WV Sound Blog - WVLIVING.COM

03/13/13

Logan County Band Stands Out

Meet Me in the Matinee crowns Logan County's independent music scene.

Posted at 08:26 AM Comments: 2

03/06/13

WV Native Keeps the Beat for San Francisco’s The Spyrals

Elliott Kiger lives in San Francisco and drums for The Spyrals, a psych-rock band that’s gaining recognition in the indie scene.

Posted at 10:38 AM Comments

02/27/13

With short blasts of the snare drum, Sweet Life’s “Dancin’,” a cut from the Morgantown band’s new EP Disenchanted, is abrupt and direct, locking you in as a listener from the get-go. Its driving rhythm makes it hard to keep your head still. A band for more years than they can count, the members of Sweet Life—Jason McCarty, Mike Roberts, Evan Devine, and a guy simply named Nick—only recently adopted their current moniker, but so far they’ve done quite well under it, with a new record, college radio air play, and a music video to gloat over. The songs on Disenchanted more or less accumulated over the years, and Jason says the band specifically wrote just one song, “Black Babylon,” for the release. “We recorded the...

Posted at 09:12 AM Comments

02/20/13

Big Gigantic to Go Big at Metropolitan Theatre

Look for a chance to win tickets to this live show in Morgantown that combines electronic, hip-hop, and jazz styles.

Posted at 10:52 AM Comments

02/13/13

The Music of Best Friends

It took time, but rock band Best Friends’ full-length debut is complete. Nine tracks make up the self-titled record, but the development of each song varied—spanning countless iterations and years. “Some of the songs, like ‘Open Up Your Eyes,’ are three or four years old with some recently done overdubbing,” says John Casey, the band’s guitarist. “Other bits of it took no time at all and were more or less done in a few hours.” Started sometime around the summer of 2011, Point Pleasant’s own Best Friends can’t exactly pinpoint its moment of origin. John, Jami Calandros, Jordan Pack, and Paris Leonard came together at different times in their lives as best friends do, and from the early points of their relationships,...

Posted at 09:04 AM Comments

02/06/13

Haley Slagle Goes Solo

Haley Slagle’s self-titled solo EP originated from the unusual idea of recording an album backwards—laying down vocal tracks first and then writing and recording guitar and drum parts. “I would sing the song to a click track and then we would decide what would come next. The drums and bass were recorded last, which is a pretty unconventional way to make a record,” Haley says. Haley is most well-known for her live performances and recordings with Billy Matheny and the Frustrations and Half Broke Horses, now defunct. Haley and guitarist Jeremy Batten, also of The Ultimatums, formed a tight-knit musical bond writing songs and performing in Half Broke Horses, and Jeremy has been a big influence on her solo project. “I never really gave much thought to...

Posted at 06:14 AM Comments

01/30/13

Donora Brings Fun Indie Pop to West Virginia

Pittsburgh’s Donora isn’t unfamiliar with the Mountain State. For several years, they’ve made the trek to Morgantown for 123 Pleasant Street’s regularly scheduled Mayday! dance parties and have become a local favorite while simultaneously shaping a national identity. Casey Hanner, Donora’s lead vocalist, says she loves Morgantown for its energy and youth. “People are ready to dance, which is perfect for our band,” she says. Donora is made up of Casey, her brother and drummer Jake, and bass player Jake Churton. The trio performs an uplifting, easy-on-the-ears style of dance/rock-pop that’s driven by memorable hooks. Their songs have been featured in some high-profile projects, including MTV’s Teen Wolf and more recently a...

Posted at 06:26 AM Comments

01/23/13

Rozwell Kid Packs Powerful Sound

Press play on “New Mexico,” the third track from Rozwell Kid’s The Rozwell Kid LP, and a surprising lyric will crawl through your ear canal with an eerily blunt tone. “I smoked crack on the Fourth of July,” it says. The statement might be true, you’d have no way of knowing, but the line’s actuality matters less than its performance. It’s a moment of simulated honesty in which the author drops the veil, and you’re reminded that sometimes songs are written to just get things out. As a third of Shepherdstown’s The Demon Beat, Jordan Hudkins has a lot of “things” on his mind. He’s the drummer of one of West Virginia’s more prominent bands with a label behind him and a tour recently wrapped (and...

Posted at 10:04 AM Comments

01/16/13

Ohio Valley Hardcore Band Offers a Positive Outlet

In the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, river water and gray skies frame the landscape, but for some local teens, hardcore music (a high-energy form of punk rock), offers an escape. For Dillon Richardson, drummer of the band In Hope, the local music scene is an outlet for youth. “These shows allow a much needed break in the regular routine of school, parents, work, et cetera,” Dillon says. “They open the door to a fast-paced, intense, and beautiful world of music.” Along with Dillon, In Hope is bassist Levi Hill, guitarist Austin Wright, and vocalist Brady Fluharty. All have attended shows in the area since their early teens, and Levi and Austin were formally members of popular local band The Next Mourning. They started In Hope in August 2011, and Levi...

Posted at 09:55 AM Comments

01/09/13

All Aboard the C&S Railroad

C&S Railroad vocalist and guitarist Chris Sutton says he does like trains, but the band’s name actually has no historical significance. In fact, it’s actually just the combination of his and bandmate Mark Cabbel’s last initials. “And we just happened to like and write about trains a lot.” That laid-back attitude defines the band, in a way. Where some overanalyze, C&S Railroad just does what it does. Along with Chris and Mark, C&S Railroad is bass player Jim Branham and percussionist Steve Hall. The band calls Barboursville, West Virginia home, and performs a variety of Americana and roots music: blues, country, soul, and rock. C&S Railroad tries not to limit itself to any one genre, and when working with traditional music, Chris...

