This month I have chosen Lydian Fortune as the Braingell Unsigned Band Of The Month for Jan. 2008. Make sure to tune in for when I play them during Braingell Unsigned.
Here is some information about the band:
Uniting the ragged punch of grunge with the steel-tough heaviness of '70s hard rock and the progressive hooks of Pink Floyd and the Doors, Lydian Fortune (http://www.lydianfortune.com) are on the verge of a mainstream breakthrough. Hidden in obscurity since its inception, the group -- featuring guitarist Keith Kurbin and vocalist Gary Gelina -- has just hired Michael Sutton of Sutton Music Group (http://www.suttonrecords.com) as their publicist, radio promoter, and booking agent. Sutton will use his 20 years of experience in the music industry to expose Lydian Fortune on a worldwide level: a massive multi-month global radio and publicity campaign that will find Lydian Fortune promoted to not only the U.S. but to the U.K. and Asia as well.
The 39-year-old Sutton, currently promoting legendary Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek's recent spoken-word CDs, signed the obscure Philippine rock group the Pin-Up Girls to Sony-BMG in Asia last year. He hopes to work similar wonders with Lydian Fortune. "They're several cuts above the usual Active Rock bands that are out there," Sutton explained. "In terms of both songwriting, performance, and marketing savvy, Lydian Fortune have the makings of a commercial crossover."
Furthermore, Lydian Fortune has scored a non-exclusive worldwide distribution deal with Texas-based Perris Records (http://www.perrisrecords.com), which also has veteran metal acts such as Babylon A.D., Faster Pussycat, and Stephen Pearcy of Ratt on its roster.
Lydian Fortune (which means "musically rich") was founded in 1990 in New York by Kurbin, Gelina, guitarist Tom McCormack, and drummer John Barlow. The band split up a year later; however, Kurbin revived the project with Gelina, hiring session musicians to fill the void of the missing members.
Lydian Fortune has released three color-coded albums thus far: Songs from Aloft (Green); Songs from Beneath (Red); and Songs from Afar (Blue). While none of the albums have a unifying theme tying them together, the titles actually have autobiographical inspiration. Songs from Aloft was named after the period in which Kurbin lived in a loft and learned how to play guitar in 1986; consequently, the music within pays homage to the hard-rock records which marked that era and its preceding landmark period, the '70s, the decade of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Songs from Beneath, on the other hand, aims for a decidedly more aggressive vibe, capturing the steel pulse and warrior march of Metallica's ...And Justice for All years. Songs from Afar symbolizes Lydian Fortune's creative evolution, venturing closer to straightforward modern rock.
Some of the Internet's most prolific music critics are already praising Lydian Fortune even before their reviews have seen the web. "Very rarely does a band engage me both physically and intellectually," said Adam Harrington of the U.K.-based Whisperin & Hollerin. "Lydian Fortune have absorbed the most impressive elements of Metallica - their cinematic bang and high-I.Q. perspective - without producing a derivative work." Kyrby Raine of INK 19 said that "Lydian Fortune could very well be rock and roll's savior at this point. They are a slash in the tire to emo; I can't wait to finish my article on them." Barry Andrews of the U.K. site Review Centre praised Lydian Fortune for their "smarts and balls. This is no poseur rock combo; they mean every word, every note. Such authenticity in rock is too rare now and taken much for granted in the '70s."
