Blowoff is where you will find Bob Mould (website - blog) and Richard Morel (website - blog) in their new pop-rock duo. These guys have been pumping out a bunch of music and they put on big events in NYC, SF and Chicago, usually around the same time a major Bear event is going on. Some upcoming events are dated for July 4th in conjunction with Atlanta Bear Fest (website - article - profile) and then July 14th for Bear Week (website) in Provincetown.

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay

I'm not sure exactly what the lyrics all mean but I'm hooked on this new song by a band called Manchester Orchestra (website - MySpace), with lead vocalist Andy Hull crooning these guys into what I hope for them is potential stardom.

The song I'm referring to is called I've Got Friends and it's from their latest album 'Mean Everything to Nothing'. Take a look at these guys on David Letterman (YouTube) and on Jimmy Fallon (YouTube).

As a side note - my partner Roger finds the song a little heavy for his likings. I just seem to find myself bopping my head like their keyboardist.

And another side note - Andy Hull is married, yet there is something just kinda neat and cool about him, and I love the scraggly beard. He is like a Bearish version of Kurt Cobain.

"I know... I know... I live the life of a sinner...". Those are lyrics from an excellent song called 'Sinner' (Video - MP3). The artist is known as Big B - he's the one who does the rapping. I first heard the song on the radio, liked it, checked out the artist and I was like - well, well, well, he's all about white trash, no shirt, big belly, tons of tattoos. He's a ton fun so here are some links with videos and photos of the Big B - website - MySpace - videos.

Russian Musician and artist Alexei Biryukoff (website - articles - profile) has come out with another album free for everyone to download. Now when Alexei produces his music, he goes by name of Muhmood, and his latest invention is called 6200 Miles of Silence (I had some problems downloading it from his site, however the album is also available here on LastFM). Make sure to check out the rest of his music from his site, all downloadable for free.

Greg of 'Woobie Bear Music' (website - articles - profile) has a brand new CD out entitled 'Grecote' - Sound Waves'. Click here to listen to some samples and to pick up your own copy.

From the site: "Musically Grecote' combines the elements of Mood and Modern World music together. The single 'Forum' won the 2004 'Camp Pride Song', awarded by the StoneWall Society. Music provides lots of emotion and feelings. The song 'Sunset at Noon' gives the emotional feeling you get when you lose someone thru death. Knowing that their time ended too soon. How do we decide what is fair?".

Some cool news from the good looking and talented performer Tom Fort (website - articles - profile). For the past couple of weeks, BearRadio has picked up Tom's new song 'A Day on the Beach' (the Club Mix version). And due to this airplay, Mr. Fort has been asked to fly to New York for some gigs. Right now he is working on new material and his first CD is due out in June.

Press Release - "Singer and Songwriters Freddy Freeman (founder of Bearapalooza, Out Musician of the Year nominee) and Kendall (website) (LOGO video artist and 100% Beef model) are hitting the road to promote Freddy's album 'Break the Silence' and Kendall's new CD 'Truth Changes'.

Kendall has put together a mini-musical, short performance piece of the album, and they will be joined by guests in different locations like Marc Peurye, Elijah Black, Jeff Altergott, Steve Reeder, Toshio Mana, Jesse Kerrison and Tommy Johns. Many of the dates are sponsored by local bear clubs. They will be appearing in Albany, NY - Syracuse, NY - Rochester, NY, Chicago, IL - Detroit, MI - Indianapolis, IN - Columbus, OH - and Louisville, KY. Come out and see them in your area! Get dates, times and venue locations on the Bearapalooza site".

Nakia & his Southern Cousins have released a new CD on April 7th entitled 'Water to Wine'. Check out his website Nakia.net for all the info including reviews as well as his tour dates. There's also a bunch of videos you can check out as well as few music samples you can grab. Also sign up to his newsletter and keep up to date with Nakia. Oh, and here is his Flickr page (there's a slew of pics from this very cute Bearish musician).

Have you ever heard of The Homosexuals...? I haven't, not until recently, however they have been around for a heck of a long time as they have been an influential British punk band since 1972... and they are still punking it out. They aren't well known since they haven't released much until recently. They have one studio album as well as a compilation 3 CDs which consists of the body of their work. The singer is a wee bit out there... yet one is supposed to be a bit 'off...' if you're a singer in a punk band; it's the beauty of that art. Yet these guys differ because they are talented punks, whereas talent isn't always a requirement when one sings in a punk bank. These guys play some complicated riffs, and there are some seriously catchy lines to sing along to. Also, there is one guitarist in the band who's Bearishly chunkily huskily cute. Check out some videos (here and here), and to get a better idea as to what they sound like, here are the songs from those videos (Astral Glamour and 'You're Not Moving The Way You're Supposed To' (Part 1 and Part 2). Make sure to check out their site ~ Astral Glamour dot com ~ because their latest compilation sounds and look very interesting..

Thanks a bunch to Eric Z. (galleries - profile) for pointing these guys out to me. He knows I'm a fan of offbeat music, a fan of punk as well, and it's a shame I didn't know about these guys when I was a little punker back in 77 (at age 10) when I was bopping about to The Ramones, The Stranglers and Sex Pistols, because I've been listening to The Homosexuals and I'm liking it.

