Music Mondays: As Fire Falls

Source: Concert Photography 208

Music Monday is ready to throw some metal horns up and enjoy AsFireFalls!

Founded by brothers Kris Lindstrom (Lead/Harsh Vocals) and Nic Lindstrom (Drums/Programming/Electronics) back in 2013 with other members who liked writing, and playing for fun. Like most freshman bands the original line up ended up leaving, and only the 2 Lindstorm brothers were left. These 2 men however, would not let this set back keep them from realizing the bands potential. Exploring the deeps of craigslist, they found Nick Gregory (Guitar), for an unrelated reason, and Nick ended up joining the band around 2015. Kris, while working at Jimmy Johns, met Chris Hale (Bass/Harsh Vocals) and he joined soon after the departure of the former bassist around 2016. With lineup changes, random discoveries and meetings at a Jimmy Johns the current lineup of AsFireFalls was made!

Kris found his love for music by picking up a guitar and learning to sing while playing at church. Nic found his drumming prowess in the same capacity. Nic has also been making dubstep/electronic music since he was 12 years old. He spends a good majority of the day making music! Music Monday believes this is true due to the amazing technicality of each song beat. Nic creates all of the sounds from scratch and this precision song creating makes up one fourth of what it takes to build a song. Nick, the guitarist, was born with the instrument in hand playing and ready for the spotlight. The band states: “He started out learning to play his favorite songs from Disturbed and somehow through that, just practicing, and playing all the time [he] has evolved into what you see and hear now.” Chris, has been in the local scene for a while playing guitar, bass, and screaming in several other bands. Chris is responsible for helping write lyrics, along with Kris, and helping structure the songs.

Each band member brings their own influence to this fantastic band. Drummer Nic for example, listens to a lot of electronic music and rap/ hip hop. The guitarist Nick likes that kind of music as well, but also listens to a lot of rock, modern metal and Nu-metal. The band takes these influences to give them the inspiration for different aspects of their songs, such as time signatures, chord structures, etc.

This band takes their music very personally and does not put cookie cutter lyrics or riffs into their music for the hell of it. The band states: “Music has a way of impacting people and they take it personally and sometimes spiritually. We write based on what we want the feeling of the song to have but it’s also up to the listener to determine what the song means to them.”

AsFireFalls is using the 2018 momentum of their west coast tour and their performance at Joshuafest to catapult them into 2019! The band knows that 2019 will be their biggest year yet! The band is extremely proud and excited to announce their new single "Transcendent" will release on March 14th

Even though I discovered AsFireFalls only a short time ago, at Breakdown Ball , this band is quickly becoming a staple while rocking out in my car. Music Monday highly recommends that you check them out! Your ears and soul will thank you.

Make sure you check out their new single "Transcendent" that came out on March 14 on 100.3 The X with Randy Perkins

Facebook: Facebook.com/asfirefalls
Instagram: @asfirefallsofficial
Twitter: @asfirefallsband

Music Mondays: Mains and Monitors

Music Mondays are back with Aaron of ConcertPhotography208. Today’s local band spotlight is Mains and Monitors - a band from Twin Falls, ID. Checkout Aaron’s feature:

---

The members of Mains and Monitors have been playing together in one way or another for several years. Originally, they played in a band for Jordan Thornquest but during that time Chase Chandler started his own group with some different members. Unfortunately, due to creative differences between his bandmates, Chase brought in Patrick Henry as the drummer. The original bassist ending up leaving and Eli Stonemets joined the ranks.  After some years of playing together the band asked Jordan, who was working on a solo project at the time, to play lead guitar. With this final addition, the Mains and Monitors line up was formed!

The band originally started out under the name “The Something Somethings” a play on the “The” that many bands use, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, etc however, an underground British punk group apparently already had that name and asked them to ya know, not do that. Fast forward to the band playing at a crappy bar with horrible sound equipment. The band states: “All they had were these two giant main speakers. We told them we needed monitors, so the sound guy takes one of these giant mains, turns it around, and tips it over. It was not a great show. Chase had the idea to write a song called “Mains & Monitors” about this experience, and when we found out we had to change our name, he suggested it, and it stuck.” Amazing how an experience can have such an impact on a band that this one moment happened to give them influence to change their name! A good grassroots reminder of where the band has come from and the heights this band can achieve.

