Music To Your Ears

The duo Muddy Ruckus, Erika Stahl and Ryan Flaherty, have a unique sound that you’d swear a full band is playing if you didn’t see them with your own eyes. Ryan plays guitar/banjo while Erika plays the drums & uses a suitcase for her bass (which is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen) and the occasional violin.

The band’s new single, “Footsteps”, released on December 20, 2019, is a hard rocking, fast paced beat which reminds me of late 90’s Stone Temple Pilots in particular sounding like “Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart”. The song features Mark Abraham on bass guitar and just adds that perfect touch to this head nodding jam.

Muddy Ruckus is fast becoming one of my favorite bands of the year. You can listen to Footsteps & all of their music on Spotify http://www.Spotify.com. Find them on http://www.muddyruckus.com or Instagram at @muddyruckus.

Remember, Your Music Stylist told you first….

I’d like to introduce you to a young talented artist, Seven Noel, who surely will do great things in the future..

Q: Your first name is Seven. is that your real name or is that something you chose for yourself as an artist? And where does your Instagram name Yellow Lovely come from?

A: My real name is Seven. My parents wanted something different and unique. My name was originally going to be Phynn but they felt Seven was better and it stuck. As for my Instagram name “Yellow Lovely”, that refers to the lyric from a song called “Lucky People”. Lucky People is one of my favorite songs ever and “you’re my yellow lovely” is a lyric that means a lot to me because of how lyrically beautiful it is.

Q: I see you grew up in Adams, Massachusetts. I always see the highway sign traveling along I90 when driving to NY so I am familiar with that area. What, if any, were the opportunities that you were afforded in school regarding music education.

A: To be completely honest with you, no. There’s not a lot of music opportunities here. When I was in the 9th grade, I changed schools because the school had a music program and when I joined they stuck me in marching band which wasn’t exactly my forte. So after a while, I decided online courses were better and it’s given me A LOT more time to work on my music I want to work on.

Q: When did you first realize that you want to be a singer? How old were you when you wrote your first song?

A: I was in 3rd grade when I realized I wanted to be a singer. I decided to do a talent show and I sang the song, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. At this point, I didn’t really think of it as a career it was more of a fun thing I wanted to do. But when I auditioned with a bunch of my friends, a teacher pulled me aside and said that I have something special and that I stuck out. Then for the following years (4th-8th grade), I did every talent show and sang because I loved doing it and genuinely enjoyed it. I was 13 when I wrote my first song. It was called “ My Love on Rewind” and it was about a boy I really liked and because I couldn’t tell him these things, I wrote them out. This is what I do now with a lot of my music.

Q: Who are your musical influences? Why do they mean so much to you?

A: I have TONS of musical influences. I could name a solid list of my Top 5. Brendon Urie; Jayden Seeley; Awsten Knight; Tyler Joseph; Bonnie Fraser. My biggest influences of all would HAVE to be Brendon Urie. He is the exact reason why I even started music. Between 11-12 yrs old, I was absolutely IN LOVE with Panic! at the Disco. They inspired me and made me want to write music and the growth they had over time made it feel possible. Urie is just one of those artists that isn’t afraid to speak his mind and he stands up for what he believes in and I think this is absolutely amazing. I strive to be as aspiring as Brendon Urie. Jayden is mainly for his genuine lyrics and speaking his mind. Awsten is one of those unique writers where he does so many different things with lyrics or music that is super different or interesting. Tyler Joseph has saved SO MANY lives and has made so many people happy and have faith and is an absolute inspiration especially for me. Bonnie is a female frontwoman for a pop punk band which is something I can absolutely respect. As someone who really wants to be in a pop punk band in the future, I definitely look up to her because she’s incredible and her vocals are insane.

Q: Let’s talk about your EP Lost. This was released in 2018, correct? Tell me about the process that went into writing it.

A: Lost was recorded in July of 2018 through September of 2018. I remember the whole process of this EP and what went into it. All of the songs were written when I was 13-14 yrs old but recorded them at age 15. I have a lot going through my head and my main goal when writing is to be completely honest and true with what I write. The songs very much tell a story and show different aspects of my mind what I went through; anxiety, determination, motivation, healing, depression and loss. The hardest song by far to write was “Ticking Time Bomb”. I remember this song taking me 4-5 months to finish mainly because when I write a song I don’t want to feel iffy about it. The second I feel good and confident about a song that’s when I know that it’s ready and it’s truly how I feel. Along with the majority of my songs, I like there to be s story throughout and with this song, I wanted it to be perfect because I had written this specific song about me personally. I didn’t want to sugarcoat it or make it “too much”. Lost was definitely extremely fun to write though altogether!

Q: These songs do seem very personal and emotional. I especially like Shivers, those lyrics sound like they are coming from a very painful place. Is this about anxiety/depression? What is the story behind it?

