Tag: California

Propaganda is my favorite rapper whom I have officially seen & hung with twice. I’ve been listening to him since his days with Tunnel Rats & have every one of his albums if that tells you anything. You can also check out my other faves NF & Dirt. He is steadily going still & I am currently reading his Terraform book. This thought provoking SOTD is my fave & you can read the lyrics below. Once I heard this Middle Eastern carpenter say, “You know, the healthy don’t need doctors.” … Continued →

This obscure little band, while relatively unknown, has ties to some more connected acts. They only released one 4-song 12″ EP before breaking up and/or morphing into other acts. The most well-known member was Robert Vaughn, previously of RV and the Hubcaps, and who went on to play with Gloryhouse, Southside Blades of Eden (Broken Records), and most notably Robert Vaughn and the Shadows. RV and the Shadows was essentially the New Presidents line-up with a different name and slightly more mainstream style. Where The New Presidents dabbled in new wave and post-punk, The Shadows went full into power pop.… Continued →

The Great Commission is another offshoot from hxc band XdeathstarX along with Sleeping Giant. Seen them live & always like these 2 SOTDs per their lyrical content. On a side note, they are featured about halfway thru Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble music video with their song When it Rains it Pours. … Continued →

Avery Parkway has a cool band past. with Joel being the drummer for Olivia (a pop punk band from Hawaii) & Confide & touring bassist for Of Mice & Men. His solo music has debuted on iTunes & surpassed mainstream heavyweights such as Justin Bieber & Adelle.  This SOTD is a straight up rock worship song. Per his own words “Everything” is a thank you letter and an offering of worship to Jesus for never leaving me no matter how jacked up and lost I truly was.… Continued →

Sleeping Giant is an awesome band nuff said!  They are what I like to consider a spirit filled hxc band due to their performance & unabashed way they present Jesus. They split off from another hxc band along with The Great Commission, both of whom I have seen live. I totally miss the Scream the Prayer Tours! Here are 2 of my faves that will get you on fire for God! . … Continued →

Makeshift 3 is a metal tinged pop punk band which has been around for a while. This song seems to have been redone a few times, but I like it & hope you do also. … Continued →

Tourniquet-What am I to say about one of my top 5 bands ever? Besides some outstanding songwriting & metal music, the band has stood the test of time. They have been going since the 90s. I remember You Get What You Pray For on an Intense Records comp & I was hooked. Pathogenic was one of the first cds I bought (first was Rich Mullins’ Winds of Heaven & Paul Smith’s Human Touch) & I got it the same day as Galactic Cowboys Space in Your Face.… Continued →

Hanover Saints were a Californian street punk band with their first LP being released on Facedown Records. They have a lot of good songs so be sure to check them out.   … Continued →

Joy Electric aka Ronnie Martin is Jason’s brother from Starflyer 59. The 2 brothers have released several albums from their various monikers of The Brothers Martin, The Foxhole Hunt, Dancehouse Children. Ronnie is also a pastor in Ohio. I just happen to like spiders & if you do also, check out the following songs/albums that feature our favorite 8 legged God created creatures! I have 2 tarantulas myself: a Mexican Red-Knee & a Pink Toe. WILDERNESS OF TEKOA-SPIDERS, WHITE COLLAR SIDESHOW-LIKE SPIDERS WEAVE, GO FISH-ITSY BITSY SPIDER, DEAR EPHESUS-DEAR SPIDER, LEPER-SPIDER WEBS, JOE ROMERO-ITSY BITSY SPIDER, WONROWE VISION-RESIDENT SPIDER, ALICE COOPER-ALONG CAME A SPIDER CD, SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE-FLATLAND SPIDER, MELLOWDRAMATIC WALLFLOWERS-SPY DER SPIDER, SHILOHTRANCE-THE SPIDER, MEWITHOUTYOU, BROWNISH, ORANCE, YELLOW SPIDER, TEMPLAR-SKY SPIDER 2, SECRET & WHISPER-SPIDER BESIDER, SEVEN SYSTEM-KILL THE SPIDER, LOVEDRUG-SPIDERS,LIL RASKULL-AMAZING (UNOFFICIAL AMAZING SPIDERMAN THEME), KANSAS-THE SPIDER, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA-SPIDERHEADS, UNTILWEDIE!-MOUTHFUL… Continued →

Light The Way is a newer punk band rostered on our own IVM that has several cool songs I like in their discography already including Brkn, Holy Ghost & this extremely catchy SOTD.   … Continued →

