The Axe Sharpens Their Swing

From Interview with Ms. Commish for Cafe Magazine - Dated 2/24/2010

The Axe and the Oak

When it comes to music Miami has always been the kind of city you either love or you love to hate. There has always been something lacking when it came to the city's musical landscape. Now the city that was founded on swampland and marshes, industrialized by drug lords and extorted by countless politicians is contending with other major cities in art, cuisine fashion, performance and music.

There is something very interesting bubbling under the streets in Miami and it's not glitter and spandex. There are a slew of exceedingly gifted musicians paving the road less traveled, taking performance art and fine art to unexpected places and creating a renaissance in Miami never experienced before.

In comes, The Axe and the Oak. A band made up of three members; guitar and vocalist Sander Galt, bassist Myles Kaplan and drummer Fernando Subirats, serving up music reminiscent of rockabilly and psycho-billy and adulterated by Surf, Punk Rock, Death Rock and even Gothic influences.

These Miami natives met early in life. Galt and Kaplan played in a punk band together as teens and Subirats began playing with Galt in the mid-nineties for a band called Sift, where they experimented with performance art music. Then in 2007, drawn together by forces unknown, they joined and their interest in 1950's Rock and Roll led them to a distinctive sound within Miami's already eclectic music scene.  

They wouldn't call themselves a Rockabilly band although their sound draws on memories of when Elvis reigned king. They fall more along the lines of bands such as the Stray Cats and the Cramps on account of their "spooky twang" and dark psychedelic tone.

With songs like "Darkside," "Vampire" and "B-Side," one can see they are inspired by much more than pompadour haircuts and rumbles in the alley. Maybe their collective backgrounds in Punk, New Wave, 80's and Goth has something to do with it.

Thankfully this unassuming, musically gifted trio is not pretending to be something they're not. Galt seems like a throwback to a nineties Goth Punk but when you hear him sing its like Jim Morrison and Nick Cave had a love child (if those breakthroughs in science and time travel were available) and doesn't make any apologies for it. Subirats' broad interest in music led him on a self imposed journey to India to study the Tabla, while Galt and Myles interests expanded with Punk, New Wave, Goth and early Rock and Roll.

This band's brand of psychedelic rockabilly conjures up "Dark Southern Americana," while staying true to its Miami roots. They are currently working on their first album.

*Please note information provided above may not reflect the subjects current details or status.

One Million Sounds - @millionyoung

Past interview with Ms. Commish for Cafe Magazine originally dated 5/5/2010

Millionyoung

Ever wake up one morning and wish that euphoric feeling from last night wouldn't end? Well, once you hear Mike Diaz (a.k.a. Millionyoung) you won't have to.

Millionyoung evokes in his music the intensity of House and Electro, and combines them with acoustic guitars and airy vocals. "It's odd because when I wrote the music I wasn't sure what genre it would fit into specifically. The short answer I gave people was, electronic, which is how iTunes first had me listed," says Millionyoung.

Born to Cuban and Puerto Rican parents, the 22-year old musician remembers how as a kid at big family gatherings he would dance and sing the whole night away. Those memories left a big impression. "I feel at this point its mostly instinctive or subconscious, but I definitely tend to make music that people can all dance or sing-a-long with," said Millionyoung. 

Millionyoung studied film in college and found a special interest in film scoring but after graduating with an AA at Palm Beach Community College and finishing a year at Florida Atlantic University, he decided he'd take a brief hiatus from school to begin work on a full-length album. Once he's finished recording and things settle down from touring, Million Young plans to go back and continue his studies in film to hopefully learn more about scoring music for movies. 

His travels have had a definite influence on his music. "Last March when I went on tour we stopped in Canada for a few days and it was really interesting. I had never been that far north now out of the country, and I was really curious to see what it would be like. Everyone we met was incredibly nice and it was cool seeing people there as enthused about my music as I am about Canadian bands like Metric or Broken Social Scene," he said. 

Follow @datmillionyoung

Millionyoung takes "do it yourself" to new level, playing symphonic sounds coupled with sparkling guitar riffs, glittering melodies and beats over prerecorded laptop tracks. The guitar is his instrument of choice. He admits he still has a lot to learn too and when working on, or even listening to music, he tends to focus more on structures and the way songs are produced rather than the way any particular instrument is played. 

With over 3,000 online fans, a sold out EP and a strong blog following, it seems Young's keen ear and distinct ability to compose music is reaching the masses faster than anyone could have anticipated. Young is causing a stir on the indie music blog circuit: he's received a bevy of positive reviews from sites like Pitchfork and Gorilla vs Bear and when his "Be So True" EP was released on iTunes in January of this year, it remained in the top 10 in Electronic for four weeks. 

With recent gigs at South by Southwest (SXSW) and a line-up of future tour dates stretching across Atlantic, this Puerto-Cuban" with a knack for being "indie-pendent" is showing no signs of slowing down. 

Songs from his EP have been licensed for everything from compilation cds to video games. Songs like "Cynthia (Letting Up Despite Great Faults Remix)," "Chlorophyl," and his latest endeavor, "Love is all Around," a remake of the Mary Tyler Moore theme song are quickly garnering indie praise on blogs like Weekly Tape Deck, Cause=Time and Musicphile-osophy. Until now, Young has recorded all of his music on his laptop using acoustic and electric guitars, a few midi controllers and AbletonLive, a music producing software. 

