ISSUE 13, 2014
Edge Magazine is a free quarterly online magazine for the young adult who loves everything about undiscovered pop culture. Issues include eclectic interviews and articles covering music, charity, art and entertainment.
NEULORE
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1
BERN IN THE BRIGHTS
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WE ARE WILDNESS
9 READ YOU AND ME
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7 A GLOBAL FRIENDSHIP
11 GOOD MONEY
PLAYLIST
WORLDS OCEAN DAY
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We are always looking for contributing writers, photographers, artists, musicians and just about everything else! If you are interested, don’t hesitate to contact us!
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LOUD VOCALS AND CAPTIVATING MELODIES MAKE NEULORE THE BAND YOU NEED TO KNOW
Neulore
music
Tell us a bit about yourselves. Take us back to the start of Neulore and how it began. I met Tyler through some friends at a house party in 2010. He had just moved to town and was just getting familiar with the music community. The next week we got together and I showed him some songs I had been working on and he made them sound even better. I was already in process of doing the first EP, he helped mix it and we were off to the races. Modern folk music is how you describe your sound. What can listeners expect from it? Dynamic and passionate. The songs are all apart of a cohesive story....and hopefully there are some melodies that get stuck in your head. Coming from music city known as Nashville, how have you separated yourself from all of the other emerging bands? We just try to focus on our vision and how to enhance it. The beauty of being in a town of so many great artists is that it makes you stay sharp. There’s also a great community aspect to this town, so usually it feels more like we have a bunch of allies rather than enemies.
music
What are some of your earliest music memories and what attracted you to the folk and rock sound? For me it started with the song. I get sucked into a good story. And that’s what folk music is rooted in; story. Growing up there was a lot of James Taylor and Simon & Garfunkel playing in our home. You have been touring the past few months. What venue have you enjoyed playing at most and why? We love different shows for different reasons. Sometimes it’s the sound of the room, other nights it’s the audience. A favorite for me on the last run was Brighton Music Hall in Boston. That room is incredible.
What’s the rest of the year look like for Neulore? Lots! Our first major label release, we just played at SXSW, and plenty of more touring!
photo credit: rory white
Any songs you like to jam to for fun when you’re not playing your own tunes? We have been doing a cover of Lorde’s “Team” on this run. It’s been a blast to sing. We 80’s it out.
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charity
We Are Wildness is dedicated of our inner wildness and connecting to nature and benefits that connection overall health and
to raising awareness the importance of experiencing the can have on our wellbeing.
They aim to have a positive impact on humanity and the planet by introducing people to a wild and natural way of living.
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charity The goal is to inspire others to preserve and protect the natural wildlife and ecosystems of this planet we call home. We Are Wildness offers free online resources such as ebooks and digital programs to help get you thinking in a wild way! plus you can buy awesome organic t-shirts and hand-made cedar wood pendants. if you’re feeling up for a challenge, sign up for their Rewild Your Life Challenge! it aims to reconnect you with your inner wildness. All you have to do is spend at least 30 minutes a day in a natural setting for 30 days without electronics (except to take pictures). Sounds liberating to us!
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music
Bern & the Brights
[interview with bernadette, one half of bern and the brights]
lyrical dream pop music at its finest How did you two meet and form the band? Catherine and I met at William Paterson University. For a time we dabbled in our separate projects, but we would help each other out---bounce new material off one another and perform on each other’s demos. We musically floated this way for a couple years before Bern & Brights came to be in 2008. For the first Bern & the Brights show, I had gathered together some musicians that I’d known from a few different circles and/or had played with briefly under different circumstances. Catherine was part of that (and she also technically organized the concert). Once Bern & the Brights started, things kept rolling and unfolding. Catherine essentially brought some of her own songs into the mix, and she and I started working more closely together. We have explored a lot over the years we have been together, learning what works, what doesn’t work (that process never stops), juggling, rearranging, going through various changes along the way---from personnel to music style---and our musical partnership has evolved quite a bit. She and I are also now co-writing some new songs together, which has been cool. At this point in time, we are carrying on as a duo. In the recording context, we are covering the various instruments between the two of us, as well---drums, bass, keys, guitars--you name it, we’re playing it. How would you describe your sound in three words? Lyrical dream-pop.
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Every one of your songs has different instruments and sounds. Where do you draw your musical influences from? I draw musical inspiration from everywhere. I mostly try to keep an open ear and observe what’s going on, even if it’s not my cup of tea. My influences are a bit all over the place; I like doo-wop and early rock and roll, but I also like electronic music, and I like new wave and post-punk, but I also like some pop and so on.
music It boils down to a good song. Over the years, I’ve listened to music in different ways for different things. At this point in time, I’m really interested in the 3-minute “pop” song--why that form just always works, decade after decade, like magic---and I’ve fallen in love with it again. If I had to pick one category for most of my musical influences, however, it would be “indie-rock.” Any bands you hate admitting you actually love listening to? Nope! If I like it, I’ll admit it. I guess if I had to point to something out of my normal musical diet, I’d say Bruno Mars is on my radar screen. He’s a talented dude, and I think he will be around for a very long time. Lyrics or instrumentals? Which comes first for you guys? Usually music comes first. I think it’s the same for Catherine. You’ve played a bunch of local venues. Which one have you liked playing at most? Hard to pick just one. Probably Maxwell’s. There’s such a rich history attached to it. Besides that, Webster Hall. What newer bands today would you recommend to check out? Warpaint, St. Vincent, Small Black, Phantogram, The Cults, Dum Dum Girls, Tune-Yards, Tennis, Haim, Father John Misty, Hospitality, Sarah Jaffe, San Fermin, Courtney Barnett, and Tegan and Sara (T&S are not new, but making new stuff that sounds great!). What’s in store for the rest of 2014? We plan to spend much of 2014 writing and recording new material and exploring new production possibilities and new instruments (largely electronic instrumentation), and we will have some tour dates sprinkled throughout. I may also be doing some solo performances, as part of the live festivities.
