Some of our personal recommendations in indie music, film, and other forms of underground art.
AFTER THE DAWN
“A survivor of warfare born chemical attack, Cassie Becker faces a new world of terrible realization. The Human race has suffered terrible recourse in the wake of an attack that never should have been leaving the remaining inhabitants in a state far less then human. It has been six months since to the day in this new world of indescribable destruction and isolated fear. In search of the only person she holds dear Cassie must fight the onslaught of creatures once precious to her in an unstoppable journey to reunite.”
See more at the Music’s Underworld Blog.
DOGUHN
If you enjoy horror/fantasy, check out Jason Barthelemy’s novel, “Doguhn. Check out the review I wrote on it for Horrornews.net and visit Barthelemy’s website, The Living Dread to check out more on Doguhn and how to purchase a physical copy or digitally upload it from Amazon eKindle. Definitely an up and comer in the literary world!
DR. HORROR’S EROTIC HOUSE OF IDIOTS
The critically acclaimed and multiple award-winning film starring Debbie Rochon, Trent Haaga, Michael R. Thomas, Nathan Sears, Jasi Lanier, and more! A Paul Srabo Production. Check out more (and purchase the DVD loaded with over 3 hours worth of material at an awesome price) at the PS Productions Website!
GHOST ESTATE
Ghost Estate is a new project of Josh Loughrey and Virginia Luella, combining their love of traditional music and their love of eclecticism. Based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, they had previously worked together in both an experimental/noise project, Pancreatic Aardvarks, and a synthpop band, Narse. Josh’s background as a composer for film and independent recording artist lend strength and experience to their arrangements. Virginia brings another, unique perspective to both songwriting and performance, with her classical training in voice and violin. Both have also had extensive experience with traditional Celtic and American folk music and have been looking for a way to bring new sounds to these beloved songs and styles.
Check out Ghost Estate’s EP, No Earthly Thing at their website: http://ghostestatemusic.com
RONIIT (Dark, Electro-pop)
QUEUE UP (Gothic Industrial)
Dark, Industrial-gothic band out of Ohio.
In the 1990′s Queue Up was a musical force to be reckoned with. With its dark lyrics, emotionally disturbed imagery, slinky horror-struck guitars, sultry vocals and over-the-top stage theatrics, it was one of the strongest draws around. In 1995, Queue-Up’s debut CD “Possession” received critical acclaim and plenty of college radio across the US and even in Europe, China, Mexico and Columbia. The band was invited the band to play a festival in Bogata but the trip was cost prohibitive. The CD also earned Queue-Up a slot at Lollapalooza that same year. The band’s run was cut short due to Garrigan’s unforeseen health issues.
Two years ago Garrigan and Yurich reunited and have since been up and running strong, as a two piece or at times, with drummer Jason Giaco and bassist Brian Hager.
Check out their music and album, Vampire’s Kiss at their website:
LOVE’S YOUNG NIGHTMARE (w/ Matthew Jason Walsh and Robyn Griggs)
A concept-rock album in the tradition of Pink Floyd’s THE WALL, concerning the rise and fall of a female rock star, featuring vocals by former “Another World” and “One Life To Life” soap opera actress Robyn Griggs. The music of “Love’s Young Nightmare” is written and composed by filmmaker, composer, and musician, Matthew Jason Walsh and released by Armageddon Music.
Sampling and purchasing of the music is made possible through the Love’s Young Nightmare CDBaby Page.
More info can also be found at their MySpace Page.
ROBYN GRIGGS Solo Album, “Scream”
Stage, film, and television actress, Robyn Griggs, released her solo album “Scream” in 2010. She also appeared as the lead vocalist singing the character, Naomi in Matthew Jason Walsh’s “Love’s Young Nightmare.” “Scream” demonstrates a form of heavier pop/rock that was popular back in the early/mid 1990s. Fans of Paramore, No Doubt, Evanescence, and Garbage will like this one.
Sampling and purchasing is made possible by the Scream CDBaby Page .
