Manic Bloom

Artist Information

Biography

Tour Highlights:
2010 Buzzfest at LP Field Nashville
CMJ Music Marathon NYC
NACA Central Regional Conference Showcase
Red Gorilla Music Fest (2009-2010)
2011 Music City Mayham Awards - "Best Rock Band" and "Best Bass Player"
Endorsed by David Eden and Warwick Guitars
Channel 1 News broadcast/advertised


Music played on and licensed to:
The Real World
Bad Girls Club
Fresh Meat II
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
Warren the Ape
The City
World Of Jenks
Married to Rock
The Spin Crowd and more.

_______________________________________________________


Beginnings are never easy.

Three years after forming in a room where the only pieces of furniture were a piano bench and a drum throne, Manic Bloom is finding its voice. It wasn't the delusion of grandeur or the promise of fame that inspired the five members to let go of everything and pursue their musical ambitions. That isn't quite the style of Nashville, Tennessee's "Epic Melodic Rock" band.

"We played plenty of shows to empty rooms when we were first starting out," drummer Jeff Brinkley admits. "It was during that time we had to ask ourselves a lot of questions about who we are and what we were trying to accomplish. If any of those answers had anything to do with money or stardom, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be where we are today."

In their 2010 sophomore release "In Loving Memory," listeners can hear some of the thoughts that were going through their heads. Visions of hope met with brutal struggles. Intense passion confronted with equally concentrated opposition. This dichotomy is what defines Manic Bloom, according to keys player Jeff Hildebrand. "The reality is that we all live in conflict. However, we've seen over and over again that if we persevere, the result can be beautiful."

And persevere they have, garnering Stereofame.com's Artist of the Month for July 2010, the "Best New Artist of 2009" award from Nashville's 102.9 The Buzz, Ourstage.com's October 2008 Grand Prize, and airtime on MTV and Oxygen. They also found themselves as the exclusive background music for the videos of internet sensations Dude Perfect, whom have over 18 million views on YouTube. "Almost immediately after [Dude Perfect] used our music, we started getting emails from people all over the globe," recalls frontman David Stevenson. "We were having to use online translators just to communicate with fans - it was surreal."

Manic Bloom approached the process of recording "In Loving Memory" differently than their first self titled EP. Though still completely self-engineered and produced, "we were very intentional while recording this time around," said bassist Andy Neale. "We were not going to be satisfied with just releasing a handful of new songs. We threw parts away and re-recorded entire tracks multiple times, and several melodies were rewritten weeks after we thought they were already solidified. We even completely scrapped one song because it didn't fit the cohesiveness of the others."

After emerging from their basement studio, which they have nicknamed "The Dungeon," they called upon Swedish mixing engineer Tobias Lindell (Kadawatha) and mastering engineer Richard Dodd (Kings of Leon, Green Day) for the finishing touches.

"Our first EP was mostly created while reflecting on the past," said guitarist Matt Lawrence. "[For this project], we focused a lot more on what's in front of us. This album is about everything after this moment. We're not stopping."

Instrumentation

Jeff Brinkley - Drums
Jeff Hildebrand - keys
Matt Lawrence - Guitar
Andy Neale - Bass
David Stevenson - Vocals

Discography

In Loving Memory (2010)
1. La Naissance
2. Never Back Down
3. Death and Conversation
4. A Thousand Angels
5. Toynbee
6. Push Off the Ground
7. In Loving Memory
8. Au Milieu

Manic Bloom EP (2008)
1. To the Edge
2. What Scares You Most
3. Running From the Scene
4. Tonight's When I Say Goodbye
5. Betrayer
6. Everything I Saved You From

Links

• Twitter
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Last.fm

Audio

• Mashup
  Listen  
• Never Back Down
  Listen  
• A Thousand Angels
  Listen  
• Push Off The Ground
  Listen  
• Running From The Scene (edit)
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Never Back Down
• A Thousand Angels
• Running From The Scene
• Push Off The Ground

Video

Short EPK 6-9-11 (1)

Manic Bloom Having a Good Time

Photo Gallery

Press

• "2009 Best New Artist"
  

  Winners of Nashville's The Local Buzz "Best New Artist" 2009

• Stereofame.com's July 2010 Artist of the Month [+ Show ]
  

  More and more these days, it seems that popular music is slipping into a homogenized smear of carbon...More and more these days, it seems that popular music is slipping into a homogenized smear of carbon-copied bands, echoing the efforts of past masters until their product is reduced to what feels like a mere hum of static nonsense. Almost every time you turn on the television, from regurgitated scripted dramas to car commercials, there’s a vaguely pleasing, unobtrusive piece of mood-setting music that sounds like just about anything else you’ve ever heard.
  
  To combat this dumbing down of music, bands nowadays must strive to achieve a sound that can only be described with the most overused, and often misused, word in rock literature: originality. Because the struggle to be unique has become the litmus test by which all bands seem to judge themselves, it usually leaves them with something that is either sterile imitation or, even worse, unlistenable.
  
