Stereo Noise Issue #1 Winter 13/14

STEREO NOISE

MEET ALEXA FERR POP MUSIC’S NEXT BIG THING

BEHIND THE SCENES OF YOUR PERSONA’S NEW MUSIC VIDEO

THE ARTWORK OF DISCUSSES CHANGES TO THE BAND’S LINEUP & NEW EP

Winter 2013/2014 Issue 1

Letter from the Editor

 

Stereo Noise Social Media:

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Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/pages/ Stereo-Noise/ 280945471942240

Hey guys!

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Brianna Cutter

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/ Stereonoiseblog

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Blog: http:// www.stereonoise.tumblr.co m

Stereo Noise

Welcome to the first digital publication of Stereo Noise! My goal for Stereo Noise is to help bring to light the hardworking bands and artists of the local scene, as well as mix in some news from some wellknown favorites. I hope that you will enjoy reading this issue as much as I enjoyed putting it together. I hope to someday turn this into something big.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the magazine, whether it being the bands, the photographers who’s photographs are featured throughout the magazine, and all those who help spread the word about Stereo Noise. I appreciate each and every one of you! If you have any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. I am still learning too, so any feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

Special Thanks..

To all the bands, photographers, agencies, and labels that contributed and helped make this happen. Hopefully we’ll be able to work together again in the future! Couldn’t have done it without you!

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Founder/Editor-in-Chief -Brianna Cutter

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Contributing Artists -Your Persona; Oh, Admiral; The Artwork Of; Within & Without; First Things First; Alexa Ferr; Air Dubai; Benjamin Franklin; BoyMeetsWorld; The Crash Years; The Color Nothing

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Contributing Photographers - Rachel Perrotta; Dan Axelson; Chris Higgins; Megan Thompson; Cindy Bokeh; She Rock Photography

BEHIND THE SCENES….

Your Persona’s “Any Given Moment” Music Video!

Story: Brianna Cutter Photo Credit: Rachel Perrotta

HAMMONTON, NJ - South Jersey-based fourpiece band Your Persona consists of Matt Campione, Jeremy Spahn, Tyler Mazza, and Jose Martinez. After releasing their first full-band EP “So Easy,” in February of 2013, the band has been super busy playing shows, promoting their music, and even shooting a music video!

This past December, the band shot a music video for their song “Any Given Moment.”

The video was directed, produced, and edited by A.J. Berenato, who is a good friend of the band’s. When asked about how the experience of filming the video was, vocalist and guitarist Matt Campione of the band responds with, “Filming the video was such an amazing experience. What made the experience worthwhile was being with our friends and fans.

There is no better feeling than the feeling you get when seeing kids shouting your lyrics back into your face. It was magical.”

Out of all the songs the band has recorded, why did they choose “Any Given Moment,” to shoot a video for? Well that answer is easy for Campione, for he says “‘Any Given Moment’ is short and simple. The song hits hard and basically sums up our style within one minute and thirty seconds. Also, considering that the song is so short, we figured it would make a good promotional video for our EP ‘So Easy’”

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“There is no better feeling than the feeling you get seeing kids shouting your lyrics back into your face. It was magical.”

-Matt Campione

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"" "" After such an

exciting year for the South Jersey rock band, everyone is wondering if the band has any plans for the 2014 year?

Well, of course! The band is definitely in the process of trying to work out some new music, as well as another music video!

Your Persona plans on releasing a new EP around June or July of this year, and can’t wait for their listeners to check it out!

For those of you who haven’t heard of Your Persona, they’re definitely worth checking out. The band currently has their EP “So Easy” available for download on bandcamp, as well as tons of merchandise available! Also, if you are located any where near South Jersey or any surrounding states, this band is definitely worth coming out to see! So make sure you guys check their Facebook page for any updates on the band, as well as any upcoming shows! All links for the bands sites can be seen below!

