Look out for Camp Crush and the 80’s influenced synth track Shadows. Think The Cure, New Order, Berlin and the National. Fronted by forever sweethearts, Chris Spicer & Jen Deale the duo makes you feel like you’re at the High School prom.

The Portland duo says “For all of us, there are things that maybe we thought we had conquered in our lives, that can always creep back in, living in the shadows.”

They’ve garnered support for music blogs such as Stage Right Secrets, OPB Music, AudioFemme, Happy Mag, Vortex Music, and Atwood Magazine.

After several released, they began collaborating with Grammy Award-winning  producer Rian Lewis (Doja Cat, Gorillaz, Chromeo, Louis the Child, D.R.A.M.). Now, The duo is set to release their 4th EP Always?, in July of 2022 along with an exclusive pictorial zine that highlights their dramatic fashion in a series of lush photographs and artwork.

Yoshi Flower returns with a cover of Lil Peep’s Star Shopping. Staying true to the original, still, Yoshi brings his own signature tone.

Yoshi says, “When I was lost in my addiction, I constantly listened to Peep. I related to how he spoke of using drugs as a way to feel okay; but he also showed the dangers and the comedowns. When he passed, I was”

This cover makes me remember how Lil Peep helped breakthrough a unique blend of emo, rap and rock – a strange combination that worked. Peep was unique and colored outside the lines, but isn’t that true artist?

Check out the track going nowhere by Berlue, an indie/alternative artist based out of Nashville, TN. You’ll like if you love indie rock from the late 90’s. The track deals with depression and comes off a six song EP that will be released late this summer called A Flooding Within You.

Tell me about how your song came about.

“‘going nowhere’ is about failure and feeling like I haven’t been able to live up to the dreams I had when I was a kid. I was taking a lunch break while recording my other songs and while strumming on the guitar I was struck with the chorus melody and lyrics. The rest of it came together really quickly but I tweaked it for months before the energy felt just right.”

Artists that have a big influence on me include Snow Patrol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, early Coldplay, and newer artists like beabadoobee & Soccer Mommy.

It seems like you quickly found yourself on Spotify Editorial Playlists like Fresh Finds

I have no idea how my music was selected for Fresh Finds and Fresh Finds Rock but it has been a huge honor to have been selected for those amazing playlists. Spotify even made me the cover of Fresh Finds Rock for a while and it’s been amazing to be on playlists that I have been listening to for years.

What’s your favorite platform to connect with fans?

I find that it’s easier to have more personal and meaningful engagement with people on instagram but TikTok is definitely easier to get my music in front of more people.

Is the Personal Brand beginning to die? For the last decade everything was a brand from a person to a dog. Even if you could monetize a video of a squirrel, would it be worth it? The new generation is a choosing a life of anonymity because they learned that having a public profile isn’t all glitter & gold.

TikTok is the perfect dopamine depleter causing depression and anxiety among teens. More than that, most teens know that while boosting your public profile is a great ego boost, it can come with a frightening cost like bullying and online harassment.

Society created a level of narcissism that turned everyone into show dogs, from the cleaning person to a CEO of a Blue Chip boring company. Society also demanded that everyone who lives life, must live life publicly.

For the general public, building up a public profile has been exhausting with no financial benefit that came with a loss of losing privacy.

The artist are finally grasping the pitfalls of personal brand building. Being elusive and mystique is good. Plus, creating something really good requires time away, not time online. Moderation is key. Churning out content week after and week is a quick path to burnout.

The new generation is heading back to sites like TUMBLR, a platform that doesn’t feed off personal branding and a public image. Even journalists have seen an uptick of sources wanting to remain anonymous.

Your digital footprint can last forever, and since many people know they’ll be a different person in 10 years, anonymity makes a return.

Small independent music venues in Nashville are disappearing at a rapid rate quickly eroding the music culture that once made the city famous.

What’s the blame for the quick demise? The government handling of the pandemic which left venues struggling and the soaring cost of real estate.

The local government finally took notice and too steps to stabilize and preserve some of Nashville’s most iconic independent live music venues.

According to The Tennessean: The council voted to approve $260,000 in American Rescue Plan funds toward a study of preservation strategies, support for efforts to revive Nashville’s Music City Music Council and a $50,000 grant toward the restoration of Elks Lodge, formerly Club Baron.