Patrick started playing the drums during the 5th grade for school where he learned how to read percussion music and began to specialize in the kit. He continued the passion for drums well into high school but took a break until he met Jordan. Patrick is influenced by the funk style and technical ability of Carter Beaufort (Dave Matthews Band). Jordan got his start playing Guitar Hero then he learned to play the real guitar at the age of 14. Jordan bounced between several bands and a solo gig before joining Mains and Monitors. He started off being influenced by the amazing shredders Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, etc. But Jordan found his roots in the kind of music he wanted to write such as, Courtney Barnett, Jeff Rosenstock, and The Strokes. Eli started to play the bass in his youth group when he was 12 years old. Early on Eli was influenced by bands Kings of Leon, and The National. Later in Eli’s musical development he discovered the influences of the rhythmic playing styles of Queens of The Stone Age, LCD Soundsystem, and Spoon. Chase found his love of music from his step-father who introduced Chase to digital recording when he was 11. When he was 12 he started to teach himself the guitar, started writing lyrics and began to sing! Wasn’t until the age of 16 that he became serious about the music world and recorded full songs by using garage band. Chase has been influenced by bands like Car Seat Headrest, Jeff Rosenstock, PUP, and Manchester Orchestra. Chase said, “I’ve always really loved making pop-influenced music, so a lot of catchiness goes into our songwriting as well.”

Where Mains and Monitors are from, Twin Falls, the band is up against classic rock bands, cover bands and post-grunge bands that focus on the older audience. Mains and Monitors wants to create a completely relatable sound to the younger crowd, saying “Being in your 20’s kind of sucks, and being a teenager kind of sucks, and we like to write about that in a (for the most part) lighthearted way.” The band draws influence from personal experience and just life itself to bring a personal and heartfelt performance to the stage. Another heartfelt example is their song “Kalani” about a relationship the front man Chase went through. The song ties in the process of falling in love, to the eventual rough breakup, and finally to the painful recovery of putting yourself back together. “It’s hard to be vulnerable like that, especially when there are people you know personally that know how true this story is, and how they’re more than “just songs.” We’ve found that the artists we connect with the most share these true, intimate, raw, revealing parts of themselves, and we want to do the same.” They said about “Kalani”. Mains and Monitors is a band that sings their heart out on stage. During their performance at Deathproof Coffee, Music Monday was blown away at the amount of passion and love they left on display.

The band deals with the constant hardship of living in a town with a limited music scene. “….it can be stifling & discouraging.” They said. The band has also gone through some growing pains, as all freshman bands do, by learning that they must be brutally honest with each other.

They have also had some major triumphs in their musical career as a band! They won their first battle of the bands and they recently hit 20,000 listeners on Spotify!

Music Monday has had the pleasure to see this band perform and was left with the sense of wanting more. Their passion, their drive and their sound is something Twin Falls should be extremely proud to have.

Want to enjoy the show? Well Boise you are in luck! February 23, 2019  Mains and Monitors will be at The Shredder downtown, participating in the locally organized Music for Mental Health Vol. 2 with several other locals, Caefus, Vascate and Soma Stein. 

#MusicMondays featuring Sky Burns Brighter

Photo: Aaron from @concertphotographer208

Music features continue. This week, Aaron from @concertphotographer208 is spotlighting local band “The Sky Burns Brighter.” Ready Aaron’s blog post below:

---

Music Mondays has a new favorite alternative rock band in town for you to look forward to, called The Sky Burns Brighter! Andrew Lewis, lead vocals and guitar, was kind enough to take some time to chat so you can get to know this amazing local group. Formed by Coby Nelson, guitar and back-up vocals, along with Brian Wilkerson, bass and programming, back in 2017 they found their lead vocalist Andrew Lewis, and shortly after added the final member Taylor Ellenberger on drums! The name, The Sky Burns Brighter, is derived from the Senses Fail song “Holy Mountain” saying, "The sky burns brighter when I look into your eyes." Andrew explains how the name came together saying, "I came to the first practice with a list of names and that one resonated with all of us in our own ways. We loved that it didn't necessarily sound like it belonged to any single genre. It could be metal, it could be pop punk, it could be alternative rock, and we felt that fit the music we were putting together.”

This band is the perfect blend of several genres of music which brings all kinds of fans to the crowd! From head bangers, to two steppers, to my girlfriend who just wants to shake it, this band offers something for any concertgoer. Each band member brings their music influence to the mix which is what creates their unique sound. Coby, Brian, and Taylor are huge pop-punk fans and they bring that upbeat, fun to every track. Andrew brings the prog-rock and metal background to the group for the more technical aspects of the music. The members draw influence from other artists including; A Day to Remember, Blink 182, Guitarist Tom Delonge, Coheed and Cambria, and Avenged Sevenfold. If you haven’t figured it out already this band is an accumulation of amazing music and their unique sound is something the local scene much desires.

The Sky Burns Brighter is extremely excited to be a part of the ever-growing music scene in the Boise area. They feel every band brings something unique to the table and they are simply thrilled to be a part of it.