DREAM ARIA (Chart Topping, Progressive Rock Band out of Toronto, ON, Canada)
photo by C. Gaarn
#3 on the unsign myspace Canadian alternative charts
#5 on the unsign myspace Canadian rock charts
#6 on the unsign myspace GLOBAL progressive charts
Forgive the Fallen is a hard rock female fronted band that gives you an extra punch! Hailing from Baltimore, the band has conquered the Maryland and Northern Virginia metal scene, playing numerous shows with regional acts and opening for such national (and international) names such as Otep, Hellyeah, Soilwork and Within Temptation.
The current lineup features co-creators Adriana Galan (lead vocals) and Bill Wienecke (guitar); along with newcomers Mike Johnson (guitar). Dave Gascon (bass/vocals) and Rick Martinez (drums). Armed with a new line-up and an aggressive fist pumping sound, the band is currently working on taking their music to the next level with their first full length album: Resurrection!
Forgive the Fallen’s new single from Resurrection, “For You” is currently released and the featured song in the new horror film Respire! The band also has filmed a music video for “For You” that was directed and edited by Respire director David Cross.
Recording for Resurrection is currently underway at Studio Unknown with producer Steve Antonelli and scheduled to be released in 2010!
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/forgivethefallen
Big Cartel (Online Store): http://forgivethefallen.bigcartel.com/
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Forgive-The-Fallen/34189548830
Twitter:http://twitter.com/ftfallen
You Tube:http://www.youtube.com/user/forgivethefallenband
PERSEPHONE’S DREAM (Internationally acclaimed progressive rock band)
Current band lineup: Scot Harvey (drums), John “JT” Tallent (percussion), Roman Prokopenko (bass), Rowen Poole (guitar), Josephine Crooks (vocals), Ashley Peer (vocals), Jim Waugaman (keyboards, vocals, MOOG)
When one thinks of female fronted progessive rock, one band that may come to mind is the internationall acclaimed progressive rock band, Persephone’s Dream. Persephone’s Dream (also known to die-hard fans as simply PD) began as a studio project back in the early 1990s when longtime friends, Rowen Poole and Chris Siegle began working together on spacey, progressive music compositions. With thoughts of a female fronted prog rock band, they later called upon, vocalist Judilynne Niedercorn to provide vocals to the compositions and 1993 marked the completion of the debut release of Persephone’s Dream titled “Evening Mirage.” Poole and Siegle envisioned a full band lineup for live shows and a second release. They answered and ad placed by drummer, Ed Wiancko, who at the time was looking for studio session work. With the gaining of a drummer, Judilynne Niedercorn departed to pursue other musical interests. It was soon after that Poole found vocalist Karin Nicely’s business card by chance at a recording studio. Nicely was soon brought on board as the band’s lead vocalist and it was then they began to work on the follow up to “Evening Mirage”, the 1999 release “Moonspell.” Keyboardist, Kim Finney was later recruited to provide live keyboards in the live shows on the Moonspell Tour which spanned to many cities and states throughout the United States. Percussionist, John “JT” Tallent also became a permanent fixture for the band after making a guest appearance on the “Moonspell” album. The band enjoyed positive reviews, enthusiastic audience response, and album sales both in the US and overseas. Audiences also responded enthusiastically to the band’s elaborate stage shows provided by the band themselves and their lighting and production coordinator, Strobe. Following “Moonspell,” the band returned to the studio to record their 2001 release, “Opposition.” “Opposition” offered an edgier, gothic metal sound than “Moonspell.” “Opposition” also went to number 1 in the Progressive Charts in Spain, a second successful tour, and made it into the Top 10 Progressive Charts through various parts of Europe and South America.
The “Pyre of Dreams” release of Persephon’s Dream marked some changes to the band. First, there was the departure of original members (leaving to focus on their families) and the welcoming of new members. The new members included Scot Harvey on the drums, John Lally on base, Jim Waugaman on keyboards, and Colleen Gray and Heidi Engel on vocals (leaving Rowen and JT as the only original members). DC Cooper was also brought in to produce the band’s fourth CD effort. “Pyre of Dreams” was originally released independently by the band in 2005. The band was later signed to ProgRock Records and the album was rereleased as a ProgRock Records release in 2007. The band then experienced the shock of the sudden passing of bassist, John Lally. As the band trudged forward, bassist Roman Prokopenko was brought in.
