 by David Carus
A new voice has emerged from Germany that is immediately emotional, intimate and honest. It resonates in a way reminiscent of some of the great rock vocalists of the 80’s and 90’s, painting pictures with angst, longing, and vulnerability. Isy Hunter hits you directly in the gut and pulls your attention right into her tumultuous universe of love gone wrong. Yet, that’s only a part of what’s going on in her music because at the heart of it all is a bravery to confront the damage done and an unyielding courage to rebuild. Exceptional lyrics coupled with a soul baring intensity leaves the listener reeling, reaching and ready for more. Isy Hunter was born Nicole Brueckner, her musical name inspired by a young boy with a love for guitar named Ismael. When this boy was prevented from playing music, Nicole gave him a new guitar and promised to become famous using his name. As Isy Hunter, this talented singer-songwriter champions the idea that everyone has a voice no matter what the barriers that stand in their way. She grew up with the Berlin Wall, saw it eventually crumble, and understood that being an individual could be hard but always worth the price. Her songs all grasp for that individualism, yearning to connect with a better, stronger version of what we can become. What’s exciting is that she sees something greater and wants it really bad. Her longing to be better puts the audience right there with her, letting us touch greater heights with our fingertips. The song “Somtimes” is a fantastic introduction to Isy Hunter. With its naked openness and vulnerability of emotion, you can’t help but be drawn into the feeling of having butterflies in your stomach and trying to hold onto them before they fly away. It’s a song about self-doubt and the questions we often ask ourselves while we move through life. The tender honesty of it is refreshing and we’re left to float in the wonderment of experiencing love for what it often is: scary, exhilarating and pointing its finger at who we want to be and forcing us to decide. “I Don’t Miss You” is like listening to a great Nirvana record. It’s all about carrying on despite the recognized mistakes, struggling to find oneself after losing, and a profound desire for change. It’s a mature song about knowing what you’ve done, taking responsibility for it however you can and finding a road out. One of the big themes in Isy’s music is communication and with “Hey Jay” she delivers a classic rock number that tackles it head on. Lyrics like “I love you more than I can say,” reveal so much about the conversations that need to happen in relationships. It’s liberating to hear the words “Hey Jay” sung because we’re hearing pure causative action, someone fighting for love and doing it with real communication. The world needs the kind of truthful emotion and independent spirit that’s in Isy Hunter’s music. Her voice is an important one because it breaks through darkness like the sun coming through your window in the morning. You can hear that this incredible artist cares about people and the world. If only we were all so lucky to possess a voice like hers, capable of carrying a message of hope. For more on Isy Hunter please visit: www.reverbnation.com/IsyHunter www.facebook.com/hunterisy
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 by David Carus The album RIDE by Marc Berger is more than music, it is visual storytelling at its best and also an important literary work any great American writer would be proud of. It’s easily one of the best albums you’ll hear this year or any. A truly powerful work of art, it captures the essence of the American West in a sort of immortalized, romanticized, bad-ass, freedom fighting kind of way that’ll leave you feeling like Clint Eastwood or Woody Guthrie. It even goes so far as to transcend the genres of rock, folk and country because the music operates cinematically, hitting big themes that anyone will connect with, American or not. This is an album about living life and giving it your all. It’s about getting knocked down from your horse, dusting yourself off and continuing to ride. Marc Berger is an interesting guy to say the least. It’s not everyday you hear about someone that went to law school, started writing songs for people like Richie Havens and turned a passion for traveling into a groundbreaking musical experience. It was his love for the great classic American songs coupled with his adventurous attitude towards exploring the vast spaces of the west that inspired him, with the help of co-producer Mike Ricciardi, to construct the album RIDE. They sought to capture the energy and motion of the West they knew and loved. The result is something that accomplishes this and goes well beyond. The listener is immediately transported, whether riding on a box car with the doors open or galloping along on a steed, to an America that is vast, full of potential and ready for someone to lay claim to.  The ensemble of amazing talent Marc Berger assembled for this project is top notch. From the accordion playing of D’raz, Rob Meador on mandolin, Jack O’Hara on bass, Mike Ricciardi on drums (and also photography, taking the gorgeous photo used for the album cover) and all the rest of the guys, the ability demonstrated on this album is utterly superb. You can tell this group of musicians have been at their craft for a long time because their seemingly effortless playing can only be attributable to countless hours of performing. Marc Berger himself has played everywhere from Manhattan nightspots like CBGB and the Knitting Factory to the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas and has even opened for acts like Bob Dylan. What Marc Berger accomplishes with his album RIDE is truly remarkable because every song is masterful, illuminating and connects. These songs were written to take you to another place, but what they do even better is take you to another viewpoint about life by demolishing all