Artist Of The Week: Monty Are I

Current Members:
Stephen Aiello (lead vocals, guitar)
Justin Muir (drums)
Ryan Muir (vocals, trumpet, guitar)
Andrew Borstein (trombone, keyboards, vocals, keytar)
Mike Matarese (bass)
Former Members:
Greg Johnson
Nick Salisbury
Albums:
Thanks For The Metal Sign (2000)
Monty's Fan Club (2002)
The Red Shift (2005)
Wall Of People (2006)
Break Through The Silence (2009)
Singles:
Dublin Waltz (2006)
Between The Sheets (2007)
One In A Million (2009)

-Monty Are I used to be called "Montys Fan Club" and "Monty"
-They are from Cranston, Rhode Island
-They won Takeover Records "Sign My Band" contest on MySpace but ended up signing with Stolen Transmission and were upstreamed to Island Records
-They also won the WBRU Rock Hunt in 2002 and the Ernie Bell sponsored Battle Of The Bands in 2003
-Monty Are I have been involved in 5 Vans Warped Tours
-They have toured with many bands including Saving Abel, Just Surrender, Secondhand Serenade, Anberlin, My Chemical Romance, Story Of The Year, Sum 41, Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard, Hawthorne Heights and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
-"In This Legacy" is featured in the Xbox/PS2 games ATV Offroad Fury 4 and Tony Hawk's Project 8
-The band is named after their band instructor Arthur Montanaro. "Are I" is a pun on "RI" which is Rhode Islands postal abbreviation
-Stephan Aiello is 27
-Justin Muir is 28
-Ryan Muir is 28
-Ryan and Justin are twin brothers
-Andrew Borstein is 27
-Mike Matarese is 27
You can follow the band on various sites including:
Myspace:
www.myspace.com/montyarei
Stephen: www.myspace.com/gnrstabb
Justin: www.myspace.com/whatladder
Andrew: www.myspace.com/andrewborstein
Ryan: www.myspace.com/likealighthouse
Mike: www.myspace.com/mikemat
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/montyarei
Stephen: www.twitter.com/StephenAreI
Justin: www.twitter.com/justinarei
Andrew: www.twitter.com/andrewarei
Ryan: www.twitter.com/RyanAreI
Mike: www.twitter.com/mikearei

Information from:
http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.montyarei.com/
www.myspace.com/montyarei

Read And Rock: Albums

These albums are all somewhat recent. They were released in 2009 or 2010.

1) "Awake" by Skillet (2009)
2) "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert (2009)
3) "Ursa Major" by Third Eye Blind (2009)
4) "The Fame Monster" by Lady Gaga (2009)
5) "Kiss And Tell" by Selena Gomez and The Scene (2009)
6) "Believe" by Orianthi (2009)
7) "Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said The Last Time I Saw You" by Wakey! Wakey! (2010)
8) "Grace Potter And The Nocturnals" by Grace Potter And The Nocturnals (2010)
9) "Tear The World Down" by We Are The Fallen (2010)
10) "If I Had Hi-Fi" by Nada Surf (2010)

Read And Rock: Music Videos

1) Red Hot Chili Peppers "Dani California"
2) Foo Fighters "Learn To Fly"
3) Blink-182 "All The Small Things"
4) Fall Out Boy "I Don't Care"
5) P!nk "So What"
6) Eminem "We Made You"
7) P!nk "Stupid Girls"
8) Taylor Swift Feat. T-Pain "Thug Story"
9) Chris Brown Feat. T-Pain "Kiss Kiss"
10) Fall Out Boy "Dance Dance"


All of these videos are more on the funny side which i'm sure you know if you've seen them. :)

Artist Of The Week: P!nk

Full Name: Alicia Beth Moore
Birthday: September 8, 1979
Studio Albums:
Can't Take Me Home (2000)
Missundaztood (2001)
Try This (2003)
I'm Not Dead (2006)
Funhouse (2008)
DVDS:
P!nk: Live In Europe (2005)
P!nk: Live From Wembley Arena (2007)
P!nk: Live In Australia (2009)
AWARDS:
Grammy's-
(2001) Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals "Lady Marmalade"
(2004) Best Female Pop Rock Vocal Performance "Trouble"
BRIT Awards-
(2003) Best International Female Artist
MTV Video Music Awards-
(2001) Best Video For A Film "Lady Marmalade"
(2001) Video Of The Year "Lady Marmalade"
(2001) Best Dance Video "Get The Party Started"
(2002) Best Female Pop Video "Get The Party Started"
(2006) Best Pop Song "Stupid Girls"

