The Christmas Lights Shine on Baltimore Unsigned

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday as Baltimore Unsigned welcomes back The Christmas Lights. The Frostburg-based band started as a solo project by vocalist and guitarist Kenny Tompkins. "The band was formed to play those songs [from the debut Walk Like a Human], and just see how it went," he recalls. "People reacted fairly strongly to the sound of the band playing the songs, maybe even in some cases, even more than the record." 

On the forthcoming album, tentatively titled Getting Born, the group is exploring new opportunities bridge the gap between its indie rock and electronic influences. “If you’re holding an instrument that you’re familiar with, like a guitar or bass guitar, you so easily fall into rock and roll clichés," Tompkins says. "We’ve written a lot of songs and been like, ‘That’s pretty good,’ and then listen to it a week later and been like, ‘But it’s just the same old rock and roll that has existed for a long time.” And that’s not exactly what our band is about."

The Christmas Lights perform at Dante’s in Frostburg on Saturday, September 18.

Attend a Live Taping with Fools & Horses

Baltimore Unsigned welcomes back Fools & Horses as the band previews songs from their self-titled album at The Bunker Recording Studio in Cockeysville, MD, on Wednesday, September 22nd.

Space is limited, so we're holding a random drawing for a few listeners to join us. Register by 2 p.m. Tuesday, September 14th, to enter a drawing to win a pair of tickets to attend the performance and interview.

Fools & Horses perform at the Recher Theatre on Saturday, October 9.

Mr. Moccasin Steps Into Baltimore Unsigned

Mr. Moccasin, a songwriting partnership between instrumentalist Jared T. Fischer and vocalist Hanna Badalova, started in 2003. "We came up with our mascot before we had a name for a band," says Badalova. "Jared and I are both very visual people, and we both have an affinity for animals . . . . so we came up with a character named Mr. Moccasin. It's a bunny with a bow and arrow and a pair of moccasins on."

The indie rock sound came later, evolving from a collective of area musicians with Fischer and Badalova at the core. In 2007 the band released its debut album, Deer Eyes Bunny Eyes, a collection of songs about animals, fruits, vegetables and foreign locales. 

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday, with an encore at 9 a.m. Saturday, as Mr. Moccasin previews selections from their forthcoming second album You Will Take a Trip to the Sea.

Mike McFadden Goes It Alone on Baltimore Unsigned

When Mike McFadden returned to the studio after a three-year hiatus, he had a ton of new songs and a DIY work ethic. 

"I didn't have the time or resources to gather a bunch of people, so I took it upon myself," he says. "I played banjo, bass, guitar, and sang. Paul Rubio played drums, and we cranked out 15 songs. If this EP does well, I can come back in six months and put out more."

Tune in to Baltimore Unsigned at 8 p.m. Tuesday as Mike previews songs from his self-titled album during a special show recorded at the Bunker Recording Studio.

Sri Aurobindo's Expanded Consciousness on Baltimore Unsigned

The Baltimore-based psychedelic rock band Sri Aurobindo takes improvisation to a higher level on their new full-length album Cave Painting. The group bases its name and musical philosophy from the Indian poet, philosopher and yogi who fought for India's freedom from British rule in the early 20th century.

"I got a book about Sri Aurobindo twelve years ago called Adventures in Conciousness," says lead singer Brandon Arinoldo. "Our band name goes beyond the person. Our band is about the mixture of transcendence and rock n' roll." 

The road to musical enlightenment started with recording bi-weekly improv sessions for two years. At that point, they felt ready to start recording. But even formal compositions have room to explore wherever the music leads them. "Every song has improvisation, even the ones that are thoroughly written out," says Arinoldo. "It's fun to have that as an option because it keeps things spontaneous."

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday, with an encore at 9 a.m. Saturday, as Sri Aurobindo visits Baltimore Unsigned.Sri Aurobindo performs at Golden West Café on September 15th. 

