Indie folk/alternative Boston-based trio, Tall Heights, and Vermont-based singer/songwriter, Henry Jamison, played to an intimate, attentive crowd of music lovers last night at the Lizard Lounge (located in the bottom level of the Chameleon Club).

Tall Heights played many tracks from their latest record, Neptune. They also performed some new songs, one of which was only their fourth time performing live. It was a great song – somewhat quirky and unique, while having some elements of alt-J, and some of the incredible folk music out of New England.

Singer/songwriter Henry Jamison opened his set around 7:30 PM and played tracks from his latest EP, The Rains. He joked that most of his songs are “about a girl”, but he has some that aren’t. Included in his set were the title track, “The Rains”, “Real Peach”, as well as the EP’s opener, “Dallas Love Field.”

Both artists performed a beautiful collection of music that combined the best elements of heartache, love, friendship, and more into songs that can stand the test of time. They’re performing together in Philly tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. Tickets are available now.

photos by Cara Robbins

Even before setting out on tour as the touring drummer for psych-rock outfit, Foxygen, Diane Coffee frontman Shaun Fleming had an interest and passion for music. From around his late middle school days to early high school, Fleming had been writing music. Then in high school he started playing and performing.

“When I was in between tours with Foxygen, I wrote My Friend Fish in about two weeks, just kind of demoing, and that got into the hands of Western Vinyl. Then Diane Coffee was born,” Fleming explains.

At the end of 2012, Fleming left his native California, and set out for a move to New York City. My Friend Fish was inspired by Fleming’s move to New York City and also during a time where he had been severely ill with the flu.

“[My Friend Fish] definitely has a darker mood. I had never moved to a big city and didn’t really know anyone. Atmospherically, it was a little darker, and I had gotten very sick. When I write my songs, they always start out with mood, melody, and then lyrically, second,” Fleming reveals.

Ironically, the sophomore release, Everybody’s a Good Dog was also inspired a move, but perhaps less intimidating – from New York City to Bloomington, Indiana. With Good Dog, however, the overall mood of the record is completely different than Fish.

“I moved to Bloomington and I was at a very happy place at that point. I knew I was writing a Diane Coffee record. I had a lot more time to think about it and had three months off to write this record. The mood of Everybody’s a Good Dog is happier, a lot more reflective, and much deeper,” he explains.

Upon listening to either of Fleming’s record under the Diane Coffee moniker, one can clearly hear an eclectic blend of various influences from ‘60s and ‘70s pop, rock, funk, R&B, and a plethora of other genres. The melting pot of such influences really creates a unique sound that’s incomparable.

With that said, Fleming never had a clear, calculated goal to create a throwback record or necessarily tried to celebrate that era of music. “I grew up listening to that type of music in high school and that influenced me,” he explains.

From that type of music, those types of melodies and song structures were what would pop into his head. Fleming admits ‘60s and ‘70s influences of artists like legends Sam Cooke and Diana Ross, to artists like The Beatles and David Bowie, and many classic rock standards.

What you don’t hear in Diane Coffee material is the country music his father listened to: “Dad was really into country music like ‘80s and 90s David Wilcox, Hank Williams, to Conway Twitty,” he says. He reflected upon when he really started getting into to music was right around “late middle school and early high school” right around when Napster came out.

What you’re going to see at a Diane Coffee show is similar to eclectic, unique artists like the Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, Kendrick Lamar, and Sufjan Stevens, just to name a few. Fleming takes great influence from artists that have a lot of production. His writing style and stage presence is “all over the place” he says, but really “can’t help but write in an eclectic manner”, since he listens to such a wide array of genres and artists.

The Diane Coffee project has been “on tour” so to speak, doing one festival a weekend with four dates or so within driving distance of home. “It’s been a tug-o-war to really feel like we’re on tour and on the road. This time of year is strange, but the shows have been great and a lot of fun.”

Fleming and the rest of the Diane Coffee outfit will be stopping by Camden, New Jersey for WXPN’s XPoNential Festival on July 24th. “I’m really excited to be doing this. We just implemented a new stage show, but we haven’t done it in a festival setting yet. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out in a festival setting, throw it out there, and see how it goes. I always change up the stage shows a lot. Sometimes it feels like you’re flying by the seat of your pants because we don’t always have a lot of time to plan it out,” Fleming says.

So if you’re attending the festival be sure to stay for their set. You can expect a lot of love, peace, and happiness.

