Episode 10

Episode 10 left the docking station late on a cold and rainy night in February, amid threats of sleet and snow, bringing you the finest in pod safe music and entertainment.

Of course, you’re still encouraged to visit the Dark Asteroid Store and see what’s available — what a great time to buy a large mug and fill it with hot chocolate to sip while you’re listening to the latest episode of the Dark Asteroid Radio Program!

Artists and titles from this episode included:

Steve Pierson — (Secrets)
Joe Sibol — (Hot Sexy Girls)
David Henderson — (Make It Go Away)
The Invasion — (Constancy)
Pan — (Ophelia’s Song)

Steve Pierson — Steve Pierson is an LA based blues musician who grew up in Washington D.C. and has his roots in Oklahoma. BLUES HEAD is his debut CD that showcases his many musical influences and interpretations on the blues. Soulful vocals, searing guitars, and gritty acoustic slides all come together on this CD of mostly original music. BLUES HEAD also features Grammy winning Wings guitarist, Laurence Juber; Joe Walsh keyboardist, Michael Murphy; Steve Miller Band bassist, Gerald Johnson; and Taj Mahal drummer, Tony Braunagel. Find out more at http://www.stevepierson.com.

Joe Sibol — We featured Joe in Episode 8; look in that entry for his information.

David Henderson — We also featured David in Episode 8; look in that entry for his information as well.

The Invasion — We could find very little biographical information about this group other than that their home town is Nampa, Idaho and that “Aaron” does lead vocals, guitar, and keyboard. Find them at  http://www.garageband.com/artist/theinvasion
and http://www.the-invasion.com.

Pan — Pan date back to 1998, when the early pop careers of Matteo Curcio (b. 14.10.74) and Marinella Mastrosimone (b. 29.06.75) converged.

They started working together with a psychedelic-rock project called Sunscape (releasing “Sunscape – I” for the Italian indie label Mellow Records in 1999), Matteo on the bass and Marinella on backing vocals.

Then Marinella appears as vocalist on a couple of release of Transonia, an electro-house duo (Luca Baldini, the other half of the project, now is an acclaimed international DJ/Producer).

Later on they joined Giöbia, an alternative-rock project (releasing the single “Caught in Analogic Memories” followed by the album “Beyond the Stars”, both for the UK label Silent Revolution).

The pair then started developing their vision in the intimacy of a duo.

The musical roots of Matteo and Marinella are various. While Matteo got caught in electronic music since Kraftwerk and has loved music of The Orb, KLF, Orbital, Daft Punk, Cinematic Orchestra, K&D, Fila Brazillia, Marinella was listening the Italian progressive rock of the ’70 such as Area, PFM, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, and later on the Indian classical music, getting a degree in Indian ethnomusicology, then studying at the Benares Hindustani University.

Their common ground is Jazz music, which they both love (Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Billie Holiday among their favorites).

This Micromusic EP has been published thanks to a contest called Creamusica. Pan has been selected from over 2000 bands throughout Italy, and the record is distributed in Italy by the electronics chain store Saturn and Mediaworld.

Pan are currently working on the five next tracks that will make, along with the songs of the Micromusic EP, their debut album.

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The Dark Asteriod                              

Episode 9

The first episode of the new year finds the Dark Asteroid repeating his popular TV theme songs quiz, introducing some new artists, and reprising two favorite artists from previous episodes (but with new titles… no repeats here!).

Don’t forget to take a trip to the Dark Asteroid Store and see what’s available — the clock seems to be a popular item, as does the wall calendar.

Artists and titles from this episode included:

Stars of Stage and Screen — (Starlight)
Circe Link — (I Like Knowing You Miss Me)
Robert Wade — (Monkey Cymbals)
Everyday Jones — (Gone In)
Guinness Clarke’s Wine — (Another Time, Another Place)

Stars of Stage and Screen — Stars of Stage and Screen is a New York City-based alt-post-rock-duo. They combine the songwriting and structures of pop, the grooves and synths of electronica, and the noise of Shoegazer. To buy their CD (just $10, remixed and “super duper mastered”), visit http://www.cdbaby.com/starsnyc. Their official website is http://www.starsnyc.net.

Circe Link — We featured Circe in episodes 5 and 6; look in the episode 5 entry for her information.

Robert Wade — Robert Wade has spent his life on the road. He has moved over 16 times and traveled all over the world (currently living north of London). The many experiences of his life, experiences that bring forth depth and insight into the human soul, are found in the thought provoking words on his first professional recording "Thinking Out Loud". On this album, Wade delivers an eclectic mix of songs that will take you through a roller coaster ride of insight. Find more information on his website, http://www.robertwade.net.

