Oakland Athletics Player Music Overview

Starting off a recurring weekly featured heading into the upcoming baseball season. Over the course of the next few weeks beginning with Spring Training, we're going to take a look at some teams around the league and see what the players individual music tastes are like, allowing us to get a sense of what their personalities are like both on and off the field.

Today, we start off and take a look at a team that personifies character and individuality, the Oakland Athletics. The team won the AL West last year for the 2nd year in a row, but lost in the 1st round of the playoffs again to the Detroit Tigers and are looking to have a strong finish and a long and fruitful run deep into the postseason. I've always been a deep admirer of the A's and their ability to finish strong in the regular season and get into the playoffs despite having one of the smallest payrolls in the league, they totally evoke the qualities of a model franchise and one that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for year in and year out. Here is a rundown of some of the players and their individual walk up songs:

AJ Griffin:  Wolfgang Gartner - Illmerica

The starting pitcher has some high energy house music ready for him to put on full blast when charges out to the mound. It's very different than the usual genres of some of the players from other teams who traditionally choose something like rock, pop, country, hip-hop, but AJ is in a class all his own and he delivers with this funky number here.

Brandon Moss:  Eric Church - Homeboy

The former Red Sox pays homage to his Southern roots with some country music courtesy of Eric Church. While the music may be a little offbeat in the clubhouse, the whole team chemistry of the A's is built upon being a little different and doing things against the grain from what others expect you to be like. And this song totally reflects the elements that he calls home.

Coco Crisp: Kid Ink - Badass

Another former Sox player bringing up the rear with some hip-hop style to add to the mix. The slick fielding center fielder is a hot commodity over in the Bay Area these days with his massive fro and free wheeling personality turning heads and attracting legions of devotees in the process as well. What better way to express his personality than this nugget right here.

Derek Norris: Soundgarden - Outshined

The highly skilled backstop has some classic grunge rock courtesy of Soundgarden to help him unwind when he goes up to the plate. A strong choice for a walk up song, the high energy riffs will make opposing pitcher shake in their shoes a little bit and could give Norris an advantage as a ball comes right down in the heart of the plate.

Eric Sogard: Guns N Roses - Welcome to The Jungle

Nerd power! The strong fielding second baseman has a very popular song choice for his walk up song in Guns N' Roses. The only player in MLB to wear glasses, this player has captured the attention of fans alike with his unique style and sensibility making fans create signs showing support for this optically enhanced player.

Jarrod Parker: Red - Breathe Into Me

The young starting pitcher has some Christian music influenced in his walk-up song that gives him an advantage when facing opposing hitters. A newcomer on the scene, Parker has greatly increased his presence as a front line starter and while he had a bit of a slow start last season, he is ready to catch on and move straight ahead with this blazing track.

Josh Reddick: Ryback (Jim Johnston WWE) - Meat On The Table

Another former Red Sox player brings his unique and flashing sensibilities (and an awesome beard to boot) with this wrestling theme used by Jim Johnston of the WWE. While his presence here in Boston is greatly missed, the right fielder is building quite the following in Oakland that has inspired fans to create signs featuring championship belts proclaiming him, "The Champ", and he certainly is with this song choice.

Ryan Cook: Breaking Benjamin - So Cold

This oldie but goodie from Breaking Benjamin is Ryan Cook's song choice that gives him an intense edge and something to look forward to when he steps out on the mound. Usually pitchers depend on an intense and uptempo song to get them into the mood right before first pitch, and this song does the trick and keeps his mind focused on the task at hand.

Sean Doolittle: Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls

This classic track from Metallica gives Doolittle an intense and glaring edge that towers over opposing hitters when faced with the difficult challenge of facing Doolittle on the mound. Saving games is an important task, and Doolittle does his job of bridging the gap between the latter innings and giving his team a chance to go home with a well deserved victory all through the power of this song.

Yoenis Cespedes: Clyde Carson - Slow Down (Yoenis Cespedes Remix)

This song from the Bay Area native gives the latest Cuban sensation a chance to prove his worth and test his strength among some of the top talent throughout baseball. A tough out at any point, Yoenis takes his time in finding the pitch he wants, and making the pitcher pay dearly for his sorry mistake that will later be buried somewhere deep in the stands for fans to fight over later.

Keep an eye out for more MLB team music rundowns each week throughout spring training heading into the beginning of the regular season on March 31st. And, I just want to give a special shoutout to Benjamin Christensen, a diehard A's fan year in and year out who is also an accomplished writer himself for his site called Hats and Tats where he writes about his extensive and ever growing collection of hats from MLB teams and minor league affiliates. You can view it right over here and if you ever have the opportunity to meet him in person, ask if you can tug his majestic and ever growing beard!

