Posts Tagged ‘BTB Exclusive’

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I recently interviewed the insanely infectious POWERLIFTER (an up & coming 8-bit band from Wichita, Kansas). Check out the highlights below.

ROB BRAYL: What’s the deal with the name, Powerlifter? Do tell.

MARTIN SWIGGART for Powerlifter: We decided to name the band POWERLIFTER because Matthew’s (vocalist) dad used to be a powerlifter when he was younger. We thought it was a pretty triumphant name for a band.

RB: Many elements are used to make up music, but not everyone would agree a Gameboy is one of them. How did the idea of using the Gameboy in your music develop?

MS: I used to have my own band (Martendo) about three years ago in which I made 8-bit sounds in a computer program. One night Matthew and I were drinking and hanging out and I showed the songs to him. He fell in love and told me about how there are people who use old computer systems and gaming devices to make music. I instantly researched and figured out how to use the Gameboy.

RB: There’s several crotch shots in your music video for Buffalo. Alcohol and crazy dancing, too. Clearly the point of the video is pure fun, eh?

MS: [Laughs] Pretty much. We do love to party and have fun. When we were talking about video ideas I told them I wanted a party video like in those late ’90s teen high school movies. The parties you always wanted to go to because it looked so fun. I think in the end we did a pretty good job at achieving that.

RB: The video and the sound coming from Powerlifter is so Brooklyn. Any New York shows in the future? Tour?

MS: Oh really? Didn’t know we were “Brooklyn” — that’s pretty awesome. As of yet we do not have any New York shows. We are about to go on a short tour to play the Gen Con convention. So yes, tour is a big part of our future. We’d love to make it up to New York.

RB: Be random. Tell us something we should know about the band and the music you’re proud to be a part of.

MS: We have an alter ego named Annoying Dead Best Friend. We want to start a restaurant called Blue-BQ. Where everything in the restaurant is white and the BBQ is blue. We are also in the works for shooting three/four more videos and working on a dvd. Currently writing/recording an EP for an Italy release on COUCOU net Label. I’m proud of this band because we always have fun when we play and hang out and encourage you to have fun with us.

Check out Powerlifter’s music video for Buffalo, below.

Powerlifter on Myspace

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

With millions of hits on YouTube, GloZell is breaking out with megaphone in hand. The question is: Are you ready for her jelly?

GloZell Green isn’t blonde. She’s not fabricated, nor plastic, and she doesn’t speak in a Valley Girl accent. She’s not a size zero. She doesn’t wake up to a bottle of Jack, nor does she stumble out of hot spots late at night ingesting drugs. What’s wonderful about GloZell is that she doesn’t wish to be any of these things. Although she currently resides in Los Angeles, where this type of idea is pushed down one’s throat in order to get a break, GloZell is breaking out on her own terms, without the fake/tired hysterics of Hollywood. In the spark that is her life, she admits times when she fought the battle of acceptance, a battle in which she won, finally landing in a world where she has come to love herself, a world in which countless others have followed, coming together in a celebration for the hysterical comedic brilliance that she did not contrive, for GloZell Green is one of those rare talents that simply is who she is. There’s meat on her bones, expressions on her face that would make the most animated cartoon appear dull, and most importantly, a heart inside her chest that chooses to embrace all, no matter their color or experience, a heart that truly is as big as her ever-changing hair.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing GloZell twice (our first interview had numerous technical difficulties; charming, considering this sort of reality show drama seems to follow her wherever she goes). We dished on her background, the journey to self-acceptance, Ke$ha, Bieber, Sean Kingston, Gaga, and other pop turf, plus my push for her to compete for her own show via Oprah Winfrey’s contest for her new network, OWN.

Listen to the interview in full (parts 1 & 2 below).

GloZell Interview by Rob Brayl Pt. 1 (Audio)

GloZell Interview by Rob Brayl Pt. 2 (Audio)

PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE FOR GLOZELL TO HAVE HER OWN SHOW by clicking here. [Spread the word!]

And be sure to check out GloZell in action below (with her brand new translation of Eminem’s just-released single ft. Rihanna, and the classic Tik Tok translation following).

Eminem/Rihanna: Love The Way You Lie Translation

Ke$ha: Tik Tok Translation

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

According to Rolling Stone, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals is one of the best bands of 2010. This past weekend I had the pleasure of rocking out with the act (live in concert via Webster Hall), to put that statement to the test. And the outcome was incredible. Meshed with a stage backdrop that oozed of metallic crinkled plates, flashing lights, and red roses, Grace Potter’s signature pipes still somehow managed to overpower all of it, soul thirsty and soul-full, worn and rugged like a good pair of cowboy boots.

