KE$HA: Animal, Cannibal or Garanimal?

Introduced in 1972, Garanimals is the name of a line of children's clothing separates that are coordinated together by choosing pieces adorned with matching hang-tags of familiar animals (giraffes, tigers, zebras etc).

Much the same process has long been the norm in the entertainment business as ever-shortening windows of time prompt companies to move expeditiously before a fickle, attention-deficit audience moves on to the next flavor of pop culture Pixie stick. As trends reveal themselves, companies expedite the creation (often hastily) of their own matching hang-tag to ride the wave.

So, as Interscope achieves humungous success with a free-spirited artist like Lady Gaga, next thing you know, RCA Records conspicuously introduce KE$HA, a snarky party-girl espousing easy-to-digest verbal nuggets over slick progressive beats.

This practice is nothing new. From the Brill Building to Motown to the empires built by Tommy Mottola, Lew Wasserman and Clive Davis to recent dynasties erected by Jay-Z and John Janick, companies have always, and will continue to manufacture competitive pre-labeled musical Garanimals for children of the corn-syrup to consume.

While blatantly calculated, this imitative rush-to-the-moment by competing companies to further tempt our consumption-heavy culture works more often than not across every feasible product and form of recreation imaginable. Even when said product is an actual human being.
This mimicking continues throughout the development of an artist with a matching hang-tag. If a concept works successfully for the trendsetting artist that reaches the summit first, it's quickly copied before the general population grows weary of said tactic.

Enter the "Garanimal-esque" model of releasing a companion piece of music that is stylistically similar though thematically edgier and playfully perverse. Whereas Gaga's 'The Fame' beget the darker 'The Fame Monster,' it was surely only a matter of time before KE$HA's 'Animal' bred a sister wolf named CANNIBAL that positions itself as even more wild than its primal sibling.

And executing the Garanimal theme to perfection, its deluxe edition (which compiles both releases) features split-screen / split-personality artwork of both KE$HA album images haphazardly stitched together. Matching hang-tags seamlessly matched. I wonder if Garan Incorporated, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is expecting a royalty.
KE$HA
CANNIBAL
1. Cannibal
2. We R Who We R
3. Sleazy
4. Blow
5. The Harold Song
6. Crazy Beautiful Life
7. Grow a Pear
8. C U Next Tuesday
9. Animal (Billboard remix)

CANNIBAL's lead single "We R Who We R" will have its music video (directed by Hype Williams) debut on MTV on 11/30. In the meantime, another new Garanimal trend has emerged in the age of the proliferation of affordable video cameras, editing software and self-distribution as official videos from current pop icons are matched with parodies.



Animal, Cannibal or Garanimal? The jury is still out but we should know their decision in about another 14 minutes.

KE$HA
TOUR DATES:
02/15/11 Portland, OR - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
02/16/11 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
02/19/11 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
02/20/11 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
02/22/11 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
02/24/11 Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
02/26/11 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
03/10/11 Moore Park, AUS - Hordern Pavilion
03/16/11 Hindmarsh, AUS - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
04/05/11 Dayton, OH - Wright State University
04/06/11 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
04/12/11 Boston, MA - House Of Blues
04/13/11 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
04/16/11 Clarion, PA - Clarion University
04/19/11 Charlotte, NC - Fillmore
04/20/11 Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
04/22/11 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House Of Blues
04/26/11 Dallas, TX - House Of Blues
04/29/11 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
04/30/11 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
05/03/11 Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
05/04/11 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
05/06/11 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium

OFFICIAL KE$HA
KE$HA TWITTER

FLYLEAF Remember To Live (Ep)

On December 7th, FLYLEAF are set to release REMEMBER TO LIVE ("Memento Vivere"), a collection of rare music that includes newly recorded versions of previously hard-to-find fan favorites (from when the band was called Passerby) such as "Amy Says," "Okay" and "Believe in Dreams" as well as alternate mixes of previously released songs including a Ben Moody (Evanescence, We Are The Fallen) mix of "Arise," the latest single from the band's sophomore album MEMENTO MORI. This 7-song Ep also includes the brand new song LIGHT IN YOUR EYES:



FLYLEAF
REMEMBER TO LIVE
1. Justice & Mercy (Violent Love Version)
2. Okay
3. Amy Says
4. Dear My Closest Friend
5. Light In Your Eyes
6. Believe In Dreams
7. Arise (Ben Moody Mix)

FLYLEAFMUSIC.COM

ANYA MARINA SPIRIT SCHOOL: Open Enrollment Begins Nov 16

On November 16, Portland, Oregon based singer-songwriter ANYA MARINA will release her SPIRIT SCHOOL EP, offering a first glimpse of new material since her 2009 album Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II and Twilight Saga: New Moon hit "Satellite Heart".

