"Don't Believe Me"-Steven Lufkin

Well, I do have to admit that I am slightly biased when posting this 'cause I know the artist lol.

But really, you have to hear this kid play!
My friend Sasha told me that he was playing in July, and I've been hooked ever since. He's only 15 years old!

Steven is a great musician. He plays a mean guitar, like crazy Jimmy Hendrix style solos, but he also writes beautiful acoustic songs. The amazing thing...he's only been playing guitar for two years!!!

I want to share his song "Don't Believe Me" from last night's show. This is my favorite of his songs...definitely hit single material.
It makes me think of a newer, happier version of My Chem's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", not in terms of sound really, but the lyrics and overall feel of the song.

"I'm in the car driving north on the highway
If I was in control I'd have things my way
Don't believe me when I say I'm Okay
Don't Believe me when I say I understand..."


Anyway, check out his myspace. He's got quite a few songs recorded and up on the page. Including the recorded version of "Don't Believe Me".

http://myspace.com/undertheapple


So here's the live video from last night! Haha you can hear the audience (myself included) singing along...sorry 'bout that!


Don't Believe Me (Live @ Village Coffee Roastery)-Steven Lufkin

My City Screams - Earning Respect The Right Way

This post will be unlike others on music.is.life. This band has no music videos for me to share. I've never heard a complete song by them, so I have no lyrics to share, either. I can't tell you to go out and purchase their album, because they dont have one. What I can share with you, readers of this blog, is a short tale about a guy I met who's just trying to make it work for he and his band.

I was at my local mall yesterday, casually wandering, headed for f.y.e to see what new albums may have come in stores. On my way I got stoppd by a guy I'd never seen before, with white gauges and a Social Distortion tee shirt. He asked me what kind of music I liked, if I listened to local music, and then explained that he was in a local, unsigned band and was going around the mall telling people about the band, trying to hook new listeners and fans. He pulled out an iPod and let me listen to some of their stuff. And I guess you can assume I iked what I heard; why else would I be talking about it on this site?
The guy (named Avery, as I discovered by checking out the band's MySpace the next day) compared their sound to Death Cab for Cutie, but I have to say I liked the sound of his band - My City Screams - much better. A mix of indie, electronic, and acoustics, the whole vibe of the tracks I heard were very, very cool. I could see myself listening to this stuff on a regular basis. I got a chance to listen to their "intro track" and their "single", neither of which I learned the title. I do know that the intro had an almost industrial-metal-meets-techno beat, and that the vocal melodies of their single were beautiful.
Avery explained that My City Screams was in the running against five other unsigned hopefuls to become one of three to open for Panic At The Disco at an upcoming show, and that he was selling My City Screams' first demo at the mall to fund such a gig, should his band be selected to open for Panic!. Regretfully, I didn't have the money on me at the time to purchase the demo. So, since I couldn't support this up-and-coming band with money, I thought the least I could do was spread word-of-mouth about them on my blog.
I'm extremelly happy to see a band actually working for the recognition they desired. In this day and age, it's odd to see something like what Avery was doing; a band actually making an honest effort to get the word out about their music. So many talentless artists these days are getting signed and then just hitching a ride on whatever gig their managers think up - often times drifting away from what they really wanted to do as artists in the first place. I'm proud of Avery for going out of his way to try and make this work for he and his band, and I wish My City Screams the best of luck with getting to open for Panic!. And believe me - that's one show I'd pay to see ;)

So, with no music videos, no lyrics, and no official band websites to share ... the only thing I can offer you, readers, is the link to My City Screams' MySpace. And my own word about this band's talents.

http://www.myspace.com/mycityscreamz

Keep an eye out for these guys; they may be the next great thing.