Everyday Jones — Everyday Jones has been satisfying crowds in clubs, bars and coffeehouses around the northwest (they are based in Seattle) for a year now. Despite the youth of their relationship as a duo, both members have been making music for years. Lead singer Alissa Jandt is a classically trained vocalist with a decade of conditioning under her belt, while guitarist Jason Green comes from a family of musicians and has been at his instrument since he was fifteen. Find them at http://podsafeaudio.com.

Guinness Clarke’s Wine — We featured this group in episode 2; look in that entry for their information.

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The Dark Asteriod                        

Episode 8

The Dark Asteroid’s back on the shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) with news about his new store &mdash see the link, second from the top at the right &mdash and a new game to play with his listeners. Download this episode from the link below, or better yet use the link at the top right to subscribe and never miss an episode, and see whether you can guess the mystery TV theme before it’s revealed at the end of the show!

Don’t forget to take a trip to the Dark Asteroid Store and see what’s available!

Artists and titles from this episode included:

Joe Sibol — (Love with Ice)
Samantha Murphy — (Come Back to You)
John Zielman — (Dancing on my Grave)
Jasmine Ash — (Start Over)
David Henderson — (We Gotta Go)

Joe Sibol — Mixing and matching tones with words, smashing melodies together with poetry, Joe Sibol has been writing songs ever since he picked up a four track in college. Raised on the East Coast, in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, Joe moved out west to join up with fellow songwriters, and played shows up and down the California coast. He crashed on sofas and floors and worked odd jobs as a gardener in order to work on his music and develop his songs. If you live in the Bay Area, keep a look out for Joe. He will be playing solo acoustic shows in the upcoming months. Find out more about the Joe at http://podsafeaudio.com.

Samantha Murphy — Samantha lives in San Diego and says, “I've been singing since I was six years old. I've traveled the world making and performing music. I've opened for some incredible artists like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.

I have my own Podcast called SMtv ~ A Podcast Dedicated to True, Independent Artists. Now available on iTunes 4.9 or at http://smtv.libsyn.com” Find Samantha online at http://samanthamurphy.com/.

John Zielman — John Zielman performs with a group called The Selves. His web site is  http://www.johnzielman.com/

Jasmine Ash — I could find very little about Jasmine other than that she is from the Portland, OR area. Her music can be found at http://podsafemusic.com.

David Henderson — David Henderson is one of Colorado's finest guitarists. He's a guitarist's guitarist combining over 30 years of rock, blues and jazz influences into an extremely dynamic, expressive, and truly emotional style.

David grew up in the Northeast - Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Boston, and Rhode Island. David began his musical career like many of his generation - watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Guitar quickly became his passion as he cut his teeth absorbing the rock classics of the late 60's, early 70's, and living with Allman Brothers Filmore East LP every day after school. Rock and Jazz fused in the mid 70's (Jeff Beck Blow By Blow) and captured David's imagination as he evolved as a musician. David graduated Berklee College of Music in 1982 and then moved to LA to take a shot at the musician's life. The mid 80's were the wood shedding years, where he played and practiced guitar virtually all day and all night every day. David played and toured with Stevie Woods (Let's Steal The Night) and Gina and Guy Eckstine (daughter and son of the late legendary Jazz singer, Billy Eckstine).

However in 1986, David abruptly left the music business entirely. His love for music was overshadowed by the economics, realities and hypocrisies of the music business. Totally frustrated by this realization, David put down his beloved guitar for 10 years, moved back to the Northeast and focused full-time on the television advertising business and raising a family. In 1990, he went back to school garnering a MBA from Boston University.

In 1995, the world was filled with optimism, creativity and innovation as the Internet revolution blossomed into full swing. As a co-founder and VP of Sales of DoubleClick in New York, David was a leading pioneer of the Internet advertising revolution.

While building DoubleClick, the guitar began creeping back into his life. David pulled the cobwebs off the old guitar and placed it right next to his desk. He would get a chance to play and practice every time Windows 95 would crash and he had to wait for a re-boot - needless to say that was a lot!

In 1998, David moved to Colorado to help build another Internet startup, Matchlogic (later purchased by Excite and then @Home). He formed a band called "Bandwith" with several of his co-workers and began to play live gigs again in Colorado.

In 2000 David left Excite@Home and became CEO of a wireless CRM messaging startup company, SmartPoint Inc. April of that year saw the dot com bubble burst and Venture Capital virtually dry up. SmartPoint would grow from 5 to 35 people then ran smack into the Venture Capital void and dot com depression and was forced sell off it's technology in late of 2001.

