Interview with Sam Crawford, Guitarist of Once Forgotten

Sam Crawford is the guitarist of currently unsigned Progressive Hardcore band "Once Forgotten" from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

What made you pick up the guitar?

- I was a Freshman in highschool and I would walk by this kind of big music shop called Cinitoli's alot of famous people have walked through them doors but, there would always be this Fender sign lit up in the window and I would always just stare at it. So one day I bought a cheesy guitar from Sam Ash...and what made me intially learn guitar was listening to Metallica. They were my biggest influence.

Your favorite guitarist?

Right now Matt Heafy from trivium.

Most influential guitar album?

Shogun by Trivium...but if it was 5 years ago, ...And Justice For All.

What made you join/start a band?

Well one day I was asked by a friend of mine to join and I said what the hell why not. We were a cover band wrote two originals, then after that we went separate ways and im now in a newer more serious band.

What do you hope to achieve?

I hope to bring music to people's lives and make them feel moved by it. I want them to evoke some kind of emotion that is beneficial to them and the people around them.

Favorite bands?

Metallica, Trivium, Aveneged Sevenfold, Guns 'n' Roses..alot more.

Favorite albums?

Shogun by Trivium, All Metallica Albums

What is your favorite guitar?

Dean, I play gibson now.

What is your dream guitar?

a 7 string Dean guitar.

Follow Once Forgotten at:

http://www.myspace.com/onceforgotten18
and
http://twitter.com/onceforgotten

The Oh Noes Album Review, April Edition

A hearty good day to all three of you reading this (Hi Mom!). I hope your last few weeks have been less hectic than mine. But enough sidetracking, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns)...

Band: 3OH!3

Album: Want

The boundries between genres of popular music are becoming increasingly blurry with time. Rap is coming to sound a lot like R&B which is eerily similar to rock which sounds an awful lot like punk, and no one but the most devoted of metalheads could keep the thousand and one genres of metal seperate. It's in these murky depths the Colorado-based 3OH!3 exists in, somewhere down the block from rap, across the street from electronica, and in the neighborhood of rock. The result is a unique and unmistakable sound, though perhaps not totally accessible.

3OH!3 (named after the area code of Boulder, Colorado) has its origins as far back as 2004, but didn't really start making an impact until 2007 with the release of their self-titled album. The following year, the band signed with Photo Finish Records and released Want.

A disclaimer before we go any further: I am not a particular fan of rap. Most of the vocals on this album are rapped, and significant portions of the album show strong rap influences. I will attempt to be as impartial as I can, but my personal taste will show through in this review. You may very well disagree, and I encourage you to go out and listen for yourself before passing judgement. 

The album opens with Tapp, a minute-long instrumental introduction. It's essentially a protracted synth solo and serves as a decent primer on what the rest of the album will sound like. Punkbitch is the first actual song, and serves as an excellent microcosm for the entire album. Of particular note: the heavy elctronica-influenced backing, the alternation of rapping and more traditional singing, and the two contrasting section structure. Most of the rest of the songs on the album follow the pattern established by this song, both musically and lyrically.

Two other songs I want to highlight: The first is Don't Trust Me. This is the first song by 3OH!3 I had ever heard, and it's probably my favorite from the album. The other is Colorado Sunrise, which contrasts lyrically with the rest of the album but still uses the same energetic musical style.

Bottom line time: 3OH!3 is a decent band, but not for everyone. Rap fans will like it, as will electronica fans. Most other people should listen before they drop money on it, because the style is not universally appealing. Personally, I do like them, but in small doses. The album clocks in at just under 40 minutes, but it can get a bit repetitive if you just sit and listen to it. Put in a well-shuffled playlist 3OH!3 gives nice contrast, however.