Disclaimer: I'm not here to please everyone!

Hey guys, apparently this post needs to be made because at school a girl came up to me and said "X didn't like what you said about them in your review." Well let me make something clear, I'm here to state my opinion and to state facts more than anything. I know for a fact that I'm not going to please everyone and that's just the way that these things go. I'm not changing my style or sugar coating anything just to please people. You want to know my opinions or the facts? I'm here to state those. Don't come to me asking for my opinion and then become upset about it. I'm here for constructive criticisms, to tell you what I, and possibly others, may have liked or disliked about your stuff. I'm here to give suggestions, I'm not trying to boost any egos or bring anyone down, I'm giving the feedback that you ask for. I'm sorry for those who don't enjoy my reviews but that isn't going to stop me from doing what I enjoy doing, which is writing these posts and reviews because a lot of people have been enjoying them! So all in all, I know for a fact I won't please everyone and I don't intend to. Sorry.
                                                                    XOXO,
                                                                        R. Vanity ♥

Local show brings musicians together!

October 18th was a day I will never ever forget. A day where my internet life and my real social life intertwined. One of my best friends, Stacie, and I decided to throw a Halloween party in which we'd invite some bands I know and dress up. We had planned this party for about a month and a half and if you know me, you know there had to be good music. Stacie and I talked her mom into letting us party it up at her place and invite some of my friends to come play and I knew exactly who to invite. At the end of the day I had a four band set up that consisted of James Wolfe  (Joe Wolfe of Sister City's brother), Spooky Casual, Naked, and finally Social Repose. Richie was the first to show up in his little black Nissan packed full with equipment; the first thing he said was "Hey girl!" Richie, Lizzy (My girlfriend at the time), Stacie, and I all went back and forth taking his things into the house and then he set up. His set up was crazy consisting of different lights, speakers, his mic, sound boards, a fog machine, and maybe even more! Next to show up was Carl Smith AKA Naked and 1/3 of Spooky Casual. Then Matt, and so on. Not only did everyone play a killer set but I met people that I've been waiting to meet forever! Let's start with BowTie Steele shall we? This 6'4" man looks scary with a beard and long teal blue hair but once you get to talking to him you'll think the complete opposite. BowTie was one person I connected to instantly especially when I went to shake his hand he pulled me into a straight up hug. He's funny, fun, and feels like a brother and someone I've known for years. He is also the bassist for Encasing Embrace and the fill in bassist for Face The Fire It was an honor to meet him. Next is the ever fabulous Richie Giese of Social Repose. I had my doubts about him when we Facebook chatted I'll be honest, my biggest fear being that he might've just been acting kind for fans sake or to get a gig but when I met him in person I instantly knew my doubts were indeed incorrect. Richie was one of the kindest people I've ever met with a set to die for. He instantly got you off your feet and jumping and headbanging and every other exciting dance adjective I can think of. He was almost like that hot friend/ big brother that everyone wants because they find him very attractive and then you get to see what he's actually like and you're like well damn this guy is actually pretty dope. (If that made any kind of sense.) Carl Smith was the last one I got to meet that I've previously talked to on the internet and Carl was very quiet but when he spoke it was very honest, funny, or a nice combo of both. NOW LET'S TALK THE MUSIC ASPECT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR, right? James Wolfe went first with a folky pop-punk sound that at first I was a little thrown off by. As his set progressed I really seemed to enjoy it, his chords were great, vocals on point, and he seemed to be enjoying himself! If you wanna check him out (which I highly suggest doing) do so here. You can really see his personality through his songs, a personality which I think I could get along with. Next was Spooky Casual, now please feel for these dudes and cut them some slack because #1 their vocalist had a family emergency so she couldn't make it so Carl took the liberty of covering the vocals and #2 Matt's guitar legitimately began falling apart even before they played and it progressively got worse as they began to. I spoke to a few of the audience members that listened along with me to Spooky Casual's set and we all agreed that the amp volume was too high for their material, we also all agreed that you could barely hear Carl singing, and that the cord progression in each song sounded sort of similar. The biggest problem with Spooky's set in my own opinion was the mic volume. As a Spooky Casual fan my favorite part are the lyrics and when I can't hear what the vocalist is saying it messes with the way I perceive the song, but looking at it as a whole, with the circumstances they were faced with, Spooky Casual didn't do too bad of a job. Let's take a look at the positives of their set: Carl moved around which kept us all interested, the lighting fit the music style, and Matt wore man-flops. As always. Check Spooky Casual out here. Naked was next and here's where we had some major problems, although I love Carl with my heart and soul we had a giant issue. Carl's set has a song at the end where Carl places a noose around his neck and proceeds to sing and do the gestures of him hanging, this ended up actually triggering about 5 kids and made them have to step out due to PTSD, anxiety, and depression issues with that set. Although that wasn't completely Carl's fault and I did like the song he was singing, I would suggest sending a fair warning out to show goers incase anyone may get triggered by that sort of thing in the future. Carl's songs were very pretty though with deep lyrics about depression and suicide and lighting that fit just as well. Over all Carl did very well and musically his set was top tier. Check Naked out here. Finally, the night was ended by the wonderful uplifting tunage of the ever fabulous Social Repose, and if you check my blog on the regular you know I love me some SR. Richie's set was by far my favorite, he had a light show that was programmed to go with his music, two brand new spot lights, a fog machine, and well his music is my jam. Richie got everyone up on the floor, got me to dance so hard my legs hurt for two days, had BowTie on the floor (BowTie even picked Richie up and spun him around) and Richie had everyone smiling and happy! Richie's actual voice is pretty much the same that you hear in recordings, no autotune or anything and he's very fun to dance with! Richie will be going on tour starting in November so make sure to check him out if you can! Check out his music here. Overall the party was a great success with many musicians and many great friends! Stay tuned for interviews with Social Repose and Spooky Casual soon!

