Other Bands

What's "Moksha?" It's the Hindi word for "liberate" - and it's also the name of an incredible new band that has blown up out of the Las Vegas music scene. "Moksha is the real deal" said Beatplay, while Las Vegas Citylife noted their ability to put out "unpretentious, fun sway-able funk jams." Even Travel Nevada sounded in on their neighbor, citing, "Moksha combines modern sound with that of classic New Orleans for a huge jam session that pleases every crowd."

Life began for Moksha in the hot summer of 2007, when a handful of musicians drawn together by a common love of funk, rock and jazz formed under one flag. Bassist John Heishman and guitarist Jeremy Parks were in a local band when they joined musical forces with drummer Pat Gray. Keyboardist Brian Triola sat in with the band, and Moksha's musical seeds were planted.


Moksha quickly gained a reputation for the energy and appeal of their live shows. "We like to put on a show that we would want to go to," said Parks of the band's noteworthy live performance, which Heishman describes as "a high energy, swampy dance party."
 

In 2010, after doing a ton of live shows, both locally and on the West Coast, Moksha hooked up with guitar legend Brian Stoltz (Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan and more) to record Mammal or Machine armed with a sound that the Las Vegas Weekly lauded "can only be described as unstoppable, while Getexposedmusic.com called Mammal or Machine "a sound we can all groove on."   The same year, Moksha took home the award for "Best Alternative Progressive Band" at the Vegas Rocks! Award show.

 
2010 also saw the band add vocalist Sam Lemos as a permanent member after having previously worked with him as a guest vocalist on Mammal or Machine. Four years prior, Lemos worked with Triola and Gray in Vav Ohm and several jazz projects. With Lemos in place, the new line-up of Moksha was complete.
 

In 2011, the band entered the studio with four-time Grammy Award winning engineer/mixer James "Bonzai" Caruso to record their current album, Here to Go. "Overall, Here to Go seems to be a bit more cohesive," says Triola, adding, "being able to track together for every song was huge for us since the live dynamic is so important for the kind of music we make."

 Here to Go is slated for a Summer 2011 release. Moksha plans to hit the road in support of the 13-track album.

iLa Mawana is an 8-piece original reggae movement based in Boston, MA. Named one of the Top 100 Hottest Unsigned Acts of 2009 by Music Connection Magazine, iLa Mawana released their home-brewed, 12-track studio album SOLDIERS OF SOUND in May 2010, followed by a 6 week national tour where the group was featured at the 1st ever High Times Cannabis Cup on US soil.

Touring throughout the Northeast over the past three years, iLa Mawana has been committed to bringing people together and spreading positive energy to those around them.  Dubbed "One of the best roots/jam bands coming out of Boston" -Ingenious Concepts, the band independently released a self-titled 6-track EP (2009) recorded and mixed in iLa Mawana's home studio in Brighton.  The album resonates the warmth of
the family, featuring thick rhythmic roots and well-blended vocal and horn melodies.

Developing a strong reputation for tight pocket reggae grooves, iLa Mawana has put together a cohesive group of new songs for the upcoming album that capture their energy with captivating new melodies.

The group has performed alongside reggae legends The Original Wailers as well as 2009 Grammy Winner Burning Spear, Groundation & Toubab Krewe.  With great local support from 88.9 WERS Rockers, iLa Mawana is becoming increasingly popular in the Northeast with a hook-oriented vintage roots sound that's gritty enough to separate them from the
majority of modern reggae bands.

"Seriously solid roots/dub reggae that gets the body moving" -Performer Magazine

Hailing from Appleton, Wisconsin, this six-piece band has garnered recognition from their live performances where the band channels elements of psychedelic rock, funk, jazz, and electronica.

From songs that are tragic, to songs that transcend, Ifdakar showcases an array of improvisational jamming and elaborately structured pieces that are steeped in influences such as Phish, Lotus, Pink Floyd, STS9, and others.  This spectrum allows for dense musical freedom, to tension-and-release madness.

Turtle Soup is a tasty original blend of rock, funk and trance with Latin and world music accents. Based in New Jersey, their unique sound, upbeat songs and explosive musicality have audiences in the Northeast US coming back for more. Every year, they donate a 4-hour set for charity at the New Jersey Marathon (sometimes to crowds over 10,000 strong), and now Turtle Soup's signature style is growing quicker than ever in the tight-knit music festival community.

Critics also approve with glowing reviews and awards. Turtle Soup was named "New Groove of the Month" at jambands.com, and they've won "Top Jam Band" and "Top Groove Band" at the Asbury Music Awards for several years in a row. Their self-titled CD was mastered by the double Grammy Award Winner, Tom Ruff. CD reviews favorably compare them to classics such as Santana, The Grateful Dead and The Who, while at the same time recognizing them as torch-bearers for a new generation.

They have been paying their dues, and have played with Furthur, moe., Blues Traveler, Steve Kimock's Crazy Engine, Jim Weider's Project Percolator, Ween, Gongzilla, Dark Star Orchestra, Marshall Tucker Band, Max Creek and many others, gaining several endorsements along the way. They have adopted an open taping policy, and post full shows on the Live Music Archive to share their music with their fans.

