When faced with the world’s white noise, the clamour and clash of so much new music, so prevalent and permanent that it just dissolves into a background hum, you need a patron, a mentor to help guide you to the bands that are right for you. When so many PR companies and media channels are vying for your hard-earned dollar, you need someone to cut to the chase and separate the musical wheat from the sonic chaff. When you are overwhelmed with a tsunami of creativity, you need someone to take you by the hand and act as your quality controller. In short, if you can’t see the wood for the trees, you need Bongo Boy Rock ‘n’ Roll TV show as your guide.
Bongo Boy TV’s new show, “Gnomes & Aliens,” showcases captivating and award-winning music videos from talented independent artists across the globe. This episode has aired on over 72 terrestrial TV channels in the USA alone. The episode premiered on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, on Channel 29 in Portland, Oregon.
For specific details regarding your local listing, refer to the TVGuide on bongoboytv.com.
So, on with the show…literally!
Things kick off in a wonderfully understated way with Raspin Stuwart and Rumblin’ and Tumblin’, a slinky, late-night jazz-blues number fashioned from traditional sounds of the genre, brushed drums, a chiming piano, melodic, upright bass and lush vocal harmonies behind the infectious lead voice. Old-time music for a good time, modern music fans.
And so as not to break the spell, this is followed by the hushed tones of Grippa. Whereas Raspin Stewart creates his understatement through space, Crash is a song built on natural calm, her voice reserved and intimate, the music a combination of lilting acoustica and punctuating drums, which wander in and out to create a wonderful dynamic.
Ganja Gnomes, from Gary Hemp Seed…sorry, Gary Hempsey, is where the pace picks up, a cool, country jive built on deft violins and infectious rhythms. It is a blazing boogie, a joint jig, a hash hoedown, and a grass groove! Holy smoke!
STUDEO is a band that frequently makes the cut and features in these TV shows, and it is easy to hear why when listening to When It’s Over. Is it their ability to blend pop accessibility with rock muscle? Is it the fact that they can make epic music without resorting to the cliches of volume and showboating? Could it be their blend of musical modernity and iconic sounds, a sort of classic era Fleetwood Mac for the modern age? Perhaps it is just that their songs are so deftly constructed, so expertly executed. Actually, it is all of those things and more.
If you thought that the power ballad had had its day, and perhaps rightly so, then you haven’t heard Aliens by Sami Chohfi & Blue Helix. Classic rock with just enough abrasiveness and grit, well, they are from Seattle, after all, and a reminder that, no matter how different and outside the mainstream, we think that we are, there is someone just as different, offbeat…alien..out there somewhere looking for someone like you.
Denel brings the sound bang up to date with Imperfectly Perfect 2.0, a song which mixes downbeat dance grooves with upbeat pop vibes, western digital construction with the echo of older Eastern traditions, a creative culture clash that proves just how small a place the world is now.
And things round off with MAAD and Black Ice, a song that follows in the footsteps of any number of nineties soul divas, but here finding its outlet through the cutting edge sound of R&B. A club classic in the making, and that making isn’t far away.
Another great collection of songs and videos. Another great mix of a few Bongo Boy favourites and a lot of new music. All genres are covered, and all sounds and styles are represented. And, as if to give you even more food for thought, things wrap up with a couple of teasers for the new releases from Oblivea and The NEW Bardots, Deep Inside and Thrill of The Night, in case you missed them.
I know there is a certain satisfaction in finding new music for yourself; no one would want to take that feeling away from you. But consider the Bongo Boy TV show as a shortlist, a recommended reading list, an “if you like that, you’ll like this” type of guide. If you spend less time wading through music that doesn’t meet your high standards and discerning tastes, think how much more time you can spend with your new favourite artists!
