Oh hey, wow, we actually have music to promote this time! Mercantile Records recently reached out to tell us about two of their latest releases. The first is a song from a band called Gymnastiken from Sweden. The second is a song from a band called d.b.s. from Canada. Go and show the Mercantile Records social media pages some support, it looks like they are a new label just getting started. Help them get their early subscriber numbers up if you enjoy the music they are releasing and want to hear more!
In commemoration of International Women's Day, we are going to continue to celebrate international female artists all March long!
Have you ever discovered a new band at a festival that was completely off of your radar before you saw them? Munshy is a band from France that I was able to catch live by mere coincidence. The Van's Warped Tour has always held a special place in my heart because I felt like I always discovered at least one new artist that made a big impact on me every year that I was able to go. One year back in the early or mid 00s, that band was Munshy.
They were playing on the Ernie Ball Battle of The Bands Stage, which is reserved for up and coming artists who had won the opportunity to perform at Warped Tour through various Battle of The Bands events in their local areas. I was wandering around the festival while I had about an hour to kill before another band I came to see would be starting. If you ever find yourself at a large music festival with multiple stages I highly recommend giving yourself a block of time during the middle of the event to wander around and check out different artists. You never know what you might discover.
As I approached the Ernie Ball Stage, I heard the low rumbling bassline of their song "Satisfied." I was like Toucan Sam, with my colored mohawk, following my ears instead of my nose toward the enticing sound. It was unlike anything my Californian ears had heard at the time, aside from maybe a hint of Korn. The singer was a girl named Faustine who rocked an energy far bigger than her small frame as she bounced around the stage hyping up the crowd with her aggressive vocals. They were a relatively unknown band from France performing in the US for the first time. The crowd wasn't very thick but those that were there absolutely loved it!
I don't remember much about their short set-list which I only caught about 2 or 3 songs of but I do remember them playing "Rotten" last. I'm a sucker for songs like Green Day's "Longview" or "Brain Stew" that have an ebb and flow to the music. Some of my favorite concert memories have been in the pit during Green Day sets at for those two songs. The pit slows down and everyone walks during the verse, and then the chorus breaks out into a chaotic frenzy. This was the feeling in the crowd for "Rotten," albeit with a bit more elbow room. I was hooked! And from the looks of it so were a lot of others.
