Diana DeJesus

March 18, 2019

Music Mondays

Music Mondays: As Fire Falls

Diana DeJesus

March 18, 2019

Music Mondays

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

Diana DeJesus

March 4, 2019

Music Mondays: We Were Giants

Diana DeJesus

March 4, 2019

This week’s featured local band: We Were Giants.

Written by Aaron of @concertphotography208

Music Monday is ready to strap in and enjoy the musical experience that is, We Were Giants.

This metal band started back in 2015, they came together because these friends wanted to fulfill one common goal, to create a unique sound and write music that means something to them and to their audience. We Were Giants has fashioned an extremely powerful experience not only for the band members but for the audience as well. Blake Davis, clean vocals, said “I’d describe it for me [as] I’m just being my honest self that I can’t be in every day living. We are all like that but it just works in harmony.” Music Monday could not agree more that the harmony created by Blake and Kenneth Logan Peel, harsh vocals, is something to be sought after. Watching these two fantastic singers bounce off each other like an angel and a demon fighting over control of the stage and is what many bands strive for, saying “Our theatrics match our sound.”

Blake got his start by learning the acoustic guitar he received for his 15th birthday. He took to the guitar like a fish to water learning his first song in 4 days. This was the beginning of a beautiful romance between Blake and music. He started writing music and jamming with his friends to find his style of, and even played at the Boise Venue, may it rest in peace. Kenneth grew up with music, “Growing up I basically had a resonation with music because of the form of expression each song I listened to.” He said. It was in high school that Logan struggled and found a way to express these struggles with his lyrics and music. Logan explained, “Music is my therapy and helps ease my life.” Music Monday can relate to this especially, as music has been a savior for myself as well. Michael Faylor, drums, found his love of the drums at the age of 8 when his father, also a drummer, bought him his first kit. Michael jammed along with the greats such as led Zeppelin and Chicago. Michael’s father taught him the fundamentals of drumming and moved on to teach himself how to paly double bass. As Michael grew older he discovered bands like Korn and Slipknot. Some years later Michael uploaded a drum cover of Ragnarök and We Were Giants asked him to join! Josh Street, Guitar, started music at a young age and stuck with it to eventually find themselves in the line up with We Were Giants

This band considers their music to be a reflection of themselves. They bring different backgrounds of musical styles and different musical influences to the band but as they have a vision for the group they come together to create their unique sound.

As with most bands they have struggled with putting their feeling into their art and creating something that was marketable at the same time saying “trying to navigate through the business aspect and we are definitely no exception to that rule. Our biggest triumph is definitely our fans and the opportunities we have been given such as Vans Warped Tour and multiple sold out shows.”

Music Monday has had the pleasure to see this band perform and was completely blown away by their energy. The bands spirit and sheer ability to connect with the audience was awesome. From the distinguished drumming of Michael, to the amazing guitar skills of Josh and finishing it off is the Blake and Logan duo who bring the experience right to your face. Make sure you see this band perform as you will not be disappointed. This is a crew that wants to lift the mood saying “Spreading a positive message and fighting for positivity is our goal and we feel that the sound we give off does exactly that.” Building that audience connection is something that We Were Giants challenges themselves to do every show and I can honestly say that it really comes through.

Make sure to see these guys live at Deathproof this Wednesday, March 7, with another great local band Forsythia.

Thank you Aaron for featuring this great local band! Make sure to follow We Were Giants on social Media (Instagram + Facebook) and Aaron (Instagram + Facebook).

Diana DeJesus

December 3, 2018

Music Mondays

#MusicMondays featuring Sky Burns Brighter

Diana DeJesus

December 3, 2018

Music Mondays

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!