Big Rock Finish… reviews of independent music

Name: Awaking State
Album: (not yet named)
Released: (not yet released)
Members:
Kent Martell – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano and Programming
Jason Iwanko – Bass and Backing Vocals
Justin Lant – Guitar and Backing Vocals
Brandon E.M. Savage - Drums and Backing Vocals

Website: www.awakingstate.com
Favourite Song: Love, Fuck.
Photo by: Adrianna Rependa

I vowed to never review music that wasn’t in CD or mp3 format for this website, because I was interested in seeing what a band could put together as a package. And these days, if it isn’t already painfully obvious, music alone does not sell records. And generally, if according to pop culture, music is barely even on the register with regards to selling records. And I’ve been met with generally very understanding bands when I say I want to review an album or EP from them, so I can say to the world “Hey! Go listen to these guys and buy their album!” And it’s extremely difficult to do that if they only have mp3’s on myspace or similar networking sites. I digress, in that for Awaking State, I was willing to give up this rule temporarily, and I will state right here and now, that I will never give up this rule again. Online players rarely work, don’t work the way I want them do, and generally are irritating because they depend on so much processing power from my poor little 3 year old computer that they generally are cutting out more often then they are playing. And that’s just plain frustrating. And honestly, you do not want someone frustrated trying to listen to your music… to review it.

Anyways, That was a bit of a digression. I’m doing this for Awaking State because I know just how big of a deal it is that they (well, half the band that I know of anyways, Kent and Brandon) were able to fly to California for somewhere between one and two weeks, depending on who you talked to, to record and mix with a woman named Sylvia Massy. Now that name means not a whole lot to me, not being all “with it” when it comes to the music scene, but this was obviously a big thing for them, and I can tell this was a very big deal, thus, a pre-quel of a review.

I think after a year of doing these reviews, I’m starting to be able to differentiate between different genres of music. I still think it’s basically the band just saying what they are… but I when I first hit play to a song that would play for more than 3 seconds on Awaking State’s Facebook fan page, I could actually tell that “Industrial” should be one of their titles. “Rock” is a given since… well if it’s not rock, what is it? And finally, I didn’t pick this one up right away but their myspace page states “Drum & Bass”. So the final verdict according to Myspace? Rock/Drum & Bass/Industrial. Final verdict according to Facebook? “Electronic Alternative” They all make sense, and I’ll just go by what they say.

Seeing as how at the time I write this review there IS no album, I thought I should at least let everyone know the songs that I was listening to to write this review, and they are as follows:

• Out There
• These Things
• Next in Line
• Ordinary Days
• Love, Fuck

And generally, as with any artist, I start to feel that yes, the songs are all from the same artist. (Hey, sometimes I feel like they’re not! And it weirds me out!) These songs all being from the Sylvia Massy mixing extravaganza, makes them sound much more polished than the previous versions that I had listened to before in passing. That’s a definite. It almost amazes me sometimes, how more of the bands I am writing about, aren’t already in the tops of being rich and famous. They definitely got “it”, as Awaking State obviously does… and yet they aren’t being handed keys to various high ticket cars and recording contracts worth millions to sit on, and scratch, their bums.

As for favourite song from Awaking State? I don’t really have one. Seeing as how I always pressure myself to pick one, I’m pretty certain I only picked “Love, Fuck” because there’s swearing in it, and I can be quite childish with regards to the idea of swearing. Like OMG! A swear word?? Is that allowed?? But yes. I very much like all the songs that I’d been listening to, now that they’re playing properly on my computer. The Drum & Bass and Industrial side (I’m assuming) of the music lets me believe this is a band that can be aggressive and not someone you want to bump into in a dark alley. Something just a little bit dangerous, that I’m sure will get the girls going crazy. And many of the boys.

I’m beginning to think that Awaking State would do well in the extreme sports market. Depending on the director of the video, any one of the songs I listed above could be played while people are wrecking themselves and their vehicles of choice trying death-defying stunts. If only there was someone currently doing a new extreme unicycle DVD! And…okay, I am currently very impatiently waiting for the beginning of March which should be Awaking State’s first show, and possibly their CD release show, where they had to cancel their February show due to a giant snow-storm. I believe the date announced was March 7, 2008. It’s somewhere in Oshawa, Ontario. To be honest, I have not a clue what the venue is. But I’m sure if you keep up on their website, you’ll find it.