Monthly Archives: November 2009
Win Justin Bieber!
Want to win Justin Bieber? We have an autographed 2′ by 2′ album cover from Universal Music.
You can enter to win by emailing us info@therockstarstories.com by 11-27-09! Win it for yourself or for a holiday gift.
The Dear Hunter Interview
by Melanie Bae
The Dear Hunter, originally a side project of Casey Crescenzo, has flourished into a full-time gig. Along side Crescenzo are band mates Erick Serna, Nate Patterson, Andy Wildrick, Nick Crescenzo, and Josh Rheault. Crescenzo was originally in the Boston band Recieving End of Sirens, but in May 2006 Casey began working on The Dear Hunters debut album, Act I: The Lake South, The River North.
When talking to Casey he expressed how he much rather talk about a fictional character, because with a fictional character there is no restrictions. Casey produced Act I himself, and his mother did some of the backing vocals and his brother played the drums. A family’s support is always nice to see. By the time Act II: The Meaning of, and All Things Regarding Ms. Leading rolled around, Crescenzo had assembled a fun band, and the album dropped only eight months after Act I. Around the same time Act II was released, the band’s fan base seemed to pick up.
They headed out on tour with such bands as: The Format, Boys Night Out, Circa Survive, Saves The Day, Say Anything. Act III: Life and Death was released on June 23rd of this year. While listening to the album it seemed as though it had a reoccurring theme of war; Crescenzo would yet again go into detail about how it is was much easier to write about a fictional character, and that he himself had not known someone or lived through the experiences himself. As one listens to The Dear Hunter you get more than just music, you get a story of a young boy’s life experiences. The Dear Hunter had many albums to come, and they are also working on albums inspired by the colors of the light spectrum.
You might be a little confused about how the band could do this; Casey said it is not so much about the color, but what the color brings to your mind and the feelings that emerge when looking at them. There have been rave reviews about The Dear Hunter’s live performances. So as they embark on tour this fall with Mutemath, make sure you attend a show near you!
New Moon Soundtrack Review
by Diana Ciuca
The album begins with the quintessential Death Cab for Cutie song, with the electric piano and occasional wavering in and out of loud and soft harmony. The symbol of the equinox in the song displays some astrological influence upon the entire album. So far, I’m hoping that this is a themed album; fingers crossed.
Luckily, or not, the next few songs tend to stick to a similar principle. Truly, the only theme to this album can be summed up in three words: soft, indie, dreamy. After some ups and downs in tempos, beats, and instrumentation (guitars, drums, and piano), the only conclusion that can be drawn is that this is a genre piece.
The album advocates the beauty of the indie (sub/counter) culture that has motivated hipsters to invade American Apparel and also the local Salvation Army/Goodwill in search of “hot buys.” They are the picture-hoarding, iPod wearing, Twilight-reading youngsters who are fluent in the language of music and, thankfully, that of texting. By putting all these songs together, I feel like their (the individual song’s and the hip, excitable, teen’s) originality is forsaken; Nevertheless, each song, on their own, is truly a work of art – as are most indie pieces. As Andy Warhol said, “Art is what you can get away with.” Certainly, we have gotten away with much avante-gardness in the past, and this album, as fresh or unique as you want it to be, is no different. Most critics see this as a medley of wonderful musicians.
Still, I can’t help but question what is so great about these musical sensations? Usually it is the voice, or the smooth guitar, or the sound effects. This album has so much of those techniques that it almost becomes overwhelming. In conclusion, the New Moon soundtrack is like food. Sure, I love peperoni pizza, chocolate ice cream, steak, salsa, and salad. But, if you were to throw them all on one plate, I might not enjoy it as much.
The album ends with the quintessential Classical music piece, with the alternating piano and occasion speeding up and down of the tempo. The symbol of the new moon in the title displays some astrological influence upon the entire album – given that it is the title.
Sounds like you’ve heard that sentence before? It sounds like I’ve heard all these songs before, too.
AFI SHOW MOVED TO REVOLUTION-Press Conference too!
The A.F.I. concert originally scheduled for the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Wednesday November 18 has moved venues to Revolution Live, 200 West Broward Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale. Gallows also appears on the bill.
Tickets already purchased for the Pompano Beach show will be honored at Revolution Live. Additional General Admission tickets are still available for $26.50 in advance and $28.00 day of show. Tickets are on sale now at all TicketMaster Outlets and at the Revolution Live Box Office or charge-by-phone: Broward, (954) 523-3309; Miami-Dade, 305) 358-5885; Palm Beach, (561) 966-3309.
The Student Press Conference will also be held at Revolution. Students should meet at will call at Revolution.