Seattle's Josh Niehaus reflects on the 90s in Zanadu.

Another great and truly independent artist out of Seattle; perhaps the Olympia Brewing Company is right about the water up there. Josh Niehaus couples his gift of song writing with a polished production value uncharacteristically high for an unsigned artist. To top it off, Josh writes about his music in a way that we, at IndieAndie, couldn't have done better ourselves. So, without further ado, this week's spotlight is a repost of a spot Josh Niehaus wrote about his song Zanadu; a tribute to growing up in Seattle. 

-andie

Growing up in Seattle during the nineties was the best! Well, maybe it would’ve been cooler to be in Paris in 1789 or in Greenwhich Village in 1968. But, if you had to spend your teen years alive during the 1990's, you couldn't hope for a better place to do in it than Seattle. I can already feel the non-Seattle-ites rolling their eyes, and saying, "how can you possibly back that up?" Well, to understand what was so great about Seattle in the 90's, let's take a look at the popular culture that it emerged out of, my first decade, the 80's; a time when the counter cultural revolution was but a fading memory, and in its place stood an empowered GOP with Reagan at the helm. A time when the airwaves were saturated with synthesizers and drum machines. A time when Eddie Van Halen melted peoples faces with some of the most iconic guitar shredding ever played. In other words, it was a time when the spirit of rock and roll was being suffocated under a nation's desperate plea for order and conservatism. A time when the chaos of rock’s sound was quantized into new-wave dance fluff by primitive computers. And a time when the men and women who yielded rock’s most powerful weapon, the Axe, were all trying to be Van Halen. But luckily the cultural tides shifted as I entered into the 90's, and Seattle was at the center of this movement.

From the muddy banks of the Wishkaw to Puget Sound, the 90’s were ruled by flannel wearing, garage dwelling, skateboard riding junkies from Seattle, whose appearance left but one title; Grunge! Grunge was a genuine form of expression, free from consonant fluff, cheesy synthesizers and overly-reverberated drum kits. Free from ostentation, affectation and record label subordination. It was a tiny movement that housed a few creative geniuses who sounded nothing like the billboard bands of their times, yet astonishingly took over the charts. Of course the labels caught on, as they always do, and began mass-producing Nirvana knock-offs by the mid to late nineties. But there was a time, in my childhood, in my city, were there was a genuine artistic movement that the whole world wanted a piece of. A time when I could ride my skateboard down 'The Ave' to buy comic books at Zanadu, bump into Krist Novoselic at Cellophane Square, see Pearl Jam in concert for free, or, sadly, attend a community wide vigil for Kurt Cobain; the unofficial poet laureate of our city’s scene. 


My song Zanadu is a tribute to growing up in my city during this era. The song ends with a simple notion that 'all good things must come to an end'. Grunge is dead. And Although I am left with only memories, the music lives on as a reminder of how lucky I was to grow up within the pages of music history. 

Check out more music and videos by Josh Niehaus on Facebook or Reverbnation. 

Everybody Smokes In Hell - new release from Ottawa's John Carroll!

John Carroll is a seasoned songwriter from Canada's Capital with an indie track record to be proud of! His first two release The True Confessions of an Infamous Liar (2003) and Lost Radio (2008) sold a combined 5,000 copies (directly from artist to fans!!!) and paved the way for what is sure to be an epic release party/concert on January 14th in Ottawa for his latest album, Everybody Smokes in Hell. This newest addition to Carroll’s catalogue harmoniously combines influences from country blues, folk roots and rock n’ roll. It was recorded live at Ottawa’s Little Bullhorn Studios with back up players Fred Guignon on lap slide, Olivier Fairfield on drums and Philippe Charbonneau on the stand up bass (AKA Epic Proportions). The project was recorded using “Dave Draves’ meticulous old-school process of recording to tape before converting tracks to digital”, which no doubt helped capture the raw and honest musicality of John Carroll and gave the album a warmth fitting of its title. 

Everybody Smokes in Hell is now available to preview and purchase on John Carroll’s website http://www.johncarrollmusic.com/ 

Happy listening and make sure to be at the Blacksheep Inn if you are in Ontario on January 14th! 

The Imaginary Cities of Manitoba

No, this post's title is not a stab at the size of Brandon or Winnipeg, the two largest (but perhaps too small to be accurately called) cities in Canada's lake-ridden prairie province, Manitoba. But what the "Heart of the Continent" lacks in population it more than makes up for in flora, fauna, tall-grass and a "suspiciously good" musical act, Imaginary Cities. 

The group formed after a fortuitous encounter between founding members Rusty Matyas and Marti Sarbit. The relationship quickly blossomed into local gigging, a critically praised debut album and an international tour opening for The Pixies, all within a fantastically short period of time. In under two years, Imaginary Cities has risen to Canada's national stage and put out an album that caused a CBC host to declare "I F#%*ing love this band." This is a band that I fully expect to see great things and big moves from in the next year or two. But enough prophecy and praise from me, you simply need to hear their album Temporary Resident and see for yourself. 