“The one thing I always want to have at my shows is a general overall feeling of happiness, acceptance, and being able to really let go. Sometimes it’s harder depending on the area and it takes a lot of work if the room’s small. People have a hard time moving and getting out of their own head,” Fleming realizes. “We try to create and let go. My favorite part about going to a show is being cast into like a dream-like state, a non-reality, and be in the moment.”

Diane Coffee will be visiting Central Pennsylvania with a stop at Chameleon Club’s Lizard Lounge on July 10th before heading to the XPoNential Festival.

photo by Ruby Maxwell

Sunflower Bean is a rock band that pay homage to psych with some dreamy shoegaze mixed in. Jacob Faber (drums), Julia Cumming (vox and bass guitar) and Nick Kivlen (vox and guitar) met through the Brooklyn, NY DIY scene and released their debut album, Human Ceremony, in February 2016. I was able to chat with Nick Kivlen on the DIY scene, being an underage band in the music industry, how it was recording their album and where they plan on going from here.

They are all under 21 (Farber and Kivlen, 20 and Cumming, 19) and it can be a challenge to get shows in some bars or clubs based on the strict laws on the venue. Sometimes you are allowed to play a venue, but then have to leave as soon as you are done playing. There are a good number of venues and promoters that are nice and accommodating for underage performers. Kivlen recalls that only one venue in San Diego, while on tour with Diiv and No Joy, made them leave after playing their set.

Kivlen says, “I think that being so young is exciting because we only have room to grow into ourselves as artist and song writers. It’s really hard to find your sound and get your shit together, you look up and three years have already passed. Youth is worshiped in rock and roll, and is one of the things it’s most celebrated for. It’s music by young people for young people (romantically speaking).”

Being on tour is fun and hard work; being on stage every night playing the same songs and trying to have the same energy. For me, I still get super nervous before going on stage, but once up there I get in the groove and forget about the butterflies. Kivlen says they all feel the most comfortable on stage. “It’s sort of our collective happy place, so playing every night and meeting new people is very rewarding. The U.S. tour with Diiv and No Joy was a lot of fun. We also had a great time with our friends Honduras and Weaves on our headlining U.S. tour,” he continues. He feels that going on tour with bands who are more seasoned is a really good learning experience for them, and most bands are pretty friendly.

Another set back being underage and in a band is your underage friends or fans cannot see you perform if the venue is not allowing all ages in; this is where DIY spaces come into play. DIY spaces can be sustainable to keep open, but it is a lot of hard work and most are being pushed further and further out of city limits. Such was a sad reality for the DIY space that my friend Oliver Ackermann (Death By Audio Pedals, A Place to Bury Strangers) opened called Death By Audio. Developers forced this space to close in November of 2014. Sunflower Bean was so lucky to have their first official show at Death By Audio.

“It was great! I was really privileged to know a lot of great promoters from my previous band (Turnip King). So when we started we had a lot of opening slots at real venues,” Kivlen remembers.

photo by Amanda Hatfield

Music being in the digital age and most things being at the tips of your fingers with a click of the mouse makes it easy to find what you want. I find most of my music through Spotify, 8Tracks and soundcloud; I like trying to find new music that I may not find through popular sites. The pro is you can post your music yourself and have control over it, the con is there is so much of it out there that a ton gets passed by. “With so much music out there, it can feel like you’re screaming into the void when you upload a track. You have to find creative or engaging ways to tempt people into clicking your track out of the millions of other bandcamp links,” says Kivlen.

What makes me feel a little old is Kivlen doesn’t remember the first CD or tape or record he bought. “Music was pretty digital by the time I started I listening and discovering on my own,” he says. However he does remember some CDs his parents gave him from a garage sale when he was young which included the Ramones. He fell in love with that one instantly. When we are young, what we listen to sticks with us, as we get older our tastes and influences change, but we never forget the nostalgia.

When Kivlen first started playing guitar he was very into hard rock and metal.The first songs he learned on guitar was “Come As You Are” and “Electric Funeral”. Speaking for the band, “We all grew up listening to a lot of the same classic rock.” Kivlen doesn’t have an extended formal education on guitar, but he did take a few lessons from the drummer of Agnostic Front when he was 10. Faber taught himself the drums, but learned to play the keyboard and saxophone while growing up. All through high school, Cumming studied classical music. Having parents that were really into music helped shaped each of them individually as musicians.

