Never in the history of rock and roll has a band been more appropriately named than the Las Vegas teen rock group Almost Awake.
When the band formed two years ago, the only things they had in common were a love of music and, like so many in the new age of multi-tasking and twenty four hour socializing, a love of sleep.
Now after selling out headlining shows at venues like Vinyl in the Hard Rock, playing stacked festivals like Extreme Thing and building a huge and loyal following on the west coast, you could say they’re pretty WOKE. And that’s a good thing for music lovers.
The band, fronted by talented lead vocalist Vick Liano, garnered attention almost immediately in the Las Vegas scene with their musical chops and catchy songwriting. They were chosen by Live Nation as one of the most promising young bands for the 2015 Music Forward Foundation and immediately packed the House of Blues, blowing away fans and critics alike with a performance unexpected from such a young group.
Lead guitarist Grady Jones and his cousin and drummer Gabe Conover bring impressive skill and power to a fresh and contemporary rock sound, with Addison Egelhoff layering in rhythm guitars and keys with great live energy, and Tommy Cochran in full kilt and mohawk on bass.
The band wrote and recorded an impressive 15 song album called ‘Until Tomorrow’ in 2016 that was diverse almost to a fault, including slamming rock anthems, catchy pop- rock sing-alongs, acoustic soul-searchers, funky grooves and even classical instrumental guitar pieces. The album is solid but seemed to still be searching for a way to combine their dynamic musical influences.
The young band seems to have found their sound on their first single since signing with Tommy Boy Entertainment called ‘Cloudwalker’, and have had fans hash tagging #StayWoke since its release on June 2nd.
The song, written by Vick and Grady, and arranged as a band, was recorded and engineered at Catacomb Recording Company in Los Angeles by stellar up and coming producer Jon Lundin, and has received rave reviews in its first week.
The melodic guitar work catches you immediately and sets the tone for the big, rousing sound that follows. With slick electronic fills and thundering drums, the song’s thoughtful lyrical content almost flies unnoticed in the wake of Vick’s soaring vocal which immediately sets the band apart from its contemporaries. Lundin’s slick production and the band’s arrangement promise some pretty exciting material to come from that teaming.
They are currently recording several new songs and are set to release another single and possibly an album later in the year.
Check out the lyric video below and look for the official video for ‘Cloudwalker’ coming soon.
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