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Your Persona Social Media:

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Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ YourPersonaBand

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Bandcamp: http://yourpersona.bandcamp.com

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Oh, Admiral Social Media:

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Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ohadmiral

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“Breaking Free” on Painted Ox BandCamp: http:// paintedoxrecords.bandcamp.com/ album/breaking-free

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“Breaking Free” on Painted Ox Store: http://paintedoxstore.blogspot.com/ 2013/05/oh-admiral-breakingfree.html

OH, ADMIRAL “BREAKING FREE” EP REVIEW Review: Brianna Cutter

NYACK, NY - Oh, Admiral is an acoustic project of Mike Berean's (formerly of Verse The End).

Berean has recently put out a new EP titled “Breaking Free.” The EP features five beautifully put together, acoustic tracks. Listening to this EP, you can tell that Berean has some great experience as a musician. A personal favorite off the EP has to be “Here and There,” but every song off the EP is great nonetheless. Berean’s voice is perfect for this soothing, melodic acoustic set. From guitar, to lyrics, to the actual singing itself, this EP is all around fantastic. “Breaking Free,” is the first release from Oh, Admiral via Painted Ox Records, and I have to say it made a great first release. The EP is available

on iTunes worldwide, AmazonMP3, Spotify, and tons of other online stores. I definitely would recommend this EP to those who like artists such as Koji; Never Shout Never; Into It, Over It; and other acoustic projects.

THE ARTWORK OF Story: Brianna Cutter Photo Credit: Dan Axelson

With some lineup changes, and a new EP, The Artwork Of have done some big things this past year…

GLASSBORO, NJ - South Jersey based band The Artwork Of has had quite an exciting year. With some lineup changes, a new EP, and tons of shows, the band has been on the move nonstop.

One of the biggest things the band underwent this past year was a change in their lineup. When asked how this change came about, guitarist Amir Berry responds with, “During our summer tour with Me Versus I, three of our members decided that their hearts weren’t really in it anymore, leaving only Kevin and myself. It was like starting from scratch, so that took some adjusting to the act of finding new members, but once we got the right pieces we immediately clicked.” But how does this affect the band’s music? Berry says, “Musically, it changed our sound, and it gave us room to revamp.”

After the band made the changes to the lineup, they were ready for their first big task as a newly put together band, and that was to put out an EP, “The Road Ends // The Road Never Ends,” showing their new sound.

How would the band’s listeners react to their new sound? Berry tells us, “So far the reception has been good, fans are recognizing the overall darkness of the album, compared to our other releases. The common consensus has been that musically we have matured, which is huge for us.

So how does the band plan to go out and support their new release and music?

With a tour, of course! “We are currently planning a spring tour with our good friends from Texas, Meraki Toska. Majority of these dates will be in Texas, we will be releasing more about that once the tour gets a little closer,” Berry says.

Having had such a big and busy 2013 year, everyone is wondering how the band plans to spend the 2014 year. “Our plans for 2014 will include more shows, new music, and more. We plan on updating all our social networks with everything that will be going on with us in the upcoming year!” says Berry, wrapping things up.

Make sure you guys keep an eye out for The Artwork Of on social networks, and definitely check out their music!

The Artwork Of social networks:

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ theartworkof

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheArtworkOf BandCamp: http:// theartworkof.bandcamp.com

WITHIN & WITHOUT "

Story: Brianna Cutter Photo Credit: Chris Higgins

Within & Without Social Networks:

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ withinwithoutnj

" Twitter: https://twitter.com/WithinWithoutNJ " BandCamp: http:// withinandwithoutnj.bandcamp.com/track/ here-forever

As a new band in the scene, Within & Without have a lot of work to do to earn the fan base they deserve, but so far, the band has been doing some great things…

BLACKWOOD, NJ - Justin Drach, Robert Huber, Joseph Litka, Nick Repice, and Dan Morgan. These are the names of the guys who make up the South Jersey based band Within & Without. Within & Without is a progressive post hardcore band who find that their musical influences come from bands of all varieties, but the guys can all agree that Silverstein, August Burns Red, Thrice, Thursday, and Protest The Hero all make that list.