Several images stick out when I recall the concert, the first being Grace’s long legs, bronzed and towering. Wearing a thigh-high slinky dress, Potter boogied with as much sex appeal as there was sheer talent. Among the image of legs and vintage clothing, came the next photographic moment when the band was performing Big White Gate and I looked around the room to see one of the most diverse crowds I had seen since seeing Madonna live in concert at Madison Square Garden. Middle-aged men mixed with twenty-somethings stood mesmerized, sipping on liquid in plastic cups, singing, knowing, every single word as it burst from Potter’s lips. And it hit me then that the retro influence of the band is so utterly authentic that even men and women (who were my age during the height of those days) were clearly just as infatuated with Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’ music as they were with legendary classic rock bands from the 60s and early 70s, the same bands that inspire the howl of the Nocturnals.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals are indeed one of the best acts I’ve seen live. The vocals are incredible, the lyrics saturated in a depth of love and heartbreak, the styling coated in a bygone era of rock ‘n roll.

Get ready to take a roadtrip through your headphones.

Click to listen to the band cover Blondie (live during the show).Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – Heart of Glass (Live from Webster Hall)

Check out an additional live performance (Tiny Light via TES), below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Two of our favorites are releasing albums today: Christina Aguilera with Bionic / Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.

BTB is hosting our first ever contest and you could have a chance at winning Christina Aguilera / Grace Potter prize packs. Follow these quick rules to enter!

1. You MUST “like” BiggerThanBeyonce.Com via Facebook. To join, click on the link in the sidebar.

2. You MUST suggest the Facebook fan page to each of your friends. Spread the love, no haters.

3. Once you do those two things, send an email to robbrayl@robbrayl.com: State a good deed you have performed lately (big or small). Also list any charitable organization you feel connected to. Tell us a little about why you feel connected to this organization. The more real, the better.

[Deadline: Noon, Friday 06.11]

The winners will receive notification via email + a shout out!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

ROB BRAYL: Your new single Candy ft. Kimberly Wyatt (of The Pussycat Dolls) is addictive. Did you intentionally set out to make a track that would get stuck in the listener’s head?

AGGRO SANTOS: I didn’t intentionally intend to make it a particular way, I was writing in Sweden and really loved the beat so we started vibing on it and Candy was the outcome. It wasn’t forced or nothing, it just worked out really nice. I’m pleased people are finding it infectious.

RB: I read a lot about your upbringing and it seems like there was some dark stuff there yet this track is very light, will you have some songs on your debut album to reflect this side of your story?

AS: Yeah I’m not afraid to touch on any aspects of my life in my tracks, I may do a few darker bits on the album but never on my singles. I have a free mixtape on my website and I’m gonna do one more before my album. That’s perfect for me to address any past issues before putting them fully behind me and focusing on pop. I’m making my music as fun but still credible as possible and even though Candy is very pop and features a former Pussycat Doll it’s still a very cool track.

RB: If you had to describe your sound in three words, what words would you choose?

AS: Three words that fit my sound are: Fresh, Catchy, and Fusion. Fusion because I mix a lot of Latin with urban on my record.

RB: Do you have a plan to take over US airwaves?

AS: Yep, in the long term. I would like to take over the UK airwaves first, move onto Europe and South America, then try the states. I’m confident I can generate interest in South America as I put Portuguese and Spanish riffs in my songs. They love that kinda stuff and they support it.

RB: Finally, do you have a lyric/one liner from your upcoming album that’s your favorite?

AS: ‘Don’t be afraid of the ‘Candy’ man!!!’ — I don’t bite [laughs], for daily updates follow me on Twitter also people (@aggrosantos)!

Taken from his forthcoming album (which will be released in the summer of 2010), Candy makes a cannonball splash as a debut single. The track will be available May 10th, through Mercury Records.

Check out the killer video for Candy, below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

He’s toured with the likes of Adele, Florence + The Machine, and Marina & the Diamonds. Now, in an exclusive interview for BTB, Pownall lets us take a peek inside his emerging career.

ROB BRAYL: First, I must say that I love the Single Ladies cover. “He’s up on me, I’m up on him.”—it was perfect the way you didn’t cop out and change the “he” to “she”. I thought it was humorous and endearing. What was going through your head when you decided to cover this song?

ALAN POWNALL: The song was on the radio at the time. We got asked to do a feature for a website called Indie/Ghetto; Indie artists covering hip hop / r&b songs, so we chose that one. I’m pleased you liked it. I can’t bare to watch it.

RB: I love the story behind your music and how things have opened up for you. Did you ever think you’d tour with the likes of Adele? I’m sure that must have been surreal the way it all panned out.

AP: It was an honor to go on tour with her at such an early stage of her career. She was magnificent and a lovely person. I only had a few songs at the time but I learned a lot from her. She deserves all the success she’s had.

