STUDENTGUIDE07

There are lots of different elements that make up a college experience. There are those new friends from all over the nation to be made. There are stacks of books to somehow read in just weeks. But as much as anything, college is a time and place to discover lots of new music.

Unfortunately, while most every national touring act makes its way to the nearby Bay Area, they almost never visit the Monterey Bay. Thankfully Monterey County is home to a talented—if small—collection of groups that appeals to the college crowd and continues to grow. With that in mind, the Weekly has compiled some CliffsNotes to help students connect popular national acts with up-and-coming local acts that share certain similarities. After all, it’s nice not to have to travel for two hours each way to hear a great group—and staying local allows Monterey County’s students to spend less money on gas and more on beer.

3 HOUR SHOWER | SUBLIME

While the ‘90s reggae and punk rock hybrid Sublime collapsed in 1996 with the death of bandleader Brad Nowell, Sublime’s spirit lives on in wave after wave of acts inspired by the group. Currently, Hawaiian-based Pepper and San Diego’s Slightly Stoopid, which began on Nowell’s record label, are building on the style that Sublime made popular.

Locally, there are a fair amount of bands that seem to be influenced by Sublime, including Salinas’ Cali Nation and Santa Cruz’s The Expendables. Recently, 3 Hour Shower, a trio from Monterey, has risen from the ranks to become a local favorite. The band has original rock songs with a reggae lilt like “Myself Lately” and “Lightning Rock,” which like a lot of Sublime’s tracks shifts from pummeling punk to soothing reggae in the same song. [ST]

3 HOUR SHOWER OFTEN PLAYS MONTEREY’S LAVA LOUNGE. CHECK OUT THEIR MUSIC AT PUREVOLUME.COM/3HOURSHOWER

OMAR | USHER

Fighting for a genre of music underrepresented in Monterey County, Omar provides modern R&B sound in a very Usher-like manner—with soft, smooth vocals that overlay simple-yet-effective instrumentation. Like Usher, Omar also improvises with success, decorating basic beats with melodic flourishes, and wields an honesty about the struggles of love. Despite their similarities, however, Omar’s vocal range differs from Usher’s—Usher and most mainstream R&B artists remain in the “vocal rafters,” while Omar brings a warm depth to his vocals uncommon in today’s R&B. Local industry professionals in the know say Omar is easily the best young R&B artist in the area. [PT]

OMAR PLANS TO PLAY CLUB OCTANE IN THE COMING WEEKS AFTER COMPLETING A NEW ALBUM. CHECK HIM OUT AT MYSPACE.COM/TALENTMUSIC

DANI PAIGE | JOSS STONE

Rock and soul singer Dani Paige and neo-soul starlet Joss Stone are both white girls in their early 20s who, despite their youth, have sturdy singing voices that make them sound like middle-aged old school soul crooners. While Stone’s recent music has more contemporary elements in the mix, like hip-hop drumbeats, Paige’s backing band grinds out a more timeless blend of rock, soul and funk. Check out Paige’s “Fortune Teller,” a stripped down ballad that already sounds like a classic. [ST]

THOUGH PAIGE CURRENTLY RESIDES IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, SHE IS FREQUENTLY DOWN IN MONTEREY TO COLLABORATE WITH HER CO-WRITER, LOCAL MUSICIAN JESSE DECARLO, AND TO PERFORM AT MONTEREY LIVE. CHECK OUT HER MUSIC AT MYSPACE.COM/DANIPAIGEMUSIC

DOMINIC CAMANY | LIFEHOUSE

Boasting spacious production, warm melodies and an intentional directness in lyrical style, Dominic Camany evokes two-time platinum trio Lifehouse. Like Jason Wade, the group’s lead singer and songwriter, Camany combines self-examination and relationship angst; his similarity in message and tone, meanwhile, complements complex musical production that somehow doesn’t feel cluttered. Other direct similarities are easy to identify. Both musicians share a tendency to utilize the voice as an instrument; Camany’s confessions in “Could You Be The One” are reminiscent of Lifehouse’s 2000 Billboard Music Award-winning hit single “Hanging By A Moment”; and fans of the chart-topping “You and Me” from Lifehouse’s self-titled album are sure to appreciate the magnetic overtones of “Lullaby.” However, while Lifehouse usually follows the “less-is-more” attitude, Camany brings an orchestra of sounds and variety without compromising the inviting space of the music. [PT]

DOMINIC CAMANY PLAYS MONTEREY LIVE AND OTHER VARIOUS EVENTS AND FESTIVALS ACROSS CALIFORNIA. HEAR MORE AT DOMINICCAMANY.COM AND MYSPACE.COM/DOMINICCAMANYMUSIC

PARA LA GENTE | OZOMATLI

Local outfit Para La Gente and Los Angeles’ Ozomatli have a fair amount in common beyond their multi-ethnic composition. For one, both bands perform a mix of funk, hip-hop and Latin music. In addition, Para La Gente and Ozomatli are both known for their left leaning political activism: Ozomatli’s first gig was for picketers at a strike, while Para La Gente has played local anti-war rallies and for Watsonville’s Brown Berets, a Chicano activist group modeled after the Black Panthers.
Despite the similarities, Para La Gente also has a lot that differentiates them from Ozomatli. While Ozo usually has nine band members at their shows (including horn players), Para La Gente, frequently a quintet, has a more stripped down sound. In addition, Para La Gente goes in more of a hip-hop direction than Ozomatli. At times, Para La Gente recalls The Roots way of doing hip hop, with a live band performing behind MC Change and Mseven’s rhymes—only with Rage Against the Machine’s fiery politics. [ST]

PARA LA GENTE CAN BE SEEN AROUND TOWN PLAYING AT CSUMB’S BLACK BOX CABARET, MONTEREY LIVE OR AT LOCAL POLITICAL EVENTS. CHECK OUT THEIR MUSIC AT MYSPACE.COM/PARALAGENTE