A still, small voice doesn’t have to be religious, necessarily. It can be thoughtful and wise.
Case in point: The Still, Small Voice, an indie-rock project of Christiana Benton. The Still, Small Voice is thoughtful, wise, beautiful voice but not religious. Check out the video for the song, “Ritual.”
If you’re looking for religion, I guess you can Google it or something.
Also, The Still, Small Voice will be releasing an album soon. Fingers crossed that it is tomorrow.
AWEFUL is a “Post-garage-punk-grunge trio” from Chicago. I like their playful nature as well as their music. How many times do you think they laugh about people saying “Let’s go see that AWEFUL band . . .”? You have to love the play on words. They aren’t awful. . . . they are AWE-ful.
Please welcome AWEFUL to the blog.
Where have you been staying in 2020?
We all live in Chicago, IL.
What have you been doing during times of quarantine?
Playing music, writing, recording, hanging with cats, working, cooking, helping others, figuring out what to do next
Have you found or re-found any hobbies?
Cooking, physical fitness, awareness
What have you been listening to lately?
Ministry, Actors, Bootblacks, Melkbelly, Bad Nerves, Duran Duran, Beach House
Has your songwriting process changed this year?
Not really
Is there any message that you would like to convey to fans or soon-to-be fans?
Be true to yourself. Don’t care about anyone else’s opinion.
What is something positive that has happened to you during 2020?
We recorded a few songs and played a few shows.
Connect with AWEFUL
Live show:
Thursday March 25th
Reggie’s Music Joint
2105 S State St, Chicago, IL 60616
The Rumours/AWEFUL/Sex Dream $10 doors 8pm show 9pm.
Let’s just say for the sake of the argument that I was looking for a cult to join. I would be tempted to join the cult of Vincent Walter Jacob. It would probably be the coolest cult – philosophy, music and creativity during free time. I could volunteer to work in the garden. Hopefully, there would be talk of conspiracy theories, aliens and spaceships. The music is already better than what most cults have.
Since I’m not necessarily a follower of cults or in search of myself, I will just stick to listening to Apollo Twenty on repeat.
Where was your first concert as a fan? As a performer?
I think the first concert that made an impression on me was Deep Purple back in 1998 in my hometown in France. My dad took me there and it was so cool to see legends from the 70’s performing live. I couldn’t believe it. As a performer, I had an high school band and we managed to play a bar. A lot of friends came to support and the show made it to the local news (only because my dad wrote the article haha). Those are great memories and it was the beginning of a journey I’m still on with Apollo Twenty and my other projects.
Do you have a bucketlist? If so, what’s on it?
I’d love to do a world tour! I mean we’ve been home for a whole year now and I can’t wait to be able to be playing shows again. I’ve been fortunate to play in the US, France and Russia so far but there’s so many other countries and cultures to visit. So that’s definitely number one on my bucketlist. Other random entries would be: Finish my Ph.D. in philosophy, Write and direct a movie, write a novel, and start a cult.
What was the last thing that you read?
I’m currently reading a lot of Roland Barthes because I’m working on him for my Ph.D. He’s a French philosopher and semiotician and he had a great influence in France and the US on cultural and gender studies. His essay about photography was also very influential.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
I’d be an artist of any other kind I guess. Creativity is my favorite thing in the world and I feel like I don’t have enough of one life to get into all these fields that I’m attracted to. Recently I got into analog photography and I’m learning how to self-develop and it’s just so great. It feels like a magical process. I wrote a screenplay last year too. As long as it’s about creating something and add value and meaning to my life, I’m on board.
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
I’d love to collaborate with anybody interesting really. Recently, I met Annie Hardy from the band Giant Drag and I asked her to collaborate and it seems it’s going to happen sometime soon. We’ll see ! But that’s my next step, collaborate a lot.
What do you want people to know about your music?
I want them to know Apollo Twenty is a personal side project apart from my main band “Yard Of Blondes”, which is more of the rock genre. Apollo is my was to experiment with dreamy textures and synths. Come and say hi on my socials. @yardofblondes @vincentwalterjacob @apollo.20
Does anyone else enjoy historical fiction set in medieval times in a country that isn’t specifically any country but it could always be mistaken for England? The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell is set in The Hollows, which could be England or King’s Landing.