Today David is working on a number of startup businesses in the Media and Technology sectors. He also runs a community of Music Artist sites called The Online Discussion network where he builds community leveraging all the latest open source community and publishing tools - PHPBB, Blogs and Podcasts.

On the music front David is writing and recording his own music in his home studio, doing a lot of session work, as well as playing live with a number of bands in the Boulder community - The Henderson Brother's Band, The Old School Blues Band and a new original band coming soon!

You can find him on the web at www.dhenderson.com.

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The Dark Asteriod                    

Episode 7

It’s a snowy night here where the Dark Asteroid landed on Earth; Moose the Dog has been running around the back yard with his nose under the snow like a 70 pound snowplow and winter is here for real. The Dark Asteroid is back with his usual mix of musical styles and commentary, this time taking a poke at Sony BMG Music for their nasty DRM (digital-rights management) software — which they placed on a large number of CD’s over the past few months in an attempt to defeat music pirates. The purpose of the software was to allow a limited number of legal copies to be made and then no more. Unfortunately, the software was installed on the computer of the CD purchaser without his/her knowledge and was so poorly written that it left the computer vulnerable to exploitation by hackers, crackers, and other assorted nasties. As promised in the podcast, you can click HERE for the link to the Washington Post article.

The link was accurate as of the time and date of this post.

Artists and titles from this episode included:

St. Somewhere — (Whisper)
Super 400 — (Green Grass End)
Spero — (Beauty Queen)
From the Club Gigolette — (I’m A Dirty Dancer [But Only For My Man])
Verbal Kint — (Seabreeze)

St. Somewhere — The band is from Knoxville, Tennessee. St. Somewhere consists of a unique blend of sounds, pivoting mainly on the Caribbean influences of Calypso, Reggae, and Latin Rhythms blended within the North American influences of Rock and Jazz. The Steel Drum, invented in the late 1930’s, is the only acoustic instrument to be invented in the 20th Century and is the key ingredient exploited within St. Somewhere’s musical design. Members are Quincy Yeates on keyboards, steel drums and Vox, Kevin Wiley on drums and Vox, Christian Lay on Guitar, Chris Towson on Bass, and Myron Scott on Percussion. Find out more about the band at http://www.stsomewhere.com.

Super 400 — Troy, New York is the home of this trio, consisting of Lori Friday on Bass, Joe Daley on Drums, and Kenny Hohman on Lead Guitar and as Lead Vocal. They’ve been getting quite a write-up in the trade magazines and you can look for them to continue on their upward path. Find them online at http://www.super400.com.

Spero — A group of friends that formed in the summer of 2004 who all have strange, natural, innate senses of music that cannot be explained by rational thought. (According to them.) They all share the same common love of their music and wish to share it with whomever will listen. They are from Cullowhee, North Carolina. Members are Adam Blythe on Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Erin Justice, who sings the Lead Vocals, and Michael Cannon on Drums (and who is also the group’s producer). No web site could be found for Spero.

From the Club Gigolette — ALL MEN ARE DOGS is the musical sex comedy telling the story in song and dance of The Wife fighting a battle for her philandering husband vs The Other Woman. The action takes place in the fictional Club Gigolette, a small topless bar.

All Men Are Dogs has been performed at a number of theatrical venues and clubs in Southern California and Las Vegas, most recently for two sold out months at the world famous Coronet Theater in West Hollywood and prior to that at WeHo's historic Masquers Cabaret and NoHo's Chandler Theater.

All Men Are Dogs was inspired by Ray Combs, the late host of the game show Family Feud, and his heroine of a wife Debbie who since has remarried and is living happily ever after. She's given birth to two more beautiful children in addition to the original six, for a total of eight, and still looks great.

Verbal Kint — Verbal Kint was featured in Episode 4 with “Harbor Lights.”

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The Dark Asteriod              

Episode 6

It’s another eclectic mix of hard-driving rock and soulful, haunting neo-folk, with a little acoustic instrumental action thrown in for good measure as the Dark Asteroid descends to Earth from the Podosphere for Episode 6. Kick back, relax, grab a glass of your favorite beverage, and enjoy this shorter-than-usual version of the Dark Asteroid Radio Program.