Millionyoung recently started performing live with Awesome New Republic (ANR) and thinks the result has been fun and feels the fans are really going to have a great time at the shows when they tour in May. "We've been trying a lot of interesting approached that have really brought the songs to life" Millionyoung says.

Millionyoung will be playing shows at in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Montreal and Toronto and then will be traveling abroad to perform in Amsterdam, Berlin and London.  

Listen on iTunes

Like him on Facebook/millionyoung 

Find him on Twitter - @millionyoung 

Last comic standing...

Miami is one of those cities where you never really know what you are going to get. And last night was one of those nights. I've always been a sucker for a good laugh and therefore have been frequenting the Miami Improv since the late nineties. If that is any indication of how old the Commish is then don't bother doing the math cause you'll never get it! Lol

Anyway, last night was an exceptionally special night because of all the times I've gone to see comedians, during my very few years on this earth, last night was actually someone that I know! Local comedian extraordinaire Elvis Anderson took the stage and it was a real treat.

It was New Faces of Comedy night and 13 local comedians jumped on stage to strut their stuff. Some were a bit greener than others but for the most part they garnered laughs and held their own.

Aside from one guy who was too under the influence to complete a sentence, and another guy who made to many 'feces' references for anyone's liking, it was refreshing to see just regular folks get up there and face the crowds.

Its not easy being up there behind those lights and in front of such a big crowd so I definitely respect and support them.

One thing I found especially amusing was being made the butt of the joke by my friend Elvis! I know you're wondering, "Now why would anyone enjoy that?"

Well, because the experience of a comedian actually telling a joke about you on stage is quite exhilarating, you should really try it some time! It's like that feeling you got when your teacher gave you a big gold star in front of everyone in class, it just feels good!

It was like nothing the Commish has ever experienced before and let me tell you I've seen a lot!

All in all it was a good night in the Grove. And also good to see the old Greene Street cafe is still alive and well which is where we took the after party for the mandatory "Walker fix."

Till next time and remember, "What is life if you can't laugh about it!"

Cheers!

Disposable You...

Like the pair of brand new shoes you've only worn once to the various pairs of cuff links you have for each day of the week, as much as you may not want to admit it, you yourself have become disposal. But unlike the “spoils of war,” your traces do not remain long after the battle is over…

Human beings as individuals have become a transient item.

We have become another one of the many replaceable items in our homes or in our closets that get substituted for something newer and better when the use for that item is no longer required. But my question is, when did human beings become disposable?

Eliminating somebody’s traces from your life has almost become an art form. No longer are we compelled by morals or principles to look someone in the face and explain what it is that is bothering us. It is much easier to just get a new one.

You don’t hold a tie up in the air and say, “Hey friend, our relationship has run its course," do you? So why would you do that with a human being? It’s all much too complicated and takes up way too much time and much needed energy. Energy that could be spent doing something much more productive like crunches, or better yet calling the next person on the list...

We no longer look at each other as valuable, or worthy for the sake of the relationship. We see each other as items and are constantly asking ourselves, “What is this person doing to better my situation?”

We forgot how the person was there when you least expected. We forget how they made us laugh when we were down. We so easily forget all the amazing things that make that person who they are and that garner that person at the very least a final conversation. What did that person do to deserve such treatment, care for you?

Imagine how much happier we would all be if instead of when asked, "So whatever happened to Bob?" one could proudly say, "Well he was a great guy and he's in Alaska right now photographing seals," rather than recoiling in embarrassment and saying, "I have no idea, he left me without a trace..?"

Unfortunately, Miami has bred self indulgent, narcissistic individuals who have no sense of remorse what-so-ever for what they do or who they do it to.

They do not hold themselves accountable for their actions so why should others? Then we wonder why this city is such a nightmare to date in? What we don’t realize is that we ourselves have brought forth this kind of unrealistic cut-throat environment.

Granted, I am not trying to toot my own horn or win the Medal of Honor for my services here; I’m just saying this has gotten out of hand.

Since when is it okay to accept a gift or a favor from someone without returning it ten fold? Since when did it become okay to specifically date someone until “the one” comes along and either sweeps you off your feet or makes you fall head over heels?

We’re all guilty of it.

Where is our sense of compassion for one another? No one looks each other in the eye anymore. We’re like little hamsters running in our cages all alone in our wheels, going no where fast..

We all have feelings. People have feelings. It shouldn’t be so difficult to say sorry to someone. Saying sorry doesn’t mean you are wrong and they are right. It means you acknowledge the other individuals point of view enough to meet them half way on the subject.

Whatever happened to being courteous and caring about the well being of others? I mean if I ever found myself in a tight spot, I would like to believe that a complete stranger would step up to help me, but these days I’m not so sure anymore..

A human being is not an item to be toyed with for a while and then turned in for another model. A person is not merely a “warm body” or a “decent date” or a “good listener,” that is there to fill the role for your convenience. People not only have feelings but they also have better things to do than to be catering to your needs all day.

Maybe, if we all stopped trying to over compensate for our poor judgment and lack of personality by worrying about our appearances and buying nice cars and big boats, we might find the time to work on ourselves from the inside and maybe just maybe become better human beings in the meantime.

Hopefully disposable human beings will just be another fad or something like white jeans and we'll all go back to valuing one another.

I don’t know, I’m just sayin…