Those Mockingbirds

For their second release, Those Mockingbirds seem to have traded in the pop rock sound that was evident in their debut EP, No Symmetry, for more of a darker yet still hooky sound. Alongside the edgier take on composition in Fa Sol La, the lyrics have a melancholic feel to them as well. The six-track EP starts out with “Mountain Slang I,” a dark, moody instrumental that leads into the explosive second cut, “Coast To Coast.” The tune grabs the listener with its catchy, angst-filled lyrics over the closest thing to pop you’ll get from this record. In contrast to the fiery previous track, “Don’t Stray” is fairly somber with a slick, bluesy guitar solo.

Picking up the tempo, “The Bloodiest Gums” has a funky, haunted fun house vibe to it. The tone in the violin and in the keys is spine tingling. The tune stands out amongst the rest of Fa Sol La mainly because of the approach the band took. “We’re Animals,” the fifth cut, has a classic rock vibe similar to “Don’t Stray,” except it has a harder feel and blustering vocals. Much like the beginning of the album, the ending closes with an instrumental piece titled “Mountain Slang II.” Unlike the moodier first track, the ending song was relaxing and put my mind at peace.

Fa Sol La got a rise out of me like an energy drink despite its murky feel. I have a feeling that this release won’t get old. Kudos to you, Those Mockingbirds. - The Aquarian Weekly

Absolutepunk.net features "Coast To Coast". - AbsolutePunk.net

Those Mockingbirds were featured as "the band carrying the grunge sound 20 years later" in WCBS 880am's Entertainment News piece on the 20th anniversary of Grunge Music alongside Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. - 9/23/11 - WCBS

In an industry dominated by pop and rap acts, rock bands often struggle to find their niche in the music world. But New Jersey band "Those Mockingbirds" has already succeeded in making a mark in the music world as they release their new EP "Fa Sol La" today.
The self-described "modern rock meets classical" band has already been leading the pack in their home state of a rock/folk revival with songs that "add layers and dimensions that are uncommon in 'typical rock'."
"Getting people to even pay attention when there are hundreds of thousands of other bands fighting for that same attention is a huge struggle," Mockingbirds frontman Adam Bird tells FOX411.
But with the help of a unique promotion campaign involving YouTube celebrity, 'The Numa Numa Guy,' Those Mockingbird's first EP has already debuted at #1 on Amazon.com's Movers & Shakers chart.
Click here to see Those Mockingbirds performing on Fox's Fearless Music.
Touring the East Coast, the group, who lists Smashing Pumpkins, Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin as their inspirations, has built loyal fan base.
"Seeing people show up to see your band in cities you've only been to once or twice is mind-blowing," Bird said. "When they know the words to your songs, its even crazier, and really helps fuel the fire."
Released Tuesday, "Fa Sol La" is available for free download by visiting the group's website.
Click here to download the EP.
Those Mockingbirds will be performing upcoming shows in New York City at Bowery Electric and in New Jersey at Brick City Sound Riot.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/09/13/new-rock-band-those-mockingbirds-releases-ep-fa-sol-la/#ixzz1cfIApP7f - FoxNews

Fa Sol La starts off and ends with two fairly short instrumental tracks that Rob (bass, vocals) told us “seemed like such perfect bookends to the album”. Their guitarist, Jon, played a big part in coming up with “Mountain Slang I” and “Mountain Slang II”, which really do nicely wrap the whole album and make it a cohesive work.

After the mellow instrumental track, Those Mockingbirds waste no time showing us how much they can rock out with their tune “Coast To Coast”. The powerful chorus is guaranteed to get stuck in your head for a long time. The song also feature back up vocalist Tory Anne Daines, whose voice compliments this song extremely well. When we asked Rob what kind of artists inspired their sound, especially in this song, he cited Smashing Pumpkins, Hum and The White Stripes.

Those Mockingbird’s music is familiar but also refreshing—they’re “not trying to reinvent the wheel”, but instead just make a “really, really good wheel”. Their captivating sound and assortment of musical styles are shown in the next couple of tracks. “Don’t Stray” is the band’s “power ballad” which surprises listeners by adding violin to mix. Even though all of the songs are so different, they work together well to show off what the band is all about. Rob explained that in the very beginning of the creation process for the EP, the band discussed wanting to “achieve some level of diversity to the sound” and explained that “it would’ve been too easy and predictable for us to just fall back into the guitar rock sound”.

