Brief description of your favourite artist / band

[Sammy Boy]

I find that whenever I read posts about people's favourite band / artist, I know very little or nothing about who they are, where they are from, etc.

So I guess if you'd like to share, post a couple of brief paragraphs about about your favourite artist / band here, possibly with a link to a website with more information.

I'll start:

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Lee-Hom Wang was born in Rochester, New York on 17 May 1976.
Studied music at Williams College in Massachusetts and Berklee College of Music.
Received a MA in Jazz Piano & Composition at Berklee College.
Currently writes his own lyrics, but did not learn Chinese until he was 18. He learned French in high school. He learned how to speak Mandarin when he first debuted at 18 (he read Romanised Chinese when he sang). He learned Cantonese when he was 23/24. He learned Japanese when he was 25.
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source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Lee_Hom

[Kkun]

Five Iron Frenzy was one of the many ska-punk bands that came out of the 1990s. However, in my opinion, FIF was a cut above the rest. Lead singer Reese Roper's vocals were spectacular, and his lyrics were even better. Reese wrote songs of praise to Jesus Christ (Every New Day, Dandelions), humorous joke songs (These Are Not My Pants [The Rock Opera], You Can't Handle This), and biting social commentary that screamed for justice (The Day We Killed, Giants, American Kryptonite, Vultures).

Being a late '90s ska band, Five Iron's sound could best be descriped as punk rock with a brass section. They also drew influence from hardcore, reggae, salsa, and a bevy of other genres. Five Iron is now dead and cold in the ground, however. So. Here's a place to check 'em out. http://www.myspace.com/fiveironfrenzy

[the_lizardqueen]

Great Big Sea is a Canadian celtic/folk-rock band from the Maritimes, it's founding members were Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, Bob Hallett and Darrell Power (who retired in 2002 to spend more time with his family).

They first formed in 1993 and they have built a strong following in Canada with multiple singles that have gained radio-airplay and videos on MuchMusic and CMT. Their albums are typically evenly split between traditional Maritime tunes (with an updated rock spin) and original songs written by the band. They have been dabbling increasingly in pop/rock/folk over the years but they recently released an entirely traditional album, The Hard and the Easy.

GBS is especially well known for their live shows. They tour obsessively and their sound and sheer energy onstage is amazing. You really get the feeling that these guys enjoy performing together and crowd participation is an absolute must at a GBS concert. Unfortunately, their studio albums rarely capture the energy and grit of GBS live. But they did release Road Rage, a live album, in 1999 and I would highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone investigating GBS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Big_Sea

The blog of a fan that is following them around the continent:
http://therockandahardplace.typepad.com/

Some live videos (be forewarned, it's mostly ballads):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsCrDe68eKU&search=%22great%20big%20sea%22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgqM3O3bBAY&search=%22great%20big%20sea%22

Er, I guess I'll stop gushing now ^^;

[Hitokiri]

Draconian is a new band I found that I fell inlove with instantly. They are basically gothic and doom metal. (Sorry for the long history lesson heh heh) Johan Ericson, Andy Hindenäs nd Jesper Stolpe started a band called KERBEROS in 1994. However, they changed the name to Draconian. Shortly after, the released thier first demo and found success. Introducing more members to give the band a different feel, "Shades of the Moon" was launched in 1996. Despite great reviews, thier was no contract created by labels. They began to work on a new demo however it fell short due to poor recording quality. As months passed, Draconian started writing new material which now reflected a more atmopsheric, melodic, and emotional goth metal. With the leaving of several members and coming of new members, Draconian took a breather and began working on improving thier sound. After a succesful tour, Draconian decided to record another demo called "The Closed Eye of Paradise" which "dealt with the mystical dark theme of Lucifer and his fallen angels, the true face of God, and the forthcoming battle." However, discontent with the poor qaulity of the demo, they pushed the demo launch date to improve the overall sound. What came out was an incredible production and it was finally released. Thier sound became more darker, doomier, and slower as they began to thier change thier overall style. With several lineup changes, Draconian released "Dark Oceans We Cry" which was recieved by the critics and gothic metal fans as brilliant and amazing. Recieving outstanding reviews for the demo, Draconian became more well-known in the musical world. Soon after they signed a deal with Naplam Records. In 2003, Draconian released "Where Lovers Mourn" and "Arcane Rain Fell" in 2005."Arcane Rain Fell" resembles "The Closed Eye of Paradise" lyrically and can be considered a concept album. "The Burning Halo" is thier newest album which will hit shelves Summer 2006.

Current lineup:
Lisa Johansson (vocals)
Johan Ericson (Lead and Rhythm Guitar)
Anders Jacobsson (Vocals)
Daniel Arvidsson (Rhythm Guitar)
Fredrik Johansson (Bass)
Andreas Karlsson (Keys and Programming)
Jerry Torstensson (Drums)

I enjoy Draconian alot because of thier soul-piercing vocals provided by the amazing Lisa Johansson. As well, thier music gives a very "soul-searching" feel which gives the listiner a very emotional feel. I love the lyrics despite my disagreeing with them. Lyrically they are beautiful and convey a sense of emotion. This band is just awesome in every area in my opinion. Each track offers some different. Everything to "dark, dismal gothic metal" to "celtic/folk ballads" to instrumentals.

http://www.draconian.se/main.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draconian_%28band%29

For those intrested, I highly suggest listening to "A Slumber Did my Spirit Seal", "The Amaranth", and "Haven Laid in Tears (The Angel's Lament". You can find the first 2 on thier website however you may have to search for the third. Those 3 really show thier gothic/doom metal side.

