Get more with LA band, 7 Less

There’s nothing like a sweet, charming pop song to brighten your day or at least make it a little bit brighter. Add a little rock to it, and you get a certain energy with that quiet twinge of funk. This combination will addict you and draw you closer. In this genre, and with this style of rock-infused pop songs, artists can come to a happy medium and range – one that transcends the two genres gently while never fully leaving one or the other in the dark. LA band, 7 Less embodies this combination discussed before. Their mixes of melodies and are creative yet simple and humane. Listen to them here performing their original song, “Don’t Go,” in their music video.

The group is relatively new – they only formed in the year of 2017. However, they’re already on a roll, producing songs and an EP and receiving acclaim from around the music industry. The band has been previewing their new six-track EP entitled “Two Sides of the Story” all around Los Angeles, and it even caught the attention of a Channel Islands music professor. Craig Bickel said that their song “Let’s Fall in Love” is “a lovely song with enormous potential.” Take a listen!

The three members of 7 Less have some interesting music backgrounds. Lead singer Marc Rasec picked up the guitar at age 11 and taught himself to play from music books his father gave him. From there, his music career blossomed, and he used his struggles in high school to add an emotional level to his songwriting and performing. The band’s drummer, John Htun, is the son of a well known Burmese artist named David Htun Htun. He moved out to Los Angeles in 2003 to immerse himself in the American music industry some more, and ended up meeting Rasec in 2016. The two of them teamed up for a few shows together and ultimately decided that it was a match. Since then, their band received an endorsement from Zion Cymbals for a few of their music videos and a contract for the band’s upcoming projects. Obviously, they are off to a great start as a band. Take a look at their official music video for their original song, “New Zealand.”

7 Less is off to a pretty much ideal and fantastic start for an LA band thus far, and they’re on a roll. Be sure to check out their page to see when their next gig is, so you can go and support these guys in concert. If you get the chance to see them live, you’re in for a treat.

Booking shows on Gigmor

Atlantis The Band: Spotlight

There’s nothing like a charismatic twin-duo to get a room grooving. Today let’s look at the jazzy R&B/Soul and Pop group stationed in Los Angeles, Atlantis the Band, led by the Merriweather twins – brothers bound not only by blood but by their simple love of music. Their voices blend smoothly with a cool dynamic; lead singer Travis Merriweather leads the group with his sweet but edgy melodies and impressive range, while his brother Rustein Merriweather  provides the the fruity rap component with his quick, magnetic, syncopated verse. Watch the band performing their own version of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabrosa” live at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. 

The band also has a pretty stacked cast in regards to instrumentation. In addition to Travis with funky bass lines and Rustein’s adeptness on the keyboard, there is some serious backup. They’re joined by the Regiment Horns – Sean Eric on trumpet, Kevin Lloyd Williams, Jr. on trombone and Leon Silva on the sax. On drums sits Grammy award-winner Lyndon Rochelle, whose drum solos captivate and will leave an awestruck audience wanting more. Takahito Mori’s guitar interludes and riffs rock the stage and fill the sound with eccentric, gleaming energy. They are also joined by Grammy nominated producer and drummer Taylor Gordon in addition to Natalie Stephenson on vocals. Watch them here performing a cover of Santana’s “Maria Maria” at Couture in Hollywood. Be sure to catch Mori’s epic guitar solo about 50 seconds in!

The band has performed at some notable venues, such as The Mint, The Peppermint Club, Sofitel Beverly Hills, Sunset Tower, and The House of Blues on Sunset. The twins have also been involved at a political level with Hillary and Bill Clinton, after being invited back during college to take part in the Clinton Global Initiative University summit. The two of them stayed connected with the Clintons and Travis even got to work on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign. See lead singer Travis Merriweather showing off his vocals with “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Atlantis the Band, thanks to the initial catapulting by the twins back in college, has emerged as a powerful band with an intense range of talent – everywhere from their emotional depth and soul to excited hip-hop beats – and their innovative interpretations and writing proves them to be very worthy of the stage. Be sure to check out their page to see and listen to more of their music. Also, although they began in Texas, their music-making happens in Los Angeles, so if you’re in the area, be sure to check on their Upcoming Gigs category so that you can hear their hearty music live! Here’s one last clip of them covering Jay Z’s “Can’t Knock The Hustle” at the House of Blues on Sunset.

