Greetings! This is Sarah from Sounds of RVA, and welcome to my new column here at RVA Mag. Each week I will fill this space with upcoming releases and shows to look out for, new videos, hot tracks, interviews with RVA bands, and show photos. Basically, I'm saving some of the sweetest stuff to release on RVA Mag, so check back weekly.
This week we have the new video from Midnight Drive called "Awakening." This acoustic duo involves the soft vocals of Megan Caton and the guitar and percussion done by Jay Mendoza. Caton and Mendoza got together after both being in metal band Forgotten Hereafter, but this acoustic duo was a natural switch. You can check them out on 3/30 at Bob's Cafe in Ashburn, VA.
Next we've got a video from a live show from Scavenger's Daughter. ("Angel of Vengeance" @ Emilio's 3-10-12.) It's a little hard to see but the sound quality isn't too bad. The vocals (Carlton Kelly) I did hear were very King Diamond/Volture, and for seven minutes, these guys metal-jam. You might have seen or heard these guys during Battle of the Bands in February at the Canal Club. They took first place! One of the two lead/rhythm guitarists is only 16 (Ramzi Aboulhosn)! The rest of the dudes have a bit more experience age-wise.
If you haven’t heard of Fissure Folk, take a minute to listen to this math rock duo (Taylor Baldwin and Nathan Tersteeg). They have released a few tracks on bandcamp; check out “Foam Boulder” which was just recently released as well.
Houdan the Mystic is quietly making waves as the three band members released Archer’s Jamboree (look for a review on Sounds of RVA soon) to hungry ears. The math-jam-psychedelic band is a part of the Subterranea Collective, a record label which is more so a collective of artists and musicians that cultivates an underground music scene and increases that scene’s accessibility. Other bands involved include Navi, Night Idea, Cheyenne, and a bunch more. Here's the video for their song "The Men Who Own Evil Laughs":
Lastly, I was lucky enough to attend a show at Sponge Gallery with The Low Branches and Rhode Island’s Brown Bird on Tuesday March 6, and caught this brief video of the latter. I apologize for the angle of the camera, as this room did not lend itself to be disruptive with my camera. This duo is in RVA fairly often, as this was my third Brown Bird experience. David Lamb’s gruff vocals and loud kick drum box create quite a dichotomy with Morganeve Swain’s upright bass, cello or fiddle.