For more on Imaginary Cities check out http://www.myspace.com/imaginarycitiesmusic 

Worlds of sound collide at the crossroads of America.

Upon listening to Jordan Danielsen's music for the first time I was struck with a familiarity that caught me off guard. My mind went racing, throughout America, across the Atlantic and over the last six decades of music, to place all of the rich sounds and ideas that I was hearing, which to my surprise, were coming out of Iowa, circa 2011! 

Danielsen's sound is undeniably rich in Rock and Roll tradition. He bucks the sound-trend that so many of today's 'indie' bands conform to in the pursuit of contemporaneity (new and deliberately unique instrumentation and vocals, synthesized sounds, etc.) in favor of tried and true themes that have been working for Rock and Rollers since the birth of the genre. Danielsen serves up a cocktail of upbeat acoustic rhythm guitar, funky backing horns, soulful solos, smooth vocal crooning, rhythmic singing, country twang, blue notes, nostalgia, optimism... and like all good cocktails, it goes down easy and feels great! Danielsen's music is a welcome reminder that ordinary elements- a straightforward melody, standard time signature, heartfelt lyrics, etc.- can add up to something quite extraordinary. And that music that sounds good, and feels good, will always have a market. Speaking of which... you can find Danielsen's latest album Night Alone In The City @ iTunes and other online stores. 

Check out "Company" by Jordan Danielsen

"Summer of 99"

For more of Jordan Danielsen's music head to Reverbnation.

Jordan Danielsen may be coming to your town soon!
Check out the tour schedule below and don't miss a night good music and fun.

Guns of Nevada prove that Seattle still rocks!

There has been a totally unintentional bias towards bands from the Northwest recently, especially Seattle. But don't assume that this is out of laziness. We are scouring the Earth for great independent acts as you read this, and we promise that other regions will be featured soon :) But the fact is that independent Rock and Roll is burgeoning anew out of the once great music mecca! And since 2007, the Guns of Nevada have been leaving their mark all over Seattle's vivacious soundscape. 

The Guns of Nevada are "true believers in PBR: Punk, Blues, Rock". They playfully admit to "stealing from the likes of the Ramones, AC/DC and The Man in Black", but their unique blend of punk rock, alt-country, a dash of Americana, and high-voltage energy, produces something greater than a simple combination of their influences. They have created a sound that makes you want to move and howl! Rock fans around the Northwest do yourself a favor and head out to see the Guns of Nevada live (click here for upcoming shows). The rest of ya'll, enjoy the Guns of Nevada from afar, and don't fight the stirring in your soul.

Listen to "Ain't No Story" by the Guns of Nevada. 

To top it all off, their 'record label' is listed as 

"Label?.... we don't need no steenking label". Oh yeah Andie Likey! 

This post was written by Andie's chief rock corresponded Shia. 

Grunge is alive in the music of Chad Robinson

From the second I pressed play on Chad Robinson's Beatslave, a syncopated and heavy acoustic grunge ballad in drop D♭, I was transported back to my early days as a music lover growing up in Seattle in the 90's. His sound is somewhat reminiscent of Alice In Chains, with virtuosic and dark guitar playing, accompanied by rough but sweet melodic vocals floating above. 

In the true indie spirit, Chad records, produces, promotes and markets his own music from his home in WA. This independence allows Robinson the freedom to give away Beatslave for free right here on indieAndie through his Reverbnation music player (see below)!

 

indieAndie is so thrilled to be sharing this music with our readers for free, that we would like to make up an award for Chad. So... Chad Robinson is the first recipient of the coveted indieAndie "Keeping Grunge Alive" award, for creating music that transports us to a better place!

Check out Beatslave by Chad Robinson on iTunes.

Auriemma- Artist Spotlight #1

Richie Auriemma is a dominant force in the online independent music community, with thousands of fans, a constant stream of new material and what seems like a permanent spot at #1 on Reverbnation's rock charts for Bellingham, WA. Richie's songs are carefully crafted, but also raw; allowing that human element to flow through every second of his music. But the music is only half of the story of Auriemma's success. Richie's dynamic personality, endless enthusiasm and love of new music, have helped him become a bona fide web of connectivity within the world of independent music. From personal messages to mass-emails, Richie tirelessly helps hundreds of independent artists reach thousands of hungry music fans all over the globe. Richie perfectly embodies the spirit of the "indie" movement, which he is so proud to be a part of! So we can't think of a better artist to feature in our first posting of indieAndie's artist spotlight!

Listen to "Jersey" by Auriemma

For more music by and information on Auriemma visit http://www.reverbnation.com/auriemma