The Suzies. Image from Facebook and used with permission by The Suzies.

The first listen of The Suzies first (self-titled) album gives the impression of having grabbed a dusty old record from your parents’ collection or from the bin at a record store and set on the turntable for a listen. There’s a pleasant nostalgic tone to their music that is reminiscent of the days when it was uncommon for music to be auto-tuned corporate written shallow pop music. Their sound is their own. There is little like this on the radio today, and that is very refreshing.

For a first album, The Suzies has a strong start. Though the songs are each unique in their own ways, there’s enough similarity to them to make the album flow well. Most of the songs are lively, and even when they aren’t, it is’t jarring. The instrumentals are  great, and the vocals blend together superbly. Hearing a debut album like this is exciting because it leaves me eagerly waiting to hear how great future albums will be.

If you’re expecting to hear commercialized rock, turn on the radio. If you want to hear something new and different, check out The Suzies. You can also check out their music video below.

If you’re in Montgomery this weekend, you have a prime opportunity to see this Mobile originated band live. They will be performing with Atlanta’s Jack of Hearts at the Alley Bar this Friday, July 27, at 10 p.m. For more information, follow this link to Facebook.

Hail the Titans will begin their tour at the Alley Bar in Downtown Montgomery Thursday, July 12, from 8 pm to 12 am. Nigredo will be opening for them. More information can be found on Facebook.

The band’s summer tour will take them to the following places:

The cause behind this sexism is the idea that women don’t play loud instruments like the electric guitar, bass guitar, or drums. As Lera Lynn explained in a recent interview, she feels like she receives a lot of doubt from men in the music industry because she plays the electric guitar and doesn’t just “strummy strum strum” on the acoustic guitar, which she believes is what most men in the music industry expect women to do.

Results of survey conducted by The Local Scene on Facebook.

A survey conducted on Facebook earlier this year showed that the gender stereotyping of instruments does not affect many women in the music industry compared to other issues women face. Longtime Montgomery musician Angie Blackwell Pentz agrees that, at least for her, there is not much issue of discrimination against women due to instrument choice. Pentz, whose father was a bass player, grew up with music. Her father played bass guitar in a band in which she sang and played acoustic. When he quit, she took up playing the bass guitar. She says that she has never faced any type of discrimination or bias because of her instrument choice. In fact, she says that it is easier to get jobs as a bass player because so few people play bass.

The gender stereotyping of instruments appears to be more of an issue among middle and high school band students. Sarah Cassidy of The Independent writes that gender stereotyping in schools has gone unchallenged. Cassidy reports that education watchdog Ofsted says that, “Girls are nine times more likely to learn to play the flute than boys.” Meanwhile, “Twice as many boys as girls learned to play trumpet, percussion or guitar.”

In a thesis written about the gender stereotyping of instruments among middle school band students, author Megan Perdue writes, “After grade three, gender stereotypes are more prevalent and males tend to choose instruments on the masculine end of the continuum (drums, trombone, and trumpet) while females tend to prefer instruments on the female end of the continuum (flute violin, and clarinet).”

Below, musician and music store owner Lance Lisenby talks about the gender stereotyping of instruments he’s seen in the Montgomery area.

Photo by Amber O'Shea

BAND: THE REVIVALISTS

GENRE: SOUTHERN FLAVOR ROCK

VENUE: ALLEY BAR, MONTGOMERY, AL

Before the band was ready to go onstage, before the doors to the back room at the Alley Bar were even opened, the crowd tried to rush for the stage. Twice. The excitement in the air was palpable. From the band’s first chord onward, there was hardly a seat filled. Nearly everyone crowded the dance floor, sucked into the music.

This reaction was well deserved. Nor is it surprising that this band from Louisiana was named Best

Photo by Amber O'Shea

Emerging Artist at Gambit Magazine’s Big Easy Awards in 2011. The band has a rich, full sound that cuts straight into the soul. Their New Orleans roots can be felt and heard in the undercurrents of the music, creating a lively blend of jazz and rock. And the energy… I’m sure even if the audience wasn’t into it, the music would be filled with energy. Energy like that, however, can only leave you with one option: get up and dance.

Their albums can be purchased at their site store, or even streamed on Spotify if you want to listen before purchasing. Their new album is due for release this year. (Early 2012 according to their website.) Honestly though, the album is good, but you really have to see them live in concert to get the full effect of their music. The energy that they radiate in a live show makes their albums feel almost tame in comparison. So take a look at their show list and see if they’re coming to a town near you. If they’re not, shoot them a Tweet or a message and tell them you want them to come to your home town.