Turtle Soup's quintet is Jeff "Mudd" Mahajan (Vocals, Guitar, Guitar Synth), Ben Feld (Vocals, Keyboards), Michael McDermott (Bass Guitar), Andy Meyer (Drums) and Mark Nettleingham (Percussion). A dynamic ensemble, they combine the technical prowess of jazz with the energy and charisma of rock and funk. Modern electric and synthesized sounds mesh with one of the world's first instruments, drums and hand percussion, to create dance grooves that take the listener on an adventure that defies time. Their sound is organic and futuristic, all at once creating a sensation that is unmistakably fresh.  

The quartet brings the audience along for a barrage of rock's ferocity cut with jazz's meticulousness & sense of melody, all tied together with funk sensibilities that lead to unforgettable crests. The Hue is the sonic version of building a precisely symmetrical museum for Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Return to Forever, and Miles Davis during the Bitches Brew era with just a dab of Tortoise, immediately torching it to the ground and starting over again.  

The band's bag of tricks has grown considerably within the last year to include simpler harmony-driven melodies that tell stories, even without lyrics, alongside searing tunes laden with odd-metered syncopated mayhem.  From grinding metal and rich post-rock to expressive harmonic jazz, the Hue takes a fiery dose of dueling guitars mixed with a machine-precise rhythm section to reach explosive peaks.

The band built its chops through prestigious jazz programs at DePaul University and Berklee College of Music, but brings a wholly inventive perspective to the table.  Guitarists Jared Rabin & Marcus Rezak interweave intricate lines, each adding a unique counterpoint to the other's distinctive style.  Bassist Kyle Meyers balances high and low registers to add an underlying harmony, while still maintaining clockwork rhythm. Drummer Brian Gilmanov's thunderous double bass trickery and flying speeds punctuated with lively, mathematical fills provide a rock-solid base.

Emerging out of a weekly stint at Chicago's Wise Fools Pub in January 2007, The Hue has built an impressive roster of venues and festivals throughout the U.S., including stops at the 2008 and 2009 Summer Camp and 10,000 Lakes festivals.  They have played alongside Ray White, Ike Willis and Mike Keneally, all past collaborators with Frank Zappa. The Hue has also shared stages with the Wood Brothers, Karl Denson, Bryan Beller, Garaj Mahal, The Motet, New Monsoon and The New Mastersounds, as well as members of Umphrey's McGee and The New Deal.

The Hue released their first full-length album, Beyond Words, in the fall of 2009 to follow up their debut EP, Unscene (2007). The album, featuring keyboard virtuoso Eric Levy (Garaj Mahal), captures the intensity of the band's live shows, while showing their expanding compositional strengths and undeniable musical prowess.

Brian Gilmanov - Drums
Kyle Meyers - Bass
Jared Rabin - Guitar

Marcus Rezak - Guitar

The band discusses their new album, Beyond Words, in detail on Glide Magazine's Hidden Track

As we enter a new decade, it is no wonder Bearquarium's progressive sound is considered a "scene cornerstone for years to come" (Seven Days VT).  With their unique blend of afro-percussive rhythms, fiery horn lines, funky dance grooves and soulful vocals, this eight-piece ensemble puts on a live performance unlike any other. Nominated as a top finalist for Magic Hat's Sponsor Your Tour Contest (2009) and recognized as releasing a Most Notable VT Album of 2009, Bearquarium stands out as a breath of fresh air amongst your run-of-the-mill funk bands. The group released their debut self-titled album in July 2009, and is currently touring the northeast banging on drums in a town near you.

Here's what people are saying about Bearquarium:

"Rather than picking a genre and working within it, BQ pulls from the most soulful of styles, combines them through trial and error, and what comes out of the speakers is 100% pure, uncut, untainted good time music" (Lectric Pulp, 2010)

"Scene cornerstone for years to come... bursting with potential... professional polish" (Seven Days VT, 2009)


"Bearquarium live is tighter than tight... the sounds produced send a collective jolt of positive vibes into the crowd" (Lectric Pulp, 2010)

Cope started as a family band with two brothers and a cousin from a musical family out of Akron, Ohio. More than a decade later the Stadelman brothers along with multi-instrumentalist Juanjamon and Virginia raised drummer and vocalist Dave Gerulat have evolved into a family full of friends, fans, dancers and music-heads across the U.S., joined together by fun loving good times and some serious psychedelic southern-fried funk-rockin jazz-reggae electro-grass music.
    Making their way onto festival stages and into prime headlining and opening slots, Cope has been mixing their intelligent originals with relentless jams and clever covers to make hair-raising eargasmns for the masses. Influenced heavily by The Beatles and many others, their intricate arrangements set up frequent blistering guitar solos by Dennis Stadelman and amazing saxophone solos by Juan "Juanjamon" Montero. Kenny Stadelman defines the band's sound with a funky smooth movin groovin bass style that keeps the crowd dancing. Dynamite drummer Dave Gerulat fires on all cylinders behind his machine-like custom drum kit that lifts you to a climatic plane of complete happiness. Every member contributes vocally to create beautifully powerful four-part harmonies, with the Stadelmans predominately splitting lead vocal duties.
    Gaining notoriety as the "Undisputed Jam Kings of Tampa Bay" (Mark Warren - Skipper's Smokehouse Talent Agency), great bands all over the country are signing up to open for the jam-quartet at the famous Skipper's Smokehouse in their home base of Tampa, FL. With the release of their latest CD titled "See", Cope has been spreading and reaching outward from the far south to perform with and for many bands and fans in an attempt to reach musical nirvana and promote the fellowship of musicians and music enthusiasts everywhere. www.Therealcope.com