Artists and titles from this episode included:

Just-Bus — (Give It Back)
The TriSonics — (All I Ever Wanna Do)
Circe Link — (Blue Bird Tattoo)
Todd Smith — (The Cliffs of Aran)
Christa Couture — (Day 4)

Just-Bus — From their web site: “If you're looking for one heavy, tight fisted son of a blues band, then you're looking for  Just Bus.  This young gang of blues miscreants hails from the sticks of Des Moines.  With blues influences ranging from Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton to Buddy Guy & Bernard Allison,  Just Bus will keep the beer tastin' just as sweet during every tune.  Lead man Gabe Van Nordstrand shows his versatility with his "fret-board manipulation" on the fast ones, and his "my woman done left me" howl on the slow burners.  Accentuating his lunacy is keys man Mike Fust, described by "Blues Wax" as, "one of the premier organ and piano players in Iowa."  Another member of the "controlled chaos" is drummer Levi Baber, with a bad reputation of bustin' heads...literally.  I believe the bumper sticker on his car says it best with "Don't feed the drummer."  Putting the harness on this four man blues beast is bass man Ben Fust. Whether you're looking for the grueling Texas blues, an edgy Just Bus original, or a mean southern shuffle, Just-Bus will take you where you want to go.” View the complete site at http://www.just-bus.com/.

The TriSonics — The TriSonics were featured in Episode 5; you can find their information there.

Circe Link — Circe Link was also featured in Episode 5.

Todd Smith — Todd is from Boston, and recently graduated from Berklee College of Music. He is currently pursuing a career as a songwriter/performer, arranger/producer. He performs every instrument on his songs, which are influenced by a diverse group of artists including Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Band, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, and more. He is also a proficient arranger/composer in all styles of music including jazz and classical. Find out more at http://www.garageband.com/artist/toddsmith and http://go.berkleemusic.com/toddsmith.

Christa Couture — From Christa’s web site: Christa's music is neo-folk pop. Described in reviews as "the new Ani" and "Tori Amos with a guitar," she's a formidable young woman armed with a haunting voice and a quick-witted, poignant turn-of-phrase. Her live performances are energetic and moving and it is in this context that Christa's work is at its spontaneous best — fueling her attentive audience with candor, wit and passion. Christa recently recorded her first full-length album, entitled "Fell Out of Oz," which should be released in April. You can find much more information at her web site, http://www.christacouture.com.

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The Dark Asteriod          

Episode 5

Lab mice and dark, dark songs — German groups singing American rock and roll — and a song called “FALDNWM Blues.” This episode of the Dark Asteroid Radio Program brings you another eclectic mix of music and information that you just ought not be without. It’s a cold November night and the Dark Asteroid is feeling a little whimsical, so hold on to something soft and let’s go…

Artists and titles from this episode included:

The-Low-Country — (Lord I Want an Exit)
Michael Heaton — (The Good Times)
The TriSonics — (Mystery Lady)
Suspects — (FALDNWM Blues)
Circe Link — (Travelin’ Daddy)

The-Low-Country — The group is sort of based in Cambridge, UK, though singer/songwriter for the band, Emily Barker, is a Western Australian currently living in London. The band was formed by guitarist Rob Jackson roughly 3 years ago. Also in the band are Ian Pickering on drums, and Alex Machell on bass guitar. In the first few weeks of their existence, they managed to put together a demo cd which they abruptly sent to their DJ hero the late John Peel. Incredibly enough, he played a track from it: their slow, atmospheric interpretation of the ubiquitous Stephen Foster song, "Oh Susanna." Since that healthy start, the band have been gigging around the UK at various Americana-friendly venues and festivals, and have managed within a couple of years to record and self-release two albums, the latter of which received distribution through Proper. They are currently gigging around as a band, as well as pursuing individual musical ventures. You can find more at http://www.the-low-country.com.

Michael Heaton — Call him rock, call him pop, or call him country - Michael Heaton's music is "Bluejean rock" in the musical traditions of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp and John Hiatt. Based in the Chicagoland area, Michael Heaton is a musician with a talent for creating heartfelt lyrics and melodies about life, love, work and burning houses. "I try to write songs that everyone relates to," says Heaton. "I like my songs to tell a story, and maybe people can see themselves in these songs." Although music has always been a passion, Heaton reminisces about former jobs. "From diaper delivery person to making false teeth to performing singing telegrams, I guess I've done a little bit of everything." It's his previous life of "doing a little bit of everything" which makes Heaton's music and lyrics so accessible. With a knack for using a unique combination of musical styles to create tunes that are catchy and light-hearted, Heaton delivers an astounding and compelling experience both live and on CD. Heaton’s web site is http://www.michaelheaton.com.

The TriSonics — Just like Jerry Lee Lewis said: "Either be hot or cold. If you are lukewarm, the Lord will spew you forth from his mouth". True to this motto, the TriSonics favor hot - red hot! They've spent the last three years rocking clubs, festivals and parties all across Europe. Members are Derek Singleton: Lead Vocals (Guitars), Ralf Nickolaus: Drums (Backing Vocals), and Barbara Streidl: Bass (Backing Vocals). Find them online at http://www.trisonics.de.

