Cornerstone releases Bargain Music's AMERICAN BORN

Cornerstone RAS is pleased to announce the release of Bargain Music “American Born” for worldwide distribution.

Since the late ‘90s, the Los Angeles-based Bargain Music has been known for two main things: (1) their penchant for quirky, eccentric, humorous lyrics, and (2) their musical eclecticism. Bargain Music does not focus on any one genre. Their material is essentially alternative rock, but the Southern Californians will—depending on their mood—incorporate anything from reggae, hip-hop, funk or soul to heavy metal or punk. On occasion, Bargain Music even incorporates country; some of their songs have been relevant to the alternative country/No Depression scene (including "Hell No" and "Drinking with Trey".) But more often than not, their work tends to be on the funky side, and the valid comparisons range from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Primus, 24-7 Spyz, Prince and Rick James to Peter Tosh and Lee "Scratch" Perry.

“American Born” features the talents of lead singer Josh Fischel in an acoustic setting, guitar in hand. Fresh off his first solo acoustic tour this past winter, Fischel’s strong soulful voice warmed audiences over, from SoCal to SXSW. He was featured on last year’s CD of the summer “Look at All the Love We Found”. This incredible tribute to Sublime sold over 100,000 copies in the US alone. Fischel was also a part of the benefit show “Look at All the Love We Found: Live – A Tribute to Sublime” which will be released as a DVD/CD package early this summer. “American Born” will be his second acoustic album.

Bargain Music was formed in 1997 in Long Beach, CA, the L.A. suburb that has spawned such artists as Snoop Dogg, Mexican-American banda star Jenni Rivera, and of course, Sublime - a band that Bargain Music has often been compared to. However, Fischel has been quick to stress that Bargain Music and Sublime are two very different-sounding bands. Fischel formed Bargain Music with his friend Sean Whisner, and the artists they recruited in the late ‘90s included bassist Jeff Ward, guitarist Trey Pangborn, singer/rapper Skeleton Man and trumpeter Dave Williams (among others). By the end of 1998, Bargain Music was circulating their demo cassette Feelin It (Rough Mixes), which is also known as The Green Tape. After that, they hired bassist Mike Watt (of Minutemen and Firehouse fame) to produce their first official album 77 003, which was released by the Washington, DC-based Beatville Records in 2000. The following year, Beatville put out Cook the Beans, an album that ranged from new songs to previously unreleased and remixed material.

Along the way, Bargain Music has been through more than their share of lineup changes. Williams left the band in 2000, as did Skeleton Man. 2001 found Pangborn taking off as well, and eventually, Zach "Zippy" Goodin became the band's guitarist. Then, in 2002, Ward announced his departure, and he was replaced by Matt Brein. Currently, Bargain Music consists of Josh (vocals), Zippy (guitar), Matt (bass), and Todd (drums). As a full band, they will release their fourth full length later this year.

www.cornerstoneras.com
Bargain Music at MySpace