Everyone believes that Michael Kingman is a traitor or at least the murderer of the former king. Unfortunately, his former kindred spirit, Serena, is the daughter of the king. They used to be so close and now she is trying to find ways to kill him and still be the queen. For the moment, he is under the protection of the Orbis Mercenary Company.
Kingman has magical powers like many of the people in the kingdom. By using the powers, memories disappear. Imagine how aggravating that would be? How would you know if you had solved a mystery? It’s sort of like that movie where the guy has to tattoo the clues on his body so he remembers.
Kingman is trying to clear his name, get his friendship with Serena back and find a serial killer. There might be more than one killer. He might even know them personally. They could be shape-shifting from a magical creature to a human. Of course, his memory is tricky. It’s not like he’s under any pressure or anything.
If you enjoy fantasy novels with mystery, romance and murder, then The Two-Faced Queen could be your next TBR novel.
If you don’t appreciate books with magic and imagination, then you are missing out on this book.
I received this ebook from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
Well, I meant to just listen to one song from Seattle resident Miguel Escobar’s In Transition album. I had not heard Miguel Escobar before. Now here I am at the very end of the album. I cannot stop listening and that’s the truth.
The music is comforting in the way that a merry-go-round is comforting. You kind of know what’s going on but every time you go around – things are just a little different. You might be scared at first but somehow it becomes fun and you’re a little more liberated than when the ride started. You might also feel more nauseous from all of the spinning. Spinning is not required to enjoy this album.
Escobar’s music could be described as folk rock. I think it has a bit more rock than folk. I cannot think of a specific person that he sounds like. I just know that I always want to hear his voice. The viola and the cello definitely make this album even more beautiful than it already is. My favorite song on the album is “Couch Cushions.” The video reminds me of the time that I wanted to burn my couch. I also wanted to torch all of my bad habits and depression.
I would want to listen to this album while going on a long walk or a bike ride with a friend. Maybe we’ll find a merry-go-round and spin until we cannot stand up.
Of all of the Norse mythological beings, I really like the Valkryies. If the Valkryies had their own band, it could be Valfreya of Canada. Can you picture it? Valkyries in action with a symphonic metal band playing on the sidelines. It would be amazingly epic.
If Valfreya would be featured on the soundtrack of a historical documentary about Valkyries, no one would fall asleep. The world needs more Valfreya and less napping.
I don’t suppose anyone else has ever taken a musical journey, whether it’s streaming music or listening to the radio. Then while on this journey, you come across a band or artist that lures you in with their beauty, edginess or sleekness. Before you know it, there is no turning back and now you are a fan.
The Venus Fly Trap of the United Kingdom may lure you in like a Venus flytrap but you should be fine. You could probably ask to take a selfie with them. They are not an actual Venus flytrap. If you see a Venus flytrap plant in the wild, it’s best to just take a quick picture and walk away. FYI: The plant could be on the endangered species list soon.
In fact, The Venus Fly Trap – the band, not the plant- are here on the blog today. Please welcome The Venus Fly Trap to the blog.
Where have you been staying in 2020?
In my hometown of Northampton,Midlands,UK(famous for Bauhaus,Alan Moore and the film Kinky Boots).
What have you been doing during times of quarantine?
When not in lockdown have been running my record shop SPIRAL ARCHIVE RECORDS and when i have been closed shifted to selling online,also busy promoting the band via various interviews.
Not really,just been too busy putting items on my ebay shop,the main priority is to make a living to get me through to when i can re open,play gigs,dj etc…
What have you been listening to lately?
I have eclectic tastes,when im in the shop i have Radio 6 on it seems to cover most genres of music things that have stood out include Squid,Idles,Slaves,King Gizzard…
Has your songwriting process changed this year?
Without gigs theres less motivation to write,but we have been working on a couple of new songs which will be released later in the year.
Is there any message that you would like to convey to fans?
Bands need your support now to keep them going till they can play again…
What is something positive that has happened to you during 2020?
Put out a release VENUS FLY TRAP/ALEX NOVAK-MERCURIAL CD/DL(GLASS RECORDS MODERN),its a career spanning retrospective covering all the bands and projects i have been involved with,further releases are planned for 2021.VENUS FLY TRAP-TIME LAPSE 1989-1994 CD/DL(GLASS RECORDS MODERN)which selects tracks from the albums TOTEM,PANDORAS BOX and LUNA TIDE an alternative album for this alternate reality.