Your girlfriend's favorite band will soon be The Material

Remember in my blog intro when I said I rarely watch MTV2? Well, last summer they got me when they had this Mountain Dew sponsored battle of the bands. It was the first time in a long time that I actually was glued to MTV2. I enjoyed watching something that was actually about new music. Well, as good as the groups that made it on to the show were, the only group I remember was the runner up. The runner up was this San Diego, California based group called "The Material". What caught my attention was their awesome cover of One Republic's "Apologize".

I know what my friends are going to say already when they see the video and The Material's Myspace page. I have a female lead singer fixation of some sort. Sure that's part of it, but not the selling point. The band or individual artist has to be talented and cool. Being backed by a good band helps too. The Material has all of that,what the industry refers to as "it".

Colleen, the lead singer, has a great voice. Its sweet enough for your girlfriend to like but rock enough not to suck. Her voice is perfect for the pop rock genre they fall under. With songs such as "The Truth About Reality" and "Moving to Seattle" , they are hard and edgy enough for them not to be labeled a guilty pleasure. I think my man card can stay in my wallet for now. I mean if it is cool enough for me to dig Paramore or Cruiserweight, then I can dig The Material with no problems. If I were a music director or producer of a CW show, I would have used a song of theirs already on Smallville or a One Tree Hill episode already. The Material has the perfect sound for those audiences. Now that the fact that I know that may be grounds for revoking my man card.

This summer my wish to see The Material live will come true. They will be playing at The Red Eyed Fly on Red River with my friends The Banner Year. I am not sure who else is on the bill with them yet. They are scheduled for Tuesday, July 22nd and are the in the middle of the bill somewhere so people will have to show up early to catch them. It will no doubt be one of the best middle bill bands you will ever get to see. Fellas take your lady. Hopefully they perform their cover of "Apologize". After all, it is what got my attention in the first place. MTV2 owes them a thanks for that because I always seem to pass that channel by 99% of the time.

Anyway, I wanted to conclude this blog by sharing their video they viraled around on a Myspace bulletin. Check them out, comment, and show them some much deserved love or hate. If you are hearing of them for the time, you're welcome. That's what this blog is for.

"The Truth About Reality" Video:

The Dynamite Boy Reunion show

I figured since I went to a show at Emo's tonight, I'd waste no time at all as I promised frequent posts to whoever decides to read this blog I created. I saw the flyer for this show on a myspace bulletin from Cruiserweight, a band that has been around since I was 19. As much as I enjoy Cruiserweight, I wasn't there for them really. I went for Dynamite Boy.

This show was a reunion show as Dynamite Boy broke up a couple of years back, not sure when or why exactly. They are another band that is from Austin that has been around since I was either in high school or shortly there after. I had heard them on 101x before, maybe on their Homegrown Live segment. I liked whatever song or songs I heard from them but never caught a show. I admit that I took them for granted. Every time I saw them listed in the Austin Chronicle playing somewhere, I never got around to going. I figured I would just catch them the next time they played in town. Little did I know that there wasn't going to be another next time a few years back. I didn't really sweat it too much, but knew I should have gone.

Once I saw the flyer for this show, I immediately put this on my calendar and planned to attend. I called up a few friends whom I thought may dig the show, but none could go. I wasn't going to miss a good show I wanted to see so I went by myself. I do that most of the time as I never let anything stop me from being a good show I want to see. I live in Austin after all and may not be here forever, so I have to seize each moment I can.

I got to the show later than when doors opened and just missed Say Hello to the Angels. I had no idea I was in for a punk rock treat with the next band called "Born To Lose". Now I really wasn't expecting a punk band on the bill tonight, but it was a good surprise as I love punk. Born To Lose is a five piece band that reminds me when Warped Tour was good in the 1990s. I immediately looked them up on myspace and sent a friend request so that I could keep up with them. Their songs were catchy, intense, and fun. Plus, they had the traditional punk chant "Oi Oi Oi" which warms my heart.

After Born To Lose was Cruiserweight. Somehow I have managed to see them three times this year. They were on the bill now for two bands I went out to see and of course were at Emo's infamous "Free Week" in January. They always put on a good show thanks to catchy power pop tunes you can sing along too and a great front woman named Stella. Not only does she have a cool voice, she is hilarious and entertaining. With her signature hand wave, bouncy dance moves, and funny faces she makes, the crowd always loves her. Boys want her for a girlfriend and girls wish they could be more like her. Her curly hair is fabulous. I wish they would "make it" already as I saw them working at Double Dave's Pizza the other day by the community college campus my sister goes to. I recommend checking them out with your girlfriend.

When Cruiserweight was done, Dynamite Boy finally got started. They quickly reminded me that my decision to venture out to the show by myself was a good one. They had incredible energy and the crowd was into them right away. I am not claiming to know the names of the songs, but a couple were familiar. All I remember from them was "Satellite". This concert is going to send me to Waterloo Records looking for their old stuff on CD, maybe used hopefully. Whether or not they play more shows, I don't know. Hopefully they do, but I saw on myspace that some of their members had side projects or something. Either way, I got what I always wanted. That was to finally see Dynamite Boy live and the bonus was seeing them at Emo's, one of my favorite venues. If you like good pop rock alternative music with a little 90s feel to it, do check out Dynamite Boy. They are still better than half the skinny jean wearing bands kids listen to these days. Why do guys wear girl jeans now? I will never get it I guess. Maybe they could at least wear a Dynamite Boy t-shirt with their sister's jeans.

Ian's Music Blog Intro

Lately I have gotten more questions from friends and classmates about music groups I listen to or recommend. I don't know why that is all of a sudden, but I think its cool that people care to ask me of all people. Then I thought: I do collect records, have tons of mp3s in my laptop & Ipod, go to shows all the time here in Austin, and read a lot of music mags both local and national. So I figure it is time to start a blog of the different groups I discover or come across. Why keep all the information to myself? After all, sharing is caring. I realize I may be late on the bandwagon for some bands, but again this is my blog about when or how I discover a group or artist I like. I will tell how I came across them, if and where I saw them, and give thoughts about them. Some bands may be major, mid-major indie level, unsigned and local. The music I like and listen to comes literally from all walks of life. I listen to music in English and Spanish as I am Latino and bilingual. I welcome comments, criticism, questions, and suggestions. I primary use myspace when it comes to looking for bands, but myspace is only about half of my music discovery. I get tons of magazines in the mail and still watch Music video channels such as Fuse and M.E. TV in Austin. Although I grew up watching MTV, I do not watch anymore except for rare occasions. I am even disappointed in MTV2 and now MTV Tres. I think MTV chose to get younger while the first MTV generation got older. That's the way it goes I guess. I just wish they played more videos. I didn't forget about MUN2, although I will forget them on purpose. They are just as bad as the other joker networks I mentioned. Great concepts for channels but lacking quality content. So there you have it, my music blog is born. Postings will occur randomly but hopefully frequently. My goal with this blog is share with the world music they might like and would have never discovered without my help. Thanks for reading.