MANDA/ HAILS FROM LOS ANGELES
www.myspace.com/myspacemanda
Rock/Folk Rock
Manda has that California hippie chick look down to an art, with her natural California beauty, and earthy voice and vibes. Her MySpace page matches her personality perfectly. The page is set in neutral and gold tones welcoming the listener right in. Finishing up her debut studio CD right now, can only help the popularity of Manda on MySpace and in her Music career. With well Over 50,000 the MySpace fans and listeners know a good thing when they see and hear it. She only has three songs up, but they are soulful. This singer/songwriter writes what she knows best; love, heartbreak and finding yourself. Though missing some bells and whistles that other pages have, it says what Manda is all about. A soulful songwriter with a voice that can attract female and male fans. Of the three songs, my personal favorite is ‘Wash It All Away’. Along with the three songs, there is a music video that allows the viewer to get a better feel for what Manda‘s music is and who she is. She is a breakthrough star in the making. She has the whole package, On New Year’s Eve I got a chance to see her perform at a sound stage near her house. As each song passed she just got more and more energized by the live audience. This is a woman on a mission, and I see her becoming part of the new generation of female singer/ songwriters. Influences; along the lines of Sheryl Crow, Melissa Ethridge, K.D Lang and Jewel.
A NEW SHADE/CHARLSTON, SC
www.myspace.com/anewshade
Rock
A pretty popular unsigned MySpace group, with most of their songs getting over 20,000 hits each. This band hits a home run with classically trained singer Carrie Davidson as their lead vocalist, with a great band backing her. Alone Carrie’s voice is a draw, but along with Tyler and Tommy they rock. While the entire band is top rate, well managed, and well put together. Carrie is the first thing you notice as their MySpace page opens up and you hear their music play. They offer plenty of music for the listener to enjoy and fall in love with. My favorite songs from their MySpace page are ‘Temporary Icon’ and ‘Fallacy’.
The background is cool, starting brown and gradually turning black in the form as a leopard animal print. Though most of them are still in college, they show a sense of business savvy and knowledge beyond their years. Another great thing about their page is. This is a band that actually uses their blog spot on a rather regular basis, letting their fans know what is going on with them, thanking fans. I also like the fact that while they have a group Bio, they also have their own personal music influences off to the left as well. Right now they have four songs up to listen. But what is most impressive is this young business savvy band was able to save their money up, cut 80 CD’s, and put those up for sale so they could reinvest and keep building from there. They may be young, but they know what they are doing, and I have no doubt, that in a few years they will be on the tips of everyone’s tongues. This is a young band that can have wide appeal, crossover appeal, and will just keep blowing up. I say, keep your eyes on them. They are young but over the next few years can really blow up the music scene.
MUNCATCHY/ORLANDO, FL
www.myspace.com/muncatchy
Visual/Alternative/Industrial
This has got to be one of the most visually striking music MySpace sites out there. Muncatchy’s passion for his art and life jumps right onto the page. He is bigger than life, and his Hollywood good looks sure don’t hurt! Just in the few photos, you can see the charisma just oozing out of him. Forget the movie; There’s Something About Mary! There’s Something About Muncatchy, and he is a serious chick magnet.
The mood of his Page and the music on it are a perfect match. Set against a black background and white type you enter his page and feel as if you have entered a different world. He fills his page and with music that is part vocals and a lot of amazing instrumentals. His music is a treat for your ears that seems to be born of a psychedelic nature. If you take the time to read his influences and blogs, you will find a man deeply interested in the human condition and in human the thought process. Muncatchy’s site blends the visual excitement along with the interactive activates for his fans, some are great and some just blog the page down. Toward the middle of the page he has some very Avnet Grade artwork that is fascinating and mesmerizing. He is a very good looking man, and though he tries not to bring much attention to it, there is one stunning photo of him mid-page amongst some very interesting mixed art work. He should spotlight himself more, as the fine artist he is, and his own best marketing tool. A very caring man, part of his page is reserved to charitable causes; the Save the World-One click at a Time Charity. His fans can contribute to several different causes. Muncatchy is an amazing man and an inspiring artist, with a different view on music and the world, and I see him as a modern renaissance man.
