Tales From The Darkside: Andrew De Leon

I'm Here to Suck Your... Andrew De Leon Former America's Got Talent Season 7 Semi-Finalist Andrew De Leon Signs with Standby Records, Releasing 3-Song EP 'Dark Tales' on August 21; Featured on Billboard.com I'm only happy when it gets dark...

Former American's Got Talent season 7 semi-finalist Andrew De Leon has signed with Standby Records and will release his upcoming 3-song EP "Dark Tales" digitally via iTunes, etc on 8/21. The release will serve as a teaser of what fans can expect from his upcoming LP, which will be released in 2016. The Kyle., TX based singer-songwriter first caught the attention of the public after his eye-raising audition aired on the NBC juggernaut 2012. Clips of his audition have been viewed more than 42 million times.

Track Listing: 1. Dark Tales 2. Sheets 3. What I've Become

More about Andrew De Leon: "My name is Andrew, and I'm going to sing." Overnight, Andrew De Leon, a 19-year-old makeup artist and theater student from Kyle, Texas, went from total obscurity to one of the most talked-about acts of the 2012 season of America's Got Talent. Previously, the shy teen in black leather and metal spikes had only sung at home for his own enjoyment. That night in Austin, he stood on stage and wowed the studio audience and judges with a powerful rendition of the soprano aria, "O Mio Babbino Caro". Since then, clips of his audition have been viewed more than 42 million times on YouTube. "You've got an amazing voice, and YOU are an individual," said judge Sharon Osbourne. "You are great” said judge Howie Mandel, adding, “Marilyn Manson does an aria." An equally strong performance during the "wild card" show and a rapidly growing fan base propelled him into the semi-finals, where he received a standing ovation. Author Ann Rice tweeted: "Andrew De Leon — what a voice. And he did it all on his own, singing in his room." Since then, Andrew has been hard at work developing his unique musical style, composing, recording, and performing across the U.S. In 2013, he released his first album, "Black Lights", an eclectic mix of pop, soft rock, goth opera, and classical tracks. His voice ranges from the silky tenor of "Counterfeit Lover" to the chilling operatic soprano of "Vampiro". Andrew performed mostly as a solo act, but after the success of his first album, he has been joined by Hunter Fisher (lead guitar, composer) and John Paul Grasso (guitar), with other musicians coming in as Andrew's signature sound continues to develop. Andrew's first live performance with his band was at the 2014 Austin Vampire Ball, and they have been invited back for 2015. "I bled onstage," said Andrew of the special effects in his 2014 performance, where he demonstrated his horror-movie makeup talents. He hopes to incorporate his love of theater and film making into his future endeavors, adding a visual element to the lyrics he writes and performs. Andrew's 2015 EP "Dark Tales" demonstrates his evolving style, which blends elements of alternative rock, metal, classical, goth, and symphonic rock. He describes the title track as heavy and dark. Other tracks range from sensual and intimate to deep sadness. Andrew sums it up with this line from "Dark Tales": "I warned you from the start it won't be the same, now that I've let you in this monster can't be tamed." Facebook Twitter Youtube

Show Your Fangs With Matt Nathanson

The haunting album cover art by Angela Deane

MATT NATHANSON UNVEILS SHOW ME YOUR FANGS

NEW ALBUM TO BE RELEASED ON OCTOBER 2^ND
ACOUSTIC NORTH AMERICAN FALL TOUR TO BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 28TH IN BOSTON
ALBUM AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER JULY 31ST! 

 

^{Matt Nathanson, gets his Phyllis Diller on: Oh Fang!}

 <sup>Matt Nathanson’s new album Show Me Your Fangs – his tenth studio recording – delves deeper and further into the complexities and observations of everyday life than any of his previous albums. Songs such as “Giants,” “Bill Murray,” “Adrenaline,” “Washington State Fight Song,” and the title track tell vivid stories touching on the overall theme of self-identity and how we choose to reveal ourselves. These vignettes are all offered wrapped in richer, musical textures with Nathanson’s signature seductive hooks. In as much as these songs have a solemn message, leave it to Nathanson to offer the perfect counter balance with the album’s new single “Gold  In The Summertime” with its sultry ‘70s soul groove.  

Show Me Your Fangs will be released October 2nd on Vanguard Records but starting tomorrow, July 31st, fans can pre-order the album via iTunes and</sup> www.mattnathanson.com <sup>and instantly receive a download of “Giants.”   