SPIRIT SCHOOL features Dandy Warhols front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor on the seductive industrial grind of "Whatsit" as well as a collaboration with Telekinisis head man Michael Lerner and a remix from Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino.
Anya recalls the genesis of Sprit School, "Originally the idea came about while on one of my walks in my then-neighborhood of Hollywood. I think I was dragging my feet a little that day--I was blue for some reason. On the walk I came upon a school I'd never seen before. The sun was shining in such a way that the name of the school was obscured, but as I approached it, I read the sign and couldn't believe my eyes: THE SPIRIT SCHOOL. I wondered if this was some actors' conservatory or weird New Age Hollywood ashram, but as I quickened my pace to get a better look at it, I noticed I had misread the sign completely. It was some elementary school with a different name altogether. I sort of chuckled a bit at my mistake and started to come out of the doldrums.

The phrase and the notion stuck with me. What a cool idea: a place you go to get in touch with and develop your spirit. Wouldn't it be nice if there were such a place?"

Indeed. SPIRIT SCHOOL...open enrollment begins November 16th via Chop Shop Records/Atlantic Records.

ANYA MARINA
SPIRIT SCHOOL EP
1. You Are Invisible
2. Whatsit
3. Spirit School
4. Busrider
5. Satellite Heart (Tiny Stars Remix)

TOUR DATES
12.05.10 - Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR (co-headlining with Steve Poltz)
01.28.11 - Mr Small's Theater, Pittsburgh, PA (supporting Joshua Radin)
01.29.11 - Opera House, Toronto, ON (supporting Joshua Radin)
01.30.11 - La Tulipe, Montreal, QC (supporting Joshua Radin)
01.31.11 - Toad's, New Haven, CT (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.02.11 - Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.03.11 - CenterStage, Atlanta, GA (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.04.11 - The Cannery, Nashville, TN (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.05.11 - Handlebar, Greenville, SC (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.07.11 - The Plaza Theatre, Orlando, FL (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.08.11 - Theater, Tampa, FL (supporting Joshua Radin)
02.09.11 - WorkPlay Theatre, Birmingham, AL (supporting Joshua Radin)

Official Site
MySpace
Twitter
Facebook

Versa Emergent Vultures Ignite A Chain Reaction

There’s something up there... I swear. No One Believes Me…

Versa emerged out the cracks of my lips…

By definition, Versa is a specialized language for addressing and querying a Resource Description Framework model that allows traversal of arcs, processing of node contents, and general expression evaluation.

To Emerge is to come into being through evolution.

Therefore, to VersaEmerge is to evolve through the use of a specialized coded language, which enables a progressive form of expression that unites a vulturine super breed embodying Transhumanism.


Vultures are commonly classified into two groups: Old World Vultures and New World Vultures with similarities between the two different groups due to convergent evolution.

Cue emergence.

Old World Vultures found in Africa, Asia, and Europe belong to the family Accipitridae and find carcasses exclusively by sight while New World Vultures emanating from a fixed-radius point of Port St. Lucie, FL have emerged from a centrifugal force that allows them to aim their arrows high via a metaphysical catacomb of sound and cinema.

There’s a Vulture on my shoulder.
And it’s fixed at zero.

Cue Theatrics.

Always hissing in my ear…

Often it’s a supreme confluence of circumstances that creates an indelible artistic statement; one that defines a time, influences times to come and is ultimately an evolutional step. It’s often not premeditated and quite often not immediately recognized for its intrinsic merits.

Having aged in an era when “albums” were quintessential, I’m still predisposed to seek out divinity in the form of a complete artistic statement. Having dutifully immersed my sensory explorations with cultural signposts such as Pink Floyd The Wall, Rush 2112, Pearl Jam Ten, Nirvana Nevermind and Radiohead Ok Computer, I have developed an acute sensibility to recognize greatness by bands that have a grand, and sometimes grandiose, vision.

VersaEmerge embodies grandeur on Fixed At Zero. Last spring, I had heard a few of their songs online and immediately gravitated to the magnetic allure of their spatial cacophony of sound. The songs were hypnotic. My mind’s eye caught the tide.

Rooted deep. So sun sweet.



Fixed At Zero doesn’t represent an amalgamated interpolation of The Fixx being Saved By Zero or Trent Reznor declaring the beginning of the end in Year Zero. It, knowingly or unknowingly, plants a stake unto its own as a new zero-point at which a generation of music emerges.

