By Hannah Zaic

As fans, judges, and musicians, anxiously await the start of the show in the Hard Rock Cafe’s dimly lit dining room, the mood is excited, perhaps even optimistic. Patrons, expecting just dinner with a side of rock & roll relic, are pleasantly surprised by a bonus concert by some of Philly’s best country and folk artists.

Tonight’s leg of the city-wide battle of  PHL LIVE Center Stage will be judged by three of the most influential figures in the Philadelphia music scene: That Mag publisher, Brian Cronin; Executive Director of the Philadelphia Folksong Society, Justin Nordell; and WXTU Music Director and Radio Personality, Mark Razz.

Before shifting their full attention on the PHL LIVE country and folk finalists, the judges could be found socializing at the marble slab bar, catching up with fans, friends, and other individuals, sipping drinks, and trading war stories from the grueling music industry. The finalists performing this night were Man About a Horse, Ami Yares, Alex Mery & the Townsmen, Jessica Graae and Black Horse Motel.

You can log onto iRadioPhilly to see the highlights and to listen to the performances.

Our master of ceremonies is the illustrious Jennifer Logue of Rock On Philly. Logue is the first talent to take the stage before our finalists join her one-by-one for a discreet and organized mic check.  

It was a great night to be in Center City and regardless of the competitive nature of the event, everyone in the room was eager to show why our arts community is unlike any other in the world. Simply put, fans, judges, and musicians came for a friendly competition, but also stuck around to cheer each other on.

This display of mutual respect between artists, to and from the fans, is right in line with what PHL LIVE’s creator, Philadelphia Councilman-at-Large, David Oh, first imagined for the contest. During its second run, the multi-venue, genre-crossing event series is bigger and better than ever and shows no sign of slowing down.  

That Mag was lucky enough to sit down and talk with the councilman between acts. Otherwise, for most of the evening, he could be found at one of the tables near the stage, enjoying great music, as well as a few jokes told by our finalists and MC.

You wouldn’t think that a Republican Councilman would be inspired to create a music events series as successful as PHL LIVE. However, after attending a film festival, Councilman Oh was inspired and wondered if his music series should be structured similarly to the film festival.

Unlike most inaugural music festivals, adding a competitive spin would attract a fair amount of local, independent artists who are actually paid for their work. Since 2011, Councilman Oh has been bringing his notoriety (and cash) to local artists, while also serving as our city’s first Asian-American elected official! How cool is that?!

The culmination of 2017’s contest is going to be the PHL LIVE Awards Show held at the Trocadero, tonight, December 15th. For those of you looking to get involved next year, there are ten genres you could compete in for the grand prizes, which are as follows:

ANNOUNCING PHL LIVE CENTER STAGE

Coor’s Light Presents PHL LIVE Center Stage: 2017 Prizes

Grand Prizes for each of the 10 music category winners and the People’s Choice winner:

1. $1,000.00 for each of th 11 winners (total of $11,000.00 in prize money)
2. City Council Citation awarded to each of the 11 winners at the Awards Show in December at the Trocadero Theater
3. Resolution presented to the group of 11 winners in City Council

(You can find more information about PHL LIVE’s 2017 finalists, terms, conditions and prizes at www.phllive.org.)

Since the finalists are beating out so many other acts to play for a judge’s panel of industry heavyweights, the concerts held around the city at stellar venues like Milkboy #1 & #2, The World Cafe Live and The Hard Rock Cafe are guaranteed to be Philly local talent at its best. Better get out there and see them play before they aren’t so local anymore!

Here is to another epic year with PHL LIVE and to many, many more to come. Onwards, to the Trocadero!

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad is not your traditional reggae band. When most people think of reggae music, images of Jamaica or some other gorgeous island pops into their head. However, these guys originated from Rochester, NY. The band formed when (bassist) James Searl and (drummer) Chris O’Brian started playing music together at age 11. Rochester itself is actually filled with diverse artists/musicians and has a pretty tight knit community, so it was inevitable they would be meeting others with common interests.

Searl and O’Brian kept running into a guy who worked at a local gas station and played guitar. He opened their ears to the mellow, sunny sounds of reggae music. Different people would chime in here and there to create music with them but consistently they met with (guitarist) Dylan Savage and formed a “squad” that was devoted to music and culture of reggae. Also in the band are (guitarist) Dan Keller and (keyboardist) Tony Gallicchio.

In the beginning the guys were very particular with their sound and felt that they had to have specific instruments such as the organ to be consistent. Overtime, they realized that some of these things just weren’t sensible to bring on tour and had to improvise. This opened up their taste and gave room for change.

“You realize great musicians or artists can make music with anything,” Searl says about switching things up. Interestingly, most of the band members take part in the vocals which gives everyone a chance to express themselves lyrically and vocally. “If you have something to say, write it. You get out what you put in and whoever writes the song should be the one to sing it.”