(More photos beneath the cut)

Photo by Amber O'Shea

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“We don’t have faith that the van’s going to make it to New York,” Hail the Titan’s Josh Carples told The Local Scene in a recent interview. Not only is their current van nearly 30 years old and, but it is also has a track record of breaking down on them. In addition, it is currently lacking in certain “luxuries” (as the band puts it), such as heating, air conditioning, a radio, or break lights.

Not only is the van a way for the band to transport themselves and their stuff from show to show around the Southeast, but it also acts as a second home for them while they’re on the road. When a floor can’t be found for them to lay their heads on between gig and travel, and when money is too tight for a hotel room, they can find someplace safe to park the van and sleep in it.

New vans aren’t cheap. In order to afford this upgrade, Hail the Titans have started an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign:

All who donate to IndieGoGo will receive goodies from the band in return, including such items as buttons, posters, shirts, hoodies, and even a home-cooked meal made by the band themselves!

In addition, the Organic Hippie of Montgomery is hosting a car wash this Friday, April 20th, to help raise money for the band. In addition to getting your car washed, there will be a dunking booth, stenciled t-shirts, Bad Mustache Beanie merchandise, and, most importantly, CUPCAKES! The car wash will begin at 11 a.m. and continue all day. The Organic Hippie is located in the Vaughn Plaza Shopping Center on the corner of Vaughn and the Eastern Blvd, next door to the Head on the Door Tavern.

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Hail the Titans explain more about the car wash in the video below.

Hail the Titan’s Wes Andrews says that the band could probably travel without the van, but it would require “3 or 4 cars and we’d be broke because of the gas.”

“Broker,” interjected his band mates.

In the band’s first year, “with everyone working day jobs and doing mostly weekends and stuff,” says Carples, “we still had more than 50 shows.” He continues that they try to stay out of town as much as possible.

The Local Scene will keep you posted on dates and venues of the 17 day July tour when they become available.

Confused Little Girl; Photo by Amber O'Shea

(Update: 4/10/12 at 10:26 pm)

It’s been a while since we’ve last seen the bastards of rock themselves, Confused Little Girl, and their van of broken dreams (oh, wait, no, they have a new van now!) on the road across the United States. Since their last tour, they’ve been hiding from winter in sunny Central Florida writing up some new kick-ass songs to make your ears bleed with joy.

But now they’re back and set to continue touring. Just this morning, they released this press release:

Yes, you are reading this correctly, dear purveyors of awesome. Your beloved bastards of rock, our most persevering of rock and roll pundits shall hit the road once more. 

In the coming weeks, months, and years, monuments shall be erected in honor of the great and 

Confused Little Girl; Photo by Amber O'Shea

exemplary rock and roll hi jinx proudly being set on display across these great United States by the bold and noble kings of Swamp Rock, Confused Little Girl. Viewers and attendees will be wowed, awed, and shocked by the purity with which the band showcases forms of talent thus far unseen by the world. There will be blood. Beer battered and deep fried with wonderful infusions of forceful, loud, and invasive gospel according to our forefathers of rock. Yes, even the greats like Lemmy, Keef, Slash, and Page will bow their heads in acknowledgement of this display of true Rock and Roll. 

All others that have come before and all those that attempt after shall be looked upon as Humbugs. Hoax in comparison. Their efforts to dilute and distill the excellence that the world shall come to witness shall be folly, and the world will judge unfavorably their poor excuses of music. 

Confused Little Girl; Photo by Amber O'Shea

For many years we have all suffered unfairly, being forced to submit our ear drums and eyeballs to the bland and mediocre. We have martyred the malign and vanilla and held them on platforms to be presented as idols. NO MORE FALSE GODS OF ROCK! No longer shall anyone be forced to starve their creative ideals. Confused Little Girl’s upcoming months long MASTERS OF MODESTY tour will exclusively define the way Rock music and Rock bands are viewed, shaped, and respected for generations to come. Churches shall be built, shrines shall be bronzed and polished, and cults will coordinate their mass suicides with the release dates of Confused Little Girl’s future album release dates. 

This shall be a truly grand outing, and fortune has smiled upon you to be present at the birthing of the next step in musical evolution.

Confused Little Girl; Photo by Amber O'Shea

Check out the calendar here for their Master of Modesty Tour dates. More dates are to come. (Alabama, they just announced that they will be at The Nick in Birmingham, AL on April 30th. Be there!)

If you don’t know anything about them (and you really should!), go to www.bastardsofrock.com to keep updated on the band, preview their music, watch their crazy videos, see some awesome photos, and more!