I love talking about gear and learning about new and vintage pedals. Kivlen tells me he only uses cheap equipment because he likes to Frankenstein different gear together. I personally don’t know how all that circuitry works. I’d like to know, but he says, “you can do a lot with little money if you know the hidden gems. I’d take my rig and Squire Stratocaster over any expensive tube amp or Les Paul any day. I pretty much only play Strats. Whenever I try any other guitar, I always come back to my Strat.”

Sunflower Bean still plays most of the same gear they started out with. They didn’t have a plan for the sound they were going for so they just used what they had and built it up from there. Kivlen did get obsessed with using vocal delays so he borrowed his friend’s Boss Vocal Processor and really loves it.

photo by Rebekah Campbell

Their EP was recorded over the course of a year, and the album, Human Ceremony, was done in a real studio within a few days, with their friend Mathew Molnar producing it. They didn’t want to just go in and hit record without having a precise plan. So, they spent a lot of time writing and editing before going in the studio. “There was a pretty intense three month period of pre-production, including demo-ing and rehearsing,” Kivlen says.

I really love the imagery and emotions from the album and I love the videos that are out so far. “Easier Said” is my favorite; it’s so beautiful. It sounds hopeful and bittersweet. Then they have “Wall Watcher” which is so jarring and leaves me feeling anxious., yet it was so intensely beautiful. I learned from Kivlen that everything that Sunflower Bean puts out is carefully crafted and salved over, but it all still comes out naturally. Kivlen feels, “Albums are more than just sound recordings. Once you put vinyl in a cardboard box and slap an image on the front the songs take on an entirely different context. We can’t hear these songs objectively in a vacuum, being in a band is much more than just being a sonic artist, it involves a lot of multi-media.”

Sunflower Bean are going to be spending 2016 playing summer festivals and touring. They are always working on new songs and try to rehearse new material during soundchecks while on the road. There is one new song in their set right now so check out this band live. I saw them open for Diiv and No Joy, and I was very impressed!

They will be at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster tonight with Cave Paint and Saving Apollo. It is an all ages event. If you’re lucky enough to have access to this year’s NonComm Conference at World Cafe Live, you can see them tomorrow night at 8:30.

photos courtesy of Gladiators and Ashlee Favro

Challenging what seems to be the typical riffs and structure of metalcore, Gladiators is a band from Lancaster, PA that has successfully fused together progressive music and metalcore without having isolated fans from either genre. Ironically, most bands in the scene champion the concept of non conformity, but fail to meet such an ideal. This band does not disappoint us and follows through with slightly chaotic, yet uncharacteristic strong structures.

Songs dished out by Gladiators have a familiar sound to it but are completely different in that although people are able to identify with their sound and genre. They have never heard metalcore progressive music served with attitude quite like this. With influences ranging from Periphery to Stray from the Path to Deftones to jazz and classical music, it’s inevitable from the first riff that Gladiators aims to push the boundaries and think outside the box. Drop a tuba and brass section into the chorus? Done. Drop a trap beat into their verse? Done. Combining all these influences is accomplished very subtly. There’s just enough to catch your attention but not enough to jar you from the musical experience and repel you. Furthermore, the lyrics are raw and penetrating because of Hart’s (vocalist) background in art and poetry. The concepts are expressed fluidly and cohesively through the lyrics. Transitions are smooth between phrases and choruses.

The band, which has been around since 2013, is currently represented by CI Records and consists of the following members: Mike Hart (vocalist), Josh Krantz (guitarist and group leader), Scott Toebe (guitarist), Bernard Stabley (bassist), and Caleb Stoltzfus (drummer). To provide some background history, both Stabley and Stoltzfus were formerly in a band called Sudden Ascent, to which Krantz joined on as guitarist. The vocalist of that band left to join a different band and at that time Hart filled in on the vocals without much difficulty. In 2012, at Launch Music Conference, the group was able to network and pique the interest of Rick Armellino (vocalist of This or The Apocalypse, another Lancaster, PA band). Krantz and Armellino began to collaborate on a record together, having a similar vision. Krantz, having musical chemistry with his former band members, offered the others the opportunity to work on the record as well and from there Gladiators emerged. Interestingly enough, the band did not come out as a band officially until One Tooth was all mastered. The element of surprise and the solidarity of One Tooth was catalytic.

Feedback from the scene had been positive, so for their next album, Plexus, the group had to up it to the next level. The first album had been pure unadulterated mania. For the metalcore scene, that’s perfect, but Gladiators wanted to reach out to a wider audience. The challenge became more relatable and digestible, but retaining their metalcore roots.