Although the band has only been around for a short time, they have come a long way. The band states, “Our time so far as a band has been extremely productive. We’ve only been a band for a few short months now and we’ve already accomplished so much. The band’s that we’ve been lucky enough to perform with and the shows that we’ve been able to book are shows most bands don’t typically get when they’ve only been playing shows for three months.” The band also tells us, “We have great chemistry together when it comes to writing and we are able to have extremely productive practices. It’s something we haven’t had in any former bands we’ve been in.”

One of the big fears a new band has to face is whether or not show-goers will be into the music the band has to offer. Thankfully, this hasn’t been much of a problem for the guys of Within & Without. “As far as shows go, we’ve done a good job at putting ourselves on lineups with bands that fit our genre. Typically that helps when you’re trying to get a positive response. So far we seem to be getting overwhelmingly good response from people after we get done playing,” the band tells us. Not only do listeners appreciate the band’s music, but they also recognize what each member of the band has to offer. “We get different amounts of praise from different aspects of the band. Some people will go directly up to Justin and comment on how they like his voice and others will ask our

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drummer, Dan, how he’s gotten so proficient with his playing. Overall, we’ve done well with bringing in new fans at every show we’ve played so far.”

With the short amount of time the band has been together, they have been given some awesome opportunities. One of these opportunities being the chance to play in Brotherly Breakdown Fest this month. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Brotherly Breakdown, it is held on January 18th at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, PA. The Festival will include two stages of great music from a variety of different bands. When asked about how they feel to be a part of the Fest, the band tells us, “We think it’s an incredible opportunity! It’s an amazing venue in Philadelphia and the chance to play the main stage is extremely exciting. The festival itself is amazing to be a part of. Two different stages going on, numerous different bands from multiple genres, it’s definitely something that everyone in the tri-state area should be coming to.

It’s you're best chance to potentially become a fan of a lot of new bands you may have never heard of.

It’s an honor to be playing and we thank Aftermath Events and Joe Pulito for the gig!”

After having such a great startup year, will the band be able to keep up the momentum through 2014? Of course they will! They let us know by telling us, “2014 is looking to be a good year for us.

The band formed late in 2013 and we’ve only been playing shows for three months. So 2014 is really the year of opportunity for us. As any band we’ll be putting out merchandise soon, maybe expanding our EP into a full length album. Can we say exactly what you should expect from us? No, but that’s a better reason to keep your eyes and ears open.

Because while we keep progressing and working as hard as we are now, we can only get better from here.”

FIRST THINGS FIRST " PHILADELPHIA, PA - Pop rock duo First Things First are determined to make the year 2014 a good one for the band. With a new EP due out this spring, and possible tours in the works, this duo is ready to make it all happen.

Starting the year off right with a new EP due out this spring, Steve York and Chris Guglielmi (First Things First guys) are super stoked to give you guys some new music. The guys tell us, “The progress for the new EP is going great! Everything is still in the demo phase, but all is going well and according to plan. We have been touring on our first EP now for almost three years, so it is great to finally begin the process of EP number two.” A release date and title for the EP will be released once the guys have the final masters back. As of right now, it is planned for a late

Story: Brianna Cutter Photo Credit: First Things First Band spring release, however, it is possible for things to change.

In regards to what fans can expect from the upcoming EP, the guys say “Our fans will enjoy the new EP! There’s going to be a twist when the release comes out, but everyone will enjoy it though. It’s still pop-rock and it is still First Things First. It’s going to be new and fresh, we’re very anxious to see what everyone is going to think!”

With all the work going on with the new EP, will the guys get a chance to tour this year? Well, that’s the plan! “Once we have an idea of a release date, we will then start getting touring plans in order. Over the last few months we have seen an increase on our social media profiles, so we are definitely going to be touring to some new places where people have been asking us to come.

The plan is to do the whole country

again, so fingers crossed we can make that happen!”

First Things First Social Media:

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Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/ FirstThingsFirstMusic

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/ FTFtweets

2014 MUSIC FESTIVALS

As festival season approaches, we’re all faced with the hard decisions of which to go to. Most of us being on a budget, going to all of them isn’t quite practical. Here is a list of the top music festivals of 2014, and a little information on each. Hopefully this will help you pick which to go to!

