Derek Stroker – Take a Picture, Make a Promise

Produced and mastered by Derek Stroker
Engineered by Chris Short and Alex Amoretti
Mixed by Chris Short and Derek Stroker
Recorded and mixed at Big Shot Studios, Maitland, FL

Derek Stroker's debut full-length release, Take a Picture, Make a Promise is well worth more than a cursory listen. The top-notch production is a masterful infusion of blues, jazz, soul, and rock with poignant lyrics and stunning musical arrangements.

“Lose Control,” “Green Eyes,” and “Reality” are jam laden songs that bring to mind sunny Sunday afternoon music festivals; the listener can almost smell the BBQ on the grill and feel the sun on their face. In “Reality” the organ, piano, and guitar are interwoven in a sweeping musical dance. The next three songs prominently focus on the piano, “Struggle” also features a wailing, mournful guitar, while “Interlude” is a short, dramatic instrumental leading into the touching “Goodbye.” “Naturally Together,” “Story,” and “Stay With Me” return to the more up-tempo beats that started off the CD. The last listed song “Realize” has added depth with the addition of strings. Two minutes after “Realize” ends there is a bonus hidden acoustic track, “One.”

The impressive musical arrangements are enhanced by Stroker’s inspiring lyrics and impassioned vocals. The Nashville based singer/songwriter mines his innermost thoughts and feelings for his songs, it’s up to the listener whether it’s a pep talk for himself or serving as inspiration for everyone. In “Goodbye” he sings “you can hold your head up high / you can overcome this / you can start over again” and in “One” he sings “One does not have to understand how love works to feel it.”

The combination of professional production, skillful mastering, and talented song crafting on Take a Picture, Make a Promise makes this CD a worthwhile addition to any CD collection.

His new CD, Rise and Shine is also now available check out his My Space page for details:
http://www.myspace.com/derekstroker

Big Ten Four CD release show

As usual the Big 10-4 show at The Social last Friday was a lot of fun; they never fail to put on a great show.

In Passing was the first band up, I didn’t get to see much of their show, but what I heard was pretty good. (I was hanging near the merch table waiting to get my hands on the new Big 10-4 CD as soon as it was unpacked.) The area in front of the stage was rapidly filling up, everyone wanting to stake out a spot early for the headliner’s set, so it was pretty full for Bryan Malpass and his solo acoustic set. I’ve seen Bryan before, he always does really well. I enjoyed his set so much I picked up his CD that night as well.



Bryan Malpass My Space

http://www.myspace.com/bryanmalpass1

Bryan Malpass Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157611136339493/

Then it was time for what everyone was waiting for, Big 10-4. They opened the show with “Flipside” a song from their new CD, Magazines & Movie Screens.



They also played several songs from Testing The Atmosphere including “Crazy,” “Walking Disaster,” and “Irony Is Thick.”

Also in the set were “We’ve Been Here” and “Good Girl” from the new CD, the new songs were just as popular as the old favorites.

The band always puts on a high-energy show with the audience happily singing, gesturing, and celebrating along with the band. Audience participation is traditional, OK more like expected at a Big 10-4 show, and if you’ve never experienced one, you need to make it a priority. And pick up a CD beforehand so you’ll be prepared.

Big Ten Four My Space:
http://www.myspace.com/BigTenFour

Big Ten Four photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157611136666445/

July issue Southeast Performer Magazine

The July issue of Southeast Performer magazine is out. There are 2 CD reviews and 2 live reviews that I wrote in this issue.

Florida Music Festival review:
Florida Music Festival is a veritable banquet of live music: three days, 15 stages and 250 bands. The hardest part is deciding which band to see. Opening night kicked off at BackBooth with Clock Hands Strangle......


John Frank / Matt Mackelcan / Clayton Senne
The Social
Orlando, FL
May 10, 2008
The Social was rapidly filling up as Orlando-based singer/songwriter Clayton Senne hit the stage. As soon as the solo keyboardist started playing, the audience abandoned all thoughts of anything else as they stood in rapt attention seemingly afraid to miss even a single song.....

To read the rest of my live reviews (and others) go here:
http://www.performermag.com/sep.livereviews.0807.php


Mary O. Harrison
Factory Of Days
Factory Of Days is the debut solo release from Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Mary O. Harrison, formerly of Charm School. Musically, the CD features an artful arrangement of many instruments..........

Sean O’Bryan Smith
Tapestry
For decades, Nashville’s Sean O’Bryan Smith has been a highly sought after musician for stage and session work, and with the release ..............

To read the rest of those CD reviews (and others) go here:
http://www.performermag.com/sep.recordedreviews.0807.php

And for those of you in the Southeast you can pick up print copies at many locations. Contact the magazine for outlets in your area.