Vote For The Bottom Line To Play The Groezrock Festival!

South Coast, U.K.'s own The Bottom Line need your help in a contest being put on by the fine folks over at Macbeth Stage. The band is among a handful of nominees competing for a slot to play the Groezrock Festival in Belgium coming up in April. The band is a little behind in the voting and they need your help to win this contest! All you need to do is click on this link here and scroll down to the middle of the page until you see The Bottom Line. You have to register to vote, but it's free and it's all for a good cause to help these lovely lads win this contest to show off the pride of their native land and play amongst a group of bands hungry and eager for attention just as much as they are.

For more info on The Bottom Line, 'Like' them on Facebook here and buy their album "Role Models" on iTunes at this link right here.

Valentine's Day Playlist

With February 14th officially here, you might be running around in the midst of getting those last minute dinner reservations and flowers all ready for your special someone. But you forgot one thing, and that is the music! Never fear, because today I have a specially curated playlist designed to transmit that special message to your significant other that probably gets lost in the shuffle sometimes with everyone's busy schedules. These songs are more alternative/indie leaning, and instead avoids the traditional V-Day love songs that permeates those other playlists. Here is my personal playlist for your delight:

Jack's Mannequin - American Love
Incubus - Love Hurts
The Cure - Love Song
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Could You Be Loved
Nada Surf - Always Love
Beck - Think I'm In Love
Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You
Nada Surf - Inside of Love
311 - Love Song
The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
The Lumineers - Stubborn Love
Mumford & Sons - Lover of the Light

Any favorite love songs of yours that you appreciate the most? Let me know your personal playlist and I'll share it on the site!

Max Garcia Conover Premieres Video For "Wildfires Outside Laramie, WY"

Portland, ME's own Max Garcia Conover just released his brand new music video for 'Wildfires Outside Laramie, WY". The black and white clip features gorgeous and lush winter imagery conjured upon a serene and winter laden landscape that evokes all the powerful and comforting imagery that Max seeks to convey in this video. With the winter season not loosening its grip on the region anytime soon, this video provides the perfect visual accompaniment of what we're currently feeling with this dreary weather, but also shows the untouched beauty that winter can provide and also acts as a companion as you cruise up and down the roads in search of what's coming up next.

For more information on Max Garcia Conover and to listen to his music, 'Like' his Facebook page here and follow him on Twitter here.

Artist Spotlight: Set Your Sails

Another edition of Artist Spotlight is ready to go! Today, we head across the pond to Portsmouth, United Kingdom and seek out the hardcore leaning sounds of Set Your Sails. The band consists of Sean Kelly, Carl Michie, Harry Fielder, Harvey Ware, and Nick Bowen. The band has an ear-piercing, gut wrenching sound similar to their fellow countrymen Asking Alexandria and our Underoath with their own unique and cutting edge musical blueprint to fall upon. Some of you guys may not know this, but I happen to enjoy some metalcore music, most particularly Pierce the Veil and some of the aforementioned acts mentioned because it has a certain dexterity and edge to it that balances out the hardcore screaming that it's often associated with melodic interludes interspersed in between to present a full bodied and rich sound that brings together a new element of music that is slowly growing by the numbers. A neat, undiscovered act from England that has plenty of promise moving forward.

For more info and all the latest on Set Your Sails, head on over to their Facebook page located right here and find out everything that there is to know about the group. The fellas can be followed on Twitter from over here and see if they plan on stopping by the States sometime soon with a concert appearance. Their Bandcamp site is at this spot here and contains all of their music, including their latest track "Connect:Rebuild".

Sleepy Hahas Release "Dull Days" From Forthcoming Debut Album

Buffalo, NY based Sleepy Hahas have just revealed the first hint of what is coming off their debut LP titled "Dull Days" which will be released on May 12th. The title track was recently just made available for streaming on their Soundcloud page, and the song has a blues rock feel to it a la The Black Keys with their own unique and progressive approach that sets them apart from their contemporaries, and gives them a competitive edge amongst all the other up and comers out there in the scene who sometimes might sound too like one another and may end up getting lost in the shuffle because of it. These guys don't suffer the syndrome that sometimes plagues those other bands, and instead relies on their own unique characteristics to pay it forward.

To listen to "Dull Days" for yourself, give it a listen on their Soundcloud page right here for your listening pleasure. For more information on Sleepy Hahas, 'Like' them on Facebook here, follow them on Twitter here, and give their Bandcamp site a whirl while you're at it here.

