Fifteen Minutes of Fame: An Independent Artist Music Review Blog

Originally Published January 31st, 2025 Just like that. One month into 2025. I don’t know what to think of it; it’s exciting as all new years are. It’s that time of year where we find ourselves goal-oriented, dare I say optimistic, and refreshed after having answered the grind to another year.  It’s also a time for reality sink in as the world will be tested for the foreseeable future. Particularly in America, we have new leadership in our country. Leadership that has polarizingly different views than the previous administration -and the majority of our country - have had. Among the many alarming concerns this new regime have brought, there is one that could genuinely have a direct impact on Fifteen Minutes of Fame. That being the threat to our Constitution’s First Amendment Right of Freedom of Speech. In America, we have seen the imminent threat of the loss of the world’s most popular social media platform, TikTok. It was only by executive order that the platform was saved, and re...

Originally Published January 29th, 2025 About the Artist I think it is safe to say that one of the most under-appreciated vocalists in popular music is the baritone/bass singer. I’m not saying they don’t get any love; they do. By now, millions have heard and reacted to  Disturbed's  brilliant cover of  The Sound of Silence . They’re not alone in metal either, as  Godsmack  have also made a reputable name for themselves showcasing bass vocals. One of my all-time favorite bands,  The National  continue to make wonderful music as they’ve proven themselves capable of transcending genres musically, all with incomparable vocals from bass singer,  Matt Berninger . Not to mention, every time  David Kushner  releases music, he draws attention with chart-hitting soundscapes that move every listener. However, that is just a handful of artists. When there are so many out there, it’s important to not forget how important the bass can be. No, I will n...

Originally Published on January 29th, 2025 About the Artist I was actually thinking the other day, “it’s been a little while since I’ve listened to a good punk band. I know I reviewed  The Paradox  (well, billed as  Eric Dangerfield ) last year. I’ve heard some punk music here and there, but this fall was definitely time spent hyper-focused on folk. I do that. We do that. We get fixated on something and it’s hard to leave it. Until it’s time.  Enter  The Great Homesickness . Talk about a good band. Two great guitar players, a great bass player, a great drummer and a lead singer that sounds like  Rivers Cuomo  reincarnated. Maybe even a little bit of  Dashboard Confessional  thrown in there (before he was Dashboard Confessional, the full band. When he was just Dashboard Confessional, the  one guy ). Well, to my surprise, like early D.C, that singer, those guitar players, that bass player, and that drummer; it was  the same guy . It i...

Originally published on January 27th, 2025 About the Artist  Nothing beats a hard-hitting grunge song. Today, it’s absolutely possible to hear the occasional grunge song but it’s typically classified as something else as the genre is pretty cemented to the 90’s as a staple sound of the era. But grunge lives and breathes still today, even if its name is buried in the past. Grunge isn’t just a sound. It’s not just a beat up fender punching chords through an amp with the dirtiest distortion. It’s not layering a ragged sublime tee shirt with flannel. Grunge was more than music. It was the voice of an era. It was anarchy. It was anti-establishment. But unlike the hippies of the 60’s, grunge would punch you straight in the mouth. It was cigarettes and skateboards. Today, when I hear music tap into that vibe, I have a sort of spiritual awakening. It takes me back to listening to  Nirvana ,  The Smashing Pumpkins ,  Hole , and so many more. It reminds me that we are bad asse...

Originally Published on January 24th About the Artist “O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here’s much to do with hate but more with love. Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate, O anything of nothing first create? O heavy lightness, serious vanity, misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this.” (Romeo, from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, W. Shakespeare) I first read Shakespeare’s play when I was 14 years old. It happened to be the same year  Baz Luhrman  took the world by storm with his incredible film,  Romeo + Juliet , catapulting the careers of that  kid  from  What's Eating Gilbert Grape  and the cute  girl  from  My So Called Life .  Even before the digital age, getting a high school freshman interested in reading a 400 year old Shakespearean play was not an...

Originally Published January 22nd, 2025 About the Artist These days, I’ll be honest. It’s difficult for artists to stand out. Particularly in the digital age, where so many platforms are readily available to artists no matter where they are in their career. ProTools, Logic, FL Studios, and more are available and affordable. There are YouTube tricks and hacks to create and recreate sounds, styles, and more. Plus, the recording industry is more than a century old. The planes of musical performance have changed significantly in the last century, of course, but how often do we produce something today that’s not ever been heard before? It’s impossible to do.  Still there are bands, artists, and musicians who find ways to produce music that is authentic and unique; that doesn’t follow the standard pattern of what is “trending.” There are many ways to do this, but often times, this challenge falls to the vocalist. Located in Southern California, there is a band who have found their authen...

Originally published January 10th, 2025 About the Artist It’s no secret that the British can produce music. Being a guy who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, I know what it’s like to come from a community where everybody seems to play music. This comes with a number of positives and sometimes, can also bring about some deflating elements as well. On one hand, it’s pretty easy to find people to artistically connect with. There’s always an opportunity to hear great live music. So many people can relate with you. On the other hand, in an effort to deploy their own marketability, independent musicians tend to create unspoken competitions with one another in an effort to stand out and achieve their own goals. This might limit attendance at our live performances and hurt traffic on social media or streaming sites. I can post a picture about my dog and get a hundred likes and turn around and post promotional things about an upcoming release and it might not get 10 views. This feeling can leave...

Originally Published on January 9th, 2025 About the Artist What can I say, except that “The struggle is real?” As an independent artist, I know how difficult it is to think of ways to catch the attention of a viewer. Every day, I spend some form of time thinking of the hook that might possibly help my music get noticed. Honestly, it becomes less about music and more about finding a trend that sticks. Before we know it, we introverted artisty-types have found ourselves playing the part of eccentric content creators.  I try to be mindful of that when I see other artists putting themselves out there. I like to stop and give them a moment of my time. We all deserve that moment. I don’t always do it. But it’s always great when I do because I never know what I will find. As was the case with  Western Jaguar . Last month, while scrolling the ole’ Threads feed, I stumbled upon this artist who had committed himself to posting every day for a month until his newly released song,  L...

Originally Published on January 8th About the Artist I’ve always been obsessively curious about the songwriting process; not just my own, but my peers’ experiences as well. Sometimes, it is difficult, sometimes the pen doesn’t stop. Sometimes the music is written and the lyrics are plugged in afterwards. Sometimes some words are written down and we spend minutes, hours, days, or months at our instruments trying to find the perfect melody to tell our story.  Whatever the case, whatever the process, it always seems to be the most absolutely necessary process for the work. My working theory is that is a cohesive bond with where we are in our lives, emotionally. It relates to what we’re experiencing and how those experiences make us feel. This obviously dictates they style our music is written in; happy, sad, up tempo, down tempo, but it also dictates the simplicity or complexities of our writing processes. And one doesn’t dictate good or bad. Ive personally experienced writing songs I...