Giant Panda has been noted as a phenomenal band to see on stage and fans have testified that they come alive and pour their heart and soul into the music. Realistically, most of their experience is performing live and they haven’t put too much time being in the studio.

“We definitely have more experience as a live band,” Searl says, “but being on the road you get so educated on how to maintain yourself and your music. There really is no other experience like that.”

Since the band has been on the road so often, they quickly learned the importance of being home with family is just as essential as their music. It’s finding the balance that can sometimes be the challenge. However, being on the road and performing at local festivals/shows has introduced them to many magnificent places and people over the years.

“You see things in towns you never would’ve known existed. People that check us out usually have a common interest and most of our fans seem to do great things,” Searl says. For them it’s really about providing some sort of atmosphere that is welcoming and inspiring. “Music is non-verbal but expressive…you can see the energy transfer and the listeners understanding without words-that’s a very powerful thing…music is healing”.

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad has a new album coming out in September. On top of that, they’re stoked about their upcoming tour with Easy Star All Stars which sets sail the same month. The two bands have known each other for over five years and coming together was a “natural thing”.

When asked what the band will be up to while performing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Philly August 16, Searl states they will be sure to stop at Chickie’s Deli, located off of Federal Street, for the tuna sub. Even compared to sandwiches from all over the world, the squad agrees that Philly does it best! One of a kind sandwiches for a one of a kind band.

Interested in seeing a summer festival, but not too keen on doling out the cash for a hot, crowded outdoor slog? You’re in luck: the Hard Rock Cafe is hosting the Five Dollar Festival in just a few days, and there are still tickets on sale for – you guessed it – only $5. This night of music comes particularly recommended to open-minded and diverse listeners, particularly fans of new, eclectic, reggae-infused bands, with lots of dancing!

The night will feature sets from five great, genre-mashing bands, spanning a myriad of styles. Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad are certainly based in the dub and reggae influences that their name suggests, but they pull it off with a spacey and progressive flair that has endeared them to audiences for over half a decade. The Underwater Sounds and the Fear Nuttin Band both take those reggae influences and run with them to uncharted waters, drawing connections across geographical and stylistic borders, drawing in hip hop, heavy metal, and some serious groove inflections to enrich their respective sounds. The local Philly rap/rock/reggae act Reef’d will also be featuring, in keeping with the evening’s theme. Finally, The Manhattan Project is on deck, rounding out the lineup with a wide-sweeping set of omnivorous, dancey electronica – featuring traditional instruments as well – that’s sure to get you moving.

The Five Dollar Festival is kicking off this Saturday, August 16th, at the Hard Rock Cafe on 1131 Market Street. Anyone with a ticket can enter starting at 5 PM, and the bands will begin performing half an hour later, at 5:30. For your $5 ticket, head here while they’re still available!

My Silent Bravery is becoming increasingly popular on YouTube and before I saw him live, I couldn’t understand why. I couldn’t like his nice guy image as a girl who’s into bad boys, and I certainly didn’t like his country-influenced pop sound as a self-proclaimed nonconformist. And yet I can’t seem to get those songs out of my head.

I watched My Silent Bravery with an open mind and was truly impressed. Accompanied by his extremely talented saxophonist, Matthew Wade (My Silent Bravery) played each song stripped-down acoustic, which I much preferred to the recorded versions I’d previously heard. The two were charmingly humble on stage, allowing the audience to connect with them on a level that felt very human. It was as if they surrendered everything they’d ever been told about the business of music and just played the show. They played beautifully.

The duo performed their most popular songs including “To Give”—a tune originally recorded with the popular Jewish reggae singer, Matisyahu—and “Burnt Out”, a song about unrequited love. They also did a fantastic stripped-down cover of Nelly’s “Take A Ride With Me.”

Following Wade’s final song, “Amazing”, female singer/songwriter Brynn Elliott gave a lovely solo performance of her original songs, accompanied by Tyler Ward’s lead guitarist for a few cover songs. Though I could not hear much of what she said between sets, her singing was effortlessly beautiful. Her cover of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” was my favorite performance of the entire night.

If you’ve ever seen a performance by an old friend or neighbor or your boyfriend’s little sister, anyone you know with hidden talent in music, if you’ve ever seen someone you know completely transform into something unrecognizably beautiful in the presence of an audience, this is how it felt to watch Brynn Elliott perform.

Tyler Ward on the other hand, made me wonder why he was performing at the HardRock Cafe on a Monday night. Though he is not someone I would ever download in my iTunes library, I cannot deny that this kid was born to play music. Backed by a girl on drums, his cousin on bass and Elliot’s lead-guitarist, Tyler’s presence on stage is big enough to play a sold-out show at the Colosseum. His young energy and involvement with the band and audience alike would get a deaf man excited about his music. I’m excited to have seen him so early in his career, as I know someday soon he’ll be everywhere and I’ll be forced to hear my little sister blasting his music on the radio.

