2004
- THE GAMECOCK - Columbia SC - Issue date: 12/3/04 Section: The Mix
Show and Tell -
Guitar Show translates personal experiences into music on its full-length debut
By: Jenni Dillard
Local band Guitar Show will rock out at New Brookland Tavern to start the promotion for their new album, "The Ghosts of Our Childhood," recorded last summer.
Guitarist and vocalist Daniel Machado and his younger sister, bassist Sierra Machado have had music in their lives since they were children, when Daniel got a ukulele and then eventually discovered a love for guitar in high school.
Sierra found music through her father.
"In sixth grade my dad wanted to buy us all guitars because he wanted us to be musical," Sierra explained. "We were all three getting one and he was like 'You know there's a bass player in a band. One of you guys should get a bass.' I wanted to be different. They both played violin so I was like 'I'm going to play viola. I'm going to play bass.' Then I actually ended up being in a band so that's kinda weird."
After undergoing a few changes the band came together in the summer of 2003 with the Machados joining Eddie Lord on guitar and vocals and Michael Macaneny on drums. They all knew each other from school.
"Michael and I sat at the same lunch table in high school," Daniel said. "He would always tell these jokes that would make the whole table say 'Michael, that's gross.'"
After more than a year together, Guitar Show is releasing their first full-length studio album this winter. "It's got really personal stuff in the form of music with lyrics that I'm just supposed to give to strangers," Daniel said. "It's the first time that I've ever been totally comfortable and confident in something that I've put out."
Their music is "pretty much influenced by everything," he said. "There's something I probably love in every genre, so musically it comes from that. And lyrically the music is sort of like narratives, almost like I'm writing short stories. I just call it rock."
Even though they've gotten positive feedback on their music so far, they are still prepared to face possible disappointments. "Not everybody is going to like what you're doing and people are going to have criticism and sometimes it's challenging not to not take their opinions personally," Sierra said.
All of the band members are also full-time students at USC and say balancing school with the band can be a struggle. "Finding time where you don't feel like you should be doing something else. That's hard," Lord said.
Daniel said music was an obsession for him.
"I do it because I have to. There are things that I've always loved about it and I wouldn't be who I am without the knowledge that I've gotten from it," he said.
"To be able to maintain good grades in school while I'm obsessed with trying to write a song or finish an album or do art for an album is real hard."
Like a lot of independent artists, the members of Guitar Show have mixed feelings about the music downloading issue and other changes that have been recently taking place in the music industry.
"You never really care about it until you spend your money to make a CD," Lord said. "When you put a lot of time and effort into something and then somebody can just get it for free."
The dynamics of a band are shaped by the relationships between the individual members, Daniel said.
"You never know when somebody's just not going to want to do it anymore," he said.
"Emotionally, I've never experienced anything that's quite like being in a band ... It's just a real intimate relationship in a totally different way than dating, but it's just lots of question marks and lots of ambiguity."
The new CD "The Ghosts of Our Childhood" can be purchased for $10 at the CD release party on Dec. 29 at New Brookland Tavern, at Manifest Discs and Tapes or online at www.guitarshowband.com.
- THE GAMECOCK - Columbia SC - Issue date: 9/29/04 Section: The Mix
Battle of the Bands to storm USC
CP to sponsor the fifth annual local band competition tonight
By: Jenni Dillard
Sunday afternoon the members of Carolina Productions' concert commission huddled around the boombox during their weekly meeting to hear songs from the 11 bands that entered this year's Battle of the Bands competition. The list had to be narrowed down to six for tonight's final competition in the Russell House Ballroom.
This is the fifth Battle of the Bands competition sponsored by Carolina Productions. The show is an opportunity for students to showcase their talents to peers at school.
"We've been trying to help out the local music scene for awhile because it's hard for local guys to get their music out, especially the college crowd," said Carolina Productions concert commissioner Justin Kuhns, a fourth-year advertising student.
After hearing the songs and ranking each band, the members of CP chose Guitar Show; The Elements; Saintmaybe; If Not, Winter; Build a Bridge; and The Silver Screen.
"This year we're going to have multiple genres: a few hardcore acts, a rap act and punk acts," Kuhns said. "It's going to be a really diverse show."
Each band will play two to three original songs. There are no cover songs allowed. Three judges have been lined up for the competition: Charles Wilkie, David Britt and James Willingham. Wilkie and Britt book bands for local venues, and Willingham is a USC alumnus and former member of Carolina Productions.
Among this year's finalists is hip-hop group The Elements, which has been together for two years.
"Everybody in our group has a different element, and when we come together it's like a force that can't be stopped in hip-hop," group member Mike Sampson said. "I'm looking for a lot of support," he said of the upcoming show. "If there's a lot of people there, that will be great. When the crowd gets into it, that helps us perform better."
The band Guitar Show formed in 2001 and just finished recording its first full-length studio album, "The Ghosts of Our Childhood."
Guitarist Daniel Machado said music is "about enjoying the creative process and in turn hopefully having other people enjoy what you've created. Performing the product of that process is always a rush and the mutual enjoyment between the players and listeners is a wonderful thing."