“Simply put, people want something they can jive and groove to, but also still feel like they can be the ones singing the song right up there with us on stage. So our evolution has come in the form of strong structure and hooks namely…[although we also] do care to push ourselves and writing capabilities,” states Krantz.

Plexus was released on March 4, 2016 and was produced by Armellino again and mastered by Magnusson (Fit for a King, Born of Osiris). The unpredictability of Armellino translated to the album still channeling some of the chaotic blue collar, exciting, raw energy seen in One Tooth. However, technically speaking, the songs had more intricate parts.

Despite having so many contributors to the album, there was hardly any ever discord. Even if there was a disagreement, it was seen as an opportunity to strengthen the song rather than combust and knix ideas ruthlessly. It truly was a collaborative process. They were always looking to tweak or see or hear things in a different light with a different element that could be cooler or could end up making it worse.  At the end of the day decisions need to eventually get made and there are multiple hands in the pot that need to compromise. However, one of the strengths of the album is pushing forth songs that are equally heavy as they are melodic. There are standout catchy moments in their songs, such as in “Rotgut” one of their favorite album tracks to play. Krantz claims that the band had difficulty in structuring their songs, but with the help of Armellino, none of that is evident to the audience.

Gladiators at Chameleon Club

The band just finished a tour at the end of March spanning the East Coast and venturing into the Midwest. Other tours are currently in the works, but most excitingly is their appearance at 2016 Launce Music Conference in Lancaster, PA hosted by CI Records. They are not only headlining the first date of Launch at the Chameleon Club on 4/21, but will also be actively around networking with bands and industry reps as well! It seems that Launch has certainly provided a wonderful platform for artists across a variety of genres to gather, learn from each other, and inspire each other to excel as seen clearly with Gladiators’ continued collaboration and progression with Armellino.

Gladiators would like to extend thanks to their fans. “We want to be that group that everyone is friends with and loves to hang out with. We are nothing without our fans. We go nowhere without our audience.  The support and love we receive from our fans means the world to us.  We love each and every one of you, thank you.”

To learn more about the band, visit their Facebook page.

Photos by Shervin Lainez

I recently had the opportunity to speak with bassist Rich Meyer of Brooklyn’s Highly Suspect to catch up about their recent headlining tour, music video for “Lydia”, and other things.

The alternative rock band just released their debut full length LP Mister Asylum on July 17 and Meyer spoke a bit about how they went about creating the record.

“There is no set process to it. Johnny will write a riff and a chorus or just a melody and we’ll all play together. We’ll figure the rhythm and composition of the song, then we’ll brush out the lyrics,” Meyer explains. “Sometimes he’ll have a song already written when he brings it to us. Sometimes I write a song or sometimes a song will come out of a jam.”

Highly Suspect has been having a lot of great successes recently. The band released a music video to YouTube for their single “Lydia” in late June and it recently hit over a million views. “Shooting the video was easy. We showed up and were there to bare witness. The difficult part of the video was figuring out the story,” Meyer says. “We went through 50 different treatments to find someone who actually had the concept that we agreed with. We knew right away when we read Steve’s treatment that it was metaphor for the song, like, suffocating, like waking up realizing you’re drowning, like being in a relationship that’s suffocating you and realizing that it’s happening.”

Highly Suspect has had the opportunity to play with several amazing bands like Chevelle, Halestorm, and will be sharing the stage alongside The Struts. It has been a long ride for the band. Meyer has had the opportunity to see and understand how a much larger band operates, deals with fans, and approaches things outside of the show.

“In order to make it work, you have to love each other, and be a family. All the bands that don’t have that quality, they aren’t making it like those guys are,” Meyer reaffirms.

On Friday night, July 17, the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA, played host to Crobot’s ‘Drunk As Shit Tour’ with bands Minshara, Wilson, Mothership, and Anthrophobia. The show was full of explosive rock music, a rockin’ crowd, and flowing drinks.

Electronic pop rock band, Minshara, based out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania opened the show with the catchy track, “Monster 2.” Lead singer Aaron Miller was bursting with amazing stage presence and energy.

“We felt like we doused the stage with gasoline and lit a match. The stage was on fire from our first song to Crobot’s last song,” Miller roused.

