From the Back of the Beachland: Bethesda talks licensing, plans for new album

Written by Priscilla Tasker

I caught up with Shanna Delaney and Eric Ling of Bethesda at a recent show at The Beachland Tavern in November to talk about the band’s successful year. They shared exciting news about the licensing deals they signed with a few global television networks and what the next few months hold for the band. 

The group is finishing up some local shows before taking a two-month hiatus to write a new full-length album to follow up the EP the band released earlier this year; and they are planning tour dates in Chicago and Indiana in January. 

“We just came out with our EP, Dream Tiger & Other Tails, a couple of months ago, and we’re itching to write. So, we have a lot of songs in us, and we have several we’re going to write over the winter months,” Delaney said.

Dream Tiger launched in May with a radio and television campaign. The TV push landed Bethesda 13 contracts, slating the band for 13 shows on MTV, VH1, E! and Showtime, among others. 

“That was actually when we were on tour in June when we got that news – and we were really excited,” Delaney said.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real World are just two shows on which the band is signed to be featured. Ling laughed as he said they are wondering how the network plans to fit their songs into a show like the Kardashians.

“And, then, just this fall, we were one of six bands shopped for our PR company to the Discovery Network, which has 30 plus shows,” Delaney continued. 

The contract will allow Discovery Network to use any song or section of a song off the album. Bethesda may not be paid out for a couple of years and won’t know when or how the songs will be used because, with the volume of bands large networks contract for music, there are too many artists to email individually when a song is featured in a show. 

“They can do just instrumental or just vocals. They pretty much have complete control over what songs they want to use, but they have the whole five-song EP,” Ling said.

Delaney giggled that they just want to know when they’re on so they can watch – just once!

“We can’t Tivo all the shows, you know. So hopefully someone will call us,” Ling said.

To build on the success of 2011, the band is already looking forward to a new year, completing a new full-length album and a tour stop in Austin to play SXSW Music Festival in March 2012. 

Fans can catch this pipe-dream posse at the Rowdy Indie Craft Fair this Sunday, December 4, before they delve into a studio spell. Bethesda will be performing with Comfort Clouds and ShiSho at Studio 526 in Akron at 7 p.m. 

Follow the band on Facebook, Twitter or www.bethesdaband.com for more information.

New indie BOX episodes: Joseph Arthur and The Parson Red Heads

© Wasted Talent Media

Written by Priscilla Tasker

indie BOX Episode 11 features Akron native Joseph Arthur, whose musical career was launched at the hands of Harvey Schartz and Peter Gabriel when he signed on as Real World Records' first American artist in 1996. A dark, tangled image of phantasmic human beings reaching in lax desperation toward three crosses on a hill is a penitent backdrop to his nearly 22-minute set at Musica in Akron. With his back to the audience, Arthur shades the spaces around the forlorn faces black and grey, and recites the dusky, confessional verse of "I Miss The Zoo" before turning to face the crowd again. He follows with "I Donated Myself to the Mexican Army" at his mother's request.

Watch Arthur's full performance here. Get to know this Ohio-born artist in this Arts Quest interview.

indie BOX Episode 12 stars Portland, Oregon-based The Parson Red Heads, a wistful band whose sound wafts like the redolence of the Love Generation. Four-part vocal harmonies emulate the air of West Coast freedom as the band interweaves simple chord progressions and light percussion into danceable, insouciant songs.

Watch The Parson Red Head's full performance here. Read what Wasted Talent Media's Todd Volkmer had to say about the band's Musica performance on the Arts Quest blog.

The Lighthouse and The Whaler – Daytrotter Session Download

Illustration by Johnnie Cluney
Source: Daytrotter.com

Earlier this summer, The Lighthouse and The Whaler of Cleveland had the heartening experience of recording at The Horseshack in Rock Island, Ill. for the band's first Daytrotter Session, which was engineered by Patrick Stolley. The result of their visit was four up-lifting tracks recorded straight to tape, converted to MP3 and captured for a lifetime.

The music takes you floating above the shade of life's puffy white clouds. Breezy melodies sweep over syncopated steps – skipping, dancing on the silver lining as the sun bursts through.

The free download of the band's Daytrotter Session includes:

• "The Adriatic Sea"
• "Pioneers" 
• "Venice"
• "White Days"

The Lighthouse and The Whaler performs live Sunday, September 18 – with Rob Geer, Humble Home and Aunt Martha – at Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $6 and are available here.

Lyric of the Day: Frank Turner "I Am Disappeared"

"When it feels like life weighs ten thousand tons / I sleep with my passport / One eye on the back door / So I can always run"

Frank Turner
"I Am Disappeared"
England Keep My Bones (2011)

Watch Turner perform live in this video uploaded by U.K. "YouTuber" VivaLaEthan09.