“South By Southwest (SXSW)” March 7-16 - Austin, TX

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SXSW is a great festival down south that gives tons of new, talented artists a chance to show the world what they are made of.

SXSW is broken up into a couple of different events such as “SXSWeek,” “SXSWedu,” and more. The events take place at the Austin Convention Center, the Hilton Austin Downtown, and various other hotels and venues in and around Downtown Austin. SXSW isn’t only music, but have conventions for Film, and even some Interactive events. Some big names on the lineup this year consist of: Charli XCX, Ryan Hemsworth, Echosmith, and tons more.

“Ultra Music Festival” March 28-30 - Miami, FL Ultra is the most famous EDM festival in North America.

In previous years, the festival ran over the course of two weekends, this year it was reduced to one. However, that doesn’t diminish the thrill and excitement of this festival. If you’re into EDM and House music, this is definitely the festival for you. Big names on the lineup this year consist of: Afrojack, Avicii, David Guetta, Zedd, Tiesto, Krewella, and many more.

“Coachella” April 11-13 - Indio, CA Here’s one I’m sure you’ve all heard of. Coachella is said to be the definition of a festival experience. Taking place in the middle of a Californian desert, Coachella has a lineup full of musical geniuses and they’re all ready to party. There really isn’t a genre limit to Coachella, which makes it one of the most famous festivals, because it is great for people who like music of all kinds. Some big names on the lineup this year consist of: OutKast, Muse, Arcade Fire, Skrillex, Beck, and hundreds more.

“Counterpoint Music Festival” April 25-27-Kingston Downs, GA Counterpoint is a fairly new music festival. Having started in 2012, Counterpoint is getting ready to kick off their second festival after taking a break in 2013. Counterpoint has quite a great variety of artists playing at this years festival, including big names such as: OutKast, Foster The People, J. Cole, Krewella, and many more.

" “Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival” June 12-15 - Manchester, TN Bonnaroo is another festival that I’m sure you’ve heard of. Dating back as far as 2002 (yes, that was in fact 12 years ago) Bonnaroo extends over a four day period, with over 10 stages of music on a huge camping ground in the middle of Manchester, TN. The lineup for Bonnaroo has not yet been announced, but sit tight and watch out for BLAM (Big Lineup Announcement Marathon) coming February 19th!

“Vans Warped Tour” June 14-August 3 - North America The Vans Warped Tour is another one of the most popular festivals around, reason being that Warped Tour isn’t held in just one city, but throughout more than 40 cities across North America. (Europe/ UK dates in the fall). There is often a wide variety of genres on this tour ranging from pop punk, to metal, to reggae, and many more beyond that.

2014 marks the 20th anniversary of warped tour, so expect this year to be a great one! Some big names on the tour this year consist of: The Devil Wears Prada, Mayday Parade, Cute is What We Aim For, Anberlin, and many more which are announced weekly.

“Firefly Music Festival” June 19-22 - Dover, DE Firefly is another newer festival, having started in 2012 as well. The festival takes place in The Woodlands at Dover International Speedway.

Firefly is a mix of big name headliners, as well as hundreds of emerging artists as well. Firefly offers a wide range of amenities for its festival-goers, including an onsite beer-bar, “TOMS Style Your Sole” where you can get your TOMS designed by artists, Coffee House, Hammock Hangout, and tons of other attractions. Some big headliners this year consist of: Foo Fighters, Outkast, Jack Johnson, Imagine Dragons, Weezer, and tons more.

" * All festival logos are owned by the owners of each festival.

If interested in looking more to each of these festivals, click on the links below:

" SXSW: https://www.facebook.com/SXSWFestival " Ultra Music Festival: https://www.facebook.com/Ultra " Coachella: https://www.facebook.com/coachella?ref=br_tf " Counterpoint: https://www.facebook.com/cntrpntmusic " Bonnaroo: https://www.facebook.com/bonnaroo " Vans Warped Tour: https://www.facebook.com/warpedtour "

Firefly Music Festival: https://www.facebook.com/FireflyMusicFestival

THE CRASH YEARS “COPE” REVIEW " CORNELIA, GA - Alternative group The Crash Years, are gearing for the release of their new EP titled, “Cope” which is due out February 4th. The new EP consists of six great new songs from the band. The EP starts off with an Intro song which really sets the mood for the EP, with it’s piano-driven melody, and soft spoken lyrics. Throughout the EP you will hear songs perfect to get out your frustrations, and to help you move on to better, brighter days.

