The Seduction

He Is Legend- The Seduction

This week's band is "He Is Legend".

There will be a write up, although not as extravagant as Josh's.

Some crappy stream to listen to..

And a "He Is Legend" download hopefully. Stay tuned.

_{This movie, like all movies can be saved with Quicktime Pro or by just downloading fire fox. Export them to your Ipod Video.}

The Chariot

So, it's 2002 and Norma Jean is playing Furnest Fest. Near the end of their set, Josh Scogin (who some consider to be the best frontman of all time) announces that he will no longer be singing for Norma Jean. So what happened from there?

“I wish I had some great story about a big fight or aliens or something,” Scogin said during an interview, when being asked why he left the band, “but really it was just something that I felt led to do.”
Scogin really had no reason to leave NJ, he just felt like his time was up with the band. But he didn't just want to stop playing music all together. He loved being on tour and playing shows, so he set out with the task of forming a new band.

In no time at all, rumor of a new band being fronted by the one and only Scogin starting pouring onto the streets of Atlanta. The bands name would be The Chariot, and they would be brutal as hell, but that is all that anyone knew. The buzz about the band kept getting bigger and bigger, yet there was still no word as to if the band would actually start playing soon or if a cd was to be released in the near future.

The line up of the Chariot was a little falty at first. They went through a few members, but soon it became a solid line up of Scogin on the mic, Keller Harbin on guitar, Josh Beiser on bass, Tony "Taco" Medina on guitar, and Jeff Carter on drums.

So, with their line up set, and a good amount of songs written, they hit the stage. Now for a lot of bands, this wouldn't be such a big deal, every band has their beginning and its not usually a huge thing, but then again, not every band is the Chariot.

The Chariot hit the stage with one of the most intense live shows ever to be seen by the world. Scogin would climb out of windows and hang by his legs from the rafters of the building. Keller and Taco would throw their guitars around so much that they had to be rebuilt after every show. I've seen video of Scogin doing back flips and climbing on top of the bass amp, only to jump off of it and into the drumset right in the middle of a song.

With such an intense live show, there was no way that this band could be ignored. They immidiately signed onto Solid State records and soon after that, they released a DVD. Thats right, they put out a DVD before their cd even came out so that people could experience their insane live show at home. The DVD is titled "Lady's and Gentlemen: The Chariot" and it is probably one of the best purchases that I have ever made.

Soon after the release of the DVD they hit the studio to record "Everything is Alive, Everything is Breathing, Nothing is Dead and Nothing is Bleeding." After being asked why the album was given that name in an interview, Scogin relplied with "The album title is pretty much just trying to break away from the ‘dead, dying, bleeding, bloody, stabbing, killing, shooting, hand grenading, dagger throwing, fire burning, flesh eating…’ you get the idea. It is just trying to say that life is actually okay.”

The album also wouldn't be your typical, well produced album. The Chariot decided to live track the whole cd, which means that instead of recording all the instruments one by one like you usually do when recording, they would just set up all their gear in a room, and play their songs live while recording them. This gave the cd a much more intense and raw edge which is what the band was going for. Listening to the cd is pretty much like seeing them live. You can hear a little talking here and there in between tracks, a few mistakes made on guitar, and plenty of feedback.

So, what amazing band would be complete without a line-up change, right? Soon after the release of the cd, Taco decided to leave the band because he was getting married and he wanted to stay home with his wife. And soon after that, Jeff left the band to pursue another band that he had been working with. Jeff really hated the whole hardcore thing and he really wanted to get into more of a straight up metal band. So this left the Chariot with only one guitarist and no drummer.

So the Chariot decided to deal with the one guitarist thing and to contact their friend Mark Nicks, the drummer of the amazing Indie/Emo band Cool Hand Luke (www.purevolume.com/coolhandluke) to play drums for them for their next tour. I actually got to catch them on this tour in Boston. They played with Underoath, Fear Before the March of Flames, and These Arms Are Snakes. I have to say, that was one of the best shows that I have ever been to. Seeing the Chariot and Underoath at the same show in a really small room is one of the more intense things that a person could do.

So after that tour, Mark went back to his band and the Chariot got their friend Jake to play for them full time. And that pretty much brings them up to date with today. They are on tour with the amazing bands Evergreen Terrace and As Cities Burn (www.purevolume.com/ascitiesburn) STRONGLY suggest that you check these guys out) at the moment and they also have a new EP coming out in December with two new songs on it and a few rerecorded songs off the old cd.

