WV Sound

12/05/12

Soft Rock Renegade Archives a Decade of West Virginia Music

For West Virginia music-lovers, the blog Soft Rock Renegade (SRR) makes a great online resource. Founded and maintained by Marshall alumnus Mike Andrick, SRR offers free downloads of hundreds of recordings from a variety of West Virginian musicians and acts as a historical archive of material that is mostly unknown. The blog started in 2009 as a way for Mike to share his own collection of CDs and tapes acquired in his youth. The Bridgeport native says that it was around the age of 14 that he started to attend local music shows. He soon found himself as a proactive member of the state’s growing music scene, and began photographing bands and building websites. Of the music on the SRR blog, Mike says he makes his choices by posting what he believes people should...

Posted at 05:08 AM Comments

11/28/12

John Morgan Expresses Himself as Juna

Though he’s written songs most of his life, John Morgan’s kept most of them to himself. The 31-year-old Gauley Bridge native sums up his 20s as being a “very difficult time,” and while he’s always been a prolific music maker, he’s also pretty private. “I was a horrible singer,” John says. “Afraid of my own voice and not a natural at all.” Graduating from West Virginia University gave John the necessary spark to speak out, and after a long road trip to Oregon and some time in development, John’s debut record, Yesno, came out in 2009. Financially, he describes the experience as a disaster, but for his art, it was necessary, pushing him through the creative process and showing him why he should do it in the first...

Posted at 05:05 AM Comments: 1

11/21/12

New Music in West Virginia

West Virginians are adventurous. From our outdoor excursions to our diversity in the arts, we take pride in who we are. This holiday season, why not step outside the box when it comes to music, too? In the winter issue of WV LIVING, our staff chose five new CDs from musicians around the state who we think you should give a listen. If there's a music lover in your life, any of these CDs would make great gifts. 1. Southeast Engine, Canaanville 2. Sasha Colette & The Magnolias, Ridin' Away 3. Holly Spears, Heartache to Hope 4. The Demon Beat, Less is Less 5. Todd Burge, Building Characters Read more about each of the band's in the winter issue of WV LIVING, on shelves now.

Posted at 10:01 AM Comments

11/14/12

Farnsworth Keeps it Classic

In the rented out space of a 100-year-old building, Chris Vance and Jason Reese practice three times a week. Little preparation goes into these sessions; they know to run through the usual songs, but they strive for spontaneity. “It’s how it used to be done,” says Chris. “We like to throw it back to the garage band days of the ’60s and ’70s.” They practice until they tire, feeding each other notes and riffs, but always celebrate a session’s end the same—with beer and listening to their favorite records. Out of Charleston, West Virginia, Farnsworth is a two-piece rock band with a sound that packs a lively rhythm and a traditional rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic. Riffs, blues chords, and fuzz define them, and while they are...

Posted at 06:03 AM Comments

11/08/12

Finding a Love for Bluegrass

Luke Shamblin had to learn bluegrass. It’s a genre of music with a long-standing tradition, and to involve yourself with it is to pick up on something larger, more rooted, than you. The songs reach back into our collective past, and the instruments outlive the players. For Luke, the process of learning bluegrass has unfolded across more than a decade. Luke, an Elkview native, was given his first taste of the genre by his grandfather, Bob Summers, a musician known for his fiddle playing and involvement in gospel quartets. Bob passed away in October 2001, but left 15-year-old Luke his prized fiddle and a newfound love in music. Luke went on to attend Glenville State College to study political science and history, but he also walked away with a two-year degree in...

Posted at 09:24 AM Comments

10/31/12

Good Sport is on the Rise

There’s a hazy bounce to the opening track of Good Sport’s debut EP And Now We Are Talking. A song titled “Going Steady,” it slowly builds with an intentionally lagged a capella until a moment when the voices fade, and the song’s core, synth-driven rhythm arrives and assumes control. The tired, hypnotic vocals linger, dragging along with a hushed pull to cement the track’s identity as a pop song high on cough syrup. It’s this song that’s most memorable, but it works to the EPs’ advantage—providing a clear image and a nice sample of the lazy, fatigued pop music Good Sport wants to make. And those adjectives mean no malice. While based in Pittsburgh, the members of Good Sport come from a wide and varied collection of...

