Patience Pending

Patience Pending 
(Photo: Jon Van Gilder) 

      In Spring 2009, in Freeport, Il, Andrew Dorsey (vocals) and Austin Collins (guitar) joined forces and started a blues and jazz band during a fine arts competition. Austin's brother, Andrei Collins (keys), joined soon after, as did, Caleb Hanson (bass) and then drummer, Laurent. Shortly after forming, the band realized that they weren't exactly a blues band anymore, causing the band to shift over onto the more fitting alternative rock genre.

      Patience Pending has accomplished a lot in a few short years and with God on their side, it's easy to see the band progressing forward in the near future. The band, which sometimes sings about faith and religion, wants to reassure everyone that they are much more than a 'Christian band.' 

      "We want to be able to play and share our music and faith through examples or words, in any venue, and when you hear the phrase 'Christian band' a secular venue is going to think 'oh gosh, here comes a buncha goody two-shoes who are gonna sing kum by ya and make us hold hands'" says the band. "Thats not what we are. We are here to rock your faces off, and if you hear about Jesus in the process, well thats awesome. We don't want to just be called a "Christian Band" because that can incorrectly describe sound. "Christian Melodic Hardcore" or "Christian Metal" is fine because that's exactly what we are."

      In late November of '09, the band decided to participate in Crave Student Ministries' Battle of the Bands. There, the band won "Pastor's Choice." Unfortunately, in the summer of 2010. Laurent had to part ways with the band. Joseph Nagel, who left his previous band, offered his services and from there, the band made another slight shift in genre, leaning towards the wonderful world of melodic hardcore.

Patience Pending playing live

      In November 2010, Gabrielle Zittle joined the band as an additional vocalist. The band went on to win several competitions and awards including "Audience Choice" at the 2010 Crossroads Battle of the Bands and first place in both the Christian Band and Contemporary Instrumental categories of the 2011 state level fine arts competition (which was Joe Fry's first show with the band as rhythm guitarist.)

      The band tries to keep their sound fresh and likes to use variety. If they want to venture into punk rockish sounds, they will. If the band wants songs filled with breakdowns and dissonant chords, again they will have it. They just like to push the melodic hardcore genre to it's limits and back again. 

      The band sometimes gets criticism about being a hardcore band with no screaming vocals. The band gave a fairly honorably reply when asked about the kind of criticism they receive. "We get both extremes. I think that its important to take it all with a grain of salt, and not let good criticism get to your head or bad get you down. We are what we are, we love it, and we hope you do too."

      Check out the band's Facebook! Also, show the band support this Friday, May 13th as they play with Prepare for Glory at the Park Hills Youth room in Freeport, IL.

Patience Pending
(Photo: Jon Van Gilder)

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

Cardinal; 'Barddas' Spring Demo Now Available!

Cover of the Spring Demo, Barddas

      Feast your eyes on Freeport's own Indie band, Cardinal! Their 2011 3 track spring demo, Barddas, was recently released by very independent label, Still Here Records, based in the Midwest.


      Cardinal formed in February of 2010 and consists of Alexa Janicke on vocals, Brian Nissen on piccolo bass, Mars Bars Van Raalte on the drumkit and Chris Ranney on e. bass. The band played for about 60 people at City Coffee Company in Freeport, IL on March 30th.

Cardinal Performing

      The band started as an acoustic project between Alexa and Brian, a few months later, they added drums and another bass, and the songs started being written differently. The band uses two bassists which makes them unique from other bands in the area.


      Although there are several metal and bar bands and some indie-like acoustic coffee house bands in Freeport, Cardinal says they sound nothing like the other bands and aren't influenced by them as far as sound goes. Some bands that do influence the band include Circa Survive, So Long Forgotten, As Cities Burn, and some Felix Culpa. The band also has literature influences in the literature work by authors Joseph Conrad, Robinson Jeffers, Charles Dickens, and Robert Broewning.

A portrait drawn by a member of the band. 

      Now that the demo is out, the band hopes to get more shows and perform. Like the band on Facebook!

~joeEFFINgmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

From The Mire @ Mediocre Saturday!

I had a chance to talk to Brenden Carter, Drummer of From The Mire just a few hours before Mediocre Saturday at the Park Hills Church in Freeport! A 45 minute drive from the greater Rockford area.

Q.) Hey man! How's the show going? Have you guys played yet?

A.) Hey! Well, The show hasn't started yet, but doors open at 7:30, and the first band, Prepare For Glory, starts at 8. We'll go on shortly after their set. Probably around 8:45.

Q.) Awesome, man! Are you guys excited? Any pre-show rituals?

A.) Soo excited. Pre-show rituals for us are..praying, stretching, pooping, and just gettin psyched for the show.

Q.) Is the pooping thing Clayton's response? That kid is weird. How long of a set are you guys playing?

A.) (laughs) Yeah, pretty much. Cool guy though. We're playing 8 songs, so probably 45ish minutes.

Q.) Any crazy after party? Or are you more of a pizza place kinda band?

A.) Neither really, we usually just chill and talk about how the show went. We're normally too tired to do much after the shows.

Q.) I can imagine! (laughs) Well, you guys have a great show! Anything you wanna say to everyone who might see this?