A song that really stands out is the song “Always Wrong,” the song starts off with a strong instrumental for a couple of measures, and then flows into some powerful lyrics.

Every song off the EP has something great to offer. The Crash Years can be described has a piano-heavy band with the indie-alternative sound. A great thing about this band is that their music is raw, they don’t use any synth, electronic sounding tools that a lot of indie bands are getting into today. The Crash Years are perfect for fans of: Dashboard Confessional, Jack’s Mannequin, and Augustana.

The Crash Years Social Media:

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Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/ thecrashyearsmusic

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/ TheCrashYears

Review: Brianna Cutter

ON THE COVER "

ALEXA FERR

TORONTO, CANADA - 2013 was a year full of big success for pop artists such as; Katy Perry with her song ‘Roar,’ or Lady Gaga with ‘Applause,’ or even Miley Cyrus with ‘We Can’t Stop.’ Well this year, expect to see “rugged pop” singer Alexa Ferr added to this list!

Miss Ferr has accomplished quite a lot for being 18 years old, including but not limited to recording her single “Fell,” with Matthew “Mdot” Finley, who you may know from Disney’s Camp Rock 2.

Being so young, it’s easy to wonder how Ferr got into music and became so successful so fast. Ferr tells us, “I think that from a very young age I’ve always had a strong connection with music, and I somehow always knew that it would be a huge part of me for the rest of my life. I think I really took music seriously from the age of eight when I started taking vocal lessons and performed in local contests, I knew from that moment I’d be pursuing music.” However, although she has come a far way for being so young, that doesn’t exclude her from the competition in the music scene, “Being a young artist in a competitive music scene is interesting. Of course this whole industry is a competition, but at the same time, I’m enjoying getting to work with and meet so many incredibly talented people at such a young age! At the end of the day, I’m in this industry mostly because I love to make music and perform for my fans!” Ferr has some big plans for her future regarding her music, plus some!

“I’d love to continue making music and performing down the road, along with producing for other artists one day and having my own clothing line!”

Back in September of 2013, Ferr released her debut EP “Lipstick On The Glass” which went over fabulously with all her fans and listeners, she tells us “So far the reaction of the fans has been amazing!

I’ve been getting mostly positive feedback from everyone, which is very rewarding and so far they love the music!” The EP features 6 great, easy to find yourself dancing along, pop tunes. Including “Tug Of War,” and title track “Lipstick On The Glass.” The EP is available on iTunes.

Ferr finds that a lot of her influences behind her music come from some of her favorite artists such as Rihanna, Aaliyah, and Jojo. “They’re all so unique and very talented!” Ferr exclaims.

Having had such a successful 2013 year, everyone wonders what Alexa Ferr

has in store for 2014 and the years to come, “This year I’ll Alexa Ferr Social Media: be releasing a new EP, which I will be working on in LA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ with a bunch of different AlexaFerrMusic producers! I’m also going to be performing more, and I Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexaFerrMusic have quite a few announcements and surprises Purchase “Lipstick On The Glass” on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/ in the near future that I can’t lipstick-on-the-glass-ep/id705431344 mention right now, but everyone will just have to stay tuned and follow me on all my social media sites for all updates!” Can’t wait to see what the future has in store! Make sure you stay updated with Alexa Ferr and her music, this is a singer with tons of potential, and a bright future ahead of her!

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Story: Brianna Cutter

AIR DUBAI "

Story: Brianna Cutter Photo Credit: Megan Thompson

DENVER, CO - The music industry is a very competitive business, every band or artist is trying their best to make their music the most unique-sounding music on the market. Colorado six-piece, Air Dubai, has this competition on lock. With a mix of hip-hop, pop, rock, and electronic under their belt, Air Dubai can’t really be classified in a certain genre.

