Category Archives: artists

artists, cast members, music, youth media

Sunshine Blues Festival by Jake Wasserman & Logan Bessen

March 22, 2013 the rock star stories Leave a comment

On a dark, gloomy, rainy day in south Florida, the spirit of the rock and roll blues came to brighten up the day. The Sunshine Blues Festival came to the beautiful city of Boca Raton on its 3-day tour around Florida, going to Fort Myers as well as St. Petersburg. At the spacious Mizner Amphitheatre, jazz and rock and roll blues artists could to show off their talents to the people of Boca Raton. Despite the rain, people were having a great time. The festival was set up with musicians performing on the main stage in the amphitheatre and with musicians performing on a second stage outside the amphitheatre but within Mizner Park. Mizner Park is a hot spot for residents and tourists of Boca Raton, being home to many fantastic restaurants and stores. On the second stage, people were clapping their hands and stopping their feet listening to jazz trombonist Big Sam and his Funky Nation band. Other notable musicians who performed were jazz guitarist Walter Trout along with guitarist Joe Louis Walker. As the show went on, more and more people came in anticipating the final act, which was Tedeschi Trucks Band, who got to perform on the main stage. Swept Away Media was able to interview jazz guitarist Sean Chambers, who coincidentally grew up here on the Gulf coast of south Florida. Chambers seemed like he was having an enjoyable time in Boca, getting to play the music he loves and also getting to see this pleasant town. All in all, the Sunshine Blues Festival was a success, aside from the rain, with every visitor leaving with a smile. The blues just happened to keep the bluesy weather from ruining the day.

by Logan Bessen

The Sunshine Blues Festival held on January 19 in Boca Raton was a huge success for the musicians and the audience. This was the second day of a three day tour with the festival. Everyone, from children to adults, was having a great time listening to their favorite blues musicians and the rain couldn’t even put a damper on the fun. There were plenty of food vendors stationed around the Amphitheatre for everyone to enjoy. The festival kicked off with Bobby Lee Rodgers at 11:00 AM and fans were eager to say the least for the show to begin. The entire crowd sang and clapped along with every artist and everyone was just having a great time. The Swept Away TV crew was able to snag an interview with Sean Chambers, a guitarist praised as one of the fifty greatest blues guitarist of all time. Despite the rain, the crowd was excited for the entire day even until the last performance by the Tedeschi Trucks Band which wasn’t over until 11:00 PM. Overall, the festival was a grand slam for the artists and the fans who enjoyed a wonderful day in filled with music.

artists, music, youth media

AWOLNATION by Kelsey Janser

March 18, 2013 the rock star stories Leave a comment

“All I need, all all I need”…. is to keep listening to AWOLNATION. March 15 marks the electronic rock band’s performance at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale on their 2013 spring tour with special guests Mother Mother and Blondfire.

Mother Mother is an indie rock band from Canada that began its career in 2005. The band consists of five members, the lead singer and guitarist being Ryan Guldemond. Their fourth album, titled The Sticks, was released in late 2012. This was the first band to perform, and although the singers were at times difficult to understand, the songs had catchy melodies with a wide range of instruments and the members of the group were entertaining to watch.

After Mother Mother pumped up the crowd for the next set, Blondfire took the stage with even more vigor than its predecessor. Blondfire’s genre is indie pop, with the music written and produced by the brother and sister duo Bruce and Erica. The lead singer, Erica, had a strong, passionate voice and the band had lots of chemistry together.

The songs got the crowd excited and anxious for the next performance, and after a seemingly endless intermission, the curtains parted to introduce AWOLNATION and a phenomenal light show. The lead singer, Aaron Bruno, had an uncontrollable spirit and a hunger for music and entertainment. His voice was pure yet somehow raw and untamable that coupled perfectly with the rhythm and lyrics to each song. He kept the audience captivated with his ludicrous dance moves, and when he got lost in the music, so did everyone else. Although the band has only been together since 2009, they had a deep connection with one another and played incredible together. All three bands complemented each other and kept the audience enthralled.

artists, cast members, music, youth media

Austin Mahone Review “Say You’re Just a Friend”

February 26, 2013 the rock star stories Leave a comment

Austin Mahone: Say You’re Just A Friend
Reviewed By: Lexi Segal

From the streets of La Vernia, Texas, to becoming a huge YouTube star, the 16-year-old boy has begun his big break to stardom. His first single, Say You’re Just A Friend featuring FloRida, was released December 3rd, 2012. This new teen sensation is the one and only Austin Mahone.

Austin Mahone was just like any other child. He went to school, got good grades, and loved music. Alex, Austin’s best friend, started a YouTube channel together called “Shoot Us Down” where they uploaded videos of Austin’s covers. His first recordings were remakes of top songs. He covered all different artists, including Justin Bieber. In 2011 Austin covered Justin’s Mistletoe, with more views in a week than Bieber himself.