Getting To Know You: Detroit band Sail exclusive interview

Today’s feature is on up and coming rock band Sail, out of Detroit, MI. They have a ton of awesome covers featured on their Gigmor profile and we actually got to spotlight their “Limelight” cover on our “Gigmor’s Best 80’s Covers” blog post. We had the chance to sit down with their lead vocalist Anthony Fink and their drummer Tom Lowe. They weighed in on the band’s current state and a little bit about their beginnings.

 

Gigmor: Thanks for sitting down with us today guys. First question. What is each of your musical backgrounds? How did that lead you to Sail?

Anthony: I grew up classically trained in piano starting when I was about seven years old, then I got really into choir and eventually wanted to try it in college. I got into the Western School of Music, I really went for it when I wanted to. Then I decided to leave college to pursue gigging and that’s when I ran into them [Sail]. They like me, I like them, for about two years now we’ve been jamming out and it’s been great.

Tom: I started playing guitar in elementary school, then I started getting into drums in middle school. I kept with both of them for a while after. Aside from that, my first ever band experience was [playing with] a couple of my friends from church. We practiced a couple times a week and played some gigs. Now we’re here, doing Sail, and have two guitar players, a bassist, and a new female vocalist and have a ton of shows lined up.

 

Gigmor: How’s the songwriting process going so far for Sail?

Anthony: As every musician knows it’s a difficult process as well as a fun one. I actually have my solo EP out on iTunes– I’ve been writing since my freshmen year of high school. The other members are pretty into it too. As far as the band’s writing process it’s more about the collective sound. Each member kind of goes in different directions and eventually it all comes together.

Tom: We haven’t written that much music. We’re still working to perfect our four-hour set. Once we have time to put our own individual stuff on the table we’ll see what we come up with as a group.

 

Gigmor: Hit any speed bumps along the way?

Anthony: Creative differences obviously, people are going to want to express what they want to do. It’s never anything bad and always gets worked out. But it is imperative that everyone is on the same page in the end.

 

Gigmor: If you had to pick one, would you play only covers or only originals? Any personal favorites?

Anthony: Right now we want to do more originals, we’ll never not do covers. We love them too. We like to imitate the covers we play with a little bit of a modern flare to it. Some of my favorites personally are “Creep” by Radiohead and “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, the audience always loves “Limelight” by Rush.

Tom: I’d say originals. A cover band lets you make a living, but ideally I’d say originals. My favorite is probably…..”Soul To Squeeze” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

 

Gigmor: One selfish question real quick… How did you find out about Gigmor? How do you like it?

A: Our manager Cheri is very good at networking, your site seemed like it had a lot of action. We liked what we saw and just hopped in! The site looks great and is pretty easy to navigate.

 

G: On your Gigmor page we saw you said you were “Willing to Dress for Events”…any absurd requests?

A: Not yet! We would love to and are up for whatever!

T: Nothing weird, just suit and tie for weddings and stuff.

 

G: Okay, last question. What are the best and worst song requests an audience member has made?

A: There haven’t been many requests, we used to get “Freebird” all the time.

T: I can’t even think of a worst… well I guess it might have been “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. I think it just went bad because that song is pretty synthy and obviously we’re more acoustic. That was more like it didn’t go over well not really a bad request. One of the better requests we got was “Short Skirt Long Jacket” by Cake. I love that song.

 

G: Well thanks so much for taking the time to sit down with us and best of luck!

Check out the band’s website www.sailbandofficial.com and their Gigmor page as well as a couple of their cover videos below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Gigmor guest blogger: Ari Kapner