of the clutter and leaving in its wake nothing but open frontier and endless opportunity for movement. Take the journey, venture to explore the plains, search out adventure and get lost in the West like Marc Berger did. RIDE is the Great American Album. For more on Marc Berger and to get a copy of RIDE please visit www.marcbergermusic.com  What better place to be born in than New York? It's where all of the great singer songwriters traveled to and where so many music careers were launched. Joseph Ady began life in the right place and it wasn't long before music found its newest vessel. As a kid, Ady started singing in Chorus and performed to audiences as large as 300 people. It wasn't until he was an adult that he got the idea to play guitar. Using a $30 guitar he bought from Toys R Us, Ady started to teach himself how to play. He printed scales and found information online that helped fuel his learning even more until he was soon playing with ease. He joined a band and played with them for the next four years until choosing to pursue a solo career. He played and even hosted open mic nights at coffee shops across Long Island, New York until making the move to Los Angeles. He is currently working in the classic singer songwriter format but reinventing it with a unique styling all his own. He just released a new music video on the verge of going viral titled "Forever Live and Die," with the help of a well known producer and nothing seems to be stopping the quickly rising career of Joseph Ady. You can hear John Lennon and Beatles influences and also hear more modern voices like the Goo Goo Dolls or Rob Thomas in Ady's music, but then again you hear something that is uniquely him, a voice carrying harmonies that don't rest in one cookie cutter format. His singing travels and moves across different musical landscapes, each different, yet capturing something essential that belongs to Ady and his songs of love, longing, life and the celebration that exists for each of them. If you enjoy folk, rock, or more modern acoustic guitar driven pop music, Ady fits nicely in any of these genres and because he is harder to label and pinpoint into a particular box, it is a sure sign that he is exploring with his music and docking in some unusual and new worlds. His music is perfect if you were going to go see the world on some sort of romantic getaway where you didn't know where you were going beyond the next town. Once you arrive, there will be restaurants and shops with multi-colored lights dangling across stone paved streets leading to old ruins that no one visits because they are too engrossed in the music playing at the local tavern. Joseph Ady will be waiting for you as you take your seat, strumming his notes from across the room, singing words you take in as if your own and he makes the clocks disappear. Get ready to be transported and teleported to new places musically. Ady will sweep you away. For more on Joseph Ady visit: www.josephady.com www.myspace.com/josephady www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Ady/31736309806  Guest Review by Dan Robinson aka EtherGun of the X-Ray Poetz So, I like this guy, he’s onto something. The song and video is Shelter. Lights up, we see him in a lo-tech concrete domicile unit, cement walls, dog, penning the words. It’s how it should be, what I myself was looking for when I moved to New York to be a rock musician. But Johnnie has moved from West New York to LA to do the thing. Music whirrs in the background, as if headphones were left out on the toaster, then kicks in for real, and there we go. There’s the band, like jamming in the world’s last bomb shelter with a working outlet. And then with a steely look Johnnie roams the world. He sees the world, meets up with the other band members on the mean streets. Nice dark look to the video, some slo-mo, red filters, some blurriness here and there make it float in time, float in location. Johnny throws a blurry frisbee. This is Anytown, this town has happened before, and now is happening again. What is this place, Anytown, all about? The video isn’t about drama or plot -- it’s having a good time with the attitude that’s the draw here. It is, refreshingly, about viewpoint. It’s mostly Anytown shots, Johnnie’s multihued Mohawk against the sun, the guys in the band, the song. Cool song. Nice sloppy, bracing groove -- lockstep click-track playing would ruin the fun. Guitar line snakes around like a python, holding the sound together. The drums really do rock out, it all flies by in moments, stays interesting throughout. Ferro uses his voice well, prompting thoughts of, of course, Eddie Vedder. Nothing against Vedder, but this singer just puts me in a good mood. It‘s a nice anthem, in “gold and green and red and white...” We end with him writing on and staring at a handwritten paper on the floor. It’s now got “SHELTER” on it. Guess we’ll have to stay tuned. Meanwhile, Shelter, song and video, only get better with repeated plays. -D.R. Ferro’s new album, Cockeyed Optimism, is available on iTunes. Johnnie Ferro--Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Bass Kari Ashdown--Backing Vocals Beau Evans--Drums A ParadymePix production. Directed by Robyn August For more information on Johnnie Ferro please visit www.johnnieferro.com |
Michelangelo once said, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” At Artists Run This Planet we see Earth as our marble and we hold a chisel and hammer up to it every day. This beautiful canvas of a planet waits for us to paint it daily. Gone are the days of suppressing art, of pursuits less noble than creating. We have the technology available to create in any medium, and faster than ever before. As artists we are the creators of every new innovation and idea that takes shape. We are mankind’s continual hope and driving force — “Artists Run This Planet." - David Carus, Art Planet CEO & FounderArchives
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