Sol Phoenix

It is quite difficult to gauge a substantial grounding of a band based on a brief bio and a single demo, but I seem to be craving just a little more from the wildly exciting Sol and the May Tree Arc. Their name isn’t the most memorable on an “Oh yeah I can remember that” basis, but it surely sticks out in other ways. But if it is not the moniker you remember, I’m sure it can be the sound. The group’s current buzz-track is Tumblin Down, a quickly encapsulated romp through theatrical pop. The song recalls a bizarre mixture of Talking Heeds’ poetic imagery and ‘Guided by Voices’ under produced focus on the raw pop hook. Within that is a Radiohead like era of sense, with just a tad less outrageous synth. The drums float along in a muddy dragging nature which gives the song a substance and weight that is intriguing.
The track certainly feels like it could have more oomph, and I can only hope this feeling is not coming from the fact that this certainly sounds like a demo. I can only hope it is.
Regardless, the under produced quality is charming, and it makes for an enigmatic track despite its obvious shortcomings in the pure rock/pop landscape. But who needs high studio budgets? Who needs clean? Certainly not most bands and certainly not the May tree Arc. Tumblin Down is an oddly addictive and instantly charming piece of rock fervor, accentuated with a ‘Sonic Youth’ quality of ‘rockiness.’ Tumblin Down is fun and silly and a great introduction to a group we can only hope continues. - The Noise Beneath The Apple

It is quite difficult to gauge a substantial grounding of a band based on a brief bio and a single demo, but I seem to be craving just a little more from the wildly exciting Sol and the May Tree Arc. Their name isn’t the most memorable on an “Oh yeah I can remember that” basis, but it surely sticks out in other ways. But if it is not the moniker you remember, I’m sure it can be the sound. The group’s current buzz-track is Tumblin Down, a quickly encapsulated romp through theatrical pop. The song recalls a bizarre mixture of Talking Heeds’ poetic imagery and ‘Guided by Voices’ under produced focus on the raw pop hook. Within that is a Radiohead like era of sense, with just a tad less outrageous synth. The drums float along in a muddy dragging nature which gives the song a substance and weight that is intriguing.
The track certainly feels like it could have more oomph, and I can only hope this feeling is not coming from the fact that this certainly sounds like a demo. I can only hope it is.
Regardless, the under produced quality is charming, and it makes for an enigmatic track despite its obvious shortcomings in the pure rock/pop landscape. But who needs high studio budgets? Who needs clean? Certainly not most bands and certainly not the May tree Arc. Tumblin Down is an oddly addictive and instantly charming piece of rock fervor, accentuated with a ‘Sonic Youth’ quality of ‘rockiness.’ Tumblin Down is fun and silly and a great introduction to a group we can only hope continues. - The Noise Beneath The Apple

Flower pop Starts out capturing the mood of 1969 flower folk with lush vocal harmonies and unapologetically pretty chord changes. Then it starts to reveal itself as more of an ironic, almost snide song, like the Cowsills had suddenly been possessed by Jarvis Cocker. Intellectual pop, all the way - the songwriting, arrangement and lyrics are all ultra-smart and self-conscious. Leagues above the rest... - BADGNUS April 22nd, 2010 "
— - BADGNUS, Garageband.com (Apr 22, 2010), Garageband - Garageband

Flower pop Starts out capturing the mood of 1969 flower folk with lush vocal harmonies and unapologetically pretty chord changes. Then it starts to reveal itself as more of an ironic, almost snide song, like the Cowsills had suddenly been possessed by Jarvis Cocker. Intellectual pop, all the way - the songwriting, arrangement and lyrics are all ultra-smart and self-conscious. Leagues above the rest... - BADGNUS April 22nd, 2010 "
— - BADGNUS, Garageband.com (Apr 22, 2010), Garageband - Garageband

Being brought up in the sixties and seventies, I normally listened to the radio on my free time; this would lead to buying LPs and 45s. Yes, I grew up when vinyl was still king. There was only one place for music and that was the radio, in some cases American Bandstand. Different radio stations catered to different tastes, but the source of the music was pretty much the same. The record companies and music agents pretty much dictated what the audience was listening to.