Confused Little Girl; Photo by Amber O'Shea

While you’re at it, go here: trust me, you won’t be sorry you did.

When someone mentions live local music, what cities come to mind? Austin? Atlanta? Tampa? New York?

What about Montgomery? This suggestion may raise some eyebrows and elicit some chuckles among local residents. Why, you might ask, would I want to see bands play in Montgomery when I can go up to Birmingham? What can Montgomery possibly have to offer?

Montgomery may not be the hottest spot for live local music, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Whether you know it or not, there are a lot of very talented musicians in this city. In fact, Montgomery has the potential to become just as hot as our neighbor Birmingham.

First, however, we need to show the city that we want, we demand a better music scene.

"Why should you support local music?" Answers from Facebook

Most musicians don’t perform solely for the money. Many know that they may never make it “big” or get a record deal, though they likely wouldn’t turn down the opportunity if it arose. Musicians do it for the love of music, because they’re driven by a hunger to create noise, and not just any noise, but something full of life and spirit. Music is perhaps the ideal form of PDA. Like most art, it’s not something to keep hidden from the world, but something to display for everyone to enjoy. When you support musicians, you share in their experience of the art.

While it is helpful to support bands by buying their albums and merchandise, perhaps the best and easiest way to support them is to go to their shows. If money’s tight, there are venues that don’t have cover charges, like the It’ll Do Tavern, or some that only charge cover on weekends, but still have live music during the week. And yes, some venues do have live music during the week. The 1048 in Downtown Montgomery, for example, showcases bands 7 nights a week!

"Why should you support local music?" Answers from Facebook

Not only does attending concerts show the bands that you care about them and enjoy what they do, but you also help make them sound better. Hard to believe, maybe, but it’s true. Musicians feed off the energy of the crowds. When they see that the audience is enjoying the music, they feel better about what they’re doing, and the energy level of their music increases. It’s the reason why going to see a band live in concert is a much more invigorating experience than listening to them on a CD. An album can’t compete with the energy of a live show with an enthusiastic audience.

There’s another very important reason to attend concerts by local musicians. The more that venues see audiences for these bands grow, the more often they’ll hire bands to play at their establishments. If this increases city-wide, more venues may open, and the music scene will blossom. This will also help encourage other local musicians to develop their own talents and create their own bands, further strengthening the local music scene.

The first step toward this brighter future for Montgomery’s music scene is to get out there and show your support for local music.

Don't let thieves walk over you. Protect your work. Photo by Amber O'Shea

Last summer, blogger Rachel Kane hit the news when her blog, WTForever21, was threatened with a copyright infringement lawsuit from Forever 21, the store that Kane’s blog lampooned. Kane responded to this threat by sharing her situation through social media. According to an article on Forbes, “Kane says that…she appreciates the fact that the situation has gotten people talking about bloggers’ rights and fair use, a doctrine in American copyright law that grants limited use of copyrighted material without the copyright holder’s consent if that material is used for specific purposes, including commentary and criticism.”

Because Kane’s blog was protected by the fair use portion of copyright law, she was able to continue running her blog without further harassment from Forever 21. Not all bloggers are as lucky, however. Blog Law Blog keeps tabs on several cases involving bloggers, emphasizing that blogging can be risky if one isn’t careful.

The U.S. Copyright Office defines copyright infringement as occurring when “a copyrighted work is

reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.” A copyright is a legal form of protection to the authors of original works whether they are published or not.

Example of a public domain image. Taken from www.public-domain-image.com

Diana Taylor is the author of the Michael Jackson Awakening Message blog, which is about Jackson’s message of love and altruism in his music. The graphics Taylor uses in this blog include graphics that coincide with the theme of her blog. Though the images are not hers, she says that she does mostly use photos that are public domain, which are works not protected by copyright and are free for use.

She adds that, when she does use copyrighted images or music, she makes sure she is “always careful to put a link back to the owner of the picture, to that person’s blog.” For example, “One particular blog that I like, she has a little thing over to the side that says she’s copyrighted, that if you use her photos, to link back to her, so that’s what I’ve always done.”

The best protection against copyright infringement lawsuits is to simply ask permission to use the photo or song. Then when you do get permission, follow through by appropriately attributing the owner.

Copyrighting an image is as easy as adding text to your image! Photo by Amber O'Shea

It is just as important to make sure your own work has copyright protection. Ronald Mina, who runs MeNaSe Publications, a literature blog, says that he takes care to ensure that the works of original fiction published on his site are protected from theft and copyright infringement. According to him, he “makes a note on the site that the individual work is copyrighted to the authors.” In addition, “Every so often I Google my author’s work so that if someone rips it off ostentatiously…I can hunt it down. I also keep abreast of upcoming fiction and look for similar themes.”

