We all think of Lady Gaga as a real envelope pusher: she’s doing new things in music, performance, and with videos right now; her costumes are otherworldly; and she refuses to be tagged as any kind of “type” at all. Whether or not you like her music, she’s a good inspiration for anyone who’s feeling frustrated by conventions or who just needs a pick-me-up after a tough day at school or work. But she’s not the only eccentric in music history. Here are 10 entertainers who paved the way for her liberating style.

Read more here!

The song that first popped in my head when I heard Jonny Rumble’s new album was the “Victim of the Times” that has a different, yet genuine musical arrangement. The band does so much fun stuff in the album, jumping from style to style and throwing some melodious songs, but it’s pretty short at thirty minutes. You can listen to the whole album 48 times a day withuot getting bored and still finding energy in it. Their music influences were the Kino, Nirvana, and David Bowie.

The band members are Brian Webb: vocals, guitar, organ and harmonica, Patrick O’Connor: guitar, bass, and percussion, Jeremy Pryor: bass, and vocals, Seth Webb: drums, percussion, and piano. They were great. They have great voices. During their live performance, the energy of the band is consistent, even in the slow songs.

They are original, full of life and sound like a wave of new and fresh rock and roll genre music.   And remember, as Jonny says, try not to leave the house with a loaded gun!

You can listen to the album for free (Thank you Jonny) here
Else, you can order a Vinyl copy (limited edition) from here
And last but not least, Jonny e-lives here

After Haddon finished from performing at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium with his band, he climbed the telecommunications mast at the main stage and plunged into the car park in view of his shocked fans.  A statement on the band’s MySpace page reads

‘We are all so deeply saddened to confirm that our friend Charlie Haddon passed away yesterday, Friday 20th August. The singer had just performed with his band, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium. He was 22 years old. The London three piece were in Europe playing a number of festivals before embarking on a tour of Australia as part of the Parklife festival next month.

Charles Alexander Haddon R.I.P.

Thanks for all your messages of support. x’

And for those who haven’t heard of this had to be a very promising band, here’s a video below of their latest hit single, Dance the way I feel.

You can visit Ou Est Le Swimming Pool MySpace page here

The same applies for See Green, a seven piece band lead by Courtenay Green. You wouldn’t listen to them when you are sitting in a car with your going to be ex-girlfriend crying, and your brain is busy trying hard to find a million and one excuses to dumb her? Why? Because their music is happy, vibrant and propagates positive energetic vibes. As a matter of fact, the first four songs in Violet, See Green’s latest EP, are ideal to sing along with, loud and naked under the shower before you go out for a good night out with some of your best mates.

What’s also impressive is Courtenay uses her skills as a drummer, guitarist, pianist and writes/arranges nearly every part of every song and co-produces all of her recordings. So, we couldn’t not give her music a try, and a shout on our blog, couldn’t we? After all, she is really sexy, and most probably smells good as well!

So prepare yourself to listen to some modern and vibrant alternative pop! See Green’s music is a trifle of simple and patterned drums, unique keyboard sound effects that blend into their music like Bacardi blends with cola, catchy guitar riffs blended together with Courtenay’s catchy and solid vocals. Give them a shot and listen to their freely available track, Think Twice and wait for more positive energy to come your way from See Green!

Click here to visit See Green official website

Hi and welcome to this interview.  Thank you for your time.  To start off with, can you give us a brief overview of how Behind the Sun was formed?

Aaron: Behind the Sun was formed by the current singer, drummer and guitarist (Aaron) a few years back at Saar’s farming village, called Timorim, in the north Negev desert of Israel. We used to jam and write songs in the basement underneath the village meeting hall. We played our first show at a pub in the same village and we’ve been going ever since. In fact one of the songs on the album, Running Water, we played at that very first show.

How did you come up with the band name?

Aaron: Our drummer Saar Gur thought up the name Behind the Sun. First of all, it represents a sort of metaphysical idea (I mean how can you ever be behind the sun, you are just on the other side of it). Second of all, its a name which brings up some memories of a bunch of our musical heros such as Nick Drake, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eric Clapton so I assume that had something to do with it also.