Social Repose to go on a full U.S. winter tour with Blood On The Dance Floor!

Richie Giese from Social Repose announced earlier on this week that he will, for a fact be touring with the one and only, Blood On The Dance Floor. Social Repose is to be opening for BOTDF on The Reckoning Tour, the tour is to hit up most states (not including MD, boooooo) and will start on November 23rd and end December 19th. I've spoken to Richie personally who is extremely excited to be touring with the well known band consisting of members Dahvie Vanity and Jayy Von Monroe. If you can, buy tickets and support the movement at botdfvip.bigcartel.com stay tuned for more on Social Repose and your other favorite local bands.

Rachel Reviews: Crazy Manic Love (Social Repose)

Today I'll be reviewing the EP "Crazy Manic Love" by Social Repose, I'll be going through this track by track! The first track is "Crazy Manic Love" which is a very powerful song to start an EP with and that's one of the things I love about this track, we jump right into it, the songs lyrics are relatable and the beat keeps the listener's interest. The singer has the perfect range for this song to keep the techno vibe and have a sort of pop-punk sound at the same time. I like how this song slowly builds from slow and mellow to a breakdown that would get nearly anyone in the mood to dance. I give this track 9.5/10 mainly because of the way the instrumentals really portray what the lyrics are trying to get across. The next track is called "More" which is a very mellow, happy piece. My favorite part about this piece is definitley the instrumentals, everything flows together nicely, and while I do like the vocals for this piece I feel as though the instrumentals and the sound of this song don't quite fit with the lyrics that the singer is trying to get across. On the plus side the song has a beautiful tone to it, I give this track an 8/10. The following track is "Wither", this song has a slower pace and really focuses on the lyrics. It has a lot of meaning to it and is a song where I really feel you should pay attention to the lyrics. It's a song that I feel can be taken multiple ways and have a meaning that is sort of individulized to your thoughts and experiences which always makes for a great song, in my opinion. I feel like it is a song that everyone can kind of relate to which gives this song a 9/10 in my book. Next is "I Will Kill Your Sadness" as soon as the song starts you can feel that definite vibe switch from sad and solem to a more, upbeat (for lack of a better term) sound. This is another song where the instrumental is definitley a big part in the song. The vocals are definitley different in this track which is really nice and refreshing, we also have that repeating of "I will kill your sadness" before each breakdown, which depending on the person, may get a little annoying at times but other than that, the beats are good and all flow together very well, the vocals are refreshingly different from the other tracks and we have those breakdowns which are always great, especially if you're in the car jamming with some subwoofers in the back! I give this track an 8.5/10, it would be a nine but the track can get repeatitive. Moving on we have "Temptress", we go back to that kinda slow, Owl City instrumental. The vocals are different, the singing is faster which is refreshing and we have some screaming in this track which definitley got my atttention! Especially when we haven't seen that yet on this EP! Again we have smooth breakdowns, we have some screaming mixed in (Which definitley will give Social Repose a little Pop-Punk attention!), this song is a little heavier than the rest on the EP which is really cool and different and that is something you definitley look for on an album because hearing the same sound over and over can get quite boring. "Temptress" is definitley something to listen to if you're into heavy stuff but also like the techno vibe as well. This track got a 10/10 from me. Finally the last track is "Breathe Carolina - Sellout (Social Repose Remix)" this track was definitley a little hard to review consider it's technically not Social Repose but I managed. That Social Repose vibe is there in the techno sense and the solid breakdowns, Breathe Carolina is definitley still there but you can tell that Social Repose is there too which is nice because sometimes you lose either the artist or the DJ in the remix but here I didn't feel like I lost either of them. This remix got an 8/10 from me, just because I'm not really a huge remix person but I thought it was pretty good! Until next time, check this EP out on Social Repose's Bandcamp it's called "Crazy Manic Love" (Click here for the link!)