In 2008, the band began working on their 5th album which was to be originally titled “Pan’s Labyrinth” but later was renamed “Pan: An Urban Pastoral.” With the departures of Colleen Gray and Heidi Engel, vocalist Ashley Peer was recommended to the band by a friend. Ashley provided the female vocals on the album with keyboardist Jim Waugaman and Weathered Soul frontman Dale Mossburg providing the male vocals on the album. The “Pan” album marked a new musical direction for the band offering a more progressive sound then the previous releases which were more along the lines of gothic metal. “Pan” was also done in the form of a musical with Ashley Peer as the Maenods, Jim Waugaman as the Youth and Dale Mossburg as Pan. “Pan: An Urban Pastoral” was officially released through ProgRock Records in September of 2010 to positive reviews. 2010 also brought the arrival of new vocalist, Josephine Crooks. Crooks proved right away to be an asset to the band being a seasoned performer and vocalist. Among some of her accomplishments, she sang for the Civic Light Opera as Kim in the musical “Miss Saigon” and Eponine in “Les Miserables.” Crooks had also sung in a metal band and fronted the Abba tribute band, Dancing Queen. She also had the honor of singing with the band, Chicago.
The story of Persephone’s Dream includes many twists and turns, but that may also be what adds to their appeal. That, and of course their music.
http://www.persephonesdream.net/
http://www.myspace.com/persephonedream
TIFFANY APAN (Eclectic and Award Winning singer/songwriter/musician/producer/actress)
Photo by Andrew G. Dantzler
Tiffany had been exposed to music since she was a child learning from her musician grandparents the guitar, violin, and accordian. She would take up classical piano at age 9.
She began formal classical vocal training at age 12 and appeared in numerous musical theatre and operatic productions throughout the years. Her real turning point as a vocalist, however, was having the opportunity of portraying the role of a Free Style Jazz Singer in the world premiere of Marta Effinger’s “Whispers Want to Holler” where she was also coached by Billy Harper who had written the musical score for the production.
Her is music is an eclectic blend of rock (progressive/alternative/metal), classical, folk, world, new age, gothic, ambient and touches of pop, soul, jazz and r&b.; Her 2008 debut album, Poet combines all these styles of music and has received enthusiastic responses from music fans and even garnered some critical acclaim.
She has been featured on up to 8 compilation CDs to date ranging from progressive rock to goth to dance/club compilations; in 2009 she was an American Finalist in The Best New Song in the World Contest with her acapella song, “Lost Little Girl” which was released as a digital single on June 1, 2010 and a music video in the works.
In 2010, Tiffany’s song “Ghost” was selected as the official song for the PASTIntel Paranormal Research Group. Her music video for “Scarborough Fair” off of “Poet” was a winner in the “Other” Music Video Category at the 2010 Indie Gathering in Cleveland, OH in the United States. Songs from POET (“Warrior” and “Whispers”) were also selected to appear on the soundtrack to the indie film, “The Girl” (in which Tiffany also plays the role of Kara) on which Samantha Newark (the singer/actress who voice the character Jem in the 80s cartoon, “Jem and the Holograms”) also appears musically.
“Poet” is available at all major digital outlets (iTunes, Napster, etc) as well as at CDBaby, Amazon, and Shinto Records.
She is currently working on her follow up to Poet titled Elements. Tracks on Elements will include “Heart Song,” “City of Gold (Children of the Sun),” “Siuil A Run,” “Poseidon,” and “Walking Distance.”
Eclectic and Award winning singer/songwriter/musician.
http://www.myspace.com/tiffanyapanmusic
http://www.youtube.com/TiffanyApan
http://www.twitter.com/TiFFANYAPAN
http://www.eventful.com/TiffanyApan
http://www.last.fm/music/Tiffany+Apan
Stay tuned for more recommendations as we continue…
Tiffany Apan is an award winning and acclaimed independent recording artist along with being a stage/film actress, producer, and writer. You can find more about her at her Official Website , Web Blog, MySpace , Twitter , and Facebook . She can also be found on IMDb and her music releases on CDBaby along with iTunes, Amazon, and other digital retailers. She also writes for the publications Rogue Cinema and Horrornews.net . She is also responsible for starting up the Music’s Underworld Webzine .
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