auBrey

The six best bands in the Midwest will compete for $35,000 in gear and prizes on May 12th at Chicago’s Elbo Room

PENNSAUKEN, NJ — April 15, 2005 – Disc Makers, the nation’s leading independent CD and DVD manufacturer, has announced the six finalists for this year’s Independent Music World Series (IMWS) Midwest showcase. The artists selected by the editors of Billboard Magazine to compete for the $35,000 grand prize are Aubrey (Lawrence, KS), Jaded Era (Cuyahoga, OH), The Louie’s (Ashton, IL), The Radio Hour (Chicago, IL), Troubadours (Taylor, MI), and Treologic (Chicago, IL). Over 600 bands submitted entries into this year’s contest that identifies the top unsigned talent in the Midwest. The six finalists will compete on May 12th at the Elbo Room in Chicago, IL.

“Independent artists keep the music industry energized and thriving,” explains Tony van Veen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Disc Makers. “The IMWS is one of the ways we at Disc Makers are able to recognize and reward these artists for their talent and hard work. The showcase event gives indie artists the opportunity to network with industry pros that can help them expose their music to an even wider audience. We are delighted to again join forces with our sponsors to support independent music in the Midwest.”

The showcase will be judged by music industry executives and media, and will feature live performances from the six finalists. In addition, Disc Makers will produce a compilation CD for the Midwest region, including music from the finalists, which will be distributed to an exclusive list of industry professionals and radio stations.

The $35,000 grand prize package features everything independent musicians need for a career boost including a complete CD manufacturing package, post-production sweetening, and promotional posters from Disc Makers, a complete Digital Audio Workstation from Alienware, IK Multimedia’s Studio Bundle recording software, professional Shure microphones, Fender guitars and amplifiers, a 5-piece drum kit from DW Drums, EXL110 Electric Guitar Strings and EXL170 Electric Bass Strings from Dean Markley, a free copy of METAJAM™ from Broadjam, Remo drumheads, a Sabian cymbal package, and a one year membership to TAXI. Additional event partners include Sonicbids, Electronic Musician, and the Illinois Entertainer.

Produced by Disc Makers, the IMWS is the country’s most exciting and popular live music showcase series, giving musicians a unique opportunity to display their talents, make valuable industry contacts, and compete for the $35,000 grand prize package. IMWS showcases are held in each of four regions throughout the country (Northeast, West, Midwest, and Southeast) and are open to musicians of all genres not currently signed to a major record label. Recent winners have included Los Angeles’ bang SUGAR bang (West 2005), Pemberton (NJ)’s Chinua Hawk (Northeast 2004), Nashville’s Rich Creamy Paint (Southeast 2004), and last year’s Midwest winner Shipwreck Union (Detroit, MI).
- Billboard

Now, after much of the rubbish I've listened to, this is a CD (Honey and the Shame) thats pleasing to my abused ears! - 103.7 3WAY-FM - Australia

The Southern States have produced a new band. So what? Well, this band is different but calls on the styles of yesteryear turning everything on its head, mixing it up with great harmonies and creating an alternative pop sound all of its own. If I did not know otherwise, I would say this was a new wave Brit Pop band, but that could well be deemed an insult to a very tight and creative band. If you like your music with flashbacks to the sixties but very much of the noughties, then this is THE album for you. Relish it! Tony Bates Station Librarian Highlands 100.7 FM Australia - Tony Bates Station Librarian Highlands 100.7 FM Australia

Aubrey ‘Honey & the Shame’ (DeafCat) - This Lawrence five-piece band dances along the same precarious line most experimental-pop bands must navigate: the thin line between healthy ambition and artistic excess. Most of “Honey” falls squarely on the better side. Aubrey’s songs are more than just pop compositions; they’re diverse but interlocking episodes in sound, mood and personality. Jon Ulasien conducts this haute-pop orchestra, which gets some outside help (drums, trumpet) on five tracks. Otherwise it’s all Aubrey on guitars, piano, bass, drums, synths and cello. Their sound is so elusive it can be hard to pin down; comparisons are even harder. But the style, here and there, suggests Kevin Gilbert’s Toy Matinee, the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, solo Roy Wood, 10cc, Steely Dan, McCartney on “Ram” … you get the picture. These are big, busy songs designed and crafted to hold lots of energy, express lots of flavor and bring you back for more surprises.