Bands you should know: Social Repose

Social Repose is a one man band from Bethesda, MD. Richie Giese formed Social Repose in 2011 and remains unsigned, he's posted many EPs on his bandcamp and has a massive support system. His Facebook page has 5,079 likes, he's attended Warped Tour, and has played many shows in areas such as New York and Pennsylvania. Knowing Richie or Social Repose, on a semi-personal level, I can tell you he's extremely fan devoted and extremely nice. If you look on his Facebook you'll be sure to notice he posts a lot of short ukulele covers of songs such as "The Drug in Me is You" by Falling In Reverse, "Bacon Pancakes" from Adventure Time, "If You Can't Hang" by Sleeping With Sirens, and more. Social Repose also has a cover of Lana Del Ray's "Summertime Sadness" out on their Bandcamp, he has seven EPs out on his Bandcamp (Link here to all his discography), the most recent being Crazy Manic Love (which will be reviewed here soon) which is six tracks including a remix of Breathe Carolina's "Sellouts". I get good vibes from Social Repose, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him and I'm sure you all will too! The link to the lovely Social Repose Facebook is right here so go give him some love by liking the page!

Bands you should know: Conquer The Oceans!

Conquer The Oceans is a metalcore band based out of Northern Virginia consisting of members Emilio Truitt (vocalist), Sebastian Trudeau (drummer), and John Dolan (guitiarist/back-up vocals). The band is unsigned and is currently recording an EP! The band was founded September 13th, 2013 by John Dolan and previous vocalist. The band has 171 Facebook likes, two YouTube videos (which you can view here), twelve subscribers on YouTube, and they are currently writing an album as well! Also you can find some sneak peeks of their EP work on their Facebook so give them some Facebook love here! Stay tuned to my blog where I will review Conquer The Oceans new EP called Broken Morals and their future album coming soon!

Spooky Casual Reveals Big News!

This morning at 10:30 A.M. Spooky Casual announced a lot of amazing things. The band is releasing their split with Naked through Sunset View Records, Nick Overfelt (Jack Motel) is offically going to be drumming for Spooky Casual (yay!), and that they are going to begin writing an EP soon! Spooky Casual is also looking for a bassist! To qualify you need to be out of high school, have reliable transportation, and have professional gear. If you're interested please contact Spooky Casual here. For all the latest Spooky Casual news stay tuned into Rachel Vanity Reviews: Local Bands!

Bands you should know: Dungeon Kids

Dungeon Kids is a pop band from Baltimore, Maryland. The band consists of members Dan Windsor, Zac Yelnosky, Ben Woodworth, and Kinsey Mathews. The vocals are very unique to each song and the instrumentals are very calming and beatiful, but can be very upbeat as well. Each song has its own unique sound which is very refreshing in the pop scene. I would describe Dungeon Kids as great driving music for sure, especially for long drives. This band has 543 Facebook likes, a Tumblr, and a Bandcamp which has Three EPs on it. The band's most recent EP is titled "Oh How it Hurts" and has four tracks on it. "Oh How it Hurts was released on September 11th, 2013. I think this band has true potenial is very underrated, let's fix that! Give Dungeon Kids some love by liking their Facebook page here, following them on Tumblr here, and listening to them on Bandcamp here. Oh and here's a lovely fact, if you're like me and you really like these guys' music can download any of their EPs on their bandcamp for whatever price you want! Go give them a listen, trust me you'll be glad you did!

