The Aquabats, the fun, kitschy superhero group/rock band, are coming back to the hub June 1 with the second season of “The Aquabats! Super Show!” on The Hub. The show, directed by Jason DeVillers and Christian Jacobs, stars Jacobs as MC Bat Commander along with fellow Aquabats Crash McLarsen, Ricky Fitness, Jimmy the Robot and Eaglebones Falconhawk. Here’s more about “The Aquabats! Super Show!”: “Every week, “The Aquabats! Super Show!” features a new live-action adventure, a mix of animation sequences, television commercial parodies, and live concert footage to combat the powers of EVIL in their never-ending quest to destroy boredom and seek justice for all! Especially the kids — yeah,  [ Read More ]

A memorable band name can go a long way in the music industry. Nowadays a catchy title can be just as essential as having a distinct sound. If it weren’t for the inclusion of the ultimate bad girl in the title, The Wanted’s new song, “Walks Like Rihanna”, might as well be tossed into the bin of lackluster boy band pop songs. So, what happens if a band has a solid name and an original sound? Well, that magical combination equates to an enduring career. Canadian outfit, Down With Webster, can attest to that theory. Certified platinum in Canada, Down With Webster has been nominated for Juno Awards, MuchMusic Video  [ Read More ]

It’s the middle of the week and I bet you Shockya readers need a pick me up to get you through the rest of hump day and the two work days ahead. I have got just the cure for your Wednesday blues thanks to the tunes from Citadel, which is the music project of Philadelphia-based multi-instrumentalist and producer, Justin Chapman. Chapman formed Citadel as a collaborative effort with several of Philadelphia’s most prominent singers and songwriters, such as Lucy Stone, Will Lindsay and Geoff Vanover. The creative “outfit” dropped their self-titled EP on May 7th and you can stream it in its entirety on Artist Direct. The four song EP  [ Read More ]

Flyleaf fans need to take a look at this giveaway! Pat Seals of Flyleaf has created a limited edition Flyleaf wood block print (seen below). Would you like to have a copy of this print? Well, we’ve got a few to give away! Here’s how to win a print. Follow us @Shockya and then tweet us the phrase, “@Shockya is giving away limited edition Flyleaf prints! Follow and RT to enter!” You have until May 29 to enter. You can enter every day until the cut-off date, and after that, we’ll pick the winners at random and notify them through Twitter. Good luck to all who enter! Flyleaf’s newest album,  [ Read More ]

‘American Idol’ has broken several records during its current 12th season. Not only has the hit FOX singing competition made headlines for the fighting between new judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, but the sole remaining original judge, Randy Jackson, also recently announced that he won’t be returning for next year’s 13th season. The current season is also the first one in which all of one gender’s finalist were eliminated before any of the opposite gender’s finalist, making it the first season to have an all-female Top 5. Last Thursday night, Angie Miller was the eighth contestant to be eliminated from Season 12′s Top 10 finalists, after singing three songs-Jimmy  [ Read More ]

As of May 7th, I have been eagerly awaiting to feature the multi-faceted outfit, Fitz And The Tantrums, in Shockya’s “Artist Of The Week”. This past Tuesday, the sextet dropped their sophomore album, “More Than Just A Dream” via Elektra Records. Founded by Michael Fitzpatrick (vocals) in 2008, Fitz And The Tantrums, which consists of Noelle Scaggs (vocals), James King (saxophonist), John Wicks (drums), Joseph Karnes (bassist) and Jeremy Ruzumna (keyboardist), released their debut EP, “Songs For A Breakup, Vol.1” in 2009 and the following year dropped their first full-length, “Pickin’ Up The Pieces”. Solidifying them as a breakout band, “Pickin’ Up The Pieces”, revamped classic Motown music by adding  [ Read More ]

Carly Rae Jepsen celebrated Mother’s Day weekend by performing for hundreds of fans in the Sparkle Ballroom at the legendary Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The Grammy nominated pop singer-songwriter gave an intimate BleauLive performance that included her latest single, ‘Tonight I’m Getting Over You.’ BleauLive is the entertainment platform that brings the world’s top acts to the renowned Fontainebleau Miami Beach for unique vacation experiences. The landmark resort, which stands for style and sophistication, has brought in leading talent since it opened in the 1950s, including Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and Ella Fitzgerald. Combining elements of performance, personal guest interaction with the musician and an exciting weekend escape, the Fontainebleau BleauLive  [ Read More ]

