The Grand Prize Winners from Last Year is a mouthful, but it all makes sense when you see them perform. These four guys know the perfect formula for putting on a great show! Grand Prize Winners or G.P.W. FLY for short, consists of Believe who does vocals and electric guitar; No Name on bass and trumpet; Platipus Jonez does trombone, keys, and synthesizers; and Slaughter is on vocals, ambient sounds, and programming. The interesting thing about their line-up is that it’s all subject to change depending on the song and the mood of the show because they all learn each others parts. The only other band that I have seen with my two eyes do that is fellow Atlanta band Gringo Star.

You may be asking yourself where all these creative names came from. Well, the story starts when Platipus Jonez and No Name were in high school before they played music. They decided to participate in the talent show at school, only to make fun of their classmates who did dance troop numbers. So they made a funny dance performance and had the MC introduce them as The Grand Prize Winners From Last Year so people would think that they won the previous year. Later, when they formed the band they wrestled with names that didn't satisfy them and wanted something with flair. That’s when they decided to use their high school talent show name, and the rest, they say, is history.

To see them play is an experience that you don't often get. Most shows that happen are a sea of people just standing and nodding their heads. When you're in the  crowd watching these guys and turn your head, you see an animated crowd. Why? It’s because the movement and all that is happening on stage makes you feel as if you need to participate. I once attended one of their shows where Believe was wailing on the guitar then he jumped from a flight of stairs to hype the crowd, not once but twice! As always I ask you to be the judge and check out the music for yourself.

Check out their Myspace page here.

Canadian electrofunk duo, Chromeo, made their first ever trip to Atlanta GA this past weekend to play to a sold out crowd at The Masquerade.  The duo has been on a world tour the last two months, starting the first of July in Amsterdam NE and ending this past Sunday, August 29th, with a show at The Hollywood Bowl co-billed with The Chemical Brothers.  MyDailyThread was able to catch up with Chromeo's members, Dave1 and Pee Thugg, for a few minutes before their sold out show on August 27th and gain some insight as to how they created their own style of electrofunk.

The duo, who has been playing music together since their high school days, is heavily influenced by such acts as Cameo, Midnight Star, Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, Fleetwood Mac, and Parliament.  Over the years they have molded their sound into something that is truly one of a kind.  Using synthesizers, keyboards, bass and electric guitars, as well as the signature talk box manipulated by Pee Thugg, Chromeo has created a genre of music that can be understood no matter the language you speak or the country you call home. 

This past year has held many milestones for the Montreal based duo.  After the release of their second album, Fancy Footwork, the band began getting recognition around the world which lead them to a collaboration with recording mogul, Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates for a web-episode of "Live From Daryl's House".  When asked how the collaboration came to life, the duo responded, "Daryl's people got in touch with our management, and it took off from there".  Little did the duo know that this collaboration would lead to one of the highlights of their careers to date.  Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, promoters of the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, invited Chromeo and Daryl Hall to perform a late night set at this year's festival.  This was the only live performance to date that the duo has held with Hall, but when asked if the collaboration would continue, both Dave1 and Pee Thugg agreed that as soon as the stars align and both schedules permit, that there will be more where that came from.

Chromeo is due to release their third studio album titled "Business Casual" on September 14th, 2010 on Vice Records.  You can find out more about Chromeo here.

For the rest of the images from Chromeo's first Atlanta performance, click HERE to see photographer, Ryan Swerdlin's, great work with the camera.

Artist: Brahms Band
Song: Subtext is Dead
Listen: http://brahms.muxtape.com/

Brooklyn boys next door turned geeky dance-y rock stars, bust a move this summer on the East Coast with synthpop Passion Pit kids. Brahms formed from the former Cale Parks and have been touring NYC and around the East Coast dancing their hearts out to their recently released EP.
What do I love about their beats?
“Subtext is Dead,” with it’s snappy, hoppy intro and “don’t go, don’t stay, don’t go” bridge made me instantly want to bust a move.
“Another Time” with lead singer’s deep throaty voice and repetitive video-game style beats, it brings me back to the glory days of Duck Hunter and SNES.
“Toward the Ghost,” ah, I can’t stop loving this song. I am singing “doo, doo, doo, doo” walking down the sidewalk long after the music stops.
“Brought It Out,” perhaps Brahms’ most melodic tune is perfect for a rainy day and a good book.

Marina V has big hair. And a big voice. Her robust, sometimes aspirated voice, is a colorful breath of fresh air. Critics like the L.A. Times and The Prague Post say her voice is “hauntingly beautiful” and like “the voice of an angel.” With songs like “You Make Me Beautiful,” “Hope” and “Inside My Head” her guitar plucking and piano keying are a throwback to the free love era.
But it wasn’t always easy-breezy for Marina Gennadievna Verenikina. Daughter of a communist nuclear physicist and a psychologist, her childhood in Moscow was, in her words, “tumultuous.” Verenikina was scolded by her music teachers as a child and was financially responsible for supporting her family at age 16. But when she turned 17, and had saved up every penny, she moved to the U.S. to pursue her dreams of being a recording artist. Verenikina’s ambition inspired not just her friends and family, though. She raised $30,000 through a PayPal account on her website to produce her first album. Now that’s ambition.

Listen to her latest single, “You Make Me Beautiful.”

Bands DIR EN GREY (Japan) and APOCALYPTICA (Finland) will co-headline at Center Stage Atlanta on August 30. This cooperative tour will certainly be dynamic (and entertaining) pairing dark Japanese metal with Finnish orchestral rock.

DIR EN GREY’s deep, dark sound appealed to masses internationally, and went through many evolutionary changes since the band’s start in 1997. Alterations in style and sound make defining a genre difficult for the Japanese band, but DIR EN GREY most easily falls within progressive metal. They tour all over the world and bridge language barriers with dramatic performances. The band toured for two years on their latest album Uroboros (2008) and released a CD & DVD set from a May 2010 recording of two sold out shows at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan arena.

DIR EN GREY hasn’t played in Atlanta since their last show at Center Stage in November 2008. Don’t miss them this time!

Official Site: http://www.direngrey.co.jp/english/top.html

Finnish band APOCALYPTICA recently released their album entitled 7^th Symphony. This album is what they call their “most eclectic and inspired album to date placing equal emphasis on beautiful melodies and heavy, bombastic rhythms.” Their sound is a mix between hard rock and symphonic cello sounds. Their popularity arose from this unique blend, which was initially an outlet from the bandmates’ classical training at the prestigious Sibelius Academy. APOCALYPTICA is famous for the cello covers of Metallica, and has worked with many other big names like Gavin Rossdale of Bush.

Watch APOCALYPTICA’s 7^th Symphony video feat. Gavin Rossdale from Bush here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efojzMwLIK0

Official Site: http://www.apocalyptica.com/us/events

Tickets for the Center Stage show on August 30 are available on Ticketmaster.com or at the Center Stage box office.