New Music Video Trailer for ‘Water of Sorcery’ with GuitarWorld.com Today — New Album ‘Spiral Empire’ Out Now!

On Tour in Canada Now!

Vancouver, BC natives WEST OF HELL and GuitarWorld.com are teaming up to unveil the brand newmusic video trailer for the band’s track, ‘Water of Sorcery’, cut from their new album, Spiral Empire.

Spiral Empire was released on May 8, 2012 and is available for purchase now at iTunes, Amazon, and other digital retailers, or with a free digital download if purchased at www.reversedrecords.com/estore.html. Head over to GuitarWorld.com to check out the trailer for ‘Water of Sorcery’ now and get a visual taste of the new album!

 Spiral Empire was recorded at The Factory Studios in Vancouver and is produced by Juno Award winning engineer Rob Shallcross (Strapping Young Lad, GWAR, Zimmers Hole, Fear Factory).

WEST OF HELL is currently on the road in Canada! See below for all currently confirmed dates.

WEST OF HELL TOUR DATES:

• 5/16 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
• 5/18 - Edmonton, AB @ New City (Family event with Cocaine Moustache)
• 5/24 - Canmore, AB @ Canmore Hotel (Family event with Cocaine Moustache)
• 5/25 - Kelowna, BC @ Level Nite Club (Family event with Cocaine Moustache)
• 5/26 –Victoria, BC@ Church of 13 Flames Privet Bash (Family event with Cocaine Moustache)

WEST OF HELL is:

• Vocals – Chris “The Heathen” Valagao
• Bass – Jordan Kemp
• Guitars – Sean Parkinson & Jordan Knute
• Drums – Andrew Hulme

For more information about WEST OF HELL, please visit these websites:

• http://www.facebook.com/WestofHell
• http://www.reverbnation.com/westofhell
• http://www.myspace.com/westofhell
• https://twitter.com/WestofHell
• http://www.youtube.com/westofhellofficial
• http://soundcloud.com/westofhell

With Casey Neill & The Norway Rats, Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils, and Rob Stroup & The Blame. Plus special guest performers from the Shakers’ Sessions CD.

On March 16, 2012 at the Secret Society Ballroom, Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter Pilar French will celebrate the release of her latest CD, Deliver, her third album overall.  A six-song collection of heartfelt, warming pop-rock sprinkled with roots leanings, French takes a lighter approach on Deliver, following up on 2009′s Alive, an album that tackled life’s heavier subject matter.

Pilar French’s website

Also on the bill are Riviera and Nicole Campbell.  Coors at 8pm, show starts at 9pm.  Tickets are $8.00 in advance through Brownpapertickets.com and $10.00 at the door.

Recorded at 8-Ball Studios, and produced by French and Rob Stoup, French is joined by her band, Jeff Koch (guitar, guitanjo), Tony Howard (drums, vocals), and Sean Nowland (bass), as well as guests Jean Pierre Garau (keys), Rachel Taylor Brown (vocals, accordion), Marilee Hord (violin), and Todd Bayles (cello).

Discussing the optimistic vibe of Deliver compared to its predecessors (besides Alive, her debut album is 2007′s Butterflies), French comments that, “The second record I did was a little bit heavier. It touched on heavier topics like human perseverance and the will to survive and overcome life challenges,” says French. “This CD is more about cherishing family, relationships and what you have as opposed to what you don’t have. The music is a little more light-hearted. It’s meant to make you feel happy and appreciate what you have.  I wanted to write songs to remind me to appreciate what I have. You walk away from it with really positive vibes.”

Opening with the title track, a song inspired by her nephew, French sings about wanting a better world for the next generation.

“It was inspired by Luke, my nephew, who was born prematurely but who is now a healthy, vibrant little kid.”

A mid-tempo pop song, the song comes across like a burst of sunshine, French’s warm voice accompanied by a steady drum beat and beautifully-crafted instrumentation, the keyboard adding a spring to the already heartening song.