Justin Trawick's Sonic Salvation on Baltimore Unsigned

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday, with a rebroadcast at 9 a.m. Saturday, as Justin Trawick visits Baltimore Unsigned to perform selections from his forthcoming E.P., After All Is Said and Done. The new collection, a follow-up to 2009's Starting Over, finds Trawick writing for personal and professional reasons.

"Story of a Boy" is a cathartic account of a two-year period in Trawick's life that included having a girlfriend who moved across the country, having both parents diagnosed with cancer, and losing his day job. " It was either write a song or go postal and start walking through the neighborhood with a shotgun," he says.

Meanwhile, "Love Song" was prompted by bass player Jean Finstad's observation that Trawick tended to sing about failed relationships."[He] came up to me a few months ago and was like, 'Listen Justin, everyone likes your music, but we really need something that’s not going to drive women out of the clubs . . . . We need some kind of positive long song in our repertoire.' So “Love Song” was actually created to appease my upright bass player."

Justin Trawick performs at the 8 x 10 on Friday, August 20th.

Avocado Happy Hour on Baltimore Unsigned

While the instrumental duo Avocado Happy Hour was recording their upcoming full-length, Amanda Schmidt had some reservations about adding vocals to their sonic palette.

"People seek out vocals in music because they give a focal point to the sound," she says. "I don't think they should dominate the music. It's nice to treat them as an instrument so you get the timbre of the voice, but it's not the only thing you are focusing on."

The vocals add a new dimension to the music, but Avocado Happy Hour's sound is still based around Rod Hamilton's percussive instruments: drums, xylophone, and vibraphone. The percussion puts a worldbeat twist on the band's traditional pop sensibilities.

"Our music is structured in a traditional pop sense, but the structures and composition are rooted in world music," Schmidt says. "It's building pop music with strange percussive layers." 

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday, with an encore edition at 9 a.m. Saturday, to hear Avocado Happy Hour's exciting new direction on Baltimore Unsigned.

The Water Rises on Baltimore Unsigned

The instrumental rock group The Water can be traced back to a natural source. "James [Klink] and I have known each other since kindergarten," says Dan Cohan. "We used to go down to [the park] to light fires, build rafts and do other things that ten-year-olds do. We referred to that activity as 'going down to the water.' We thought it was a good nod to our past. It's also kind of a ballsy name because it's impossible to Google."

Although the band is hard to divine--especially since their 2009 and 2010 E.P.s are both self-titled--their elaborate soundscapes are worth seeking out. "We started with guitars, drums and keyboards," says Cohan. "We kept adding to it and saying 'One more thing.' I think we're at a good level now . . . . and we can't fit any more in the car."


Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday (with an encore edition at 9 a.m. Saturday) to catch The Water on Baltimore Unsigned.

The Water performs at the Monument City Scavenger Hunt Party at Sonar on Saturday, July 24th.

Secret Mountains Revealed on Baltimore Unsigned

The psychedelic rock band Secret Mountains formed in the wake of The Owls Go, a duo featuring guitarist Jeffrey Lewis Silverstein and vocalist Kelly Laughlin. "There were some conveniences to being in a duo, but I think we were getting bored," Silverstein says. "We had these nice songs that people liked, but we wanted more rhythm."

In their quest, Silverstein and Laughlin rounded out the ensemble to include bass, percussion and keyboards. The additional personnel built a fuller sound--and a shift in the songwriting. "Our songs have gotten a lot less linear," says Laughlin. "We have to have everyone else because they all are an integral part of our music."

The resulting five-song E.P., Kaddish, garnered raves from the local music press, including City Paper and Aural States. Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday (with an encore edition at 9 a.m. Saturday) and discover Secret Mountains for yourself.

Secret Mountains performs at The Hexagon on August 23rd.



Secret Mountains - Dead Sea from Secret Mountains on Vimeo.

Victoria Vox Brings Exact Change to Baltimore Unsigned

In September 2009, singer/songwriter Victoria Vox found herself at a career crossroads. She just finished paying off her last album, Chameleon, and she couldn't afford to record a new one. When her fanbase kept clamoring for new music, she appealed to them through her website.


