On the Road...Sac Town, CA

So me and the family have settled into our Best Western Motor Lodge for the evening after braving traffic, two random fires, and countless hours of boredom broken up by the odd car game or the constant battle over the IPod Music (which my wife was in charge of today...tomorrow it's all me baby)

Anyway since I am here in Sacramento, I thought I would seek out some of the local musical flavor (via myspace). Overall the vibe here is decidedly harder edged (a mix of emo, indie and hard rock). Here are a few that stuck out.

FAR has a band member by the name of Jonah Matranga, which I recognize from his other and ONELINEDRAWING (who I enjoy very much). The music is pretty straight forward indie rock (nice cheeky cover of a christmas classic). Not really my cup of tea but others seem really into them.

THE GENERALS are a very middle of the road rock band who use synths to make their sound a little more new wave. The lead singer is working in the Bono register without the conviction. I think if I listened to them more I would be more inclined to like them but right now I'm lukewarm. At least they are gutsy enough to cover "Eleanor Rigby".

And now for something completely different. THE HONEY TREES are one girl with a beautiful voice. Becky Flip is swimming an ocean of sound and emotion. "Don't Fear" is a simply gorgeous piano ballad mixed with multi-tracked vocals. (available for download on her site). The other three tracks are live versions that recall a little Cocteau Twins musically or Dead Can Dance with a singer you can understand. I think this might be one to keep bookmarked for something really good in the future.

THE TERRIBLE SECRET are a band that seems to be carrying on the legacy of Catherine Wheel and other Shoegazer bands. They have the sound down perfectly (slightly distorted guitars, drums that come and go for effect, a hint of synths) and are not half bad. They even have a song that features a female accompanyment ala Tanya Donelly on "Judy Staring At The Sun". I could listen to Catherine Wheel all day so I have some fondness for these guys.