Say You’re Just A Friend, a catchy, rhythmic song that was perfect for music video entertaining. Austin described it as “an up-beat song that you can party to.” The music video is colorful, action packed, and has terrific choreography that makes you want to get up and dance. His body language and facial expressions convinces the viewer that he truly wants the beautiful girl to be more than “just a friend.” The true meaning of his hit song, explores an issue that all teen boys experience at one time or another. Austin wants one of his friends to be more than that but he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. The music video depicts how Austin will get the girl and wow her and his fans at the same time.

By far the best part about this video is Austin’s dancing skills. He showed, through his dance moves, that he is talented, not just another pretty face. Looking forward to listen to his upcoming album being released in the near future.

artists, music, youth media

The Glass Child

February 18, 2013 the rock star stories Leave a comment

Interview With The Glass Child
By: Kelsey Janser

Charlotte Eriksson, also known as The Glass Child, is a beautiful young woman overflowing with spirit and dedication to share her songs with the world. She was born in Sweden, but at the age of 18, took off to London to pursue her passion in music. The road she has traveled has been perilous and hectic, as the struggles she encountered clearly resonate from her powerful songs. The music she writes is the type that grabs you not only physically, but emotionally as well. I was fortunate enough to interview this musical inspiration and uncover more about her past experiences that have shaped her into the star I know she will one day become.

How and when did you get the name, The Glass Child? How does it represent you as an artist and also as a person?
When I was younger I had a hard time trusting people. I couldn’t figure out how to trust friends and let them get to know me and I always had a feeling that people were making fun of me. This made me very distant and people always said that it was as if I was living behind glass, like they could see me but never really reach me. I’ve always felt very strong in my head, when I find something I want I fight until I get there, but at the same time I’ve always been very easily broken by other people’s words and opinions. The first song I ever wrote was called ”The Glass Child” and it was about this, and it always reminds me of why I started to write music in the first place – to comfort myself and figure out my own place.

Who was your musical inspiration growing up?
I’ve always listened to bands like Counting Crows, Ben Harper, Brand New, Ani Difranco and Bright Eyes. Songwriters who can turn the most ordinary or ugly feeling into something beautiful by finding the right word to the right melody with the right voice. But I’m also very influenced by literature, philosophy, poetry and other art-forms like dancers.

How old were you when you started singing? Writing songs?
I kind of started to write music before I started to sing. I’ve always been writing stories and just writings, but when I discovered music and how it made me feel like I belonged I just used my voice as a way to express my words and writings. A bit later I got really serious about singing though and when I was 17 I decided that I wanted to build my life on music. That year I did vocal-practice for hours every day…

When and how did you discover music was your passion?
I was probably around 15 when I discovered music. I never took any lessons and my family was never into music, so when I discovered it all on my own it became this secret escape. It became my hiding-place, where I could go and just forget about everything. It took a long time until I showed anyone my songs but I knew right away that I wanted to spend my life creating that feeling that I got from listening to music.

How long does it take for you to write a song? What normally comes first, the lyrics or the melody?
It’s different for every single song really. There’s no formula or theory behind it and that’s the magical thing. It’s supposed to be like that because if you could ”explain” inspiration or creativity it would lose the magic. Sometimes I write the lyrics on the bus home and then I just sit down with a guitar and sing them when I come home. Other times I start with a drum-beat and build the whole music arrangement and then write the lyrics as the last element. When I’m finally in that creative higher space it takes like 5 or 10 min to actually write the song, but then the sound and how I want to sing it etc. is something I work and develop for a long time after.

What is a “normal” day like for you?
No day is the same really, which is why I love doing this. I have so many passions and things I want to learn and I’m trying to take time for it all. Now these last months I’ve spent all my time getting my album finished. It’s so much work and it takes so much time since it’s like my own heart and I want it to be exactly how I see and hear it in my head. Then after that I spent some weeks doing the promotion for the album. Since I’m completely independent I’m doing all the promotion and marketing myself, so it’s quite time-consuming, but I enjoy the whole marketing-process too and it’s an amazing feeling to have so much control over my career and music. I’m also writing something every single day, both music and other creative writings like prose, short-stories or poetry. It’s my way to keep my head clean, and I’m also spending a lot of time writing on my different book-ideas. I always have a plan and a list of what I need and want to do when I wake up in the morning, but during the day I always explore and find new things that lead me to new ideas, projects, songs or people so every day is like a new possibility to grow and learn which is why I love this.

What is your favorite song you’ve written?
I’d Like To Remain A Mystery. It’s just everything I am.

To learn more about The Glass Child, please visit the official site:
http://www.theGlassChildOfficial.com

artists, cast members