Shwayze‘s music video for “Get U Home” got my eyes popping out of my head thanks to some good looking sisters, sorority sisters that is. The music video features the Malibu based hip-hop act playing live with some fine ladies from the new movie Sorority Row (in theaters September 11). Check out the video and get ready for the release of their new album, Let It Beat, available on October 27th.
Category Archives: Music Video
My Hero: The Indie/Undie Performer Har Mar Superstar
If you have never heard of Har Mar Superstar and claim to have a sense of humor as well as hold an appreciation towards those who work hard at the music they create, you are missing out.
I will say though, Har Mar is not for everyone.
Born Sean Tillman, Har Mar Superstar can be defined as a singer/songwriter with major indie(undie)-pop / R&B / dance qualities. He is a performer like none other and has made a huge name for himself in the UK in past years. In 2004 he released The Handler and in October he will be dropping an all new album titled Dark Touches. Not only does he write his own music, but he also writes for others making this guy one of the harder working artists out there.
On Dark Touches, Har Mar will take his dance club pop style to a whole new level thanks to his dedicated work to his moniker and will feature a huge roster of special guests including P.O.S., The Faint‘s sick beat creators Clark Baechle and Jacob Thirle, and even is joined by John Fields who has produced many acts including Andrew WK and Rooney.
To make things even more interesting Dark Touches will include a track that Har Mar co-wrote that was originally intended for pop superstar Britney Spears. Rejected by Britany Spears’ management for unknown reasons, Har Mar decided he keep the track “Tall Boy” and include it on his upcoming album with unchanged lyrics and his added style making for an interesting listen.
DOWNLOAD THIS! – Har Mar Superstar – “Tall Boy”
I can still remember the first time I had the pleasure of checking out Har Mar Superstar. It was 2001 and the then unknown artist was the opening act for Tenacious D. Har Mar came to the stage all by himself and performed to the crowd his material while slowly stripping throughout to his tighty whities.
The crowd was speechless.
I was cheering as loudly as I could. All the silent folk around me turned their heads from the stage and looked at me with the same puzzled look. Others in the theater were cheering too but I am pretty sure that not all of the applause was sincere. Mine was.
I cheered for a couple of reasons.
One being for his performance. It was good. He sang pop like songs sometimes heavy on the R&B over pre-recorded material. He danced about the stage in his own style and proved to have better moves that many people who frequent over priced dance clubs.
I also cheered because this guy had the balls to take the stage and do his thing without hesitation. There was a lot of heckling and plenty of booing during the show but Har Mar just blew it off like it was nothing. He believed in himself and even if his performance included scrapping his attire, I appreciated his performance.
Since the night I made sure to check out all that he has released and I not once was disappointed. “DUI”, a track from The Handler is a track that still remains in heavy rotation in my musical listening choices.
It’s been five years since I last heard from Har Mar and it’s true, I am excited to hear what is to come from this insanely talented performer. Look for the new album to drop in the states on October 13th.
Here is the video for “DUI”:
Press info found on Har Mar Superstar’s website:
After a five-year proper-album break since 2004’s The Handler, Har Mar Superstar, sexy as ever, is ready to unleash Dark Touches on the masses. On Dark Touches, Sean Tillmann – the singer, songwriter, and producer behind the Har Mar moniker – delivers his most club-friendly collection of jams yet. Tillmann’s silky smooth croon and tongue-in-cheek lyrics lead a nonstop dance party that blends everything from synth-pop to R&B, with ample hooks around every corner.
Dark Touches builds a bridge between the worlds of indie and Top 40 dance music, thanks in part to an eclectic group of collaborators. The album’s many guests include John Fields (Andrew WK, The Jonas Brothers, Rooney), The Faint’s beatmakers Clark Baechle and Jacob Thiele, singer-songwriter Adam Green, P.O.S. of the Rhymesayers collective, Neon Neon’s Boom Bip, Flowers of Doom, and Samaire Armstrong. The Bird and The Bee’s Greg Kurstin, who has also produced tracks for Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Lily Allen, co-wrote and lent his studio wizardry to “Tall Boy.” The track was originally intended for Spears and, with the unchanged lyrics, takes on a vibrant new life in the hands of Har Mar.
Of course no Har Mar song is complete without Tillmann’s signature lyrics, which are both outrageously absurd and witty. “I Got Next,” which features The Bird and The Bee’s Inara George, details Tillmann’s practice of asking women to sign contracts that put him next in line to date if they ever leave their current boyfriend. He has also penned an anthem for the ladies with “Girls Night,” a track that was once intended for The Cheetah Girls, and like “Tall Boy,” maintains the original lyrics, written from a female perspective.
