg decided to part ways with that band. In May of 2012, Pennywise released "All Or Nothing", the first and only album with Teglas featured on vocals. In the summer of 2012, "Our Darkest Days Live" was released, a DVD featuring live Ignite footage. By October of 2012, back issues were forcing Teglas to miss more and more Pennywise shows and eventually Lindberg rejoined Pennywise leaving Zoli to put his focus back on Ignite. Currently, as of 2014, Ignite is officially in the recording studio working on their long anticipated follow up to "Our Darkest Days". No release date has been released as of yet. If you are a fan of bands like Pennywise, Bad Religion and Good Riddance, then Ignite would be right in your wheelhouse. Much like those three bands, Ignite plays a melodic hardcore brand of punk rock with themes that take on various political and social issues. Looking forward to hearing new music from this solid and talented band.

Song Of The Week: 6/1/14

Song: "Setting Forth"

Artist: Eddie Vedder

Album: "Water On The Road" DVD

Year: 2011



"Setting Forth" is a song that appears to be about embarking on a new journey in life. This song originally appeared on the 2011 soundtrack to the movie "Into The Wild". "Setting Forth" is basically the main character deciding to stop living his normal life and to travel the country, basically living off the land. No particular goal, just to soak everything around him in on his journey. It's kind of a liberating song. Eddie Vedder, of course, is most famous as being the lead singer of Seattle's Pearl Jam. About 1984, Eddie began recording demo tapes and really focusing on music. He joined many San Diego scene bands in the mid 80's such as Surf And Destroy, The Butts and Indian Style, which features Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine fame on drums. In 1988, Vedder hooked up with Bad Radio as their lead singer. This band featured a funk rock style, much in the same vein as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 1990 was a whirlwind year for Vedder. He befriended Jack Irons, drummer of the Chili Peppers at the time. Irons of course gave Eddie a demo tape from Stone Gossard, formerly of Mother Love Bone. Eddie recorded vocals over the tracks which would eventually become "Alive", "Footsteps" and "Once" and the rest is musical history! In 1991, before Pearl Jam released their mega hit album "Ten", Vedder collaborated with Temple Of The Dog, which featured Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready and Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden. He provided vocals to the grunge mega hit "Hunger Strike". In the early 90's, Pearl Jam was riding high at the top of the musical mountain. The "grunge" explosion out of the Pacific Northwest, which also featured Nirvana, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden was all the rage. With early albums "Ten", "VS" and "Vitalogy", Pearl Jam's popularity was growing out of control, much to the dismay of a band that wanted people to focus on their musical content, not their fashion statement. As the 90's ended and the 2000's began, the grunge movement began losing some steam. But while PJ's counterparts were breaking up or doing other things, Vedder and the boys remained to carry the grunge torch. In fact, they became tighter and tighter as the mid to late 2000's came. Pearl Jam members began to do solo/side projects as the years have gone by. Eddie began to perform solo tours going back to 1999. Vedder was featured on several soundtracks, both as a solo artist and as a member of Pearl Jam. Some of those soundtracks are 1995's "Dead Man Walking" featuring the song "Dead Man", 2001's "I Am Sam" featuring a cover of the Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", 2003's "Big Fish" featuring "Man Of The Hour", 2007's "Body Of War" featuring "No More", 2010's "Reign Over Me" featuring a cover of The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me" and 2010's "Eat Pray Love" featuring "Better Days". In 2007, director Sean Penn asked Vedder to do the entire soundtrack for his movie "Into The Wild". This turned out to be Eddie's first solo effort basically, featuring the songs "Hard Sun", "Society", "Guaranteed" and "Rise". In 2011, Vedder released "Ukulele Songs". As the title says, all of these songs were recorded with just Ed on vocals and ukulele as the instrumentation. This album featured songs such as "Longing To Belong" and "Without You". The same day that "Ukulele Songs" was released, a live DVD was also released called "Water On The Road". This DVD featured live footage of concerts Eddie performed in Washington D.C. in 2008. This DVD features the version of "Setting Forth" that I chose as my song of the week as well. Throughout his career, whether it be with Pearl Jam or solo, Vedder has shared the stage with a virtual who's who in the music world. The impressive list of musicians Eddie has collaborated with includes The Who, The Ramones, Neil Young, REM, Neil Finn, Bad Religion, Cat Power, Mike Watt, Dave Grohl, The Fastbacks, X, The Strokes, Tom Petty, The Doors, The Stooges, Pete Townsend, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, Roger Waters, Flea, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Jay Z, Kings Of Leon, Perry Farrell, Beck, Jerry Cantrell, Chris Cornell, Queens Of The Stone Age, Mike Ness, Ace Frehley, Elvis Costello and Glen Hansard. Currently, Eddie has just completed a solo tour of South America and there are upcoming Pearl Jam tours of Europe and the United States to close out the rest of 2014. While there doesn't appear to be any news of a new solo album in the works, Vedder and Pearl Jam released their tenth studio album, "Lightning Bolt" in 2013.