"I set a goal for about $4,000 and told the fans 'If you guys help me raise $4,000, I'll be able to put something out,'" she says. "We reached the goal at the end of the day and by the end of the week, we had over $8,000. So I doubled the goal to $16,000. Within a month, I'd raised over $21,000. It felt like the fans were telling me that I wasn't done yet. It was like a bolt of energy."

She rewarded her supporters with the new album, Exact Change, contained in some limited-edition cover art. "The designer . . . came to me with a shadowbox made of clear plastic that you could look in and see the back of [a washing] machine," she says. "At first I thought about putting in some socks that you could tumble around, or maybe an old school ball game. Then he was like, 'What about water?'" 

The resulting design features a fish skeleton swirling around Victoria's visage. And the final recording combines Vox's accomplished ukulele playing with elements of jazz, folk and traditional French pop.

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday (with an encore at 9 a.m. Saturday) to hear Victoria perform selections from Exact Change and speak with host Sam Sessa about the recording process.

Smooth Kentucky's Bluegrass Blend on Baltimore Unsigned

Smooth Kentucky found inspiration on the back of a whiskey bottle. 

"The Baltimore Brewing Company used to have a bluegrass happy hour every Friday night," says guitarist/vocalist Ed Hough. "[Guitarist/vocalist Cris Jacobs] had a connection with the girl who put it on, and she told him to put together a bluegrass band. He called me up and we needed a name because the City Paper was about to go to print.  We got 'smooth Kentucky' off the back of a whiskey bottle and it stuck."

It's a fitting representation for the six-piece band's blend of new grass and Grateful Dead roots.

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday (with an encore broadcast at 9 a.m. Saturday) as the band performs selections from its 2009 release A Few More Miles-- and previews some new songs--during a special performance and interview recorded at The Bunker Recording Studio.

Smooth Kentucky performs at Mick O'Shea's on Friday, July 16.

Baltimore Unsigned Encore Edition with Paul Masson

Tune in at 8 p.m. Tuesday (and 9 a.m. Saturday) for an encore edition of Baltimore Unsigned, featuring Paul Masson.

After spending some time in New York, the singer-songwriter returned to the Baltimore area and fell back in love with writing music. Masson's spent much of 2010 on the road, making a name for himself throughout the northeast. His vocal stylings and intensity have garnered comparisons to Ray LaMontagne. And his work harkens back to a classic era of songwriters from 1970's.

When he spoke with Sam Sessa in October, 2009, he described his appreciation for the retro sound. “I have so many favorite records, like John Lennon’s The Plastic Ono Band and Neil Young’s Harvest and pretty much everything Hank Williams ever recorded," he said. "When I listen to music, there’s a sound that I love and you know, the modern sound, just didn’t fit with the kind of stuff I’m doing.”

Paul Masson plays WTMD's First Thursday Concert, with Joshua James, at 5:30 p.m. July 1st in West Mt. Vernon Park.

John Mancini Band on Baltimore Unsigned

As we count down to First Thursday, we're looking back at John Mancini Band's recent visit to Baltimore Unsigned. The band performed selections from their 2009 debut, JMB.

After the album release, Mancini received an honorable mention in last year's Billboard World Song Contest for his track "Buried Alive." And last month the band beat out 250 artists to become New Groove winners on Jambands.com. It's the latest chapter in a journey that started a decade ago and miles away from Baltimore.

“I’ve been writing songs for about ten years and bouncing physically all over the place, from state to state, trying out living in different areas," Mancini says. "I really started getting into songwriting in Colorado, just sort of living the camping life and writing songs, you know, out in the woods and stuff like that. Just strumming and playing with different people and different players.”

Check out the result of all those years of playing at 8 p.m. Tuesday. And don't miss the John Mancini Band when they kick off First Thursday at 5:30 p.m. June 3rd in West Mt. Vernon Park.

Penn Station Celebrates "Baltimore"

Caleb Stine and Saleem's song "Baltimore" gets a new visual verse this month as Amtrak and MARC Train commuters at Penn Station, 1515 North Charles Street, will be greeted by a mural inspired by the song in the building's main entrance.