Suspects — The group is from Rapid City, SD.  They are Black Hills musicians that got thrown together to play a gig and decided to make it a Wednesday night "boys’ night out" which turned into an aclaimed local jazz/blues staple. So instead of bowling, they play music. Their last world tour encompassed Spearfish, Deadwood, Sturgis, Piedmont, and Rapid City. No more international tours are planned, but they would be willing to consider one...  Members are Will Waller: Keyboards, Bob Fahey: Lead Guitar, Jon Margolis: Drums, Greg McDonald: Lead Guitar, and Bernd Winkler: Bass. Their online home is at http://www.garageband.com/artist/suspects.

Circe Link — Straight from her own publicist: “Sweet sassy and sexy this gal is cooking with the right stuff. A colorful blend of nostalgic Country, steamy Jazz, and weeping Blues only stimulates ones appetite for more. Accompanied by acoustic guitars, mandolin, violin and upright bass a voice of pure feminine charm reaches through the player to leave red red lipstick on your collar. With a shot of Patti Page, a dash of Sara Vaughn and a side of Patsy Cline this is the sound discriminating ears were waiting for.”  Her backup group includes Christian Nesmith: Acoustic Guitar, Producer , Sarah Schweppe: Backing Vocals, Ian "Skillet" Walker: Bass, Christopher Allis: Drums, and Bart Ryan: Acoustic Guitar. Her web address is http://www.circelink.com.

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The Dark Asteriod          

Episode 4

It’s 2:58 AM, Central Standard Time, and Episode 4 has just landed from somewhere deep in the Podosphere. A slightly more eclectic mix this time, the program was probably influenced by the autumnlike night outside the door of the Dark Asteroid’s studio, evocative of campfire nights and weenie roasts and homecoming bonfires and jack-o-lanterns carved beside a fire’s dying embers with the help of two small boys.

Artists and titles from this episode included:


La Tribu — (Sylvia)
Anyma — (Anyma – Submarine MIX)
Jenn Watts — (We’re Okay)
Tools — (I Know Where I’m Goin’)
Verbal Kint — (Harbour Lights)


La Tribu — Here’s what they have to say about themselves: “For the past year this sensational 12-piece orquesta from Austin has been redefining the term "big band" weekly - with style, panache, and a show that brings audiences out in droves and packs local dance floors to capacity. The immediate popularity of the "big band" style among jaded Austin rock and blues clubgoers has been a pleasant - though not entirely unexpected - turn of events for La Tribu. Just how popular is evidenced by the fact that the barely year-old group was awarded "Best World Music Group" at the 2001 Austin Music Awards. "World Music" is in fact an apt description - drawing on influences as diverse as their nationalities, the group leaves virtually no stone unturned or influence un-namechecked in its spirited exploration of El Musica De La Tribu. From Perez Prado to Duke Ellington, Tito Puente to Earth, Wind & Fire and De La Soul to Santana, La Tribu creates a seamlessly amalgamated style that respects tradition yet remains fresh and innovative enough to appeal to fans of all ages, races and musical tastes. In targeting crossover audiences, this multinational outfit has taken the current latin dance craze out of the salsa clubs and "taken it the street" with extraordinary results.” Find La Tribu at http://www.tribumusic.com.

Anyma consists of two artists, Christian Bourassa and Ghislain Caya.  They have been composing music together since 1991 and say, "we are exploring the world of sounds through various sources of media."  Anyma’s music is a blend of different styles, from tribal-techno through atmospheric-electronica up to ambient; the resulting music is often hard to classify. Their web site is http://www.anymaworld.com.

Jenn Watts is a repeat artist from episode two.

Tools (Jim Tullio) is a repeat artist from episode one.

Verbal Kint — Rogier Oster & Dennis Moerkerk are the people behind Verbal Kint. They used to play in a rock band called Twist of Fate which was (and still is) very popular in the Rotterdam rock scene. During the Twist of Fate years Rogier & Dennis became interested in more laidback grooves and chilled sounds, and when the band broke up they decided to try out some new stuff. Before joining Twist of Fate, Dennis had already made productions in his studio for several respected dance labels (Blackhole, NEWS). Now they make the Verbal Kint sound with Rogier playing the drums and Dennis other sounds and production. Featured on: http://www.dennis-m.nl and http://www.muziek4um.nl/forum/

This was a bit of a different show in terms of the music selected; let us know how we’re doing! Comment here or send an email to dark.asteroid@gmail.com and give us our report card.

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The Dark Asteriod