Song Of The Week: 5/25/14

Song: "Closer"

Artist: Earshot

Album: "The Silver Lining"

Year: 2008



"Closer" appears to be a song where a relationship began warm in a sense, then became cold after a while. You get a feeling that the vocalist isn't the most stable person and the other person maybe felt that she could save him. Soon, she became very cold towards him. You sense that just her mere presence instills fear and anxiety in him. He wants her to let him go. He definitely doesn't want any more to do with this relationship but, throughout the song, you feel as if he's almost caged by her. Earshot formed as a band back in 1999, hailing from Los Angeles, California. Vocalist Wil Martin was inspired by bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Metallica, Thin Lizzy, U2 and Soundgarden when forming Earshot. In 2002, the band signed to Warner Bros. Records and released their debut album, "Letting Go". This album featured the singles "Headstrong" and "Get Away". "Get Away" peaked at #4 on the Modern Rock Charts and stayed in the top 100 for over sixty weeks. The success of the album earned Earshot opening slots on tours supporting acts such as Staind, Kid Rock and Stone Temple Pilots. In 2004, the band released their second album "Two". This album featured the singles "Wait" and "Someone". By 2007, the band had signed with a subsidiary of Universal Records and in 2008, they released their third full length album, "The Silver Lining", featuring the lead single "Missunderstood". In 2009, Earshot released the single "The Ugly Truth" for free through the band's official website. Some four years of virtual silence would follow the band until 2014 when they announced a brand new single entitled "Now That It's Over". This single would appear on a soon to be released mini-LP called "Aftermath" which is most likely to be a digital release through Itunes. No official date has come out for this release as of yet. This new release reflects the current state of Earshot, which is they are still together and still making new music. While the band did achieve some moderate success early on in their musical career, they have not really sustained it. Their music is basically hard rock/alternative metal in the same vein as many post-grunge acts such as Seether, Chevelle or Staind. They never quite left a mark on the industry like those bands however, though they certainly have a strong cult following. Perhaps this new mini-LP will offer something more. Until it comes out, Earshot is a band that just remains in the pack, not at the forefront.

Song Of The Week: 5/18/14

Song: "On The Nod"

Artist: Avail

Album: "Dixie"

Year: 1994



"On The Nod" appears to be a song about going out of your way to avoid any kind of responsibility. The vocalist in the song really seems intent on going through life by not making any hard decisions. He seems afraid to be personally responsible, let alone be responsible to someone else. If things get to tense for him, his plan of action is to get up and leave and start a life somewhere else. Avail, from Richmond, Virginia, formed as a band back in 1987. Original vocalist, Brein Stewart performed on two demos, 1988's "Each Other" and 1989's "Reaching Out" as well as the band's first EP, "Who's To Say What Stays The Same". Tim Barry, the band's future vocalist, played drums on this EP. By 1990, Tim Barry was the full time vocalist of Avail. In 1992, the band self-released their debut full length album, "Satiate". This album would be re-released through Lookout! Records, with whom the band signed. 1993 saw two releases from Avail, "Attempt To Regress", an EP, and "Live At The King's Head Inn", the band's first live album. In 1994, Avail released "Dixie". 1996 saw the band drop their third full length album, "4AM Friday". This album featured the song "Simple Song", definitely one of the most popular songs in Avail's catalogue. In 1997, the band released "The Fall Of Richmond", a split EP with the band (Young) Pioneers. In 1998, Avail released "Over The James", a full length album and their second live record, "Live At The Bottom Of The Hill In San Francisco". In 1999, Avail signed with Fat Wreck Chords and released the EP "100 Times". This EP featured re-recordings of old songs. A third live album, "V.M. Live Presents...Avail" was also released that year. 2000 saw the release of their fifth full length, "One Wrench". In 2002, "Front Porch Stories" was released. This would be the last album released by Avail. All of the band's recordings for Lookout! Records would be re-released through Jade Tree Records as well. Avail never officially disbanded, but they haven't released any new material since 2002. Vocalist Tim Barry has been doing the solo thing since 2004 and he seems to be focusing on that more than anything. Currently, it appears the book is closed on Avail. As I said, Barry is completely focused on his solo career while the other band members are also pursuing other projects, whether they are in music or other ventures. While not having any major success as a band, there is no doubt that Avail is well respected in the hardcore punk community, in fact, they are legendary in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia.

