All it took was for me to hear the opening guitar riff in V.V. Brown’s single “Shark In The Water” and I was in love. Then I heard the chorus. Words cannot express how insanely catchy that song’s hook is. The horn section! The layered vocals! The chord progression! The voice! The beat and groove! The guitar riff! The clapping! There is not one tiny thing wrong with that chorus. It is absolutely perfect. It serves its purpose: to get stuck in the listener’s head and have that person singing or humming along to the melody over and over all day long. That’s what it did to me upon hearing it the first time. “Shark In The Water” is still on repeat when I listen to it (over and over again). I am not only in love with the song, but in love with the woman singing it. Again, all it took was 20 minutes of conversing with V.V. Brown over the phone and my respect and admiration for her skyrocketed. V.V. Brown is by far my new favorite artist of 2010 and she should be yours as well.

Read on to hear what the British singer/songwriter had to say to The Dead Hub…

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Catching The Avett Brothers in between recordings and a sound check, I got to talk with a member of the Avett Brothers, cellist Joe Kwan. The genre-hopping troupe have been producing albums since 2000, often releasing two albums per year. Combining classic genres like ragtime with contemporary methods and honest lyrics is their forte. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as having the “heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones.”

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The folk-pop duo (Bøe with childhood friend Erlend Øye) released their third album, Declaration of Dependence in October 20th, 2009. They were scheduled to tour through the US over the next few months, however they have postponed all tour dates and condensed them into a 10-day tour. Their new Chicago show is the last stop in the short US tour on June 10th at The Metro. All previously bought tickets will be honored, so the venue is close to selling out. This is their first US tour since 2004 and tickets are sure to sell out. The Kings of Convenience are making sure this tour is neat and clean. “We like to keep it comfortable,” Eirik added. In a brief February interview, I got to find out what is really important for the Norwegian team.

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A self-proclaimed “music research geek”, L.A.-native Jason Chung a.k.a. Nosaj Thing originally wanted to produce tracks like Dr. Dre or drop beats in the likes of Timberland. After sneaking out to his first rave sometime during 8th grade (remember: This is L.A.), Chung was hooked on the melodies and bass of electronic music. leaving high school and a synth-pop duo (sans keytar), the young mix master started creating his own tracks using every resource at his disposal.

Nosaj Thing’s debut album Drift topped iTunes Electronic charts at #5, but his work doesn’t stop there. With almost as many remixes as original songs and a secret remix EP dropping this summer, the 23 year-old DJ is spending time working on an innovative live visual performance creating an otherworldly environment not unlike the moody melodies featured in Drift.

What Nosaj Thing has in store for his fans comes after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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Matt Hires’ Take Us To The Start is available now!

As I arrived at the Schubas Tavern on a particularly mild February day, I immediately noticed how busy the the West Lakeview venue was. Young and old crowded the Harmony Grill in anticipation for a singer/songwriter who’s been making waves from his sunny Florida hometown. Enter Matt Hires. The 22-year old singer met up with us in between sound checks and some live recordings. Disappearing behind the bar front, Matt took us down to the Tavern’s make-shift green room for a pre-show interview. The walls are littered with colorful vintage posters from many previous Scubas events. This room has seen Kings of Leon, Andrew Bird and Sufjan Stevens before Matt Hires first show at Schubas Tavern. However, this twentysomething is no stranger to the Midwest. He even has a few surprises in store for his fans…

The interview with Matt Hires after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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Kelly Harper is a pop singer. You may have already heard some of her hits on TV, especially if you have tuned into MTV. She has already broken stereotypes of just “the good looking blond” by having her song “New Best Friend ” striking at number 38 for four weeks on Billboards R&R Top 40/CHR indicator charts. We had the privilege to talk with Kelly recently about her childhood, her new album, and her plans for 2010. Yes, there is a tour in there!

Dead Hub: What is your fondest memory of your childhood days?

Kelly Harper: I remember mom bought “Star Stage” microphone. I would go down to the basement and there would be spotlight hanging and I would turn the music on and sing to different music. I would also shut my door and sing on my bed if it were the stage with the animals would be my audience.

DH: Can you tell me about “Forever Tears?” It’s a pretty sad song!

Kelly Harper: I co-wrote it with someone. It’s based on personal experience! Everyone had a good or bad childhood and my songs are definitely from personal experience. The song is about when my parents got divorced and me going through it. It was hard for me to write it and listen to it….still.

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Dead Hub: Congrats on the success of Sexy People on the Billboard Charts!

Lolene: It’s so amazing!

Dead Hub: Can you tell us about the Victoria Secret and “Sexy People” partnership?

Lolene: You are the first person I am telling this to. Yeah, I am a big fan of Victoria secret! They are, what I consider, the high-end lingerie line. It’s going to be a big campaign over Christmas. It is very competitive commercial! I am so flattered they picked “Sexy People” over so many other artists! “Sexy People” is the new Victoria Secret song!! Sexy song for a sexy brand!! I hope I get to do some in store performances, or have music that can be placed into the (shopping) bags.

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In between taking naps and working on their next album, LMFAO tells us all from the start of the uncle/nephew team to what is in store for future concert goers. Their sold-out tour will be stopping and dropping at over 30 cities across the nation. Did you get your ticket to the party?

I was lucky enough to catch LMFAO in between naps on the road to their Saint Louis show before the weekend. The native California duo have also started their own clothing line, exclusively sold at partyrocklife.com. LMFAO can almost always be found wearing something new from the brand. The super chill Red Foo, uncle to Sky Blu, spent some time to talk about the past, present and future of their lifestyle brand: Party rock.

Dead Hub: Well, let’s just start with you guys. What gave you the idea to form a group with a family member?

Red Foo: We’ve always been doing music together for a long time, but we were both solo artists. We did a few tracks together… and then we both took a trip to Miami. I mean, we’re like best friends. We were playing basketball and making music, and after we came back from the WMC, then we just decided to just be groupie’s group!

Read more about what LMFAO had to say after the jump…

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JB: Did you ever anticipate the amount of success you would have with your first album Coco?

CC: No! A friend started uploading my songs and music to a MySpace page that she made for me. I had no idea what MySpace was!

JB: What does it take to maintain the initial success that came with the start of your career as a recording artist?

CC: The hardest part is just getting into the business. I wasn’t prepared. I always had stage fright.

JB: What have been the best and worst parts of your success?

CC: The best part of my success has been the chance to travel the world and have people fall in love with my music even if they speak a different language. Also, being on TV shows and meeting artists who have inspired me and of whom I am a fan. The worst part of my success is that I have no time for a normal life. I have to plan ahead in my schedule to make room for weddings and birthday parties. I used to be able to just hang out at home with my family and friends.

Keep reading after the jump to see what Colbie Caillat had to say…

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Joshua Radin Interview

It felt like a homecoming when Joshua Radin stepped on stage Thursday night at the Chicago House of Blues.

Known as a confessional singer/songwriter whose music has appeared on notable TV shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Brothers and Sisters,” little do people know that Radin was involved in the Chicago music scene, not as a participant, but as a supporter.

“I used to go down to the Elbow Room a lot and my friend was in a band called Bumpus,” Radin said while sitting on a large leather couch in an upstairs room in the House of Blues.

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