The Fixx

If you’ve never seen The Fixx live you are really missing out on a great show. While their recorded music is top-notch it is in the live show where the band truly shines. Cy Curnin is very animated onstage; just watching his spirited gestures and antics is more than worth the price of admission. Add to that Jaime West-Orem’s intense guitar solos, Rupert Greenall’s keyboard action, and the steadfast rhythms courtesy of Adam Woods on drums and newly returned Dan Brown on bass and you have a combination that can’t be beat.

It must be a daunting task to pick a set list from their huge catalogue of songs, but someone does a wonderful job. There always seems to be just the right combination of the big hits, new songs and some old gems rarely heard live. The set list from the Orlando show had of course “Red Skies” and “Saved By Zero,” but also included new songs “Everyone Believes In Something” and “Life Goes On,” and gems of the past “The Flow” and “Question.”

You get very spoiled by Velvet Sessions shows; they are more intimate, like a concert in your living room rather than a big show. There is usually great interaction with the band onstage and afterwards, most band members come out to “hang out” after the show, meet the fans, and have a few drinks at the bar.

Check out what's new with The Fixx at their My Space page:
[url]http://www.myspace.com/thefixx[url]

More pictures on my Flickr page.

Caught the Junior Doctor CD release show at BackBooth June 7th with A Cover Story, My Complex Island, and Karrigan, really good show! With that line up the all ages show was packed with screaming teenage girls.

My Complex Island opened the show. I wasn’t really looking forward to their set since their FMF show really didn’t impress me much, but this time around they were much better. The band’s punk influenced high-energy rock made it appear cramped on the stage, but they made it work.


http://www.myspace.com/mycomplexisland

I went primarily to see A Cover Story since I had liked their show at FMF – a band well worth seeing live - very high energy power pop, catchy lyrics, great interaction between the band members and the audience. I really like Jonathan Carrillo’s voice, just listen to “She’s Only Sixteen” and “Watch The Cities.” The crowd of screaming teenagers went wild for their cover of “Umbrella.” I can’t wait to get a copy of their CD.


http://www.myspace.com/acoverstory

Karrigan was up next, their indie pop songs alternated lead vocals between Austin O'Laughlin and Chase Williams. I’m not too familiar with their music but the gaggle of screaming girls were.


http://www.myspace.com/karriganrocks

Junior Doctor closed out the night, with their set of high-energy power pop. They played several songs from their new CD “Take The Pain” as well as a cover of the Genesis song “Invisible Touch.” At one point during the show guitarist Thomas J. DeSiena threw himself out into the crowd and body surfed back to the stage.


http://www.myspace.com/jrdrmusic

Follow my Flickr link to see the rest of the photos from that night.

Florida Music Festival Day 3

Finally getting to posting about the last day.

Karrigan
(Pop/Rock)
Since it was early Saturday, it was a really sparse crowd for the Karrigan show at Wall Street Plaza, but the area in front of the stage was full of die hard fans wearing the bands t-shirts.

http://www.myspace.com/karriganrocks

A Cover Story

(Power pop/Rock)
Another band I was very impressed by, so much so that I recently went to another show of theirs. They always look like they are having a great time on stage, and interact constantly with the crowd (and their shows always seem to have a crowd!).

http://www.myspace.com/acoverstory

My Complex Island
(Rock/Punk)
I really wasn’t impressed with them at FMF but I recently caught them again and they were much better. They power through a set with a ton of energy and really seem to be having fun up there.

http://www.myspace.com/mycomplexisland

Woodale

(Pop/Rock)
Woodale plays some really good piano based pop/rock. I had wanted to see them live for awhile and was glad to finally get the chance. I look forward to catching another show of theirs.

http://www.myspace.com/woodale

Derek Stroker
(Blues/Rock)
I had heard about Derek earlier in the day so I made a point to check out his show. Great show! Some really good songs and terrific jazz flavored blues jams, and of course the place was packed for his show. I recently received a copy of his CD “Take A Picture, Make A Promise” and have been enjoying listening to it.

http://www.myspace.com/derekstroker


Dagnese

(Rock/Pop)
I have seen Chris D’Agnese several times as a solo or duo acoustic act, but FMF was the first time I had seen him performing as part of a four piece band. He had two showcases this year, one the night before at Café Annie and then this show at The City Arts Factory. Both were really good shows.

http://www.myspace.com/chrisdagnese

Thomas Wynn and the Believers

(Southern Rock)
There’s nothing like the hard-hitting dual guitars common to good Southern rock and Thomas Wynn is carrying on well in the family tradition. The band is currently recording a CD; I can’t wait to hear it. Watching his band’s terrific performance was a great way to end the festival.

http://www.myspace.com/thomaswynnandthebelievers

This was just a sampling of the great bands playing this year at FMF. Make sure you check my link to my Flickr page for lots more pictures from all the shows.

As always look for some good music among the many indie bands out there - so much good music to choose from.

Florida Music Festival Day 2

Day 2


I ran around like a crazy person trying to see all the bands I wanted to see.