Tillmann is also getting ready to dip his toes into the world of Hollywood with the release of Whip It, a film directed by Drew Barrymore. As if he isn’t wearing enough hats already, Tillmann is actively developing his own movie scripts and sitcom pilots. Along with his golden pipes, the ability to juggle multiple creative outlets is sure to win him entry into both the hearts and undergarments of women and men everywhere.
Get ready, everyone. Dark Touches is coming!
As always, if you are on Facebook, please stop by the page, become a fan, and say hi:
HAR MAR SUPERSTAR FACEBOOK PAGE.You can also follow Har Mar on TWITTER & listen to his music at MYSPACE.
Sans Label: Brooklyn’s Monogold
I have a new feature I will periodically post here about up and coming artists and I call it simply Sans Label. I was trying to think of a wittier name for this category but apparently I am suffering from brain-melt. I just can not think of something clever regarding independent unsigned artists.
How often I post Sans Label entries will depend on the alignment of the sun and the moon or simply whenever I am wowed by an independent or underground act. I will be sure to post a little something something up on this here site along with a MP3 to share with the band’s permission of course.
I am doing this out of the love for all music out there. I receive so many emails from folk asking me to check out their work. I feel this will be my thank you to all of the acts out there that spend day after day self-promoting their band. These bands are unsigned acts trying to get their name out there with a D.I.Y. attitude. I respect all genres of music so expect to see a variety of acts posted.
So without further delay here is the first Sans Label post:
A few weeks ago a Brooklyn based band named Monogold reached out to me via a simple email asking me to visit their MySpace page to check out their music. Always looking for something new I clicking on the link in the email and checked out a song titled “Feel Animal”. I was completely floored by how great it was. The upbeat dramatic indie rock song was such a pleasant track to hear.
In fact just listen to it for yourself.
DOWNLOAD THIS! – Monogold – “Feel Animal”
The song alone in my opinion is proof this band is going to be going places. Of course I don’t want to jinx them but imagine my surprise of hearing such a track and instantly loving it. I immediately asked the band for more.
The band kindly sent the rest of the EP to me titled We Animals. Just as I had hoped the other six tracks that were self recorded, self produced, and self released by the three members have a very likable feel to them. The harmonous singing and catchy guitar playing is perfect for a soundtrack to a warm summer evening drive. Trust me, I speak from personal experience.
The fact that this band is only a three piece amazes me. Honestly when you hear their sound in the rest of the EP you would like it would take more than a trio to perform such tunes. I thought so highly of this band I decided that I wanted to take their music a step further to help them get their music heard.
Recently I was appointed by my good friends over at Sexy Photo Trip (SPT) as their music director. I decided that I wanted to use one of Monogold’s songs for an episode of SPT. Monogold was thrilled I asked them to use their song in the video and honestly so was I. It fit perfectly.
You can see that episode by clicking HERE (warning all SPT material is NSFW so view at your own 18+ risk).
Look for Monogold to release the amazing We Animals EP next month. I am hoping they are able to tour as well in support of this sure to be a hit release.
Here’s a video from an earlier track titled “Leaves”:
One a side note, I plan on continuing this trend of using unsigned bands here in the Sans Label posts as well as in future episodes of SPT so if you know of anyone out there that is unsigned or independent and listenworthy, send them my way. I would love to hear them and maybe even get one of their hard worked songs into a fun episode on SPT.
Those Darlins Release “Red Light Love” Video / Plan Yet Another Tour
I have been pretty good lately about not talking up a storm about Those Darlins but today they released a video for “Red Light Love” and I could not help myself but to share it:
The video was actually directed and illustrated by the band’s very own Jessi Darlin with additional art work by Nikki Darlin and their fearless drummer Sheriff Lin.
The girls announced that they will be getting around this Fall for another string of tour dates. I honestly think I have broken a record seeing these girls live in one year. I am excited as hell for their return too. Just look at all my previous babble about Those Darlins and myself being a junkie for them.
Embarking on another round of tours I think it is safe to say these ladies are getting the credit they deserve. Those Darlins will be playing shows on their own and with special guests throughout the tour including a Halloween show with The Meat Puppets! I wish I could go to that but I am not that big of a Those Darlins junkie…well maybe I am.
Check them out in a town near you or else.