LikeDavid released 2 full lengths & a few indie singles. I sill speak with vocalist Marc Haley a few times a year. The band helped me through some difficult times in the past. Also check out Suffer To Reach. … Continued →

Freeto Boat was an awesome punk rock band mixed with ska. Like my previous SOTD for Sick of Change, this one is also a love song. Today I’ll let the sun set, There’s no anger in my heart. Tonight just let the moon rise, Our time won’t be spent apart. Starlight and confessions Of what you mean to me, These twilight conversations they’re helping me to see… What you are in God’s eyes, what you are in mine not a hair too shy of perfect and always just in time.… Continued →

3rd Root is a band that reminds me of a cross between the Deftones, Helmet & old school P.O.D. They were short lived, but their full length A Sign of Things To Come is a mainstay in my metal collection.     … Continued →

San Francisco-based goth band BATZZ in the Belfry are relatively unknown in the mainstream, but that is a real shame. They combine “unashamed traditional old school goth” with ethereal dream pop, and even hints at shoegaze at times. I suppose this puts them in the realm of darkwave. Take “Touch the Stars” for instance. The song would easily be at home on a Metropolis or Projekt Records compilation alongside Sisters of Mercy, Love and Rockets, or Love Spirals Downwards. The song could almost fit on the Twin Peaks soundtrack as well.… Continued →

MxPx just announced two shows in April 2022, one at House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. on April 1st and the other in Tempe, Arizona at Marquee Theater. Joining them will be Zebrahead, Bad Cop, Bad Cop, and Mercy Music. Tickets and further info can be found right here. Also, the band just dropped a new LIVE album titled “Southbound to San Antonio” that sounds absolutely fantastic, even better than their last big one. The live album is up now on all digital networks and streaming sites.… Continued →

Fono was an awesome band that had a really outstanding debut, but seemed to fail into obscurity shortly thereafter a follow-up. They originally came from the United Kingdom under the name Seven, but moved to California for their American tenure. Their vocalist actually played in other bands I have releases from called Split Level & Tribe of Dan. They actually opened for Bon Jovi before changing their name to Fono. Goesaroundcomesaround is a great release and there are no duds on it.   … Continued →

Dead Awake Dreaming was a metalcore band that hailed from California. Their Facebook has not been updated since 2016, but their mission was to love the unloved & I feel we all understand that. Jesus does hear our cries & will be there for us no matter what even when we don’t understand ourselves. Another day with no one to hold you or feel your pain It’s tough when no one is around to say, “Everything is okay” Don’t stop, push on You wanna lie when someone asks if you have been alright Trying to paint a portrait of something that you are not at all What Happens Behind Closed Doors Where have you gone to so far away?… Continued →

Ruby Joe was an awesome rocka/pscychobill band from California. They changed things up on their 2nd album which dabbled in swing. The original band that 2 members were in was named Strugglefish which is in reference I’m pretty sure to one of my all time faves 1st LP DigHayZoose which was actually my first review for one of their songs. Anyways, this SOTD is catchy & related to one of my friends’ cat lol! Anyways, hope you have fun listening to this one. … Continued →

There is simply not enough hip-hop on this site. Let’s fix that! I grew up in a small, very monochromatic town in Oklahoma, where most of the people had my skin color. In that part of the world, there were two kinds of music–country and heavy metal. In the 80s, a few of my friends who were more hip had started getting into this new “rap music” that I knew very little about. But growing up in a country-western family and then discovering rock on my own, I wasn’t really predisposed to listen to rap.… Continued →

Havalina Rail Co. was a delightfully quirky, eccentric, genre-fusing and genre-bending experimental band from California. Across their 10-year career (give or take), the band dabbled in folk, ska, jazz, ragtime, blues, Americana, surf, and multiple internationally-themed genres. No two albums in their canon treads the same ground, and yet each successive opus is clearly recognizable as Havalina. The band stopped recording as HRC somewhere in the early 00s, but members have turned up elsewhere. Most notably are Matt Wignall who is a renowned photographer and is perhaps now best known as the producer for several Cold War Kids albums.… Continued →

San Diego-based rock band Robert Vaughn & the Shadows released their classic album Love & War in 1987. As fate would have it, it was the final release on Exit Records (home of Seventy Sevens, Vector and Charlie Peacock), and its partnership with Island Records. Due to the unfortunate demise of the label, the album never saw a CD release (only LP and cassette). While the master tapes were tied up in red tape for decades, Randy Layton of Alternative Records recently worked out a deal to obtain the original masters.… Continued →