My Silent Bravery will be touring with Tyler Ward for the remainder of the summer. Catch him this November when he returns to Philly with Anna Nalick at World Cafe Live.

Friday night at the Hard Rock Café in Philadelphia played host to the “Who Do You Love… More?” show presented by Chill Moody.  Aptly named after the project put together by Chill, Beano and Hank McCoy for this show, the whole event had the theme of red carpets and roses.

Opening the show was rising hip pop act CJ & Evan who brought their energetic set of rhymes, party bars, and catchy choruses to the stage.  The beginning of their set brought the faithful forward to the stage and with the help of DJ Ricochet on the 1s and 2s, CJ & Evan got the crowd ready for what was one memorable night.

Next up was Jacqueline Constance who brought the full band, back up singers and soul to the stage.  By this time I was fighting my way to get a drink at the bar which had to have reached capacity in the sold out crowd.  By the time I got my beer Jacqueline and her band broke into a beautiful array of Lauryn Hill songs that had everyone on their feet.  With a mixture of covers and loop pedals she brought on stage to build the tracks, I was a little upset when her set ended and wanting a bit more. But, next up was Kid Felix ready to hit the audience with something they surely were not expecting.

Kid Felix took the stage with their Incubus/Johnny Craig-esque rock and roll that, although a little out of character for the bill, was accepted with rounds of applause and the ladies pushing forward to the front row. Jake Falana’s vocal prowess won over many of the R&B/Soul audience members that were new to the band.  With wailing choruses and dramatic stage presence, Kid Felix grabbed the attention of some very notable people as well as some new female fans.

By the time KId Felix was done, the crowd began getting restless.  DJ Ricochet kept things moving, but with the packed room, this writer stepped out for a moment to catch some air.  At that moment I caught Chill and Beano discussing their entrance as they snuck in the front of Hard Rock toting full suits and roses in their hands.  Taking the stage with a full band performing the tracks originally created by the combo of Hank McCoy, Beano and Chill for the WDYLM album available on iTunes, the show began.  With Chill and Beano playing off each other on stage like they had been performing this record for years, they took the band and the record to a whole new level.  I cannot explain how talented the backing band was, which included dueling keyboards, a drummer, and guitarist.  They played the re-imagination of the album, a few Chill Moody singles and even dropped into “Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe which sold me, as if I wasn’t already.

It is beginning to look like Mr. Chill Moody is the holder of the Hip Hop crown in Philadelphia more and more.  He had two sold out shows (Trocadero) in less than a month, dropped EPs specifically for shows and recruited his own staff of talented artists to give them the opportunity they deserve.  Whether you like his music or not, you cannot deny that this guy does it BIG and tries to give everyone deserving a chance to share in his celebrity.  So…who do you love…more?

The Bands & Bites Grand Finale Showcase went down at the Hard Rock Cafe Tuesday to a packed house. Surprisingly, the light drizzle, the fact that it was on a Tuesday, and rush hour didn’t stop people from piling in.

photo credit Jaz Bowens

I arrived as soon as the first performer, Paul Saint John, got on stage. There were no seats available. Fortunately, a stranger invited me to sit with him. Paul Saint John sounded great. It was just him, his guitar and the crowd. As people continued to come in, order food, and settle down, his strong and soulful voice raised above the noise. He was able to grab the crowd’s attention as his simple set allowed his talent to shine through. Check out his song “All the Kings Horses”.

The second performer was Ashley Leone. I heard about her in passing but I have never heard her music before. The host informed the crowd that she is a local girl who graduated from Germantown Academy High School, has opened for a lot of big name artist, and has performed all over the country. Leone was able to fit her whole band on stage but once she got started I wasn’t able to hear anything she said. I wasn’t sure if her mic was too low, her band was too loud, or if something was completely off with the sound quality or system. I decided to listen to her music when I got home because her performance didn’t seem to live up to all the rave I had been hearing about her.

Victoria Watts, a San Francisco native who moved to the city a few years back was next to perform. She had a lot of supporters with her and she definitely had the rocker look.  Her band sounded great, but just like Leone’s performance, I couldn’t hear her voice. I got closer to the stage but that didn’t help either.

(Slot 55, photo credit Jaz Bowens)

The fourth band to perform was Slot 55. As soon as they started playing I was hooked. They sounded great! I heard everything and it was obvious they had been playing their instruments and performing for years. This band owned the stage in my opinion. They played “Free” and two other songs. Download “My Reflection”and “Free” for free via their social media networks. I can’t describe their sound. It’s good ol’ all American rock- great lyrics, great instrument playing, and all around great performance.