[photo credit: alex podstawski]
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charity
AGF empowers women around the world to break the cycle of poverty by creating sustainable businesses to improve the standard of living in countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Peru, India, and the USA. Women in developing communities lack the basic educational skills needed to start a business but are invested in improving the lives of their families and communities. AGF bridges all the gaps and provides the training and education needed! AGF helps artisans develop their own businesses and then brings them to the global marketplace. All proceeds from sales of their goods go directly to the artisans and their community.
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charity
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music
READ
AND
Moving rhythms and honest lyrics make this band the whole package What is Read You and Me all about? How would you describe your sound to a new listener? “Read You and Me” deliver their sound through soaring melodies that often ride a vocal edge, progressive guitar tones, slamming bass riffs, head-nodding drums, explosive energy and powerful lyrics. What bands did you listen to growing up that have shaped who you all are as musicians? Nick (Keys/vox) has been influenced by The Police, Phil Collins, and Depeche Mode. Brando (Guitar) grew up on Switchfoot, Relient K and Anberlin. Nathan (bass) various solo bass players, Sigr Ros and Primus. David (Drums) has been influenced in the greatness that is Gospel, like Calvin Rodgers, Chris Coleman, and Clemons Poindexter.
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You are a Christian rock band but that label can be hard to break, so how do you reach a broader fan base? Even though we are a Christian rock band, we do make our way into secular venues. Our music tends to appeal to more than the Christian audience. It is always a great opportunity to play for people that would never consider listening to us in the first place. We have also had our songs played on secular radio stations throughout the country as some of our songs are outside of the “contemporary Christian” genre.
music Any special pre-show traditions? Jump around and yell at each other to get psyched up. Eat veggies. Throw a frisbee. Nick makes Andrea Bocelli noises and David tends to eat a banana. If you guys could sit down with any band and ask them anything, who would it be and what would you ask them? Bon Jovi… Just kidding! The Backstreet Boys. I mean, we would ask them to teach us their dance moves. What would your dream lineup be if you could go out and headline your first big tour? Get us on the road with Switchfoot and/or Mutemath. That show would melt faces.
What’s the rest of 2014 look like for you guys? 2014 is shaping up to be a great year! We are continuing on our nation wide tour with the authors of Heaven Is For Real. We have just released both a new full length self titled album as well as a new EP. We are also very excited that our song Heaven featuring Colton Burpo has been chosen to be a part of the Heaven Is For Real - Songs Inspired by the Film and Best Selling Book” album put together by Sony and Provident Music Group. As always, we are excited to write new music and meet new people along the way!
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charity
the goal is to spread kindness WHAT IS IT? The notion behind Good Money is simple. Take $1 and $5 bills and stamp them with This money has been used for good. Use them for good and hope that when other people come across them, they use it for good too. Good Money was born out of a project called Good Virus. That project has since turned into a film, book, website and other various projects to prove that kindness is in fact, very contagious. What’s even cooler is that each bill is trackable. We can actually see how far kindness is spread!
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charity BACKGROUND “It started one day when my wife, over dinner, told me that she felt my work was getting very dark and cynical and suggested that I do something more positive. So I responded (mocking her) "Sure sweetie, I'm going to do a movie all about being nice.” But a few days later, I read an article in Scientific American about James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis and how they had scientifically proven that kindness is contagious - that If I do something nice for someone, they will (on average) do something nice for four more people and that each of them will do something nice for four more people and so on. Amazed by the simple concept, I then turned that theory into a film called Kindness in Contagious and then went to create a website and eventually, Good Money.” - David Gaz, Founder FUN FACT: In order to track the bills, Good Money is a partner at an interactive ad agency, Ijhana, and got a team to adapt an open source birdwatching app to track bills instead of birds.
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Spring Playlist
music
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BY MEGAN GALEMA
As the cold weather passes, we all have something to look forward to. …warm weather, sunny days and shedding off those layers of clothing. Goodbye winter, hello spring! There is one thing that can top it all off: some good tunes to get you ready for spring time adventures. A mixture of some old and new, here is my spring 2014 playlist. Enjoy, kick back, and get ready for an awesome spring.
music 1. Human (Armin Van Buuren Radio Remix)- The Killers 2. If I Ever Feel Better- Phoenix 3. Tighten Up- Black Keys 4. Crystallized- Young the Giant 5. My Body- Young the Giant 6. Sunday Morning- K-Os 7. Why’'d you only call me when you’re high?- Arctic Monkeys 8. Santeria- Sublime 9. Wasted- Cartel 10. Someday- The Strokes 11. Relax (Take it Easy)- Mika 12. Latch- Disclosure 13. Step- Vampire Weekend 14. Take it or Leave it- Sublime with Rome 15. Take you Higher (Club Mix)- Goodwill & Hook N Sling
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charity
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
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charity
Want to find an already planned event to get involved with?
Want to plan your own celebration but not sure how?
Just want to learn more?
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