August
22 – Chattanooga, TN @ JJ’s Bohemia #
26 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Shines – Bijou Theatre
28 – Louisville – Ear X-Tacy – in-store – 6pm
29 – Urbana, IL @ University of Illinois Courtyard Café
September
8 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Bar
9 Cleveland, OH @ Case Western Reserve University
10 – Newport, KY – Southgate House
11 – Circleville, OH @ Tootles
12 – Louisville, KY @ Original Highland Festival
17 – Nashville, TN – Americana Music Festival @ Mercy Lounge
18 & 19 – Bristol, VA @ Bristol Roots & Reunion Festival
26 – Cumberland, TN @ Bluegrass Underground ++
28 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel *
9/29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Loft *
OCTOBER
1 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea’s Café *
2 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
3 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
8 – Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern
9 – Norman, OK @ The Opolis
10 – Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Music Hall
12 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
16 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
18 – Eugene, OR @ Sam Bonds Garage +
20 – San Francisco @ The Rickshaw Stop
22 – LA @ Silverlake Lounge
23 – LA @ Hotel Cafe
25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
27 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
29 – Dallas, TX @ The Cavern
30 – Austin, TX @ The Continental Club
31 – Houston, TX @ The Rudyard **
* W/ Dr. Dog
+ W/Digital Leather
** W/The Meat Puppets (Halloween!)
++ w/Charlie Louvin
# w/Heypenny
For more information about the band or the tour visit their website or their MySpace page.
Follow them on Twitter too if you are not already: @Those_Darlins
Pour Habit – Suiticide – CD Review
What’s black and white and punk all over?
The answer is California’s Pour Habit.
Straight out of Compton (no really they are) comes the five piece punk rock band Pour Habit. Their debut release Suiticide recently dropped on Fat Wreck Chords and I have to contest, it is amazing. If you are looking for an album that can incite a circle pit from start to finish this is the CD for you. Full of energy and raw power I have to admit that this was a surprise of a listen for me and I can not believe I did not give it a chance earlier.
Proving that hard work pays off, the band almost could not afford to record demos to offer to Fat Wreck Chords’ owner Fat Mike. Formed in 2005 the band started for the sake of fun and not trying to make money. The band got together to make music for themselves and any good punk rock loving patron out there. Once they obtained a local following thanks to opening for some bigger named punk bands the band threw what money they had toward a studio to record Suiticide and before they knew it they were selling mad amounts of the CD as well as finding themselves opening for NOFX, a band they blame for detouring their path in life.
In fact drummer Colin Walsh had this to say about the effect of the iconic member of the punk rock band NOFX and his independent label:
“Fat Mike ruined me and my brother’s lives. If it wasn’t for Fat Wreck Chords, I’d probably be working a steady job, but because of those bastards this is my life and there’s no way I could ever quit or stop. None of us could and that’s the thing—the five of us are so plugged into each other that we’re really best friends and that’s why we’re so dedicated to making this work.”
After opening for NOFX numerous times Fat Mike soon signed the band to Fat Wreck Chords after the band opened for NOFX numerous times. The CD was re-released but hardly modified as Fat Mike was so impressed with the overall sound. With a melodic mix of energy, metal riffs, and 90’s SoCal punk style, it’s no wonder Fat Mike signed these guys.
In fact the moment I heard the opening track “Institution” I was blown away with it and can see why everyone has been taking such a likening to them. Fast, punk, and energetic, this song has it all to capture any punk rock loving fan’s attention. Following was “Light The Torch”, a song that sounded like a younger Offspring from their years with Nitro Records if not better.
“Against Me” has nothing to do with the other one time Fat Wreck Chord label mate and is way more heavier sounding than Tom Gabel and crew create. The song is thrashy at times and really has a strong Death By Stereo sound. Sick guitar solos, intense vocals, and enough energy to make one jump around swinging fists about.
“Resignation” was a killer track and very technical at that. I loved the guitar playing and just the signing, rather screaming demands throughout the track. “Bad Luck Drunk” emulated everything I love about 90’s thrash punk rock and hinted heavy on Guttermouth with a song about the love of cracking open cold ones.
Starting off a little rasta and detonating into a full fetched riot was “Zion”, a track that stood out over the others with a sick catchy sound, fun guitar playing, and left me wanting more once the track came to an end.
Honestly after the album ended I had to play it again because I was just digging their style so much. In fact I have listened to Suiticide at least ten times and plan on listening to it a few more times before moving on to something else. I have not been addicted to an entire album like this for quite some time.
I can keep talking about this CD or you can go drop $8.00 on it and see for yourself on what good punk rock sounds like. Suiticide is full of what punk rock used to be about, not caring, having a good time, and not giving a crap about what others think. I can not wait until these guys tour over in my neck of the woods. I can guarantee you I will be in attendance.
DOWNLOAD THIS! – Pour Habit – “Institution”
Music Video / Interview w/ Pour Habit (lots o cussing…):