Cue context.

Upon ingesting the entire Fixed At Zero opus repeatedly, one begins to exhibit rapacious tendencies. Much the same way a vampire is created by undead transference, its auditory claws extrapolate sensory gratification from one soul to another allowing identities to be subsumed within the vortex of a vulturous cult.

The looking glass is clear, what you want is near…

Cue rapture.
Is there a recipe to create a new musical language founded in an emergent verse?

Cue metaphorical blender.

Combine a ladle of Danny Elfman scoring a Tim Burton animated film with a smidgeon of esoteric Mike Oldfield atmosphere, and mix with a helping of Dream Theater inspired prog-noodling before seasoning with a couple shakes of My Bloody Valentine, a dollop of Emo, a pinch of Paramore, a dab of Björk and then lightly purée. Slowly sauté in a hearty broth of layered-wall-of-sound and voilà; Pièce de résistance!

Encapsulating this Versa vitamin are vocalist Sierra Kusterbeck, guitarist Blake Harnage, bassist Devin Indeligo and drummer Chris Pollack.

Fresh out of the oven from their breakout performances at Warped Twenty Ten, VersaEmerge hit the road for a 29-date fall tour with openers Anarbor, The Dangerous Summer, Conditions and various local openers. Five bands for ten dollars. At $2 a band, the universe seemed to be on its proper axis once again.

Over the course of two sixty-minute shows, at the Troubadour in Hollywood and Chain Reaction in Anaheim, I witnessed an inter-connected transference of infectious passion by both the band and the audience that was thoroughly engaging as the lifeline of each entity was greatly enhanced by the other.

Similar to the band’s meticulous vision in putting together their debut album, they strove to develop a live show with a cohesive thread. Flanked by 7-foot LED trees (as seen in their ‘Fixed At Zero’ video and which were erroneously removed from the alleyway behind the Troubadour by a scrap metal truck though subsequently returned a few days later) that would make The Flaming Lips proud, the band split their show into three segments of four songs each representing a trilogy of Space, Earth and Sky.

These elements were tangentially equated to Blake, Sierra & Devin, respectively, while Chris, the timekeeper, presumably embodied the existential element of Time, both literally and figuratively, to the encore of ‘Clocks’.

Space and Time. Mother Earth and Father Sky. This deliberate construct underscored a thematic-driven experience and offered a glimpse of surely more elaborate cinematic presentations to be unveiled in the future.

Both nights, VersaEmerge delivered inspired performances as palpable energy reigned supreme. Ms Kusterbeck demonstrated an assured command of arena-rock operandi and a frequent desire to soak up the moments between sleep by laying her body on the outstretched hands of the adoring crowd. She was having the time of her life. Ditto the fans.

At a few hundred strong (Anaheim was the band’s first sell-out of the tour at 250 sold), these diehards have pledged their allegiance to the community of VersaEmerge. With rubber VE bracelets adorned and “Fixed at Zero” finger-signs raised high in the air, these self-anointed ‘New World Vultures’ united.

They were vociferously singing as if partaking in a form of group therapy. Reticent emotions were being purged by the visceral lyrics on Fixed At Zero. Regardless of the intended meaning, personal meaning has been refracted to each individual psyche.

The faithful that bandied together in a chain reaction of devotion knew every word to every song, felt every word to every song and couldn’t wait to emotively sing along. They were living for this moment.

Cue confession.

I was too.
The “it” factor that few bands possess can be alluded to through the experience of hearing two different entire crowds start in on the lyrics of each song a beat before Sierra did. It was something that will live on in my memory but an enraptured fan base only tells a part of the story.

The creative chemistry of VersaEmerge tells the rest. For instance, ‘Lost Tree,’ the closing track on the new album (and a song that the band added to their set list after inordinate fan demand) reminds one of ‘The Trees’ by Rush, a deep album cut lacquered in social metaphors whose limbs were stretched in concert. Not a “radio” single but one dearly cherished by fans.

‘Lost Tree’ is reminiscent of ‘The Trees,’ contextually, but goes one level further by tipping a hat to the Roger Waters songwriting device of re-circulating many of themes and lyrics from the rest of Fixed At Zero into the dramatic swirling crescendo of this seven-minute tour-du-force.

Cue headphones.

Cue volume.

Bathe. Rinse. Repeat.

I, hereby, christen ‘Lost Tree’ the band’s zero-year masterpiece and hope that one day VersaEmerge will unleash a 15-minute live version replete with a clandestine Theremin and a violin bow solo lavished in feedback (I suggested as much to Blake after the Chain Reaction show).