“Love and Live” finds French being more soulful, a rich, passionate soul-roots song that has her singing about forgetting the rat race and appreciating what you have.

“There’s so much going on in our society right now – people are losing their jobs and their homes. Times are tough,” French says, discussing the song, and the overall vibe of the album. “We’ve got people fighting in a war that’s been going on for ten years. It’s a time that makes us want to reflect on what we have and appreciate it.”

With the addition of guest vocalist Rachel Taylor-Brown on “Tumbleweed,” the pop-rock number comes alive, while “Place of Our Own” finds French creating a mysterious ambiance with its late-night, been out all night having fun, laid-back rock style.

The soul-pop groove of “End of the Day” showcases French’s voice perfectly, while the album closer, “The Build,” offers a nice instrumental roots-pop finish to a polished, memorable collection of tunes.

Some will notice that “End of the Day” also appears on Alive.  The version found here is a full band version, expanding on the acoustic recording previously released.

“I wanted to record it with the full band and capture a more euphoric sound.  The song came to me while sitting on a log on the beach in Pacific City during sunset.  For me, sunset is the best part of the day.  It’s the most frequent time you will find me pausing to catch my breath and appreciate my surroundings.  I guess because I am often stunned by the beauty.  Call me a sap,” she says of the re-recording.

With Deliver French tries to capture the breathtaking beauty of a sunset, and the daily joys of life, and put it to music, offering listeners a sound that will give them hope, optimism, and something to slow down, take a deep breath, and relax to while they take in life and all its wondrous beauty.  If there is one message you should take from Deliver it’s live for today, enjoy life, and don’t let the negativity bring you down.

Previous Press Quotes:

“Her voice is old-fashioned, but it’s not quirky like Nellie McKay, it’s a ‘better than anyone you know’ voice in a tight style that sticks to the classic delivery Bonnie Raitt and many others.” - OPB Music

“Song titles like ‘Alive’, ‘Mercy’ and ‘Higher Ground’ might make you wonder whether Pilar French’s new release (also calledAlive) is a covers album, but the Portland singer-songwriter has been busy on both sides of the hyphen. Vocally alternating between airy and nasal, she reminds me of Aimee Mann as well as Portland artist McKinley; as far as songwriting, her quirky melodies and glossy and spiky New Wave production are also, if you will, ‘McKinleyesque.’ French’s Higher Ground, a duet with Justin Jude, is a bouncy, would-be radio-ready pop song and the highlight of the album released tonight.” - Willamette Week

“…years of playing in various – and varied – outfits have given Portlander Pilar French a confidence and polish that can’t be faked.” - Portland Tribune

“Pilar can be loungy, smoky and silky, bluesy but is slightly askew… The vibrant Pilar French Intention has made its mark at various Pacific Northwest venues including the Water Front Blues Festival, The Bite of Oregon, Robin Hood Festival, Crystal Ballroom, and Doug Fir.” - Oregon Coast Today

“She may have accidentally created an album about perseverance, but French herself knows firsthand what that means.  Alive is a solid, confident affair and we’re the lucky recipients of her will to endure and grow.” - Oregon Music News

With Water Tower (formerly Water Tower  Bucket Boys) and Henry Hill Kammerer (of Hillstomp).

AMERICANA/FOLK-ROCK ONE MAN BAND, MCDOUGALL CELEBRATES RELEASE OF A FEW TOWNS MORE.

On March 24, 2012, Portland, Oregon-based Americana/folk-rock one man band McDougall will celebrate the release of his sixth full-length, A Few Towns More, at Secret Society Ballroom.

Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm.  Tickets are $8.00 advance and at the door.  Also on the bill are Water Tower (formerly Water Tower Bucket Boys) and Henry Hill Kammerer (of Hillstomp).

