In a time where rock radio is becoming just as cluttered with sound-a-like acts as today’s “pop/punk” scene (Boys Like Girls/All Time Low/etc…) we have the Hinder/Daughtry/Nickelback’s all over radio right now. Even a new band like Saving Abel who prides themselves on the fact that they sound like everyone else finds their debut single “Addicted” sitting at #2 on today’s active rock chart. “You know when you hear a song on the radio and you don’t know who it is, but you love it and feel like you’ve heard it before? That’s our band! The first time someone hears us, they go, ‘I know that band!’ Then someone explains, ‘no, it’s a brand-new song and band.’ –you HAVE heard us before,” states lead singer Jared Weeks – last.fm

The truth is, there’s radio success in the formula these acts use. Recently, St. Louis rock band Cavo has released some tracks that could contend for airplay on rock stations across the country. Since signing to Bullet 339 Records these rockers revved up the aggression for the new single “Champagne” which is receiving spins at St. Louis’s 105.7 The Point and Nashville’s “The Buzz”. Another act to watch out for this summer is the recent Universal signing
State of Shock who’s cheesy, but catchy-as-hell single “Money Honey” which already found itself in the top 10 of three Canadian formats. This one has crossover potential.

The past few years we have only seen a few Christian artists who have been able to see significant mainstream success. Switchfoot, Mat Kearney, and Flyleaf are some of the most notable. One band signed to Flicker/Sony who has the chance to make such an impact is Fireflight. Following in the footsteps of
successful female fronted rock act Flyleaf, Fireflight has their own big hit ready to dominate mainstream stations. “Unbreakable” has already been #1 at christian rock and spent a few weeks in the top 5 of the Christian pop chart. It’s just hard for me to see how any station that’s been spinning Flyleaf’s “All around Me” could pass up this one.

Singer/songwriter Justin Nozuka just signed to Glassnote & his video for “After Tonight” has been added to VH1’s You Oughta Know feature and is in heavy rotation on MTVU. He may be no John Mayer or Jack Johnson, but he seems to be receiving plenty of attention as of late. Check out “After Tonight”

Soundcheck was written by Dallas who currently attends San Francisco State University and works on the Live 105 (KITS) Action Team.