Thursday, October 30, 2008

Music of the Week x2

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Raising up from the dead, we're the group that will never die! The infection is spreading, and with a ghoulish sound, the last words you hear is JET SET RADIO. And there's no cure, for now you are part of the JSRevolution!

As Halloween approaches, everyone's got their own plans in motion. Some are taking the little ones out for trick-or-treating. Some will stay at home with all the lights off watching horror movies. As for me, I'll be dancing to the beat with the supernatural soul of music! And in this special edition of Music of the Week, we're doing not one, but TWO highlights.

Our first band comes all the way from New York. Let's hear it for Absolution Project!
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Founded in the spring and summer of 2003, Absolution Project is composed of former members of independent bands PLY and Loopus. This lineup consists of five seasoned veterans with an impressive background in the music industry. With a mix of styles and abilities, Absolution Project's sound is a diverse mix of the modern rock genre. The group's heavy rock roots are still undeniably present.

Based in Rochester, NY, Absolution Project's members are well experienced, having played alongside nationals including Snapcase, Green Day, Papa Roach, Dope, Nonpoint, Threat Signal, Ankla, Seeless, Trust Company, Good Charlotte, 3rd Strike, Lost Prophets, Adema, Finch, Dry Kill Logic, Agents of Man and 36 Crazyfists.



Next up is a band from south Australia. Raise your hands for Black Orchid!
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Black Orchid began in January 2007 formed by guitarist/song writer Justin Hartwig formerly of Australian gothic metal band Chalice. After 9 years and 4 international releases, (“Chronicles of Dysphoria (2000)”, “An Illusion To The Temporary Real (2001)” , “Augmented (2003)”, “The Calm That Was The Storm (2006)” on Modern Invasion Music, Chalice members Sean Graetz, Simon Henderson and Mat Enright joined by keyboardist Gareth Chin and Abby Skye completed the newly formed band. With the experience gained from supporting artists such as Opeth, Mayhem, Leaves’ Eyes and touring overseas the members of Black Orchid endeavor to present their music to the world stage through the release of their debut recording Inertia. Incorporating the passion of Nightwish, the drama of Opeth and the atmospherics of Pink Floyd, Black Orchid’s “Inertia” combines all the right elements for a band on the verge of great things.

For more information on Absolution Project, check out their MySpace.

For more information on Black Orchid, check out their official website and their MySpace.

Well, I've got to return back to crypt to keep spinning these tunes. Have a Happy Halloween, and don't forget to be safe and above all, have fun! We're the JSRevolution, and we're Shaping The Future With Music!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Music of the Week

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When things are looking their darkest, a light shines through to show the way to a new revolution in music! Back from the depths, we are JET SET RADIO! And guiding the way is the ray of hope known only as the JSRevolution!

Well, after a week hiatus, we return with a new music of the week! This week's band isn't very big on the music scene, but fans of the Gundam SEED series as well as Bleach should recognize them very well. From Japan, I present High and Mighty Color!
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The band started with the members Meg and Sassy working in a Metallica cover band. The two founding members played in this band for two years before they decided that they wanted to go further with their talents than just cover songs. After leaving the band, Sassy offered Mackaz the opportunity to join, he accepted and invited long time friend Kazuto to join the band as well. Oddly, the vocalist was the final member to join the original band. Meg sat in on a school performance one day and one voice stood out to him. Meg offered Yuusuke the chance to join the band; he initially rejected this due to wanting to be a solo singer, but joined after Meg reportedly asked him to join every day for nearly four months. The band, known as Anti-Nobunaga at this time, played mainly in small coffee shops and art theaters for about a year. Sassy, the band leader, sent demo tapes to every major Japanese label, all of whom rejected the band. It was not until a small Japanese label signed the band that they found their first big break. The band was now playing areas further from their local Okinawa until they landed a spot at the yearly music festival of Okinawa.

