Do Fish Sleep | Featured Artiste(s): Stage One


[Picture from HERE]
About 2 weeks ago, some folks told me they were going to buy fish and I responded with a question: Do fish sleep?  Please don't ask me where that came from.  I have no clue, but I realized I did not know the answer.  So I decided to joke about it.  I decided that fish sleep and that my only proof was this:

Some of the disciples were fishing at night and caught nothing ALL NIGHT.  Yup! And they caught NOTHING until Jesus showed up.  You know the rest of the story (Read John 21).  

I decided that the disciples were fishing at night because the fish were asleep and so there would be little or no resistance, thereby making the fishermen's job easier.  (Random thought: Have you ever tried "Cow-tipping" before? My quick definition: Cow-tipping is the act of pushing cows over while they are sleeping at night so that they land with a mighty thud. I should put it on my bucket list ... when I make one.  BUT cows don't sleep standing up. What a bummer!)

Anyway, because Google is my friend, I 'asked' Google and here is what I found out via the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC): Most fish actually rest, and even 'daydream.'  Most of them don't have eyelids and even when they are alert for danger they can still be 'sleeping.'  You can read more about this HERE.

So, in concluding this section, I had another question: Do mermaids ('mami-water") sleep?  If you see one, ask her (or it).   As for me, I will be the one on the other side of the river calling down fire from heaven and screaming "Blood of Jesus!"

Featured Artiste(s): Stage One

When I stumbled on Stage One for the first time (2 weeks ago) on PraizHouse, I got really excited.  Their song 'Rise Again' literally made my day and has been on replay on my mind since then (on and off).  Even my one and only twin (I have to butter her up well well; she actually reads this blog) had to ask me when I played the song for the very first time, "Who are those guys?"  Yup! I was proud to tell her they were Nigerians based in Jos. Plus, the guys are cute too (Yes, I went there.  Sue me *sticks out tongue*)

Stage One // ReverbNation

Anyway, this week is the unofficial "Stage One" week (Yes ke! Na me talk am! Whatchu gonna do habourrit? *Me and my unbecoming ways! God help me!*), and I am kicking off the week featuring their song, "The Rising."  The other song will be featured in the next post.  Okay, enough of my blabbing.  Please listen to "The Rising" below:


ComScore
THE REVIEW

Likes:  What really brings this song to life is the guitar (I don't know which type.  I have not yet progressed to that level yet, but I shall get there), followed by the drums, but the drums take a back seat to the guitar in this song.  Frankly, I was listening for the guitar for the most part.  I LOVED it because it changed during the song.  The song begins with a guitar intro with the drums accentuating the guitar chords.  And then the lead vocalist comes in.  At some points, the lead vocalist is accompanied by another person's voice.  That vocal combination was okay mostly because they left me in no doubt as to who was in charge the whole time.  The other voice reminded me of like an "alter ego" (I am not describing this thing well...please bear with me).  It is like when you hear two voices in your head and one voice is louder than the other.  But this time, the two voices were saying the exact same thing (in my head, they are usually at opposites).

What else did I like about this song? Well, I liked the message, as per the lyrics.  The whole time the song was playing I was imagining a drama or movie that this could be the soundtrack to.  The songwriting is actually a LOT better than many of the songs I have featured here (Seriously).  I was already getting frustrated with the songwriting and these guys just gave me more than a ray of hope.  So I am grateful for that.  I can actually hear the lyrics clearly. I also really liked the "calm" in the midst of the song where the "rock" aspect of the song is tuned down a bit and you can really hear the bass guitar and the drums and possibly the piano (and some other instrument?).  It made for a good transition to the rest of the song.  I also found it very very interesting that although the song is called "The Rising,"  those two words are not mentioned anywhere in the song, i.e. they are missing from the "hook" or chorus, which is where I would have expected it to be.  That was a good surprise and probably is another reason why the song reminds me of a movie soundtrack.  Any ideas for the name of the movie? Yup, I would have called the movie 'The Rising.' (I am so original I know...I am glad you appreciate my originality too.  LOL! For where?!)

