How much can one fan of OKOM (Our Kind Of Music) accomplish in just a couple of years?
Plenty, if it's Rockzilla, aka photographer Michael Johnson.
From 2003 to 2005, rockzilla.net was a chronicle of the alt.country scene from a uniquely Texan perspective.
But all good things must end, and Rockzilla has retired from the online 'zine scene.
This mirror site was copied from the rockzilla.net site with the express permission of
Rockzilla hisself. If you don't believe me, go to the
KHYI-Fans email list and ask him! Buddy will back me up, too.
One
of the good things about listening to a wide range of music is
that I get to learn things I never knew before. Such as, did
you know that the first transatlantic radio signal was sent via
Morse code from England to Newfoundland in 1901? Or that the
message sent was the letter "S"? Or that the moniker
for this event is known as The Signal Hill Transmission? I know...all
the things you never knew and never thought to ask. So when
Scott Warren (songwriter/front man) and Scott Schoen (drummer)
were looking for a name for their new band, what could be more
fitting than to name it after one of the most important achievements
in modern technology? Did the music that the Scotts came up
with live up to the hype of the name? Frankly, no. Home,
the seven song CD from this Los Angeles based band is not going
to change the world like the original Signal Hill Transmission.
But, it does make for a good listen, and more importantly, it
hints at the talent that Scott Warren has as an artist.
The writing on Home is the reason for the success of this
album. The songs are, for the most part, simple pop ballads
mixed with an occasional upbeat twist (sounds like a drink I
ordered once). "Wonder," the opening track, is the
best song on the CD. Does the guy really love the girl? He's
leaving for the coast, this hurts her, and he doesn't know if
he should just break it off or not. A classic question with
an updated sound.
I feel her breathing, I get a pulse
Am I what that she needs most, still I wonder
Is her heart in every beat
I feel her breathing, I get a pulse
A fine line walked, to each his own
Still I wonder, is her heart in every beat
Is it hard to breath?
Swinging right into another up-tempo song with "As You Were
Then" gets you pulled a little further into the trap of
the storytelling. The old friend is going back to some old
ways and no one seems to like it. It's causing a little friction
between all of the friends.
Out of tune, out of sync, out of everything you need
As you were then, as you were then
And that my friend is how you're behaving
Will you say what you mean, cause we all are wondering
As you were then, as you were then
And that my friend is how you're behaving to your friends
Once again
Each of Scott Warren's songs references a situation that we can
all relate to, and tries to make you understand what he is feeling.
It works because the songs are subtle, the music not trying
to overcome the lyrics. The real problem with this CD is that
there are only seven songs. It seems that Scott was trying to
tell a story with the whole album, but the end is missing. The
opening line to "Frail," the final song on the CD,
says it all: "Stop looking at me, I know just what you see/What
remains is up in the air."