Feature: The Myriad

Floodgate Records, an indie record label, sure is making a name for itself. they continue to sign groups that have quality sound and rise in popularity like wildfires.

another group signed with Floodgate Records is The Myriad. the band originates from Seattle, WA and is comprised of the following members: Scott Davis - drums; Jeremy Edwardson - vocals, guitar; John Roger Schofield - bass; Steven Tracy - guitar, keys; and Jonathan Young - guitar. they've put 3 EP's out, 1 of which is sold out ("Which of You"). the guys have a clear, quality rock sound that's really easy to listen to. for their latest album, they worked with Copeland producer, Aaron Marsh.

their website contains a lot of great information, at http://www.themyriad.net. and you can hear their awesome sound at: http://www.purevolume.com/themyriad and http://www.myspace.com/themyriad.

Feature: Forever Changed

Forever Changed (pic taken from the guys' myspace.com site)

what kind of indie blog would this blog be if i didn't cover Forever Changed? you may have seen them in concert on LU's campus this year, or maybe you've caught their show before in your own town. Forever Changed is a great band that is sweeping the Christian indie music world. the guys are from Florida and include: Dan Cole - Vocals, Guitar; Ben O’Rear - Lead Guitar, BGV; Tom Gustafson - Bass; Nathan Lee - Drums. they travel all over the place, but their main tour is with Kids in the Way and The Wedding this summer. their sound is a rock/emo sound. they've signed with Floodgate Records, which is an indie record label.

find info about the band on their following sites:
http://www.foreverchanged.net
http://www.purevolume.com/foreverchanged
http://www.myspace.com/foreverchanged

and purchase either of their CD, EP, and posters/t-shirts at: http://www.subculturemerch.com/store/foreverchanged/

Feature: Elektromat

Elektromat
(pic taken from their site)

if you're looking for an alternative/rock group with good, quality sound, Elektromat is the group to check out. the guys have great vocals, great sound, and great all around quality to their music.

Elektromat is made up of 5 guys from Buffalo, NY and was formed in 2002. in 2004, they released their first self-titled EP, which was produced by Armand Petri (who's also done work for Sixpence None The Richer, Goo Goo Dolls, and 10,000 Maniacs - not too shabby of a list, eh?). with a great producer like that, you know these guys must have talent in order to catch his attention.

i love the description of their band on their myspace account (www.myspace.com/elektromat):

"Reacting to a world entrenched in materialism and skepticism, we seek to respond with love, upholding the hope, forgiveness and grace portrayed by Christ Jesus. Our lives are not founded on musical aspirations, nor are they built on the accolades of men. This music is an extension of our faith, and we want to challenge the listener's heart and portray the truth that is in Christ. The mission of the band is to reach the lost and encourage the faithful."

you can hear some of their songs at www.purevolume.com/elektromat. and find more info about this new group at http://www.elektromatrock.com/ .

Feature: Tristin Roberts Band

i've got a new group for you guys, a group that is releasing their first album this June. and guess what - they're not from Liberty University! :)

introducing.....the Tristin Roberts Band. they're a rock/worship band out of California. the guys that make up the band are: Brian Pilger (bass/bg-vocals), Austin Roberts (lead guitar), Jorgen Roberts (drums), and Tristin Roberts (acoustic guitar/lead vocals).

they have a myspace site at http://www.myspace.com/tristinrobertsband, as well as a purevolume site, at http://www.purevolume.com/tristinrobertsband. both of those sites have 2 songs you can check out, Surrender and Worthy to Be Praise. their songs have a really catchy, Californian sound.

after listening to those songs, my anticipation for their EP release continues to grow! i've sent an email to my friend to see how people can get a copy of their CD when it comes out. check back for more info.

Feature: Meredith Andrews

i think i could probably do a whole blog on just students at Liberty University because there's so much talent on the campus! i apologize to all non-LU students who read this blog, because there are a lot of features on indie LU students - but check them out, they're worth it! the feature today is the newest release from Meredith Andrews, one of the vocalists in the LU campus praise band. Meredith had released a CD a few years ago, but this newest release is definitely the powerhouse of the two. the album's entitled Mesmerized and it features 12 new songs, 10 of which Meredith penned herself. all of the songs are directed to the Lord and are taken from passages of Scripture, which makes the album great for listening to and reflecting on how great our God really is. my absolute most favorite song is "Satisfied" - it's actually the whole reason i bought the CD in the first place! Meredith had sung this song a couple times in convocation at LU and i was blown away by the lyrics. i searched for months trying to find out who wrote and recorded the song so i could get a copy of it - only to find out Meredith herself wrote the song and it was on this new album. thankfully, the rest of the Mesmerized album is worth the purchase!
check out meredith's website and get info, pics, and lyrics at http://www.meredithandrews.com.

Meredith Andrews (pic taken from her website)

Feature: Station 2

Liberty University held its Battle of the Bands this past saturday night (april 9th). the winner of the "battle" was Station 2, a group that's been in the making for a few years now but just had their first official show toward the end of March '05.

Station 2 is made up of 2 guys, David Carey and Travis Whittaker, who met up at Liberty University in 2001. one wouldn't think two guys making music could be considered a true "band", but David and Travis accomplish it quite well. they get their "full band" sound by layering multiple loops (including vocals, guitar, and drums) into each song. you can't truly appreciate these guys' talents until you see them perform live, where you get to see them add in loops and create their own background vocals right there on stage.

you can tell the guys of Station 2 have a heart for Jesus Christ and a heart for people. on their website, their Bio section contains their mission statement and this only continues to affirm that David & Travis' hearts are for the Lord and for others to know how satisfying He truly is. the first line of their statement reads like this:

"Station 2 exists for the sole purpose of breathing life into a world that is searching for meaning."

check out Station 2's site, http://station2music.com, for more info about the band. currently, you can listen to 3 of their songs in mp3 format under the "media" section. their next show will be at the 720 Cafe in Lynchburg, VA. no doubt, it's a show you won't want to miss.

Feature: Justin Barnard

if you've ever wondered if there are such things as "musical genes" that run through a family, here's one more piece of evidence to prove there are. Shane Barnard, featured earlier, has a brother, Justin Barnard, who released his first album entitled Welcome to Love. the album features 12 songs, all of which pertain to the Christian's spiritual journey. Justin has a very earthy-acoustic sound to his music and like Shane, he too could probably record a whole album with just a guitar and his voice. the first song on the CD, coincidentally titled "Welcome to Love", welcomes the new believer into the family of God. he re-iterates so many beautiful aspects of God and His saving grace. the bridge to the chorus goes: "Step into a life where mercy reigns, and grace becomes the law/ you have now become adopted sons and daughters of our God". Justin had Shane record a song with him for Welcome to Love, the song is entitled "On Eagle's Wings". of course, if you love both Justin AND Shane, this song is just all the more amazing, besides having beautiful lyrics. it's a very simple guitar song, and it mainly just is comprised of their voices. unfortunately, from what i've heard it doesn't sound like Justin has been pursuing a second album, but maybe he is and is just keeping it on the d/l. let's hope so. he had been running a burrito place in Texas, but last i heard he had sold that to someone else. there's really not a ton of info on the guy out on the web, he doesn't even have a website! but maybe if more and more people hear about his album and enjoy it as much as i do, he'll come out with new material!

News: Copeland

great news everyone! Copeland released their newest album on March 22, 2005. it's called In Motion. the new CD brings 10 new songs to Copeland fans and promises to be another hit. to buy it and a ton of other Copeland merchandise, check out:

http://www.zambooie.com/militiagroup/