To celebrate the release of Show Me Your Fangs, Matt Nathanson will kick off an acoustic North American fall tour beginning September 28th in Boston, MA through October 30th in San Diego, CA. Full list of tour dates below. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 31st and each ticket purchased will include a download of Show Me Your Fangs upon release.

Matt shares, “I’m heading out on a super intimate, acoustic North American club tour this fall. After the last few summers of playing big places (which has ruled, btw), and bashing it out with electric guitars, I’ve been missing just playing acoustic guitar and telling stories. So, I’m leaving the rhythm section at home and Aaron [Tap] and I are gonna bust out for the month of October, troubadour-style.”

SHOW ME YOUR FANGS track listing:
Giants
Adrenaline
Gold in the Summertime
Bill Murray
Shouting
Show Me Your Fangs
Disappear
Washington State Fight Song
Playlists and Apologies
Headphones 

2015 Fall Acoustic North American tour dates

9/28 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
9/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
10/1 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/2 - Pawling, NY @ Darryl's House
10/3 - Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall on Queen Street
10/4 - Ferndale, MI @ Magic Bag
10/6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
10/7 - Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere Music Hall
10/9 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
10/10 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement
10/11 - Decatur, GA @ Eddie's Attic (5pm show)
10/11 - Decatur, GA @ Eddie's Attic (8pm show)
10/13 - Austin, TX @ The Parish
10/14 - Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater
10/16 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
10/17 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
10/18 - Evanston, IL @ SPACE (Society for the Preservation of Arts & Culture)
10/19 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater
10/20 - Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
10/22 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10/23 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
10/25 - Seattle, WA @ Columbia City Theater
10/26 - Portland, OR @ Star Theater
10/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/29 - West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
10/30 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah</sup>
 

^{www.mattnathanson.com
www.facebook.com/mattnathanson
twitter.com/mattnathanson
instagram.com/mattnathanson}

 

Wiz Bomb!

We're Going to "Wiz"
Mary J. Blige & Queen Latifah

So NBC is reviving The W-I-Z. 

That's correct, The Wiz is being, revived, woot! I remember seeing the original film starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Oh, and let's not forget the late great Lena Horne as Glinda the Good. Directed by the great Sidney Lumet.

A lot of critics were divided, but I was completely spellbound. Hey "Ease On Down The Road" people.

Well current casting news on the NBC production eases like this: Queen Latifah as The Wiz and Mary J. Blige as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Personally I can't wait for this! I love myself some Latifah and Blige!

 Just say no to poppies!

Get Wizzy with:

Latifah at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001451/?ref_=nv_sr_6
Blige at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004763/?ref_=nv_sr_3

"Hip & Accessible" Far In The Maples

Far in the Maples
Regina Conroy & Reshy P.

Turning the celebrated, swingin’ sound of the Jersey Shore inside out, “poetic pop” duo Far In The Maples is poised to cast a new seaside musical legacy built upon the nuances of internal emotion with unexpected soundscapes, unforgettable melodies and the sweetly understated vocals. 

They recently released their album Skywork that showcases song-oriented music that’s both honest and contemporary with a classic timelessness, from an infectious new band driven by songbird Regina Conroy and multi-instrumentalist Reshy P.

Regina Conroy is here to tell us all about it, take it away Regina!

MS: Hey Regina nice to meet you, your musical style is so sophisticated. How did coming from the Jersey Shore influence it?

RC: Living at the Jersey Shore? I grew up around music all the time with my family. my Dad was a musician and so was my older brother. So when I was younger my Dad and my brother would play shows, or we would go to concerts, there was always stuff happening on the boardwalk, all these local shows that I would get to go to. I've loved to sing since I was five years old, anything that was playing in our kitchen when my Dad would turn on the radio...of course growing up on the Jersey Shore people are like: "Ohhhhh, you know Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi?" It's like, yes of course I've seen them both at stores and places like that. Maybe their music influenced me subconsciously, but I'm not a die hard fan because they live twenty minutes away from me. (laughs)

MS: To me your music, lyrically has a Bob Dylan vibe.

RC: My Mom is obsessed with Bob Dylan we always had his CD's in the car, I love him. Writing poetry is a passion of mine, I took a poetry class as an after school type thing. My poetry instructor told my Mom at the time: "Wow, she's really good for her age." 

MS: How old were you?

RC: I was eight when I started writing poetry. As I got older I used my poetry as a means to write lyrics. When I was fifteen I got my first guitar so I started teaching myself and molding all of the scales together and started writing music. 

MS: You really started from a young age.

