Rising Starlets of the April Chase Band

Originally published on Patch.com Milpitas: Click here for link

Local and rising starlets in the band April Chase performed for an audience of more than 200 at their CD release party on Saturday night celebrating their new EP “Still Breathing”.

Other local bands performing with April Chase were Vincent Do, Beta State and The Parade who all rocked the stage before the stars of the show performed their new songs live along with some older favorites.

The event was held at a humble venue in San Jose on Concourse Drive, off the beaten path, but was the perfect size for an up-in-coming band to show off what they had put their heart and soul into.

The performance attracted an all-ages crowd, from high school to college students.

Mark Sahagun, guitar player for April Chase and a Milpitas resident since he came to the United States from the Philippines when he was 16, said his favorite song from the new EP is All You Need to Say.  The second song on the album is, “very dancy,” Sahagun said.

As guests ordered food from The WOW! and Treatbot food trucks, at times singing from a karaoke from a machine on one of the trucks, Milpitas High School senior Steffi Saflor said her favorite song on the album is Too Short to Ride.

Saflor said she first found out about April Chase when she saw them with My American Heart a couple months prior. When she discovered they were local she instantly became a fan. Saflor is proud to have a talented band be local.

“It’s pretty cool to have a band that is really good come from your own town,” she said.

Tim Ferguson, lead guitar and back-up vocals expressed how personal the new album is to him. It deals with time he said, “ It deals with relationships and wrong timing of them, but at it also reflects my relationship with my parents.”

“This album is a summery of all our best efforts,” Ferguson said.

The band recorded the new album in San Diego with help from Jesse Barrera. Sahagun said it was a benefit having Barrera help with the album, “[Barrera] helped us not only with the record, but brought us together as a band,” he said.

When April Chase finally hit the stage, the crowd dance and sang along to every song they played. Lead singer Carina Valdes rocked the crowd and kept the energy going strong from the beginning to the end of the show.

Ferguson said the band has high goals with the release of their EP and hopes that a tour is around the corner.

For more information about April Chase and their new album “Still Breathing” visit http://www.facebook.com/aprilchasemusic. The album is also available on iTunes.

Death Cab for Cutie’s “Narrow Stairs” album

Something different. That was what I thought when I heard the new Death Cab for Cutie album Narrow Stairs. With this being their sixth full length album, Narrow Stairs went in different direction than any of Death Cab’s other five albums since 1998.

There are eleven tracks on Narrow Stairs and each one a little different from the one before it, the band is still keeping the theme they have always had; with talking about love and “possessing hearts”. But no Death Cab album can be complete with that break up song or that song that helps you get through that brake up, which on this album is number six on the album “you can do better than me”, in this track Gibbard sings about fearing the relationship will end and he will never do better than her, but she on the other hand can do better than him. Sad, but that is what makes Death Cab for Cutie a loveable band, they sinf those songs they get you through those hard times of love.

What makes this album different is most of these song are not as “computerized” as their other songs. Most of these songs consist of just piano, guitar, bass, drums-the basics I guess. What is also different that some of their songs have about a minute to two minute of just melody with no words. A little different from what Death Cab usually does, but not a bad thing in the least.

Overall, the new album is very upbeat and still has those songs that make you smile and makes you cry, but even though they might be the same type of lyrics, the melodies and music itself is more natural. Not as slow and mellow as Plans or Transatlanticism, more vivacious and chirpy. A good change for Death Cab, a positive one, one that I think fans will grow to love as much as they have the others.

Peace.Love.Music

Glow in the Dark Tour-4/19/08

side note: this is my first review EVER, but the first of many so here it goes wish me luck and leave a comment be it good or bad *deep breath*

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As you walked in into the HP Pavilion in San Jose California where 17,456 people can fit, you see that the event is sold out and just about every other person is sitting in their seat with a pair of “shudder shades” waiting for the concert to start. With the nights artists including Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and none other then Kanye West a line up that sets up high expectations. The lights dim people start to scream and shout and the first act of the night steps out on stage….