We highly suggest that you check out Fa Sol La. You can stream the whole album below, and check out Those Mockingbirds on OurStage! - OurStage.com

"Coast To Coast" featured as an Editors Pick. - OurStage.com

1. Ryan McAllister - Bell Tower
2. Glamour Of the Kill – Feeling Alive
3. Those Mockingbirds – Coast to Coast
4. Roman Holiday – The Long Way Home
5. Nicole Ferris – Just Don’t Matter
6. This Old Ghost – This lifeboat is for Gold, Not People
7. Danielle Barbe - Wango Tango
8. Mickey Shiloh – Pass Out - Kings of A&R

Video interview - The Aquarian

When you hear of a band that’s only been on the scene for a year, you might question their talent. Have they been around long enough to attract attention? Have they had enough time to practice and become a solid band? Those Mockingbirds are a band that you would answer “yes” to those questions. Forming in early 2010, they have attracted a rising fan base and continue to turn heads. Members Adam Bird, Tory Daines, Dan Kreiner, Kevin Walters, and Rob Fitzgerald released their debut EP titled “No Symmetry” in the spring and they have just released their newest single, “The Chain,” which happens to be a Fleetwood Mac cover. It’s dangerous territory covering a Fleetwood Mac song, but they do it with grace and it’s damn good.

Here is “The Chain” by Those Mockingbirds. If you love the song and can’t get enough of it, follow the link provided below which allows you to download the song for free. - Sounds That Matter

dear Those Mockingbirds: fucking a, of course I'll check out your cover of The Chain. LOVE that song... bit.ly/hWnbVu
1:53 PM Dec 20th, 2010 via web - Ear Farm (via Twitter)

Montclair, New Jersey rockers Those Mockingbirds have released a cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic “The Chain”. Check it out here http://bit.ly/hWnbVu and catch the band live at Asbury Lanes on New Years Eve with The Gay Blades. - The Audio Perv

Those Mockingbirds announced some tour dates with A Fire With Friends, followed by a few dates supporting The Gay Blades. Dates can be seen in the replies. Also, the band is currently in the studio working on a new record. - Absolute Punk

Those Mockingbirds have released a studio version of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." You can download the track here. The band will be supporting The Gay Blades on New Years Eve at Asbury Lanes in NJ. - Absolute Punk

This month’s featured Artist is Those Mockingbirds, hailing from Montclair, NJ. Those Mockingbirds are made up of Adam Bird (vocals, guitar), Tory Daines (vocals, violin, piano), Rob Fitzgerald (bass), Dan Kreiner (guitar) and Kevin Walters (drums).
The quintet released their debut EP – No Symmetry in late Spring 2010. They have been promoting this latest release by touring, releasing a music video for the single “Honest? Honest”, and a unique promotional campaign featuring the Numa Numa Guy ( www.savenuma.com ). The band started working on their new record in the Fall of 2010 and in between writing and recording sessions they released “The Chain”, a studio cover of a Fleetwood Mac song they have been performing on tour.
Eat Sleep Breathe Music had the opportunity to interview Adam Bird (vocals, guitar) and Tory Daines (vocals, violin, piano). We found out how they came together, why they are called Those Mockingbirds, and what are some of their favorite NJ venues to play.
ESBM: You’re a relatively new band, can you tell us when and how you came together?
TD: Those Mockingbirds started over a year ago with almost an entirely different lineup than we have now. At our first show we played with The Matches, we recorded an EP, went on tour, and kidnapped the Numa Numa guy. We’re now joined by Rob, Kevin, and Dan and we couldn’t be happier playing together! It is because of them that you will notice so many changes sonically on “The Chain,” on the next release, and live.
ESBM: How did you pick the name Those Mockingbirds?
TD: Adam has a fear of mockingbirds. When we’re in NYC he often confuses pigeons for mockingbirds, and when he sees one it upsets him very much so he says “Ohhhh those mockingbirds!!” and runs.
AB: She wasn’t supposed to tell you that, but its true.
ESBM: You have your own management label and signed a distribution deal with Sidecho, how was this direction decided upon?
TD: We felt that the old business model was out of date and made our own plan. Sidecho was really on the same page as us and felt that working together would be great, so we did.
ESBM: Tell us about the cover you did of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”, what made you want to cover this song?
AB: I grew up listening to ‘Rumors’ in the way other kids listen to Raffi. Its my moms favorite album of all time, and I knew those songs like the back of my hand by the time i was 10. So, I kinda always wanted to try a song from that album, and had suggested it in all the bands i had ever played in, finally, my band mates agreed. So, Tory and I worked out a version of “The Chain” and considered another song or two from the record, but “The Chain” really spoke to us and we felt we were doing a pretty good job with it, and here we are.
ESBM: You recently released a video for “We Are The Antidote” off your No Symmetry EP, that was created by one of your fans. Can you tell us about it?
AB: A guy named Colin told us he had made a video for the song, and asked if we wanted to see it. We said “sure why not?” and we ended up kinda surprised by how well he matched up the clips with the lyrics and themes in the song. We asked him to make a few small changes, and we gave him some footage of us performing the song, which no one had seen before, and it was ready to go!
ESBM: Being a band from NJ what is your favorite NJ venue to perform?
TD: My favorite is Maxwell’s in Hoboken because they give us a gourmet dinner and the show is usually packed. The bands favorite is The Meatlocker in Montclair, because it’s our homebase. If you haven’t been to The Meatlocker before, it is just that, an old meatlocker stuffed with old car seats, broken pianos, and a stage!
AB: I agree with both of those answers but would like to chime in that i think Tory may be slightly overzealous by calling that a stage…
ESBM: You are currently working on new material, when can we expect to hear some new tracks?
TD: When you come to a show! We are currently playing new material, you can see our upcoming shows at www.facebook.com/ThoseMockingbirds We do hope to make it into the studio again soon, we certainly have enough material to fill one album and then some.
AB: We are shy about giving exact dates but recorded stuff should be coming soon. - Eat Sleep Breathe Music

