Midnight Mirage
Los Angeles, California, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Midnight Mirage-- a mysterious moniker for a new, indie band formed no more than a few months ago right here in L.A., CA. Midnight Mirage, formed in April 2011, is made up of five young artists who gathered together form all points of the globe. Playing a mix of rock, pop, soul and R&B, this group of up-and-comers consists of: TS (singer-songwriter), Chris Wrate (guitar), Troy Laureta (piano, musical direction), John Watson (drums) and Jeff Maccora (bass). It would take some good, old-fashioned soul-searching and a significant amount of time working with executive producer Kevin Savigar (Rod Stewart, The Cheetah Girls) to find their original signature sound—a blend of genres from their own personal favorites.
Not much is yet known about the mysterious Midnight Mirage but one thing is certain, they are presently in the studio working on material for their debut disc tentatively titled Midnight Mirage. The band currently has almost an album’s worth of cuts already in the can including the catchy “Life Is A Party” and the noteworthy “Whatever You Want” with its simple yet effective chorus. Their music sometimes reveals the oft’times obvious influences of bands such as Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, The Fray and even Pink.
The band has an interesting dichotomy to their musical presentation. The band tries to make their songs relevant and not just throwaways. TS writes lyrics that he feels are straightforward or even “blunt” and yet when they are playing to an audience TS hopes that the band’s songs make everyone forget all about the problems of today and tomorrow and simply “live in the moment”.
TS and Savigar also brought in songwriter/producer Jeff Solomon from The G3nerator to add further variety to the band’s playlist. They came up with several songs together including “Just Like That”, “I Should Have Known”, the powerful “Thanks For The Advice”, the memorable “One Day At A Time” and “Wild Card”. "Not only is TS a great songwriter and friend of many years now, he is the hardest working young man that I know in this business. “
Solomon continues “He is constantly writing, acting, and performing. I mean, daily. He is always on the move and that's what it takes to be successful. The dude just doesn't stop. Anything that he is involved in is great and so I know Midnight Mirage is gonna rock! Be sure to catch him and his great band at all of their upcoming shows!" TS said Midnight Mirage’s CD will be ready for release some time next year. “Early 2012” he estimated.
The band was flying under the radar mainly because up until recently TS was focused on his multi-faceted solo career. “Yeah, we're new because I was riding solo until about 6 months ago when we decided to come together, but it's been very under wraps until now. People may know more about us as individuals than a band, but that will change.” One thing is certain; people in the know are definitely looking forward to the mysterious Midnight Mirage’s official unveiling.
My name is Phoenix and . . . that’s the bottom line.
- The Examiner
The 15 fastest accelerating artists across the Internet most likely to become the next big sound. Midnight Mirage is number 7 as of April 14, 2012. - Billboard/Next Big Sound
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
As radio and music aficionados again embrace the indelible joy of sing-along choruses and melodic music, the timing is in the stars for Midnight Mirage. Their attaché: five guys, organic instrumentation, anthemic pop-rock arrangements and lyrics with a panorama of dashed hopes engendered with spiritual reawakening. Indeed, consider this the moment that Midnight Mirage comes clearly into view.
The Los Angeles-based band ably fuses elements of accessible pop with grinding rock, a hint of soul and the flicker of elegant orchestration. Imagine Maroon 5 or OneRepublic with a shot of adrenalin. Id describe us as a younger, higher-energy version of those influences, offers front man and chief songwriter TS.
The party gets started July 10 with first single "Bad For You, a fervent guitar-infused pop-rocker about addictive love. Midnight Mirages debut EP of the same name will follow in August.
Already, the group has created formidable buzz before that first release hits, including 44,000+ Twitter followers, 11,000 Facebook Likes, 900+ YouTube subscribers and 84,500 streaming views. In addition, Midnight Mirage reached the top 10 on Billboards Next Big Sound Charts, which ranks the 15 fastest-accelerating artists on the Web; while I Shouldve Known was featured on ringtone site Myxer.com, generating 24,000+ downloads.
TS says, Online has created numerous opportunities for us. We now have fans around the world, which we hope will help make our music one of the next big things. It allows us to get our message out immediately and be in touch with our followers one on one. Its surely part of the mix today, and we dont take those connections for granted.
In fact, thanks to its savvy web presence, Midnight Mirage was invited to set up residency throughout the month of June at iconic Hollywood club The Mint, following gigs at similarly storied The Roxy. TS notes, Performing live is such a rush because you get that immediate response. Our job is to connect with the audienceto relate to them and make sure they feel something and have a good time. To feel their energy and throw it back is what playing live is all about. Our goal is for every fan to live in the moment while theyre with us.
The lead singer/songwriter has had plenty of time to learn about thriving in the moment. He left his New Jersey hometown at the age of 15 to pursue acting in L.A. Talk about timing: TS hit SoCal just as the 2007-2008 Hollywood Writers Strike was bearing its claws. Without wasting time, he revised course: Id been writing songs since I was 12 or 13, so I dove into music a lot more, with the idea of becoming a solo artist. In short order, networking led him to renowned producer Kevin Savigar, who has worked with the likes of Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, John Mellencamp, Pat Benatar, Marilyn Manson and Josh Gracin. TS realized the movie business could waitwhich, in fact, it did. In addition to his musical wares, the artists talent has led to acting and voiceover work out West.
The process of creating music is like giving birthonly seeing it grow up in a matter of hours or days, he says. In the end youre proud because youve created something with a message you wanted to get acrossdelivered in a package that is hopefully fun for people to listen to.
As TS and Savigar continued to collaborate, it became obvious that their music ideally lent itself to a full-on band, and TS surrendered the notion of solo status. Via auditions and referrals, he found the ideal accompanying quartet: guitarist Eytan Freedman from Michigan, keyboardist Chase Butters from Utah, bassist Josh Peek from Orange County, Calif., and drummer Gabriel Bonomi, all the way from Switzerland.
Producer Savigar notes, Midnight Mirage is one of the most exciting young bands Ive worked with. Their songs are about empowerment, loss, heartbreakand partyingwith arrangements that are tight, rhythmic and powerfully supportive of memorable melodic hooks. Each member shines individually and TS voice soars with passion. They are on the verge of something very big.
Edgy first single Bad For You, which TS and Savigar wrote with Emerson Swinford, came about via one of those magical writing sessions where all elements clicked. Being from Jersey, I wanted something bold and blunt with a devilish message, but playful at the same time, TS says. I had the song title and Kevin, Emerson and I started with the guitar riff, and it all came together in an hour and a half. You know its meant to be when that happens; it just flowed. We decided to add vocal harmonies to the guitar hook, which really gave the hook a unique flavor.
An accompanying music video will hit YouTube following the single release on July 24offering perspective from the girls purview, as she gets even with her man by decimating his Range Rover, dropping it 100 feet from a forklift. In the aftermath of realizing how bad we are for each other, she
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