Red and blue light start to flash and Lupe Fiasco rapper from Chicago, Illinois comes out on stage and opens with the song Superstar, his single off his 2007 album The Cool. With high amounts of energy and jumping all over the stage the crowd sings and dances along. Lupe stays on for about another 25 minutes and finishes with a song Hip-Hop Save My Life that he dedicated to his mother.

Next was N.E.R.D. a personal favorite of mine and it by far was everything I expected from 3 guys from Virgina Beach, Virgina. The lights start to dim and a huge white flash goes on stage and you hear it….that funk rock guitar and bass line and you hear Pharrell Williams singing “dirty talk” and it starts; N.E.R.D. opens with there single Lapdance from there 2001 debut album In Search of… Song after the song all 17,456 fans including me sang and danced to each song. They performed a new song off there new album coming in 2008 called Everybody Noses, the song was a hit and the people agreed trying to already sing along with a song that they had only heard for 15 seconds “all the girls in the line for the bathroom”is what they kept screaming. The guys in N.E.R.D. looked happier than ever to be on stage dancing around from each end of the stage embracing the audience to clap their hands and dance. It had been since 2004 since anyone had heard them perform or come out with a single. The guys ended with there hit single from their 2003 album Fly or Die She Wants to Move telling all the “sexy women” that there sexy and that they wanna see all of them move and so they did. it was a very fun and entertaining 30 minutes, I kind of forgot for a second I was also there to see Kanye West.

The third act of the night was R&B princess Rhianna, who came on stage in a flattering hot pink and black body suit. With 2 back up danced she opened up with her 2006 single SOS. She blew my away! Not only was she flawless, but her voice live is absolutely breath taking, clear and beautiful. I would even go as far to say she sounds better live than she sounds on her albums. And of course she used a neon green umbrella during her song Umbrella. She had a very energetic and well choreographed dance though out her set. Rihanna was also a treat to see and to know her voice belongs to her and not some alternating machine make me respect her even more.

Last but not least was the man of the night, the man who was headlining tour Kanye West. A black curtain fell and it took about 20 minutes to set up the stage for his performance, but finally the curtain fell. There were mountains and what looked like a control panel of some sort from a futuristic spaceship and you hear Kanye West and a computer talking and coming for a crash landing on to planet Earth. The whole theme was really exciting and fun with tons of different color of flashing light all over the stage. The people fans were going crazy waiting to see what would be the first song to be sung, and the next thing you hear Kanye say is “Like we always do this time I go for mine I gots to shine”. That was the start of a 2 and a half, yes 2 and a half hour set. Kanye performed just about every song you would want to hear him perform. From his hit single with Stronger, to his very first single Though the Wire, the show was just blissful. He had so much energy and presence for song after song he just kept going. It felt that not one person was sitting down and not singing along. The theme of the whole concert was that Kanye was stuck on planet Earth and just wanted to go home. The props on stage were very well designed everything from big white bulbs for the song Flashing Lights to the hallow gram of a space woman for the song Golddigger, the set was very well organized and well designed. By the end of the show Kanye used he “star power” to get him home, a tad on the conceded side, but hey if anyone knows about Kanye West it’s that HE knows he is a super star. And after that show I understand and give the man a little more credit for thinking so highly of himself. The man is an amazing songwriter, producer, artist, and performer. He know what is good, and though his personality can be a little overboard at times, he in a way has every right to be. Not everyone can be on stage for 2 and a half hours straight and perform song after song so you got to at least respect him that much. By the end of the set i was tried and my voice had gone out, and there was not one disappointment I had, only I wish I could see it again.

Overall the Glow in the Dark Tour was very well thought out and designed, with an all star hip-hop line up it seem hard for the show to not be as good as it was. All 4 of the performers had tons of energy and looked just as excited as the 17,000 fans there that night.