The last band onstage was Hopscotch Jefferson, the winner of the finale. The definitely won over the crowd with their energetic vibe and upbeat sound. They had a lot of supporters at the show.

(Hopscotch Jefferson, photo credit Jaz Bowens)

This past Thursday was the first of many shows at Hard Rock Philly put on by yours truly, That Mag. With a diverse lineup, food and drinks galore, and surprise appearances by some big names, it was not a show to miss.

Seventeen year old suburban-Philly local, Ashley Leone, got the show started with a soulful set. She started off with some original songs, backed by her band the Love, Love, Love’s. The R&B infused pop songs got the crowd interested, and she then got them involved by playing some covers, first Lady GaGa and then Kid Cudi.

Next, South Jersey’s No Risk pumped everyone up. “If we suck, the Eagles are playing on the TV by the bar!” they started off by saying, followed by loud, heavy, fun music. There was no need to watch the Eagles, because No Risk was captivating, especially with the playing of a new song that they worked out well on stage.

Rich Quick was up next, and the crowd had grown and moved up closer with anticipation. Stress the White Boy and Chuck Treece took the stage first, ready to DJ and drum for the set. Rich Quick took the stage with a whirlwind of energy and excitement. He played his full EP Sad Songz, with guest appearances from ASK?, Milton, and local Philadelphia legend Reef the Lost Cauze. After his set, Rich Quick was called back onstage for an encore, leaving the crowd wanting even more. He stuck around after the show, talking to fans and taking photos.

This month’s Third Thursday event with ThatMag was epic, and there is much more where that came from, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground!

We’ve always heard the popular saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. How about if we rolled your enemies and friends into one package? Making friends with The Enemies in this case should not be hard. And once you become a fan and a friend you can buy a t-shirt that reads, “I’m a friend of The Enemies.” The Enemies are a group of five Irish musicians and friends who have been making music and having a blast in the process.

Frontman Ronan McQuillan plays acoustic guitar and uses his beautiful voice to sing lead vocals. He has been writing music since he was young so he and Johnny Crean are the writing brains behind the operation. Crean plays lead guitar, saxophone and piano so he brings a unique spin to the band. Martin Shields is the funky bass player who also plays banjo. Mark Montague, the amazing drummer, has played various genres and traveled all over the world with the Carrickmacross Brass Band. Last (and certainly not least) is Colin O’Donoghue who, at night, is a musician playing guitar, ukelele and backup vocals. By day, most know him as Captain Hook on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. When he’s not playing the swash buckling pirate he hopes to be able to play at a few shows during the tour.

“Colin is under contract with ABC and he’s tied up at the moment. Hopefully in April or May we can get him out to a few shows and he has his eyes on a few. We might be able to twist his arm to get him out. It would be great for us because we haven’t seen much of him, but we’re excited for him. He plays a great Captain Hook,” says McQuillan.

The Enemies participated at SXSW in Austin, TX last week and just embarked on a New England tour. According to their Twitter feed, The Enemies are currently in St. Louis Missouri set to play at The Dubliner and are set to stop by in Chicago, Cleveland Pittsburg, New York, Providence and Boston. Next Monday, they will play at the Hard Rock Cafe here in Philadelphia.

“We’re looking to make friends and play our songs for as many people as possible. Our sound seems to suit their ears and they’re liking what they’re hearing. We hope to keep coming back and playing in the US for many years to come. We played in Fado Irish pub in downtown Austin, it was pretty similar to playing other bars. We’re excited to play in theaters and different venues where people are there to listen to the music and ultimately that’s why we’re here. The music gets lost when people are drinking an enormous amount of alcohol and want to be entertained at any cost,” says Crean.

The Enemies are hoping to see some of the historical sites in each city and they’ll be posting pictures of their tour experience on their Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. The foursome hope the pictures will entice their buddy Colin to join in on the fun. Say a few prayers for them, because they’re hoping to get signed along the way. After the fun of the tour the band will likely take a break from each other, but get back to making their record.

After the US tour, the next plan is a UK tour. “We’d like to take a few days off. But we have to keep playing as many shows as possible got to keep it fresh,” says McQuillan.

Although The Enemies are an independent band they have been making a name for themselves and have been making music for various projects. They were commissioned by General Motors to record tracks for the Route 66 online campaign where they recorded twelve versions of Chuck Berry’s “Route 66”. They have worked on the music for Coca-Cola’s 5BY20 Project and also performed in Budapest at the wrap party for The Rite- a movie O’Donoghue costarred in with Sir Anthony Hopkins. According to McQuillan and Crean, Hopkins introduced them and they were dressed like bishops, priests and cardinals based on the movie. The experience of a lifetime.

The Enemies are ready to be your friend, too. This upcoming Monday, the 25th, the band will be at the Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia with Parsnip Revolt and The Underhills.

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