Many blogs, such as the NYC Council, have suggestions on how to protect your blog from copyright infringement, including things like making clear the fact that the media on your blog is copyrighted to you.

Lera Lynn; Photo by Amber O'Shea

BAND: LERA LYNN

GENRE: AMERICANA

VENUE: THE ALLEY BAR, MONTGOMERY, AL

Recently (February 25, to be exact. Yeah, I’m a bit behind…) I had the pleasure of seeing Georgia’s Lera Lynn when she stopped by the Alley Bar here in Montgomery. Lera and her band is on tour for the promotion of her debut album, ‘Have You Met Lera Lynn?’

Lera Lynn has a smooth, melodic voice of nearly the caliber of many of those in her genre. There’s an honesty to her that resonates in her lyrics. The imagery she writes into her songs evokes raw emotions entwined meticulously with her deft guitar playing skills. One of my favorites of her songs is “Bobby, Baby,” which tends to remain in my head many days since first hearing it.

While most of the songs are her own, she does perform an inspired cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” (Hear it here.) She slows Cash’s quick tempo, drawing out the song and filling those long places with the sense of a woman being consumed by the fire and passion of love. Her take on this song makes me think of how Cash made NIN’s song “Hurt” his own.

Photo by Amber O'Shea

The show at the Alley Bar was quite wonderful. Lera Lynn began slow, pulling the audience into her music with her mesmerizing voice, then, as the set continued on, progressively speeding things up, so that by the end, you were left nearly breathless, anticipating more. A mere hour long set of her music wasn’t nearly enough, though there were plenty of other great acts to see that night, as well.

Lera Lynn, in my opinion, is an artist to watch. I certainly look forward to her coming out here again, perhaps even playing a full show.

Two of her music videos are currently up on the Music Videos tab above.

More Photos Beneath Cut:

Photo by Amber O'Shea

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Blogging; Photo by Amber O'Shea

Since their introduction in the ‘90s, blogs have become a popular way for people to share news, thoughts, links, photos, and otherwise communicate online. In the music industry, it is a great place for music lovers and music journalists to post reviews of bands and albums.

But what if the band or album is plagued with artistic problems? Then what? Writing a scathing review might sound like a good idea in these situations, but is it wise? According to the Florida Intellectual Property, Entertainment Law and News Blog (along with other sources), it is possible to be sued for what you write in your blog. Among the reasons that a blogger might be sued is libel, which is defined as written defamation (injury to reputation).

Understanding the nature of defamation, even from a legal standpoint, is tricky, and each state has its own set of requirements for something to legally be considered libel. For the state of Alabama, the Birmingham Injury Blog states that the following four things are required to prove libel: publication, defamatory statement, specific to plaintiff, and intention.

Bill Goodman, coauthor of music blog The Soda Shop, says in regard to reviewing mediocre or bad albums, “Our policy is if we don’t like it, we don’t review it.” When they do decide to review a mediocre album, they “will point out some of the more finer [sic] points of the album. No negative reviews is [sic] a good review.” In this way, they avoid antagonizing the group of people their site supports.

Indie Albums; Photo by Amber O'Shea

Clara Rose Thornton, who has 11 years of professional experience as a writer, editor, and copyeditor for various national, international, regional, and local publications, shared her experiences concerning libel. According to Thornton, “The saying that ‘Once something gets printed, it’s true,’ is so true.” Once people read something, they have a tendency to believe it, she further explains. In order to prevent potentially libelous stories, she fact checks, does extensive research prior to her interview, after the interview she does more research and fact checking, faithfully quotes interviewees, and follows up with interviewees via email or phone if she has further questions or concerns.

Even if you follow the advice of these writers, and even if your review is good, there’s still a chance that someone may still be insulted by the publication.

In her 11 years as a journalist, Thornton says that she has only had a few potential problems with any of her articles, none of which have become legal issues. For example, a band once publicly berated Thornton on her Facebook page for being unprofessional after they had read nothing more than a preview of a biography she had written about them. This treatment continued even after the piece was published. The reason for this, Thornton explained, was that she was unable to get a formal interview, due to the state of everyone when she was finally able to get an interview (it was after the show, around 3 a.m., after there had been drinking). Because she had previously written stories about the band and the show she covered was not a newsworthy event, she took a more “metaphorical” approach to the article she wrote, which the band appeared to not appreciate. In the end, Thornton said it was a “regrettable experience.”