Posted at 06:39 AM Comments

	03/13/13 Logan County Band Stands Out Meet Me in the Matinee crowns Logan County's independent music scene. Posted at 08:26 AM Comments: 2
	03/06/13 WV Native Keeps the Beat for San Francisco’s The Spyrals Elliott Kiger lives in San Francisco and drums for The Spyrals, a psych-rock band that’s gaining recognition in the indie scene. Posted at 10:38 AM Comments
	02/27/13 Sweet Life Rocks New Music With short blasts of the snare drum, Sweet Life’s “Dancin’,” a cut from the Morgantown band’s new EP Disenchanted, is abrupt and direct, locking you in as a listener from the get-go. Its driving rhythm makes it hard to keep your head still. A band for more years than they can count, the members of Sweet Life—Jason McCarty, Mike Roberts, Evan Devine, and a guy simply named Nick—only recently adopted their current moniker, but so far they’ve done quite well under it, with a new record, college radio air play, and a music video to gloat over. The songs on Disenchanted more or less accumulated over the years, and Jason says the band specifically wrote just one song, “Black Babylon,” for the release. “We recorded the... Posted at 09:12 AM Comments
	02/20/13 Big Gigantic to Go Big at Metropolitan Theatre Look for a chance to win tickets to this live show in Morgantown that combines electronic, hip-hop, and jazz styles. Posted at 10:52 AM Comments
	02/13/13 The Music of Best Friends It took time, but rock band Best Friends’ full-length debut is complete. Nine tracks make up the self-titled record, but the development of each song varied—spanning countless iterations and years. “Some of the songs, like ‘Open Up Your Eyes,’ are three or four years old with some recently done overdubbing,” says John Casey, the band’s guitarist. “Other bits of it took no time at all and were more or less done in a few hours.” Started sometime around the summer of 2011, Point Pleasant’s own Best Friends can’t exactly pinpoint its moment of origin. John, Jami Calandros, Jordan Pack, and Paris Leonard came together at different times in their lives as best friends do, and from the early points of their relationships,... Posted at 09:04 AM Comments
	02/06/13 Haley Slagle Goes Solo Haley Slagle’s self-titled solo EP originated from the unusual idea of recording an album backwards—laying down vocal tracks first and then writing and recording guitar and drum parts. “I would sing the song to a click track and then we would decide what would come next. The drums and bass were recorded last, which is a pretty unconventional way to make a record,” Haley says. Haley is most well-known for her live performances and recordings with Billy Matheny and the Frustrations and Half Broke Horses, now defunct. Haley and guitarist Jeremy Batten, also of The Ultimatums, formed a tight-knit musical bond writing songs and performing in Half Broke Horses, and Jeremy has been a big influence on her solo project. “I never really gave much thought to... Posted at 06:14 AM Comments
	01/30/13 Donora Brings Fun Indie Pop to West Virginia Pittsburgh’s Donora isn’t unfamiliar with the Mountain State. For several years, they’ve made the trek to Morgantown for 123 Pleasant Street’s regularly scheduled Mayday! dance parties and have become a local favorite while simultaneously shaping a national identity. Casey Hanner, Donora’s lead vocalist, says she loves Morgantown for its energy and youth. “People are ready to dance, which is perfect for our band,” she says. Donora is made up of Casey, her brother and drummer Jake, and bass player Jake Churton. The trio performs an uplifting, easy-on-the-ears style of dance/rock-pop that’s driven by memorable hooks. Their songs have been featured in some high-profile projects, including MTV’s Teen Wolf and more recently a... Posted at 06:26 AM Comments
	01/23/13 Rozwell Kid Packs Powerful Sound Press play on “New Mexico,” the third track from Rozwell Kid’s The Rozwell Kid LP, and a surprising lyric will crawl through your ear canal with an eerily blunt tone. “I smoked crack on the Fourth of July,” it says. The statement might be true, you’d have no way of knowing, but the line’s actuality matters less than its performance. It’s a moment of simulated honesty in which the author drops the veil, and you’re reminded that sometimes songs are written to just get things out. As a third of Shepherdstown’s The Demon Beat, Jordan Hudkins has a lot of “things” on his mind. He’s the drummer of one of West Virginia’s more prominent bands with a label behind him and a tour recently wrapped (and... Posted at 10:04 AM Comments
	01/16/13 Ohio Valley Hardcore Band Offers a Positive Outlet In the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, river water and gray skies frame the landscape, but for some local teens, hardcore music (a high-energy form of punk rock), offers an escape. For Dillon Richardson, drummer of the band In Hope, the local music scene is an outlet for youth. “These shows allow a much needed break in the regular routine of school, parents, work, et cetera,” Dillon says. “They open the door to a fast-paced, intense, and beautiful world of music.” Along with Dillon, In Hope is bassist Levi Hill, guitarist Austin Wright, and vocalist Brady Fluharty. All have attended shows in the area since their early teens, and Levi and Austin were formally members of popular local band The Next Mourning. They started In Hope in August 2011, and Levi... Posted at 09:55 AM Comments
	01/09/13 All Aboard the C&S Railroad C&S Railroad vocalist and guitarist Chris Sutton says he does like trains, but the band’s name actually has no historical significance. In fact, it’s actually just the combination of his and bandmate Mark Cabbel’s last initials. “And we just happened to like and write about trains a lot.” That laid-back attitude defines the band, in a way. Where some overanalyze, C&S Railroad just does what it does. Along with Chris and Mark, C&S Railroad is bass player Jim Branham and percussionist Steve Hall. The band calls Barboursville, West Virginia home, and performs a variety of Americana and roots music: blues, country, soul, and rock. C&S Railroad tries not to limit itself to any one genre, and when working with traditional music, Chris... Posted at 06:39 AM Comments

WV Sound

Keeping a beat in the Mountain State