Help for Pleasant Grove

Those who were around in the local music scene in the late 90's into the 2000's are sure to remember the band Pleasant Grove. With songs like "Nothing This Beautiful", "Only a Mountain", and my personal favorite "Commander Whatever", the group managed to tell beautifully heartbreaking tales to a gorgeous country backdrop. The band's two vocalists, Marcus Striplin and Bret Egner, managed to convey a simple and sincere tone of sadness in the vast majority of their songs. These are not the songs you want when holding a house party. If, however, you need songs that speak to a broken heart, you'd be hard pressed to find many local bands that have the emotional punch of Pleasant Grove.

It came to my attention today that member Bret Egner was recently hospitalized for injuries from a recent bicycling accident (you can click here to read more details). He had surgery today in order for his collarbone to heal properly. Like most musicians, Mr. Egner is without health insurance, so he has acquired a mountain of medical debt.

This is where you come in. Bret's friends have set up an account on ChipIn where people can contribute and help him with these expenses. I've embedded a widget below through which you can donate. I've also added a video of the band playing the never released "Canopy" at the Kessler Theater in 2010.

While You Were Sleeping...

Last night at about midnight, the band Siren Sea posted their new song, “Lies”, on YouTube. To debut a song on so late on a night where most local music fans might be asleep might seem like an unusual move, considering that it might seem to increase the likelihood of the song going unnoticed. Especially since, on top of it all, it seems much of the local music community has not taken noticed of Siren Sea.

Folks, that’s gotta change, starting right now.

Just take a few minutes and listen to this track below. The haunting and exotic vocals of Reema Hamdan are sure to make any music lover stop to take notice. The melody does start out slowly, but give the song time. Between the beautiful melody and Ms. Hamdan’s vocals, it will not take long for you to get caught up in “Lies”.

The song also serves as the theme song to the upcoming film, Blissful Lies, staring Leann Hunley. The band was specifically asked to compose a song for the film. It took the band a mere three hours to compose this gorgeous track. But if you’re looking to see the band perform live, you have several opportunities coming in the near future. Siren Sea will open for Tiger Darrow this Thursday at Club Dada. A few weeks later, the band will perform at Liquid Lounge on Friday, January 27th. Last, but certainly not least, you can catch them Friday, February 17th at The Crown and Harp, with Tweed EQ and Alex Allred rounding out that lineup.