Their songs hold a lot of emotion behind them as band members frequently tap into their personal lives for inspiration. The band draws influences from their own perspective to the view point of loved ones and close friends. Bringing these past and current experiences into the mix allows the band to sing about topics that the audience can connect with. For example, “Famulus” is about a friend of Andrews that was going through a rough relationship, and how Andrew witnessed his buddy weathering that storm. The song “30 Hours” Music Mondays personal favorite, is about the movie The Crow and many songs “have a personal edge to them if you look for it. We obviously want to convey as much of the emotion behind the lyrics in the way we play, whether that's in the writing of the music itself, or the actual performance” Andrew added. This band wants to bring the feels to their lyrics, the way they play, connect with the audience, and the way they connect to each other as a band.

Breaking into a new scene brings challenges such as no exposure, finding your “sound” and figuring out the connection between each other. Their biggest hardship was gaining traction with the local scene, however all that faded when they tossed their hat in to play the X-Games. Any band that had not played a show before would be terrified, which they understandably were. “It was going to be our first real show. We ended up practicing our asses off and writing like 3 new songs just so we could fill our timeslot” said Andrew. Thanks to connections they made at the X-game gig The Sky Burns Brighter was born like a new star, filling the concert halls with their exceptional sound.

I truly look forward to seeing this band time and time again. They have an EP coming out this winter and my new favorite jam “30 hours” is currently streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, and Amazon!

Can’t wait for the EP to thaw? Catch The Sky Burns Brighter LIVE this Friday Dec 7th at Deathproof Coffee in Boise. If you want to see a band that brings their personal passion and connection to their music, do not miss this opportunity!

---

#MusicMonday @Death Proof Coffee

Aaron from @ConcertPhotography208 is back with another #MusicMonday installment. This week, he is featuring Death Proof Coffee. It’s not your typical coffee shop. Checkout his blog below!

---

It’s Music Monday! Lets visit a place that is filled with passion, created with local bands in mind, and is quickly becoming a staple venue in Boise, enter, Death Proof Coffee. Mike Verlennich, Nik Verlennich and Izak Izak have created a venue that can bring a professional edge to any garage band. This place is chill coffee house in the front and full-on fog and light show party in the back! The venue attached to Death Proof Coffee provides an environment for all ages to enjoy live music on a professional stage.

Death Proof Coffee and venue has been in the works for a few years and was perfected by the trio who each bring a unique perspective to the venue. Mike has the passion and leadership to guide his son, Nik, to create energy within the venue. Nik speaks about music, the local scene, and the drive to create a space for local bands in a way only an artist can express. The lighting design Izak brings during the shows can only be described as perfection. Not too over the top or too bright, taking photos into their lights was a concert photographers dream.

From the moment I walked into the venue I knew something was different, there was too much theater design in Death Proof’s venue. There was forethought and planning, this isn’t some slapped together pallet stage. I’m talkin’ perfect straight lines, and complementary color schemes, and finally some balanced sound, someone had theater experience I just knew it. I later found out that Izak has a background in theater lighting which explains all the attention to every detail. His lighting designs were inspired and not once over shadowed the performances. Another amazing aspect to Izak’s design is he does it all while being red/green color blind. Most would think this would be a determent to a lighting designer not being able to see colors “normally.” I will say the exact opposite is true here, Izak is able to create light schemes that many trained lighting professionals only dream of. His lack of being able to see colors makes him extremely unique and another part of Death Proof that makes this venue great.

Death Proof Coffee was literally created by the hands of Mike, Nik and Izak. These men hand-poured the countertops you see in the coffee lounge and created the sound panels on the walls within the venue. Each contributing their skills from theater, lighting design, and from the knowledge of owning previous businesses. The most impressive piece of this puzzle? The stage. The attention to detail can be seen by the painstakingly created light boxes these men wanted to fill the back area. They hand built the drum lift and worked tirelessly to make sure every line, device, or panel was perfect from the audience perspective.

If you are looking for a local coffee shop that wants everyone there to enjoy themselves and feel welcome this is your place. If you want a venue that wants to breed a diverse culture of creativity and grow the local music scene this is your venue. Finally, if you are a band that wants that next stepping stone, to know what it feels like to play on a raised stage, with technics, and a crew that wants you to succeed; this is your new home.

Death Proof Coffee is a much-needed addition to the local Boise music scene. I certainly look forward to seeing more shows, taking more photos, and doing many more blogs about Death Proof Coffee and Venue. See you at the next show!

Death Proof Coffee 
10481 W. Fairview Ave. in Boise, ID 83704

To book an event

https://www.deathproofcoffee.com/contact/
https://www.deathproofcoffee.com/events/

*All photos are owned by ConcertPhotographer208.