Marge

Formed in August 2013, Gabby, Melissa, Emily, and Aidan played their first show not too long after that at Philadelphia's "First Time's a Charm" event. The goal of the event was to raise money for a PA share, and the catch? The whole event was going to feature bands playing their first show. For Melissa Brain, this was an opportunity she wasn't going to pass up. "I had played drums in the marching band and with my dad when I was younger," Melissa recalled, "And then grew up going to shows and watching my friends be in bands forever." First Time's a Charm gave Melissa the opportunity she had been looking for. "That kind of kicked me in the butt to be like, 'all right, I have to do this now.'"

Now, Marge has a few successful shows under their belts. This session was recorded in January 2014 and their first 7-song EP was released 3 months later. The EP bears the title Not Bad, exactly the kind of modest, nonchalance we've come to expect from a band who continues to describe themselves as "four girls figuring it out". With songs like these, its safe to say they're figuring things out pretty well.

1. Will I Am
2. Trading Places Starring Eddie Murphy
3. Interview
4. Raincheck
5. To-Do
6. Interview
7. BAND PICKS: Moonstruck - Trouble [Blossom]
8. BAND PICKS: Gunk - Photograph [Gradual Shove]

Marge:
https://marge.bandcamp.com/

Broski

Bursting at the seams with unbridled energy, the young four-piece from the Lehigh Valley manages to create songs that feel like complete works without lyrics and without going off into progressive rock wankery to compensate. Broski's attack is quick and concise with no part of the song lasting longer than it needs to. What exactly guides a band like Broski if there's no lyrics or instrumental grandeur? "The tone. The integrity of the tone," the band explains in our interview. What sweet spot a song needs to hit to satisfy this integrity isn't clear. It's something only the band members really know, and that's why we keep coming back to these songs time after time. If anything, it looks like we'll only be doing that more in the future as Broski has a debut full-length album in the works. This sessions was recorded in January 2014.

1. American Plaidiator
2. Hello Edna
3. Interview
4. Kroner
5. Savory
6. Interview
7. BAND PICK: Young Crybaby - Amanda Bynes [Pennsylvanian Hunger Mixtape]

Young Crybaby (Band Pick):
http://heavenpegasus.com/

Broski:
https://broski.bandcamp.com/

Fake Cult

FAKE CULT, the Lehigh Valley 4-piece band, by all estimates, should not have worked. At all. In fact, it probably shouldn't have existed in the first place. "They basically got into hardcore after me nagging at them," guitarist Jared Smith says about his bandmates. "I was in this band before I liked hardcore. It took me six months before I liked hardcore," recalls guitarist Lee Romich. "I didn't really like any of the stuff Jared was showing me, and then, one day, I was like, 'this stuff is fucking awesome! I want to do that,'" says bassist and vocalist Cooper Leardi. Half of this band didn't even like the style of music that Smith was steering the group of friends towards, but through one way or another, the rest of the band stuck it out and eventually learned to love what they did.

To make things more interesting, it probably won't ever happen again, either. "I don't think I'd be able to be in a FAKE CULT-style band with anyone else," declares Leardi. "That would be weird." The rest of the band concurs. The band has gone their separate ways now with Romich moving to Pittsburgh and taking up drumming duties in the State College-based band Ugly Zoo, but FAKE CULT recorded this session in January 2014 for us before the split. 

1. Horrible Life
2. Sine Deus
3. Interview
4. Natural Causes
5. Closure
6. Interview
7. BAND PICK: Ovlov - Nü Pünk [am]
8. BAND PICK: Hoax - Driver [Hoax]
9. BAND PICK: Off Camber - Our Hearts Will Explode [Split 7" w/ Between Your Mind & Tongue]
10. BAND PICK: tile - Half Tooth [You Had a Friend in Pennsylvania]

FAKE CULT:
https://fakecult.bandcamp.com/

Amanda X

Three ladies united by circumstance or, as drummer Tiff Yoon explains, "Kat Bean...came into the warehouse where Cat Park and I lived, and she just never left." Philadelphia-based Amanda X recorded this session with us when the band came to Bethlehem for Ladyfest 2014 in January at St. Bernard’s. The session finds the band playing songs from their album Amnesia which they were preparing to release on iconic Philadelphia label Siltbreeze. Amanda X were no strangers to the Lehigh Valley, having performed at Secret Art Space in past years.

1. Guatemala
2. Parsnip
3. Interview
4. Nothing Wild
5. Low and Mean
6. Interview
7.  BAND PICK: Weed - Ben's Tour [Gun Control EP]
8. BAND PICK: Wish List - Dumpweed 2 [Wish List]
9. BAND PICK: Marge - Raincheck [Not Bad]
10. BAND PICK: Gunk - Creepy Crawlers [Gradual Shove]

Amanda X:
https://amandax.bandcamp.com/

Sports for Kin

"After eight years, you have to kind of get better...even without trying." Sports for Kin may not have followed your typical band path, but they've been an enduring presence in the Lehigh Valley, outlasting many of their mid-00's peers. "The secret to our longevity is just not being able to see each other for eight months at a time," jokes drummer Steve Wilt. The last burst of activity from the band came in 2009 when they composed an original score to the film Metropolis.

In January 2013, Wilt, Kevin Kiernan, and Dan Shively returned to the band with eyes on recording new material. New to the SFK line-up this time around was Mike Martrich. They've since started recording with Mike Fisher at Maniac Studios (now called FLUX = RAD). This session was recorded in September 2013 and saw the band fresh off of one of their first shows in years--at St. Bernard's in Bethlehem.

Stairs
I Still Think of Hills
Into Silent Trains
Fins
Interview
BAND PICK:  Goodnight Stars Goodnight Air - Subluminal

Goodnight Stars Goodnight Air (Band Pick):
https://www.facebook.com/goodnightstarsgoodnightair/

Sports for Kin:
https://www.facebook.com/Sports-for-Kin-71648714749/