The artwork, created as part of a collaboration between students at Maryland Institute College of Art and the University of Baltimore, depicts elements of Saleem's "city of dreams" in four striking panels.

An official opening and reception will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 4th at Penn Station. And the mural will stay up through March 31st.

This is the latest chapter in a collaboration that started in the summer of 2008 when WTMD's Baltimore Unsigned introduced Caleb Stine, a country folk-rocker, to Saleem, a hip-hop artist, and challenged the songwriters to create four songs in six weeks.

The duo debuted their material, including "Baltimore," at the 8 x 10 in July 2008 and announced plans to record a studio album. The result, Outgrown These Walls, received critical acclaim.



And "Baltimore" has inspired more than a few educators to use the song as a starting point for lesson plans. Here's Saleem performing in May 2009 at Cherry Hill Elementary.

Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad on Baltimore Unsigned tonight!

On this evening’s episode of Baltimore Unsigned, Sam Sessa is joined in-studio by a band with multiple personalities. The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad have toned down their raunchy lyrics and morphed into Baltimore’s only hard rock children’s band, The Hilltop Hightops. The band performs songs from both catalogues on tonight’s show.

Also on the show, you will hear some the best music in the area. Tonight's playlist includes:

1. “95,” by Can’t Hang from Ride The Lightrail

2. “Sunday Morning in Baltimore,” by Will Hill from Identity

3. “Garden of Hope,” by Bob Sima from Periphery

4. “The Garden,” by Fiction 20 Down from Welcome to Grassroots

5. “The Gardens After Lockout,” by No Second Troy from Narcotic

6. “Stendal Syndrome,” by Tears of Mars from E quit Y

7. “The Difference,” by We Read Minds from We Read Minds

*Tears of Mars & We Read Minds are playing together at The Quarter August 10th

8. “Divide & Conquer,” by Vandaveer from Divide & Conquer

9. Live Jam from 8x10 by Damn Right! from next week’s show.

NerfTones on Baltimore Unsigned Tonight

Tonight, Sam Sessa interviews the NerfTones during a live recording at the 8x10. The band brings their funk-jazz dance grooves to WTMD. Not an episode to miss.

Also on the show, you will hear some the best music in the area. Tonight's playlist includes:

1. “Stick Shift,” by Young Sir Jim from Move, Woman

2. “Tired,” by The Jagged Hearts from Rosemary’s Daughter

3. “The Ghosts Around You,” by e. joseph & the phantom heart

4. “Take Your Time,” by DNA from Passenger

5. “Because of You,” by The Perfects from Future Automatic

6. “The Biggest Meteor I’ve Ever Seen,” by Laura Brino from how we survived.

7. “Rain,” by Adam Day from I Stayed Up Late To Make This

8. “How Long Can I Wonder,” by Caleb Stine from Eyes So Strong and Clean

9. “My Three Sons,” by Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad

Vote for Middle Distance Runner on "The Freshman"

Vote for Middle Distance Runner's video, "The Unbeliever" as this week's MTVu Freshman.

http://www.mtvu.com/music/the-freshmen/nominees-042009/

Middle Distance Runner "The Unbeliever" video premeire

DC-residents Middle Distance Runner, a staple band on Baltimore Unsigned, has premiered their music video for their latest single "The Unbeliever." The band becomes claymated for this awesome song.

Be sure to check them out when they come to the Metro Gallery on March 26th.

Check out the video below.

One Fantastic Performer

With 3 names. That's David Andrew Smith who plays on Baltimore Unsigned tonight at 8pm. The Ellicott City native usually features a full band, but he goes solo this evening with excellent results! Check it out for yourself on this track called "Wit's End".

Oh the Sweet Sounds!

Wanted to give you some of this incredible music from DC songstress Laura Burhenn taped at the WTMD studios. You can check out some of her Baltimore Unsigned interview in b tomorrow and hear songs Tuesday night at 8pm on 89.7 WTMD. And to get you psyched up for what’s to come here is Laura tinkling the ivories on this brand new song called “Not Your Fault”.