During the summer of 2003, at a yearly music festival in Okinawa, the band's label hyped their spot and eventually they ended up playing for a sold out crowd. Due to this festival being a "per show" ticket selling one, it meant that Anti-Nobunaga was the only band to play for a sell out crowd. A scout for a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan was in the crowd and offered the band the chance to produce music for an upcoming various artists album entitled Okinawa 2003. The band then composed their two and only completely original songs under the name of Anti-Nobunaga entitled Meaning and Hate You!. At another festival known as the "Music Picnic Festival", vocalist Maki also grabbed the attention of the same scout that found Anti-Nobunaga. The scout felt that both projects on their own were not remarkable, but combined, the band could be something never before seen on the Japanese music scene. Maakii first rejected the offer due to her wanting to study English abroad but was later convinced by her future band-mates to join. With the addition of Maakii the band took on a new name, High and Mighty Color (H and MC). After six months of perfecting their craft, the band was moved up from SMJ's minor label to their major label, in league with bands such as Orange Range. High and Mighty Color is some times referred to as the sister band of Orange Range, because they are both from the Okinawa area, an area known for musical fusion thanks in part to various military bases stationed there and were both discovered at the same music festival. They spent much of 2004 writing and recording, in late 2004 they released their first single, "Over" which was only sold through Tower Records stores. It sold out in the time frame of a month and became immensely scarce, thus it was re-released the next year. The album sat at number one spot of the indie Oricon charts for an entire month.

The band is relatively low key with their personal information, releasing only minuscule amounts of information over the years. Maki's real name is Maki Onaga (翁長麻紀), as was discovered as her name on the Japanese fan forums for the band. She has since confirmed that it is her real name. Kazuto's real name is Kazuto Taisano (平識和人), Mackaz's real name has been discovered to be Makkatsu Minei (嶺井政克), and Yuusuke's real name is Yuusuke Kuniyoshi (国吉祐輔). Bandmate Meg also shares the same first name as Yuusuke with a slight variation in spelling. The band's other details are kept even more private, and like most Japanese music stars, very little is known about their personal lives at all.


For more information about High and Mighty Color, visit their official website and their info page on Oricon.

Be sure to keep a look out in the future JSRevolution posts, as we will reveal a brand new logo! What will it look like? You're just going to have to stay tuned to find out! As for us, we're going to keep this revolution moving! We're JSRevolution, and we're Shaping The Future With Music!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

~SIGNAL INTERRUPTED~

Tonight's post is delayed until Saturday.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Music of the Week

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We're just like a couple of MAVERICKS full of ENERGY! With the sound of music in our minds, we are JET SET RADIO! And there's no debate needed for our JSRevolution!

It's time for another Music of the Week, and this is a new band that I had the great pleasure of watching live at this year's KFMA Fall Ball. From the great city of Los Angeles, I give you Drive A!
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Hailing from Southern California, the members of DRIVE A have come together to forge a killer mix of pounding drums, lethal guitars, cascading bass lines and fierce vocals that converge to create a sound that pays respect to the past, stands up to the present and will kick down the door to the future. A switchblade to the soft, white underbelly of today's watered-down state of music, DRIVE A are pure, raw energy - on stage and in the studio - which is, after all, what Rock 'N' Roll has always been about.

Lead singer and guitarist Bruno Mascolo started off teaching himself his favorite songs on guitar, but his ambition reached well beyond merely playing what someone else has written. “It’s cool to learn how to play those songs, but the point of being an artist is playing your own music,” says Drive A’s main songwriter.

“I’d hear other kids talking about bands, or I’d watch TV and they would say something about Green Day or AC/DC and eventually I’d check them out,” Bruno remembers. “What I found was really cool and I liked those bands a lot more than mainstream pop-rock.”

Drive A got its start when Bruno hooked up with rhythm guitarist Jason Nott and the two began developing their own style and a bond was formed. Once they honed their approach, the two hooked up with Ashton Moio on bass and Terry Stirling on drums. With all the pieces in place, the four began writing songs that had a remarkably developed blend of killer riffs, punk rock hooks, and a raw, Rock ‘N’ Roll gutter-snarl.


Here's a short clip of Drive A:


For more about Drive A, check out their MySpace.

And that's it for this session! I'll see you all in one week! This is the JSRevolution, and we're Shaping The Future With Music!