Posted at 05:20 AM Comments

10/24/12

Clarksburg Musician Wins ReverbNation Competition

Clarksburg’s Lydia Simons, of The Amorous, recently won first place in the Christian Division of ReverbNation’s International Unsigned Only 2012 music competition. ReverbNation is home to more than two million artists, labels, managers, and vendors. It attracts musicians from all over the world, with more than 30 million hits to reverbnation.com every month. Unsigned Only is a great opportunity for artists who haven’t signed a major label contract, and the competition is designed specifically for independent artists. The competition aims to find the most talented band or solo artist who desperately needs to be discovered, and Lydia was exactly what that contest was looking for. On August 29, 2012, with more than 7,000 entries worldwide, ReverbNation...

Posted at 06:26 AM Comments: 2

10/17/12

Sleepwalker Breaks the Indie Mold

Play a few songs on Sleepwalker’s debut EP The Dark One and you might be tempted to lump Morgantown-based Sleepwalker into the same category as a lot of other dark indie or post-hardcore bands from college towns—raging about disconnection from a suburban, consumerist culture with gritty lyrics and intense vocals. But that wouldn’t be quite right. “The last few songs we’ve been writing are in a pretty stereotypically pop style. It’s hard to recognize with the atmosphere of having three guitars, so it comes across as something a little more disconnected from pop, but at the same time, that’s essentially the types of songs we’re writing,” says lead singer and guitarist Tyler Grady. “In a lot of ways, you see that throughout...

Posted at 06:08 AM Comments

10/10/12

The Shawn Owen Band Blends Beach Cool with Mountain Chill

On the surface, Shawn Owen’s music is a tonic of one-part smooth acoustic instrumentals with a reggae-inspired vibe and one-part catchy, unpredictable lyrics. One minute you might be transported to a sunny beach party, the next you may find yourself rushing headlong down a cold mountain slope. Much like his life, Shawn Owen’s music lives in two worlds simultaneously. A West Virginia native who grew up chasing the dream of a professional snowboarding career and a musician currently captivating audiences from beach bars in Annapolis to Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, Shawn is both. His sound is daring and serene, graceful and edgy—something he likes to call “rock and soul.” “There are a lot of different emotions that come out in our songs,” Shawn...

Posted at 05:39 AM Comments

10/03/12

Bringing Music to Raleigh County

You might not guess it, but Beaver—population 1,308—might just be West Virginia’s newest live music destination, at least that’s the hope. “If you bring in musicians, people get a better idea of what’s out there, and they get excited about what we have to offer here in our state,” says Melanie Hicks, owner of Coffee Beans & Books. As part of the relatively new School of Harmony complex in Beaver, just outside of Beckley, the bookstore has been attracting regional bands and entertainers like Clinton Collins & The Creekboys to play in its intimate, coffeehouse atmosphere since opening in 2010. But organizers aren’t stopping there. Melanie and local magazine editor Ken Hays have been turning their attention to national names as...

Posted at 01:00 PM Comments

09/25/12

Morgantown Hosts the Best New Electronic Dance Music

Call it a renaissance. Call it a golden age. Whatever you call it, there’s no denying that electronic dance music (EDM) is the defining sound of 2012. For proof, look no further than GLOWfest, an all-day festival that features already well-known and up-and-coming practitioners of the genre. The festival has been tearing its way across U.S. college campuses, and this Friday, West Virginia University will become the latest host—just in time for homecoming. GLOWfest promises to be an all-thrills, no-pretense celebration of dance music and culture. I recently had a chance to speak with co-founders Deuce Thevenow and Jack Shannon, as well as GLOWfest coordinator Chris Kennedy, about the rising popularity of EDM and the challenge of putting on a festival of this...

Posted at 07:08 AM Comments

09/20/12

Ridin' Away with Sasha Colette & The Magnolias

Somewhere between Grace Potter and Bruce Springsteen, rock and roll, country, and soul come together in the sound of Sasha Colette & The Magnolias. This band has been stunning audiences from Huntington to Ohio, Kentucky to Nashville, with its killer songs and no holds barred attitude. Paste Magazine, a well-known source for what’s happening in the indie music scene, named Sasha Colette & The Magnolias as one of the 10 West Virginia Bands You Should Listen To Now. Even former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant has taken note of these promising up-and-comers. Sasha got her start in music at an early age, and began playing in coffee shops around her hometown of Olive Hill, Kentucky, when she was 16. About a year and a half ago, she started playing gigs with The...

