Steven Lee Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, Bridges, was released in June 2023.
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band's original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson. Julian Corrie and Dino Bardot joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, and Audrey Tait joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band is one of the more popular post-punk revival bands, garnering multiple UK top 20 hits. They have been nominated for several Grammy Awards and have received two Brit Awards—winning one for Best British Group—as well as one NME Award.
Toto is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.
Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester in 1997. The band consists of Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner. They have played together since 1990, adopting the name Elbow in 1997. Drummer Alex Reeves replaced Richard Jupp in 2016.
The Concretes are a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm, composed of eight members.
Michael H. McDonald is an American singer, keyboardist and songwriter known for his distinctive, soulful voice and as a member of the bands the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan (1973–1974). McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", and "Takin' It to the Streets." McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.
Enuff Z'Nuff is an American rock band from Blue Island, Illinois, founded by singer Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z'Nuff. The band charted two times on the US Hot 100; "Fly High Michelle" (#47) and "New Thing" (#67).
Toto is the debut studio album by American rock band Toto. It was released in 1978 and includes the hit singles "Hold the Line", "I'll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy", all three of which made it into the Top 50 in the USA. "Hold the Line" spent six weeks in the Top 10, and reached Number 14 in the UK as well. Although not initially very well received by critics, the band quickly gained a following, and the album gained a reputation for its characteristic sound, mixing soft pop with both synth- and hard-rock elements. The band would venture deeper into hard rock territory on their next album.
Dennis Hardy "Fergie" Frederiksen was an American rock singer best known as the former lead singer of Trillion, Angel, LeRoux and Toto, as well as providing backing vocals for Survivor. He contributed to hit singles in three consecutive years, all with different bands: Survivor's "American Heartbeat" in 1982, LeRoux's "Carrie's Gone" in 1983 and Toto's "Stranger in Town" in 1984.
The Manvils are a Canadian rock band from Vancouver. The band consists of the singer, songwriter and guitarist Mikey Manville, bass guitarist Dave Fenton and drummer Jay Koenderman.
My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States.
"Hold the Line" is a song by American rock band Toto from their 1978 eponymous debut studio album. Written by the band's keyboardist David Paich, the lead vocals on the song were performed by Bobby Kimball.
Takka Takka is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Performing since 2006, the band's members include Gabe Levine, Conrad Doucette, Rene Planchon and Craig Montoro.
Murder Mystery is an American indie rock band from Detroit, Michigan. The group started in the college town of Mount Pleasant, Michigan in 1999 but moved to Detroit in 2003, attracted by the burgeoning music scene of that city. The group earned notoriety in a scene that was still largely dominated by garage rock and garnered airplay on college stations like WMUC and WDET.
Nat & Alex Wolff is an American pop rock duo from New York City, consisting of brothers Nat and Alex Wolff. The siblings are known for their work on the Nickelodeon television series The Naked Brothers Band, which was created and produced by their mother, actress Polly Draper. It was adapted from the self-titled mockumentary film that Draper wrote and directed. The duo's initial teen pop boy band called "The Naked Brothers Band" was depicted as part of its participation in their Nickelodeon series that aired from 2007 to 2009. They have released four full-length albums and have been nominated for several awards.
Engine Room Recordings is an independent record label with a roster of indie rock and alternative rock musicians. Beyond marketing and distribution for its artists, the label does booking and artist management. Engine Room Recordings is part of the Engine Room Audio group, a New York City-based company offering various services to recording artists.
The Bloodsugars are a Brooklyn-based rock band, composed of Jason Rabinowitz, Brendan O'Grady, Matt Katz, and Kenneth Salters. Rabinowitz is the primary singer and songwriter in the band. David Beauchamp was the original drummer, but he left to focus on playing with Jeffrey Lewis, and Kenneth Salters took his place.
The Honeymoon Is Over is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band The Cruel Sea, which was released in May 1993. The album was produced by the band, Tony Cohen and Mick Harvey for Red Eye Records. It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and has sold over 140,000 copies. Its lead single, "Black Stick" was released ahead of the album in March 1993 and peaked at No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. The title song, "The Honeymoon Is Over", was released in July 1993 as a single and reached the Top 50. It was followed by a cover of Tony Joe White's 1969 song, "Woman with Soul", in October which peaked at No. 64. The final single from the album, "Seems Twice", was issued in February 1994 and peaked at No. 90.
Elk City is an American art-pop band from New York City, New York, formed in 1997 as a spin-off of Melting Hopefuls. The original lineup consisted of Renee LoBue, Ray Ketchem and Peter Langland-Hassan.
Mark Christensen is the studio owner and Chief Mastering Engineer at Engine Room Audio in New York City. Christensen is currently known for mastering, producing, and mixing music in the genres of rock, pop, R&B, classical, and hip hop. Christensen has worked on hundreds of albums, seven of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards as of 2022, with two wins. Christensen has also mastered over thirty Billboard chart top ten hits, and has been involved with 50 projects that have been awarded platinum or gold status by the RIAA. He has mastered material by OK GO, The Killers, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, Fergie, Toni Braxton, Talib Kweli, Trey Songz, 50 Cent, Ryan Leslie and The Ting Tings, among others. Along with business partner Scott Lee, Mark opened the New York Audio Academy, an audio engineering school hosted at Engine Room Audio to teach and mentor students on how to record, mix, master and produce records that comply with the music industry's highest standards. Along with Scott Lee and Charles Farrar, he is one of the principals of Bond Street Artist Management. He also periodically chairs and moderates audio engineering panels at music industry events.
