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See These Guys With Your Ears

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What It Is Jambabies – Introducing:

“applespacebar”

By Brian Sidler – Former Music Writer Chicago Music Magazine

(TCP)CHICAGO – Dateline Chicago – (Birmingham, AL) It’s been a long time now, lots of  folks out there went to their local musical instrument store (like for the last 40 years) bought some gear and voila they’re self proclaimed rock idols. It’s been like a terminal illness seeking celebrity. Our followers are all too familiar with our searing rants decrying mediocrity. There’s lots of units out there who know how to record something technically, and do it very well. Thing is, was it worth recording? Not really. Thousands of music magazine writers out there now, and they gush over just about anything that crawls across their desks. In short, there are no real competitors out there for bands to ascend to. When everyone gushes about everything, there is no bar to hurdle. Everything’s great! So although a good review is great for aspiring units; hey, everyone’s entitled to try and make a niche in this biz, the reviews are mostly worthless. That’s also because at least forty years of music writers have been taught bad taste in music, as far as we’re concerned. And let me tell ya, we read ‘em all the time. If they only knew, right? We can only imagine back here at this channel, if we really told most of the bands what they don’t mean to us, all our readers would probably just hate us for being so sour. I mean absolutely hate us. Who likes a constant and predictable buzz kill anyway?

Well, welcome to a hit squad.

The first tune we heard from this band was something from the MyStage website titled “I Want It All”. It’s a mid tempo rock ballad with a strong line. The singing jumps right out in front. Rhythm section knows how to hang and the lead guitar cuts with an accessible edge. We immediately asked the MyStage guys on their Twitter feed to have the band send the tune to us.

Here’s a band that has defined itself. “applespacebar” knows how to command a field and then just does it without paying it “no nevermind”. Nice atmospherics are part of the landscape. Vocals are corky a bit like Roland Orzabal, but leaves the canyon mostly in the mid-ground. The lowered third and fifth harmonies work well everywhere they place them. The band is clearly a bunch of died in the wool romantics with ears for, and influenced by, well tested, classic Rock arrangement and writing. And…the best part of it is, here’s a band with something to say. And..SAYING is everything, not just lyrics. If you’re not talking…stay out of the recording booth until you learn HOW to talk andthen find out what you should SAY. Got it kiddies?

What our readers know for sure is; if we advocate something, it’s kicking some major butt to get there.

And so it is with applespacebar. The band is a cruising rock unit with punch. There’s nice leads on every cut and incidental keyboard hooks that fill space, and which gives these tunes a lot of body to cling to. However, without Johnny Nine’s vocals, the band would be just a great rhythm unit backing a great lead guitarist who’s got an incredible sense of dynamics and melody, married to a honed sense of the dramatic, and that… we can assure you, Ben Trexel IS. As well, it would almost be enough. The players backing this vocalist are as good as it gets…BUT, it’s Nine’s voice that sets this band apart from others. And that’s also where a good deal of the wow factor is with these guys. If Trexel and Nine collaborated the melodies for these musical beds – then Nine delivers Trexel’s brilliant writing and production exactly the way it needs to be delivered.

The tune “I Want It All” is a soaring take no prisoners cut. It does what a great recording intends after a mastering session. You can escape. The listener is given that rare experience of leaving behind the day for 4 minutes and then there’s the after-glow of the tune ringing in your head. It’s the same thing with another tune called “Now or Never”.

SO…we cruised on over to their REVERBNATION spot and found all this. Then we went over to their MySpace and found this. Cruised on over to iTunes and found this. MyStage we found all this and at CDBaby all this. They have other links..you can find them if you look. All in all, it’s an anthology of around two or three years in the woodshed.

So over the last three years, two albums and a few more extra thrown in. Welcome To The Dream & Songs You Might Like, respectively.

On the way, listening to all of this stuff, (we’d say collectively about 5 hours of replaying things), we found this tune called “Sunday Morning” and then discovered another cut called “Minutes and Days” from their 2008 album effort Welcome To The Dream. Just to hear the entire “Minutes and Days”we bought it. Folks know how we feel about iTunes, right? But anyway…screw it…went over to CD Baby to get “Sunday Morning”…and CD Baby’s interface failed us, didn’t see it first time around at iTunes…but then went on to buy “Picture This” back at Jobs’ place and another one called “Too High”. Went on to get…”Hope”, “Winners and Losers”. Skipped back to listen to “Now or Never” at Reverb, skipped back to our player to listen to “I Want It All”, over to “Imagine” from the first album, then “Simplify” from the second album and finished off with “Little Box of Secrets” from the second album. We always have a budget guys…wink. 