RC: Definitely, I really did a lot of self teaching. I listened to all different types of music, would read the lyric books that came with all of the CD's. My influence was anything I could get my hands on. Some people go to school to learn to perform music or how to play it...for me it was just having it all around me all those years and picking up on all of the different influences. 

MS: You and your band mate Reshy P. really know how to blend them well.

RC: It interesting, we both have different musical influences but we are able to find that balance of a little bit of mine, a little bit of his and make it into our own. 

MS: The fact that you guys do pop music, yet are still artistic is great, a lot of people have lost a sense of that.

RC: I know, I know, it's hard to put a name on it, boil it down when people ask us: "Who do you think you guys sound like?" I don't know.There's lots of pop on the radio, but most of it is repetitive and one line. It's very dance kind of stuff, ours is a little more poetic. It's still pop, but there is a lot to be said and thought about in it.

Regina & Reshy

MS: So do you always write the lyrics and Reshy always writes it to music?

RC: For the most part. We started writing together in November of 2013. Basically the first time that we met I brought everything I had as far as things that I was working on lyrically and musically, and some were just lyrics. So we kind of worked from some of my little pieces that I had worked on before meeting Reshy and brought them to music. Basically I bring the lyrics and we work on them together but mostly it's ninety percent my words.

MS: What inspires your poetry?

RC: To inspire myself I put myself in a different place. Go somewhere, tap into how I feel in the moment. Most of it has been putting myself outside my comfort zone for inspiration. Much of what I write about is relationships. But I think the focus of that is writing about the journey of finding yourself. It's very reflective and very personal. 

MS: You guys took the band name Far in the Maples from a Robert Frost poem. What is it you like about his work?

RC: I really haven't read a ton of poetry myself. I just kind of read stuff here and there, or people will show me something, and I'll say: "Hey I really like this!" Reshy actually showed me that poem and it stuck with us. The visualization of far in the maples...it's a beautiful poem. I'm not particularly a Robert Frost fan, but I'm not, not a fan either. (laughs) 

Go "Far in the Maples" at:
https://www.facebook.com/farinthemaples
https://instagram.com/farinthemaples/
https://twitter.com/farinthemaples

If I Were A Pig...

Father/Daughter Time
Alec & Ireland Baldwin

Once upon a time there was a "rude, thoughtless little pig" as the story goes some eight years ago when Alec Baldwin left a message ranting at his model daughter Ireland Baldwin on her phone.

It was during an intense custody battle between Alec and his ex-wife Kim Basinger and was leaked to the press.

So Ireland and her Dad took to Instagram and posted this poking fun at the incident. The back story is Ireland missed one of her scheduled calls from dear old Dad because she did not have her phone on her person at the time and out of the frustration the custody battle was causing him, it triggered the rant.

Ireland captioned the photo: "If I were a pig...I would be rude and thoughtless of course!"

This made me laugh when I saw it, hope it puts some levity in your Monday!

Visit Ireland on Instagram: https://instagram.com/irelandbbaldwin/?hl=en

Hey Madonna: Pablo Picasso Was Never Called...

Look, It's a Picasso!
No Bitch It's Madonna!

"Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole" - Burning Sensation

Recently I was reading that Madonna compared herself to Pablo Picasso. Of course the first thing that popped into my head was the song Pablo Picasso by Burning Sensation. It was featured in the cult 1984 film Repo Man starring Emilio Estevez. It's one of my favorite movies of that decade.

While Pablo Picasso most likely was never called an asshole, I am sure Madonna has been called one. So why the comparison?

As her Madgesty put it:  "I like to compare myself to other kinds of artists like Picasso. He kept painting and painting until the day he died. Why? Because I guess he felt inspired to do so. Life inspired him, so he had to keep expressing himself, and that's how I feel."

Now the comparison makes sense!

"Express Yourself" with Madonna on Instgram: 
https://instagram.com/madonna/

Caitlyn Jenner Goes Greek

Caitlyn at The Greek
Photo: Ken Phillips

Last night Caitlyn Jenner stepped out to introduce Boy George and the Culture Club at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA. 

Although I am sorry I missed seeing the band, my friend super publicist, Ken Phillips was there and snapped this photo of Caitlyn doing the honor. 

I must say Caitlyn is way more outgoing and comfortable as her true self than she ever was prior to that.

Boy George and the Culture Club
Photo: Ken Phillips

People should be who they are and do what makes them happy.

 Go do something that makes you happy this weekend everyone!

Caitlyn on Instagram: https://instagram.com/caitlynjenner/