Fictionist: Blue-Eyed Universe + The Well-Made Shadow

Provo, Utah quintet Fictionist will hopefully find themselves on the cover of Rolling Stone in August. The band gets my vote in the current RS reader contest: gorgeous vocals and guitars, bold arrangements and excellent live performances.


www.facebook.com/fictionistnoise

www.fictionist.com

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March UPDATE:

8 bands/solo artists were eliminated; 8 bands/solo artists remain:

Fictionist made it to the next round in the Rolling Stone contest!
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April UPDATE:

4 bands/solo artists were eliminated; 4 bands/solo artists remain:

Fictionist made it to the next round in the Rolling Stone contest!

The current voting round closes May 13 and the results will be revealed on May 18.
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May UPDATE:

I was 99 % sure Fictionist would advance to the final round, but alas they did not. They were hands-down the best band among the contestants, but as we all know it's not just about talent these days, it's about social media, especially about having the most Facebook buddies. Grrrrr!

Canadian rockers The Sheepdogs and L.A. based singer/songwriter Lelia Broussard advanced. (how a Canadian band is eligible for this contest is not quite clear - no offense to my Canadian readers!)

While The Sheepdogs' 1960s/70s style blues-rock material is certainly solid and the band is very competent there is not anything about their sound that truly makes your ears perk up. Fictionist on the other hand offer both Pink Floyd influenced gems as well as straight up delicious rock tunes all of which showcase the superb musicianship of all five members.

(Lelia Broussard does have some catchy songs, but is more of a straight up pop singer and was in my opinion somewhat ill-suited for this "Rock and Roll Star" contest from the beginning.)

Hopefully Fictionist will be able to land a record contract thanks to the buzz generated from the contest, thereby gaining legions of new fans.

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Ahead:

- Final voting round runs May 18-July.

- The two finalists will play the four-day Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival which is held June 9-12 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee.

- The contest winner will be announced on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on August 2 and will make their live television debut that night.

- The winner will be on the cover of Rolling Stone on August 18 and will land an Atlantic Records contract.
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Turboweekend: Into The Pavement

Turboweekend asked fans and friends to contribute clips for the band's new "Into The Pavement" video and premiered the creative collaborative efforts this week.

"Into The Pavement" is one of five stellar tracks on the recently released EP "Bound" which can be downloaded for free:

www.facebook.com/turboweekend?sk=app_7146470109

The Copenhagen trio is currently recording their third album.

You can read my interview from last November with lead vocalist Silas Bjerregaard here:

www.latenightdj.blogspot.com/2010/11/interview-with-turboweekend.html

Into The Pavement from Turboweekend on Vimeo.

The Tallest Man On Earth: It Will Follow The Rain

Johannes Nyholm created this Gentle Giant/Elephant Man video for Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson aka The Tallest Man On Earth in 2007.

A 12-city The Tallest Man On Earth European spring tour [second half of May + June 1] will be bookended by an April 16 Coachella show and a June 30 Roskilde gig.

www.facebook.com/thetallestmanonearthofficial

www.myspace.com/thetallestmanonearth

Johannes Nyholm: Baby Trashes Bar In Las Palmas

Swedish artist and film maker Johannes Nyholm (born 1974) created the beautiful puppetry music video "Twice" for Little Dragon, and has also made videos for The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Tallest Man On Earth, The Knife, Jenny Wilson, The Hellacopters, etc.

His 13:30 min. short entitled "Las Palmas" (a favorite Canary Islands vacation spot among Scandinavians) will premiere in May. The very funny trailer "Baby Trashes Bar in Las Palmas" has gone viral with more than 3 million hits so far on YouTube.

The music used is "Låt in H-moll" [song in H minor] by Bjorn Olsson from the 2005 album "The Lobster".

www.johannesnyholm.se

www.bjornolssonmusic.com/music3.html

I should probably add a disclaimer on behalf of the director: No toddler was harmed in the making of this film.

