Under The Influence is an intriguing emerging rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, co-founded by Brent Beiling and Anthony DeSalvo. With their music, which mixes different styles of rock such as punk and psychedelic rock, the Under The Influence’s members are trying to give a new shape to youngsters’ angst.

The project is a serious one, with the band members focused on the development of their sound and general expression. Blending the evergreen feeling of angst towards an unfair world belonging to most outcasts, with the technical sonorities pertaining to psychedelic rock, Under The Influence manages to be part of a fresh wave of rock and roll.

The band is going to release their debut album on August 30. Toonari Post had the chance to interview vocalist and guitarist Brent Beiling, for an insight into Under The Influence’s promising idea.

Toonari Post (TP): What is the force that drove you to undertake this music project? What is the core of your project, what do you want to say with your music?

Brent Beiling (BB): This musical project started off as Anthony (lead guitarist and co-songwriter) and me working on material together and coming up with enough songs to start a band. We have been writing together since we were 17, and we have been in a couple of bands together before.

This was the first musical project in which the genesis of the band was exactly what we wanted to happen. It was the sound we had in our heads when we would sit down with acoustic guitars and crank out melodies and chord progressions. Those days were the true roots and core of “Under the Influence.” We want people to decipher for themselves what our music means to them. If we were to tell you, then it wouldn’t be open for interpretation (which any good art always is).

TP: You defined your style as Punkedelic, due to its rock styles mixture. As the word Punkadelic is nowadays used to define different musical approaches, including a particular kind of electronic music, would you mind clarifying the characteristics of your own style for our readers?

BB: Our music has always derived and been rooted in punk rock. We just play what we want and put a lot of passion into it. As we started maturing as musicians though, we started getting more into heavy and psychedelic music. “Punkadelic” is the blend of punk rock, heavy, and psychedelic music accented with pure pop melodies. I mean it’s really just an idea that we haven’t been able to fully transfer onto our album completely how we had envisioned it, but a few songs like “Jesus Will Return On Halloween,” “Common Enemy,” “The Intro” and “Lucifer Satan Devil” [listen to some of the songs here] will give you a little preemptive taste of what we eventually want to do. As long as our fans are enjoying our music, that’s really all that matters to us.

TP: As said, the concept of your sound develops from punk. Would you say that the main presence of punk can be found in the attitude, while the sonorities are cleaner and develop also towards other directions, such as progressive and psychedelic rock?

BB: We’ve always been pissed off about things. Young people in general are supposed to question the world that they are growing up in, and help to change it for the better. So yes, our attitude about a lot of social and political issues derives from a punk rock type of attitude.

We don’t want to be a punk rock band, we just acknowledge that aspect of our music frequently enough so that people are getting that it is something against the grain of mainstream priorities within commercial rock bands. Not many of them have much to say about what’s going on in the country right now. Even though our musical tastes are maturing somewhat into more progressive, psychedelic, and pop music, we still, and will always, have our anti-establishment attitude. It’s our duty as young people.

TP: Who or what are your main influences?

BB: Our main influences are The Beatles, Rage Against the Machine, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Simeon Soul Charger, Smashing Pumpkins, Mr. Gnome. We have many more but those are our favorite bands at the current point.

TP: How is it to move within the underground scene, or what is left of it, nowadays?

BB: We are still very much so outcast within the underground scene. We have had some exposure in the Cleveland and Akron scene, but we are still trying to focus on writing music and getting our sound together before we start to tour extensively. I tour much by myself and play acoustic shows to promote the band. Our goals are to eventually get signed to an indie label and go on tour.

TP: What are your future projects besides the album release in August?

BB: Our future plans are just to play as many shows while we can. We are hungry for the stage and we really want to show people what we can do. We really don’t have any aspirations of becoming big rock-stars or anything like that; we just want to have a little slice of paradise within the slums of the underground while we are young. We want to express our anger and angst while we have the chance. We are conversing with a couple A&R people at certain independent labels so we might have a chance to do just that. So watch out for us! We might just make some noise in the underground scene.

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Carlsbad, U.S.A. – After a successful soft launch beginning in late 2011, Daphne’s California Greek have  launched a multi-platform, new music initiative to discover and foster new music talent through several distinct and complementary digital and social media channels. Daphne’s turned to Hollywood-based DeepMix, known for bringing cutting-edge music to mainstream advertising and corporate settings, to help curate artists and manage the overall program.

The music program, which also involves the development of a distinctive Daphne’s playlist, is integral to cultivating Daphne’s new brand and echoes Daphne’s re-envisioned culture after an ambitious, year-long rebranding effort that has transformed it into a more modern, lifestyle concept that appeals to a broader segment of active and health-oriented consumers.