I just got word from Greg (profile) of Woobie Bear Music that Kendall (website) has come out with a new CD entitled 'Truth Changes. From Greg: "The material is varied ranging from Beatlesque to Trip-Hop to Classical to Funk, Electronic & Rock. I produced the CD myself with Bearpalooza founder and artist Freddy Freeman. The cover and artwork for the CD is by KillerBob. 21 tracks of music are now available for download at the Woobie Bear Store".

It's been awhile since we've heard any news from singer and songwriter Ernie Lijoi. Actually, the last time I posted an article, about a year ago, I was asking the same thing (what is Ernie up to). Well there's some good news - he has put up a brand new website. Now there's some pictures of this truly good looking musician as well as a ton of song previews. I don't see any mention of a new CD, but I'm sure there is one in the horizon.

Way back in December of '06, I posted an article about this musician who goes by the name of Obadiah Parker (real name Mat Weddle) and he did this cover of 'Hey Ya', an Outkast song (video here). It went incredibly virus, and Obadiah believed it was his big break. Well 2+ years later and he realized that he was still waiting to be signed on. Well he decided to take matters into his own hands, and from what he states from his website, he's going to record his own album, and he's asking for a bit of help. Just to let you know, he's straight and I think the only reason why I'm posting this is because he's got such a cool beard, but he also has a voice that touches the soul, so here's hoping his talent doesn't go to waste.

Nina West takes on Katy Perry! Actually, you might have heard the hit song by Katy Perry 'I Kissed a Girl' (Video - MP3). Well Nina West has made a spoof of it and it's called 'I Kissed a Bear'. See the video here on YouTube. Here are some of the lyrics "I kissed a Bear... I liked it. I hope my twink friends don't mind it. It felt so woof... it felt so grr... it doesn't mean I'm a chubby chaser". Oh yes it does.

Thanks to Greg Hudson (profile) of Woobie Bear Music for pointing out this cuddly video.

He's a real cute Bear with a sultry voice, bedroom eyes, and a devilishly playful smile who is sure to swoon you off your feet once you hear him sing. His name is Tom Fort and he's right now recording some songs for his very first album. He has a few videos which you can see from his website ~ Tom-Fort.com or from his YouTube page, with his latest video entitled 'A Day on the Beach'. Lastly, Tom Fort has started a safe sex project called BearPower.

Woobie Bear Music is having a 2 for 1 special for $12.48. You can choose from 10 of the most popular titles from the Woobie Bear Music Catalogue! Choose from one of these following selections: 'Bear Tracks' Volume 1, 2, 3, or 4, G CD Global 1 and Global 2, Triple Play, Kendall 'Re-Kindled', Freddy Freeman 'Break the Silence' and, Reigning Men 'Family OUT-ing'. If you have any questions or comments, contact Greg (profile).

There's really not all that much info about Unit-911, neither on his MySpace page nor on YouTube page, but his video Give it to Me is just so utterly muscle Bear campy, it's something you should watch, just to see the chorus woof at ya. Unit-911 reminds me a bit of a leather version of BearForce1 (website - articles)... kinda... Unit-911 is more machismo, BearForce1 is more... gay, I would say. Thanks to Perdido's Wooflog for the link to this guy. Woof...!

His name is JD Hoyle (bio) and he is the producer of the monthly radio show called Queer Music Heritage. He has been doing this since '00 and you will literally be spending hours upon hours surfing through all of his archives and listening to his past shows.

JD has finished his 9th anniversary show (here) in which he goes thru 14 of his favourite albums from '08. And one of his favourites is 'G CD Global 2', an album produced by the seriously cute Greg Hudson (profile) of Woobie Bear Music (website - articles). Actually it was Greg who pointed out JD's site and show, so a little 'thank you' note goes to him since JD's site is truly incredible, especially if you dig GLBT music.

This might be a little belated however I just got news of it today, so... it's a new Xmas song from Michael West (articles). Ok so maybe Xmas is over however we're still in the holiday season time, and Michael has a great sultry voice, and he's cute as a button to boot. Check him out and his music on his MySpace page as there some nice shots of this handsome country Bear singer. Also, Michael is also a coordinator for Bearapalooza.

The Bearishly handsome band ing (website - articles) sent us word of what they have been up to. The following is from them: "Happy Holidays! '08 went like woosh! But lots of things have been going on so '09 will see a bunch of new music released. Mark's musical - 18 songs (yikes!) featuring Sean, Mark and many ing family & friends - is nearly finished and being prepared for mixdown. Plus some new ing tracks are about ready to mix too. Also, ing is on LastFM now".

I just gotta say, Sean (on the left) looks like a hotter version of captain Kirk. Beam me up!

Anyone remember when songs like Dream Police and I Want You To Want Me were playing on the radio all the time?

Ahh... the good old '70s. I was but a mere lad yet I can still remember how much the drummer to Cheap Trick would turn me on. What's incredible, when I think about it, is that Bun E. Carlos ~ the drummer ~ was only in his mid to late 20s. I thought (back then) that he was so much older, so mature. He also had this 'Bearish' look about him that I found attractive. I remember owning a copy of Dream Police (image #1 - image #1) back when I was 12 and I think I can blame Bun E. Carlos for being the promoter of my cop and uniform fantasy.

Anyhow, I mention all this simply because I saw a recent photo of him (the one you see in the thumbnail from his Wiki page), and I said to myself... damn he's aged well after all of these years. And Cheap Trick are still playing, incredibly, having come out with an album in '06.

I couldn't find a better version but check out their Dream Police video.