Review

I wanted to place this review here right after i read it. but i wanted to ask permission from Nero1000. luckily, a while ago, he gave me the "alright" signal to post this here. so here it is.

i was thinking about what i would write here today. then things happened. i got his permission, so i decided to post this today.

it's a review about eyeshine.

American band, Eyeshine, their lives and their musical careers.

Eyeshine, a band based San Diego, CA. The band consists of Johnny Yong Bosch as singer/guitarist, Maurice Salmin on drums, Alex Orantes on Bass, and Daniel Lee on lead guitar. The band is fairly unknown but is rapidly gaining a great reputation through their constant touring and performing all over the United States. The band have a very interesting and distinctive sound that they like to call ‘Edge Rock’ "which delivers huge hooks, infectious melodies, and elusive lyrics."

The band originally formed as part of a church band in San Diego seven years ago, the band at that point only consisted of Johnny Yong Bosch and Maurice Salmin. Johnny, or JYB as he is known, has had a very successful past. He was an actor on the popular children’s TV show ‘Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers’ and has since appeared in various martial arts movies. As well as being a band member he also does voice overs on many Japanese anime shows that cross over to America and the UK like ‘Bleach’ and ‘Trigun’, JYB also appears on various video games lending his voice for characters in the game. The band grew when Alex Orantes joined the group a year later.

‘How About That’

The band made little progress with producing music until 2005 when they released their debut EP ‘How About That’. The 7 song CD was received extremely well and a following for Eyeshine soon began to form. Fans of JYB, like myself, found themselves stumbling across his band through his personal websites and interviews, and would soon hear how powerful and inspiring their songs were. Many of the tracks on ‘How About That’ have very deep meanings. Members of Eyeshine never hid the fact that they’re Christians and many fans believe songs on the EP like ‘Not Really Good’ and ‘Need You Now’ are songs aimed at God, Jesus and struggles with their Christian beliefs. However many fans like to Eyeshine’s music for the easy listening, thought provoking songs that are on the CD. The band members were shocked and delighted when they sold out of their EP’s. With their garnering success they decided to create a full album in early 2007.

Throughout 2007 they’ve been touring and performing at many different anime and other film conventions all around America and in the studio recording their full album, ‘Red Lights/White Stripes’. They decided they needed to bring in another guitarist to take over lead from JYB. This brought in Daniel Lee. The band have been extremely busy making an impact on the American independent music scene this year and will send off the year by releasing ‘Red Lights/White Stripes’ in December 2007. With the release of their full album many fans hope this will be the time when Eyeshine are noticed by a record company and signed so their music can be played on a greater scale.

Fans

Eyeshine’s audience varies. People of all ages can enjoy their soft but exciting music. None of their songs contain explicit language or content allowing the music to be listened to by children and by viewing their band’s forum (http://forum.eyeshine.net/index.php?sid=6195672d372d432476656df2b26fc512) I saw that people as young as 12 have signed up to show their support, and others as old as 43 also enjoy their quality music. This shows how wide their range of music is and how it appeals to people of different generations.

Genre

As I stated previously they call their genre of music ‘edge rock’ because they are really on the edge of sounding different, but others have debated that their style is a mix of alternative rock, pop and Christian rock. In my opinion, if you try to classify the band as "they sound like this" they really don't, they sound similar to one group, but sort of like another, on the edge of a new sound. Hence, edge rock.

My Opinion

My positive views on Eyeshine are very strong. I had never listened to a band previously that every song they had produced I not only enjoyed but also loved. All the different lyrics and sounds captivated me and their ballad ‘Not Really Good’ was so powerful that it became my favourite song of all time due to its deep and emotionally moving lyrics. I have always been a fan of JYB’s work and this is what led me to discovering the band. I love introducing friends to their music because their usual reaction is the same as mine was, amazement. I really hope that their new album will bring all the success they deserve. Eyeshine’s music does not bore. There have been times I have listened to the album continuously through enjoyment of their songs. I give them a great two thumbs up!

INTERVIEW

Fellow music critique Craig listened to ‘How About That’ and here are his opinions on the band: On a first impression basis, I would say Eyeshine’s genre of music was New/Modern Rock. JYB has a wide range of vocals, good how he can instantly change the tone and pitch of his voice. His vocals are very good. Part of the chorus in the song ‘Drama Queen’ sounded like the ‘My Chemical Romance’ song ‘Helena’. I would listen to them again definitely; their songs are catchy, dynamic and good to listen to. In the songs Johnny Yong Bosch is constantly singing/talking about a girl or are aimed religiously at God, I think that’s the main meanings of their songs. I think the band is very good. Good vocals, good co-ordination of instruments, joy to listen to. My favourite song on ‘How About That’ was ‘In My Eye’. Brilliant acoustic start and a good catchy and emotional song. I give the band out of 10, a very good 8.

For more information on Eyeshine, check out their website: www.Eyeshine.net

This was a review made by Nero1000.

by the way, thanks nero.