Chris Burns


(Rock/Pop/Blues/Acoustic)
I’ve seen Chris live before, and knew it would be a fun set. He’s a solo acoustic performer and puts on a very entertaining show, with his animated playing and use of live loops. He played several songs from his CD “CB Radio.” His song (hopefully on the next CD) “Dirty Jim” is a rousing ditty about a boss we all love to hate.

Willtown
(Rock/Southern Rock)
The Southern fried rock of Willtown was new to me, but yet another I certainly want to see again. I picked up a copy of their CD at the show and have been enjoying it ever since.

No Circus


(Rock/Blues)
This band was probably the most impressive of the bands I saw. James Killgallon’s powerful vocals and guitar mastery were an awesome combination; the other musicians in the audience stood in awe of his performance.

Ambertone
(Rock)
I have seen Ambertone before and they always put on a good show, this show was just as good, and the packed crowd at Wall Street Plaza was certainly into it.

Robbie Carrico



(Southern Rock)
I don’t watch “American Idol” so I hadn’t heard of Robbie before, but I really enjoyed his set and look forward to many more of his shows. (I bet it was fun signing all those autographs with a broken hand!)

Plain Jane Automobile
(Rock)
I have seen The Janes many times live – they are never a disappointment. The Social was packed for their set, most of which I managed to miss unfortunately (dang those schedules).

John Frank
(Rock/Pop)
John Frank is another band I have seen many times before and always look forward to seeing any chance I can. I have really been enjoying his latest CD “The Spaces Between.”

Megaphone


(Hard Rock)
Megaphone is yet another band I try to see regularly. They vow to rock your socks off at every show and never fail to do so. Their recent CD “for cryin out loud” is frequently in my CD player.

Vonray
(Rock/Southern Rock)
The night’s headliner, Vonray had left the scene for awhile so I have only seen them once before, and they are certainly worth seeing every chance you can get, the rest of the crowd in attendance must have agreed as they were chanting for the band to take the stage. The guitarist in Megaphone, Paul Smith, is also the guitarist for Vonray so he got to pull double duty that night. Robbie Carrico joined them onstage for their song “Drifted Away.”

Florida Music Festival Day 1

The great part about Florida Music Festival is its 3 days, 250 bands, and 15 stages. The bad part is trying to see all (or most) of those 250 bands in 3 days on 15 different stages! A lot of the bands that I knew were good were all playing at the same time at different venues so picking and choosing was hard. The best part was stumbling across some really good bands that I didn't know about. Here is just a small sampling of the bands I saw:

Day 1

Blue Man Group rehearsal
Since I knew the Wall Street Plaza would be packed for their regular show I was thrilled to catch a front row view of their rehearsal - the only part missing was they weren't blue. All that percussion mixed with humor and spectacle was a treat. They are definitely a show worth catching!



Fairweather Friend
This was a band I hadn’t heard of before, but definitely one I want to see again. They are a local five piece indie pop/rock band with some really good songs.



http://www.myspace.com/fairweatherfriendonline

Afterglow Radio
Another band I hadn’t seen before, but will look for again. It’ll be good to see them on a bigger stage where they can really kick loose. Their high-energy rock set seemed a bit restrained on the confines of the small stage at Central Station Bar.



http://www.myspace.com/afterglowradio

Poverty Branch
I have seen these guys before and am never disappointed in their shows, even with some recent personnel changes they still sounded great and kicked butt on stage. The stage was actually moving along with the band as they brought down the house with their popular song “House Fire.”

http://www.myspace.com/povertybranch

Check em out! Next Day 2.

John Frank CD review show

John Frank / Matt Mackelcan / Clayton Senne

The Social
Orlando, FL
May 10, 2008


I headed off to The Social to see John Frank's CD release party. As usual there were a couple of opening bands, all very talented local singer/songwriters.



Clayton Senne started off his set with "Back To Me" an upbeat song with a big jazz vibe that also revealed his passionate vocals. His original songs "Mercy," "Walk Out The Door," "Cry," and "Wonderland" showed a blues, soul, and pop influence. He also included a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."







Next was Matt Mackelcan and his band, with their Southern flavored indie rock, complete with heavy duty rock and roll guitar jams. They played several songs from his CD "No Turning Back" including "Waiting" and Drive." They also played a new song "So Far" with a kicking lead guitar solo from Chris Floyd.




Finally it was time for John Frank. This show was to promote his latest CD "The Spaces Between." He played several songs from the new CD "Undone," "All The Way To New Orleans" and "Colder." Which all sounded very good! They also played songs from his first CD "Anywhere But Here" including "This Town," "Jenna," "Victim Of The Heart" and "Never Surrender" all of which had everyone singing right along.



A talented bunch of singer/songwriters and a night full of good music!

Check out their My Space pages to hear their music:
http://www.myspace.com/musicbyclayton
http://www.myspace.com/mattmackelcan
http://www.myspace.com/johnfrankmusic

Check out more pictures here:
Clayton
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157604999953605/
Matt Mackelcan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157604996726210/
John Frank
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat32807/sets/72157605000152699/