RB: You also recently performed a few gigs with Marina & the Diamonds, how was that experience?

AP: I never met her. But we had a good time. It was the first time I went on the road with the band so I really enjoyed it.

RB: What do you wish for your audience to take from your music?

AP: I hope it’s different for everyone. But ultimately I would like for people to enjoy it, that’s all really.

RB: I definitely get a sense of honesty and a humble presence in your voice and music and I admire that. Could you ever see yourself going in a different direction stylistically or vocally?

AP: I write how I feel and I feel different every day. I don’t seek direction necessarily, but I hope to develop and mature as an artist.

RB: I want to know your current guilty pleasures within pop music. Give me something good!

AP: Rihanna seems cool, but I don’t feel all that guilty about it.

RB: I read on your website that apparently some lame hackers were hacking your MySpace profile? What’s the deal with that? Sidenote: you know you’ve made it when the hacking starts.

AP: It was my record label, no hackers yet!

RB: Tell us a secret.

AP: I don’t have secrets…

RB: Do you think there’s a possibility that you’ll be playing in the US in the future?

AP: I would love to tour in America, but we’ll see.

RB: Your major label debut is due out later this year. Is there pressure or a sense of relief, now that you’ve climbed to such an accomplishment?

AP: There are no feelings of relief or accomplishment. I am at the beginning of my career. I’m happy with the record and I’m excited about the future, that’s all I can say for now.

Check out Pownall’s music video for Chasing Time, below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

When I first heard Ian Axel I immediately felt moved. I was new to this giant spiderweb of a city, new to the chaos of New York that can sometimes swallow you whole. I can assure you that I felt like I was falling apart at the time–I had no job, not many friends, and my first love had just crushed my heart. But when I heard his song HOME via MTV’s Real World, even though I felt completely alone at the time, I felt connected again. To me, that’s music–the ability to give light and electricity to those who have burned out. I had no clue, that a little over a year later that I would have the chance to interview the same artist who truly affected my life.

In a humble and honest interview with BTB, I spoke with Ian on his new album, his life, and his ability to express the words he sometimes has trouble speaking, through the keys of the piano.

Ian, who says he is learning to love himself through this entire experience, spoke in a way that felt completely genuine. We talked about all things music, including my plea for him to spill some of his guilty pleasures. To see if I succeed, listen to the interview below. And please be aware that it’s a little lengthy! We got carried away.

Ian Axel Interview by Rob Brayl (Audio)

Please be sure to pick up Ian’s album(s) on iTunes/Amazon and check out the video for THIS IS THE NEW YEAR (featuring Chad Vaccarino), below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

BTB’s Maria Ciezak (blondie/pearls) with CAGE THE ELEPHANT at WRAT Radio.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Last year, before Passion Pit exploded, I was lucky enough to be a part of their music video for The Reeling. It was a fun shoot and the guys could not have been more down to earth. Now the boys (after being nominated for a MTV VMA last year) are back with a new video for the feel-good Little Secrets, which features the amazing voices from the kids at PS22 Chorus.

Above: Myself (with friend) & Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit

Many have wondered the meaning behind Little Secrets. Some say drugs–but I highly doubt this theory, because the kids who sang on this track are 5th graders and no school would want the backlash of their students lending their voices to a song about drugs. As far as I know, Passion Pit has not explained the story behind this song, but here’s an opinion I agree with the most, posted by flakeytoday at songmeanings.net:

This song is about the healing from childhood sexual abuse.

The first verse refers to what happens when you recognize the pain (”salty wounds”) and what was stolen from you (gold in Emperor’s tomb), and while to cope with the abuse you had a mind out of body experience, but in healing you “come down”.

The next few verses are about this knowledge and that you’re not “ugly”, and understanding the “neighborhood’s disgrace” of expressing this knowledge then recognizing the “confines of this chemistry” or that you just can’t tell everybody.

So when you do tell somebody, it’s your “little secret” (next verse and song title). Yet, when you tell someone, there is elation, freedom felt; higher and higher and higher. Notice this chorus is sung by children.

The next two verses are about the sense of being alive and happy, symbolized by the light references “halogen”.

The next verse relates to empowerment: “so goddam strong”, and frustration of “taking so damn long” to understand what the abuser did: “he tried to squeeze the lemon juice to rain”.

The next verses are about judgement: “friends complain you’ve caused all this pain and you proudly shame your whole family’s name”. Mother’s reaction is staring at the ceiling.

But in the end you rise above climbing higher and higher…

WELL SAID!

Check out the video, directed by Timothy Saccenti, below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

In a down-to-earth interview for BTB, Das Pop reveals a bit of the thread behind their sound’s charming seams. Check out my interview with the Belgium band, below.

ROB BRAYL: Without a doubt, I can hear Das Pop being played in all the dive bars in Brooklyn. Do you plan to tour in the US?