“Daphne’s is an eclectic fusion of California and Mediterranean flavors and our music – our playlist – reflects that diversity and authenticity,” said Bill Trefethen, CEO, Daphne’s California Greek. “We want to become the place for great food but also to discover new music talent. And we want to provide a platform for these tremendous artists to share their music and their passion with a larger audience.”

Originally called Daphne’s Greek Cafe, the company was acquired in 2010 by entrepreneur Bill Trefethen, who immediately re-imagined the 56-unit, fast casual restaurant chain, which now offers more healthful California-inspired Mediterranean fare, a current remodeling program with interiors featuring a hip California vibe with a focus on re-purposed and sustained materials, and far-reaching grass roots community support program that aligns with the new music program.

Daphne’s music program is built around today’s new music discovery and tastemaker scene, showcasing an eclectic group of emerging artists who span various genres from alternative, rock, singer/songwriter and folk, giving them a multi-platform opportunity to reach new audiences on both local and global levels.

The initiative incorporates both in-restaurant and external elements, including in-house music and videos and an Artist of the Month program with free monthly downloads, special live concerts, and exclusive concert videos. Past Artists of the Month include: Mike Stocksdale, Donovan Frankenreiter, Kelley James, The Jezebels, Elan, Madi Diaz and Portugal.

“For Daphne’s, DeepMix assembled a mix of artists that convey the hip new California lifestyle feeling,” said Dave Curtin, managing director, DeepMix. “Our deep roots in the music industry including acting as artist managers, music producers, music supervisors and DJs will allow us to expand this program to add more interesting new artists and book great names to appear at intimate concerts sponsored for Daphne’s.”

Daphne’s also created a streaming radio channel on its website that’s “Always Free, Always On” and hosted by online radio platform Live365. A just-released, iPhone app will bring that soundtrack to a potentially enormous audience of listeners across the globe. Daphne’s also leverages its multiple social media channels to help spread the word about the new music.

Rounding out the program is a successful “Fuel the Artist” initiative, where Daphne’s caters the soundchecks of bands and musicians touring in Southern California, including Parachute, Kate Voegele, Allen Stone, The Jezebels, Portugal.

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Delta Goodrem has sold millions of records since her debut album ‘Innocent Eyes’ was released to critical and commercial acclaim almost ten years ago. She followed that up with two further studio albums, 2004′s ‘Mistaken Identity’ and 2007′s ‘Delta’, and is at last now set to release her long-awaited fourth studio album, titled ‘Way Back Home’.

The first single from ‘Way Back Home’ is called ‘Sitting on Top of the World’ and premiered on radio earlier this month. It is written by Goodrem, who writes or co-writes almost all of her songs, and preaches a positive outlook on life as well as encouraging others to feel the same.

This positivity marks a return to form for the 27-year old Australian singer, who hasn’t released a new album in five years as she focused on touring, trying to crack the U.S. market, and enduring high-profile breakups with musicians Brian McFadden and Joe Jonas.

However, 2012 has been a very successful one for Goodrem so far. She has joined the judging panel on Australia’s version of the music talent show ‘The Voice’, she just had a waxwork of herself unveiled at Sydney’s Madame Tussauds, and now has a new album ready for her fans.

Confirmed as being titled ‘Way Back Home’ by Goodrem on her official Facebook page, the album will be released in August and has been said to include songs titled, ’Toward the Shore’, ‘Without You’, ‘Way Back Home’, ‘Desperate’, ‘Goodbye to You’ and ‘Beautiful Tragedy’. A deluxe edition has also been announced, while there are rumours of a duet between Goodrem and fellow ‘The Voice’ panelist Keith Urban on the album.

On the set of her music video for ‘Sitting on Top of the World’, Goodrem revealed that she has already started making plans for her next tour, the follow-up to 2009′s ‘Believe Again Tour’. Dates and venues have yet to be announced, however fans can expect Goodrem to continue making appearances in smaller venues like she did on her last tour because of her preference for intimate settings where she can interact with people more closely.

Always one to go full-force into the promotional circuit, Goodrem has several instore appearances coming up over the next week, with appearances scheduled in Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, and Brisbane.

Most importantly, though, is her performance at this Sunday’s Logie Awards where she will perform ‘Sitting on Top of the World’ live for the first time. Goodrem previously performed a medley of her hits at the Logies in 2003, where she also won the Silver Logie for Most Popular New Talent for her breakout role as Nina Tucker in Australian soap opera ‘Neighbours’.

As for the chart performance of ‘Way Back Home’ and ‘Sitting on Top of the World’, there will be a lot of industry on scrutiny on Goodrem to see whether she can maintain her running streak of number one albums and number one lead singles, a feat she has maintained since her ‘Innocent Eyes’ debut.

Image Courtesy of   Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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