Dislikes:  In most songs I listen to, as long as they are by Nigerians, I look for what I call the "Naija flavor."  That was missing for me in this song.I am not sure this is "bad," depending on how you view Christian rock music (which this song  fits neatly into).   It came across as a Naija version of an oyinbo Christian rock song.  While you might argue that that has more to do with the genre of music they have chosen, I am of the opinion that as long as it is music you are singing/performing, you can still infuse it with that "Naija flavor."  I am guessing though that Stage One were not trying to inject any Naija flavor into this song, but were trying to move as close to the typical Christian rock music model as much as possible (Please correct me if I am wrong.  I would love to hear another perspective).  In their bid to do this, I hope they realize that what CAN make them stand out is that "Naija flavor."

Another thing I did not particularly like about this song was the fact that the main soloist sounded like he was straining in some major parts of the song (e.g. the chorus).  This genre of music relies heavily on the strength of the voice of the lead vocalist, and that 'took away' from the song in those parts.  He sounded tired.  But in all fairness, (y'all know I try to be fair with my criticism) they made up for it with the "screaming" part towards the end.  Now, that screaming part can go either way, i.e. you might like it or hate it.  I liked it because of the genre of music AND the message.  It would not have fit in an R & B song, but for a rock song talking about bringing the dead to life, it made total sense.

So, after listening to their song and reading the review, you want to know more about these guys right? Check out the information below:

Artiste(s) Stage Name:  Stage One

Artiste(s) Real Name(s): Nuhu Gaina, Joseph Jawfu, Yehoshua Odidi and Kachi Mozie

ReverbNation Page: http://www.reverbnation.com/stageonerox

Connect with Stage One:  Facebook, Twitter

In continuing with what I discussed above, I deliberately did not define what I mean by the "Naija flavor." I did not define it because I wanted to leave that open to discussion.  I have a certain image in my mind, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this one.  How would you define/describe the "Naija flavor" in a song?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section below :-)

That's all folks.  See y'all later in the week.  Have a blessed week ahead (Can you believe February is almost upon us? 2012 is turning out to be a fast year o!)

Ehnnnn soo fish do sleep, wonderful, Lol, you did Stage one a lot of good, that i can ever do with my limited  knowledge of  english language,truly they bring something different to the table when it comes to Gospel music in Naija

Praizhouse

i just love the way your mind works honestly you are just a case , how did your mind go fish and sleeping...will listen to stage one later and give you my comments 

You and your mind, lol. I believe fish sleep. In fact, I believe every animal sleeps. I might be wrong though

atilola moronfolu

And they daydream too??? wonderful. Happy new year

"Do mermaids ('mami-water") sleep?  If you see one, ask her (or it).   "....LWKMD...Relentless, this is the most random post ever. LMAO... But how can they sleep under water though 0_o

If you're anything like me, you've probably been eating too much fish to do quite an odd but very funny post. Really hilarious :-)

i forgot to mention that i love love love ur new design

Apparently, they do too. Wonders shall never end! Ah, come on, you're helping too with your blog now.  I think they're different, and will be on the lookout for them.  Thanks for introducing them to me :-)

@ Jemima: Abi o! Me and my mind sef ... May God help us both! How I ever came to that question I still wonder.  Stage One will appreciate your feedback o.  Thanks in advance.

@ Atilola: My mind shey? The things that go on in there ... LOL! According to what I read, apparently they do, but they don't close their eyes like we do because they don't have eyelids (except for sharks).  See I have learnt all this by force ... LOL!

@ Toin: Happy New Year to you too! Yes o, apparently they do.  Maybe they are dreaming of a world where fish rule and humans 'drool' ... Who knows?!

@ 9jaFoodie:  LOL! Totally random o, but I knew I just had to share :-) I don't know how they sleep under water.  They sleep but not all of them can close their eyes like we do, so I guess that's why we think they don't.  I will encourage them to sleep more often, so I can *ahem* catch them for my culinary purposes *drooling at images of fried fish*

@ Naija4Life: You definitely caught me red-handed! LOL! I eat a lot of fish actually.  I am glad you found the post funny.  I found myself chuckling while putting it together.

