You know there is one word I hate and that is Sellout. If a band changes it's musical direction or look then they are labeled Sellouts and people turn their backs on them. You know change is not always a bad thing and it never hurts to mature. Sometimes along with maturation comes change. It must be tough sometimes for Jason Newsted as I have heard Metallica called Sellouts and now I hear Jason being called the same. People need to get a life and allow for change and maturation.

I for one was very excited to hear about Echobrain and was very interested in the direction they were going so I snatched a copy of their CD and blasted on down to the Roxy to catch their LA debut. The band consists of Dylan Donkin - guitar/vocals, Brian Sagrafena - drums and of course Jason Newsted on bass. Recruited for this tour were Chris Chianni - lead guitar and David Borla - keyboards/percussion who also form the group Dangerman. If anyone thinks thatthis is some kind of vehicle for Jason or something that just came up out of nowhere are sadly mistaken. The trio has been jamming in Jason's personal studio for over 7 years (the drummer Brian was only 16 when they started out) and they finally decided record their material and give it a shot. The music can best be described as Hard Pop and their self titled debut on Surfdog Records is a collection of great numbers, the most commercial being "Colder World" which should start receiving some airplay. Some of the other great numbers off the CD are "Spoonfed", "SuckerPunch" and the one I really like "The Feeling Is Over" (nice melody, strings, etc.).

One of the problems with Pop music is that is doesn't always translate well in a live show but this was the rare occasion where the live act out performs the recorded version. The songs have even more energy and feel in a live setting with the guitar work from Chris really shining through. Some great extended instrumental jams and a very cool drum solo were also included in tonight's performance and the huge crowd just loved the set from start to finish. After a couple of encores the crowd had to finally be ushered out the door which says something about the performance and material.

As for Jason's performance it was of course solid but for those expecting him to be out front and the center of attention were probably disappointed. The band is a sum of all the players and in this band along with his former band he plays a very important role as do all the members. Pick up their CD and listen to the Echoes in Your Brain and then go visit their website to get the whole story.