Build a Bridge was formed over a year ago and is composed of five guys who just "really love music," as they said on their profile at myspace.com.
If Not, Winter is this year's "youngest band," formed during the summer, but its members are not new to the music scene. Guitarist Josh Zurawski described the group's music as "in your face emo-rock," and they have been compared to bands Story of the Year and Finch.
"We basically wanted to do the Battle of the Bands to gain exposure on USC's campus," guitarist Andrew Connor said. "Because sometimes it's hard to get college students with no money to come to a show they have to pay for. Something like this allows students to come get a taste of our music for free at a familiar location, and maybe they will come to a show later down the road."
The Silver Screen claims their eclectic sound is heavily influenced by many genres.
"Each member of the band brings a different musical influence to create something the band really loves playing and others will enjoy listening," they said on their Web site.
Rounding out the top six is Saintmaybe, a group of four friends who have been immersed in the Columbia music scene for several years. They recorded a long-awaited EP this summer called "Hands Outstretched."
The Battle of the Bands takes over the Russell House Ballroom this evening. Doors open at 7 p.m.
For more about the Battle of the Bands artists:
Saintmaybe - www.saintmaybemusic.com
Guitar Show - www.guitarshowband.com, www.myspace.com/guitarshow
The Silver Screen - music.download.com/thesilverscreen, www.purevolume.com/thesilverscreen
Build a Bridge - www.myspace.com/buildabridge
If Not, Winter - ifnotwinter.net, www.myspace.com/ifnotwinter
2003
- THE GAMECOCK - Columbia SC - Issue date: 9/5/03 Section: The Mix
Local bands supply city with diverse sampling of musical styles
By: Megan Treacy
Considering its relatively small size, the Capitol City has a growing community of talented musicians. Although only a sampling from the local music buffet, the following three artists are currently whetting the appetites of area music fans and satisfying listeners both on campus and beyond.
Guitar Show
Members: Daniel Machado, vocals and guitar; Sierra Machado, bass and vocals; and guest musicians
Genre: Pop rock
Albums: "Guitar Show Live" (2002), "Once Around the Sun" (2003), "The Beast" EP (Summer 2003)
Show Dates: Sept. 20 - Fuze 2003 festival
Bio: Guitar Show was formed in the summer of 2001 and has already gone through its share of lineup changes. The band now mainly consists of brother and sister pair Daniel and Sierra Machado and a rotating mix of guest musicians that fill in at shows.
Guitar Show has three releases to date, the most recent being the five-song "The Beast" EP released this summer - the band's first studio-quality recording.
Guitar Show has played at a number of local venues and just recently made it to the finals of New Brookland Tavern's Battle of the Bands this summer.
The band is set to play at the upcoming Fuze 2003 festival alongside local bands Tigerbot Hesh, Cool Hand Luke, Courage Riley and others.
Dade County Resistance
Members: Garrett Grashuis, guitar and vocals; Mark Emerson, bass; Troy Thames, drums
Genre: Punk
Albums: "Twelve Step Program" (three-way split), "The Long Story Short" (six-song demo), "Every Last Chance" (full length, April 2003)
Show Dates: Sept. 27 - Swayze's in Atlanta; Oct. 4 - Music Farm in Charleston; Oct. 12 - New Brookland Tavern
Bio: Dade County Resistance was formed in 2001 when a former band of Garrett Grashuis and Mark Emerson became defunct. They then enlisted Troy Thames of Guyana Punch Line to be their drummer and set to work.
In their first year as a band, they released four songs on a three-way split with Burns Out Bright and Last to Know titled "Twelve Step Program" and the put out a six-song demo titled "The Long Story Short."
Dade County Resistance has played with notorious punk bands Stretch Armstrong, Hot Water Music, Midtown and Dillinger Four. In April 2003, they released "Every Last Chance", their debut full length, on Illinois's Trend is Dead! Records and South Carolina's Three Day Hero Records.
Josh Bowers
Members: Josh Bowers, acoustic guitar and vocals
Genre: Acoustic singer-songwriter
Albums: "A Title Similar or in Reference to...or Simply Side A"
Show Dates: None at present
Bio: Josh Bowers began playing guitar at age 14 and quickly started writing his own songs out of frustration when he couldn't figure out how to play any covers. Bowers, a fifth-year English student, transferred from USC-Lancaster last year and has been bringing his minimalist sound to Columbia venues on a regular basis since.
He most recently played at Cockapalooza during Welcome Week. Bowers has performed solo for most of his career, but did have a two-year stint with a band from 1999 to 2001. Even though his first band didn't work out, Bowers is always thinking about putting a band together to create a sound he calls "literary rock," of which he considers Death Cab for Cutie to be an example.
Bowers, who reads constantly, is just as inspired by his favorite author Douglas Coupland as he is by his favorite band Saves the Day. While Bowers admits to ultimately wanting to sign to a label, his main concern is to keep writing and continue being
creative.
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