SalinasRadio.com

We spoke with Ryan James the Rapper, our newest addition to SalinasRadio.com, to find out more about this upcoming rapper from Soledad, CA. Here’s what he had to say.

Mike: Were you always Ryan James the Rapper? Or did you have other names or nicknames?

Ryan James: Well, initially when I started out, I had many different monikers. I went by EZ, The Definition, J-James. All sorts of different meanings to each name, but I’ve just decided to make my official name Ryan James The Rapper, because it is me. No gimmicks.

Mike: When did you start in the Rap and Hip Hop scene?

Ryan James: I started rapping in like 2003, a friend of mine (C.B.) had been rapping for a few years already and I’ve always been in love with music, so he was freestyling one time and wanted me to try it out, so I did, and I really enjoyed it so much that I decided to try and stick with it. Progressively I had gotten better, even just making parodies of songs, or just freestyling it, it advanced to me taking the art form seriously, and I have’nt regretted it one bit.

Mike: When did you decide you wanted to go pro, and really push yourself into the music scene?

Ryan James: I would say around the summer of 2005, I decided that I wanted this to be my future, because ever since I took my first breath I’ve loved music, and I knew I had the drive to get done what I needed to be successful at it.

Mike: What inspired you to start up? Who are some of your current inspirations?

Ryan James: Musical inspirations of mine are always changing, not forgetting where my passion originated, but influence wise I would have to say Kanye West, 2pac, Jay-z, Slaughterhouse, Little Brother, Murs, Slum Village… And even some people that I have worked with closely, like C.B., M3, Klassic, Young Flames, 9-1, Tre, Yung Klue… etc. They’ve all inspired me in at least one way or another.

Mike: Do you do any live shows? If so, where are some of your favorite places to perform?

Ryan James: Performances are a rare thing for me, but I’ve done a few open mics, parties, and what not. Actually in the near future, I’m gonna have alot more opportunities, because another artist I work with has some major things going on and he wants me to be a part of the TAKEOVER.

Mike: How hard is it to come up as a rapper? I know the majority of local musicians are in the Rock, Metal, Acoustic, and Jazz scenes, you don’t see too many, or at least, as many, up and coming Rap and Hip Hop artists in the area.

Ryan James: Well the thing is, you might not notice it but it seems like 1 out of every 3 young guys is “A Rapper”, it’s like they say it to be cool… In reality the only thing “cool” about being a rapper is that you constantly have creative energy. This gimmick you see on TV is just what helps them get marketed to different crowds.All these little horrible dance songs and whatever, are ridiculous. Not one of these “dancers” have a bit of lyrical ability. Now I’m not dissing there music, but seriously, these guys are a waste of record deals.

Mike: What kind of message do you want to get out to your listeners and fans?

Ryan James: The message I’m sending with my music, is as real as it can get. I have a point to my music, but I still know how to appease each audience equally. I can rap about personal issues that I have had, that people can agree with, I can write songs that can get you pumped up, I have club songs, but each song serves a purpose. Just Listen.

Mike: What songs do you hear the most about? Which ones do your fans seem to like more?

Ryan James: Well, I get a mixed reaction. Obviously the ladies love “One thing” and “Ride 4 Me”,while the guys like “Doin’ That” and “Goon Music”, but across the board everybody has given me fair and honest opinions about my music, which motivates me so much, that since I know that I can reach them through it, I can never give up.

Mike: How have you progressed since you first started?

Ryan James: Wow, well I honestly progress every time I write a new song, and it’s strange because I wonder how far this can take me. Before I started really taking it seriously, my songs werent bad, they just were’nt structured correctly, like I would have a hook and 4 verses,or 2 verses and no hook but I would have a bridge… just didnt make sense back then. haha.

Mike: Is there a CD in the works? What can we look forward to in the near future?

Ryan James: My next CD is in the works, it’s gonna be titled “Married To The Music”, its gonna feature… Klassic, Yung Klue, C.B., King Wize, and a few other special guest which I’m excite about. Should be out by the end of the year.

Mike: Where can your fans listen to your music and buy your CD’s?

Ryan James: The fans can come to http://www.myspace.com/ryanjamestheofficial and hear new music constantly.

