Writers Who Rock
Venus scribes making music
By Charlotte Robinson
Published: May 8th, 2003 | 9:49am
Get the lowdown on musical projects from Venus contributors Jaime Vazquez, Tiffany Lee Brown, Katy Carolan, and Linda Tomasello.
We all know that crime doesn't pay, but you might not know that writing for Venus doesn't either (at least not yet). That's one of the reasons why our writers do more than just write. A lot of them are musicians, but let's face it: music usually doesn't pay either. There must be something else that drives them. Is it an overabundance of ambition? That fiercely geeky love of music most of us at Venus share? Something in the water? Whatever it is, it has resulted in a number of recordings by Venus scribes. A few of those projects are featured below.
Artist: Analog Radio
Featured VenusSupastar: Jaime Vazquez (guitar)
Location: Chicago, IL
Web site: www.analogradio.com
Recordings: 2001 demo (tracks available on band's Web site); first full-length, This Is Grand, out soon
The Lowdown: Dann Morr (vocals, bass), Brian Royer (vocals, guitar, keyboards), and Mike Madzinski (drums) formed Analog Radio in the fall of 2001 and had already recorded their first demos before recruiting Venus music reviewer Jaime Vazquez as a second guitarist. Soon after Jaime's induction to the group, it received an invitation to play at the International Pop Overthrow Festival in Chicago. The foursome is about to drop its first full-length, 14 tracks of pure pop goodness that manages to sound modern while incorporating the structured pop harmonies of the '60s.
Artist: Brainwarmer
Featured Venus Supastar: Tiffany Lee Brown (vocals, piano, guitars, keyboards, Optigan, etc.)
Location: Portland, OR
Web site: www.corporatecollapse.com
Recordings: Debut full-length, Elliott Smith's Guitar (Corporate Collapse), available at CD Baby
The Lowdown:Brainwarmer is three multi-instrumentalists -- frequent Venus contributor Tiffany Lee Brown, Larold Will, and Eric Hausman -- joined on their first full-length by Gail Buchanan, Stephen Masucci, and David Chandler. The group combines traditional rock instruments like guitar, bass, and drums with bells, electronics, theremin, and other unusual instrumentation, resulting in a sound that veers all over the stylistic map. The sweet pop of the title track finds a place among gurgling, insidious instrumentals and deranged country torch songs, making for a schizophrenic but intriguing listen.
Artist: Charlevoix
Featured Venus Supastar: Katy Carolan (guitar, vocals)
Location: Lansing, MI
Web site: www.charlevoixrock.com.
Issue #28
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