Aguirre Post Video Featuring Debut Album

New Jersey's Hardcore Punk newcomers Aguirre have posted an impressive video which features the bands debut album. Featuring current and former members of acts such as 

Melissa & Paul, Control, Hell Mary, Barcode Youth and many others. The band comes to the table with an impressive pedigree. The band will be playing their first show friday night at Tony's in Stockholm NJ on Friday  Details Here and are said to have copies of the album with them the following night when they play at Taps Pub. Details Here Aguirre has a site coming soon. For now you can go support them on their Facebook page. Here  JD

United By Images; Melissa & Paul

Melissa & Paul were an edgy New Jersey rock duo who's sound featured a brooding mix of Garage Punk and the Blues. During their short, yet fruitful existence. The duo had several highly regarded releases on Bedside Manner, Star Beat Music and Gruff Beard Records. And while Melissa & Paul certainly left us with some memorable releases. It was their emotionally charged live sets that earned them their following and respect of show goers and the press alike. Time can only tell if Melissa & Paul will resurface for a show or recording. What's important is they left us with a lot of unique and special memories. Three of the five images featured were taken at Montclair's Meatlocker the fist time I caught them live. The energy coming from both the band and those in attendance mad it feel as if there were over a thousand people in the crowd. An epic event. James Damion

Melissa and Paul

"All These Noises" Download Available Now

StarBeat Music and
TJO Presents offer
"All These Noises". A collection of sounds from both companies. The music covers the local scenes of New York and New Jersey while spreading to Massachusetts, Tennessee and California.
The compilation features suck local favorites as Boy Things, Melissa and Paul,
Bern and the Brights and Boxed Wine amongst others. There's something for everyone here. How can you go wrong? James Damion

All These Noises
StarBeat Music
TJO Presents

Don't Upset The Bear - Take Your Vitamins LP

Every now and then a band or a record comes along that just leaves me scratching my head. Don't Upset the Bear and their LP "Take Your Vitamins" both had me scratching as if I were cast in a Head & Shoulders TV ad. The band has that loose Rock Sound that has a bit of a driving, jangley vibe. Creating a versatile sound that left me guessing, "Are they Rock?" "Are they Country?" "Are they on drugs?" The bands musicianship is notable featuring the impressive guitar work of Ryan Hardt and the praise worthy drumming of Glen Monturi. However, Hardt's vocal ability has a lot to be desired. His voice and delivery were the biggest drawbacks as far as I was concerned. While
"Take Your Vitamins" definitely had it's positives, "Why Me, What Luck, Where to?" It was tracks like "Gypsy Queen" that had me wishing I was temporarily deaf. The Midland Park NJ band will be playing Maxwell's this June 1st with Melissa and Paul and others. I just might have to go see them to stop my head from shaking. James Damion


Get it Here

Melissa and Paul - Live Hard EP

Think of all the beautiful eccentricities of the White Stripes with female vocals and a more skilled and complex male drummer. That was the first thing that came to mind when listening to this beautiful six song EP. Melissa's soulful, haunting, banshee vocals and twangy guitar on top of Paul's loose, jazzy percussion are a perfect mix. The music is bluesy, soulful and instantly addictive. The lyrics on "Live Hard" speak volumes about the records title.  "The Suns gotta set to rise/Gotta be dead once to be alive" and "One things for sure - that I'm not ready to die" remind us how important it is to live every moment. Just as this record reminds us how powerful and important music can really be when it's done from the heart.

Though immediate comparisons to the White Stripes and the Screaming Females are inevitable; Melissa & Paul always come off sounding fresh and original. They are a
"Dynamic Duo" in every sense of the term.

"Live Hard" was recorded during a weekend in October 2011 which would otherwise be a side note if these songs didn't exemplify the mood of that particular month. With this release and the release of Those Mockingbirds "Fa So La", Star Beat Music is definitely making a name for themselves as a powerhouse in 2012 and beyond. The attention to quality on the music is matched by the detail and beauty of their packaging and the artwork within.
James Damion


Get it Here
Melissa and Paul

MELISSA & PAUL TO RELEASE 'LIVE HARD' EP ON VINYL AND CASSETTE TAPE VINYL OUT APRIL 13, TAPE OUT APRIL 21

New Jersey's Melissa & Paul teamed up with Bedside Manner Collective, Gruff Beard Records and Star Beat Music to release their upcoming EP 'Live Hard.' Bedside Manner and Gruff Beard Records will release 300 10" records on white, black and opaque blue vinyl on April 13 and Star Beat Music will release 50 hand numbered white cassette tapes on Record Store Day (April 21st).

"Live Hard," Melissa & Paul's follow up to their 2011 debut, successfully fuses punk and blues with a touch of garage. Melissa's vocal performance lends itself to greats like Nancy Sinatra and Patti Smith and she would fit nicely with the '90's Riot Grrrl wave. Melissa & Paul fluctuate between a Screaming Females-esque sound and a "reverse White Stripes" yet not-so minimal vibe, while paying homage to greats like Hendrix and Nirvana. The 6-song EP sounds natural on tape and vinyl as the lo-fi and grainy sound compliments Melissa & Paul's raw and energetic performance that they actually did record in a garage

"Live Hard is about doing things instead of just talking about doing things," drummer Paul said. With that said, this summer Melissa & Paul will be touring the east coast/midwest with Boy Things and the west coast with Dead Ringer. But before that you can check out the band's record release shows coming up in mid-April.

Tracklisting:

 01.Oh My

02. Yeah, I'm Alive

03. Ready to Die

04. 30 Days

05. Lazy Man

06. Try Hard (Everyday)

Melissa & Paul is:

Melissa Lucciola - Guitar/Vocals

Paul Chiesa - Drums/Backing Vocals

'Live Hard' Release Shows:

Friday, 4/13: Record Release #1 Official 10'' release show @ Vernon VFW, Vernon, NJ w/ Boy Things, Keith Kenny and Jessica Joyce. All ages. 8pm. $5.

Saturday, 4/14: Record Release #2 City Lights NYC Presents: @ The Suffolk, 107 Suffolk St, New York, NY w/ Conor & the Stonehill Kids, Libel, and Perp Walk. 21+. 9pm. $6.

Saturday, 4/21: Record Release #3 Star Beat Music Showcase @ Hell's Kitchen, Newark, NJ w/ The Naked Heroes, SixtoEight Mathematics. 21+. 9:30pm. $5.

Melissa and Paul  Wordpress