[Sakaki Onsei]

I have two:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-ha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Parsons

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I'll let them explain themselves.

[MomoAdachi]

I generally listen to pretty mainstream music(Madonna, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani/No Doubt, Puffy AmiYumi, Hilary Duff), but here are some others I like a lot that you may not have heard of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utada_Hikaru
http://homepage.ioi.ie./~mjbyrne/debpage.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Lisa_and_Cult_Jam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_%28singer%29
http://muppet.wikia.com/wikia/Christopher_Cerf

Yes, you read that right, the last is a Sesame Street songwriter, but, honestly, I'm an adult and I love his work. He brought a really authentic and diverse pop-music sound to a children's show. He was also the singing VA of a lot of the Muppets who sang his songs, and he had a very nice singing voice. If you have little ones or babysit a lot and are looking for some kiddie tunes that won't drive you out of your mind, I most highly reccomend some of the Sesame CDs which feature Chris's work, like "Born To Add" and "Sesame Road".

[ShiroiHikari]

Coheed and Cambria just might be the saviors of modern rock n' roll.

Their sound is often compared to the likes of Rush (judge for yourself) and Pink Floyd. The songs are intricate and carefully crafted, often epic in scope, several tracks lasting well over 6 minutes. Their style encompasses acoustic rock, pop-rock, progressive rock, with a dash of metal and a tiny hint of bluegrass thrown in for good measure.

The Rush comparison most likely comes from lead singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez's high vocal range, or perhaps the complex tale he has woven and integrated into the song lyrics. Coheed and Cambria's songs tell us of-- you guessed it --ill-fated couple Coheed and Cambria Killgannon, and their only remaining son, who is also named Claudio.

This music is not for the faint of heart. Claudio injects raw emotion and imagery into his lyrics. That combined with the amazing guitar solos just might melt your face right off.

http://www.coheedandcambria.com
http://www.cobaltandcalcium.com (Fansite)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coheed_and_cambria

[GrubbTheFragger]

Becoming an Archtype are one of the hardest bands i have ever heard. They are also a very epic metal band(one of there songs lasts 11mins) and they will melt your face off and then throw in a classical guitar part in a song so you can put yur face back on just to have it melted off again. True Hardcore at its best

[Knives]

My favorite band...that is really hard, I guess this may not be my favorite band, but I really like them:
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is a progressive rock/metal band that was formed in 1985. There newer albums (in my opinion, and from what I have heard of/about them) are somewhat heavier, so I like those the best, but all of their albums are awesome!
List of LPs:
1989 When Dream and Day Unite First studio album; only studio release to feature Charlie Dominici.
1992 Images and Words First album with James LaBrie; considered the band's breakthrough (charted #61); gold certified.
1994 Awake Kevin Moore's last album with the group, with a notably heavier sound than previous releases.

1997 Falling into Infinity Derek Sherinian's only full-length studio album with the group.
1999 Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory Jordan Rudess' first appearance, and the band's first concept album.
2002 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Dream Theater's first studio double album.
2003 Train of Thought Established the meta album, possibly the first of its kind.
2005 Octavarium Highest charting album as of 2005 (#36 in US); last album ever recorded in The Hit Factory recording studio in New York; third part of the meta concept album. (taken from wikipedia)

(Another cool thing about these guys is that they endorse bootlegs!!!)
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Theater
http://www.dreamtheater.net

[glitch1501]

Five Iron Frenzy was one of the many ska-punk bands that came out of the 1990s. However, in my opinion, FIF was a cut above the rest. Lead singer Reese Roper's vocals were spectacular, and his lyrics were even better. Reese wrote songs of praise to Jesus Christ (Every New Day, Dandelions), humorous joke songs (These Are Not My Pants [The Rock Opera], You Can't Handle This), and biting social commentary that screamed for justice (The Day We Killed, Giants, American Kryptonite, Vultures).

Being a late '90s ska band, Five Iron's sound could best be descriped as punk rock with a brass section. They also drew influence from hardcore, reggae, salsa, and a bevy of other genres. Five Iron is now dead and cold in the ground, however. So. Here's a place to check 'em out. http://www.myspace.com/fiveironfrenzy

...what he said...

[Scarecrow]

I dunno, this is a Christian webbie so most of you probably know Skillet but oh well I'll put em anyway. Musically, they are not my favorite but if I was only able to listen to one band and noone else, it would be them.

Anyway they're a Christian rock band formed in the mid 90s. Their music style pretty much differs with each album release so if you dont like one album, try another "Skillet"(96) was more grunge. "Hey You, I love your soul"(98) was like electronic pop rock (I have no clue really what you'd call it but thats about as best as I can describe it) "Invincible"(2000) is more... techno-"ish" rock I guess. "Alien Youth"(2001) is like... industrial rock and "Collide"(2003) is just good ol hard rock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skillet_%28band%29
http://www.skillet.com

Anyway, I think they're awesome John Cooper is obviously very passionate about God and it really shows in his lyrics and the amount of energy he puts into each live performance. I think thats what puts them ahead of the rest for me. It's very positive stuff. I like their sound(s). I like their lyrics. I like how real they are and I like how you can really see where their hearts are. So even though musically I would probably prefer Blind Guardian or something, Skillets stuff has really helped out in lost and lonely times and I would rather be stuck with their music till doomsday rather than BG which is more my style and nice to listen to, but doesn't really do much for me otherwise.