Hump Day Hot Ticket: Moon Haven “Veil of Grey”

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Throughout my musical visits for this feature over the last year, I have reviewed bands from many different regions of the U.S.—the Pacific Northwest, the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, upstate New York, my home base of Southern California—yet I have not had the chance to review many bands from the Southwest area. With the exception of Insatia, which can partly claim Tucson as its home, I can't recall the last time I have reviewed a band from the Southwestern U.S.

Speaking of Insatia, it was through them that I discovered Moon Haven, a band from Phoenix that I am reviewing today. I always like the way that local bands look out for each other and foster a community of friendship and goodwill, and seldom (if ever) compete with each other. It is that communal harmony that leads the way for outsiders like me to find more music, which I appreciate.

Another thing I like (which I've also mentioned before) is how each different region has a special stamp on their music that is unique only to their area; a certain quality that can be found no matter what genre of music the artist does. So it is that Arizona has their own style as well: a moody, brooding undertone that belies the bright colors and scorching heat.

In their video for “Veil of Grey”, Moon Haven captures this introspective vibe quite well, incorporating the sometimes barren, sometimes plentiful desert landscape. A split-screen is shown of a man walking down an open, lonely road: while the other side shows the bandmembers performing among the natural beauty of the Southwest: forests, hilltops, and sunlight. Musically, they remind me a lot of my friends Clark's Secret Identity: that same melodic, proggy, art-rock feel. These two bands should tour together!

For more information on Moon Haven, visit their official website.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Clark's Secret Identity “Opacity”

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In the past 6 months since I last wrote about Pennsylvanian prog-rockers Clark's Secret Identity, the band has had many positive changes: their debut full-length album has been released and is getting rave reviews. Also, with the addition of keyboardist Thomas Cichon, the power trio has become a mighty quartet (but you will have to either catch a live show or wait until CSI's next album to hear him!). The band has made their album title a self-fulfilling prophecy, and are on their way to many incredible things.

Already on their second music video, CSI wastes no time getting down to business and making artistic statements with their music videos. Like myself, a couple of the bandmembers come from the era of MTV and remember when the music video was a huge medium to send powerful messages; whether artistic, social, or political. So I like that they make an attempt to tell stories with their music videos.

In the case of the video for “Opacity”, the artistic statement is literal! Directed once again by Theresa Gaffney, the video begins with guitarist/vocalist Shane Anthony and artist Virginia Clawges are standing side-by-side before a bare wall. The view is blurry at first, but as they begin to each draw on the blank canvas, the picture becomes clearer as the painting unfolds. The two work together, each adding their own touches to the other's work, combining vivid colors and subdued shades until it is a cohesive whole, a lovely image of light and dark, created by camaraderie and teamwork. When the work is done, it is a rendition of the CSI album cover, which is praised with a round of applause. Considering that Shane has said on the band's Facebook page that this song speaks of “the fragility of trust”, I think it's cool that the video's concept showed what good things can happen when we put our trust in one another, working together, and seeing it through.

For more information on CSI, or to purchase their new album The Promise of a Wonderful Future, visit their Bandcamp page.

Special thanks to Matthew Bankes, Keith Horning, and Shane Anthony.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Clark's Secret Identity “Dolce Vita”

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As I continue searching for new music to share every week, it is always a pleasure to find new talent in so many different genres. It is especially inspiring to find such talent among dear friends. Then, the excitement becomes two-fold: not only sharing good music, but sharing good music from those whose talents you believe in, and those you want to see succeed.

Such is the case this week with Clark's Secret Identity (CSI for short), a Pennsylvania-based band that only formed within the last couple years, but whose bandmembers I have known for a long time and whose musical talents of which I am more than aware. One might think that this gives me a bias towards the music, but to be honest, CSI's unique brand of prog-flavored, avante-garde art-rock is just the sort of thing I'm into. This is vintage prog that brings back the days of Yes, King Crimson, and early Genesis—yet with modern influences ranging anywhere from gothic metal to punk rock.

I have never been much on-board with what is considered “prog” these days—to me, prog does not have a lot of screaming vocals, but maybe I am just old-fashioned. So to hear a vocalist like CSI's Shane Anthony—a singer who actually sings—I like that a lot. I also love prog power-trios (Rush being one of my favorite bands, after all), so to hear 3 guys with such an expansive sound is very exciting to me (the fact that the multi-talented Shane also plays guitar and keyboards while singing is quite the impressive feat—but don't overlook the solid rhythm section of bassist Keith Horning and drummer Matthew Bankes either!). I wrote last year that CSI was one of the bands I was most looking forward to hearing more from in 2016, and as a very tough year in music comes to a close, CSI emerges from the darkness and shines their bright potential straight into 2017.

Their first single (and first video), “Dolce Vita”, is directed by Theresa Gaffney, former frontwoman of Phoenix Reign, another band I have praised on this blog and in other writings. The teaming of Gaffney and CSI is fierce: the band jams in an enclosed area, interspersed with shots of each bandmember standing alone and looking very serious. The fuzzy guitars are reminiscent of ’90s hard rock, but then the xylophone comes in—because it ain't prog without a xylophone!

I also love the band's lyrical content: to me, good prog bands write lyrics that tell stories, open up fascinating imagery in one's mind, and take you outside of yourself. This song, lyrically, speaks to the insanity in the world today, and trying to find the goodness still left behind. Not a bad message considering the hopelessness that has seemed to define this entire year. If this is just a single, then the entire album looks to be very promising indeed.

CSI's debut full-length album, aptly titled The Promise of a Wonderful Future, is available December 6th.

For more information on Clark's Secret Identity, or to purchase music, visit their Bandcamp page.

Extra-special thanks to Matthew Bankes, Keith Horning, and Shane Anthony.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Meka Nism “Mouth of God”

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Over the last few weeks, my musical travels have mostly taken me across Europe, so now I am flying a little closer to home once again with a band from the good ol' U.S. of A. Describing themselves as “epic shaman rock”, Orlando, Florida's Meka Nism combines the sounds of nu-metal, progressive rock, with a touch of symphonic flair and art rock showmanship. Fronted by “vocal artist and shaman” Ms. Meka takes the shaman moniker very seriously: her onstage look resembles a tribal shaman, with makeup on her face in harsh, bold lines; her outfit resembling something out of a Mad Max movie, and holding a shamanic wand in one hand, and a microphone in the other. It's a very cool look that complements the powerful musical sound quite well.

Musically, the song “Mouth of God” is about the Kamikuchi—Japanese shaman women through whom the spirits spoke—in other words, acting as a “mouth of God”. From the tribal chanting at the beginning of the song, you get the message very quickly. The video shows the band in a live setting, but you can also see the sort of power that Ms. Meka holds as a frontwoman and how she is able to captivate the audience, which probably makes this quite the fitting song to introduce new listeners to the band, what they're all about, and what you can expect to see from them at a live show. I like their sound a lot; it's quite different from some of the other stuff I have heard on the American femme-metal scene over the last few years. I can't exactly categorize them as one of those bands looking to take the scene back to more traditional heavy metal sounds, and they certainly do not classify as one of the bands looking to expand the symphonic metal scene into American territory. They do have somewhat of a nu-metal or alternative sound, but I feel those labels are so run-of-the-mill and not even close to describing their sound. I guess you will just have to watch the video and decide for yourself. Besides, good music is good music—does it really matter whether you can slap a label on it or not?

For more information on Meka Nism, visit their official website.

Special thanks to Jennifer K. Barry.