Posted at 08:37 AM Comments

	12/05/12 Soft Rock Renegade Archives a Decade of West Virginia Music For West Virginia music-lovers, the blog Soft Rock Renegade (SRR) makes a great online resource. Founded and maintained by Marshall alumnus Mike Andrick, SRR offers free downloads of hundreds of recordings from a variety of West Virginian musicians and acts as a historical archive of material that is mostly unknown. The blog started in 2009 as a way for Mike to share his own collection of CDs and tapes acquired in his youth. The Bridgeport native says that it was around the age of 14 that he started to attend local music shows. He soon found himself as a proactive member of the state’s growing music scene, and began photographing bands and building websites. Of the music on the SRR blog, Mike says he makes his choices by posting what he believes people should... Posted at 05:08 AM Comments
	11/28/12 John Morgan Expresses Himself as Juna Though he’s written songs most of his life, John Morgan’s kept most of them to himself. The 31-year-old Gauley Bridge native sums up his 20s as being a “very difficult time,” and while he’s always been a prolific music maker, he’s also pretty private. “I was a horrible singer,” John says. “Afraid of my own voice and not a natural at all.” Graduating from West Virginia University gave John the necessary spark to speak out, and after a long road trip to Oregon and some time in development, John’s debut record, Yesno, came out in 2009. Financially, he describes the experience as a disaster, but for his art, it was necessary, pushing him through the creative process and showing him why he should do it in the first... Posted at 05:05 AM Comments: 1
	11/21/12 New Music in West Virginia West Virginians are adventurous. From our outdoor excursions to our diversity in the arts, we take pride in who we are. This holiday season, why not step outside the box when it comes to music, too? In the winter issue of WV LIVING, our staff chose five new CDs from musicians around the state who we think you should give a listen. If there's a music lover in your life, any of these CDs would make great gifts. 1. Southeast Engine, Canaanville 2. Sasha Colette & The Magnolias, Ridin' Away 3. Holly Spears, Heartache to Hope 4. The Demon Beat, Less is Less 5. Todd Burge, Building Characters Read more about each of the band's in the winter issue of WV LIVING, on shelves now. Posted at 10:01 AM Comments
	11/14/12 Farnsworth Keeps it Classic In the rented out space of a 100-year-old building, Chris Vance and Jason Reese practice three times a week. Little preparation goes into these sessions; they know to run through the usual songs, but they strive for spontaneity. “It’s how it used to be done,” says Chris. “We like to throw it back to the garage band days of the ’60s and ’70s.” They practice until they tire, feeding each other notes and riffs, but always celebrate a session’s end the same—with beer and listening to their favorite records. Out of Charleston, West Virginia, Farnsworth is a two-piece rock band with a sound that packs a lively rhythm and a traditional rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic. Riffs, blues chords, and fuzz define them, and while they are... Posted at 06:03 AM Comments
	11/08/12 Finding a Love for Bluegrass Luke Shamblin had to learn bluegrass. It’s a genre of music with a long-standing tradition, and to involve yourself with it is to pick up on something larger, more rooted, than you. The songs reach back into our collective past, and the instruments outlive the players. For Luke, the process of learning bluegrass has unfolded across more than a decade. Luke, an Elkview native, was given his first taste of the genre by his grandfather, Bob Summers, a musician known for his fiddle playing and involvement in gospel quartets. Bob passed away in October 2001, but left 15-year-old Luke his prized fiddle and a newfound love in music. Luke went on to attend Glenville State College to study political science and history, but he also walked away with a two-year degree in... Posted at 09:24 AM Comments
	10/31/12 Good Sport is on the Rise There’s a hazy bounce to the opening track of Good Sport’s debut EP And Now We Are Talking. A song titled “Going Steady,” it slowly builds with an intentionally lagged a capella until a moment when the voices fade, and the song’s core, synth-driven rhythm arrives and assumes control. The tired, hypnotic vocals linger, dragging along with a hushed pull to cement the track’s identity as a pop song high on cough syrup. It’s this song that’s most memorable, but it works to the EPs’ advantage—providing a clear image and a nice sample of the lazy, fatigued pop music Good Sport wants to make. And those adjectives mean no malice. While based in Pittsburgh, the members of Good Sport come from a wide and varied collection of... Posted at 05:20 AM Comments
