Erie Beat                                                January 19, 2012 | Volume 8 Issue 4

High Heels, Skirts and Rock’n Roll
By Jenna Croyle

Inspiring us in each and every way, old school rock 'n roll was never as powerful as it was by the ladies of Rock and their music. Throughout the decades, bands like Heart, The Bangles, The Go Go’s, Joan Jett, and even Pat Benatar touched our hearts, stretched our minds and reached our souls.
 

The very talented members of String Theory need no real accreditation here, their vast talent and long history in local music speaks for itself. Mike Cummings, Tim Driscoll, Bob Seaman, along with Scott Kuhn of Rhythm Method and Letters to the Dead, give renowned, high-energy performances each time String Theory takes the stage.

Much like the film Stiletto starring Tom Berenger, our local Stiletto is as hot and sexy as the music they perform. Songs by artists such as Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, Susan Tedeschi, Miranda Lambert, Lady Gaga, and Pat Benatar are all seductively brought to life with the powerful voices of these three female masters of the Mic.

While all three ladies of the stage are not only vivacious and almost hypnotic in their musical presentation, one seems to stand out from the rest.

Angie Myers is everything you might want from a female singer, having an amazing voice with sweet, yet powerful vocal delivery, that true Rock’n Roll stage presence in every little move she makes and a connection with her audience that is, though indescribable, still remarkably unmatched.

Myers is undoubtedly the total musical package, leaving her to stand alone as the undisputed queen of Erie Rock.

Emily Foht is a veteran rocker having been with some of Erie’s top bands such as Blonde Faith, Fuze and the celebrated Key West Express, perhaps the most talent packed band within 100 miles.

With just the right touch of rasp in all the right spots and the sultry delivery and stage presence, Foht certainly hits all the right notes, making musical magic with every song she sings.

With her high-energy, power driven performances, Monica Lewis is truly the driving force behind this star-studded ensemble, which is Stiletto. Lewis tantalizes her audience with marvelous renditions of time-tested classics with all the vitality and ambition of the original artists, along with her own special twists that make every song she sings truly something spectacular.

With the mix of Lewis, Foht and Myers along with the added flavor of String Theory, Stiletto certainly demands the respect of not only their fans, but of the entire Erie musical community. Much like the song that they cover, “We Got the Beat” these gals definitely do, and everything else as well.

For more information on Stiletto, please visit their Facebook Page.

Where to Go to Hear Music in 2012
By Peter Edge

I’ve traveled all over the world — Europe, Africa, South America, Asia — and music is everywhere. People are full of music in Cairo, and music is on every street corner and temple in India.

In terms of where to hear cutting-edge popular music today, your first stop might be Brooklyn, which, in my opinion, is definitely one of the hot spots right now. I’m from the U.K., and people there feel the same way, with groups like Vampire Weekend and MGMT putting it on the map and newcomers like Elle King making the scene now. The Music Hall of Williamsburg is probably the epicenter of the scene, along with Glasslands and the Knitting Factory. Bell House in Gowanus is worth a visit, too. I was in Paris a few weeks ago. As well as being historical and beautiful, is still one of the most vibrant, cutting-edge cities and has some of the best music. The hot club right now is the Social Club. You can hear a sound there — kind of an amalgam of funk and disco, though not specifically retro — that’s purely a creation of Paris. It’s electronic and based around that ’70s and ’80s funk. Hip-hop is also really big there. Kanye and Jay-Z have a song that references Paris right now. Another club worth noting is Silencio, designed in part by David Lynch. It’s more of a social club and a dance club — another place to hear the newest Paris sound.

In London, the dance party everybody is talking about is Horse Meat Disco at Eagle London in Vauxhall on Sunday nights. It’s D.J.’d disco music that is a late night thing. I would also recommend XOYO in Shoreditch. Azealia Banks, a Harlem rapper, just performed there, and it’s becoming one of the hippest, in-the-know clubs in the city. Londoners are very open to new music, so a lot of Americans get their start there.

Most recently, I’ve been in Jamaica, staying at Geejam, a resort in Port Antonio owned by Jon Baker, a music producer. I saw the veteran reggae band the Jolly Boys perform a mean version of “Rehab” the other night at the hotel’s Bush Bar. This place has music happening at all times, as local sound systems boost reggae. The hotel also has a studio where the Gorillaz and Drake record.

In Kingston, a friend told me about a the Fiction Lounge on Constant Spring Road. There are guest D.J.’s and it’s supposed to have a lounge club vibe.

U.S. Album Sales Rise for First Time Since 2004

U.S. album sales rose more than 3 percent last year for the first gain since 2004 — a sign that rising digital sales are finally stemming the decade-long decline of compact discs.

The uptick to 458 million album sales was helped by the hugely popular sophomore album "21" from British singer Adele, which sold 5.8 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Huge interest in Adele also led to the sales of 856,000 copies of "19," her debut album from 2008.

Michael Bublé's "Christmas," which was released in late October, racked up 2.5 million album sales. Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" sold 2.1 million, boosted by a massive sale at Amazon.com earlier in the year for a heavily discounted 99 cents.

Digital album sales rose nearly 20 percent to 103 million, while CDs fell nearly 6 percent to 225 million.

The rest of the total is made up largely of digital single tracks, where 10 tracks are counted as one album. Digital singles sales rose nearly 9 percent to 1.27 billion.