On the title track to A Few Towns More, McDougall sings, “The road you chose might take you back to your front door, but it looks like mine’s gonna take me on a few towns more.”  Telling the story of touring, human interaction, and sharing in life’s adventures, McDougall sums up his album on the final track, discussing the isolation and loneliness of touring alone, while also singing it’s praises, meeting new friends and new adventures in cities he plays.

“It’s the title track and the final track on the album,” McDougall says of A Few Towns More.  “It’s a song that portrays how lonely and yet totally amazing it can be touring alone.  The loneliness you face sometimes is all worth it as you spend each night sharing songs with people and making friends out of strangers.”

Equal parts folk, Americana, and old-time country, McDougall’s music conjures up images of sitting by a coffee-can fire in the middle of a dry California river-bed that then pulls you up on a freight train that travels through the lush spring-time of the Pacific Northwest, with you ending up rambling around the country with all your possessions on your back.

McDougall wishes to keep to the unwritten rule of using what was left by those before while leaving something of your own for those who come after, as you exemplifies on A Few Towns More, an album that prevails with a message of hope throughout every journey.

“As with all of my albums, there is an underlying message of hope.  This one also deals with the responsibility each one of us has to take what we learn in life and share it with others, to find that place where we know we belong and can do the most good,” McDougall says, summarizing the album’s lyrical themes.

A ten-track collection of dusty-trail Americana, it is hard to imagine that A Few Towns More is pulled off as a one-man-band live, McDougall handling either the guitar and banjo, while also playing percussion with his feet.

“I dig that when listening to [the album] you sometimes forget that most of it is one guy,” McDougall beams.  “I try hard to find a balance between getting creative in the production realm and trying to produce something that can be repeated live with the same intensity.  I think we found a good balance on this record.”

Whether it’s the opener, “Coleraine,” a banjo-driven clap-and-stomp chant piece that wears its hymn-like vibe on its sleeve.  Or the rambling rock of “Ready, Begin,” in which McDougall sings, “time for living, you know, moving and thinking.  I felt the bitter cold air make me high.  On your mark, get set, and back to the task.  Before all your chances change their colors and die,” McDougall creates mood-elevating, hopeful songs that remind you that you’re alive.

McDougall turns it down a few notches on the moonlit folk of “Evening Tide,” a ragged, yet mellow acoustic number that finds McDougall in a contemplative state.  The high-impact banjo dance number “Cuttin’ the Grass/Tom and Willy Go To Town” is an instrumental that will make you get up and move, while creating the perfect soundtrack for the should-have-been theme song for the Oregon Trail.  Abound with promise and adventure, even without words, McDougall can elicit feelings of a new life and excitement.

On the gospel-folk of “When God Dips His Love In My Heart” McDougall challenges himself on this traditional number that his mother used to sing with his grandparents when she was a kid.

“Gates of Victory,” with group vocals from various Portland-area musician friends, will have you singing along to the chorus, which rings with the words, “Looking to those who have humbly walked before us.  They taught us how to live and they taught us how to die.”

“[The song] is about following solid examples of those who walked before us,” exclaims McDougall.

Recorded in a barn during a Washington winter, at times McDougall found it too cold to even play his banjo.  But he persevered and made it through, proud of what he’s accomplished with A Few Towns More.  Now all McDougall has to do is hit the road and play these songs for fans, new and old alike, while hoping they find the songs encouraging, engaging, and fun.  With artwork from Modesto-based folk-singer/tattoo artist Roy Dean, A Few Towns More is rooted in traditional, better meant for your stereo, with artwork in your hands, than your MP3 player.  However, McDougall will take listeners any way we can get them.

And, as he sings on “A Few Towns More,” “As we sing together each night in each town, old friends and new in the same room all let their problems down.  And with our hands, feet, and voices proclaim, that every day doesn’t have to be the same,” McDougall hopes that his album will help you break up the monotony of every day life, helping you relax and enjoy yourself.