Citywide Blackout, May 26, 2012

This week it's the return of the UR Metal segment with the Deadstation and Hope Before the Fall, plus artist Maggie Carberry and trip-hop artist Victoria Peres.

Citywide Blackout, May 19, 2012

This week it's a mix of film and music with John Depew from Wild Beagle Productions to talk about his newest project, Final Shift. Matt Martino returns for his monthly film spotlight for the 48-Hour Film Festival. Mark Kaye from Hear Now Live drops by for some music and conversation about the local scene and Jenee Halstead plays some new tunes from her third album.

Citywide Blackout, May 12, 2012

This week, host Max Bowen flies solo with guests like television host/actress Jaki Valensi-Lauper, bands Via Lotus, Orange Television and Speaker for the Dead.

Citywide Blackout, May 5, 2012

It's the return of the monthly Plectrum Artist Series with Dann Russo, plus the apocalyptic industrial band Virus Cycle. 

Citywide Blackout, April 28, 2012

It's the return of the Metal Showcase with Nick Peno from LC Shows and Sauriel. Plus, we've got Jeff Royds with the NEGB1 Radio Network.

Citywide Blackout, April 21, 2012

Get ready for a great mix of film and music, as we chat with Albert Chan of Chanal Productions, the team behind Planet Diva, J-pop artist Reni Mimura and the metal band Octopus Triangle.

Citywide Blackout, April 14, 2012

This week we've got Kevin Harrington from the Geek Week comedy festival and Lowell's own Western Education.

Citywide Blackout, April 7, 2012

From our first show in April, comedian Todd Clay, filmmaker Valerie Weiss and Curtis Hughes from Plectrum Entertainment

Citywide Blackout, March 24, 2012

This week, we've got comedian Brian Glowacki, filmmaker Amy DePaola, Together Boston and tunes from Octopus Triangle.

Citywide Blackout, March 17, 2012

This week we've got comedian Brian Glowacki, electro-pop artist Michael Hensley, the indie horror film Jonah Lives and the Together Boston festival.

Citywide Blackout, March 10, 2012

This week we've got comedian Raj Sivaraman, local band Faces in the Floor, filmmaker Rick Dumont from Sweaty Turtle and the Mass Bytes Food Segment.

Faces in the Floor captures the live show sound with “Bones”

Boston-based Faces in the Floor (FIF) said its new album “Bones” sports a stripped-down sound that takes a pass on the endless layers of instrumentation and effects, and aims at reproducing the experience of a true live performance.

The new full-length CD was recorded at Lionsgate Studios in LaFayette, Colo., owned and operated by Steve Turney, longtime friend and former bandmate of drummer Jason Frantz. What used to be a 100-year-old barn was converted into a full-service studio, and the band was given complete creative freedom and all the time they needed to complete the album. The foursome spent months preparing for the recording process, and set a goal of producing two songs per day with a maximum of five takes per song. “Bones” was finished after four days, with three songs completed on the first day. In addition to the new music, old tunes are being re-edited with new ideas and input.

“Some of these songs have been floating around in our repertoire for a while now, and others are brand spanking new,” said Frantz. “Some were slaved over for months, while others like ‘Lucy’ fell together in 30 minutes. The recording was fast and furious, but was a breath of fresh air and a vacation at the same time.”

FIF will release “Bones” on March 16 at McGann’s, located at 197 Portland St., near the TD BankNorth Garden. The show is presented by the Boston-based radio program Citywide Blackout, which airs on Saturday, 6-8 p.m. on UNregularradio.com. Joining FIF are the hardworking and dedicated rock band, The Last of the Independents and progressive rock/metal artists Protean Collective. Frantz said he was especially excited for the show since Protean Collective, who are good friends of FIF, recently released its new EP “Exposed” at the Magic Room Gallery two weeks ago.

“This show is going to be a crazy party,” said guitarist Eddie Konopasek. “Protean Collective is one of my favorite bands around, and it’ll be great to celebrate our release with them. There will be a lot of ‘Zappa moshing,’ and if you don't know what that is, you'll find out on March 16.”

“Bones” is the second musical offering from FIF. 2010 saw the release of the five-song EP “A Conflict in Time,” and since then, the band’s sound has undergone some intense development with the addition of Chris Eckert as the new vocalist. Eckert, Konopasek’s best friend from Chicago, quit his job, sold his car and moved to Boston, all after one phone call.

“We have a great time making music in this band, and it is great to be in a band with people that all respect each other and work together so nicely.” Konopasek said.

A bare-bones approach was the theme of this album, and primary the goal of the band during the recording process. Rather than layer the music with the best bells and whistles that Auto-Tune has to offer, FIF took a different approach, opting for a straightforward sound that brought all the passion and energy of a live performance. Konopasek said he and his bandmates don’t want to hide anything behind layers of instrumentation and sought to capture the sound of real people playing the music that they love.

“The sound matches perfectly with our live show,” Konopasek said. “It’s our sound with all the energy that we have when we play live.”

Frantz put it best, recalling a friend’s advice that good music is like a good woman–naturally beautiful.

“We are not Auto-Tune,” said Frantz. “We’re not a thousand layers of guitars. We are four guys who play our single instruments and sing our single voices. Here we are, live or on record.”

Artist Information

Faces in the Floor

http://www.facebook.com/facesinthefloor

http://www.myspace.com/facesinthefloor

http://www.purevolume.com/facesinthefloor

Protean Collective

http://www.proteancollective.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/proteancollective

http://www.twitter.com/procollective

The Last of The Independents

http://www.thelastoftheindependents.com

Contact Information

Max Bowen-Citywide Blackout

max@citywideblackout.com

citywideblackout.blogspot.com

www.citywideblackout.com

Citywide Blackout, March 3, 2012

This week on the show we talk movies and comedy with Shaun Bedgood, listen to some new tunes from the band Subject 2 Change and preview the Acoustic Reality Tour with Elizabeth Lorrey and Rick Gottlieb.