Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Local CD Review
Sound Traveler Self-released; 2011 On the surface, Sound Traveler appears to be just another garden-variety acoustic duo. But a few deft touches on their eponymous debut reveal them to be something much more. The husband-and-wife team of Bob and Patty Tatum have a strong affinity for Irish and Appalachian folk, but these influences inform rather than define Sound Traveler’s music. Incorporating elements of jazz, gospel, rock, blues, and country, Sound Traveler is full of interesting surprises,... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Local CD Review
Josh Miller Live at the Cottage Pub Self-released; 2011 Anyone familiar with Josh Miller’s music knows that it’s best experienced live. And while the recently released Live at the Cottage Pub is certainly no substitute, it does an excellent job of capturing Miller and his band at their very best. For close to five years, Cocoa Beach’s Cottage Pub (now the Shak Shack) served as Miller’s musical headquarters. Apart from being his principal venue — and often, practice... [Read more...]
Lone Hymnal Cocoa Beach-based band Lone Hymnal started out in the late 1990s as Gottesfeld, a name many residents remember fondly. Drummer Josh Maynard, bassist Tim Allen, and guitarist/vocalist Chad King performed a streak of fiery local shows under that moniker before going their separate ways… for ten long years. In 2009 they began writing songs again and are now back as Lone Hymnal with a new guitarist, John Shade Vick, who fills out their “sad, country, surf rock” sound. With... [Read more...]
Bird Dog Bobby Band Time To Live In Lakehouse Records; 2011 The Bird Dog Bobby Band delivers upbeat creative originals with deeply rooted versions of blues classics, all of which reflect the members’ extensive range and depth of experience. Their encyclopedic knowledge of the blues is evident in the tasteful composition and razor-sharp execution of original songs marked by stunning guitar wizardry and smooth, emotional vocals. All of these factors make the whole of this band greater than the... [Read more...]
R. Figgis
Article Category: Local CD Review
Low Cut Connie Get Out the Lotion Self-released; 2011 Despite being based (ostensibly) in Gainesville, Low Cut Connie enjoy a strong connection to the beachside. They’ve played a number of shows here over the last few months and are due back to perform at Paddy Cassidy’s Irish Pub on July 23, so we thought we’d give their excellent 11-track record, Get Out the Lotion, the old review treatment. If there’s a climate Get Out the Lotion suggests, it’s humid and swampy.... [Read more...]
D. Domske
Article Category: Local CD Review
Damion Suomi & The Minor Prophets Go, And Sell All Of Your Things Hopeless Records; 2011 Simply put, Go, And Sell All Of Your Things is a compelling answer in a world and musical landscape that is passing out riddles and fallacies. Lyrically, Damion Suomi’s songs lead the listener by the hand through the course of “the Hero’s Journey,” originally described by Joseph Campbell in his study of mythology, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.” Filled with the ideas... [Read more...]
BILLY CHAPMAN BAND Rosalea’s Dream Self-released; 2011 “I think I should go out and start to miss this place again,” sings Billy Chapman on “I Looked Into,” a track from his band’s latest album, Rosalea’s Dream. “‘Cause when I’m here,” he reasons, “all I can think of is everywhere/And when I’m gone, all I can think of is you.” It’s nice lyric taken on it’s own but in the context of the other eight tracks... [Read more...]
BASTARD LOVECHILD OF ROCK N’ ROLL BimBom Self-Released; 2010 There’s a touch of the ironic in much of Bastard Lovechild of Rock N’ Roll’s music, but you’d expect that from a band whose members go by the names Cookie Sugahips and Hotdamm Sweet Huckleberry. But whether it’s all a joke or not is immaterial, because if nothing else, BLORR want you to have as good a time as they are. The Satellite Beach-based duo, comprised of keyboardist/vocalist Chris Hess (Sugahips)... [Read more...]
Honey Miller Stuck Outside S.L.O.T.H. Productions; 2010 There’s a reason you hear so much local talk about Honey Miller. Comprised of some talented musicians from various, now defunct projects, the Cocoa Beach-based quartet bring with them a solid reputation and the tunes to back it up. Describing their sound as “sideways surf” and the result of “the city and the country meeting the beach,” principal songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, and co-founder “Anywave”... [Read more...]
LOCAL 518 Sense of Urgency Self-released; 2009 I suppose I’m getting wistful with age, because I find myself wishing I had a certain stack of records I’d grown out of and sold before moving across the country a few years back. Stanley Clarke; Weather Report; Zappa; Tony Williams Lifetime; Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bill Laswell… They were all products of a brief though impressionable foray into jazz fusion and progressive rock. I can see their covers in my mind’s eye and can still... [Read more...]