-P!nk was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania
-She joined her first band in high school which was called "Middleground"
-She began performing in clubs when she was 14
-P!nks first single was "There You Go" off of her first album "Can't Take Me Home"
-"Can't Take Me Home" was certified double platinum in the US
-The song "You Make Me Sick" was featured in the movie Save The Last Dance
-The song "Split Personality" was featured in the movie The Princess Diaries
-P!nk was the opening act for 'N Sync on their American tour for the summer of 2000
-In 2001 P!nk recorded a cover of "Lady Marmalade" for the movie Moulin Rouge with Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Lil' Kim
-P!nk named her 2nd album Missundaztood because she thought people had the wrong image of her
-In 2003 the song "Feel Good Time" was featured in the movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle where she also made a cameo appearence as a motocross race ramp owner
-"Try This" which was P!nks 3rd studio album sold 3 million copies
-"U + Ur Hand" and "Who Knew" off of the album "I'm Not Dead" both went #1 on the pop chart
-P!nk is the #1 Pop Song Artist of the Decade according to Billboards Decade End Chart
-P!nk says her album "Funhouse" is her most vulnerable album to date
-She has had 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 US
-P!nk has sold over 30 million records worldwide
-Billboard Top 40 Money Makers in Music List of 2010 showed that P!nk was the 6th highest paid artist of 2009
FUN FACTS
-In 2001 P!nk met Carey Hart at the X-Games
-In 2005 P!nk proposed to Carey during a motocross race by holding up a sign that said "Will you mary me" on one side and on the other "i'm serious!"
-The two were married in Costa Rica on January 7, 2006
-After a seperation P!nk and Carey are back together (They were never legally divorced)
-If she weren't a singer she'd be a party planner
-P!nk and her friends play a game that's called BDG where each person names one thing they want to brag about, one thing they desire, and one thing they're grateful for
-Her 5-carat diamond wedding ring embarrasses her, so she usually wears it turns around so the rock is facing down
-Her go to karaoke song is "Just The Way You Are" by Billy Joel
-When she wants to blow off steam she runs, sings, yells loudly or boxes
-She is a prominent campaigner for PETA
-She plays herself in the movie Get Him To The Greek

Information from:
http://www.pinkspage.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/
Cosmopolitan Magazine Vol. 248 for June 2010

Artist Of The Week: Skillet

Current Members:
John Cooper (lead vocals, bass; 1996-present)
Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, synthesizer; 1999-present)
Ben Kasica (lead guitar; 2001-present)
Jen Ledger (drums, backing vocals; 2008-present)
Former Members:
Ken Steorts (lead guitar; 1996-1999)
Trey McClurkin (drums, backing vocals; 1996-2000)
Kevin Haaland (lead guitar; 1999-2001)
Lori Peters (drums; 2000-2007)
Studio Albums:
Skillet (1996)
Hey You, I Love Your Soul (1998)
Invinsible (2000)
Alien Youth (2001)
Collide (2003)
Comatose (2006)
Awake (2009)
Live Albums:
Ardent Worship (2000)
Comatose Comes Alive CD/DVD (2008)

*Skillet was formed in 1996 by John Cooper and Ken Steorts
*Trey McClurkin joined Skillet as a temporary drummer
*Skillet was together for only a month when they were noticed by a major Christain record label, ForeFront Records
*In 1996 Skillet released their first album which was self-titled Skillet
*They recorded their second album Hey You, I Love Your Soul throughout 1997
*Korey Cooper started plaing keyboard for the bands live shows after they released Hey You, I Love Your Soul
*Not long after Skillet began recording Invisible Ken Steorts left the band and was replaced by Kevin Haaland
*Korey started playing permanently during the recording of Invisible
*Shortly after Invisible was released in 2000 Trey McClurkin left and was replaced by Lori Peters
*The band released Ardent Worship which was their first worship album in Fall 2000
*Before the release of their next album Kevin Haaland left the band
*Alien Youth was released on August 28, 2001
*Alien Youth was the first album John produced
*In 2003 Collide was released by Ardent Records
*In 2004 Lava Records bought the rights to Collide and re-released it with an extra track "Open Wounds"
*Comatose was released on October 3, 2006
*Comatose debuted at #55 on the Billboard Top 200 and at #4 on the US Top Christian Albums chart
*In January 2008 Skillet announced that Lori was retiring
*Lori's last concert was on December 31, 2007 (During the Christmas season Lori began to train Jen Ledger, Skillets current drummer)
*On October 21, 2008 Comatose Comes Alive, which is a CD/DVD combo, was released
*Comatose was certified Gold in sales by the RIAA on November 3, 2009
*Awake was released on August 25, 2009 and charted #2 on the Billboard Top 200
*Hero (off of the album Awake) was used to publisize the first football game of the 2009 NFL season
*In the first week of April 2010 Awake was released for the rock band music store in Rock Band 2
*Awake tied the record for the highest charting Christian album on the Billboard 200
*Skillet was nominated for 6 Dove awards on February 18, 2010
*Skillet has been nominated for 2 Grammy's, one for Collide and one for Comatose
*As of March 2010 they have sold 1.6 million albums worldwide
Fun Facts
*John Cooper and Korey Cooper are married and have 2 children, Alexandria and Xavier
*Jen Ledger is 20
*Ben Kasica is 26
*John Cooper is 35
*Korey Cooper is 37
*Jen Ledger is from the United Kingdom
*Ben is a co-owner of the clothing line LifeLoveMusic
*John did vocals for !Hero: The Rock Opera (However he did not tour with the rock opera)
*John co-wrote the song "Best I Can" by Desyfer Down
*John hates feet
*John loves the '80s and Dr. Pepper