A.) Thanks! And..thanks for actually taking time read this. Go like our page if you want to, if you don't that's cool too. Be blessed everyone! And thanks Joe!

That was From The Mire drummer, Brenden Carter at the Park Hills Church in Freeport, IL (map). Not too far from the greater Rockford area! Follow the band on Facebook! (Do it!) And find future From The Mire updates here on Uncharted Music News!

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

(Originally posted on  Examiner)

From The Mire

From The Mire
Photo: Dawn Zuberbuhler

      Earlier this year, local area band, From The Mire won Bands' favorite at the Battle of the Bands at the Crossroads Community Church. If you think the band plans to stop there, you've got another thing coming.

      The band consists of Ron Oxley(vocals), Brendan Carter(drums), Derek Czysz(guitar), Clayton Reeser(guitar) and Zech Wilkenson(bass). "Ron asked me if i wanted to start a band, to which I replied, 'Heck yeah!'. And I knew Derek and Clayton played guitar so i asked them if they wanted to join. And Zech came along shortly after when we realized we needed a bassist." Says Brendan.

      The band only has ten shows to their name, but have already opened fo Sent By Ravens, a band signed by Tooth and Nail Records.

      Influenced by bands like A Hope For Home, The Chariot, UnderOATH, and old Showbread. The band maintains a punk/hard rock sound. "We tend to be less 'Metal' than most bands in the genre. We try to think outside the box with syncapations, different chord progressions, and thought-provoking lyrics." Says Brendan. "Brendan refuses to use double-bass." Adds Derek.

      When asked about releases, Clayton replied," I released a poop earlier." Derek, quick to recover, said,"We recorded a few songs, poorly, to hand out on a demo, but we have changed a lot since then, so we don't have those songs out anymore." Derek

From The Mire
Photo: Dawn Zuberbuhler

      So where does the name come from? And who came up with it? "Read Psalms 40:2. There's your answer" Says Derek.

      At their first show, The band ate an entire loaf of bread because they were all hungry. Derek explains,"(It was) probably because of nerves. Then we played, and it went a lot better than we all expected, and was really fun." Their last show, at New Life Church in Pecatonica, brought in about 55 people.

      While Brendan hopes for a record deal from Come and Live, and to stay focused on God. Derek chooses a simpler path when deciding long term goals. "Do good."

      The band has their 11th show on April 23rd (That's Saturday!) at Park hills Church!

Like the band on Facebook!

Contact the band via email! fromthemire@aol.com

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

(Originally posted on Examiner)

I, The Creator

I, The Creator @ The House Cafe
Photo: Taylor Wadley

      "We all have the ability to create or destroy our surroundings, either on a conscious and/or unconscious level." Says Julian Cunningham, vocalist for the band, I, The Creator. The band writes metalcore music that is inspired by simply 'living life', both the good and bad aspects. Whether it be a life changing event or simply a late night/early morning text message. "It's pretty random, really. (The songs) can be about the state of society or mythical creatures dancing in the moonlight"

      The band consists of Stephen Sporman and Kirk Wedig on guitars, Korbin Fleischer on bass, Dustin Curtis on drums and Julian Cunningham on vocals. "We're 5 guys who take this seriously. We always push ourselves to write better music and we're always looking to improve and grow as musicians and songwriters. This is our life and we want to make this our career." Says Stephen, the 21-year-old guitar player.

      Stephen estimates near a hundred shows since the band started, yet band vocalist, Julian  can still remember the band's first show. "It was at the Stephenson County Fairgrounds and we played a short set because we only had three songs, at the time. We played with Abandon All Hope, The Mill, The Rage Inside and Kryptic Throne. it was a great time in spite of the small turn out."

I, The Creator @ The House Cafe
Photo: Taylor Wadley

      With near a hundred shows, you would think the band would start getting a little cocky. "We don’t take ourselves too seriously. (It's) a part of our charm. We don't walk around like 'we are super awesome' and 'people are SUPPOSED to like us.' If you come to one of our shows, you will see that we do all kinds of silly stuff to entertain ourselves, (as well as) the crowd. It's all about having fun, not the scene or your ego." Says Julian.

      How did this gang of modest goofballs come together? "Our old drummer, Eric, and Julian had known each other for quite sometime and decided to start jamming with another guy." says Stephen Sporman."Our bass player, Korbin, joined them after learning how to play bass after just a couple of weeks and (they) started the band, Push Come to Shove, which would later become the basis for I, The Creator." When the old guitarist quit, they invited Stephen to jam with them. Shortly after, Kirk joined the band. After a year with the band, Eric, quit the band. A good friend of the band, Dustin, was called up to play with the band as the replacement drummer. Leaving only Julian and Korbin as original members.

      Unfortunately, Korbin will be leaving for the army at the end of the summer, "It sucks that he's gonna be leaving, but we, as a group, back him in his decision. He's always gonna be a part of the ITC family, and we look forward to hanging with him when he returns" Says Julian.

      I, The Creator will be playing a show this Saturday at Rock Hollow in Freeport, IL. They will be playing for Metal Protecting Children, which aims to keep children safe from abuse. They will also be playing at Feckbawlz Fest 2011. You can get their CD on iTunes and Amazon. The band is currently looking to play in the Rockford area and is also in search for a replacement bassist for the end of the summer.