Sean Marshall – Anchor Sleep
Sean Marshall is best known for his substantial lead guitar and harmony talents with Monmouth County up-and-comers Lightning Jar. Marshall’s penchant for description and his painstakingly detailed formulation of sound are the attention-grabbing vessels used on his latest EP, Anchor Sleep.
Marshall demonstrates why Jason Pomeroy and Nathan Maier actively sought him out for LJ in their formative stages. When listening to songs from the EP, the first two thoughts that come to me are the writer’s ability to come up with offbeat choices of essential song sections when composing and the magical act of taking a fairly uncommercial risk and succeeding.
Sean Marshall’s bio describes what he’s trying to convey by describing this effort as an attempt at pairing the rarities of mature lyrical content and wide-open folk structures that he embraces. Marshall strives to examine the spaces between darkness and light, while exploring the substance of melodic songwriting and atmospheric balance as a focused lead singer.
The first song up is “Maybe You Should Grow.” Marshall combines dynamically strummed acoustic guitars that roll alongside dark and sparkling slide work that weeps throughout the piece. Sean demonstrates vocal prowess as he casually goes with the Nashville flow, matching precise and intricately performed harmonies with main vocal lines that remind me of the 1974 gold produced by American singer-songwriter Dave Loggins.
“Hammer” brings the introductory magic of Band Of Horses with its poignant melody set up and tide flowing delivery. Marshall ambles in off the intro with flurries of fast-moving imagery, delivered via introspective lyrics and reverb rich acoustics. Marshall understands the tough art of “less is more,” and fights to keep open space workable here. The rich and simple acoustic guitar lead in the bridge says everything it needs to with seven picked notes, which I immediately rejoice in. “Hammer” goes out with the winter cold secret of a lyrical subject abandoned, cut loose and set adrift.
“January Air” floats in on a cold, crisp combination of acoustic and electric air, pushing the organ riff into Marshall’s ethereal vocal before spilling down into its modulating changes. With a vibe that recalls ‘90s highlights such as Temple Of The Dog and their hit, “Hunger Strike,” Marshall slips melancholic prose into his influential nod to singers such as Ben Bridwell and Eddie Vedder, and it’s another good example of sticking to the heart and soul of the message while avoiding useless filler.
The EP title-track, “Anchor Asleep,” fades in on ‘80s-styled drums, spoken word intimacy, warbling, trance-like organ and Marshall lead vocal as he trances from stoic, Moonage Daydream verse, to echoed and 1970s Lennon-esque choruses. Acoustic guitars come into the mix on verse two and chop and twang over the top of Marshall’s psychedelic aural soundscape. The bridge features hand-picked sound effects and a “time spanning” couple arguing about the intricacies of a complex love as the song breaks down and fades to its conclusion.
Vulnerable, honest and bursting with communicative value, Anchor Sleep puts Sean Marshall into his own as both a writer and a singer that has the opportunity to take himself far beyond the illusionary confines of Asbury Park. Whether this is a new direction career-wise or just a project done in the interim space waiting for new band material, Marshall has the goods to increase positive visibility if he sticks to the compositional principles shown here on Anchor Sleep.
To purchase your copy of Anchor Sleep, or to find out about live performances, head over to Sean’s site for more information. seanmarshall.net
Danny Coleman Keeping The Jersey Scene Faith – Rock On Radio
Danny Coleman is part of a vanishing group of industry professionals that actually cut their teeth on a myriad of stages and in studios. All too often, I notice people involved in the music scene getting their training “on the job,” and while that’s great news for people six years down the road, it’s almost impossible to immediately sympathize and interact with performers in a way that’s related to if you haven’t filled those worn-out shoes yourself.
Coleman fills those “shoes” with over 30 years experience as a drummer and percussionist in the Jersey music scene. His list of contributions as a musician is a long one, and he takes that hard-earned knowledge and wraps it in an interactive, fast-paced presentation with his long-running music show, “Rock On Radio.”
Danny tells me that “Rock On Radio” was created not just as some commercial or marketing sounding board (although famous people need love too), but to give unsigned artists a real forum to shine in, and from the public reaction to date, “Rock On Radio” is working quite well.
Coleman, along with co-host Christine Floyd and photographer Joe Powell, do their syndicated two-hour talk/interview segment every Sunday at 10 p.m. The team mixes casual, career-themed banter with “unplugged” live performances as well as original cuts from their special guest’s recordings.
Danny started “Rock On Radio” back in 2009, and to date, he has played host to over 225 creative guests, including reality stars, Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers and many up-and-coming unsigned New Jersey artists. When you speak to Coleman, you get the sense of honest, agenda-free action. Doing something like this is far from easy, and the attention, dedication and love that go into his show are evident immediately.
“‘Rock On Radio’ was started because I felt that musicians needed a venue to be heard—not only musically, but personally as well,” he says. “If I help bring them one more fan or CD sale, my efforts are a success.”
Coleman is not alone in his visionary statement. Along with his show co-hosts, he shares solid support from all the folks over at the home base of Hamilton Radio. Danny tells me, “Guys like Gino, Rubin, Jah and Dan take some sarcastic barbs and wisecracks from me, and they take it all in good stride. They do a phenomenal job for ‘Rock On Radio,’ and I am so glad that they welcomed me. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the chance to make this work.”
Danny’s co-host, Christine Floyd, even has her own fan club on the show now. “The newest addition to the program—better known as just ‘Floyd’—adds a unique flavor to the show. Joining us in late spring, Floyd’s humor and insight have opened up some great dialogue and her aggressive marketing has helped gain us affiliates and guests—and yes, it’s true…she’s even got her own fan club.”
As if running a show didn’t take up enough of his time, Coleman also freelances for several papers as a writer, and has been nominated for more than a few AMAs and JAM Awards over the years. “Rock On Radio” is currently aired live on various outlets and is in syndication throughout the radio network.
Shows like this are important additions to the original music scene, and “Rock On Radio” is a positive addition that I would look into if you are adamant about making your career a successful venture and getting your name around the Tri-State Area. I can only wish we had outlets such as this when I was coming up in the game.
Don’t miss Danny Coleman’s 2013 Christmas Spectacular on Dec. 22, where he will be featuring some of New Jersey’s best artists all ringing in the festive holiday season.
For more on “Rock On Radio,” head over to hamiltonradio.net and dial in the music show from there. Also, for fast show times and live events, you can reach him at facebook.com/dannycolemansrockonradio2.
