Monday Muse: "Dime" Rachel Crow - New Single is Bold, Confident Female Anthem

Bubble pop singer Rachel Crow released the new music video for her coming-of-age single "Dime" on August 3, 2017, and with it she's telling the world—"I know my worth...and I won't settle for less."

The embullient 19-year-old from Mead, Colorado was originally discovered by The X Factor producers as a 13-year-old with belting vocals. Her top 5 placing on the show made her a household name in 2012 and piqued interest from television and music executives at Disney and Nickelodeon. She later signed a TV deal with the latter and released her first self-titled EP, produced and written by legendary Toby Gad, with Syco Music and Columbia Records.

Crow's latest single since her breakout in teen pop is the result of collaboration with up-and-coming producers Jack and Ryan Met (AJR). "Dime" is a modern female anthem channeling the spirit of Aretha Franklin's "I Will Survive." In the music video, a vivaciously fierce Crow vocalizes self-worth and confidence in this hip-pop dance tune as she makes it clear to an unqualified suitor that "I'm not just a penny you can pick up off the sidewalk."



For the ladies who unabashedly belt out your favorite songs in the shower or in the car with friends, 1) Add this to your playlist on iTunes or Spotify
2) Check out this cheeky lyric video released on Crow's YouTube channel so you can land every lyric like you are in the recording studio.

Monday Muse: "Drive Slow" Doc Robinson

Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Doc Robinson shares a song and a tip for you morning commute: "Drive Slow." Wipe the Monday morning grog from your eyes and kickstart another week by reminiscing about the good times with this laid back roller off of Doc Robinson's first full-length album Deep End released on Saturday, July 22.

Doc Robinson is a project launched by Jonathan Elliot, frontman of The Floorwalkers, and Nick D'Andrea of Nick D. and the Believers. The duo incorporates an ensemble of central Ohio indie artists to complement its "Backyard BBQ" sound that mixes a throwback to Motown with midwest hometown grit.

Deep End is available on iTunes and Spotify. 

New Music: Among Savages, Vinny Vegas deliver sophomore albums

Summer 2017 is ripe with new sounds vibrating coast to coast. Whether you reside east, west or somewhere in between, we've got new music to help you wind down from the work week. 

On July 21, from Los Angeles, Among Savages released a sophomore album entitled Accounts of Friend and Foe. Meanwhile, Maryland-based Vinny Vegas also introduced its second full-length album, Clear the Walls. 

Each anthology is rather melancholy but artfully conveys the emotion in two stylistically different ways.

Among Savages - Accounts of Friend and Foe

Among Savages is the musical vision of songwriter Peter Barbee. Accounts of Friend and Foe is a 38-minute compilation of nine songs that meld alt-pop and contemporary classical undertones through an electronic listening experience. The songs are often characterized by ambient synthesized strings and effects accompanied by layered vocal choruses and tribalistic percussion. "What Goes Around," "If You See Her," and "Getting Older Quicker" open the album on an uptempo dance-pop whim that is swiftly swallowed by slow, pressing ballads. Among Savages' promotional website describes the act as a "living, evolving musical." When you listen to Barbee's works from The Wanderings of an Illustrative Mind to this latest release, the compositions truly read that way. The challenge that Barbee successfully executes across Accounts is that each song is undeniably tied but uniquely defined in its own right.  

The one to hear: No Such Thing 

The one you'll be singing: If You See Her 

The official release party will be held August 21, 2017 in conjunction with School Night! presented by Chris Douridas and Matt Goldman (MFG) at Bardot in Los Angeles. 

Album available on iTunes and Spotify.
Vinny Vegas - Clear the Walls 

Vinny Vegas is a multi-instrumental progressive rock band that The Rhythm Report first discovered during its first run at an underground music club in Canton, Ohio in 2011. Clear the Walls is a nocturne collection of 10 songs spanning 36 minutes saturated by crawling guitar medleys folded into panoptic harmonies of keys, an ever-present bass and assaulting drum patterns. The songs seemingly blend together in casual listening but as a collection deliver a soulful, steady theme that are electrified by front man Scott Siskind's yowling vocals and Aaron Emmanuel Lee's talent on keys. 

• The one to hear: Slow Burn Dopamine 
• The one you'll be singing: Greens into Blues

The band's four-stop record release tour begins in Boston, Mass. on July 28 with additional shows to follow in New York City, Philadelphia, Penn., and Baltimore, Maryland. Visit VinnyVegasMusic.com for details.

Album available on iTunes, Spotify, BandCamp and SoundCloud.

New Album: Rob Geer Releases Find Your Way Home on Bandcamp

Written by Priscilla Tasker

Rob Geer released his debut
album on December 27.

Independent artist Rob Geer announced the digital release of his full-length debut album, Find Your Way Home.