Cue LED trees.

They might have a veritable forest of ‘em by then…

Cue curtain call.

Defining signposts of my busy concert-going year, these two VersaEmerge shows portended a history-in-the-making zero-sum game that found a Florida foursome fixed at zero and their vulturous crowds saved by zero.

Blame it on the television…
VERSAEMERGE
Troubadour - W. Hollywood, CA - Oct 27, 2010
Chain Reaction - Anaheim, CA - Oct 29, 2010

Set List:
INTRO
Theatrics (Instrumental)

SPACE
1. Fixed At Zero
2. Past Praying For
3. Fire (Aim Your Arrows High)
4. Up There

INTERLUDE
Unravel (Björk cover)

EARTH
1. You’ll Never Know
2. Moments Between Sleep
3. Your Own Lov.E.
4. Figure It Out

SKY
1. Stanger
2. Mind Reader
3. Lost Tree
4. The Whisperer

ENCORE
Clocks
VERSAEMERGE

FLYLEAF Unite & Fight In Los Angeles (10-20-10)

Ten-Twenty-Ten
Flight of the Leaf once again
House of Blues Sunset
Is where the faithful have met
Unite and Fight with all their might
Memento Mori and a harmonious Story

Purple worn as a color of choice
Congregating a united voice
To Stop the Hate
A better world to make

Anticipation of a magnificent din
A propulsive rock show to begin
Stage lights flicker
Pulses grow quicker
In The Dark
We depart

Volume swells
A sign that foretells
Seals will be flying
And no denying
That a Beautiful Bride
Makes a room come alive

Sturm in a red dress
Her vocals caress
Like those of an angel from above
She sings from a heart filled with love
And as we all find air to breathe Again
We begin to collectively ascend

Cassie with its machine gun shuffle
A full-on fist-pumping shuffle
It decimates the towering speakers
Elevating feet in Converse sneakers

Do you Believe in God is All Around Me
Chasm of wisdoms to decree
Souls eternally eliciting
This Close to fulfilling

So I Thought I knew The Kind
of might that fuels the mind
Liberation steeped in Sorrow
A unified strength to borrow
For just One second I felt whole
As Flyleaf enraptured my soul

Moments of Missing
Its melodies glistening
Are soon Swept Away
Down-tuned feedback set to sway

Time to Set Apart This Dream
As roaming spotlights gleam
Heavenly vocals scintillating
A fabled evening in the making

I’m So Sick amped to Breeeeeaaaaak
Self-consciousness in its wake
Detonating a cathartic kiss
Infected with selfless bliss

Circle its soaring sound
Elevated moods abound
We are Fully Alive
Deep inside
To Arise & Be
All that we Dream

How He Loves Us
An omnipotent rush
Ten-Twenty-Ten
Flyleaf has risen Again

FLYLEAF
House of Blues Sunset
W. Hollywood, CA
10-20-10
1) In The Dark
2) Beautiful Bride
3) Again
4) Cassie
5) All Around Me
6) Chasm
7) So I Thought
8) The Kind
9) Sorrow
10) This Close
11) Missing
12) Swept Away
13) Set Apart This Dream
14) I’m So Sick
15) Circle
16) Fully Alive
17) Arise
18) How He Loves Us
-Epilogue-

We can all Unite and Fight
Providing a guiding light
Text ‘Unite’ to 20222
A $10 donation to World Vision shall ensue

Domo arigato: Jason @The Gauntlet, Doug @A&M/Octone, Phil @House of Blues Sunset & photographer Melissa Libertelli

QUEENSRYCHE 'Resistance' (Live From London 11/15/90)

(photo by Ross Halfin)

In celebration of the release of the 20th Anniversary Edition of QUEENSRŸCHE EMPIRE on November 9th (EMI/Capitol), check out an exclusive stream of RESISTANCE (recorded live at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 11/15/90).

LISTEN TO RESISTANCE (LIVE FROM LONDON)

"Resistance" became the tour opener for the Queensrÿche shows of the 90s. Singer Geoff Tate and guitarist Michael "Whip" Wilton share their thoughts:

"The song Resistance was a song written about protecting the environment. This is a cause I felt connected to when we wrote the song and a cause I still feel strongly about today." - GEOFF TATE

"Resistance was one of the last songs recorded for Empire. I had the parts ready and Chris (DeGarmo) and I pieced the music together for Geoff to sing this idea he had about the resistance in America at the time. The song recorded fast and my solo was a one taker. Kind of a whip jig." - MICHAEL WILTON

For more about "Resistance" and the "Building of an Empire," read an exclusive Noisecreep interview with Geoff Tate .