Since coming together in 2008, the band has released two albums. In 2010 they released their album “Wonder Age,” and in 2011 with the release of “Day Escape.” How did they come together, you ask? Vocalist Jon Shockness of the band tells us, “We’re all from Colorado. My best explanation for how we came together was that we were in the right place at the right time.

We’re all respectively passionate about music; the decision to make this our lives was off the bat intuitive.” Well aren’t we glad they met!

After releasing two albums, and expanding their fan base significantly, the band is ready to make some more big moves this 2014 year. The first thing the band has on their agenda is their, “Thank You For Flying Tour,” which has the guys traveling all over the country. In regards to how the band feels about being on the road, Shockness tells us, “In 2013, we learned a lot about ourselves and what it means to be a touring band. It’s not easy, there’s a lot of important events missed, a lot of your normal life is taken away from you but for us it is worth every moment.” How does the band tolerate missing such important events at home? Shockness responds with, “Over the course of the year, we played more than 150 shows. What really helps us and keeps things going is the support from our fans and the growing hype surrounding us that created an energy that’s been a driving force behind everything we’re ready to accomplish this year. Our live show is the heart of Air Dubai and I believe we’re going to have a very good touring season.”

If you were unable to catch Air Dubai on the “Thank You For Flying Tour,” no worries! The band will also be joining

the Vans Warped Tour Caravan this summer! Visiting over 40 cities across the US, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to check out Air Dubai on the tour! Being a part of the Warped Tour caravan is an honor, and Air Dubai cannot wait to be a part of it! How does the band feel about playing alongside tons of different artists? “At this point the entire lineup hasn’t been announced yet but there are bands that we’re looking forward to meeting and bands that we’re looking forward to playing with again. This will be our first full Warped Tour experience so we’re hoping to take in as much as we can. I’m extremely stoked to see some bands that approach their live show a little differently, especially some of the bands who don’t really play the same style of music we do. We think Warped will be a good opportunity to watch what other bands are doing, see who’s out there killing it every show and take that as inspiration to make our show even stronger,” Shockness responds.

Besides making 2014 a year of touring, the band also plans to release a new album. The band doesn’t want to give much away, but there’s no doubt it will be amazing. “I don’t want to put any expectations in anyone’s head regarding the album. As an artist you put your heart into the music and then you give it to the world. At the moment it’s released it becomes the listener’s and whatever experience they have to the music is what it’s supposed to be for them. We’ve been working on this music for over a year and a half and at this point we’re just excited and ready for people to hear what we’ve been working on.

Just putting it out will be reward enough for us,” Shockness exclaims.

If there is anything else the band wants it’s fans to know it’s how much they appreciate them. Shockness words it perfectly saying, “We always want to get bigger and better and we are definitely looking forward to where this year takes us. If there was something we wanted to pass on to the fans it’s that we appreciate and love the support they’re giving us. We put 100 percent in to everything, and we see them giving 100 back. It’s awesome to be where we are and I know it’s only going to get stronger.”

“As an artist you put your heart into the music and then you give it to the world.”

Air Dubai Social Media:

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/airdubai

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Photo Credit: Cindy Bokeh

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AirDubai

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN " Story: Brianna Cutter

WATERFORD, NY - Acoustic duo, Benjamin Franklin, consists of Ben Sokol and Frank Murray, both sharing the roles of guitar and vocals. Since forming the band, the duo has played a number of various projects throughout the New England area.

Like every other band, they didn’t just form over night.

Frank Murray of the band tells us, “Ben and I started jamming together in 2005 when we met in High School, 12th grade and in the most depressing class too…

Literature of the oppressed. I believe it was the last class of the day. Usually we would get out and head back to his house to hang out, jam on guitars, listen to music and watch countless hours of music DVD’s with Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and others.” After a few jam sessions at Ben’s house, the two guys came up with the idea of starting a band, Murray tells us about it, “Once we realized that we had common interests in music we wanted to start a band and that’s when we formed the Villanova Junction.