Local bands play show in Eldersburg area!

A bunch of bands including Spooky Casual, Naked, Jack Motel (Nick Overfelt), Danger Parker, Paul O'Sullivan of Woodbine Hotline, Shane Conard of Playtime Revenue, and Nolan Kerbert played a show in Eldersburg, Maryland last night, Wednesday, August 6th, 2014 at Victor's Italian Ice. While I wasn't able to go I was told there was a great turn out and Naked was selling merch. The event lasted from 6-9:30 P.M. and there was even an after party at Denny's for the musicians who played! I did get a few quotes from some of the musicians that played last night, Matt Hiles of Spooky Casual had this to say about their set "The harmonies were sharp, the melodies were on point, and everybody was in top sad boi shape." Carl Smith had only two words to say about the event, "Turn Up." Nick Overfelt, or Jack Motel, had this to say about the show "It was the epitome of DIY local shows, great to meet people that are as into the music and not the notoriety as I am." and finally Emma Pailer of Spooky Casual had this to say about last night's show, "Even though our wires were in wet grass and we almost got electrocuted, it was still fun and spooky and we were still the saddest sad boys on the block." I heard that the show went extremely well and everyone had a good time! Great job to everyone that played last night all of you are incredibly sick musicians so I bet it was amazing!

(Pictured above is Spooky Casual preforming)

Bands you should know: Teen Suicide

Teen Suicide is a band based out of Maryland with College Park roots that was founded in 2011 consisting of members Sam Ray, Alec Simke, John Toohey, and Brian Sumner. The band is unsigned and "sort of active" but that's not stopping them from growing in the scene with 12,331 Facebook likes, tons of support on Bandcamp, seven EPs, various reviews, and their ever growing fan base on Tumblr (which is also the root of their popularity). They consider their sound pop, noise-pop, lo-fi, and punk. They have very mellow sounds and a very unique sound that sets them out from the rest of their scene. The band was very active from 2010-2012, taking a break and dubbing themselves "sort of active" as of late. They do a bit of touring here and there but the best way to listen to them is definitely their Bandcamp! The band's most recent release is titled "rarities, unreleased stuff, and cool things" which is a 25 track tape that was released on February 3rd, 2013. Go ahead and check that out here! Like their Facebook page here, check out their lovely merch here, and stay tuned into them to see what they may come out with next!

Bands from MD: Polkadot Cadaver!

The alternative metal/experimental rock band Polkadot Cadaver is from Rockville, MD! The band consists of members Todd Smith (vocalist),  Jasan Stepp (guitar, keyboards, cello, and programming), Scott Radway (drummer ), and Brian White (bassist). They've toured with big bands including Blood On The Dance Floor. These guys are signed to RazorToWrist Records and if you like heavy music, I suggest you give them a listen, they're well worth your time, I assure you! Also these guys have a new release coming out called Last Call In Jonestown, give it a listen! Their music and everything is on their Facebook page. Be sure to stay with my blog for my review of  Last Call In Jonestown!!!!!

Bands you should know: Balor's Eye!

Balor's Eye is a progressive metal band from Baltimore, MD consisting of guitarist Josh Yarnall, guitarist Ben Becraft, bassist Luke Francis, drummer Tyler VanOstrand, and vocalist Doug Hill. The band was founded in 2010 and is signed to Dark Harvest Records. Some of their influences include (but are not limited to) Between the Buried and Me, Don the Reader, Lamb of God, Deftones, Soundgarden, and Cannibal Corpse. This band is no tiny project either on July 21st, 2014 Balor's Eye played a show opening for Rings Of Saturn and Arsonists Get All The Girls, Tyler was featured in a 6 page interview by Sick Drummer Magazine in January 2012, the band's Facebook page has 1,231 likes,  and they've released two EPs titled Lorcan and a self titled EP, and they've done a lot more. They're very kind and witty people and another good word to describe them may even be hilarious. I suggest if you haven't already please visit their Bandcamp page (link right here!) and give them a Facebook like! (link here!)