Indie alternative act Those Mockingbirds just covered an excellent version of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain which can be heard here.
The debuted at #1 on the Amazon.com Movers & Shakers charts with their EP which was produced by Shawn Kimon (Stellastar, The Hold Steady, Cobra Starship).
The band will perform at Angels & Kings in NYC on January 10th.
Contact: adammockingbird@gmail.com - Kings of A&R

Those Mockingbirds is a contributing guest blogger and featured artist on NJ.com/Newark Star Ledger website. - NJ.com/Star Ledger

Save Numa Numa guy video is most viewed user submitted video on Tosh.0 website - 3/30/10.

**this section has since been removed from website, no URL available. - Tosh.0 User Submitted Videos

New Jersey band Those Mockingbirds know how to make a good entrance, as “Honest? Honest.” starts with a guitar riff that sounds at first like a dizzy version of Television’s iconic Marquee Moon and then some other punk band fronted by a broken musicbox – a good way to draw attention. It’s hard to distinguish whether this is an anthem decrying peer pressure, a general comment on hedonistic youth ephemera or a diatribe against drug abuse but either way it will invite some disapproving finger-wagging from parents everywhere, though they may take some comfort in the immaculate punctuation of the song title (Hey, it’s possible!).
It’s easy to like this song. It seems simple enough on the surface but there’s a lot of enjoyable harmonizing and other musical trickery that might not be obvious from the first few listens. It’s a lot wiser than it’s youthful outlook would suggest.
Any fans of power-pop will love this. It’s definitely not distinct from other music of that genre but it still makes for a brilliantly infectious song. The chorus in particular is spectacularly inviting, you’d have to be made of stone or suffering from laryngitis or crippling shyness not to join in and sing along. If you like that sort of group participation then you should be fumbling madly against the computer keyboard now to hear this, it’ll be perfect for you, life-changing almost, to the extent that buying a new pair of shoes changes your life, not a whole lot, but you have much nicer shoes than you did. - Adequacy.net

Save Numa Numa Guy promotion (www.SaveNuma.com) - 
30,000+ YouTube views - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GW17Nnyl4I
20,000+ downloads
- Viral marketing

For those of you with a hidden sweet tooth, somewhat-newcomers Those Mockingbirds from Montclair, NJ, may be quite the treat. Heavy on keyboard effects and sugary vocals, the No Symmetry EP was released in April and quickly got 50,000 downloads—in part, because they’re talented, and in part because they kidnapped the Numa Numa guy (I’m sure it’s a long story). - The Aquarian

"Honest? Honest." included on Consequence Of Sound 100th Friday Mixtape. April 23, 2010. - Consequence Of Sound

No Symmetry EP included on AOL Spinner.com Listening Party - Spinner.com

No Symmetry EP debuts #1 on Amazon.com Mover & Shakers chart - Amazon.com