It’s been some time now that your debut album was released.  what response have you got from the public and media?

Aaron: We’ve gotten some really great reviews on blogs and websites from around the world. As well as the very kind review from MuzikaBlog here, we were named album of the month at progressiverockbr.com in Brazil, we got a 5 star review at YosMusic.com in Israel, and some great reviews at other blogs in Australia, the USA, the UK, France and Holland. We were on Israeli TV twice last summer promoting the album which was a new first for us and a lot of fun. Mostly the response is:” wow, I didn’t know that there were any bands in Israel that were playing hard rock music.” And then they say: “Great guitars, great drums, and the lead singer sounds like … ” and then we go all the way from Eddie Vedder to Ian Gillian.

What was the thing that triggered you as a band to play this genre of music and who are your infuences?

Aaron: I really didn’t know what kind of music I was going to play with this band when we started playing. I listen to all kinds of music and in the beginning we had some jazzy funky jams, some more like Neil Young country rock type songs, and some very heavy metal songs. Over the years of playing together I think our influences have merged and we have the 70s progressive influences coming from Gad and myself, the metal coming from Saar and Yoram, and some grooving rhythms and some bounce coming from Dan. And that I think is the North Desert sound — 70s tube guitars screaming over a driving modern and intense rhythm section. And of course, Gad is in my mind the voice of the angry pissed off desert, coming to get even.

So, what kind of CD’s / music a Behind the Sun member would have on his Ipod or at Home?

Aaron: This is an interesting question … what do I (Aaron) think the other guys are listening to… hmm… I could be less than diplomatic and say Saar – Depeche Mode, Yoram – Whitesnake, Dan – Leonard Cohen, Gad – Jeff Buckley, but it could be something more like Saar – Strapping Young Lad, Yoram – Iron Maiden, Dan – King Crimson, Gad – Queens of the Stone Age. I’m sure they think I am listening to Keith Jarrett all the time.

Gad: I know for a fact that Aaron’s also listening to some west coast gangsta-rap and some heavy metal in the car, on his way to and from work. I guess it’ll be a good idea to listen to Jarrett at work though….
Personally, I’ve been romancing with a good ol’ love of mine lately – The Black Crowes. They’ve just released a fantastic new album (“Croweology”), but what made me go back and listen to them was a semi-religious experience of listening to their 2009 album “Before the Frost…Until the Freeze” on my iPod, while speed-walking around the block at dusk, one summer evening a few weeks ago.

The lyrics reflect a lot of unfortunate and sad reality.  What kind of message are you trying to propogate to the world?

I think the message is don’t live in denial. Be aware of what kind of things are going on in this world. Don’t follow anything blindly be it your religion, your leaders, your society, your parents, your boss. Question everything. If there’s a dark message in the lyrics its because we’ve looked into a lot of what’s happening in Israel and in the world and we don’t like the way its going right now. On the other hand I think songs like Running Water and Still are very positive messages of self-fulfillment. If you work on it and you put in the time and really pour your heart into whatever you are doing — you’ll get there.

As you well know in the last couple of years there have been a number of problems related to copyrights, distribution of music over the internet etc.  Your debut album was available online in the beginning.  What made you make such move and did it / would it effect sales?

Aaron: The internet is a double edged sword. On the one hand, people are downloading your album for free from all these places (not itunes, i’m talking about bit torrent, rapidshare and emule) and you don’t see any revenue or even have the satisfaction of knowing who’s listening to you. On the other hand, we never would have reached all these countries and fans overseas without the internet and file sharing or online streaming or what have you. Also, the fact that we were able to produce our own album is a direct result of today’s technology (cubase and protools) allowing you to mix in your own home. If we were mixing everything reel to reel in a studio it wouldn’t have been economically viable for an independent band such as ourselves to make a studio album.

Gad: At this point in our career I think we only benefit from the internet. I, for one, really don’t care if someone’s downloading the album on some file-sharing site – I want our music to get to as many potential fans as we can and one way to get that is to share this music and spread the word out via blogs, file-sharing and music web-sites. I think it’s all about building the fan-base and establishing our name/reputation at this point, as a leaping platform for the next album.