We had a good time looking for the package we wanted, and our favorite programming order wound up to be…Minutes and Days (album #1), Pot of Gold (album #1)(go back and get that first – stop cue, right), Picture This (album #2), Too High (album #1), Hope (album #2)(we wanted a crushing lead guitar solo after the second verse), Sunday Morning (album #1), Winners and Losers (album #2), Now or Never (album #?), I Want It All (album #?), Imagine (album #1), Simplify (album #1), Little Box of Secrets (album #2).

Little Box of Secrets

click this link to listen

After all that study…this lineup is what killed us. 12 of the strongest rock tunes we’ve heard assembled by one band, in a while, after listening to literally thousands of bands for years.  And this my friends, is a Grammy winning album if you buy it just like we’re telling you we did. Don’t play with the order…THAT’S THE ORDER. In fact, we’d say there’s so much mileage in it, program directors across the country could keep this puppy in rotation for a whole year. And were the public to be awakened to it just like that…no confusions…we think it’s good for a run of about 5 million album sales as a debut. And that’s what we’d do…we’d take everything down and leave that order as the debut. THAT WOULD BE THE TOURING PIECE.

That there was a hit album in all of it is enough for you to buy both of the albums. Hey, there’s such a thing as gas money, ya know? And these guys deserve the gas – because in concert it’d be worth it to watch. To make sure we were on our mark we played this lineup more than a few times…and we’re still not tired of it. And that’s in spite of the fact, Trexel’s not pushing himself as far as we think he can go with his guitar effects. He’s got a lot more in him. And that would probably make for another 7 or 8 albums, no doubt.

But hit albums is what it’s all about babes…one song doesn’t cut it for us. If a collection of songs fatigues your ears half way through because there’s no real journey to follow, it’s not a collection. And one or two cuts laced in with average “nothing” cuts, because the artist doesn’t have anymore in ‘em…and…like most of what we hear the coasts putting together in their packages, is quite predictably boring and insulting.

Now, let’s get to the genre issue with these cats. They’re listed as alternative on one, and rock on another – ummmm…wrong. Properly framed, applespacebar is progressive rock.  We don’t recognize alternative as a legit genre, (we don’t know who originally coined this alleged genre, but it’s utter b*******) so that goes out the window. And progressive stuff is still, plainly said…rock.

Tangent Music Group/Bojangles Productions, Inc. should learn how to package the steeds they have in their stable, because they’ve run the risk of sputtering an incredible band by not being “quite good enough” or “apt” editors, as well as, too impatient to get something out there…though we can’t say we blame them…with a unit this good we can easily understand their excitement.

Another thing we’ll qualify;  the other songs that didn’t make the first cut with us is a solid basis to weave another album journey to get lost in. But that’s not a programming order we’ve explored and they need more tunes to make one. But…they definitely have it in ‘em.

If our namesake had a horse in this race…again…well then this is the horse we’d ride:

Minutes and Days (album #1), Pot of Gold (album #1), Picture This (album #2), Too High (album #1), Hope (album #2) , Sunday Morning (album #1), Winners and Losers (album #2), Now or Never (album #?), I Want It All (album #?), Imagine (album #1), Simplify (album #1), Little Box of Secrets (album #2). Price for this package – $16.95 firm.

click this link to listen

Another thing, we’ve decide back here…that when we’ve absolutely done all our home work – we’ll give everyone a quick listen to our applespacebar album. We think you’ll agree with us.

There you have it…one head-busting, rubber-neck bobbing, hair swooshing, hip grinding album for music freaks everywhere on the planet that love rock the way it’s suppose to jump. An album with 12 top ten hits in one place…a rarity these days. When was the last time you heard one? This album would immortalize this band. Stand aside New York and LA, you’ve just been handed your hat. And get your wallet out guys, you can lease this one – and keep your 360 deal off my porch deck!

And what should we call this “new” album? – May we suggest – “After The Woodshed”?  Better yet – “Little Box of Secrets”. How’s that?

Bold of us, right?

Well what are you gonna do with us critics, eh? Perhaps we’ll just never learn.

Trexel – Nine – Trechsel – Prantl – and Chipper Bonds >>>>OK…I’m dead now – because you killed me…it’s your fault!.

But then…we all had a hand in getting me dead, back here. O’Toole – next time you keep me up all night, I’m gonna murder ya! But…it was worth it. And that’s good news for you…the listener – now go out and buy this stuff – just like we said!  Don’t futz around with the order…trust US! 

You’ll have to ask the guys to make “Now or Never” and “I Want It All” available for download –THEN- print it!  Just like that.

One more thing to you cats in the band…next picture you take…smile…you certainly have a reason to. 

AND…you’re welcome guys…or should I be the one who says: Thanks for the ride! Think I’ll listen for a while longer before I hit the rack.

Later’s, gators. That is all.

I’m Brian Sidler and I write about Music, et al. @05:15 HRS CST 25 April 2011