Mod Amish
San Diego, California, United States
Music
Press
... a nice break from the dance beat filled pop punk that floods the scene today. I thoroughly enjoyed the album. - San Diego Punk
Sometimes all you need music to do is to clear your head. Forget about revolution, forget about experimentation and just return to the things that you loved in the first place. For me it is effervescent hook driven indie-rock, and that is exactly what this is - short sharp jabs of guitar, swirls of drums, major chords, melodies obscured by the flurry but most definitely in there. The first three songs are out of the speakers and tattooed on my brain before I even know what is happening; then there’s a melodic fizz of guitars knitting me a skull cap of bliss. ‘Gone to Pieces’ is the apogee of this, a chorus that just repeats a simple refrain, direct visceral rock with the directness of the Ramones with some Replacements scruffiness thrown in. - Americana UK
Talk about a grower. I swear everything about this disc just keeps getting better each and every time I play it. On first listen, I was attracted to the X-ish intensity and vocal harmonies of the lead-off cut, "Sangreal." Then, on next listen, it was the mighty powerful Husker Du, garage, alt-punk of "Fade," and "Involving a Hearse," that caught my ear. Just check out those choruses for a trip of beauty right back to Minnesota in the late '80's. Third listen brought me face to face with the stark, languid, Joy Division or early Jesus and Mary Chain-esque melody of "September," a song I just can't stop playing. Slow and deliberate, like a beaver building a dam, the song layers upon itself all the way to the big noise-rock chorus with melody hooks big enough to catch a whale. "Gone to Pieces," finishes the first half of the album with a melodic fuzz-punk blast of pure alt-rock energy. And we've still got 5 tracks to go. This is alt-rock done right, laden with melody and drive, and completely ignoring the mainstream. Next time you get tired of the same ol' crap on what passes for radio, tune into the Ripple Radio Show. We'll be playing cuts off this baby for months to come. Heaping on piles of influences from the past and forcing them kicking and screaming through their own amps, Mod Amish will satisfy your alt-musical itch. God bless the underground.
- The Ripple Effect
"Mod Amish fuse ear-splitting punk and extraordinarily catchy pop on their fine second album, 'No Use For Sunshine.' Inspired by similarly melodic alt. rock outfits Husker Du, The Pixies, and Foo Fighters, the Southern California four piece are on the verge of great things."
- Rock N Reel Magazine
Three chords is pretty much where Mod Amish’s No Use begins and ends, but in the case of these San Diegans, the simplest formula is the most effective. Axeslinger Shannon Jones harmonizes with himself atop a flurry of rugged riffage, with inspired salvos ranging from the incessantly catchy “September” to the spastic, demi-metal throwdown “The Vatican Song,” which closes out the album in a cathartic bloodbath. Sunshine is a record that aficionados of Hüsker Dü or Blink 182 can find common ground on… and how often does that happen? - The Big Takeover
EPIC! EPIC! EPIC!Two huge thumbs up for this one. Mod Amish, FOR THE WIN!
- venomousformaldehyde.blogspot.com
Discography
Mod Amish (2006)
No Use For Sunshine (September 30, 2008)
Photos
Bio
“This is alt-rock done right, laden with melody and drive, and completely ignoring the mainstream. Heaping on piles of influences from the past and forcing them kicking and screaming through their own amps, Mod Amish will satisfy your alt-musical itch. God bless the underground.” -The Ripple Effect
"Mod Amish fuse ear-splitting punk and extraordinarily catchy pop…the Southern California four piece are on the verge of great things." -Rock and Reel Magazine (UK)
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-At the end of the day, the only thing that matters in music is how good the song is. That’s where Mod Amish come in. These Les Paul wielding aggropop/alterna tunesmiths use words and overdriven amps to alchemize loud pop gold out of thin air. As one reviewer put it “Mod Amish’s songs are out of the speakers and tattooed on my brain before I even know what is happening.”
Based out of San Diego, the MAs are using the southwest corner of the map as a launching point for their aural vinegar & pop tart assaults. Fueled by influences from the Beatles to Husker Du to KISS, Mod Amish realize that may only have one opportunity to get your attention and, whether live or in the studio, they take that opportunity seriously.
After the release of their second album, “No Use For Sunshine” in September of 2008, rave reviews began pouring in for the band and these virtual unknowns began turning heads on the national scene. With their first single “September” leading the charge and without label support, they spent three weeks on the CMJ Top 200 charts with airplay on over 100 stations in the US and Canada. Further accolades were thrown their way when they were named 1 of 10 winners out of over 5000 entries in the first ever Converse Shoes/Downtown Records “Get Out of the Garage” music contest.
2009 is already shaping up to be a monster for the Amish. They've inked deals with MTV and PBS to have their music included on several televevision programs and have recently been featured on Indiefeed...iTunes top podacast.
Presently, the band is harvesting their collective soul and writing material for the next album to be recorded this fall...its tentatively titled "My God, Its Full of Stars."
Don’t just sit there reading about it though. Pour yourself a glass of something refreshing, slap on a good pair of headphones and dig into the sounds. When you’re walking down the street later today playing air guitar to that awesome tune in your head… you’ll be thanking Mod Amish.
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Within 6 months of the release of “No Use For Sunshine”:
-Mod Amish came in first place in the Converse Shoes/Downtown Records “Get Out of the Garage” contest with the song “September.” There were over 5,000 entries into the contest.
-"September" was selected and is being featured on Indiefeed…iTunes most popular podacast.
-UCLA radio named Mod Amish one of their best unsigned acts of 2008.
-Mod Amish has spent 3 weeks on the CMJ Top 200 College Charts peaking at #143. This was done by an unsigned band with no label support.
-The single “September” was featured in the new Armand Montiel film “3 Ways To Sunday.”
-“No Use For Sunshine” was chosen as a CD BABY EDITOR’S Pick on cdbaby.com.
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