Our Broken Garden: Seven Wild Horses

Danish band Our Broken Garden is on UK label Bella Union, founded in 1997 by Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins fame.

www.ourbrokengarden.com

www.facebook.com/ourbrokengarden

Alcoholic Faith Mission: My Eyes To See

Danish band Alcoholic Faith Mission's new EP "Running With Insanity" drops on February 21.

March will be a busy month for the very sober sextet: they have three dates in Canada, two gigs in NYC and will be doing several shows at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

www.alcoholicfaithmission.com/

www.facebook.com/alcoholicfaithmission

James Blake: Limit To Your Love + The Wilhelm Scream

The buzz has been building for a while now around London based experimental electronic composer/soulful singer James Blake and deservedly so. With his minimalist approach he confirms that less is indeed often more.

His haunting cover of Feist's "Limit To Your Love" as well as the mysterious "The Wilhelm Scream" are as intriguing as the man himself and the strange videos perfectly compliment the songs.

A self-titled debut 11 track album was released February 7.

www.jamesblakemusic.com

www.facebook.com/jamesblakemusic?ref=ts

Tina Dico: Sacre Coeur

Danish singer/songwriter Tina Dico (aka Tina Dickow) is well-known for having co-written, performed, and toured with Zero 7, and like fellow Zero 7 collaborators Mozez and Sia, she has had a solo career both before and after that period.

NOTE: Tina Dico is close to wrapping up her US tour - she will be at the Troubadour in West Hollywood Wednesday February 9. (The remaining February/March gigs are in Europe.)

www.tinadico.com/tour

www.facebook.com/tinadico

Watching her riding a bicycle around Paris made me want to include a link to Mikael Colville-Andersen's fab English language Cycle Chic blog which has spawned numerous Cycle Chic blogs around the world. The cycle chic motto: Style over speed, all year round.

www.copenhagencyclechic.com

www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2007/06/cycle-chic-origins.html

P.S. I've lived in Southern California for a long time, but thanks to growing up in Copenhagen, Denmark with its great bicycle culture I still choose to ride a bike (Electra 3-gear) around Long Beach - it's better for me and it's better for the environment. Yay!

Amanda Jenssen: Borderline + Happyland + Numb

A top selling artist in her native Sweden, Amanda Jenssen also has a growing fan base in Germany and other European countries. Her debut "Killing My Darlings" was released in 2008. A second album "Happyland" from 2010 was recorded in Stockholm but was mixed in NYC by producer/mixer Brian Spurber who has worked with Patti Smith, Moby, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes and others.

Inspired by artists such as Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Cab Calloway, Edith Piaf and Nina Simone, Amanda Jenssen terms the track "Borderline" 'gangster jazz', and the video for "Happyland" vividly illustrates the concept.

Fellow Swedish artists Lykke Li and Robyn have a loyal following outside Scandinavia; Amanda Jenssen's exceptional voice, outside-the-box tracks, and quirky videos should likewise attract many new fans.

www.amandajenssenmusic.com/se-en/home

G. Love & Special Sauce: Fixin' To Die

G. Love & Special Sauce will be dropping a new album entitled "Fixin' To Die" in the US and Canada on February 22 on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records. It was produced by Scott and Seth Avett aka The Avett Brothers.

www.philadelphonic.com/fixintodie

www.facebook.com/glovespecialsauce

www.theavettbrothers.com/us/home

For those of you in the Long Beach, CA area: before kicking off a big March/April US tour, G. Love will perform an acoustic show at local indie record store Fingerprints on Tuesday Feb. 22 at the new downtown LB location @ 4th & Linden.

Social Distortion: Cold Feelings

Great parts of the US are being hit by yet another blizzard. Brrrr. Sitting here in Long Beach in mostly sunny Southern California, I felt a mix of relief and guilt looking at the hard core winter photos in the news today. So to those of you out there (in the US and elsewhere) who are dealing with snow, ice and sleet, here's a high energy song that will hopefully - despite the "Cold Feelings" title - warm you up.

Orange County, California punk rock band Social Distortion was formed in 1978; singer/lead guitarist Mike Ness is the only original member left. "Cold Feelings" is from their 1992 "Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell" album.

www.socialdistortion.com

www.mikeness.com