	10/24/12 Clarksburg Musician Wins ReverbNation Competition Clarksburg’s Lydia Simons, of The Amorous, recently won first place in the Christian Division of ReverbNation’s International Unsigned Only 2012 music competition. ReverbNation is home to more than two million artists, labels, managers, and vendors. It attracts musicians from all over the world, with more than 30 million hits to reverbnation.com every month. Unsigned Only is a great opportunity for artists who haven’t signed a major label contract, and the competition is designed specifically for independent artists. The competition aims to find the most talented band or solo artist who desperately needs to be discovered, and Lydia was exactly what that contest was looking for. On August 29, 2012, with more than 7,000 entries worldwide, ReverbNation... Posted at 06:26 AM Comments: 2
	10/17/12 Sleepwalker Breaks the Indie Mold Play a few songs on Sleepwalker’s debut EP The Dark One and you might be tempted to lump Morgantown-based Sleepwalker into the same category as a lot of other dark indie or post-hardcore bands from college towns—raging about disconnection from a suburban, consumerist culture with gritty lyrics and intense vocals. But that wouldn’t be quite right. “The last few songs we’ve been writing are in a pretty stereotypically pop style. It’s hard to recognize with the atmosphere of having three guitars, so it comes across as something a little more disconnected from pop, but at the same time, that’s essentially the types of songs we’re writing,” says lead singer and guitarist Tyler Grady. “In a lot of ways, you see that throughout... Posted at 06:08 AM Comments
	10/10/12 The Shawn Owen Band Blends Beach Cool with Mountain Chill On the surface, Shawn Owen’s music is a tonic of one-part smooth acoustic instrumentals with a reggae-inspired vibe and one-part catchy, unpredictable lyrics. One minute you might be transported to a sunny beach party, the next you may find yourself rushing headlong down a cold mountain slope. Much like his life, Shawn Owen’s music lives in two worlds simultaneously. A West Virginia native who grew up chasing the dream of a professional snowboarding career and a musician currently captivating audiences from beach bars in Annapolis to Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, Shawn is both. His sound is daring and serene, graceful and edgy—something he likes to call “rock and soul.” “There are a lot of different emotions that come out in our songs,” Shawn... Posted at 05:39 AM Comments
	10/03/12 Bringing Music to Raleigh County You might not guess it, but Beaver—population 1,308—might just be West Virginia’s newest live music destination, at least that’s the hope. “If you bring in musicians, people get a better idea of what’s out there, and they get excited about what we have to offer here in our state,” says Melanie Hicks, owner of Coffee Beans & Books. As part of the relatively new School of Harmony complex in Beaver, just outside of Beckley, the bookstore has been attracting regional bands and entertainers like Clinton Collins & The Creekboys to play in its intimate, coffeehouse atmosphere since opening in 2010. But organizers aren’t stopping there. Melanie and local magazine editor Ken Hays have been turning their attention to national names as... Posted at 01:00 PM Comments
	09/25/12 Morgantown Hosts the Best New Electronic Dance Music Call it a renaissance. Call it a golden age. Whatever you call it, there’s no denying that electronic dance music (EDM) is the defining sound of 2012. For proof, look no further than GLOWfest, an all-day festival that features already well-known and up-and-coming practitioners of the genre. The festival has been tearing its way across U.S. college campuses, and this Friday, West Virginia University will become the latest host—just in time for homecoming. GLOWfest promises to be an all-thrills, no-pretense celebration of dance music and culture. I recently had a chance to speak with co-founders Deuce Thevenow and Jack Shannon, as well as GLOWfest coordinator Chris Kennedy, about the rising popularity of EDM and the challenge of putting on a festival of this... Posted at 07:08 AM Comments
	09/20/12 Ridin' Away with Sasha Colette & The Magnolias Somewhere between Grace Potter and Bruce Springsteen, rock and roll, country, and soul come together in the sound of Sasha Colette & The Magnolias. This band has been stunning audiences from Huntington to Ohio, Kentucky to Nashville, with its killer songs and no holds barred attitude. Paste Magazine, a well-known source for what’s happening in the indie music scene, named Sasha Colette & The Magnolias as one of the 10 West Virginia Bands You Should Listen To Now. Even former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant has taken note of these promising up-and-comers. Sasha got her start in music at an early age, and began playing in coffee shops around her hometown of Olive Hill, Kentucky, when she was 16. About a year and a half ago, she started playing gigs with The... Posted at 08:37 AM Comments

Keeping a beat in the Mountain State

Fall 2012