Bands you should know: Encasing Embrace

Encasing Embrace is a melodic metalcore band from Alexandria, VA. The band consists of bassist Bowtie Steele, vocalist Ryan Thornton Olsen, lead guitarist Matt Neyland, and drummer Malcolm Richardson. These guys are no small band either! Having over 2,000 Facebook likes, popping up in the search bar on youtube like any other large band, playing shows like crazy, and working on an album Encasing Embrace is getting bigger by what seems like the second. The band is already a household name around most teens in the metal scene! What are these guys really like though? Well I can tell you from experience they are some of the nicest guys you will ever meet and will go out of their way to make any fan happy. I have the wonderful pleasure of being friends with Bowtie who is probably one of the nicest people I've ever met despite the heavy sound of the band and the metal look. If you've never checked them out I suggest you should, these guys are definitely worth your time. Give them a Facebook like (hi this is that link), a listen to on Soundcloud (that link is here), check out their YouTube (just look up Encasing Embrace), and stay tuned into my blog for a full review of their album when it surfaces!

Spooky Casual's music to make an apperance in a movie!

Spooky Casual's song November is to be in a new movie called "Glamarus" which is being filmed by Dylan Greenberg. The movie seems super trippy and extremely entertaining. The screening for "Glamarus" is going to be on August 18th, 2014 at 9:50 P.M. at Videology in NYC. Check out the trailer here. Like Spooky Casual's facebook page here and don't forget to show Spooky Casual some love by checking out their bandcamp page here!

Let's get Naked.

Naked is a very popular solo project by Carl Smith who is also in the band, Spooky Casual. It's got the same kind of Spooky Casual vibes but darker in a way. Naked was established in December of 2012 and is still going strong to this day. In fact Naked just got off tour a few days ago! A few words that you may use to describe naked could be nostalgic, loud, dark,  and intense. If you search Naked's bandcamp page you can find everything from Naked's first release, Black Temple/ White Temple: Naked/ The Sepia Raven Split, to the most recent Naked release, Split w/ Spooky Casual. Naked even has merch! Patches, shirts, and CDs. Check out his merch here. Check out Naked's music here. Naked and Spooky Casual also have a show on August 6th 2014 at Victor's Italian Ice in Eldersburg, MD at 6:00 P.M. Go check it out, you won't regret it!

Warped Tour with a Spooky Casual member!

Yesterday, July 22nd 2014 was Warped Tour at Merriweather Post Pavillion where you could find many bands promoting their music and jamming out to the music of other bands as well. I for one took part in this event along with guitarist of Spooky Casual, Matt Hiles. Periodically meeting up with him between different band sets was no easy task but it was done, especially when sharing one common interest, the UK based band, Neck Deep. While I was second row to the front watching the guys do their thing, Matt decided he was going to be a part of the experience and joined into the mosh pit. At a few different points you could catch Hiles crowd surfing even! Warped Tour is an experience I hope everyone gets to enjoy at least once!

What the duck is Drukk?

Drukk is the newest project out on the Cybergrind scene. Drukk is founded by Spooky Casual's own, Matt Hiles. Spending hours recording and mixing the techno metal has gotten Drukk an instrumental single out into the bandcamp/Facebook universe. Within 24 hours the instrumental single, which is titled "Agent Double 0 Br00tal", has gotten mixed responses, offers for various collabs, even some recording offers. I'd say Drukk is off to a pretty epic start! The most interesting part about Drukk is no actual intstruments are involved it's all computer which makes the fact that it's getting so much attention already twice as amazing. Here's to making it, Drukk! P.s. while doing other research on Drukk I discovered there is also a 32 second track called "Dr. No" check both tracks out here.

Bwendon on a break or breaking up?