The 10-song track list is a compilation of songs Geer has written over several years; some had previously been recorded with Jeff Toy (A Little Bit of Orange EP) and Cellar Door Records ("It Might Be"). The gradual acquisition of new recording equipment empowered him to fine-tune the material into a completed project over the past three months.


Geer said the final product might have been released earlier, but a technological mishap delayed completion. A hard drive crash wiped out his post-production mixing work in November, causing him to revert back to older tracks, which had been saved. Despite the set back, Geer was able to present the final compilation this week, before the year's end.


"It feels great! I'm extremely happy to be done and to move on to some other things I've been working on," Geer said. "I took a little break from mixing everything, for things to feel fresh again, then finally finished a couple days ago."


Re-mixing revives early material
Two of the songs featured on the album had previously been released on A Little Bit of Orange EP in January 2010. The original recordings of "A Little Bit of Orange" and "Dead End" had more dark, progressive rock characteristics and lacked the higher-quality mixing of the new tracks. 

Geer released A Little Bit of Orange EP  as 
The Conductor and The Creator in January 2010.

The latest recording of “A Little Bit of Orange” opens with the song’s catchy blues riff, but Geer stripped it down. He swapped psychedelic guitar trills with clean chord progressions and harmonious picking, and replaced weighty drums with the light percussive flavor of a shaker.

"Dead End," as previously recorded, jumps right in with full guitar, drums and vocals. Geer takes his time in the new recording, building the essence with a lone guitar, followed by vocals and discreet bass tones. 


That patience and permeable space in the music speaks to the merit of the finished product. Geer has performed and released variations of most of the songs featured on Find Your Way Home at live shows and through digital demos. Now, in absolute form, these songs are evidence of Geer’s artistic growth and maturity. 


“They just weren’t how I wanted them to be heard, so I decided to add some extra things in here and there,” Geer said. "The A Little Bit Of Orange EP was recorded in Jeff Toy's attic and basement with all of his equipment. The only musicians on that are me and him, but I wanted to release acoustic versions of those songs because I feel like they fit as a whole with Find Your Way Home." 


Toy is credited on Geer's new album for his mixing and harmony work on “You Could Be All Mine.” The ethereal romantic ballad adds a touch of tenderness to an otherwise verbally grave collection.


Enlivened lyrics are illustrative, palpable
Geer is poetic. His lyrics are vivid, almost tangible. The inclination to write about sordid human endeavors in songs like "Human Nature" and "Assassin" is distinctive of his creative aesthetic.

"Human Nature," which features Dan Thompson's bass stylings, is a three-minute and 48-second dissertation on the faults of mankind. Geer compares men’s cold acts to the violent instincts of beasts, howling, "Packs of wolves kill their prey with one bite to the neck, and no one says a God damn thing. Their just wild animals – but what do you call us humans when we shoot people just for fun."

“Assassin” is a chilling account of a feigned lovers. Full and pure, Geer demonstrates his vocal power. The physical strain is audible as he cries out, “Call me the assassin. Call me what you will,” after taunting, “The way you tore apart your life, thinking every second chance wasn’t broken ‘til you found out everybody’s gone – and I just lied to you again.” 

The lyrical content of Find Your Way Home is complemented by alluring, well-crafted melodies ("Under Devil's Skin") and capacious harmonies ("Keepin' My..."). Geer delved into the depths to produce these auditory gems – and they are sparkling.


Read more Rob Geer coverage on The Rhythm Report:

• Weekend Prelude: "It Might Be" Rob Geer in Colorado wilderness 

• Local artist Rob Geer's last show at Grog Shop signals beginning of new life out West  

• New video: Live from 6ixth City Tech Fest 

• Artists review Cellar Door Records Volume III 

• Rob Geer opens with demo at The Grog Shop 

• "The Conductor," Oldboy roused fans at The Grog Shop  

Red Wanting Blue performs live at Musica

Wasted Talent Media's Todd Volkmer caught the Red Wanting Blue (RWB) show at Musica in Akron on Saturday, September 10, and released two indieBOX video clips on Vimeo this week. In the first concert clip, the fervent audience waxes lyrical, joining the band in singing "You Are My Las Vegas," a fan favorite off RWB's 2010 release, These Magnificent Miles.

In his Vimeo post, Volkmer wrote, "the energy between the band and the crowd is just amazing in this video!!! Makes me smile every time I watch it!" [sic]

Eager fans anticipating the pending release of Red Wanting Blue's From The Vanishing Point next year, can hear new song "Walking Shoes" in the second video clip from Saturday night's show.

The band officially released "Audition," the first single off From The Vanishing Point, on September 6. According to an announcement on RWB's website, starting on October 1, the band will release a streamed recording of a new track from the record each day through October 13. This will give RWB devotees a first listen of the album, which is due for release on January 10, 2012.

Check out the videos of the concert at Musica below and visit www.ArtsQuestTV.com for more live-recorded concerts and other Wasted Talent Media shows including the site's namesake interview series Arts Quest.


Written by Priscilla Tasker