by Glenn Rose

It’s not often that anyone in the music scene I like comes out of my city/area. I live in Virginia Beach and we’re the hometown of: Timbaland, Pharrel, Missy Elliot, and Trey Songz, so we definitely have a hip hop presence in the area, but the Last Bison has broken our streak on bands making it to the bigger time being hip hop music. They are large sounding indie folk music and it makes sense why they’d be big sounding seeing as they have seven members in the group that all play different instruments. This band is pretty “new” but they seem to have a very tight bond between them, maybe because three of the members are related (dad, son, and daughter, and mother as the manager). Music now, especially in the indie genre are content with standing still and not interacting with one another. The Last Bison decided that wasn’t for them. You have to see them to fully appreciate the way they preform together. Just take a look at them, and it is clear to see that they are a group of family and friends preforming music that they love, that has a positive message along with it.

Now clearly I’m from the streets and only listen to the hardest of rap music (DMX is a wuss) and this group of folky guys and gals that dress up in clothes from the 1800s shouldn’t usually be my scene, but I gave them a chance last year and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. There’s something to be said about bands that step just far enough away from a growing genre and make it their own. If you haven’t heard of them yet, go look up their album Inheritance and buy it ASAP.

 by Glenn Rose

I’m not sure why so many people have decided that they don’t like pop music only because it’s popular. There are a lot of things that are popular that people do, like: breathing, eating, pretending they’ve seen documentaries, wearing hats, etc. Just because tons of people get into something doesn’t make it any less cool or good. If anything it’s kind of better if it has more people listening to it, because what’s a better judge of quality than tons of people listening to your stuff? Nothing that’s what. My taste in music does tend to be a bit less popular than pop music, but that’s probably just because I’m 19 and think being quasi-indie is cool and it’ll make girls like me. Let’s use a common example of people hating pop music: Ke$ha. I know it sounds like mindless dance-y drive,l but let me drop some knowledge on you before you tune me out with your records you bought at a thrift shop. 1. Ke$ha got 1500 on her SAT so she’s probably smart enough to write music none of us would understand. 2. She’s said before that she just wants to make music that makes people happy, and what’s happier than partying with your friends? 3. It’s super catchy and that’s awesome. Now I know some of you will say that a song being catchy doesn’t make it good, but to that I say, joke’s on you, your brain says otherwise. Your brain CLEARLY just likes the song so much that you have to repeat it over and over in your head. Music is music and why would you cut out a whole faction of it just because a lot of people like it? So button throw on that graphic tee you got at urban outfitters, put away that trendy, hip music and go down to the store and buy a pop album. So then we can all focus on things that really matter, like hating country music.

by Max B

Most of you guys have probably heard of em: that dumb hippy band that your dad used to listen to. They have always been somewhat of a niche group with a stigma surrounding them to non-dead heads.To the un indoctrinated, it can seem like a strange phenomenon, and even a carry similarities to Christian rock, in that there is such a huge culture around it. For Dead Heads, it is not just about the music, it is a way of life (although it is important to note that they are much better than Christian rock). The Grateful Dead were so much more than that though; their music gives you a new outlook on things, a different view on life. This is why millions of people flocked to their shows following them around everywhere; it was the magical environment that the band and the people attending the concerts provided. The group of people that followed the Dead around, show to show; tour to tour otherwise known as Dead Heads where widely known for being some of the kindest, most caring people in the world. At every single show they would create incredible vibes that could literally be seen in the air (if you were on lsd).

Now that I’ve covered the audience, I’d like to cover the incredible musical talent that literally every member of the band had. Lead by Jerry Garcia on Guitar and vocals, the Grateful Dead would play in beautiful unison at pretty much EVERY show. Although there where periods of time in the 80s where the band did not sound amazing due to Jerry’s struggle with addiction, you can find beauty in almost every song played at every show. My favorite period of time is 1987-1993, in my opinion all the shows in this period where perfect. I also really enjoy all music from around 1972-1978 but I don’t think anything will beat the late 80s and early 90s.

Last but not least I’d like to discuss the affiliation with drugs and the band. At every single show from day one you would easily be able to find a cornucopia of drugs ranging from some rarer psychedelics like mescaline, all the way to some of the harder drugs like heroin and cocaine. The majority of the people at shows where under the influence of something whether it was alcohol, marijuana, or LSD. Drugs were a huge part of the scene and definitely the reason that SOME people went to the concerts. Being a Dead Head did not mean that you were a “drug addict” necessarily, but people were definitely more exposed to drugs at these concerts.

I hope you guys learned something by reading this article. Make sure you check out the band and don’t just listen to one song and say that you don’t like it. It took me months to get into them but now that I’ve been a fan for a while I’ve gotten very into the culture and music. It’s something to be proud of not something to hide!