The digital sales gains are likely here to stay, said Dave Bakula, senior vice president of analytics at Nielsen. He noted more consumers are using high-end mobile devices, and Google Inc. has launched its online music store, giving it a way to sell music to users of smartphones on its Android platform.

"It shows there's still a lot of growth potential in digital," he said. "That's something I don't see falling down."

Sales of older albums rose nearly 9 percent to 151 million, thanks to heavy discounting, including a Father's Day promotion at some big box retailers and iTunes that touted Journey's greatest hits and the work of other older rock bands.

The Nielsen tally does not include growing subscriptions to all-you-can-listen-to music plans which is due, in part, to the entry of Swedish service Spotify to the U.S. market in July.

Can Punk or Rock Push Divas off the Top?

Never heard of Milk Music? That may be about to change after the unsigned punk rockers from Olympia, Washington appeared on a leading music magazine's acts-to-watch list.

Rising stars like Lana Del Rey, A$AP Rocky and Howler are also tipped to make it big this year and beyond as pop pickers and record labels search the airwaves for hitmakers of tomorrow.

With guitar bands and solo male artists featuring so prominently in a series of new music polls published at the start of the year, chart-topping divas like Lady Gaga, Adele and Beyonce could see their crowns slip.

And once again the United States looks like setting the pace, leaving Britain, the other global music powerhouse, playing catch-up.

"From doing this issue what I've realized is that there is a really wide scope of stuff out there," said Matt Wilkinson, new music editor at British music magazine NME who has just compiled a list of 100 bands to watch in 2012.

"In the last 12 months the United States has been on top of its game in terms of guitar bands and indie music so I kind of hope and expect the UK to react to that this year," he told Reuters. "We are in a bit of a lull at the moment over here."

One leading female act set for stardom in 2012 is Del Rey, real name Elizabeth Grant, an American who caused a stir last year with her haunting YouTube hit "Video Games."

Britain's NME music magazine decided not to feature her in its 2012 survey because it felt she was already established -- in fact many acts on this month's "next big thing" lists are well on their way to fame and fortune.

In Del Rey's case, she is signed to Interscope, part of the world's biggest music company Universal, and releases an album, "Born to Die," at the end of the month.
Some question the level to which her image has been manufactured for mainstream success and question whether Del Rey can sustain her early success.

"The future for Lana Del Rey feels a little uncertain," said Alexis Petridis, music critic for the Guardian newspaper which voted Video Games the best song of 2011.

"Whether Video Games turns out to be the one truly remarkable thing about her, or a portent of greatness to come is a moot point."

For NME's Wilkinson, Harlem-raised rapper Azealia Banks is a potential 2012 breakout.

"We're going massive on her," he said. "She's great and totally exciting. But will she sell as many records as Adele? Probably not."

A lack of radio play for the famously foul-mouthed musician could be a barrier, he added.

Canada's Claire Boucher, also known as Grimes, released an album in 2010 and was on the Guardian's "New band of the day" column as long ago as March, but her brand of dark electro pop could make a splash this year.

Across the Atlantic, British "girl power" is expected to come from Londoner Lianne La Havas, who appears both on the BBC's "Sound of 2012" poll and MTV's "Brand New For 2012" list.

The BBC also championed Ren Harvieu as a possible heir to Adele, while the dark pop of Charli XCX and soulful sounds of Delilah (Paloma Stoecker) have MTV excited.

HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS
Balancing the picture for 2012, several solo male artists are also tipped for the top.

British soul musician Michael Kiwanuka topped BBC's annual poll on Friday, ending a run of four consecutive years in which single females claimed the prize starting with Adele in 2008.

In second place came Frank Ocean, the U.S. singer-songwriter who has already collaborated with pop royalty like Beyonce, Jay-Z and Kanye West.

NME predicts he will be the "true breakout star" of the Odd Future hip-hop collective.

New Yorker and rising hip-hop star A$AP Rocky famously signed a $3 million record deal with Sony Music last year, nearly half of which reportedly will go towards funding his own record label.

Underground Chicago singer Willis Earl Beal, who until recently was leaving CDs and fliers lying around randomly, has been snapped up by XL Recordings, Adele's label, and they plan to release his debut album "Acousmatic Sorcery" in March.

British teenager Conor Maynard has been likened by MTV to Justin Bieber, while the music channel called Angel (Sirach Charles) "quite possibly the UK pop and R & B industry's best kept secret."

Briton King Krule (Archy Marshall) is another "boy wonder," although his rich voice and wordly-wise opinions belie his years, while compatriots Dot Rotten and King Charles make at least one of the new artist lists.

BANDS ON THE RISE
Guitar bands and indie music in general have been on the decline in recent years, but they put in a strong showing in the latest surveys.

Minneapolis rockers Howler have been likened to the Vaccines and Strokes and appear first in NME's 2012 list.

DZ Deathrays' music, described as "sleazy, sexy, thrash-punk robo-rock," has rung out from stages in their native Australia for more than three years, but this year they aim to conquer Europe and produce a debut album.

Milk Music have so far resisted record executives' approaches and remain independent, while London quintet Spector hit the road in March to support Florence + The Machine.

Scandinavia is represented by Swedish electro pop duo Niki & The Dove on the BBC poll and compatriots Icona Pop feature in NME.

In France, names to look out for include Francois & The Atlas Mountains, Apes and Horses, The Bewitched Bands, Concrete Knives and Stuck In the Sound.