Visions from atop a Mesa

It was once said about me: “Something good came out of Utah.” by a famous Los Angeles radio personality know as Heidi Hamilton of the Frost, Heidi and Frank show. She was refering to my music, talent, and partying ability. They have a segment on their show called “Should I Stay or Should I go” where non-signed talent is given a chance to be heard by the tough LA radio audience on the highest rated mid-day show. Actually it’s Arbetron rated number one. Did I get the ratings name spelled right?

They interview an artist and play their music every Friday for the segment. I sent in some music and actually got a call back rather quickly. Kinda shocking really. They prepared me and had me ready for the show. It was fun actually. They asked all kinds of questions and I had been listening to the show earlier in the day when they were talking about Utah of all places. Of course people instantly think no partying goes on there due to Mormon influence. During the call I laid that rumor to rest for Heidi. Then came time for the music…

They played the song “>All The Things and proceeded to comment on it. Favorable things were said. Then they took calls. The name of the game is that the audience votes. If you get 6 votes to stay then you’re asked to stay in LA to pursue your dream. If you get 6 votes to go, you’re told to pack it up sell your gear and go back to where you came from. The first 3 calls netted stays, then one call was a go. However, the hosts shot down the go votes reasoning, but it had to count anyway. “>Falling In played second and the comments following that were nothing short of fantastic. It netted 3 more stay votes for a grand total of 6 stays in 7 calls. At the time that aired it was a record for the show. The rest is current history. If you’re interested in reliving that episode it is on my website in the Clubhouse.

As for The Mesa Drive… I have a feeling that if they did a radio show like this, they’d likely achieve similar results. I came across them on Myspace, or rather they came across me. Despite the fact that I don’t add other bands to my profile since I don’t care to cross promote music, I do listen to the bands that send requests. You never know when you’ll come across one that sounds good for a blog such as this.

From what I gather reading their myspace page (they don’t have an official website themesadrive.com – best get on that guys), they are relatively new to the music world under that moniker. I’m actually thinking that despite their PR, they’re a relatively new band altogether. Even so, I think they have some good things ahead if they continue on the path they are on. Provided they don’t fall apart like The Wonders or any other band where bickering goes on.

Truth is a fun song. The sound reminds me a lot of a laid back Maroon 5. The singer has a much thicker voice than Adam Levine. Musically it’s a pleasing sound. This isn’t a bad thing. Everyone has to start somewhere in the musical landscape. As I’ve mentioned about other fledgling bands it will be a curse if they can’t get a slightly more identifiable sound for themselves.

I was warned by the band that this is a demo. I don’t rightly know if it means they’re going to re-record this track, or if they’re going to take the recording and get it mixed and mastered somewhere top-notch. It’s a pretty nice sounding demo as is though. I expect good things from The Mesa Drive, provided people can identify with the name. I can because I grew up in Park City.