The Fredrick/Tawney Town based group, Bwendon has been off the scene for quite a while lately. The band consisting of bassist Collin Lloyd, guitarist C.j. Eller, and drummer/ vocalist Ryan Gabriel who is also in the one man project Hunson Abadeer, is a group with jazzy/ alternitive instrumentals and Ryan's own American Football sounding vocals. While Bwendon was known to play quite a few open mics at Readers Cafe in PA, The Hanover Hub in PA, and even a few house shows the band also hosted a radio show every so often on the Mount Saint Marys radio station where they played some of their favorite tracks, answered questions and discussed various topics. Bwendon also announced that they were in the recording studio and even released one of their tracks that was recorded via their Facebook page, but as it is with all good musicians and bands, where are they now? Bwendon has been inactive for months! C.j. graduated college, Ryan just released the newest Hunson Abadeer EP, and Collin is in a punkpop group? While Ryan calls it a temporary break, an anonymous source tells me that Collin said he thinks that Bwendon is just about over. So which is it? Just a break or a break up? Are we ever going to get a full album or professionally recorded EP from them? Are we going to get any new music? These are the questions your fans want to know Bwendon! By the way, fun fact: in Bwendon's profile picture on Facebook a painting of an eye that I made for Collin is in the center of the picture. Check Bwendon's stuff out here.

New Project Alert! Jack Motel: Next big rocker on the scene?

Jack Motel is a one man project made by Nick Anthony in June of 2014. Jack Motel has a classic rock vibe that will make nearly anyone fall for his interesting lyrics and intense sound. Although just starting out, Jack Motel has a four track EP up on Bandcamp already called Of All Places (It's free!) all which Nick wrote and recorded by himself. Jack Motel has also done a cover of Hunson Abadeer's "Home Alone" which is featured on Hunson Abadeer's newest EP Grace and Age. It's incredibly well recorded and the vocals and instrumentals sound phenominal! Especially because as Nick has told me, the cover was recorded and mixed all in one day! I hope Jack Motel posts the cover on his Bandcamp or facebook soon so you all can hear the amazing cover.  I suggest everyone keep their eye out for Jack Motel because I can see a bright future within this amazing rock project! Jack's Bandcamp page --> http://jackmotel.bandcamp.com/releases

Spooky Casual has some unreleased tricks up their sleeves?

Spooky Casual, a band based out of Eldersburg, MD consisting of members Matt Hiles, Emma Pailer, and Carl Smith, announced on July 7th, 2014 that there is some "big news coming". Could we be seeing a new EP in the future? Maybe some new tracks? Only Spooky Casual knows and I think we're all excited to see what the news could be. How soon is soon though? It's July 18th and the news still hasn't been released! Anyone else as impatient as I am? Spooky Casual is a band with a very nostalgic, trippy, meditative, vibe. Guitarist Matt Hiles has been known to describe the band's sound as "Pink Floyd influenced". Although the band has only released two tracks on Bandcamp I know there are a good majority of us excited to see what else this band has in store. So hurry up Spooky Casual and tell us the news and give us some new music to jam to! Here's the link to their Bandcamp page, http://spookycasual.bandcamp.com/ November is my personal favorite song, what's yours?

Hunson Abadeer releases Grace and Age EP

Today at 12:00 A.M. Hunson Abadeer released a five track EP called "Grace and Age" via Bandcamp. The one man project which is Hunson Abadeer consists of 19 year old Ryan Gabriel who is also the drummer for the three person group, Bwendon. Hunson Abadeer takes vocals that can be associated with an American Football vibe with indie folk/ alternative instrumentals, creating the soothing and mellow vibes which are Hunson Abadeer. In July of 2013 Hunson Abadeer released his self titled EP which was four tracks, one of them being an "Astrodub Remix". You can definitley hear and see an improvement in Hunson Abadeer's work from the 2013 EP to the most current 2014 EP, Gabriel's recording quality has improved, the lyrics feel deeper, and the connection feels more real. On the Bandcamp page, Hunson Abadeer described Grace and Age as "A DIY album arranged and recorded in my bedroom over the course of June/July 2014 showcasing haunting feelings of nostalgia and heartbreak. Grace and Age is a welcome to new friends and a farewell to old." It stays very true to that quote as well, you can feel the feeling and the hurt behind some of the lyrics that Gabriel sings. I can't wait to see where Hunson Abadeer is a few years from now, with this new release and the new sounds it's bringing I see a very bright future ahead of Hunson Abadeer. I suggest if you haven't already, check out Grace and Age by Hunson Abadeer on their band camp page (http://hunsonabadeer.bandcamp.com/) maybe even download it!