About

Welcome back to "The Indie Rock Dojo".

I'm The Sound Ninja.  I'm an independent rock musician, songwriter and recording artist out of Minnesota, USA.  I'm writing these reviews in full support of the Independent "Indie" rock music scene.  It's a community that I'm a part of, and I've had so much fun meeting musicians around the world virtually through social media, for the most part.

I love music that does something new.  Musicians doing it their own way.  With passion,  strong meanings.  Songs that take the listener on an adventure.  Moments that send chills down the spine.  I love the soaring guitars, riffs and powerful rhythms.  I also love the watered down acoustic rock songs.  Those can be just as powerful.  I've been known to praise hard rock, punk, alternative, metal, nu-metal, classic rock, folk rock, and more in the independent rock scene, mainly on Threads these days (@TheSoundNinjaRock).

One thing that such a high percentage of people in the world don't see is the incredible music that can be found outside of the mainstream.  So many people only hear what is fed to them.  If you dig under the mainstream surface, you will get to a place usually referred to as the underground.  You can find many bands working insanely hard.  This quite often includes having full-time jobs away from music, families, activities, but still take on the impossible of practicing, gigging, writing music, recording it, releasing it and promoting it at an unreal pace.  Why?  Because they love it.

Unlike so many reviewers, I will never hold any legendary musicians on a pedestal and directly compare against them.  I respect musicians creating music that suits them...the way they want it.  It might not be like something we've heard before...AND THAT'S A GOOD THING!

My hope is this can be a space where you will find quality music that is equal to or even better than what you hear in the mainstream.  These artists/musicians need to be heard.  This is why I'm including a YouTube Music playlist embedded into the blog with every song I review.  The reason I use YouTube Music is because it allows free streaming, and it has a useful embedded widget I could use on this blog page that accompanies the reviews!

If you are an indie musician who would like to submit a song for consideration for review, please fill out the form using the "Submit Your Song" link on the home page.  With that being said, not every song that is submitted will be reviewed.  The songs that I feel passionately about will be.  If not, I'm not the right reviewer for you.  Independent musicians that make original music do not need negative reviews for the public to see.  There's too much of an uphill battle.  I'm very open-minded, so don't be shy.  I'd honestly review every song if I could commit the time.

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Blog Info

  • Submit songs using the "Submission" link at the top of the page
  • If your song is reviewed, it will be added to the playlist
  • A new addition to a playlist will be added to the top of the playlist
  • "The Indie Rock Dojo" is the title of the current playlist
  • "Fight the Storm" is the title of the previous playlist (Spotify was used at the time)
    • Check this out, too!

You can support this initiative by:

  • Sharing the blog and its content
  • Streaming the playlist
  • Supporting the artists
  • Keeping all interactions positive and fun!

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