Matt Webb

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Keith Richards had given songwriting advice to the Eurythmics? No worries if you haven’t – Matt Webb has already grappled with that question. And what we have here, in the shape of his debut solo EP, is the answer. Kind of.
“Cinnamon” is part minimalist funk, part Corey Hart, all hook, and possibly the last thing anybody would have expected from Webb on his first working holiday away from Marianas Trench. He even says so. “You know, I was a little surprised by it too,” he admits, laughing, “but I’m a big ‘80s sucker. I’ve seen Def Leppard live five times. The ‘80s just sort of rubbed off.”

Webb adds that his teenage musical diet also included the Matthew Good Band, blink-182, and Foo Fighters. But it’s the sophisticated pop lover who emerges on his upcoming EP. Or “Justin Timberlake if he played guitar,” as one friend put it, about an EP that also offers chest-bursting electro-ballads (“Goodbye Addict”), squelchy, neon, dancefloor-burners (Take You Higher”), and aerobic synth-funk (“Bad Girl”),

“I’ve been writing a long time,” Webb shrugs, “and I wanted to try something a little different. There are some extremely straight-ahead pop songs on there. But they were really fun to do.”

Of course they were! When Marianas Trench wrapped up its Masterpiece Theatre tour at the end of 2010, and Webb saw the opportunity to do his own thing, he promptly surrounded himself with friends. And not just ordinary friends – brilliant friends like Dave Ogilvie, who produced “Cinnamon” and mixed a substantial chunk of the finished record. “A consummate pro,” says Webb. “Who wouldn't want to work with the guy that produces Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson?”

He also roped in Fake Shark! Real Zombie! frontman and “dream producer” Kevvy Maher, who scores co-writing (along with Carly Rae Jepsen) and knob-twiddling credits on “Take You Higher”, along with production credits on “Goodbye Addict”. “I'll be working with Kevvy until I die, guaranteed,” states Webb. “We're also starting a side, side project called USB Mustache. Stay tuned for very mediocre quality Burt Reynolds inspired ‘70s songs with a hint of 2011 technological prowess.”

In Webb’s well-calibrated estimation, Ryan Stewart – who co-wrote and produced “Bad Girl” and “Runaway” - is a man who “lives and breathes super-hits.” Plus, he works out of his home. “Which is cool,” notes Webb, “because I can hit the studio in a leopard snuggie and no one objects.”

Finally, we have Webb’s MT bandmate Josh Ramsay, who produced “Stage I Remember” and co-wrote and produced “Landslide”. “I've learned so much about music from him over the years,” says Webb, “it seems totally natural that he would be involved. He's been helping me write and record songs since I was 15 years old.” It’s been a fruitful relationship. If Marianas Trench saw the duo’s punk roots evolve into majestic, baroque pop, this EP proves that they can also do sleek.

Webb’s debut is going to delight the faithful, surprise many others, and probably saddle the young guitarist with an unmanageably successful side-project. Which would be fine with Webb, since touring is his “favourite, favourite” thing to do. But if it should cause a little anxiety among the Trenchers, don’t let it. Assures Webb, “Marianas Trench is my number one priority and my family, so I’ll make sure this doesn’t interfere with it.”

“But,” he adds, “I’ll sneak it in whenever I can.”

Tags: indie, pop rock, pop-dance

Mayday Parade

Mayday Parade is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. Formed in 2005 when members of popular local Tallahassee bands Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment converged in 2006. Their debut EP Tales Told by Dead Friends was released in 2006, and sold over 20,000 copies without any label support. On July 10, 2007, Mayday Parade released their debut album A Lesson in Romantics. After signing to Fearless Records in 2006, the band also signed onto a major label with Atlantic Records in 2009. Their second studio album, Anywhere But Here was released on October 6, 2009.

Tags: alternative rock, indie

The Downtown Fiction

The Downtown Fiction are an indie pop/rock band from Fairfax, VA, formed in the summer of 2008 by Cameron Leahy (guitar/vocals) and Eric Jones (drums). The two posted three demos on the band’s MySpace profile and quickly built a following and added David Pavluk (bass/background vocals) to the line up. After a year of touring, The Downtown Fiction announced their signing with Photo Finish / Atlantic Records. The band performed on the 2010 Bamboozle Roadshow and the 2010 Warped Tour and was recently featured in the “100 Bands You Need To Know” issue of Alternative Press Magazine.
The Downtown Fiction released a self-titled EP in March 2009, which included the hits “Living Proof” and “Is Anybody Out There?”. Followed up by an EP titled “Best I Never Had” in March. In August, the music video for “I Just Wanna Run” was released and in December, they released a new EP “The Double E.P.”, including all tracks from the two other EPs and a new demo, “Keep On Moving”. Songfacts reports that their first album Let’s Be Animals was released on April 26, 2011, via Photo Finish / Atlantic Records, “Thanks for Nothing” was the first single.

Tags: indie, Indie pop, pop punk, powerpop

Rescue Me

Tags: alternative, hip hop, indie

Sugarplum Fairy

Sugarplum Fairy is a pop-rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The members took the name from a version of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life" where John Lennon counts the song in by saying "sugar-plum-fairy, sugar-plum-fairy". Sugarplum Fairy was founded in 1998 by Victor and Carl Noren and Kristian Gidlund.
The band has released several demos before getting contracted in 2004, releasing the EP Stay Young, that received generally positive reviews. Later they released their first single, "Sweet Jackie", from their first full length album "Young & Armed" that was released later that year(September 29, 2004). The band toured heavily in Sweden, Japan and Germany, and released the debut album in different editions in both Japan and Germany in early 2005. In 2006 they put out their second record "First Round First Minute". They signed onto EMI Records in 2004.
Apart from their music, the band is also famous for the fact that the two singers in the band are brothers of Gustaf Norén, singer in Mando Diao.

Tags: indie, indie rock, pop rock

Prime Ministers

Prime Ministers are an Ecuadorian rock band. Emerged as a band in 2007. It consists of Ernesto Estrada (guitar, vocals), Jorge Luis "Pala" Varela (guitar), Pedro Argüello (bass) and Jaime "Chimo" Solórzano (drums).
Their debut album Take A Ride is a compendium of 12 songs that unearths the 60s' rock sound and brings it back to life with an interesting sequence worth listening to closely. The album's tracks follow an order that takes the listener down a path from darkness to light. Take a Ride starts with "Dead Man Walking", a song that deals with depression. It's the starting point for a rhythmic, spiritual evolution that fast-forwards towards liberation in the 11th track, "Let Love Rule". Each song has its raison d'etre and guides the audience towards the certainty that the only way to happiness is to let love rule their lives. The work was produced in English, a language in which the band feels comfortable composing and singing, the language they actually call "their rock n roll mother tongue".

Tags: alternative, alternative rock, indie, latin rock, Rock, rock and roll