SA Rocks

Some of you might know that once upon a time I played music, in a band, on stage and even recorded an album. [see below for songs]

Now the reason I bring this is up is as follows; The lead singer of the band I was apart of, Bevan Lynch, has started his own band called Stereo in Flight. They are playing their very first gig in Durban.

Here are the details:

You can also head over to the Facebook event and get involved.

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On Saturday March 7th I was fortunate enough to attend Live @ 5 hosted by Katherine on 5FM. The featured band on Saturday was Cassette. They are an absolutely phenomenal band that I hope is going places and will be around for a long time.

I took some photos, a couple videos and rocked out to their entire new album “Who do you trust”.

Jon Savage is a genius behind a guitar and mic and the rest of the band (two of the members being relatively new stand-ins) are just as fantastic and gel together perfectly.

So here’s what I managed to whip together on my trusty (or not so trusty depending on the day) Nokia N96.

I thoroughly enjoyed their performance and will be buying the new CD and a couple of band dolls.

Popularity: 3% [?]

One of the breakout bands of the South African music industry has landed one of their tracks in a new KIA advert being flighted in the USA.

That’s the ad, the track is hot, the band is hot and who cares about the car.

Goldfish are going from strength to strength. Keep an eye on them at their website, follow them on twitter and GO AND BUY THEIR ALBUMS.

Thanks to Seth for the heads up.

Popularity: 7% [?]

My absolute adoration for Plush has just grown in leaps and bounds after watching their new music video. These are socially aware gentlemen.

Have a look and a listen:

This video is astounding and moved me. I sincerely hope that they youth will get the message and get registered and vote in the upcoming elections.

Get the picture dammit. You need to vote, it is YOUR democracy and with your one vote you can help to improve the state of our democracy. One vote.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The BLK JKS from an essay by SA writer miles keylock called “between rock and the rainbow nation”:

What makes them hip is that they’re South African and damn it, they sound it. In fact listening to BLK JKS is kind of like taking a slow cruise through Jozi with your windows rolled down. Afro-jazz riffs segue into tribal rhythms, which swagger through street-level sociology before exploding into hardcore bursts of noise, kwaai kwaito beats and addictive rock hooks. It’s not funk rock. It’s not punk rock. It’s not indie rock. It’s just music, and it’ll infect your mind if you let it.

In many ways the BLK JKS ability to genre hop is reminiscent of South African 80s white rock bands like Via Afrika, whose avant-boere-jive fusion freak-ins and erotic shebeen dub multi-layered mbaqanga chants situated rock in direct opposition to the separate development strategies of Apartheid.

They even posted an “mzabalazo” cut which is an update of the 80s toyi-toyi anthems, they posted it on their blog for madiba’s bday but its not specifically dedicated to him but rather all the cultural warriors past and present. Madiba Happy Happy!

You can find the BLK JKS via their website/blog or over at – RCRDLBL

via:Africa is a country

Popularity: 4% [?]

SA is not short of bands. SA Rocks has started to attract these bands and I love it. At least once a week I’m being e-mailed by bands and promoters with new sounds, funks, vibes, feelings and more and I love it.

Music is a strong part of my life, everyday it motivates me and moves me to do more, create, love, live, thrive and anything else. Everything I do involves music. So from my side send them on, if you know of anyone who is looking for some exposure for their band or a friends band, send them to my way!

The Slickers (love the name) are the latest band to contact me asking for some exposure. I am always more than happy to assist.

Here’s the press release:

If you haven’t yet heard the musical genius of Jozi band The Slickers, prepare yourself for the best arrangement of American alternative rock with a definite “British” sensibility and attitude.

Strongly influenced by his passion for British music, lead singer and songwriter Billy White delivers original vocals, strong melody and hook-driven choruses synonymous with the Britpop sound.

This, coupled with Verny’s guitar delivery, arrangements and production, gives the added dimension of an American influence. It’s the Arctic Monkeys fused with the art-rock of Blur, delivered with a rock sound one might expect from The Stone Roses. Not many bands can pull off this bittersweet sound with such aplomb, but it’s the maturity and depth of talent within The Slickers that makes their sound so original and authentic.

The band is made up of five members, Billy, the singer songwriter, Jp on lead guitar, Anton on bass and Roger on drums. The fifth member, Verny (on lead guitar), is a founding member of the double platinum selling band “Just Jinger” and no stranger to success.

“I am proud to be a member of The Slickers, and believe that the band has what it takes both with the talent of its musicians, and strength of its original compositions to attain great success both in South Africa and abroad. Our growing fan-base who support us at all our live performances are testament to the success which lies ahead for The Slickers,” says Verny.

For more information on how to obtain a CD or catch one of their gigs, go to www.eleven.org.za or www.myspace.com/slickersthe

Here’s what I think:

I dig their vibe, the sound is different, to say the least. There seems to be a bit of britpop influence floating around as well as an old school 60′s twang that rears it’s head in the rhythm guitar in the track “I feel fine”.

This is such an overused and rarely-understood phrase but The Slickers have a very eclectic sound. I want to say Nirvana, Foo fighters, The Parlotones all infused in to one sound when I listen to “Normal”.

The sound is listenable, interesting and different and I love that. I also love bands that try to pay homeage to the old masters with a ting or twang here and there.

I do have criticism that centres around some basic SA music insights. The sound feels too simply, under-produced and rough. This could be attributed to a lack of funding in production, it could be an intentional goal of their sound but I think that if/when a band tries to sound rough and raw they need to produce it in such a way so that it sounds unintentionally purposed, Like the Arctic Monkeys.

All in all I would/will buy this album if it’s out there. I think you should too.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I posted about a great local band trying their hand at the music biz abroad a few days ago.

Here is a follow up interview with Irvine.