  Neither of these pitfalls has befallen Manic Bloom, voted as Stereofame.com’s July 2010 Artist of the Month. The Nashville-based quintet serves as an example of how a band should carve out their own identity in a business where false ones are being manufactured daily. Manic Bloom seems to understand that the true secret to originality (there, I said it) is in the careful combination of styles and influences that previously remained separate.
  
  “The five of us all come from very, very different musical backgrounds,” lead singer David Stevenson said. “I grew up in country and gospel…while Matt (Lawrence, guitarist) is into bands like Rage Against the Machine with heavier sounds and funk-style parts.”
  
  From the tight, snappy R&B-inspired musicianship made popular by Maroon 5 to the swirling, dark and fuzzed-out guitar lines reminiscent of Muse, Manic Bloom is certainly on to something. To say that they sound like either of these bands would be inaccurate, just as it would be inaccurate to say that they sound like both. What’s really at work here is the ability to create something that includes elements of already familiar music, while leaving the listener unable to put their finger on exactly why it’s so familiar.
  
  Above all else, though, Manic Bloom hopes to create a reason for music fans to become invested in the music they listen to again.
  
  “We want people to experience music,” Stevenson said. “But you have to make a conscious decision to seek out something that you can really connect with and not just passively absorb the bubblegum stuff over and over.”
  
  The listeners on Stereofame.com have done just that, a fact that Stevenson said he doesn’t take lightly.
  
  “Stereofame is a true community,” he said. “It’s obvious that the people on the site really pay attention to music and are passionate just from the feedback you get.”
  To find out more about Manic Bloom and the release of their upcoming EP "In Loving Memory," visit www.manicbloom.com

• "Their live show is incomparable" [+ Show ]
  

  I have to say, their high energy drew me in and captivated me until the very end... they are as soli...I have to say, their high energy drew me in and captivated me until the very end... they are as solid as what you hear on their six track demo.
  -JB

• "Manic Bloom is certainly a group to watch" [+ Show ]
  

  ...epic piano, catchy vocals and breakneck drums to a pitch that is, more often than not, more frene......epic piano, catchy vocals and breakneck drums to a pitch that is, more often than not, more frenetic and frenzied than anything else you can generally find in the alternative/progressive rock world.
  -Michael Aguilar

• "Their unique sound, with heavy keyboards and perfectly blended vocals has gained them attention " [+ Show ]
  

  Somehow Manic Bloom landed in Nashville, a band's dream town and the home of Country music. The only...Somehow Manic Bloom landed in Nashville, a band's dream town and the home of Country music. The only problem was they played rock. But that didn't stop them. It instead fueled their fire to be the best rock band Nashville has seen in a while.
  Hildee, keys player, stated, "We've all seen people who have let go of their dreams to make ends meet, and people who just get stuck playing some part in life that they really don't want. We don't have that option. We were made to do this."
  And made to do it is right. After countless hours, days of no sleep, they were able to self record their first EP and that is opening doors for them beyond their wildest dreams.
  Their unique sound, with heavy keyboards and perfectly blended vocals has gained them attention from being named 'Nashville's Best New Artist of 2009" by 102.9 the Local Buzz to having their music selected for no less than ten TV shows, including The Real World, The City, and Fame, along with a German TV Commercial. They are also the Featured Band this month on Sunset Island Music.
  From the driving to 'Running from the Scene' to the soul moving 'Betrayer' (personal Favorite) Manic Bloom is sure to please a wide array of listeners. They describe their work as Epic-Melodic-Rock...I agree, for they are a 'Manic Bloom' of sound.
  

• "You won’t be disappointed" [+ Show ]
  

  These guys put on a fantastic show! They are all phenomenal musicians and an extremely tight band. ....These guys put on a fantastic show! They are all phenomenal musicians and an extremely tight band. ...It is great to see a band where each member is equally a master of their instrument.
  -Keith Stancil

• Battle of the Bands Champion
  

  Winners of Nashville's 102.9 The Local Buzz radio Battle of the Bands contest. May, 2009.

• October 2008 Music Finals [+ Show ]
  

  Love the hook on Running from the Scene.... Song packs a real punch. I think the band and the tune ...Love the hook on Running from the Scene.... Song packs a real punch. I think the band and the tune does [Ourstage] proud.
  -Daniel Palmer

Setlist

Typical set is 60 minutes, and we perform original music. However, we have a number of covers that go well with our style that we like to play as well.
Originals
- Running From the Scene
- Tonight's When I Say Goodbye
- Betrayer
- Everything I Saved You From
- Answer
- In Loving Memory
- Toynbee
- Push Off the Ground
- 1000 Angels
- What Scares You Most
- Never Back Down
- Death and Conversation

Basic Requirements

Calendar