Information from:
http://www.skillet.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.skilletfan.com/

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson "Breakaway" (2004)

Breakaway: The moment that I heard this song I fell in love with it. I feel like these lyrics were written for me and i'm sure everybody else feels the same way. It's an inspiring song. A lot of people come from small towns and they have big dreams. However because they are from such a small place they don't believe that their dreams can come true. That's why I love this song so much because she is taking on that character. This is one of those songs that you can say is speaking the words that you feel.

Since U Been Gone: When I heard this song I was like...wow. I know that 9 out of 10 people can relate to this song. I also know that if you can relate to it you freak out when you hear it, and I mean this in a good way. In case you haven't ever heard it she's talking about a boy who was her friend and then they started dating. This girl was crazy about this guy and he didn't seem to care. Now she's realized it and is saying that she doesn't need him. "Thanks to you now I get what I want, since you been gone"

Behind These Hazel Eyes: This is a great song especially if you've just broken up with someone. She's talking about how secure she felt with this guy and how much she loved him but then they broke up and now she can't even sleep. She's broken hearted because she thought that this was the man of her dreams. The reason I love this song is because I think it sends a good message. Yes she's broken hearted but even though she is she says she won't let him see her cry. I think that too many girls go to the guy who just broke up with them and cry to them about it. Unfortunatly most of these guys don't care that you're crying. "Broken up deep inside but you won't get to see the tears I cry"

Because Of You: I'm not certain of the real meaning behind this song because I've heard that it was about her parents but then i've heard it was about a guy. Either way this song is amazing. When you listen to this song I want you to close your eyes (unless you're driving of course) because it will be even more powerful. "Because of you I never stray to far from the sidewalk. Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt. Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me. Because of you I am afraid."

Gone: I think this song is about a guy who cheated on a girl. He thinks that he can get back with her whenever he wants because usually she take him back...but not this time. I love this because that is SO relatable. Sometimes when we care for someone we take them back no matter what. But there is a certain point when you need to cut them out of your life. I know it's hard to do that but if you don't let them go you're only hurting yourself. These guys (or girls) think that they can do whatever they want to you and you'll always take them back. You need to put your foot down, stand up strong and tell them to get lost. "You were wrong if you think you can walk right through my door. That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on."

Addicted: Feel free to argue but I believe this song is about a guy who treats this girl badly but she can't let him go. She isn't herself anymore but she cannot even breath without him. She is addicted to him. "It's like I can't breath without you inside of me. And I know I let you have all the power. And I realize i'm never gonna quit you over time"

Where Is Your Heart: I think that this song is about a guy who tells this girl how much he cares for her but she doesn't completely feel it. She is always reaching out to him and she doesn't feel like he is giving her the love that she deserves. All she wants is for him to prove to her how devoted he is to her. That's not to much to ask for, is it?

Walk Away: This is a very empowering song for women. "I want a man by my side not a boy who runs and hides" In that one lyric I think you get the gist of the song. In the song she's dating a guy and she digs him and all but he is being stupid so she's like whatever. Did that make sence? :P

You Found Me: I love, love, LOVE this song. These lyrics are beautiful and, here I go again, so relatable! Many times you find somebody and you are afraid that you're dreaming because they are so amazing. She's talking about this amazing guy who found her and she's afraid that she's dreaming because he is so great. She doesn't want to wake up because if this is a dream it's better than any reality. "You found me when no one else was looking. How did you know just where I would be? Yeah you broke through all of my confusion, the ups and the downs and you still didn't leave. I guess that you saw what nobody could see, you found me"

I Hate Myself For Losing You: Hey hey it's another relatable song. :) Basically she's saying that she was dating a guy and they broke up but this time it was all her fault. He did nothing, it's all on her. Yes sometimes it's the other persons fault that our heart got broken but sometimes it's our own fault. That is what this song is about. "I hate myself for losing you. I'm seeing it all so clear. I hate myself for losing you. What do you do when you look in the mirror and starring at you is why he's not here?" Sick vocals on this track also.