What are Behind the Sun members up to lately?

Aaron: Dan is finishing dental school. Aaron is flying all the time to the far east for his work as a software engineer at a major phone manufacturer we can’t name. Saar has just gotten married and is going on honeymoon to Sri Lanka. Yoram just had his first kid and Gad is taking spanish classical guitar lessons. So its just your average summer.

Tell us what is the rock scene like in Israel?

Aaron: The rock scene in Israel is slowly but surely getting known around the world. Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree recorded an album called Blackfield with an Israeli artist I won’t name. Then, Mr. Wilson went on to produce and album by a friend of ours Omer Ephrat which came out on Inside Out records. And to top it all off he produced Orphaned Land’s last album which is becoming very well known all over the metal world. Besides that the Israeli singer Asaf Avidan, who sings in English and sounds a bit like Janis Joplin (even though he’s a guy) just signed with Sony Germany. There are a bunch of other great bands in the Israeli rock, progressive and metal scene besides Behind the Sun including a fantastic group called Eatliz which I recommend to everybody to check out. The rock in English scene in Israel doesn’t get a lot of respect or radio play on the biggest stations in the country, but its a very diverse scene with groups playing everything from Reggae to punk to progressive to neo-progressive to folk to black metal to grindcore to indy rock to emo. There’s something for everybody. And in Behind the Sun we represent the big, hairy, beer drinking, detuned guitar rock section of the spectrum.

Is there any fair amount of clubs and events promoting such music in Israel?

Aaron: There are some clubs in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. After that it gets a bit patchy. We’ve played kibbutzim (collective farms) all over the country where the whole kibbutz shows up at the show and even bring their dogs. I’m not sure everybody there are huge fans of Opeth or Rush but we play our set with conviction and anybody who can stand the volume has a good time.

Obviously recording your debut album thought you some or a lot of lessons.  Any lessons you would like to share with upcoming and aspiring bands?

Aaron: I’m sure everybody learned different lessons. The lesson I learned was everything takes twice as long as what you think it will take. That could be recording drums, recording guitars, arranging backing vocals, mixing, mastering, deciding between 5 heads on cover art — everything will take twice as long as you think so start sooner rather than later.

Gad: After passing the long tunnel and coming out to the big bright light at the other side, I have only an immense respect for bands that have released a lot of albums and stuck together for a long time. It’s a very intense process where (for good or bad) everybodys level of sensitivity gets very high but at the same time it’s a very interesting, educating, fulfilling and rewarding process.

Are you planning any concerts / gigs / tours outside Israel?

Aaron: We are on the lookout all the time for some cool places or festivals to play outside of Israel. When the opportunity presents itself and it looks like we’ll be able to reach the right audience, our bags are packed and we are ready to go.

Tell us about Behind the Sun future. Any new songs / records plans?

Aaron: We are now in the process of writing songs for another album which we hope to record next year. we’ve got about 7 songs worked up with the whole band and another 5-10 songs or so in early sketch form or in bits and pieces. We’ll probably keep writing for the next few months and then see which songs work the best together as an album. We have all sorts of wild song ideas now, from 13th century Icelandic gang violence to a song about Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. It will be interesting to see if it can all be fit together.

Thank you for your time and interview.  While wishing you all the best for your future, anything else Behind the Sun would want to say?

Aaron: Thanks for listening to our music and we hope you enjoy our album.

In this video they talk about their music, the responsibility every band has to create something that people want to buy, cherish and appreciate.  If only all artists reason things out that way!  These guys are extremely aware of what they need to deliver to reach the masses.  They even go into detail in their music videos, and always want to create something special in every live gig, to keep their fans longing for more.

Even though in this documentary  Theo Hutchcraft (vocalist) states that they are not a band of U2, Depeche mode scale, they easily give such bands a good run for their money!  Maybe they are not that popular yet, true, but from the music composing point of view, they are there with them and maybe even in front of them!