Point of Recognition was a metalcore/spirit filled hardcore band that changed their sound after their Admiration of a Son LP.  The band came onto the scene when Underoath was still in their early days & No Innocent Victim was huge. TBH I never did care for their muddy hardcore sound after Admiration. This SOTD was chosen due to its sound & great lyrics, but also check out Return to Strength, A Path Unknown & Unlawful Burden. I thank you Lord for the grace you’ve shown me sometimes I just don’t know why, because there’s no creature ever so more wretched than I, and I will bow down with my face to the floor from all those times that I’ve searched for something more, but I will dry those tears and hold my head up high, cause I stand a conqueror in Jesus name.… Continued →

Officer Negative is hxc punk at its finest imho. The Californian band even recently re-released some stuff last year from my recollection& I was able to buy a JCHC t-shirt! I am still stoked lol!. Anyways JCHC stands for Jesus Christ Hardcore & is an in your face about such. After the band disbanded, they formed a couple of other bands including hxc Hit the Deck metalcore The Death Campaign Project & cowpunk Zippy Josh. Below are its lyrics as well as a live video: Living for Christ is what we do That’s the definition of our hardcore We don’t need drugs or booz Christian punks we won’t loose Jesus Christ Hardcore Kick satan in the face With our steel toe boots We are in the army of God With salvation as our roots We all stand together Unified by Jesus Christ Defeating Satan spew With the word of Jesus Christ Sick and tired of worldly views Sick and tired of satans abuse Sick and tired of compromise Sick and tired of all his lies     … Continued →

Altar Boys are a long running (formed in 1982) (punk) band whose very existence is a huge force in how our Christian punk subgenre has come to be. Mike Stand & company have done a wide variety of genres including modern rock (see my Clash of Symbols review) & rockabilly. There is a plethora of AB’s songs that I could have done for this SOTD, but 1000 Miles is about how Jesus loves us & is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him no matter how far we feel or seem to have gotten from Him.… Continued →

I first heard Nobody Special in 1989. My local contemporary Christian music radio station (KOKF 91.1 FM out of Oklahoma City) played their new album in its entirety over the airwaves. You see, KOKF was not your average CCM station. Sure, they played some adult contemporary and “inspirational” stuff during the daytime, but as the late afternoon and evening hit, they would feature more contemporary styles including pop, rap, rock, etc. And then after 9:00, it was all heavy music–mostly metal, but with some punk and hardcore thrown in from time to time.… Continued →

I first heard L.S.U. in about 1991. I had been a pretty staunch metalhead, but a few alternative rock bands were starting to open me up to new colors in my musical palette. While the experimental This is the Healing was the first album I heard from them, The Grape Prophet is a favorite of fans and critics alike. The album was one of the first and only concept albums, or “rock operas” as band leader Michael Knott liked to call them. The Grape Prophet tells the story of Ellis, an orange picker who works for Col.… Continued →

Blackball is the reincarnation of Precious Death which was a funk alternative grunge band that had a decent following back in the 90’s. Their first LP 1996’s Super Heavy Dreamscape was a very appropriate name for the album as was a lot heavier in tone than their follow-up. Vocalist Chris Scott has a very distinct voice that seemed to crossover from grunge to funk very easily. Hope you like this song as it remains one of my faves to this day. And happy birthday to my sister who is an outstanding wedding photographer!… Continued →

I never did listen to this band when they were around, but caught up to them much later sad to say. This song has an awesome groove & is basically a worship song as shown by the lyrics below. The band got some mainstream success ban in the day when their song I Still Believe (which was also covered by Russ Taff) was in the vampire movie The Lost Boys Listed also is a live version just because 80s live videos are always a treat! I was never too wild about big shots I was never too calm about pain I was never too cool about the heat But I’m [burning again?]… Continued →

I remember seeing this band in Missouri I believe back in 1994 era.  The band signed my t-shirt which was the Love Is Against The Grain cd cover. The band released a few songs on Christian modern rock radio back in the 90’s, but today’s SOTD stood out for obvious reasons. … Continued →

This is one of my favorite rock songs of the 80s. X-Sinner’s sound was akin to ACDC or Def Leppard soundalike, but that doesn’t mean they were a clone of either mainstream band. They had an area rock sound w/ a blues twist. Check out others by them that are a must have for any classic Christian rock playlist: Medicine, Walking Evil, Don’t Go, Lift Him Up or Accountable. TBH I did not care much for their later stuff after their first 2 LPs. To me this somber SOTD hits with a punch & probably always will.… Continued →