ALIVE NATURALSOUND / PATRICK BOISSEL interview for the LA TIMES
Alive Naturalsound feature in the LA Times/Burbank Leader – interview with independent label owner Patrick Boissel
KEEPING UP THE RECORD
BY JONNY WHITESIDE
Not far from where the old train tracks dead end at the lumber yard in industrial Burbank, there’s a non descriptive warehouse that, if one is lucky enough to get inside is, turns out to be both a museum-quality, wall-to-wall archive of rock’ n’ roll, punk and B-movie poster art and the home of Alive Naturalsound Records a rebel independent label.
It is a wildly disparate and unlikely success story, one achieved by a horde of musicians drawn from a coast-to-coast talent pool. “Most of our artists come from the Midwest or the South, some from the East Coast, although there are a few exceptions,” Patrick Boissel said.
LEFT LANE CRUISER in VIVE LE ROCK (UK)
BRIAN ROBBINS review of JOHN THE CONQUEROR “The Good Life”
Moore’s writing (and the band’s playing) is fueled by real life, filtered through bluesmen souls and rock ‘n’ roll hearts. It’s often not a pretty picture – but neither is life, sometimes. You know Moore’s either been there or knows who was there when he’s writing about a party taking a bad turn when someone hauls out a pistol (“Mississippi Drinkin’”) or a relationship that’s too hard to stay in and too hard to do without (“You Don’t Know”).
John The Conqueror’s songs are always firmly founded in the groove – and Gardner and Lynn are masters of such. Gardner never overplays, but he is as unshakeable as he is tasteful. (Listen, for example, to his cymbal work on “Road To Bayport” – when he lets loose it’s the perfect punctuation to what’s going down with Moore in the moment.) Dig Ryan Lynn’s bass holding down the fort during the opening verse of “What Am I Gonna Do” – all cool and funky and right on. Rather than making the mistake that trio members sometimes do – trying to make up for the three-piece lineup by overplaying – Gardner and Lynn know how to work the holes in the sound and find dynamics in absence and return.
CMJ – Album Stream Premiere: John The Conqueror “The Good Life”
Album Stream Premiere: John The Conqueror – The Good Life
The album drops February 25 via Alive Naturalsound
February 14, 2014 | By Kate Gamble
Philly-based trio John the Conqueror formed in December 2010, establishing their sound in their Mississippi roots and exploding onwards and outwards. The group is committed to a raw, rock-infused blues revivalism that combines Southern rock with a punky edge and a smooth, blues-and-soul vibe, led by the deep, tender vocals of Pierre Moore. Their upcoming album, The Good Life (out February 25 through Alive Naturalsound Records) follows their 2012 self-titled debut album.
LEFT LANE CRUISER in CLASSIC ROCK
The BLUES Magazine review of LEFT LANE CRUISER “Rock Them Back To Hell”
ROLLING STONE premieres JOHN THE CONQUEROR’s “Waking Up To You”
“I’m a blues man; all I got are stories,” admits John The Conqueror‘s singer-songwriter Pierre Moore. And not unlike many blues greats before him, the stories that fill out the Philly-based trio’s second full-length studio effort, The Good Life, are based on Moore’s own personal experiences that span from his Mississippi youth to his current life – much of it spent on the road.
“When I started this album,” Moore said, “I completely devoted myself to becoming a better writer.” And after witnessing these 11 impassioned, often explosive tracks, Moore’s decision to focus on his art paid off with well-crafted songs of truth, clarity and power. All of the compositions were penned by Moore except for their swaggering take on Randy Newman’s “Let’s Burn Down The Cornfield.” Building on the soulful blues-rock foundation of their acclaimed 2012 self-titled debut, The Good Life moves forward with both Moore’s own life experiences turned to song, and the tight-but-loose rhythms of drummer Michael Gardner & bassist Ryan Lynn as well as Moore’s own snaky, sinewy guitar leads.
While John The Conqueror follows the path laid down for decades by like-minded bluesmen who ‘told it like it was,’ on The Good Life Moore and co. have also updated the blues idiom for a new generation – melding hard truths with hard-ass blues-rock. – ROLLING STONE
ROLLING STONE PREMIERES JOHN THE CONQUEROR’S NEW SONG “WAKING UP TO YOU” / NEW ALBUM “THE GOOD LIFE” FEB. 25TH!
ROLLING STONE PREMIERES JOHN THE CONQUEROR’S NEW SONG “WAKING UP TO YOU” / NEW ALBUM “THE GOOD LIFE” FEB. 25TH!
RJ FROMETA on 20 January, 2014 at 17:05
“I’m a blues man; all I got are stories,” admits John The Conqueror‘s singer-songwriter Pierre Moore. And not unlike many blues greats before him, the stories that fill out the Philly-based trio’s second full-length studio effort, The Good Life, are based on Moore’s own personal experiences that span from his Mississippi youth to his current life – much of it spent on the road.
“When I started this album,” Moore said, “I completely devoted myself to becoming a better writer.” And after witnessing these 11 impassioned, often explosive tracks, Moore’s decision to focus on his art paid off with well-crafted songs of truth, clarity and power. All of the compositions were penned by Moore except for their swaggering take on Randy Newman’s “Let’s Burn Down The Cornfield.” Building on the soulful blues-rock foundation of their acclaimed 2012 self-titled debut, The Good Life moves forward with both Moore’s own life experiences turned to song, and the tight-but-loose rhythms of drummer Michael Gardner & bassist Ryan Lynn as well as Moore’s own snaky, sinewy guitar leads.
While John The Conqueror follows the path laid down for decades by like-minded bluesmen who ‘told it like it was,’ on The Good Life Moore and co. have also updated the blues idiom for a new generation – melding hard truths with hard-ass blues-rock.
John The Conqueror’s The Good Life will be available on CD, digital formats and limited edition vinyl on February 25th through Alive Naturalsound Records.
THE GOOD LIFE TRACK LISTING:
01 Get ‘Em
02 Mississippi Drinkin’
03 Waking Up To You
04 What Am I Gonna Do
05 Golden Rule
06 Burn Down The Cornfield
07 Road To Bayport
08 You Don’t Know
09 John Doe
10 Daddy’s Little Girl
11 She Said
SOURCE: VENTS MAGAZINE
BEACHWOOD SPARKS interview with The AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
As El Nino rolled into Southern California in the summer of 1997 it pushed two friends, Brent Rademaker and Chris Gunst, to escape Los Angeles. Frequent trips to Joshua Tree were coupled with crashes at Gunst’s parents home to float in their pool and stare at the desert’s night skies. In the midst of this extreme climate change, a mixtape of ‘West Coast country rock’ was being passed around amongst friends inspiring Rademaker to transform his indie rock group, Further, into a new psychedelic country and western outfit – Beachwood Sparks. Loose jam sessions took place, and as the summer slid into autumn the group adopted a vibe that was reminiscent of Crazy Horse – part soulful country, part reckless rock ‘n’ roll, all with a tinge of mid-90′s Glasgow indie rock.
As the jam sessions gave away to recording in a cramped shed, they laid to tape Desert Skies – their recently released ‘lost’ first album. What sets this album apart from their 2000 Sub Pop debut, is that it presents a perfect portrait of the group in its infancy, finding their feet in light of the dissolution and influence of their previous incarnation. Recorded prior to the full spit and shine of the lush Laurel Canyon aesthetic they would soon become known for, cuts like “Canyon Ride” and “Desert Skies” pack an extra, unexpected, punch.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW with BRENT RADEMAKER on the AQUARIUM DRUNKARD SITE