Song Of The Week: 5/11/14

Song: "Light Years"

Artist: Pearl Jam

Album: "Binaural"

Year: 2000



Usually my blog on my "song of the week" features a short possible meaning of the song and then goes on into a quick history, highlights and achievements of the band who performed the song. This week is different. I chose "Light Years" by Pearl Jam as a tribute to a friend of mine who left this Earth much too soon. As I write this, I realize that today is Mother's Day. The one thing that any mother, and father, should never have to do is bury their child. That is not the cycle of life. Unfortunately, this is the sad truth as of a couple of days ago as my friend was found by his mother, not breathing and unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Right now, it still seems unreal to me. I know it will hit home and become real at the wake and funeral. I've known this person for almost twenty years. He had his issues, but who doesn't? Sometimes, addictions are hard to overcome. I don't want to speculate, but I thought my friend got through those struggles. Now.. I'm not so sure. At his worst, I thought he would be gone more than 10 years ago. It was pretty bad, but like I said, I thought he overcame all that stuff. Whatever the cause, it really doesn't matter at this point. He's gone and he's not coming back. My heart goes out to his Mom, Dad and brother and also all of his friends and family. I'm not a very religious guy, but I guess you could say I'm spiritual and I do believe that your spirit lives on. I hope wherever you've gone, you are happy and at peace.


Rest In Peace,

Vinny Candelora

Song Of The Week: 5/4/14

Song: "Fur Cue"

Artist: Seether

Album: "Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray"

Year: 2011



"Fur Cue" is a song that appears to be about someone who is fed up with and has had enough of someone else's lies and deceptions. The vocalist is clearly sick of playing her games and can see clearly just how fake she really is. I get a feeling that her looks still make him smile, but her act and her personality has worn thin on him. Seether formed as a band back in 1999, hailing from South Africa. Originally, they went under the moniker Saron Gas and independently released one album under that name called "Fragile". In 2002, the band officially changed their name to Seether and dropped their first album, "Disclaimer". This album featured the singles "Fine Again", "Driven Under" and "Gasoline". In 2004, a reworked and revamped version of "Disclaimer" was released under the name "Disclaimer II". This album featured all the songs from "Disclaimer" as well as some new tracks and remixed versions. It also featured a newly recorded version of the song "Broken" with guest vocals from Amy Lee from Evanescence. This track was Seether's stepping stone to mainstream success as a band. In 2005, the band released "Karma And Effect" which debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 charts. Singles such as "Remedy", "Truth" and "The Gift" helped this album become gold certified. In 2006, an acoustic gig in Philadelphia was recorded and packaged as a cd/dvd called "One Cold Night". 2007 saw the band release "Finding The Beauty In Negative Spaces". This album debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 charts and featured the singles "Fake It", "Breakdown" and "Rise Above This", a song written as a tribute to vocalist Shaun Morgan's brother who committed suicide. "Rise Above This" would go on to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 2011, Seether released "Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray". This album was their highest charting effort, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album was produced by famed Pearl Jam producer Brendan O'Brien and featured the single "Country Song". In 2013, Seether released a greatist hits compilation called "Seether: 2002-2013". Along with their hit singles, the album also featured three newly recorded tracks, including a cover of Veruca Salt's "Seether", the song which is credited for which the band chose it's name. Currently, the beginning of 2014 saw Seether getting together and working hard on their new album. Titled "Isolate And Medicate", the album is due out in July of 2014 and the first single on the album is "Words As Weapons". Seether is a post-grunge, alternative rock type band. They have toured with the likes of Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Finger Eleven, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down and Staind and their sound is very similar to all of those bands, some heavy riffs, focus on melody and sing-a-long choruses. Their lyrics have a bit of a dark edge to them, paying homage to early 90's grunge.