QUEENSRŸCHE
EMPIRE
(20th Anniversary Edition)
[2CD, digital]

DISC 1
Best I Can
The Thin Line
Jet City Woman
Della Brown
Another Rainy Night (Without You)
Empire
Resistance
Silent Lucidity
Hand On Heart
One And Only
Anybody Listening?
Last Time In Paris [Bonus Track]
Scarborough Fair [Bonus Track]
Dirty Lil’ Secret [Bonus Track]

DISC 2 (previously unreleased: all tracks recorded live 11/15/90 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon)
Resistance
Walk in the Shadows
Best I Can
Empire
The Thin Line
Jet City Woman
Roads To Madness
Silent Lucidity
Hand On Heart
Take Hold Of The Flame

EMPIRE (20th Anniversary Edition @ AMAZON

QUEENSRŸCHE.COM

SCOTT MILLER Wraps A Christmas Gift

(As told by Scott Miller) Why a Christmas record? Because I like Christmas, that’s why. Plus, it’s a challenge. Think of all the iconic songs and performances you are going up against. I chose these songs and didn’t worry about the order because I figured people are going to hit the “shuffle” setting and let the snowflakes fall where they may.

Even though I own my own label, I still have a team and we have meetings and five-year plans, etc., just like BP. Last year when F. A. Y.’s self-appointed A&R man, Johnny Wright-wing said, “Know what? Miller should do a Christmas record!”, I probably raised a glass (our board meetings generally take place in bars, just like BP) and said, “Why, Wright-wing, that sounds like a great idea .” I wasn’t thinking far enough ahead to say, June, when he said again, “Know what? Miller should do a Christmas record AND he needs to get on it NOW!” Well, I got on it. Musicians were called, studios were booked and during the hottest week on record in East Tennessee, we made CHRISTMAS GIFT.

Why the title, CHRISTMAS GIFT? We don’t do this in my family, but my wife’s family has a tradition of being the first to say “CHRISTMAS GIFT” as early on Christmas Day as they can. It’s like a contest. I mean, they call each other on December 25, 12:00:01 AM to yell it in the phone! I have met some other families from Appalachia that do the same thing. I don’t know if it comes from harder times when all they could afford to give each other was a Christmas “greeting” or what, but by titling the EP, CHRISTMAS GIFT, I get mine in first. Take that, Lane Family of Athens, WV!

CHRISTMAS GIFT
(song notes by Scott Miller)

1) THE KINGDOM HAS COME/JOURNEY OF THE MAGI (Scott Miller, T.S. Eliot) – I knew I wanted R.B. Morris, fellow Knoxville artist, to read something, maybe the verses from Luke that everybody uses, but he pulled this T.S. Eliot poem from a copy of Hard Knox Reviews. I had written the song years ago for a WNCW Christmas CD not thinking then of the Eliot poem or that they could work together. (Now in reality, I just wanted to see my name next to that modernist poet who gave me such fits in school.)

2) YES, VIRGINIA (Scott Miller) – I think this song explains why I wanted to make a Christmas record. Of course I love the baby Jesus, but this is the time of year when all of my family got together and if you grew up on a cattle farm in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, you would understand how special those times were.

3) CHRISTMAS IN PRISON (John Prine) – Ain’t no secret I love the John Prine! I heard they did a tribute record to him, but nobody asked me. I would have done this song, Christmas or not.

4) JOYFUL, JOYFUL (p.d. arr. By Scott Miller) – This is “Dueling Banjos” meets Ludwig van Beethoven. I have a video idea for this song that probably wouldn’t come across in print, but I hope to have it ready by the time this is released. John Taylor is the banjo player and was in a bluegrass band I formed way before the V-Roys. I think he’s awesome.

5) OLD TOY TRAINS (Roger Miller) – Todd Steed, who produced and recorded this EP at his Apeville Studio in Knoxville, had to convince me it was okay to do this song. This song is G R E A T and Roger’s version is G R E A T, but I got a chance to actually sing on this instead of yell, so I like it.

6) STAR OF BETHLEHEM (Neil Young) – I do a show around the second week of December in Johnson City, TN every year and I always play this. The best part…to secure the rights to this song I had to write a check to NEIL YOUNG! It will be framed (if it doesn’t bounce).

7) HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (p.d. arr. By Scott Miller) – A hymn so nice, they named it thrice!

GET A CHRISTMAS GIFT @ iTUNES
GET A CHRISTMAS GIFT @ AMAZON

THESCOTTMILLER.COM