They claim they are an Indie rock and post punk band, but I don’t really give a flying fart what genre they are, because they are simply great and can really rock!  Unlike other new bands, who constantly struggle and over do it with endless different arrangements and extreme guitar solos, chicago’s Welcome to Ashley keep it sweet and simple.  They are loud yet smooth, and can rock the hell out of you like Mick Jagger does on a high!

Their music is influenced from 70′s and 80′s rock music (Rolling Stones, The Smiths) with some shaves of punk, like The Cure in their early years.  They are a breath of fresh air for today’s polluted music industry.  Let’s face it, aren’t all real music lovers a little bit sick of Justin Bieber and Britney Spears?

Coley Kennedy’s lyrics are honest and blunt, sick and tired from the hurting feelings love leaves behind.  Though a touch of craziness in them, makes the lyrics not too serious and yet sometimes funny to listen to.  With song titles and catch phrases like “what a day it was for dying”, “I was drowning, I was sinking fast, I could have used you, But I could not ask” and “Monday morning means five more days of me and you and Friday always brings me down”, Beyond the Pale album is more than a complete album.

Welcome to Ashley stormed around on a high with their Beyond the Pale album, so stick around since I am sure they will take us even higher in the near future!

Lyrics about love and passion.  Aaaahhh l’amour.  What’s the world without l’amour?  Are these lyrics from a horny Michael Bolton or from a romantic Enrique Iglesias? They are lyrics from Mission’s album Masque.  Obviously you were not expecting these kind of lyrics from an underground Gothic – Rock band.  It is like one of the greatest sport car manufacturers, Ferrari produce a diesel engine.  How on earth can this be?

Well, although the lyrics above give a hint that most of the band members were lost in love while writing this album, for sure it wasn’t an easy ride for them.  It was a roller coaster of ups and downs.  Most of the lyrics still deal with religious criticism and the dark side of love.

The Mission (a band formed in 1986 from some members of the freshly dissolved band Sisters of Mercy) released the Masque in 1992.  For a change, this album was slammed by critics because of the different musical direction the band followed.  The album cannot exactly be classified as Gothic music.  It is more of an exotic and contemporary composition of electronics, dance rhythms and experimental pop music.

The album starts with “Never Again” and “Shades of Green (Part ll)”, which most probably are the only two tracks with the band’s dance / rock sound.  Next three tracks “Even you may shine”, “Trial of Scarlet” and “Spider and the Fly” have a more of a U2-ish “Achtung Baby..” sound, which was released just a year before. The next four tracks “She Conjures me Wings”, “Sticks and Stones”, “Like a Child Again” and “Who will love me tomorrow” are all the lovey dovey and jolly tracks.  Most of the songs resemble to most of the Cure’s love songs, but still with a unique sound.

The last three tracks, “You make me breath”, “From one Jesus to another” and “Until there’s another sunshine” couldn’t fit any better as closing tracks for a great album.  Three slow, shall I say “ballads” accompanied by cheerless vocals.  If you like gothic music, I suggest you give this album a try.  It is not exactly gothic, but some good experimental material coming from a great gothic band!

Some time ago a weirdo, kind of friend of mine introduced me to “Flight of the Conchords”, a comedy duo from New Zealand.  They promote themselves as “formerly New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo.”  Quite a difficult to remember genre, isn’t it?

With just 2 guitars, and a chill out unplugged live act, these guys are gonna make you wet your pants like no one else or nothing else did!  Wait, maybe reading a book called George W. Bushisms by Jacob Weisberg will also make you laugh and wet your pants, but for other sad but true reasons!  P.S. this is a book worth reading, if you want to know more about our great and modern world leaders.

Obviously, such duo cannot be classified in a specific genre, and if you had to listen to their music, it is not because you want to listen to some good music, but because you want to listen to some reality stories but with a bombing of sarcasm and comedy.

So enjoy the below video.  The first I’ve listened to this song I’ve played this video 10 times in a row, and stopped simply because I had some errands to do.  Every now and then I still play it.  Check also their YouTube official channel for more kick ass funny music and also music videos!