"Check out that little cutie with a nice behind you better shake it girl, shake it good, cause Cope's comin to ya neighborhood." -Shake Anything (from "See" CD)

We are a mixture of personalities that collided in the great college town of Bloomington, IN. Here we have created a brand of high energy, raw, and sometimes eclectic rock music. The end result is similar to bands like Black Crowes, Blind Melon, and Government Mule. Everything from our sound, our look, to our attitude is meant to give people a band they can relate to as well as groove to. The line in our song, 'The Cut', puts it best, "A group of highly motivated, straight chill motherf%@kers who are guaranteed to live it up." We have spent the last eight months gigging around our region and building a dedicated fan base. With the release of our first full length album, 'Not Bad For Tuesday', we have been gigging vigorously around our region building our fan base and cementing our performances. Now we begin to pursue the next step on this musical ladder by making a push to gain national attention. Watch for Shaggy Wonda coming to a town near you very soon! Shaggy Wonda is Colby Miller (Guitar, Vocals, hustle n flow...), Steve Laine (Bass, kazoo...), Zach 'Panama' Martin (Drums, Vocals, hair...), Teddy Jones (Saxophone, disco inferno....) Shaggy Wonda ... I had no idea.

The disc is due for release on Allen's own imprint label, LTC Records in January, of 2010.   Allen, who spent the better part of the last decade fronting the Midwest touring sensation, Green Lemon, has been hard at work recording the new album at Chillhouse Studios in Boston, MA.   The album is being co-produced by Will Bradford (of SeepeopleS & Freepeoples Frequency) and Will Holland, best known for his work with the Pixies and Dead Can Dance.   Most importantly, Small Dreams in an Elevator represents a new evolution in Allen's songwriting and a refinement of the sound he has spent the last few years developing.    With one foot in the door of traditional anthem-like rock melodies, and the other foot wildly kicking out into an entire universe of original sound-scaping and electronica, "the SKYS" is as revolutionary as it is utterly addictive!  These are songs that are as much at home being played on a car stereo as they are being played in an arena.

Some of the stand-out tracks on the album include the jungle indie-garage concoction, "Turtles," and the hard house dance infused "Nice Place," which is a complete re-working of a Green Lemon favorite.   In addition, the truly unforgettable "Heavy Eyes," is also the first single from the album and sure to be one of the biggest  hits of the year.    Allen's collaboration with Holland, Bradford, and with Freepeoples Frequency's beat creator, Brooke Binion is highly evident throughout the album.    Each song is a true hybrid of heavy synthesizer laden layers, glitch driven beats, electronic pads and guitar rock and pop, much in the spirit of acts like Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes.  What distinguishes "the SKYS" from its sonic-pop predecessors is Allen's distinct vocal delivery and his knack for anchoring melodies throughout the album, even as the sonic settings change from song to song.   It is more than refreshing to hear an album that is meant to be listened to from beginning to end, especially in the modern single-track-iTunes world."  
 
Allen's writing has evolved since bringing us songs such as the Relix Magazine JamOff Winner "Mess" and the heavily requested "Shoestring".  This same talent is evident on "Small Dreams in an Elevator".     With thought provoking lyrics and solid melodies, the songs favor a more concise and focused style of songwriting, and the results are splendid indeed!
 
Wayne Allen and the SKYS are also pleased to announce the debut of their first music video for the song, "Heavy Eyes," which is the first single from Small Dreams in an Elevator.    Director of Photography, David Whitson (Vazda Studios, Birmingham, AL) utilized a creative vision that meshed well with the track.   "I was excited to work with Allen.   The song "Heavy Eyes" is a great track for video as it allowed endless creative possibilities.  Our vision was to make a video as colorful as the music.   The collaboration between Wayne and I during the production process couldn't have been better.  In addition, Video Editor, Tim Kimberling, really helped bring our vision together in post."   The video for "Heavy Eyes" can soon be previewed at www.theskysband.com/video. Currently, the SKYS is gearing up for their first nationwide tour in support of the new album.  Up to date concert information can be found on the SKYS official website.

Lubriphonic is the brainchild of guitarist Giles Corey and drummer Rick King and began with a residency at Chicago's legendary Checkerboard Lounge. They recruited some of the best blues, funk, and rock musicians in the city for these raucous sessions. The result fuses roots music with explosive rock'n'roll and sensuous old-school dance music-- part Stones, part Funkadelic, and part Otis Redding.