Seasick Mama Releases Music Video For "Man Overboard"

New York's own burgeoning singer-songwriter known as Seasick Mama has just released her ultra sleek and sexy music video for the song titled "Man Overboard". The lusty clip features the gorgeous musician who also moonlights as a model gallivanting in the water while attracting the attention of dozens of males while expressing her earnest musical talents in a terrestrial and realistic setting featured prominently here in the video. I was impressed with what she had to offer, and displayed a strong and confident bad-ass nature with her style dictating which way the music is traveling, something that is almost unheard of in this day of age.

For more info on Seasick Mama, give her a 'Like on Facebook right here where you can keep an eye out for tour dates that may be stopping by your area relatively soon. 

Artist Spotlight: San Fermin

Starting off your snowy Thursday with a brand new edition of Artist Spotlight! Today, we head off to Brooklyn, NY and come into contact with the lovely indie rock sounds of San Fermin. The group consists of Allen Tate on vocals, Rae Cassidy on vocals, Rebekah Durham on vocals and violin, John Brandon on trumpet, Stephen Chen on saxophone, Ellis Ludwig-Leone on keyboard, Tyler McDiarmid on guitar, and Mike Hanf on drums. The band's music is a baroque indie-pop hybrid with a dynamic synapse of beautiful vocals and ambient instrumentation running amok throughout the musical wavelengths that provides for a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. These guys played a show this past Monday at Brighton Music Hall with Friendly People opening up for them (another past Artist Spotlight alumni) and while I was unable to attend, I know they were in good hands with what I'm sure was a strong crowd dedicated to experiencing the highest quality music out there, and a band from what I've heard has a strong musical aesthetic to them that is entirely unique and has a certain unbridled musical chemistry that is just plain infectious. A terrific upstart band deserving of some love from here in the New England area. Some tracks to discover from the group include "Sonsick" and "Daedalus (What We Have)".

For more information on San Fermin, cruise on over to their Facebook page located right over here and discover what musical goodness they have concocted for your listening ears. You may also follow them on Twitter from this location here and see where else they'll be traveling on the musical map. Visit their official website located here for more in depth information about them, and pick up their self-titled release now available for download on iTunes conveniently at this link here.

Dimond Saints Release First Portion of Three Part Album

Oakland, CA's Dimond Saints are set to release the first in a three part debut album series titled The Rising. The full three part album is titled Shingetsu and will be released as part of a free daily download this week, culminating with the final part being released tomorrow, February 14th.

The first single from that effort is titled "We Diamonds" and has proved to be a massive success, peaking at #4 on the Hype Machine download ranking list and the duo recently did a remix of one of Lorde's tracks that generated 150,000 plays on Soundcloud. The song is a pulsating, mystical number with distorted electronic effects paving the way for an well enhanced musical experience like no other. With electronic music impacting the mainstream right now as we speak from the likes of Daft Punk and Capital Cities, this act proves to be a tough out and is quickly gaining steam and shows no signs of slowing down.

To check out Dimond Saints for yourself, head on over to their Soundcloud page right over here and give them a quick 'Like' on their Facebook page right here if you enjoy what you hear.

Kusanagi - They WIll Come Back For You

The four piece instrumental band hailing from Liverpool, UK has just released their latest concoction titled "They Will Come Back From You". The disc is a surprising and entertaining mixture of instrumentation that is completely devoid of any vocals whatsoever, and that allows each individual musician to squarely focus on their line of work and their monumental task at hand which shouldn't be that difficult to accomplish.

"Spires" kicks off the effort with a squalling cavalcade of guitars that meld in well with the drums and bass that provide a harmonic triforce that slowly starts to build up some steam that lasts well throughout the duration of this record and instills the listener to continue listening in anticipation of what's to come later on. "What Fools These Mortals" is a short number clocking in at just under 3 minutes that gives a strong wave of guitars that has a sort of progressive rock channel attached to it that gives a hint of the meticulous nature of the gentlemen that manifests itself well throughout this well made composition. My favorite track off the album is "Rhinoceros" a melodic, leveled track that shows compounded layers of bass, guitar, and light percussion arrangements all rolled into one that will have your complete and undivided attention by the time the song has wrapped up. "Danxia" gets us ready for the close of the effort with a mellow, homely number that gives each individual musician a chance to state their case as to why you should listen to this album with a open mind and how it will impact your listening habits. The title track plays us out with a well encapsulated track that takes in musical elements we've heard in some form throughout the duration of this record that gives us an idea as to the origins of this group, what their background is, and the simple and dignified nature of their music that is unlike any current musical dynamic and allows them to blend in with their mates in England.

All in all, an impressive and well constructed effort from Kusanagi, a band that is relatively unknown here in the States, but are looking to foray and greatly affect the traditional music listener and get them to experience a little of what's outside the box.