Hear Me: This song starts off sort of haunting and then BAM! She's calling for this person that she loves and waiting for them to finally hear her and come to her. I think that maybe this guy liked her but she pushed him away because she was scared. Now he's gone and she's calling for him to come back. "I need you to see i'm screaming for you to please, hear me"

Favorite Song On Album: Hear Me
Least Favorite Song On Album:

(The lyrics mentioned in this post do not belong to me. Copyright infrigement not intended.)

Read and Rock: Bands

*This list of bands that I love are in no particular order*

1) Skillet
2) Paramore
3) Avenged Sevenfold
4) Third Eye Blind
5) The Strokes
6) The Vines
7) Tokio Hotel
8) Rooney
9) Jonas Brothers
10) Jet

Read And Rock: Female Singers

Okay by now i'm guessing you have figured out how these "Read And Rock" posts go so i'm not going to explain it again. Here we go...(in no particular order) :)

1) Joan Jett
2) Taylor Swift
3) Kelly Clarkson
4) P!nk
5) Kate Voegele
6) Miley Cyrus
7) Beyonce
8) Lady Gaga
9) Carrie Underwood
10) Melissa Etheridge

Album Releases: June 2010

Tuesday June 1st, 2010
Clay Aiken: Tired and True
Born Ruffians: Say It
Hawthorne Heights: Skeletons
Jack Johnson: To The Sea
Trees On Fire: Organica

Tuesday June 8th, 2010
Christina Aguilera: Bionic
The Cringe: Play Thing
Darkness: Death Squad
Hanson: Shout It Out
Hot Hot Heat: Future Beads
Iggy Pop: California Hitchhike (LIVE)
Jewel: Sweet and Wild
Lil Jon: Crunk Rock
Travie McCoy: Lazarus
Nada Surf: If I Had A Hi-Fi
Plies: Goon Affiliated
Grace Potter and The Nocturnals: Grace Potter and The Nocturnals
Rooney: Eureka
The Roots: How I Got Over
Saving Abel: Miss America
Tokyo Police Club: Champ
Gary Wright: Connected

Tuesday June 15th, 2010
Foals: Total Life Forever
Laurie Anderson: Homeland
Devo: Something For Everybody
Drake: Thank Me Later
Sarah McLachlan: The Laws Of Illusion
The Steve Miller Band: Bingo!
Papa Roach: To Be Loved
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Mojo
Pitbull: Armando
Ozzy Osbourne: Scream
We Are Scientists: Barbara

Tuesday June 22nd, 2010
Automatic Loveletter: Truth or Dare
Chamillionare: Venom
Miley Cyrus: Can't Be Tamed
Eminim: Recovery
Macy Gray: The Sellout
Cyndi Lauper: Memphis Blues
Pierce The Veil: Selfish Machines
Semi Precious Weapons: You Love You
Uncle Kracker: Happy Hour-The South River Sessions [EP]

Tuesday June 29th, 2010
3OH!3: Streets Of Gold
Judy Collins: Paradise
Diddy: Last Train To Paris
Scissor Sisters: Night Work
The Dream: Love King
Three 6 Mafia: Laws of Power
Wolf Parade: Expo 86

Read And Rock: Male Singers

I get asked a lot who my favorite singers are and the answer is...it changes all the time. I am one to get hooked on somebody and listen to them non-stop. Since I do this all the time I have a LOT of favorite singers and bands. This post will be some of my favorite male singers of all time. I also want to let you know that they aren't in any special order. Enjoy!

1) Michael Buble
2) Rick Springfield
3) Gavin DeGraw
4) John Mayer
5) James Morrison
6) Billy Joel
7) Elvis Costello
8) Brad Paisley
9) Elvis Costello
10) Secondhand Serenade

Read And Rock: Favorite Songs Of The Moment

If you've been reading my blog then you know that i've been doing a post called "My Favorite Songs Of The Moment" I'm going to continue doing these posts but now they are going to be under the "Read And Rock" title. Nothing will change about these posts except the title. Now on to the list :)

10) Leave Right Now by Will Young
9) Eenie Meenie by Sean Kingston Feat. Justin Bieber
8) Santa Monica by Theory Of A Deadman
7) Knives and Pens by Black Veil Brides
6) You Stupid Girl by Framing Hanley
5) Can You Take Me by Third Eye Blind
4) Dance So Good by Wakey! Wakey! *
3) Love Left To Lose by Sons of Sylvia *
2) The Only Exception by Paramore
1) The Letdown by The White Tie Affair

*(songs that were on the last favorite songs of the moment list. "Love Left To Lose" by Sons of Sylvia jumped from #7 to #3 and "Dance So Good" by Wakey! Wakey! fell from #1 to #4)