Mike: Are you local to the area? Where are you from?

Ryan James: Im originally from Akron, Ohio, but I’m living in Soledad, CA. I’ve met some great people here though, and as much as I miss my city. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

Mike: Is there anyone you would like to thank for their help and/or support over the years?

Ryan James: Just all the people that have doubted me… THANK YOU! And of course my closest, M3, C.B., Mike, Jay, Klass, D, Castro, all the people that have been around me and kept everything real with me… and to H.E.R.

Mike: Any last words?

Ryan James: Hit up the myspace and let me know wahtever your thoughts are. also for some really dope music go to http://www.blackdynasty4life.com/

A big thanks to August Sky for donating 9 of their CDs to benefit SalinasRadio.com and a local non-profit! We have decided that 50% of the profits will go to the Food Bank for Monterey County.

For every donation to SalinasRadio.com of $10 or more (while supplies last) you will receive a free August Sky CD, and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Food Bank for Monterey County! Please email Mike@SalinasRadio.com for more information and to donate.

SalinasRadio.com now features videos. We’ll find the latest and greatest videos from local bands featured on SalinasRadio, and post them up on YouTube for the world to see. In the future, we will also do SalinasRadio exclusive videos where we either bring bands to our studio for recording, do interviews, or go to their shows and record, all in HD.

Check out some of our newest videos from local artists at our YouTube Page!
Click the YouTube Logo to go to our page!
(More videos to come, this section was just added on August 23, 2009)

We did the impossible and brought together two bands that, well, really don’t have much in common, at least when it comes to looks. Pleatherface is a local one man, plastic-leather mask-wearing musician that brings metal music to the stage, and The Travis Larson Band is a group of extremely talented and nationally acclaimed musicians who play mellow to high end rock music. We brought them all together at Giovane’s Restaurant before the big show, here’s what they had to say.

Participating:
Mike Rodriguez, Owner of SalinasRadio.com
Travis Larson, Guitarist for The Travis Larson Band
Jennifer Young, Bassist for The Travis Larson Band
Pleatherface, as himself.

Mike: So tell me about your bands names, what does Pleatherface mean?

Pleatherface: It means… plastic leather… glued to your face.

Travis: As opposed to fine Corinthian leather.

Mike: And what about the Travis Larson Band?

Travis: After years of playing, I was the only constant musician in the band. Since I was here since the beginning, we just kinda had to have it my way.

Jennifer: We’ve been the TLB since birth, that’s the band.

Mike: Who are some of your inspirations? Who inspired you to start the band?

Pleatherface: Jimi Hendrix, Bach, and Danny Gunton.

Travis: Jeff Bech is what got me to start playing. Steve Morris later on, he plays with Deep Purple. Rush is a HUGE inspiration.

Pleatherface: Rush is great. My step dad made me memorize every Rush lyric…

Mike: How long have you been together as a band?

Travis: We just released our ten year anniversary DVD and Double Live CD. So we’ve been together for 10 years.

Pleatherface: Pleatherface was born two years ago. At our CD release, Travis headlined and it was great.

Mike: So how did you start playing music?

Pleatherface: I used to dream of trying to play the guitar. One day, I was walking home from school, I walked by the bus stop, and in the bushes, I found a lamp. I wished that I could play guitar, and then I learned how. I sacrificed a lot to do what I do.

Travis: When I was five, I first heard of Jeff Bech. I have been playing music since I was ten, playing piano. Typical story, my parents had a piano, got me to do lessons, but when I got to high school, I realized a guitar was a lot easier to carry around. I liked to stand out and be noticed, I was a shy kid.

Mike: Do you have to honor any brand loyalty with your instruments? Or are you endorsed by any company?

Travis: We’ve got an endorsement deal, Jennifer and I play Ernie Ball exclusively. We’ve been playing Ernie Ball for about eight or nine years.

Pleatherface: I like Gibson for live stuff, but I love all kinds of instruments, I am not yet endorsed.

Mike: What are some of your favorite places to play?