Also, as i said with Norma Jean, not only are these guys a great band, but they are wicked nice people. I've talked to both Keller and Beiser online and they are just really nice people. I also got to talk to Josh Scogin after seeing them in Boston and he was so down to earth. He doesn't let the fact that half of the hardcore world worships him as a god go to his head. I got to talk to him for a good 15 minutes, and it was actually a really good conversation about like how we both have the same name and how touring is and stuff.

You can check out more about the Chariot at Purevolume , myspace and at solidstaterecords.com

So yeah, thats about it as far as The Chariot goes. Next time I am thinking of maybe doing one on Underoath, but i'm not sure.

~Josh

150 Songs, It's a Free For All!!

At launch there are around 130 available downloads and more are on the way. We have video content, forums, photos and more.

We decided to give so much away simply because we'd rather our music was out there being listened to than not. New songs will be made available soon. Make some room on your hard drive, tell your friends and neighbors

SteadmanBand.com

This band is amazing on so many levels. I know it hasn't been a week, but this is damn important and I think everyone should know about it. This isn't some rinky dink garage band. I heard these guys on TWiT the other night. Steadman has had 2 major record deals, and they know the perils of being on top. This band took the intelligent route. They knew that you have to sell a billion records before you even see profits from record sales. The only kind of bands that do that are U2 and Madonna. The majority of bands out there get their real money from merch, shows, tv and film licenses, touring, and sponsorships. So they cut the bullshit and do the latter. They figure that if you really like a band you'll support them. If you want a band to put out more stuff, thenyou'lll show your respects. That's the way it goes. If you're just a causal listener, then their glad they can at least go through your head, it's no biggie. This is a magnificent attitude and business model in my eyes. You can read all about their reasoning here.

Like I said this isn't any pushover band. PAUL FRIGGEN McCARTNEY loves these guys, I'm not kidding. 2 Major record deals, and international touring is under their belts. What's not to love from The Beatles, Radiohead, Coldplay, and Oasis all mobbed together. Please please check these guys out, stream some music from the above link, download every amazing bit of it. Support them if you love them. Give them your money, but if you can't.. Add them on MySpace.

You'll be hearing more from me about these guys just you wait. Don't miss out. Download now.

Multimedia, If You Will..

A Stream, A Download, and a Little More.
Today we have something different for a change. I mean C'mon last week, 13 downloads, from Piebald. Although the link issue was addressed in the last post. Yes here we have Idlewild. This band deserves to be bigger in the states then they really are. I thought about half-assing this entire entry a pasting the entire history of the band here but besides copyright infringement, I don't want to bore you. I first heard idlewild on Radio Wazee.This is an excellent listener supported commercial free online radio station that plays alternative music. Down to the knitty gritty Idlewild is Indie/Rock, but they're unlike anything I've ever heard. Maybe they're super cliche across the pond in the UK, but I like them. The lead singer is from Scotland though. All of their stuff is very different, although I like most of their older stuff. Not their oldest stuff though. That crap is horrible, and this sentence is redundant. Click play to watch the music video for "Love Steals Us From loneliness" off of their most recent CD "Warnings/Promises". It's all really calm stuff and fun to sing to. Give it a chance.

Idlewild- Love Steals Us From loneliness

Click play to play!(duh)To save it, either use Quicktime pro (chya right..) or firefox(right click, veiw page info, media..)

Leeches

I thought I was being crafty, linking directly to the mp3 off of the purevolume site, instead of the php script that retrieved the mp3 location. Apparently, I wasn't. For some reason or another, probably because of leeches like myself, purevolume moves the mp3s around so all of the download links that I have provided become dead within days. I'm not so sure about linking to the php script that downloads it too. We might have to change some protocol around here, but you'll still get the music one way or another. Expect an updated link list of piebald songs one I figure out how to directly link to the site. Until then, if you want the weekly download you'll have to swing by each bands purevolume site, which is often http://purevolume.com/(band's name here).
Nevertheless tomorrow brings a new post.

Norma Jean

So, my name is Josh and I will be helping Corey out with this site here and there.
I know a little more about the harder bands so Corey wanted me to be able to put in my two cents about them.

So my first post in here will be about and amazing band called Norma Jean.

A couple years ago a few kids from Atlanta, Georgia decided to start a nu-metal band called Luti-Kriss. Their sound could be compared to bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit ( or however they are spelling their name now ) but soon after the band had formed they decided to shy away from the whole rap/metal genre.

