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Tonight: UB Spring Fest

With the semester’s end in sight for area college students, and the generous blanket of warm rays we’ve been receiving lately, today is nothing short of an ideal setup for UB’s Spring Fest. This year’s event, sponsored by Alternative Buffalo 107.7 and held at the University at Buffalo’s Baird Point, is jam packed with headline-worthy artist after another. Cali natives and seasoned alt-radio vets, Young the Giant, are slated as the main act of the night. If you were able to catch the band at Canalside last year, you can most likely vouch for the energetic punch their set packed. Also in tow for the evening is sultry electro-pop singer Banks, whose debut album Goddess (released only last September) has made a lasting imprint on alternative charts worldwide. In the Valley Below shares a similar dark, synth-infused pop sound to Banks, but brings a fresh male/female vocal blend to the[...]

Just Announced: UB Spring Fest

The State University of NEW YORK (see the men’s basketball jerseys) at Buffalo continues to prove it is with the times as its Student Association announced this year’s Spring Fest yesterday, set to be headlined by Young the Giant on Saturday, May 2nd. N̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶A̶l̶t̶-̶B̶u̶f̶f̶a̶l̶o̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶c̶u̶r̶r̶e̶n̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶b̶u̶s̶y̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶i̶t̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶u̶p̶c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶K̶e̶r̶f̶u̶f̶f̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶n̶o̶u̶n̶c̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶.̶   Nevermind, they found time to sponsor this. The rest of the bill, though, is comprised of alternative radio mainstays Bear Hands, In the Valley Below, Banks, and local act, Royal Tongues, so it’s close enough. UB, who frequently seemed a tad out of touch on many of its Fall/Spring Fest acts, took a major step in the right direction with last year’s Kendrick Lamar show, although I am still waiting for them to top that Outkast Spring Fest when I was in high school. The multi-band show will once[...]

Tonight: Royal Tongues

Head on down to the Waiting Room tonight to celebrate the release of Patterns And Shapes, the debut EP from Buffalo indie pop duo, Royal Tongues, along with Wild Things, Parade Chic, and American Low. Royal Tongues (Aaron Bonus, Justin Gammella) haven’t been around for long, but this tight collection of irresistible electropop jams and the amount of action the songs getting online (almost 200,000 streams of the EP’s closer “The Balance”) suggest they might not be long for Buffalo. This all ages show featuring some of Buffalo’s hottest up and coming bands taking over Studio at Waiting Room starts early with doors at 6pm, and $10 gets you in.

Royal Tongues’ “The Balance” Remixed by Ra Ra Riot

Buffalo synth pop duo, Royal Tongues (Like A Parrot’s Aaron Bonus and Justin Gammella), is prepping the release of The Balance EP, a seven song release containing the title track and a whole lot of remixes of the single. The most notable reworking of “The Balance” comes from Sycracuse based chamber pop act, Ra Ra Riot. The central New Yorkers turned the original, which would have fit nicely along side Grouplove and Passion Pit, into a mid tempo, Discovery-esque number. The full EP is set for release on December 2nd. In the mean time, listen to Ra Ra Riot’s remix of “The Balance” below.

Like A Parrot Forms Royal Tongues, Releases “The Balance”

If you have been following the blog over the past few months, you should already be up to speed on the production/writing duo of Like A Parrot. After having decided to keep the Like A Parrot work as a behind the scenes endeavor, the tag team of Justin Gamella and Aaron Bonus have moved their catchy pop tunes over to a project called Royal Tongues. The first single from the new outfit is “The Balance,” a song that you should be familiar with as we featured back in November as our introductory post to Like A Parrot. The revisited synth pop jam has been starting to get picked up by alt radio stations, and may soon be a part of the regular rotation over at Alt-Nation on Sirius radio. Listen below and remember where you heard it first.