So dude’s – What makes you guys different?

We used to be a girl band… Besides that, I suppose it’s because we’re a rock band that strives to make every song as unrock as possible. If something is sounding like radio rock we will do our best to mess it up as much as possible with strange chords, rhythms etc. to stretch it into something different. The end product is music that initially sounds simple but is on closer inspection much more complex and interesting than originally perceived. We strive to focus primarily on creating good music as opposed to doing nothing more than merely promoting a cliched rock star image and sound.

Why on Earth would you have followed the musical dream in SA? I’ve been down this road and it’s tough.

That’s a tough one. Basically, we have all tried other things but it turns out that music is what we’re best at. For us it has nothing to do with becoming ‘famous’, we just have an unquenchable urge to create and play good music. Whether we’re making millions from it or drowning in debt we will probably just keep doing it. Although we have also realized the importance of day jobs.

What are your immediate plans?

At present we are based in London and are playing as many clubs and festivals there as possible to build up a decent following. We’ve been promoting our EP on various London radio stations and will hopefully be getting some airplay in SA as well. A Welsh tour is in the pipeline and we are hoping to begin work on our first full studio album near the end of the year.

What’s been the best thing to date that the band has done?

To be honest, it has been pretty tough since relocating to London. The industry here is very saturated, plus we had to find a new line-up, so the accolades haven’t exactly started piling up yet. We’re still pretty much in the beginning stages. With all that in mind, I would have to say that a personal highlight for us was having the privilege of playing a show with Chris Letcher last year. He’s a phenomenal musician and great inspiration to us.

Have you noticed any measurable value that your MySpace page has given you?

Definitely! Myspace seems to be most bands’ primary networking tool these days, and we have definitely benifited from it. We’ve gained fans from places such as America, Europe and other places around the world we have never toured, but most importantly it’s been instrumental in staying in contact with our South African audience.

How big is Online in your strategy going forward?

Nowadays it seems online networking has become the primary means of getting your band off the ground, so we’re definitely hitting that angle pretty hard. Basically, when we’re not working or practicing, we’re on our laptops shamelessly promoting our music and scouring the internet for opportunities.

One of the great advantages resulting from the drastic changes that have taken place in the music industry in recent years is the rise in interest in unsigned bands and the number of opportunities available to bands now without any label backing. I think people have realised that with all the difficulty that many of the record labels are experiencing in the current climate of most music being online and free, lots of good bands these days don’t see the need for signing to a label. For this reason it seems that ‘unsigned’ and ‘independent’ have become the new buzz words of the industry and often have the power to gain you as much attention, if not more, as what the labels can offer.

Anything you want to say to your local fans as a closing statement?

Thanks very much for your support. We can’t get anywhere without you guys, so please keep spreading the word and enjoying the music. You can download our EP, ‘This is Tomorrow’ for FREE from www.myspace.com/irvineband. Thanks again.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I never pass up the chance to listen to and promote a new rocking SA band. This is one of those time and Irvine is one of those bands!

About the band:

Irvine is an independent London-based rock band.

Forming in early 2006, the band played in and around their hometown of East London, South Africa, whilst working tirelessly on the pre-production for their 5-track EP ‘This is Tomorrow’ recorded at the end of that year.

Released independently in January 2007, ‘This is Tomorrow’ captures the essence of Irvine’s musical philosophy of creating powerful original music that is easily accessible yet still maintains a high degree of artistic integrity. The band’s emphasis on strong melody is balanced by the progressive undertones in their arrangements, rhythms and chord structures, drawing on influences ranging from artists such as Jimmy Eat World and Jimmy Hendrix to Underoath and As Cities Burn. The intensity of Irvine’s live performances is a testament to this careful balance, constantly swaying between the beautifully melodic and the chaotically abstract.

If you want to have a listen for free, mahala, zip, zero, nada, go and visit their MySpace page.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Yes, that is the name of a band, a great South African band – Zebra and Giraffe.

Before I ramble too much, have a listen:

Be sure to check out their Facebook and MySpace pages as well as their YouTube profile and their blog.

You can visit Just Music and purchase the album now (and I suggest that you do).

Popularity: 6% [?]

This is a strange discovery. Not the discover itself, but the manner in which she was discovered.

Mariam Jo’burg (yes that is apparently the name she goes by) is a Johannesburg local, born in SA but living in France. She is a musician and by the sounds of her Myspace page and the songs there, she is a damn good musician with a very unique sound.

The reason that me discovering her is strange is because I’m still in awe of the whole crowdsourcing web2.0 vibe. So when someone finds a blog post of mine on here and suggest I take a look at and review so-and-so, I’m still astounded. Simply put, someone commented on a post here on SA Rocks asking me to check out Mariam Jo’burg. So I did. Googling the name takes you to various online representations for Mariam Jo’burg.

Here’s the biography that is listed on MySpace:

well to make it short and sweet, MARIAM comes from South Africa where all her family still lives and also where she started composing many of her songs on the guitar, after a first attempt at university in RSA she set off to France and landed in besancon (north east) where she met niels (the drummer) they started an acoustic version of her songs and did little concerts here and there, and then were joined by great friends and great musicians (regis -piano, manu – bass, juan-electric guitar), the group is currently recording a new album at “le pavillon”(studio in besancon)…will all keep you posted when its finished and ready! see ya! PS: i am currently writting out a better BIOGRAPHY, but this will do for now!
VENEZ VOIR SUR http://www.rtl2.fr/ dans ..v..nement poprock!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a look at this:

I am mightily impressed with this young talent and hope that SA Radio picks her up fast. In fact I hope that the entire world does, or Europe to start with. I love her sound, vibe and introspective approach. The chorus is swaying, melodic and catchy. Just the perfect combination for a radio hit.

Popularity: 4% [?]