They started getting more into the metalcore side of things, playing harder hitting music with tougher vocals sung by the one and only Josh Scogin. After playing local shows for while and getting their name out in their area they got signed to Solid State Records, which is a sub-division of Tooth and Nail Records, which has signed bands like UnderOath, mewithoutYou, and Mae. They then released a cd on the label called Throwing Myself ( which in my opinion, is still an awesome cd ).

They soon ran into trouble with their name though. Having the name Luti-Kriss confused all the ghetto kids into thinking they were the rapper Ludicrous. All these rap loving kids would then show up to Luti-Kriss shows expecting to see a nice rap performance, and then leave all pissed because they waisted their money on some random metal band that they had never even heard of. After getting enough complaints from people, and just hating their name, the band decided to change their name to Norma Jean.

So, with their new name and a pretty big following they set out to make a new cd and touring, nothing could stop them. With Josh Scogin being such a strong frontman and having such great vocals, it fit their aggresive music perfectly and gained them hundreds of fans by the day. They then recorded one of the corner stones in hardcore music, Bless the Martyr; Kiss the Child. You can ask just about anyone who is into this kind of music what their favorite top 10 cd's are, and this cd will probably be on the list.

Just a few weeks away from the release of their new amazing cd, the band thought that they were on top of the world. Honestly nothing was standing in their way from owning the hardcore scene.... untill they played Furnest Fest. On that fatefull day, right in the middle of their set, Josh Scogin made a little anouncement. He was leaving the band. Without discussing it with the rest of the band first at all, he just anounced that this show would be his last infront of hundreds of kids. The band was mortified. Soon after this they also lost their bass player whos name was also Josh.

So Mr. Scogin went in his own direction and the band found a new singer named Brad. In my opinion, Brad had a horrible scream, but amazing stage presence. They also found a new bass player, Jake who alos has amazing stage presence. Norma Jean toured non-stop with their new front man and bass player promoting their new cd for a few years. After a few years with their new singer, conflict in the band caused for Brad to leave, leaving Norma Jean with no singer yet again.

This time they called on their old friend Corey, the old singer from Solid State metal band Eso-Charis. Corey agreed to playing with them for a few shows and then just ended up staying in the band. They then had the final line up of the band which is what they still have to this day.
Corey-Vocals
Scottie-Guitar
Chris aka Derrrr-Guitar
Jake-Bass
Daniel-Drums
So with their new solid line up, they wrote the cd "O' God, the Aftermath" which was just released a few months ago. Many people have mixed feelings over this cd. Many people are saying that they have changed their style too much and that they just aren't the same with out Josh Scogin leading the way. I personly love their new cd and I think that Corey is doing a great job on the mic. I have seen them live twice and have been amazed by them both times. They put on an amazing live performance.

And, besides being an amazing band, they are some of the nicest guys in the world. I have had a few oppertunities to talk to the band through seeing them at shows and through myspace, and they are extremely nice people who have not let their succes go to their heads.

So all in all, Norma Jean is one amazing band, and they will always be a staple in their genre of music.


Also, Josh Scogin has formed a new band called The Chariot, who are also amazing. I will make sure to make a post about them soon as well.

Apparently, Someone Died.

"There has been a tragic loss. Bayside was in a terrible accident while driving to a concert. Their drummer John "Beatz" Holohan was killed when their van flipped after hitting a patch of ice. A memorial fund has been set up. If you would like to donate to John's family, click here."
- Radio Wazee



Whatever some dude died from a band. Gives me a good excuse to give you some of their music. For free. Check it out.

The Downloads:
BaySide- Devotion and Desire
Bayside- How to Fix Everything
Bayside- Totures of the Damned

To be honost I've never listened to these guys before in my life. Sure I've heard of them, and a few of my friends like them alot. Still to this very moment I haven't heard it. How about leaving some comments on what you think. Do it.

The Stream:Piebald-American Hearts

I love Piebald, with all my heart, and I'm not just supporting Boston. These guys go way the hell back with this genre. If you miss Sunny Day Real Estate, I highly reccomend this band. It's such good music. It isn't whiney and monotone, it isn't about breaking up with girls.. They have a song about a yellow car they lost! This is my favorite song called "King of The Road". Piebald is such real music. But "American Hearts" was the first song I ever heard by Piebald. It was my gateway, and I hope you enjoy them. Maybe I'll scrounge up some free Piebald Downloads for next week.

Hey, You're part of it.