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Purevolume: Unsigned bands you should be tuning into

posted by ChickSpeak
Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:51pm CST

As college students, we all know that we could use a distraction every once in a while. One of my favorite websites for that much needed distraction is Purevolume. It is a website dedicated to getting the word out about bands that you’ve probably never heard of.

Just recently they released their list of the Top Twenty Unsigned Bands of 2009 who are a part of their website. Each band has their own profile where they can describe what kind of music they play, who is involved in the band, put up their music to download or just enjoy, and give a little bio of themselves. It allows the fans to connect with the bands and helps get their names out into the music industry.

I was a little hesitant to give some of these bands a chance because I am pretty picky about the music I listen to, but here are ChickSpeak’s picks of the ones to look out for:

WeatherStar

The first band I chose, which actually ended up being a single guy named Cameron Walker, blew me away. His band is named WeatherStar and he just released his first EP album. It has six songs, all of which are great to jam out to in your car. Though he looks like a typical “pretty boy” in the profile picture, he exceeded my expectations in so many ways. He is somehow able to produce songs that usually involve at least three people by himself. WeatherStar is definitely a great distraction when you just need to take a break from the overload of homework that teachers decide to pile on in the first week of classes.

HE IS WE

If you’re into a more mellow sound, you might want to check out HE IS WE, and yes, the band name is supposed to be in all caps. HE IS WE consists of Rachel, the lead singer, and Trevor, who focuses on playing the instruments that give life to every song. HE IS WE is actually the top rated band of this list and I can tell why. Their songs are really relatable in that they actually sing about things college age students, girls mostly, are going through or have gone through at some point. This band will definitely be big some day. If a record label doesn’t find them soon, I might have to start my own just so I can sign them.

Conditions

Conditions, which I guess you would consider a “full band,” consists of Brandon Roundtree, Jason Marshall, Alex Howard, and Ryan Tinsely. You can tell they are a more experienced band just by their sound. They released their first EP album in 2006 and have since been produced by Paul Leavitt, who has also helped produce All Time Low, Senses Fail, and Over It. If that hasn’t convinced you to give them a listen, they also won Ernie Ball’s Taste of Chaos Battle of the Bands in 2009, earning them a week on stage at Van’s Warped Tour.

These are just three of the bands listed and most of them have a Myspace and/or Twitter. Check out these other great bands when you’re just looking for a momentary get away: Joywave, The Icarus Account, Callahan, Lights Out Dancing, Show Me The Skyline, STAY, Boys Will Be Boys, I Rival, THE BAY STATE, Hello Hollywood, Amely, Picture Me Broken, Every You, MY ARCADIA, Tonight Alive, Gabriel the Marine, and Great Big Planes.

Emma Walker is a Sophomore at Appalachian State University, a sister of the Sigma Gamma Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi, and is currently working on her first novel.