Pleatherface: Good question, a great spot is the Lounge Underground in Monterey and Giovane’s in Salinas of course. The Lava Lounge was a great place for locals to showcase their skills too. I look forward to all venues. I plan to play every venue in California. I have a list of 110 venues so far around California that I plan to play at.

Travis: We’ve played all over the country, everything from crowds of 15 people, to 15,o00 people. It’s not the venues, it’s the people. If we have a great crowd, then we’ve had a great show.

Mike: What songs do you play the most?

Pleatherface: Purple Kool-Aid. We’re not endorsed by Kool-Aid either. It was inspired by the Jim Jones tragedy, where everyone drank purple Kool-Aid…

Jennifer: [What songs do we play the most?] The good ones.

Travis: We play a little from every album. We have five albums over a decade, so we try to play all of our favorites from each album, and we promote our newest one, of course.

Jennifer: … The good ones.

Mike: Do you play any covers?

Travis: We do two covers, Georgia on my Mind, with Victor Wharton, he was the best bass player five times in a row in Bass Player Magazine. he can’t even enter the competition any more. We also play People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield, recorded with Steve Lucither. He’s a Grammy award winning musician.

Pleatherface: What was the Grammy for?

Travis: He won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his album with Larry Carlton.

Mike: Who writes your songs?

Pleatherface: I write all my stuff. The last album, all the instruments were played by me except for the drums.

Travis: I write all the stuff, but the band arranges it. They are all great musicians, and add their own stamp to everything I write.

Mike: Are you part of a record label?

Travis: We are on Precision Records.

Pleatherface: I’m with Knife Records.

Mike: Are there any shows coming up?

Travis: We’re playing at Woody’s tomorrow in Monterey. (8-22-09) And we’re doing the UFO Tour as well in October.

Mike: How has your band progressed and evolved since you first started?

Pleatherface: Well, I’ve been playing more mellow music lately, as opposed to the first stuff which was really hard. There will even be some piano stuff on the next album.

Travis: I won’t say we’ve gotten better, but we’ve gotten more diverse over the years, much more polished as musicians.

Jennifer: And grumpier!

Mike: Where can fans find your music and purchase your CD’s?

Pleatherface: Well most listen to me and support me because I am strange and instrumental, you can find Pleatherface music on Pleatherface.com and listen to us on MySpace and YouTube.

Travis: They can listen in and buy our CD’s on our website, TravisLarsonBand.com, and on our MySpace. Our fans are a wide range of diverse people, from teens to…

Jennifer: … to retirees!

Travis: … to people inn their 70′s and 80′s…

Jennifer: … people who like to hear the GOOD songs. And I like to finish your sentences. Good music speaks to a large number of people.

Mike: Is there anyone you would like to thank?

Pleatherface: I’ve been listening to the Travis Larson Band since 1999, I saw them at the Monterey Rock and Arts Festival…

Travis: Which is now defunct…

Pleatherface: The Travis Larson Band inspired me to be a better musician and a better person.

Travis: Pleatherface is all too kind.

Mike: Any last words?

Pleatherface: Thank you for this interview.

Travis: Keep supporting local and live music!

Pleatherface: Definitely support live music! And get the kids to put down Guitar Hero and play real guitar!

Jennifer: I like doughnuts!

Mike: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for us, it was fun.

Remember, we are still offering RastaFarOUT’s LP absolutely free for SalinasRadio.com listeners!!!

Click here to download the entire CD and album artwork.

“Available to all SalinasRadio.com listeners, we have partnered with RastaFarOUT to offer you all their new CD, “Got Your Herbs” absolutely free as a digital audio download. The download includes all of the songs on the CD, and album artwork of the front and back, including an awesome shoutout to SalinasRadio.com.

Show your support and spread the word on RastaFarOUT, and if you’re in the Big Sur area, show your support by picking up his hard copy CD in stores.”

As many of you following us on Twitter know, we have been working towards getting a grant to help fund SalinasRadio.com so we can further promote local musicians. I am proud to announce, that we have completed step one of the process. We would like to thank the Alisal Center of the Fine Arts for agreeing to become our Official Non-Profit Fiscal Sponsor.