Winslow performs at Musica, introduces new songs

Winslow, currently in writing sessions for its second album, shared a sneak-peek with fans at the Maid Myriad EP release party at Musica in Akron, Ohio on December 4.Given the option between setlist “A” or “B,” the audience selected setlist “B.” The soul-funk ensemble introduced new songs, “Stand up” and “Alone tonight,” demonstrating its versatility and the courage to mix it’s soulful sound with edgier rock riffs and a bit of Latin flair. Before the night’s end, the band slowed the set to play a few ballads and lighter tunes.

No Winslow show fails to be anything less than an auditory and visual treat. Frontman Maurice Martin delivered a chest-thumping performance but--note to the sound guy--his vocals seemed to get drowned out by the instrumental. Nevertheless, the man exudes passion when he sings, crying out every word like it might be his last. The emotion was electric. Resounding, it conducted across the stage. Charlie Trenta embodied the meaning of the phrase “wail on guitar.” Bassist Kevin Robertson and Keyboardist Curtis Tate carried each song on the low plucks of the bass strings and pulse of the keys. Matt Tieman embellished the sound with jazz notes on tenor sax and Mike Watkins held the beat on drums. There is no question why Winslow was nominated for Cleveland’s Best Original Band by fans and Scene Magazine this year.

Winslow was scheduled to open for gospel-R&B artist Robert Randolph & The Family Band at House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, December 10, but the show was postponed. Fans can catch Winslow at Reggie’s Music Joint in Chicago on Saturday, December 11, at 9 p.m. They will be opening for The Congregation.

Maid Myriad releases EP: A Fool's Delight

We've all experienced it. The feeling you get when you witness a performance so compelling that your mind and body pauses, almost involuntarily, to admire the brilliance of human ability. For a moment, one that feels like nothing and a million moments all at once, your breath is stolen away.

Breathtaking. That is precisely the word for last night’s show at Musica. Concert-goers at the venue in Akron, Ohio were treated to a cornucopia of creative talent for Maid Myriad’s EP release party on December 4. The night was a mash-up of Akron’s elite musical talent -- soul and R&B act Winslow, Simeon Soul Charger, Via Lotus and, of course, headliner Maid Myriad.

Maid Myriad is a visionary project based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The band released its second extended play album, A Fool's Delight, the first part of three EP's to be released over the next year. The quartet features percussionist Kevin Klemm, bassist and violinist Alex Popovici, guitarist Gavin Cushman III and vocalist Jeffrey Christopher Klemm (JCK).

The first note out of JCK's mouth can silence a crowd to awe. It’s pure and crisp sound is one that is all too rare in rock and pop music. The band incorporates layers of powerful vocal harmony, stellar guitar, and musing violin in its songs on the new album. JCK described the album as having an accessible pop sound but one cannot discredit the band’s exceptional talent and noteworthy originality.

The group started the show off hot and heavy with recognizable tunes from their first album, Embrace, including the EP’s title song, and the hard-hitting fan favorite, "Mr. Bigshot." "What makes you better?" JCK taunted at one point during the latter song, initiating a call-and-response in which the crowd returned his call with another "What makes you better?" The opening numbers engaged the Saturday night show-hoppers, pumping them up for the nearly two-hour set that highlighted new songs like "Nevermore" and "Whirlwind.” The title track of the next album in the EP trilogy, "Whirlwind" is a heartfelt solo ballad during which JCK rested his guitar to tenderly play keys and sing a tranquil serenade.

Maid Myriad struck an emotional chord with the audience during “A boy and his dream" when JCK invited his youngest brother Andrew and girlfriend Tasha Adessi, lead vocalist for Via Lotus, on stage. Adessi played xylophone and adolescent Andrew read a short, thought-provoking poem written by his brother, Jeffrey. It was a touching moment, evoking sighs of endearment and cheers from the crowd. At the song’s end, JCK hugged the boy and gave him a loving kiss on his head.

The night was a medley of powerful sounds ended with an intimate unplugged acoustic set where the band stepped off stage to join the audience at ground level. Audience members gathered around the band, some sitting on the floor, as Maid Myriad showcased its members' talents in their most natural form of vocal harmonies, percussion and strings.

Maid Myriad is on The Rhythm Report’s hot list of artists to watch. Watch this exclusive interview with the band as they talk with Rhythm Reporter Priscilla Tasker about the direction of the album and their music. The band’s latest EP, A Fool’s Delight, is available as a free download at www.maidmyriad.com. Maid Myriad's next two albums Whirlwind and With haste on its breath are planned for release in 2011.

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Written by Priscilla Tasker