Though, they were the poppiest band on the bill, they could definitely rock out. Songs “Hollywood”, “I Am Your Density”, and “Lakes” were great tracks to include in such a rock-focused bill. Even the song “The Void”, though the only ballad on their set, was very dark, but still enveloped a darkness about it, and the one note that Miller hit at the very end of the song gave me goosebumps.

Wilson, Mothership, and Anthrophobia all displayed great rock and roll spirit. Wilson was a five-piece rock band from Detroit that had a real hard rock anthematic spirit about them. Mothership was similar to an 80’s hair metal band, but better. They had a great stage presence; very animated and present in their art. Anthrophobia was also a very hard rock band. Each band had a different style, but all still similar in that each had the heart of rock and roll.

Crobot closed out the show and boy, were they were incredible! They are your typical (and yet unique) epitome of the heart of American rock and roll music. They opened their set with the rockin’ “The Legend of the Spaceborne Killer” and the crowd went wild. The Chameleon Club was completely packed for their set. The band’s energy is unmatched on stage and lead singer Brandon Yeagley has this animalistic energy about him when performing on stage compared to his persona off-stage.

The Central PA band will be in Lancaster this weekend.

by Melissa Duong

Rock band Kingsfoil from York, Pa. (From L to R) Frankie Muniz, Tristan Martin, Tim Warren, and Jordan Davis. 06/28/2012 SEAN SIMMERS

Not a new band on the music scene, Kingsfoil has a firm footing in the indie rock scene and has maintained their rightful place, reigning among other indie bands and recently opening for Third Eye Blind.  Other famous artists that they have toured with include We The Kings, Anberlin, Creed, The Ting Tings, Chiddy Bang, and Lovedrug (one of their personal favorite bands).  With all these experienes under their belt, Kingsfoil is slowly creating a nice little niche for themselves in the indie rock scene.

Jordan Davis, the lead singer of Kingsfoil states that “I think the advice we got [from other bands] was more from just watching them bring it on stage,” and that in itself is enough to inspire the band to great new heights. Additionally, their music is also inspired by their relationships with people they know.  They maintain that they “write what [they] know” and are also inspired by everyday life, being on the road, meeting new people, their friends, family, being poor, and various other things.  Aside from the wide range of topics for their lyrics, their versatile music style is evident throughout their EP which was released in 2007 and their LP in 2010.  Though they are frequently compared to Coldplay or The Fray due to the piano accompaniment, what differentiates them from these other popular bands is their willingness to push the boundaries of their genre.  Not only are they willing to rock out with some harder pieces, but they can just as equally well perform acoustic songs.  It’s apparent that their skills and the genre of music by which they are defined do not serve to limit their musicality and originality.

Interestingly enough, the band has evolved from the original days.  Their former drummer was replaced by none other than Frankie Muniz.  The name may sound familiar to a lot of people. This is the same Frankie Muniz  who starred in television’s Malcolm in the Middle.  Muniz, prior to joining Kingsfoil, was a drummer for a band called You Hang Up, which was also managed by the same management Kingsfoil is signed to (Master Key Management).   When Kingsfoil began auditioning for drummers, Muniz expressed interest in auditioning, and so they gave him a shot. Though they auditioned quite a few drummers, no drummer expressed as much passion or commitment to the audition pieces.  Muniz auditioned, knowing his parts down better than anyone else, which appeased Tim, Tristan, and Jordan (the other members of Kingsfoil) very much as they are all perfectionists.  According to Davis, “[Frankie] nailed the parts and showed us that was important to him as well. That’s what we were looking for in a new drummer.”

Since Muniz has joined the band, Davis states that the band has greatly evolved their music.  There’s “a lot more house/dance pop with a shot of jazz and world beats…joking!”  Joking aside, the band has not changed their sound.  Davis believes that rather than change their sound, the band members are all striving to be better writers.  Kingsfoil’s new record, A Beating Heart is a Bleeding Heart, debuts on September 25th on iTunes. Currently, their single “What Your Mother Taught You” is doing extremely well, garnering much positive feedback from the fans, who are also supportive of the band switchup with Muniz entering the scene. They are all currently working on getting up to speed and learning the new songs in order to provide the crowd with a unified front and instrumentals that coalesce together in the new songs.

If you’re interested in checking out Kingsfoil, they’ll be in Lancaster on the 29th (at the Chameleon Club). It’s a CD release party also featuring Darry Miller & The Veil, Sinclarity, Last Scene In Reno, and Jesse Baker.