Now that we have a Fiscal Sponsor, we can qualify to receive a grant from the Arts Council for Monterey County. Please wish us luck while we go through this process. We know, that with the right financial backing, we can truly make a difference, and really help out the deserving artists and musicians of Monterey County.

So what does SalinasRadio.com receiving a grant mean for you? By receiving funding, we can afford to purchase a quality video camera to record our local shows, meaning you can watch and listen to all of your favorite bands and songs not only on our site, but on other social media networks, such as YouTube. We can afford to purchase a mobile recording studio, so we can record local shows live and feature them on the air on our station, and in CD form. We can record and play live bands on air. We can record and play interviews with local musicians and venues. We can afford production costs for CD production to sell CD’s featuring local musicians, profits going to musicians, local non-profits, and back to SalinasRadio.com. We can afford to upgrade our server, to handle multiple radio streams, meaning we can have a station dedicated to each major genre of music, allowing listeners to listen to the type of local music of their choosing. We can afford to advertise the station to a larger audience with online advertising, flyers, local advertising, etc. By advertising the site and growing our audience, we can give local musicians the recognition and promotion they deserve.

As you can see, we have some very big plans for SalinasRadio.com. All of which directly benefit not only the listeners, but the musicians themselves. We can bring a worldwide audience, and focus their attention to the talented artists of Monterey County. We may not receive a grant large enough to afford everything we have planned, and we may not receive a grant at all. But we are excited to have the opportunity, and to be recognized enough to qualify for such a grant. Any amount of funding we receive will take us a step or two further. Every step is an accomplishment. Every step is just that, a step forward towards showcasing the talents of local musicians.

A very special thanks to Michael P. Houston, Programs Vice President of the Arts Council for Monterey County, for helping me through this process, and supporting SalinasRadio.com since he first heard about us. He is a good friend, and we are proud to have him as a supporter of our site. Thanks to the Alisal Center of the Fine Arts for the services they provide and for agreeing to be our official Fiscal Sponsor. And last but definitely not least, a special thanks to the Arts Council of Monterey County for providing this opportunity to not only myself, but all of the other programs they have helped in the past, and will help in the future, all to improve the quality of life in our region through the arts. Thank you all.

Our very own featured artist, Omani, will be playing live at Giovane’s Restaurant on Saturday, August 22, 2009 along with Reality Sound International selector DJ Daddy Spleece. The cover charge is only $7 at the door. The first 50 people in get a FREE OMANI CD! That’s right, $7, and you’ll get to see a great show with an awesome DJ, and on top of it, get an Omani CD absolutely free. The show is for ages 21 and over and starts at 9pm. Great food, beer, and wine will be available.

“OMANI is a five piece reggae band hailing from Salinas Valley and the Monterey Bay Area in the central coast region of California, bringing deep hypnotic grooves and satisfying positive vibes. Blending new and traditional interpretations inspired from an array of musical genres, but presented with a decidedly west coast roots reggae sound.” – OmaniBand.com

Giovane’s
348 San Juan Grade Road
Salinas, California 93906
(831) 444 – 6717

Happening THIS FRIDAY at Giovane’s Resturaunt in Salinas, CA. The Travis Larson Band and Pleatherface will be playing live! These two bands will raise the bar for Salinas and Giovane’s. Please support the venue. Drink specials, great food, and you don’t have to drive far to see a GREAT show! Hopefully we’ll get both bands permission to get them up on the air on SalinasRadio.com for your continued rocking.

There is a $5 cover, this show is for ages 21 and over.

Giovane’s
348 San Juan Grade Road
Salinas, California 93906
(831) 444 – 6717

Here are a few press quotes about The Travis Larson Band:

“…unquestionably a guitar lover’s dream, this dynamic power trio offers much more than the dime-a-dozen Berklee educated wankers vying to dethrone Joe Satriani...”
-Sea of Tranquility

“…this band has all the chops and blazing technique to send all you wannabe shredders back to the woodshed, but what makes them stand so far apart from their peers is the SONGS…”
-Foundrymusic.com

“Think of a musical stew mixing a thick brown Rush gravy with big hearty chunks of Steve Morse and a dash of Jeff Beck…I haven’t been this impressed since the pairing of nitro and glycerin…”
-Ray Sansom

“…a smoking instrumental power trio…With tons of technique to burn…”
-Expose Magazine

SPCA fundraiser and August Sky CD release party.