Things have changed in the past fifteen years. With the internet, the way we experience music has evolved. With sites like MySpace and Gargeband.com, the public is being introduced to many new voices and styles. Musicians now have the option to self promote and to build up a fan base through the internet. All I can say is that this is very exciting era for the listener.

I have been listening to independent music for almost ten years now; some of the most talented artists are yet to be discovered. There are hits on the internet, waiting to be hits on the official airwaves and MTV. I have listened to some really great songs through independent music sites. I have downloaded some of these songs and I enjoy listening to these artists even more than mainstream music at times.

My experience with independent music began ten years ago, when I became a reviewer for a very popular music promotion site called Garageband.com and I have had a great deal of fun reviewing and listening to some truly talented individuals. The songs range from all categories, so whether you enjoy Gospel Music or Heavy Metal the choice is yours.

Creativity knows no bounds and on sites that promote independent music, I get to listen to music I would not find on the radio. It’s wonderful to be able to hear artists experiment with new types of sound. Many styles of music would not exist today if artists did not have some inventive freedom.

Of the artists I have come across on Garageband.com there are a couple of artists that just take my breath away. These two artists have very different styles, but are both are truly amazing. One of them performs music from the eighties, Anadmayi and some songs he his working on at the present. I’m a big fan of eighties music so I was really exited when I heard his music. The other artist totally amazed me with his beautiful voice and the melody of his one of his songs, this song kind of reminded me of some songs by the Who with some REM mixed Sol, The Eighties and Beyond

Being a huge fan of eighties music, I was really excited when I heard “Mankind (Blow your Mind)” it brought back memories of such great eighties bands, as Boys don’t Cry and Men without Hats. With its engaging melody and great hook, I really enjoy this song and that made me really want to know more about Sol and his music.

Sol (who’s given name is Jere Faison) began writing music at the age of nine, and he even started his first band at that age; the name of his first band was Urban Blight. Sol and his partner Keene Carse played with Urban Blight for ten years, even though Carse is still with Urban Blight, Sol left to go to the Berklee College of Music with his long time love, Elaine Vazquez.

Sol and Elaine later moved to Boston in 1981 and formed a band called Meta Terra. In Meta Terra, Sol also performed with Jon Karr, Lamar Lowder and Brian Pachham. Meta Terra was very successful and was on the verge of being signed to Chrysalis Records in 1986 when tragedy struck. Sol’s fiancée, Elaine was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and died soon after. As a result of this tragedy, the band soon broke up. The song, “Mankind (Blow Your Mind)” was one the songs that Meta Terra was going to release at that time. Sol has recently redone this song, if you would like to hear it just click the link above.

During that time, Sol tried to deal with the pain of loosing Elaine by getting involved in several musical projects in Boston area. He produced several artists in his studio, Infinity Studios. Several bands he produced were Club d’Elf, Patty Barkas, Batwel, Rada and Common Thrill.

Sol also has a huge repertoire of music in the vein of Anadmayi which is also known as Acid Jazz, Drum and Bass, Techno-tribal, and Trance Ambient. Sol made two albums in this genre titled Trance Missionary, and Aquadyad.

Currently Sol is working on several songs. These include:

Tumblin' Down c.2009
Silver Lining c.2009
The Long Way Down c.2008
Plasma Spangled Skin c.2008
Sol moved to the West coast two years ago and is working with Patty Barkas on their new song “Ordinary Life” He and Patty have collaborated over the last few years on several albums. If you want to listen to more of Sol’s music just visit his official site, http://www.myspace.com/SoltheMusic and experience more of Sol’s fantastic music. - Internetwriter62

Great vocals
And a great quirky beat too!.. the great vocals, the off beat arrangement, especially that bouncy little bass sound is very cool.

The harmonies are so damn tight they sound like an instrument, if you know what I mean - i.e. keys on a keyboard. Very very well done.

The super crunchy guitars made themselves heard over the course of the song, and that works well too.

Lyrics are cool - the fall and all... but well, kind of sweet ;)

I just wish the song was longer, It seemed to be heading into an orchestral/choir-ish break, but it stopped instead... more I say, give me more! - Garageband.com