Credence Found's New Beginnings

If you'd like a debut album in which every song features different musical styles, Credence Found's New Beginnings is the CD for you.  It has jazz, funk, classic rock, some progressive rock, and...yes...even hip-hop.

It is possible to take a 30-odd-year hiatus from fronting a band, and in those few decades, pursue other professional and personal endeavors, and come back better than before.  That would describe lead singer Tracey West. Having heard his voice in a video of him singing karaoke, I assessed it as deep and high-pitched, and no in-between.  This had me wanting to hear him more often. I got my vocal treats from him in "Sleeping Daylight," and "Dysfunctional".

I love how in "Sleeping Daylight," he's mostly deep....until towards the end of the song.  This is a great song to start the CD off with.

While I appreciate the cowbell in "Natalie's Song," (because I needed a high dose of it), I don't think the same of the song.  I'll try to be as diplomatic as I possibly can:  It is on the same level as Guns & Roses' "Used to Love Her."  The downright, outright derogatory message AND the frequent use of "bitch"and "whore" totally distracted me from the percussive therapy.  Last but not least, notwithstanding "Wake Up America", this song stood out unfavorably.

To their credit, they didn't do the same in "Wake Up America."  Though it was a nice attempt to throw in a short hip-hop song, since they're a hard rock band, they should have had a song of that genre about asleep-at-the-wheel America.  That would wake America up because  (1) Rock's not dead and  (2) We rockers would love to have a song in our favorite genre about America.  

However...Credence makes it up to me in "What About Me?" and "Addiction."  Guys, please make more songs like these and less of "Natalie"-style ones.  I can't hear and feel your music in the latter.

I consider it, for a lack of better words, backwards to have a song titled "Dysfunctional," when they have a killer hi-hat/bass intro and vocals to accompany it.   No-let me come right out and say it:  It is in this song that West is at his best.  Even better than that (and in the hopes to end on a good note): With this song, the band could have their music in the palms of their hands.

To take a lyric from "Addiction," "I pray to God you see the light."

Station - Are You Sleeping Alone (Official Music Video)

Station at the The Forum

"They're old-school rock."

If I heard that once, I must have heard it a hundred times over the past few years.  Out of those hundred-odd bands whose music I listened to, I must have felt, heard that "old-school" aspect of their music in a small fraction of it.

The 101st band {laughs} on that old school rock-sounding list is Station, from New York City.  Not only do they sound old school, but they look it, too.  Lead singer Patrick's Coverdale/Squire/Plant-esque on-stage charisma, and his long, big curly hair; lead guitarist Chris' equally big, long hair; and the decided glam/medloic rock-style feel of the lyrics are just a few of many things I noticed in my front-row seat at the Forum in Hazard, Kentucky.  

To be quite honest, I felt like I was sitting watching a new garage band rehearse...and I was the girlfriend of one of the band members.  Whose, I will plead the fifth on that.  Nonetheless, I had a chance to live out something I never did in my teen years.

The one song that stood out from all the rest-what I call the epitome of this old-school scheme-is "Are You Sleeping Alone?".  My thought is if this song were around in the mid to late 80s, this would have made a "power ballad" compilation CD.

For anyone who has the privilege of seeing them in the near future, make a mental list of all of the 70s and 80s rock influences you hear in their music.  I'll start:  Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, Guardian, Billy Squier....Your turn.  And....GO!

Strutter, a Tribute to KISS, at the International

Most of us have a bucket list, and may have done a thing or two on there already.  For me to talk about what is on mine is beyond the scope of this post.  However, I will say there are many significant events in history I will never experience;  I would know about them only through other sources.  One of them is the eternal natural high someone felt after seeing KISS in concert.  

Strutter , a KISS tribute band from Akron, Ohio, allowed me to live in a moment as closely as possible to that.  

From the "tongue action" Billy (as "Gene Simmons") gave, 

to "Ace" giving a killer guitar solo, 

to Bobby Taylor doing the same drums, 

it was everything a rock concert should be, lest we lose sight of it.  To have the awesomeness of the music is a given, playing the hits, including but not limited to "Detroit Rock City," "Doctor Love," "Shout it Out Loud," and even "Beth".  What also made it great was the smooth transitions from one song to another, the band having their show as an interactive, and having them throw out guitar picks.  The question is:  Who didn't get one?  I sure did.

I, and everyone else, was hoping the band would play "Rock and Roll All Night". They got through the whole set without doing it and attempted to exit the stage.  After a nearly effortless request from the audience for an encore, they played that immortal, timeless song.  If that was intentional, to tease the crowd, they did well at that. 

Most of all, they did well in allowing me to capture a moment, to live in it.