Saturday, August 15th, 1:00PM to 3:00PM Free/All ages.
Del Monte Shopping Center
1410 Del Monte Center
Monterey, CA 93940

Otis Coen/Hear the Call Music, Del Monte Center, & The SPCA for Monterey County presents 12 August Sky originals – CD release party!

This event is benefiting the SPCA for Monterey County. Come check out the boys playing their 12 original songs – ranging from – Rock, Blues, Acoustic, and some Edgy tunes! August Sky will also be playing some great classic cover songs!!!

All ages and no cover! This is a great event for family and friends- and also supports a “GREAT” cause!

50% of all CD sales this day will be donated to the SPCA for Monterey County!!! Every donation of $10.00 or more to the SPCA this day – and you will get a “FREE” August Sky tee shirt! And if you adopt a pet – you will get a Free autographed CD and tee shirt – while supplies last!

Hope to see you there!!

REMEMBER – to always please support your local SPCA. Animals can’t talk for themselves!!!

We got to sit down with Robert Plant (Jeffery James) of “Hearbreaker,” a Led Zeppelin tribute band at Giovane’s Italian Restaurant. Here’s what he had to say.

Why “Heartbreaker?”

We decided Heartbreaker because it’s a Led Zeppelin song off their second album and has good kick to it, good name, good 80s name, it’s just a great name for an 80’s band.

Were you always Heartbreaker? Or did you have other names?

Originally we had, the band was called “Song Remains the Same,” but it was too long, so Heartbreaker, then when we did Heartbreaker we had to change it, because people were like,  “Is it a Pat Benetar tribute?” Its kind of a theatrical show, Led Zeppelin Live – Featuring Heartbreaker.

How long have you all known each other?

I know Stew, we’ve all known each other about 20 years, except our drummer, we have been with him for about 5 years, but we’ve all known each other for about 20, maybe longer. We were all kids in different bands together.

When did you start playing?

This band formed in 99’, ten years ago, then we got a drummer in 03’, and ever since…

What inspired you to form your band?

We did the top 40 thing, and we didn’t wanna do “Brick House,” “Brown Eyed Girl,”… we wanted to be challenged, and do the most challenging band, so I started finding the members, Stu is our third guitarist, Marcus is the 2^nd bassist… the other (our first) members couldn’t hack it.

Where are some of your favorite places to perform?

We’ve played Lake Tahoe, Esqua Valley, that was great, The Civic Center in Thousand Oaks, The Caribbean, The Hard Rock Café in Santa Domingo, Trinidad, The Caribbeans is a fun place, Road Island, and our next shows in Tennessee, and Memphis this September… Alaska… everywhere!

What songs do you play most?

There’s a group of songs that people EXPECT to hear… Stairway to Heaven, Rock and Roll, Kashmir… etc.

What shows do you have coming up that you really want people to know about?

We are going to be in Memphis for Delta Music Festival, that should be fun.

How have you progressed since you first started?

We’ve gotten a lot better, it took 2-3 years to really learn to sing this stuff, I learned to sing the high notes without blowing my voice out, it took 3-4 years to really get it right. We added the higher songs like “Misty Mountain,” “Black Dog,” I sing all high notes, I don’t cheat, haha. It took time to learn how to do that,  I definitely didn’t learn overnight.

Where can your fans listen to your music?

ZeppelinTribute.com, we have live videos and everything.

Are you local to the area?

Were from San Francisco, but basically all around the Bay Area. (Central California Coast)

Any last words?

Were all live, no sequencing. Keyboards, vocal harmonies, we take all the high notes, we don’t cheat, we don’t screw up any parts, we play like the record, from the keyboard solo, to Stairway to Heaven, everything is done as close as possible, as true as we possibly can, between the live and album version.

We’re not here to be famous, I don’t even use my real name, it’s about the people, I don’t want people to know it’s not Led Zeppelin, I don’t want to ruin the illusion, it’s not about people knowing who I am, I want people to see Robert Plant, not Jeff Larson.

* – Or is it?