Artist: The Heavy Guilt 

Songs: The following are available to stream on the band’s myspace page:

• “Clove”: Like a warm blanket on a cold night with a campfire burning, this song engulfs you in its lonely warmth. The slow organ and acoustic guitar gives this songs a jazzy feel.
• “Mixed Messages”: Vocals switch between speakers like a conversation happening across the room or whispers in your ears. A soothing instrumental break takes your brain on a journey to your own thoughts to “reminisce the day.”
• “Let This Daylight Rest in Peace”: Gritty rock like you would expect in a rural bar as a backdrop for a bar brawl. But the lyrics remind me that it is almost time to go home. Perhaps this will become my new anthem for quittin’ time.
• “Hope You Still Believe”: The American Dream in a song. Hopes and aspirations for a new day and positive thinking. Like a lullaby for the broken- and down-hearted.

Overall: The Heavy Guilt is the perfect name for this band. They are less “heavy” in terms of metal, but plenty heavy on the mellow, thought-provoking music. I imagine this band doing chill instrumental jams for hours, deep into the sounds of each other. I have yet to see The Heavy Guilt, as many of the bands I choose for the local music review, but I can’t wait to see them soon.

One of the reasons I am reviewing The Heavy Guilt is due to their involvement in the North Park Festival of Arts in May. Thank you, Rosey from San Diego Dialed In for booking these guys on the Main Stage. For the weeks leading up to the event, I will be reviewing bands who will be playing the event on various stages. Stay tuned for more!

Albums: Lift Us Up From This (2009) debut 12 song album is available through the band’s webstore, reapandsow.com, Amazon and iTunes.

Calendar:  The Heavy Guilt have a couple shows on their calendar right now: 

• Tonight, April 8 @ RT’s Longboard Grill in Pacific Beach
• Sunday, May 15 @ North Park Festival of Arts: Main Stage

Photo courtesy of one of the band’s photographers: Anton Orlov, Steve Wiley or Amber Martin

Artist: Old Tiger

Songs: The following are available to stream on the band’s website.

• “Free”: The intro starts out vaguely sounding like the Kids in the Hall theme, but not as much as The Smart Brothers’ song, “Don’t Call Me Baby”. Strong vocals over take the track and you forget you even thought that in the first place. The catchy lyrics remind me of driving down the desert highway looking for adventure.
• “I Got It Figured Out”: Slight reverb in the swinging guitar melodies gives the song a lonely feeling. But suddenly a party breaks out in the end. Odd composition, but it kind of works.
• “It’s a Crime” Demo: Bluesy guitar echoing down a dark alley tells the tale of what I thought was a man down on his luck, but seems that is only half the story.
• “Tambourine” Demo: Head bobbing along to the steady rhythm of the beat. The subtle tambourine jangle I actually missed the first several times around.There is something about this song that reminds me of early Beatles. Am I the only one hears it?

Overall: With lead vocals reminding me of local musician, Jeff Berkley from Citizen Band and Berkley Hart, I was instantly hooked. It took me several listens to get beyond that thought, but once I did, I heard their distinct style echoing a bit of blues and soul. I can’t imagine their performances to be lively, but the music is true to their purpose “to channel their collective love and penchant for all things Stax Records and the Golden Era of Motown into their own material.”

Albums: The Definitive Collection EP (2010) with 4 songs and their 10-song live album (2011) are available on bandcamp. Both “Free” and “I Got It Figured Out” are on the EP. while “Tambourine,” “Free” and “I Got It Figured Out” are all on the live album. Oh, yeah… and you can download the live album for FREE.

Calendar: Their calendar is a little behind showing mostly the past month’s shows. March seemed like a good month. Right now there is only the following gig:  

• Friday, April 8 @ Bar Eleven with Owl Eyes and The Red Fox Tails

Photo courtesy of Andrew Helwich

Artist: Gayle Skidmore

Songs:  Gayle has covered the web with her music including sites where you can buy her album  listed below as well as, myspace and ReverbNation. The following five songs can be found on the main page of her myspace for streaming.

• “Paper Box”: Sweet lyrics with her “paper family.” Although she claims she is “so happy,” stripping out the lyrics, the actual melody sounds so sad. Check out the clever but rudimentary animation for the song’s video. 
• “Crazy”: A choppy banjo provides the melody complimenting her vocal arrangements, coming together to create an old-timey tune suitable for a vintage radio. 
• “Set Me Free”: Bring on the full band… the intro reminds me of another song I can’t quite pinpoint (perhaps you can). Her voice resonates deeper and more powerful than the rest of the tracks, channeling the likes of Johnette Napolitano.
• “Remember”: Hollowed vocals bringing to life the lyrics, “echos of me.” The piano with the metronome tapping drum beat encase the piece in small room amplifying the loneliness.
• “Zion”: Simple folky song with finger picking acoustic guitar. I can envision myself sitting in the corner of a coffeehouse drawing pictures of angels and flowers with this song sparking artistic creations.