                                                                                                                                EP Score: 3.5/5

Track Listing:

1. Spires
2. What Fools These Mortals
3. Rhinoceros
4. Danxia
5. One Day, They Will Come Back For You...

MLB Spring Training Team Music Preview

That phrase you love hearing every year, "Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training" signifies only one thing, that baseball season is around the corner and warmer weather is in our midst relatively sometime soon!

Over the course of the next several weeks heading into the beginning of the regular season here on the site, we'll spotlight a few teams and their personal playlists to get a better understanding of the musical makeup of each team and spotlight a few role players in the process who can help their team get off to a fast start. Here is a rundown of the teams that I'll be covering over the course of the next month or so:

Oakland Athletics
Kansas City Royals
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres

This is an exciting and thrilling opportunity for me to bring together the two things I'm most passionate about: music and sports and bring everybody together to experience in one thrilling and unique fashion that I'm sure you'll enjoy immensely! The first installment will be posted on Monday featuring the Oakland A's and will continue sporadically heading right into the beginning of the MLB regular season, so get ready to experience music and sports together in one neat little package.

Bad Things Premiere Music Video For "Caught Inside"

Get More: 

www.mtvu.com

While Shaun White didn't take home the Gold in the Snowboarding Halfpipe competition at The Olympics in Sochi earlier this afternoon, he can take solace and comfort in knowing that he is a pretty damn good musician! His band Bad Things, who have been covered numerous times here on the site, just released their music video earlier today for their song titled "Caught Inside" from their self-titled debut LP that came out a few weeks ago. The song is one of the more downtempo tunes found on the record, and presents the group in a much different light than what they're portrayed on the record and demonstrates all the musical depth and talent emanating from everyone in the band, especially Shaun.

For more information on Bad Things, 'Like' them on Facebook here, follow on Twitter here, and check out their debut album now available for purchase on iTunes and wherever fine music products are sold.

Artist Spotlight: The Federal Hillbillies

Starting off another week with an all new installment of Artist Spotlight! Today, we head down to the beltway area of Baltimore, the homeland of crabcakes and the Orioles where we seek out the sounds of The Federal Hillbillies. The band consists of Justin Ahmanson on lead vocals, guitar, and harmonica, Josh Ahmanson on vocals and steel guitar, Dan Walker on vocals and bass, and C Thomas King on drums. The band's sound is a down home blend of Americana and folk melodies woven into the musical fabric that is reminiscent of such acts like The Avett Brothers and The Lumineers with an authentic, homespun twist that is all their own and represents their craft that they've worked so hard to create over the years that is coming to fruition right now in the present. I enjoyed these guys immediately from first listen, and appreciated how simplistic and beautiful each of their compositions were and how pure and unadulterated they were in terms of lyrical content and studio mastery where there were no frills attached whatsoever that made the songs that much more potent and noticeable from a musical perspective. A terrific under the radar act that is deserving of some exposure here on the site. Some tracks to watch out for include "Going Back Home" and "Invisible Man".

For more information on The Federal Hillbillies, head on over to their Facebook page located here and see for yourself the homegrown creations that they've made. You can follow them on Twitter as well from this location right here and find out if they plan on making their way up to the New England sometime soon for a concert appearance. Their official website is over here featuring an extensive list of in depth information, and it's where you can also stream their latest EP titled "Whiskey to Wine" before you decide to purchase it on iTunes.

Artist Spotlight: You Blew It!

Proud to present to you yet another edition of Artist Spotlight to guide you into the weekend! Today, we escape the cold confines of Boston and head down to sunny Orlando, FL where we find our musical companions in the form of You Blew It! The band consists of Tanner Jones, Andy Anaya, and Trevor O'Hare. The band's sound is a direct, bombastic sound reminiscent of such groups like American Football and The Get Up Kids with a raw, energetic sound that is honed in on affecting its listeners and eliciting a strong and positive reaction from them that will draw them into their world and become devoted fans of the group in the process as well. I was impressed with the band's dynamic when I checked out their performance on Audiotree and it really gave me a good idea of what their stage presence is like and their personalities as well which just reeked of positivity and good naturedness that I couldn't possibly ignore their charm and devotion to what they do best, playing music. A terrific talent that is traversing the country looking for more fans to draw into their wake even as we speak. Some songs recommended for listening include "Medal of Honor" and "Award of the Year Award".

To find more information on You Blew It!, check them out on Facebook right here and see what they've conjured up for you on a musical scale. The band is on Twitter from over here and see when the band will making their way up to the Boston area sometime with a concert appearance. Visit their official website located here for more in depth information regarding them, and check out their music now readily available at your disposal via their Bandcamp site here.