A: Shivers is mainly about anxiety. I have terrible anxiety and tend to get inside my head a lot. It causes me to overthink, panics etc..Shivers holds a really important place in my heart and because I struggle with this, I wrote it so others who struggle as well don’t feel as alone. This song is basically a rollercoaster through my mind. “My mind is like an open door creaking” (my mind is loud, overwhelming) and the lyric “it’s because I’m scared, it’s because I’m not trying” (I have to overcome my anxiety and be stronger than it. The main “lesson” or reason I wrote this song was to say that you’re stronger than you actually think and you can get through whatever you want as long as you try. Fun fact: Shivers was originally inspired by the Bohemian Rhapsody lyric “sends shivers down my spine.”

Q: Will you be releasing a full length album anytime soon?

A: I have SO MUCH in store and I’m extremely excited to announce what I have in the works. My single, “Me, You and the End” comes out on December 20th! And this will be followed by a 10-12 song album which will be announced very soon!

Q: Where do you see your career in 5 years?

A: Well, I would LOVE to see myself in a band. That’s my main goal. My dream label is “Hopeless Records” and I’m hoping to not only grow as a person but as an artist. I definitely see my self growing lyrically and to be changing my genre completely from acoustic to more pop punk or post hardcore.

You can can listen to Seven’s EP Lost on Apple Music and Spotify.

So I want to bring indie artists to you so not only that you can discover a whole new world of new music but also for the artist to help them get their product out there. I am pleased to introduce you to the artist known as Higgy. I had the opportunity to interview him and so let me introduce you.

Q: What name do you go by? Higgy, Jo Higgy, That Higgy? And where does this stem from?

A: I go by Higgy on stage and for all my music but my first name is Jo. The name Higgy is short for my last name, Higginbotham. it’s a long one, I know.

Q: You grew up in Denton, TX & while I was researching the town, it said it’s the hub of “indie band central”. I didn’t realize so many bands came out of this area (Dallas/Forth Worth).. is it just a cool vibe where bands are working, performing working hard just trying to get by doing show after show?

A: I actually grew up in Fort Worth, TX! My family moved there from south Dallas when I was a kid and I didn’t end up in Denton till I left high school. The vibe in Denton is definitely a unique one. The University of North Texas in town has a huge music program, so the music culture came naturally along with it. Roy Orbison. Don Henley and Norah Jones seem to be the favored alumni from the area. The talent and artistic identity here is unmatched everywhere else I’ve been in Texas. Denton frequently makes top US college music scene lists and that’s something I’m proud of.

Q: So growing up, was music a big part of your life? Was your family playing albums/cds around the house?

A: Music became a big part of my life when I was about 10 yrs old. A friend of mine and I tried to start a band in the 5th grade and that’s where I first got interested in learning it for myself. My folks were always playing music and their musical tastes (1960s-70s classic rock) mixed with my own (early 2000 hip hop & emo) pretty early on. I like to think The music I make now is influenced by those varying styles.

Q: Who were some of your musical influences growing up?

A: My biggest influence has always been Bob Dylan. In my opinion, he is the greatest lyricist in living memory and probably won’t be matched for a whole generation. It may be an unfair comparison but I try to use him as a standard for the points I get across in my music. Another huge influence is Kid Cudi. I was 14 yrs old when his first album (Man on the Moon) came out and that was the biggest push for me to what I do now. I already loved hip hop and to hear the emotion and vulnerability he had in his music was a big inspiration for me.

Q: When did you seriously think about becoming a singer/songwriter?

A: I think I was 15 yrs old when I first considered music as a career rather than a hobby. It was something that came naturally to me and with my ADHD was also the only thing I was actually willing to focus on long enough to get better. I’ve always been an expressive person and I think music just made a good medium for that. That was also the same age I wrote my first song from start to finish. It was called “Gold” and I’ve been actually meaning to rewrite it (11 years later lol).

Q: So let’s talk about your new single, Say So. I first learned of your song by going on Instagram because that’s what I do; look for indie artists who have great music out there but don’t necessarily have the recognition like they should and that’s what I’m hoping to accomplish with my blog & Instagram account @music_stylist. This song has this mellow hip hop vibe which is really enjoyable.. The lyrics, “ I’ve been stuck inside a box for half of my life, when I get too crowded I’d a make me knife (not sure if that’s the correct lyric) and I cut my way out.” What is this song about and what specifically are those lyrics referring to?

A: You got that lyric exactly right! Having done music since I was about 10, I settled in on an early identity that didn’t quite fit what I wanted to do, but what I thought fit for who appeared to be. Most of the music I made early on was on acoustic guitar and not as focused on hip hop influence. I stuck to that identity.

Q: What are your hopes for 2020? And the next 5 years?

A: I’ve gone through many music projects over the last few years so hopefully this one becomes more consistent. I’m planning to drop a new song every month so ideally a hear from now, I’ll have 12 singles it and streaming. I also have a recording studio based in Forth Worth called Studio Waveflo, which I also am focusing on at the moment, s hopefully that can lead to something as well. In five years, I hope to be making a living with music and ideally a LA resident by then. I have a lot of goals right now but I’m also trying to take life as it comes.

You can find his music on @youtube and SoundCloud.com/thathiggy