Overall: Similar to Ingrid Michaelson including the delightful and innocent intonation, Gayle Skidmore makes you want to love her more. Her bio indicates her mastering 14 instruments which upon beholding her music, the diversity of sounds penetrates your hears with the guitar, banjo, piano and more. Still raw around the edges, Gayle shows extrodinary potential to fill some big shoes in (and out) of the San Diego music scene.

Albums: Make Believe (2010) with 14 songs is available to stream on myspace and to purchase on iTunes. Cowley Road EP (2008) with 5 songs including “Crazy” and the “Annebelle” single (2010) are both available on bandcamp and last.fm along with Make Believe.

Calendar: I hope to make it out to the Park Gallery show and encourage you to catch her sometime too!

• Wednesday, March 30 @ Park Gallery
• Saturday, April 2 @ Espeactacalo in Escondido
• Sunday, April 10 @ Tin Can Alehouse
• Saturday, April 16 @ Lestat’s

Band: Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels

Songs: As I write, the following seven songs are available for streaming on myspace. (Side note: sometimes I am able to stream the entire song, sometimes only 30 seconds worth)

• “Until the Stars Came Out”: Swinging lowly like a cradle in an old prairie home. Rocking sweetly, this sweet song echos of the lonely rural skies or an empty small town bar (in the quaint sort of way). 
• “I Awoke”: Take the train passed country towns through the mountains to the bustle of the city.  The snare beats like the pace of a train chugging along the open tracks.
• “Pretty Little Self”: Mexican rhythmic undertones that carry this song through an old West saloon with the beautiful women.
• “Left Coast Sunshine”: Take your skates and roll down the boardwalk with this gem. The 70s soul vibe breaks up the set, sharing Jesse and the Dime Novels’ diverse talents.
• “The Rarest Form”: Beautiful ballad giving room for the slide guitar to sing alongside Jesse’s heartfelt lyrics.
• “Clinched Broken Hearts on the Floor”: Jesse unwavering vocals, the tinkling ivories and a solid beat round out this distinctly country song. “Eleven Eleven”: I won’t be able to get this song out of my head, which is both a positive and pitfall. Unfortunately, after a few listens I only have the title lyric “Eleven Eleven” looping around up there.

Overall: Even if you don’t particularly like country, Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels brings a little something for everyone. The band’s ability to compliment the vocal gift endowed in Jesse while offering an array of melodies beyond one genre,  poises this group for success. Live, this band may offer an energetic and earnest performance, but the recorded expression hits you deep down, forcing you to really grasp the meaning of each lyric and note.

Albums: Until the Stars Come Out (2010) contains only the above 7 songs and is available for purchase at iTunes. “Clinched Broken Hearts on the Floor” and “Left Coast Sunshine”are both available to download for free in the Media section of the band’s website.

Calendar: This boy is a busy one. With shows at least twice a week around San Diego, there is no reason you can’t catch his stylings. Here is the rest of March, but check out his full schedule for future dates:

• Friday, March 11 (tonight) @ Hennessey’s Tavern in Pacific Beach
• Thursday, March 17 @ Marble Room in the Gaslamp
• Sunday, March 19 @ Urban Bar in the Gaslamp
• Thursday, March 24 @ West Coast Tavern in North Park
• Friday, March 25 @ La Puerta in the Gaslamp
• Sunday, March 27 @ Mission Valley Craft Beer Festival in the Handlery Hotel with Missy Anderson, Safety Orange and Geezer

Band: The Midwinters

Songs: Currently, The Midwinters have the same three songs available on both myspace and ReverbNation for streaming.

• “All There Is” (NEW prac demo): Curling guitar like that of an ocean wave twinkling in the sunset. Extremely soft vocals, but at least they stated it’s a demo (so forgiven). Catchy tune.
• “Sunday Morning”: More rock than “All There Is.” Accenting keyboards with 90s-sort-of TV-show-theme-song melodies. Ends with lovely hang. 
• “Hinges”: This song is when I realized I heard this band before years ago. The distinctive voice of Paul Donovan and rhythms of “Hinges” harks back to their Christian-rock roots of Dryve. The keyboards sound like drops of water in a barrel, sending ripples of color through the song.

Overall: Immediately (although it took time to determine the exact band), their music reminded me of my days sitting sipping a cup of mocha and popping chocolate covered espresso beans (the caffeine of which I have long since abandoned) on the floor at Zanzibar in PB. Dryve was an essential part of my high school days. Since it was Christian-rock, my parents approved and I had the chance to enjoy good music without lying about where I was going. The Midwinters brings a solid performance of the Indie/Americana variety with a bit of the 90s thrown in for good measure. I look forward to seeing them live and experiencing them in this re-energized incarnation.

Albums: Hinges (2010), a five-song EP which includes both “Sunday Morning” and “Hinges.” The EP is available to download for FREE at bandcamp.

Calendar: Currently, there are two shows on their schedule of which I am hoping to making it to the first. Perhaps you would like to join me!

• Wednesday, March 9 @ Ruby Room with Canyon Sets
• Wednesday, March 16 @ Soda Bar with the Bruises (SF) and Strangers