GABRIEL/HOLLYWOOD, CA & MELBOURNE, AUSTRAULIA
www.myspace.com/gabrielsage
Indie/Pop/Alternative/Other
Gabriel is a poet even without the music. When you visit her page it is like you are looking into her soul, she hides nothing, which is what makes her such a great singer songwriter. The page itself is black set on white forefront which makes for a beautiful contrast. The music is soul stirring, with ‘Crazy You’ being the most popular song by far. All songs are worth listening to however. When you visit her site, take the time to read the written words as well, they are as much a part of her and her music, just as her songs are. The words just take you on a written journey we all must take to become who we are, through the good times and bad, difficult and simple times and she illustrates it beautifully. In the Band Member Section is a slide show that shows off Gabriel’s physical beauty that is equally as magical as her inner beauty. Seemingly taken by a professional photographer, the stills are put into an amazing slide show, and by just looking into her sky blue eyes will give the visitor more insight into this enigmatic Singer. She just seems to know all the secrets of the world. The beauty that is shown on the page radiates from the inside to the outside, and with well over 222, 863 Profile Views, 158,000 song plays, and over 25,000 friends, It is rather obvious that Gabriel has mass appeal, style, and depth not seen enough from our female artist at this moment. This is a MySpace page not to be missed.
CROWNED BY FIRE/ LOS ANGELES, CA
www.myspace.com/crownedbyfire
Metal/Rock
Opening this page will either scare the light of heart or excite those that like to live life a bit on the dark side. As the page opens a skull smoking a cigarette appears, depending on your angle, or how much partying you have been doing, it can have the optical illusion of billowing keeping up with that theme in most areas. The songs are great, as are all the banners, which the bands fans can copy and paste onto their site. There are three videos, the first is a bit grainy, but shows them performing live on stage. The other two, are cool produced music videos. As usual, there is a band Bio, which has nothing out of the ordinary, but is worth a read. This group is obviously heavily into the tattoo and piercing scene, if you want to see them live and live California you can always check their MySpace page for scheduled shows. They do a lot of their live performances at Tattoo conventions, and local bars. The one thing about this site that does not make sense to me is that they have two location maps. I think by removing one or both, they could add a really cool slide show, or something that would flow better with the theme of the page. Given the right breaks, and outlets, they are a very viable heavy metal act for a major label.
SADIE BLU/PENSACOLA, FL/ATLANTA, GA
www.myspace.com/sadiebluthebandwagon
Acoustic/Blues/Folk
Sadie is the youngest and the newest artist being reviewed here, and holds her own with some heavy hitting veterans very well. Her page is a true kickback to the 60’s psychedelic era, an artist that seems to have a true flower child background. Her background is a mix of a blue paisley sky and wildflowers growing wild up from the ground. In keeping with the theme she also has a some T-shirts for sale on her site that are a throwback to the power of the 60’s music scene, Online they look very well done, and come in several designs and styles. She also has a slideshow, though pretty new to the scene (at least to MySpace), looks professionally done. The photos of her are great, and in a surprise move, she has some modern day Handbill Poster Cards made up as if she were doing a concert during the heyday of Height & Asbury. I really loved her music, as I listened to every song she had available to listen to. Though I try to stay away from saying that an artist sounds like an artist from the past, she does have shades of Janice Joplin without the roughness in her voice, especially in the song Tide of Love. By far of the songs offered on MySpace my favorite for this young artist must be I Miss You, Where she sounds just like Sadie. I did see an area where she was featured in Pensacola News Journal, but when I went to go look for the cover story online I was unable to find it unless I wanted to spend anywhere from 20 minutes to even an hour looking for the article. I wish she and her management would have just provided a direct link under the cover of the magazine. Overall, the site is visually stimulating, the music is great, and I cannot wait to see what Sadie Blu does next.
Submit your MySpace for review to ALLACCESSMGZN@AOL.COM Attn: Christi
