Changing Tunes, Changing Times

It felt like there used to be a formula to being an indie music singer-songwriter: Guitar-player + quirky songwriting – strong vocals + an open mic night and volia! Instant circuits opening for other indie bands and before you know it, an independent record label deal. But William Beckett circumnavigated all that by fronting The Academy Is... for 7+ years before the outfit disbanded in 2011.

Unlike most frontmen for bands that break up, Beckett didn't suit up with a new lineup, a pretentious name and break a lot of hearts with how devastatingly bad their first release was before they, too, broke up.

He started fresh.

As a solo artist.

Like many musicians in the alternative scene, William Beckett is getting older.

Even with his public persona, it was apparent that Beckett had an equally vivid personal life.

He became a father in 2008 and was investing serious time in that aspect of his life with his time off.

But it is said that it is particularly hard to walk away from touring.

The hunger just grows inside an artist.

To walk away from the career you've started is something no one should have to find out and I bet William wasn't looking to start down that road anytime soon. 

Especially after being dropped from the Fueled By Ramen label he'd been signed to for nearly 8 years with TAI.

In April, after a year of writing, Beckett released the Walk The Talk EP with a brief video documentary supporting his decision to continue writing and playing music.

He traveled and played in Manila, the UK, and all over the US for crowds of fans.

And last month, Beckett released his second EP of the year, Winds Will Change.

With both EPs, listeners get to see the side of Beckett that was missing from The Academy Is... He showcases much more of his heart-on-his-sleeve nature, which is refreshing when we think back to Santi.

The only thing I'd like for William to return to is his more descriptive, almost story-telling songwriting style.

Both EPs have high peaks ("You Never Give Up" from Walk and "Dig A Hole" from Winds) but I'm not completely sold yet.

And that is what full lengths are for. So patiently we shall wait for news on when Beckett's first solo album will debut.

For more news on William Beckett's trajectory, follow him on Twitter | YouTube | Tumblr.

Now Playing: Scarlet (Tokyo) - William Beckett | Winds Will Change EP

--J

MySpace Fame Never Dies.

 

Jeffree Star is hotter than most girls I know.
 
Being a staunch supporter of most "celebrities" that gained prominence via social networking sites like MySpace and Buzznet back in the mid 00's, I couldn't help but jump right in her glitter and ecstasy-filled pocket. A special-effects makeup artist turned model turned singer? She's far from your average California dream girl:

Photo credit: unknown photographer

Pink hair.

Pink lips.

Pink heels.

It's like Barbie and her Malibu Beach House met an atom bomb of profanity, makeup and hair extensions:

The most impressive thing about JStar, and her peers, is how she fashioned a simple stage name and her personality into a marketing frenzy so quickly that my prepubescent head spun. I was immediate brought into her Hello Kitty meets Club Kid world, where hard drugs, raunchy music and all night dance parties were not a thing of legend, but a lifestyle.

Basically, Jeffree Star is a lot to handle.


With the help of her vulgar, in-your-face personality and obvious no fucks given approach to life, I found myself wanting to actually play audience to her career--which is still solely based off her popularity on a website (and now, years later, it's several websites).

But after seeing her perform at the 2009 Vans Warped Tour in Camden, NJ, I found that JStar is, musically, the real deal.

She can work a crowd.

She can work a mic.

Photo credit: Tamlyn Koga (obvs since the water mark is there ;3)

And more than anything, she can write a hit or two.

The thing I appreciate most about JStar is that she has worked her tattooed little ass off, sweating it out on outdoor stages alongside veteran punk, metal and hardcore bands during Warped Tour and several of her own national tours.

She's an electronica singer with all the work ethic of any other band you'd find on the interwebs. 

Literally, if you don't respect anything else, you've got to respect this chick's hustle!

After penning various self-distributed EPs and albums, Star signed a major label deal with Akon's imprint label, KonLive (which has spawned Star's own imprint label, Popsicle) which was responsible for Lady GaGa who has certainly paved the road for a transgendered musician like Jeffree--who, to me, is the future of pop music.

Photo credit: Austin Young Photography

And as if the stars weren't already aligned for this celebutaunte, they just got a whole lot linear with the release of several tracks from her latest release, the Virginity EP: an electronic release that will make the pop and trance worlds come to their bony little knees.

Especially now that it's summer time: we need singles to dance all night to.
 
 And I mean the Katy Perry Teenage Dream-California Girls one-two punch of "this is what my entire summer will sound like!"

But will JStar deliver that?
Of course she will.
She's the queen of grime-core, trashy techno, queer pop:





Now Playing: Virginity's title track:



And the latest single, "Blow Me."

For more on this diva extraordinaire, check out: her Official music webpage, her Tumblr and Facebook pages.

--J