We took a stab at writing some music and we released a single called, “Junkyard of Love” on 103.1’s big break with Jason Keller. There were a couple of more studio albums after we recorded with Tim Lynch who owns the Recording Company, and then everybody went off to college and went our separate ways. We all still kept in touch, but it was Ben and I who kept writing together. We’d do open mice at the historic Cafe Lena’s in Saratoga, NY under the pseudonym Benjamin Franklin.”

Benjamin Franklin is quite a funny name for a band, wouldn’t you think? Well believe it or not, the band is not

named after the president.

There is in fact a reasoning behind the name, Murray explains, “We formed Benjamin Franklin in 2011 and we creatively figured, ‘hell let’s just call ourselves Benjamin Franklin because you’re Ben and I’m Frank.’ We thought it was hilarious. When we go into these places that we haven’t played before I always wonder if they’re expecting a founding father look alike to perform, ha!”

The duo finds that most of their musical influences come from artists such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, Robert Johnson, and others.

With the help of their musical influences, the guys have put together some awesome music. Murray tells us about their latest projects and releases, “We recorded a home demo with songs that can be found on our facebook page. Some of which have gotten airplay thanks to Kim Neaton on 102.7 EQX show EQXposure. I personally think our tune, “Realize” is one of the best recordings we have up there. But that’s not all of it, we have much more in store, and hopefully 2014 will see new studio versions of tunes that we’ve been performing all over New York for the past couple of months.”

For anyone who would like to learn more about Benjamin Franklin, find out updates, and maybe even check out a live performance, check out the band’s Facebook page!

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Benjamin Franklin Social Media:

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ BenjaminFranklinBand

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ReverbNation: http:// www.reverbnation.com/ benjaminfranklinband? page_view_source=facebook_app

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THE COLOR NOTHING Story: Brianna Cutter

The Color Nothing on Social Media:

" Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecolornothing " Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheColorNothing "

The Color Nothing Website: http://thecolornothing.com

SOUTH JERSEY - Jersey shore based hardcore band The Color Nothing are a relatively new band to the scene, having only come together in 2012. Nonetheless, they have made quite a first impression. The Color Nothing is a five-piece band consisting of Keith Bevacqui (Drums), Joseph Fessman (Guitar), Christian Casteel (Bass), Christopher Leonardis (Vocals), and Mathew Quigley (Guitar).

Listening to their music, you can tell that the chemistry between the band members and their music is very strong. So strong, that you would think they’ve been playing together for a long time. However, that is not the case. Each of the band members were somehow connected to each other one way or another, which eventually led to them becoming a band.

Christopher Leonardis of the band tells us his story of how he got involved in the band, “Tony (ex-guitarist of the band) and I were friends for the longest time, and were in various bands together. We spent a couple of years apart, in separate bands, after that we decided to work together again. We were really big fans of Mat’s (guitarist) previous bands. So when the two bands he was playing in broke up, we got in touch. Keith had played with us in previous bands, and actually, once he got wind that we were starting something new, he basically said, ‘I’m playing drums for you guys.’

Then we played for a few months trying to shape our sound, but we didn’t have a bassist. Then we met Christian.” When the guys met Christian, they found the final piece to their puzzle. Christian Casteel of the band tells us about it, “Yeah, Mat & I were friends for a while from playing in Twilight City Fracture. I was hanging out with Mat one day, and I think Tony and Chris came over and were discussing ideas. I thought they seemed cool. They had everything except a bassist, but it didn’t quite register to me, as I had never played heavy music before. I was actually trying to get a sort of indie/ electronic project off the ground at the time. Over the first few months of them jamming, Mat would drop hints. I was reluctant. I thought I would be the square peg in the round hole. One day I caved and said I would come watch practice and see how it felt. The guys were more driven than what I was used to, and I admired that. Everyone asked me to join, and so here I am.”

Since the start of The Color Nothing, the lineup had made some minor changes, Leonardis tells us, “right

after we finished recording the EP, Tony decided to pursue other things, that’s when Joe joined.”

After the guys all came together, they had to figure out what type of music to make. They decided to take up the challenge of hardcore music. How would they describe their music? Leonardis says, “I’m not really sure how to describe our sound. Sort of like, ‘beautiful, schizophrenic chaos.’ The music probably conveys a lot of what we were going through at the time.

