Sounds From The Superhighway 16

The Juliet Dagger - They hail from Buffalo, NY - home of the Goo Goo Dolls and Lance Diamond (check out the Dolls first album released on Mercenary Records and you'll understand). In fact, guitarist/vocalist Erin Roberts, bassist Leisha Gray, and drummer Josh Heatley, are signed to Robby Takac's record label. On their association, Erin Roberts explained, "Hmmm...well, our association is only with Robby & not the Goo Goo Dolls - He is the head of our label, Good Charamel Records, and he also produced our CD, Turn Up The Death" The band took home several WBNY awards including Best Female Vocalist and Best Full-Length Album. As for the immediately future, "We are headed out for tour right now," says Roberts. "We plan on doing the northeast this month, and then the west coast in May/June, then a short break (maybe some recording), and then back out on tour in the Fall." Well worth finding.

Magnapop - These days, Atlanta, GA is better known for crunk than any other musical genre. Breaking through the dust comes a new sound from an old name: Magnapop. Here's band that can lay claim to having played some of the biggest festivals on the planet, recorded an album with Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar), and now are signed to Amy Ray's Daemon Records (Yes, the same Amy Ray of Indigo Girls). Ruthie Morris sent an email in which she discusses her association with Ray. "My initial thoughts about being on Daemon were filled with confidence that, at last, we were working with people with ethics and integrity. I have an enormous amount of respect for the Indigos. The only pressure we felt were that we wanted to have a really cool record that we liked alot." Along with Linda Hopper, Magnapop features Scott Rowe and Chad Williams. "Scott Rowe plays bass. He is a melodic musician and it's how he thinks. It works so well with what we sound like. He sings like an angel, too. He can harmonize with anything. Chad Williams plays drums. I love playing with Chad so much because he hits them so hard. He is a thinking drummer. I love that." Finally, I asked Morris what benefits and harm could come from a long lay-off. "The advantages of our lay-off are really all about time distance and space. Lots of clear perspective. The disadvantages are that people talk about you like you broke up."
Mark my word, Magnapop has NOT broken up, but are stronger than ever.

My American Heart - Based in San Diego, California, this four piece has endured some challenges and continues to come out smelling divinely. The most difficult obstacle was the name of the band. Originally, they were known as "No Way Out." But as bassist Jesse Barrera explained on Euphonia Online, changes needed to be made. "Everyone didn't really agree on it at first....because our fans and friends were all used to "No Way Out." But, I mean, we finally got over it and saw that it would do much more for us. Now we don't have to worry about a lot of legal issues that we had to deal with while having the name "No Way Out." I believe there's a signed band in Europe called "No Way Out," and it's a Puff Daddy album. It's also one of those (wrestling) pay-per-views. The hardest task was finding a name that would best suit us, and best replace "No Way Out." And Larry finally came up with the idea "My American Heart."