DAS POP: I (Bent Van Looy) have been in the bars you speak of, enjoying a wide variety of drinks (White Russian, Gin Tonic, Long Island Ice Tea or indeed a simple beer) and I, too, can hear our songs playing loudly in the background. It is the best thing in the world, having your songs become the soundtrack to someone else’s life, it is the highest honour. We’d love to play in the US but so far there are no concrete tour dates…

RB: Explain your latest record in three words.

DP: Nostalgia For The Unknown. (Well aware that there’s four words but I thought we could count “for” and “the” as one perhaps?)

RB: I’ve noticed the word “TV” (see next question) in several lyrics. Would you ever allow your music to be featured on, let’s say, the show Gossip Girl?

DP: I grew up without being allowed to listen to pop music, also there was no TV in our house, a forest cabin. A little further away, two boys our age who lived in the woods too, would sometimes let me watch their black and white television set. It was on here that I first came in contact with pop music. We were watching the top 40 and Michael Jackson came on, singing The Way you Make Me Feel and in the meantime changing my life forever. Maybe my obsession with pop and the frequent appearances of TV in lyrics are a result of them lacking in my childhood. About this Gossip Girl business, yes please. Since people have rather gone off buying records, appearing in ads, films or on TV, is one of the only ways a band can make a little money to survive.

RB: I love these lines from A Naked Girl (below). Can you let me in on some secret inspirations behind a few tracks?

See me in the early nineties
Sleeping in my underwear
This is where I turn the lights off
Take me there
Everybody’s dirty dancing
I alone can hear the sound
TV makes when it’s switched on
Burning out
A naked girl

DP: Thanks! You have tracked down an early period lyric. What I try to convey in lyrics is a vague but very strong yearning for an unknown past (or even future). It’d be amazing if a lyric could take the listener back with the same force a smell can transport one to a specific place or time. You’re just listening to this song and all of a sudden you’re on this moldy sofa, in your underwear, the TV flickering in the other room. That would be magical.

RB: I read something about Soulwax and roast beef dinners. Can you spill the beans on this?

DP: Mixing the album in Soulwax’s studio was one of the happiest times yet. Niek, our bass player, is an excellent chef and David and Stephen agreed to produce the album on the condition that they’d be well fed during the proceedings. We’d work like animals and when we all sat around the big table at night we’d talk about the music, friends, and wine.

RB: If I were to look through your record collection, any albums I’d be shocked to find?

DP: I own a disturbing amount of Alan Parsons Project albums and when I was last buying music online I was shocked the next morning to find I had bought quite a lot of Billy Joel records, and not of the “cool early period” either!

RB: What are your thoughts on the current state of pop music?

DP: I think a lot of good pop music is still being made but it doesn’t seem to matter as much as it used to, maybe. Also, with the CD on its last legs, I think there are some really interesting times ahead. We will no longer be tied to this “12 songs on a disc”-concept. I dream about a day when the moment you finish a song, you can release it immediately without waiting until you have enough killer and possibly filler to fill an “album”…

RB: Are there any specific organizations/charities you are passionate about as a group?

DP: Traveling around when on tour, we’ve noticed that we are not into this whole globalization thing at all. Also: save the animals and all organizations that take care of that!

RB: How is life at the moment? Happy with the direction your music is going?

DP: Very! We’re still having tremendous fun playing the songs all over the place and have just returned from Stockholm where we’ve started writing and recording new things for the next album. They sound great!

RB: To the kids who have never heard of you before this interview, what’s one thing they should know about Das Pop?

DP: They should come out and see us live! We try to make our shows so much more than just four guys playing the record on a stage. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime for everyone involved!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Earning four stars from Rolling Stone comes MANNERS (the first full length record) from Passion Pit.

I had the pleasure of being in Passion Pit’s video for The Reeling (the lead single) off Manners and it was a trip I’ll never forget. The set was like an indie rock infused Studio 54 with paper mache, confetti, and fake guitars.

The music is hypersonic and full of neon spit. And just like the music, the boys make you feel just as good–after the director yelled wrap, the boys of Passion Pit offered us shots at the bar. I was stuffing free Oreos down my throat when I heard the news of tequila but I didn’t move (for I, myself was at an almost one year marker of no alcohol). The boys then pointed me out and I stood proud in the fact that–”I don’t drink.” The words oozed from me (along with a little Oreo dust) and admittedly I felt cool. The boys agreed, laughed and then proceeded to give me a “special” shot which consisted of Brooklyn tap water.

So here’s a lifted shot of Brooklyn tap to the down to earth, geeky sex mavins of electronic girth, PASSION PIT.

Cheers!

You can check out the video for The Reeling as well as a few photos from the shoot, below.