Obtaining longevity in the music industry is an achievement that is severely underappreciated amongst listeners. Within those “break” years of an artist’s career, there most likely had been a slew of new “it” girls. These already established-singers need to persist passed that change, which is much more easily said than it is done. If it were that simple, garnering fame would be a mindless task. Further solidifying her title as the “Queen Of Christian Pop”, Singer/songwriter, Amy Grant, will be releasing her first studio album in 10 years on May 14th. She took a decade off, but Grant is still the best-selling contemporary Christian music singer ever, having sold over  [ Read More ]

Somehow during the indie rock influx, the tongue in cheek charm of Vans Warped Tour bands got ousted from the 21st Century rock genre. In case you’ve never been to the festival, Warped Tour is typically infiltrated by the self-deemed rebels of high school. Outfits, such as Paramore, AFI, The Academy Is…, Bayside, Bowling For Soup, Thrice, The Starting Line, Something Corporate, Jimmy Eat World, Jack’s Mannequin and Good Charlotte, have all donned the stage at least one time in their career. Lately, the punk rock sub-category has been on the bench and the trendy ways of hipster rock has been at the forefront of the music scene. Everyone loves  [ Read More ]

As the season turns, the need to update your playlists should be growing more urgent. It’s time to ditch those wallowing winter tunes and replace them with some “pump up” jams. Yes, I just used the Jersey Shore adjective, “pump up”, to describe summer tunes, but is there anything else more appropriate? So, start adding energetic hip-hop, rap and pop tracks because the summer solstice is right around the corner. My suggestion is to begin your newly improved playlists is with tunes from middle class rap hero, Spose, who will be releasing his new album, “The Peter Sparker Mixtape”, on June 10th via his own label, Preposterously Dank Entertainment. The  [ Read More ]

Welcome readers to a new feature, “Shockya’s Artist Of The Week”. Each week you will be introduced to a new artist or band whose music has garnered a closer look. “Artist Of The Week” is about the collective appeal of an outfit, not the promising nature of a single song. These selections were able to stop my unholy tendencies to quickly click from one new release to the next without “consciously” giving the track a shot. So, here it goes. The first of the batch of awesome bands coming your way is the California rock duo, Deap Vally. Comprised of Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums), Deap Vally  [ Read More ]

The kick off of 90s pop occurred more than a decade ago, but the genre has only progressed since the domination days of Britney Spears. I thought the aftermath of “…. Baby One More Time” would be long gone by now, but I am thoroughly pleased with how pop music has gone on to include a wide variety of genres, such as rock, rhythm and blues and rap. Transformation is key to persisting in the music industry and pop music has done just that. While it is difficult to compare pop lyrics and vocals with those of more “introverted” genres, I do think the ability to make a commercial success  [ Read More ]

With technologically heavy music flooding the radio, it’s unbelievably refreshing to hear organic music. While I do think the word, “organic”, is wrongly thrown around the music industry just as much as that in the health world, the stripped down sound of artist and activist, Koji, fits too appropriately with the term to avoid its use. Koji dropped his debut full-length, “Crooked In My Mind”, on April 30th via Run For Cover Records and with one play through, his effortless storytelling ability comes to the forefront. No beat dropper can compete with that lyrical mastery. You can get your copy of “Crooked In My Mind” here and read Koji’s discussion  [ Read More ]

Title: Lil Bub & Friendz Screened At: Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Directed By: Andy Capper, Juliette Eisner Starring: Lil Bub, Mike Bridavsky, Ben Lashes The cute cat effect is there, but the tragedy of Lil Bub’s condition, the lack of a well constructed narrative, and the inclusion of some weakly related side stories keep “Lil Bub & Friendz” from being as fun and poignant as it could have been. For those who aren’t in-the-know, Lil Bub is the ultimate Internet cat celebrity. One day a video of Bub popped up on YouTube, showing her stalking and then pouncing on the camera. Soon thereafter, the views started pouring in and then  [ Read More ]

With indie rock currently typecast as the “cool” and “hip” genre nowadays, the aggressive side of rock isn’t garnering the appreciation it well-deserves. Hard rock has a taxing job of delivering songs that have just the right balance between vocal and instrumental liberty and restraint that they are not considered to be indie or too metal. So, don’t neglect the genre just because the artists aren’t donning the latest wayfarer and suspender trend or an all black get up. Hard rock has more to give and the New York City outfit, Eve To Adam, has solidified that with the lyric video for their current single, “Straitjacket Supermodel”. With its intriguing  [ Read More ]