Those things inspired us just as much as the music. I was dealing with losing my entire home to Hurricane Sandy and also losing family members. We were all dealing with our own struggles at the time, and we were all at different stages of those struggles, so we each had a different perspective and emotion that we imparted to our respective parts.”

Now we know that life and emotion played a huge part in their music making, but did they have any musical influences behind their music as well? Casteel explains, “We never really try to sound like anybody. Our songwriting process is more organic and unstructured than that. And we all have pretty different musical backgrounds, but there are roughly ten bands or so that we all really love. Those bands include The Chariot, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Daughters, Norma Jean, and Fear Before. We also all are very big Circa Survive and As Tall As Lions fans, which comes through a bit on the EP.” This past fall, the band released their debut EP, which has gotten great reception from the fans. So what’s next for The Color Nothing? Casteel tells us, “We are really excited about the coming year. We have already started writing some new material. Since the traditional album cycle has sort of vanished, we would like to put something out this year. We would like to try and release a couple of songs this year, regardless of the format. Quality over quantity is more of our thing, but we don’t want to keep anyone waiting too long to hear from us. We also would like to shoot our first music video, have a fan remix contest, and try and do some other cool things. Everyone who has heard our music or seen us live has been pretty receptive. We really want to get out there and connect with more people.”

In the meantime, make sure you guys head on over to The Color Nothing’s website, for a free download of their debut EP! The band has a lot to offer.

“The music probably conveys a lot of what we are going through at the time. Those things inspired us just as much as the music.”

BOYMEETSWORLD "

Story: Brianna Cutter Photo Credit: She Rock Photography

CINCINNATI, OHIO - Pop rock band BoyMeetsWorld, has been making music together since 2012. Since coming together as a band they have released tons of great music. Their biggest release being their debut EP “Do What’s Best For You,” in April of 2013. Since then, the band has been going to great lengths to make some awesome music for their fans, and have been consistently expanding their fanbase.

BoyMeetsWorld is a five-piece band consisting of Craig Sulken (vocals), Brad Sulken (bass), Ryan Sulken (drums), Pat Bryant (guitar), and Drew Richter (guitar). Craig Sulken explains how the band came into view, “Brad, Ryan, and I are all brothers, so we’ve been growing up and playing music in bands since 6th grade. We’ve all been in many different bands, and decided this time we would join as one and go all out with BoyMeetsWorld.”

After coming together and getting on the right track of making some awesome music, the band released their debut EP, “Do What’s Best For You.” Like any other new band, the guys were nervous for the reaction listeners would have to the EP. Thankfully, everything went great in regards to the release. “Everything about the release has been incredible. To having around 500 people at our release show, to gaining tons of new listeners through Spotify and iTunes, it’s been great. I think it really set the bar for us as a band and has kept our fans eagerly wanting more and more music from us, which is definitely a great push to have,” Craig tells us.

After such an awesome start, the band has some high expectations to meet for upcoming music.

Craig lets us know about the band’s music after the EP release, “Since then, we’ve released three singles and a Christmas album, and have been busy writing new material for a possible full length late this year.”

So, what else does the band plan to do in 2014? “We are going to be doing a small spring run down to Texas to play South By Southwest (SXSW), and then head over to Northern Florida and Georgia to play a few dates as well. We’re also working on plans for a big summer tour that I can’t talk too much about right now.

BoyMeetsWorld is a great band to check out if you’re into the Pop Rock scene. The guys are also

planning to put out a cover of Lorde’s hit single, “Team,” which is super awesome. Definitely go check these guys out and give their music a listen!

BoyMeetsWorld Social Media:

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ Boymeetsworldband

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/_BMWBAND_ “Do What’s Best For You” EP: https:// itunes.apple.com/us/album/do-whats-best-foryou-ep/id625106966

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“Everything about the release has been incredible.

To having around 500 people out to our release show, to gaining tons of new listeners through Spotify & iTunes, it’s been great. I think this really set the bar for us as a band and has kept our fans eagerly wanting more and more music from us, which is definitely a great push to have.”