@ Toin:  Awww! Thanks a lot for the compliments (even though they really belong to the designer :D But thanks again.  I appreciate it)

haha!!! The other day I along with some twitter friends wondered if babies pooped while in the belly! Google is AWESOME! 

I liked the song but like you said it sounded more like regular gospel rock than naij...

Love the layout too! dope. 

Lohi Ogolo

@ Lohi: Yep! Google is awesome! And thank goodness I am not the only one with strange questions.  By the way, do babies poop in the belly? Ah, I'll ask Google! Thanks for the compliments on the new layout.  And I appreciate the feedback on the song too.  That's what I thought too :-)

Your mind sabi wander sha. LOL. I  learnt something new today about animals. Thanks to your active mind. Will listen to the song later. My internet is acting up. 

Che

I am glad you learnt something new.  I did too :-)

Please listen to the song when you can and I hope you enjoy it.  Thanks for stopping by.

LOL! What planet are you from. Hehehehe! 'where humans rule and fish drool'...I can like to write poem on this

I agree with every one. Your mind is soo adventurous. But come to think of it, do fish sleep? LOL! I think they sleep but with their eyes open. Maybe not the way humans view sleep, they just become inactive.

About the rock band, well if they are based in Naija, the Naija flavour is really appreciated as you thoroughly explained in your analysis. Well kudos to globalization. This days its hard to tell.

Poem ke? Oya, knock yourself out! That should make for an interesting read.  

My mind is adventurous? LOL! I haven't heard it put quite like that before, but I'll take it as a compliment.  Yes, they sleep with their eyes open because dem no get eyelids (I think it's just to creep out anyone that happens to swim past them ... LOL!)

Thanks a lot for the feedback on the band o jare. I am sure they appreciate it.  I was beginning to wonder why I didn't get any feedback on the "Naija flavor" question.  Globalization or not, it is important for your music to stand out, and that's one way to do it.  

Long time, no see :-)

OK, this is towards the death metal end of the rock sound of which I'm not such a fan. But I still have to give it to them, they do rock quite well. That acoustic riff at the beginning is well done and the screaming at the end, lol...

Where can I listen to more of their songs?I agree with you that there is no naija flavor, but is that really necessary? One danger with "naija" flavor is that you could miss it, especially going by language. Not everyone understand pidgin, and then the vernacular is even more limiting. There is one singer that does Igbo gospel rock, Clay is her name and Nenum and Ogadisinma are some of her songs. They're OK too, but may not make so much sense to a non-Igbo speaker.With Stage 1, the message is universal.

Myne:  I'm not a fan of death metal, but I like rock music in general.  I like their own interpretation and perspective, which is why I featured them.  They understand this genre quite well and have chosen it carefully.  That's what strikes me as notable.  The screaming part was iffy to me, but I decided it made sense in the context of the song itself.  

You can listen to more of their songs via their Reverbnation page (
http://www.reverbnation.com/stageonerox) and also on my SoundCloud Page (http://soundcloud.com/therelentlessbuilder)

I think the Naija Flavor is necessary for the simple reason that it will help to distinguish them from being just another Christian rock group.  But for the fact that they are Nigerians, I may not have paid attention to the song because the christian music market is saturated with many rock bands.  The Naija flavor is something they can capitalize on to distinguish themselves.  It does not have to be via language.  I think they can do it with the instrumentation/beats, but I can see how that might be challenging since it is rock music they have chosen to focus on.  

Funny enough, I have heard Clay and am familiar with Ogadisinma. I have not heard Nenum before.  I was not sure whether or not she was a gospel artiste though. I see your point about singing in another language, but I don't consider it to be a big deal.  Music has a way of connecting with people even when they don't understand the lyrics.  I admit though that translations are quite helpful and for that reason, Stage One avoids that complexity by using English exclusively.  Okay, let me stop here (Dis comment don dey resemble WAEC answer ... LOL!

Thanks for your support (on their behalf).

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