What's Up? Magazine

 Suzy Estrada broke into the Annapolis scene back in February 2011, when she won the Annapolis Idol competition. As the epitome of a working woman’s band, she and her guitarist Joe Burcham tour Annapolis and surrounding areas with their down home, Country Western songs. Estrada sings about love and loss, family and God, all with the charm of Martina McBride and the storytelling panache of Reba McEntire.

In this podcast, hear how a true Annapolis musician juggles a busy family life and a blossoming career. Suzy Estrada knows she’ll be in Nashville one day, but it will be on her own terms; no one else’s.

Throughout high school and college, Gary B worked at the vinyl shops and independent clubs in Baltimore where he saw bands go from closet to club to arena. Fast forward to his most recent project, the Notions, founded by Gary and Kris Heath in 2004 with recent additions Bryan Elliott and Rick Bowman.

Gary B & the Notions play non-power pop, pow-pow indie rock inspired as much by their surroundings as their influences. They've shared stages with Sufjan Stevens, Marnie Stern, Pretty & Nice, Deleted Scenes, ...and you will know us by the trail of dead, Title Tracks, of Montreal, the Dismemberment Plan, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Wye Oak, and a million more that even they can’t remember.

In the summer of 2006, Jordan Sokel and Josh Kachura met at Salisbury University and lived together in Ocean City. Their songwriting collaboration started Pressing Strings as a two-piece that would later evolve into the four-member band with a rather unique sound.

Listen to this entire interview with Jordan, guitarist and vocalist, as he details the band’s mellow rock sound in their latest self-titled album. Pressing Strings decided to record and produce this album themselves. Jordan says, “It was important to us to get a live feel for this record and be true to our sound as a live band.”

Website: http://www.pressingstrings.com

In 2008, Andy Hall was managing a restaurant that hosted an open mic night. As it started slow, Chris Wojtal and Andy played together to fill some time. They began jamming outside of open mic night, and as things evolved, they became the two primary songwriters and guitar players for Dropping Sully, a band from Ellicott City.

Learn more about their beginnings and listen to tracks from their first ever studio recording, Trainwreck.

Website: http://droppingsully.com

Step into the mind of Wendel Patrick to better understand his musical style. Barrett King of Mix 106.5 discusses with Patrick his second studio album, Forthcoming and the integrity of being an artist.

Wendel Patrick website: http://www.wendelpatrick.com

Barrett King interviews Eureka Birds, a local band from Baltimore. Hear great tracks off their EP entitled Eureka EP. Barrett asks about the band’s plans and whereabouts. They also discuss the pros and cons of their public music downloads. Learn about the development of the Eureka Birds recordings as you listen to these new records.

Eureka Birds Website: http://www.eurekabirds.com

Barrett King interviews E. Joseph from E. Joseph and the Phantom Heart. E. Joseph discusses the band joining The Beechfield record label as well as their album, All the Medicine in the World. Listen to their singles such as Pulling Me Under, Changing Train, and Hearts Attack.

Hear E. Joseph and the Phantom Heart live during the Chesapeake Beer Madness competition on September 30th!

Swampcandy’s Ruben Dobbs speaks to Barrett King about the band’s diverse sounds. Recapping their inspiration from the beginning, Swampcandy’s current album expands on their original classic blues style and showcases their collaborative abilities as songwriters. Hear Swampcandy live during the Chesapeake Beer Madness competition on September 30th!

Swampcandy website: www.swampcandy.com