Timothy Finn - Pop Music Editor
- The Kansas City Star

At DeutschlandRadio we’re always looking for interesting cool new music. As it was in the case of Aubrey, it gave me the opportunity to talk not only about a new CD but also about a trend setting band. From what I can see, the DeafCat and Aubrey family is clearly changing the landscape of current Indie rock, for the good. That fact alone is worthwhile reporting about. Thanks for what you do.

I'm excited to see what's coming.

Oliver Schwesig
German National Public Radio
- DeutschlandRadio

Reviewed by Wade Kelly

I don’t know much, but I know one thing for sure. Five ambitious local whipper-snapper musicians are trying to take over, and I’m not going to be the idiot that tries to stop them. They call themselves Aubrey and they are working hard at “making it” like only kids their age can.

Two years out of high school and full of enough determination to power a freight train, Aubrey seems to be popping up in all the right places lately: in print, on decent local bills and on Web sites. After listening to their most recent release “Honey and the Shame,” (and perusing their glossy press pack, complete with Aubrey logo-ed notepad) I do hear all their declared influences loud and clear. It’s true, Radiohead, The Beatles, Coldplay and The Beach Boys are all here and speaking through these young musicians. I even hear a few others like defunct locals The Anniversary, Steely Dan, and early Genesis, but there is something else more appealing here that I’d like to mention. Aubrey’s resolve is equaled only by their gentle pop experimentation—just enough to make it interesting, but not enough to lose the thought entirely.

“Honey and the Shame” is both refreshing and inviting, though at times a bit over- or underdeveloped in terms of its delivery and continuity. Songs like “Turbulence” and “Not Guilty” seem a bit trendy at times for my taste, echoing the recent works of bands like The Shins and Rooney by utilizing overtly ’60s pop rhythms, vocal melodies and keyboard parts.
Conversely, songs like “Don’t Hold Your Breath”, “Chameleon Jukebox” and “Shuttered Release” are replete with sonic texture and sincere emotion and are quite frankly better musical works than 80 percent of what I’ve heard from most of our regional bands in the last five years.

As a local musician creeping up on 30, I have more than a few words of wisdom for these youngsters, but honestly, I know they don’t really need them.


- The Lawrencian

Two years out of high school, the five-piece band is sitting on a remarkable debut album titled “Honey and the Shame.” ..it’s a delicious journey through all things pop – the dreamy post-production of Air, the jazzy bounce of Badly Drawn Boy; and the washy Brit-pop guitars of Coldplay and/or prepubescent Radiohead. - Lawrence Journal World

This a great disc. It's one of those pieces of work that doesn't lend itself to easy format categorization, and I like that. The arrangements are richly orchestrated, and yet catchy and hook-y. This is post-modern "pop" music at its finest. Lawrence's music scene must be an exciting one, if only for the band Aubrey's place in it. Jeffrey Jones, PM Edition producer/host WOJB-FM, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa--Reserve, WI - WOJB -FM

It'd be fascinating to see the CDs sitting around Aubrey's rehearsal space. Several songs from the Lawrence band's latest, Honey and the Shame, suggest Style Council records under open guitar cases, a well-loved copy of ELO's Greatest Hits sitting neglected, an autographed copy of an Of Montreal EP sitting by the sizzle cymbal — stuff from bands that like their pop music sweet and messy. Honey, with 13 songs in 35 minutes and quirky titles like "Machine Gun Honey," has some of the warning signs of dangerously sticky pop smear. But Aubrey has tapped into what Nick Lowe, 30 years ago, affectionately labeled "Pure Pop for Now People." Aubrey makes one-minute bits of contemplation ("Becoming Two") as involving as a four-minute mile ("The Mask You Wear at Noon") during which the band shifts gears more frequently than a prog-rock epic and still winds up with a tune you whistle. The songs are full of string- and trumpet-driven melodies and atmospheric interludes perfect for Alfie (the old Michael Caine version), but their tunes never wind up sounding dated.
By Mike Warren
Article Published Jul 13, 2006
- The Pitch

A well presented CD album, Aubrey's 'Honey & The Shame' features 13 well preserveable musical specimens from a new age. In a pop, musical soundtrack vain 'Honey & The Shame' is very much easy listening never far from the edge of different. Interesting creative arrangements in 'Not Guilty' give the album a Beatles/McCartney type seal of approval. 'Tennis Shoes' again a unique quality track which will have your feet tapping. The moods of tranquility in 'Don't Hold Your Breath' and 'Becoming Two' expose a talent that is being fined tuned for bigger things. Aubrey delivers! Rol James - AmsterJammin 2006 - AmsterJammin Radio - Netherlands